San Francisco Giants 2003 Season Preview

Barry's back, but many have gone...

Are they the 1997 fire sale Marlins or a re-tooling pennant contender? Apparently when the Giants let Dusty Baker and Jeff Kent go, they figured they might as well tinker with the entire tam. Solid starter Russ Ortiz is gone, as well as veteran outfielders Reggie Sanders and Kenny Lofton, and third baseman David Bell, plus back-ups Shawon Dunston, Tom Goodwin and Tsuyoshi Shinjo. Let's start by checking the replacements.

Dusty Baker, one of the most popular manager in baseball, is replaced by the venerable (67-year-old) Felipe Alou, who is more old school than Baker, the archtypical player's manager. Felipe did a great job with youngsters in Montreal, but this veteran club is more self-starting than his Expo clubs were. He has been around long enough, presumably, to know when to provide leadership and when to just let these guys go.

Kent is going to be replaced at second by Ray Durham, with Neifi Perez as an all-purpose infield backup. Kent produced like Rogers Hornbsy in his five years with the Giants and neither Durham nor Perez is anywhere near the hitter Jeff is. Durham, however, can fill the Giants' perennial need for a lead-off man. He is one of four players to score 100 or more runs in six consecutive years. Edgardo Alfonso, a class act who placed messages on 30 New York City cabs thanking Mets' fan for their years of support, can not only out-hit the dpearted Bell, but also could help fill the Kent void if he hits like he did in 2001(.324,37, 97) rather than the way he did last season (.308, 16, 52).

Veteran Marquis Grissom is a similar player to the departed Lofton. Letting Ortiz go in a trade to Atlanta for young Aussie Damian Moss (a starter) may be their biggest mistake apart from not treating Baker better (owner Peter McGowan did not get along with him, especially last year). One other newcomer is Jose Cruz, Jr., who unlike Bonds, has not quite lived up to his father's numbers, although he did have what seemed to be a breakthrough season in 2001, joining the 30-30 club.

Of course, whatever happens to this club, it all revolves around five-time MVP Barry Bonds. Whether he was busy hitting 73 homers in 2001 or a league-best .370 with a record 198 walks in 2002, he shows no signs of slowing down at age 38. Aside from the new arrivals, the remainder of the line-up consists of another aging bionic man, catcher Benito Santiago; shortstop Rich Aurilia, who was plagued with a bad elbow in 2002, falling from .324, 34, 97 to .257, 15, 61; and defensive whiz and first sacker J.T. Snow, who seems to have forgotten the offensive expectations of his position. The Giants will begin the year with an outfield of Cruz-Grissom-Bonds, but if Cruz can't hit in pitcher-friendly Pac Bell or age catches up with Grissom, Durham will have to move to the outfield.

As usual, the rotation is sprinkled with good, reliable pitchers, but no truce ace. Jason Schmidt will try to assume that role, followed by Moss, and Kirk Rueter, who wins 12-15 games every year with junk and guile. Next is the rapidly declining Livan Hernandez, who seems to have lost his fire. Fighting for the number five spot is former #1 draft pick Kurt Ainsworth, who has been a disappointment so far.

The Giants have one of the game's best bullpens, one that had a composite 2.89 ERA last year. It is anchored by Robb Nenn, who has been rock solid for years, but who had arthoscopic surgery on his elbow this winter. He bounced right back from a similar operation a few years ago. One of the great closers, last year at age 32 he became the youngest closer ever to reach the 300 save plateau. He still fires them down the pipe in the high 90s. Tim Worrell, Todd's younger brother, is becoming a star in his own right, developing into a top-notch setup man. Before him, opposing players often must face flamethrower Felix Rodriguez, who always keeps things interesting but usually works his way out of his self-created jams. Those three veterans are right-handed. Younger and left-handed are Jason Christiansen, effective but still recovering from elbow surgery; Scott Eyre, who had a hevy workload put on his young shoulders and didn't always respond well; and Aarron Fultz, who was shipped to the minors for part of 2002. With lefty sluggers like Larry Walker, Shawn Green, Todd Helton and Luis Gonzalez appearing game after game in the unbalanced schedule, the Giants will be shopping for reliable southpaw help.

While there are questions---foremost being how will this veteran ballclub respond to Felipe Alou and all the newcomers---the 2003 Giants may actually be better than the World Series team of 2002. With Durham, Aurilia and Alfonzo preceeding him, this could be a big RBI year for Bonds. If the number four and five starters (Hernandez and Ainsworth) and the portside relievers can come through, this team should be in the hunt until the end. However, the other NL West teams have also improved and I don't see a return to the World Series for the 2003 Giants.