Things haven’t exactly gone as planned for the Giants in the early 2024 season.

A hitting slump and poor pitching have all contributed to an unexpectedly bad start. Are the same problems that bedeviled the Giants last season returned, only with a new cast of characters?

A lot has happened since the G-Men closed out 2023 on a whimper. The last of the veterans from the world series winning Giants stepped through the cornfield in center field and landed elsewhere.  Brandon Crawford was shipped out (reportedly not happy) and replaced by another senior shortstop – Nick Ahmed from the Snakes. This follows Belt being shipped out the year before.  The only veteran from those glory years with the team now is Pablo Sandoval, signed as a DH during spring training. Go figure that the Panda would be the last man standing.

The last few series have been emblematic of the season. The Giants have not hit well, the defense has been spotty (including mental lapses against the Rockies, and meltdowns by Camillo, our All-Star closer) and the team looks tired. Perhaps the most glaring issue is that the Giants lack an impact player, and it shows.

The Giants have lost 4 out of the last 5 series (thank God for the Reds).  They have been beaten up by the Braves and the Phillies, then got swept in San Diego and lost on Labor Day to the Cubs in Chicago.  The pitching has been fine (love Cobb and Webb, and Harrison is the future) but unless a bat can go on a ball and send it to the outfield with a runner in scoring position all the pitching in the world will not help.  To add salt to the wound the last two games have been shutout losses. This has been a painful period at home and on the road leavened only by the 1-hitter from Alex Cobb last week (I was there) that cloned Petit’s one-hitter in 2012 (I was at that game also and it also came down to the last at-bat – I still have the picture on the wall of my office).  There are two more games against the Cubs on the road and then the G-Men come home to get back in the race for a wild card spot. 

The good continues to be the rookies. Right now, we are seeing how the G-Men will be looking through the end of this season and going forward.  This is a young team with youthful energy and lots of talent waiting to be unleashed. We have seen Casey Schmitt, Blake Sabol, Brett Wisely, Luis Matos, Heliot Ramos, Isan Diaz, Marco Luciano, Wade Meckler and, of course, Patrick Bailey (soon to be a permanent feature behind the dish at Oracle – he’s that good).  That’s nine position players and doesn’t include the new faces pitching out of the bullpen. The next step will be calling up the best pitchers in the minors -Kyle Harrison and Carson Whisenhut.  Expect to see those two in September along with all the 9 position player rookies.