Every major player in baseball has said something about the Giants since the beginning of the 2021 season. It's only a matter time or just look at them. Although I don't know how they have won so many games the consensus around San Fran has been: Just wait. They'll soon show their true colors. That is what I would do, as the Giants fan at Deadspin. These experts couldn't understand how Poseys absence in 2020 would have been for his health. They couldn't believe that a Kevin Gausman-led rotation could be so dominant. They didn't believe enough.
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Okay, maybe they had a point.
Everyone knew that the Giants were going to have a difficult stretch ahead of them. The Giants have three series against Oakland, Atlanta and Milwaukee. They still have nine games against the Padres and four against the Dodgers. San Francisco is in for a difficult final 30 games. But, no one expected the Giants would be this bad. In their last four games, they have scored five runs. Their six previous games have seen them score a total of -14 runs. While I understand Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes losing, I think they put up a good fight.
I don't see much hope for the Giants World Series prospects moving forward after their terrible performances against other expected playoff teams late in the season. They will be fine in the Wild Card Game, if they have to. The game's origin in 2012 has been largely decided by which team has the best starting pitching. Your chances of winning are higher if you have an ace on your team. Although I think Yu Darvish is a great player, Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle (or whoever Cincinnati might choose to throw out) are wildly underrated. In 2021, however, I will take Gausman every single day.
The next leg of the postseason is where things get a little more complicated. Given the number of injuries that the Giants' pitching staff has sustained over the season, it is hard to believe that DeSclafani and Wood or Cueto will be ready for the NLCS. They may be ready but who is to say that they won't be hurt again? Each of them have made multiple trips to the IL during this season. The Giants have been very accommodating in filling in for injured players with other pitchers who are capable of getting outs. But the postseason will be more difficult. You're telling me that fill ins will have to compete against Scherzer, Buehler and Urias. These odds are not my favorite.
The Giants are also the oldest Major League Baseball team. The Giants are the only team that has a player average age of over 30. (The Oakland As have a player average of 30.0). Their offense's core players, Belt, Crawford, and Posey are all over 33. Bryant is still young but has not been there for the entire season. It is possible that each of these men, who are all in their 60s, were able to build a career in 2021 due to the fact that the 2020 season was so brief (Posey didn't even play in 2020). They were well-rested.
Each of them have cooled tremendously as the season progresses. While all three are still dangerous when they take the field, Brandon Crawford played better than Trea Turner earlier in the season. Buster Posey was once the National League's best catcher. This is no longer the case. It's just that they haven't been able maintain that elite level for the entire season. The fact that each of Big 3 Bs (Brandon Brandon, Buster, and Buster), has spent significant time on the IL only adds to that.
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The Giants aren't and never have been the National League team to beat. Despite their impressive record, this has always been Milwaukee's and Los Angeles' pennant to win. This is my opinion as a Giants fan. While this may seem blasphemy to the Bay, it has been a constant voice in our heads throughout the entire season. What if the team isn't as good? We pretend so. It is dismissed as absurd. How would they have been capable of holding off the Dodgers so long? The voice still rings. It doesn't matter how good you are in the regular season.
Only October matters, ask the 2001 Mariners. The Giants aren't up to the task. That was a lot of writing.
