The San Francisco Giants ended the season on a high note.
These are the olives on top of the sundae from two hours ago.
The Giants are the most disappointing team in 2024. This is one person's opinion, which makes it a unanimous choice.
Really, the only competition comes from the Rangers, but you know Bruce Bochy takes a nap every season after winning a championship; the Rays, who end up lowering their talent level; and the Cubs and Red Sox, just Because their names are always on the list.
The Giants are coming off a 107-win season as the team of the decade in the 2020s, and on their way to a third straight winless season, the Giants are so bad in 2024 that they don't even do the right things. Something went wrong too.
But let's start with what really went wrong.
The front office believes adding a group of Class B free agents and reuniting with an old-school coach who retired from San Diego will be enough to increase the team's win total from the 70s to the 90s. Fans disagree. The fans are right.
Fans believe many of the team's over-hyped prospects are ready to lead the team to the top again. Management disagreed. Management is right.
It took the front office the first half of the season to admit its mistake. It wasn't until the second half that the fans realized their misjudgment.
The result: a team that was expected to be a playoff contender but never actually was, and was severely lacking in strength and speed. Now there's a new argument…
Let's fire the general manager. Let's ditch the manager. Let's sign 37-year-old Paul Goldschmidt. Let's give 19-year-old Bryce Eldridge a chance.
ah. here we go again.
There is nothing more disappointing than being unable to identify the source of a disappointment and dooming you to experience it again. See: Giants, 2017-2020 and now 2022-24.
No team has learned less from history. Remember, this is a team that won three championships in the past decade…but failed to make the playoffs three times the next season.
The 2024 game plan was well laid out at the owners meeting: adding Matt Chapman, Blake Snell, Robbie Ray, Lee Jung Hoo, Jorge Soler and Jordan Hicks Joining a team that was still ranked second as of September 3 last year, mid-season is here again and 2010 is behind us.
If only Chapman, Snell, Ray and Soler could turn back the clock like that.
Let’s talk about Chapman. Great guy. Excellent defense. The fans love him.
Sounds a bit like Brandon Crawford, doesn't it? In fact, the Giants were mired in Chappy Mania the year after they finally cut ties with the 37-year-old championship shortstop, adding an additional six years and $151 million to his contract. billion) so fans could see him at 37 and cut him uncomfortably, just like they did to Crawford.
Considering all the hoopla and our pre-retirement connection, you might have thought Chapman was an MVP candidate, but alas, he hit .246 with 78 RBIs. Not too bad, but Crawford was better than that at shortstop in 2021 (.298 and 90) before the Giants spent $32 million just so fans could gush “But he defends Good” as he is expected to age over the next two years.
Even cutting ties with Crawford, who has been great in the past, makes the Giants look bad. Their much-hyped backup, Marco Luciano, was ill-prepared this season and was not only moved to second base, where he was equally bumbling, but was also used as a 22-year-old DH, giving him less chance of fans booing him.
And there's Tyler Fitzgerald, the new heir to Crawford's sunglasses. He's having a surprisingly good season…
Wait, here it is: Casey Schmitt knows Sacramento well enough that he should offer to be the real estate agent for the Athletics, who went 7-2 in late September with sweeps of Baltimore, Kansas City and Arizona State, contributed to the 6-for-14 shooting surge. He's now the favorite to win the shortstop job next season, waiting for a veteran journeyman like Nick Ahmed, who walked the streets to beat Luciano last spring, to step up.
Then there's Snell. Nothing says “Welcome to the Farhan Zaidi Era of Giants baseball” like the lefty's legendary story.
Unless you remember the previous Southpaw saga — aka the Carlos Rodon disaster — this is essentially a prequel to Snell.
You remember Snell. The best pitcher in the National League (and maybe all of baseball) last season. It's the perfect addition for a team that plays in a pitcher's park and has trouble attracting top talent (the understatement of the century).
Scott Boras wants to make a lot of money. Oracle Park prints big money. This is a game in…
march. It was just too late that Snell, a key figure in the Giants' resurgence, struggled early and then got injured.
Good news: The Giants waived Snell's contract after one year. Zaidi's logic: We'll let Snell prove it, even if he's already proven it.
Bad News: Blas Exits from the deal were also negotiatedto see who is once again the best pitcher in baseball. Luckily, the Giants locked him up…
Until Sunday.
So what you have is a team that won 79 games last season, fired its head coach, and then signed six veterans with resumes to supplement a group of “can't-miss” rookies who were made just because of one Memorable moments were thought to have been prepared last September for one or two, some of them in Class 3A.
Now, a weekend before the end of the season, we're still trying to surpass last year's win total.
What a disappointment. This is also:
Strong performances from veterans Michael Conforto and Mike Yastrzemski mean they'll likely hit .240 again…and prevent the Giants from mortgage McCovey McCovey Cove to bring in Juan Soto or Paul Goldschmidt. Or maybe both.
Who needs Gerrit Cole, Corbin Burns, and Sean Bieber when you have Kyle Harrison, Hayden Birdsong, Landon Rupp, and Mason Black? Or what about Walker Buehler (both with California ties)?
Management: We could go with Frankie Montas, who was great for Melvin six years ago, or if we're wrong, we could opt out.
Fans: Have you watched former 15th round pick Tommy Romero perform in Sacramento? Let's try him.
Welcome to Giants Baseball, where next year's slogan will be: The Best of the Bay Area… and the Worst of the Bay Area.