2010 was a magical year for the San Francisco Giants and the city of San Francisco. The Giants had one of the best rotations in the league, a formidable bullpen, and a sprinkling of timely hitting when necessary in order to bring home a World Series title. You had breakout years from Aubrey Huff, Andres Torres, and Juan Uribe to help lead the offense and a late season acquisition in Cody Ross who helped lead the charge into the playoffs.
Now let's fast forward to 2012, the Giants' rotation is still strong despite a struggling Tim Lincecum -- with Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, and Ryan Vogelsong leading the charge -- you have a bullpen that was hurt by injuries and suspensions starting to come back together, and the team is starting to find its way with timely hitting. Buster Posey and Angel Pagan are hitting well right now and the late season acquisition of Marco Scutaro is proving to be a great move by GM Brian Sabean. If things stay the way they are -- limiting teams to less than three runs and coming through with timely hits -- the sky is the limit for this Giants' squad.
Many had this team nixed from playoff talks the moment Melky Cabrera went down with a 50-game suspension. But now the Giants seem to have found their groove, going 8-4 in games since Cabrera's suspension.
With the likes of Scutaro, Posey, Pagan and the potential for Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence to snap out of their slumps, the Giants are set up for a deep playoff run; should they get there. With 33 games left, the team holds a 3.5 game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers (as of the end of play on August 28) -- a team they face six more times this season, including the last series of the year in L.A. -- and have the potential to increase that lead as the Dodgers are 1-3 since their blockbuster trade.
Essentially, the 2012/2010 comparison begins with the Giants' play and ends with the personnel. The Giants may have a different core of players than in 2010 but they are executing when necessary -- which was the key back in 2010. Now, I'd like to clarify and say I'm in no way guaranteeing a Giants' World Series win in 2012. All I'm doing is explaining that given the similarities, if the Giants continue to play well, they have the potential to repeat as World Series champions for the second time in three years -- something no team has done since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998-2000.
Food for thought: Do the Giants have what it takes to make the playoff and make it to the World Series? Or will it take a better Tim Lincecum, Pablo Sandoval, and Hunter Pence to make things happen for the Giants in 2012?
David is co-founder of wrapupp sports blog where fresh content is posted daily and present sports blogs and sports opinions -- all with a West Coast bias. Growing up in the Bay Area, David is a huge supporter of all the local sports teams; the Giants, Athletics, Warriors, Sharks, 49ers, and Raiders. His one fault, admittedly, as many of his friends and family would say, is his love for the Los Angeles Lakers. Growing up, Magic Johnson was his favorite basketball player and he fell in love with the team. He chalks it up to, "Not knowing any better". Now his love for sports has turned just as academic as it is intuitive and he follows most all sports all over the nation.
You can follow David on Twitter: @officialwrapupp
Sources:
Baseball-Reference.com. San Francisco Giants' Schedule. MLB 2012.
Baseball-Reference.com. 2010 San Francisco Giants. MLB 2012.
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