The Arizona Diamondbacks had been on a bit of a losing streak - five games to be exact - and what better way to remedy that then to face a team who is struggling offensively. That team would be the San Francisco Giants, who in their own right were seeking revenge on a Diamondbacks team that swept the Giants in the opening series of the 2012 season. The Giants even had Madison Bumgarner on the mound, who had won five straight decisions and had been absolutely dealing from the rubber.
None of that would matter however, as the Giants made the Diamondbacks' young pitcher Patrick Corbin look like a seasoned veteran. They collected just five hits throughout and their one-run first inning did nothing in the way of sparking some kind of rally from the team. Scoring one run in one inning is not going to be enough to win a baseball game about 98 percent of the time - someone should let the Giants know that.
And of course since Bruce Bochy was facing a left-handed pitcher, he threw out as many right-handed and switch-hitting players as possible. With the Giants' offense being as inconsistent as it has been, one would think that the manager would set a lineup and leave it. By switching things up so often you don't give players a chance to settle in and find their stroke.
Then there are those players, like Brandon Crawford, who show zero-to-little offensive promise no matter how much you play them and that can be just as frustrating to watch. However, I think the main problem with the Giants goes back to their inability to acquire a big bat. (Commence grumbling.)
We had the pleasure of watching Carlos Beltran as a Giant last year after the team traded away one of our top pitching prospects. Then we watched in horror as Brian Sabean and Larry Baer made no attempt to try and bring Beltran back as a Giant. Some fans said that Beltran would not be effective and it appeared as if the front office was relying on Buster Posey and Freddy Sanchez to come back at full strength.
Well folks, in regards to Carlos Beltran, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that Beltran is tearing it up this season and the bad news is that Beltran is tearing it up this season.
Carlos Beltran through 31 games: 12 HR, 31 RBI, 5 SB, .307 BA, .410 OBP, .658 SLG. (And for those who thought his defense wasn't up to par, he has a 1.000 fielding percentage - all in right field.)
He's doing much better than our offseason acquisitions Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan. And while Buster Posey returned from his injury, we're still waiting on Freddy Sanchez to re-emerge.
It seemingly all comes down to the Giants not making the necessary moves to have a solid offense. There's only so much one can expect from young and developing players at the plate. And as for the veterans on our team, most of them can't hit, leaving the Giants offensively inept and bracing for another year of offensive struggles.
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:
MLB.com. Giants and Diamondbacks Recap. MLB 2012
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