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Giants Trade Chemistry Away Too?

San Francisco Giants September 2010

Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants

Any realistic Giants fan would acknowledge that the Giants were not the best team in the playoffs last year. A lot of the reason the Giants made it past the Braves, the Phillies, and the Rangers was due to the chemistry of the team. The camaraderie of The Freak, The Beard, Huff Daddy, Uuuuribe, Buster, Ross Is Boss, Pat the Bat and the others made the 2010 Giants one of the most unique and likable ball clubs in recent memory. But take that away, and the Giants maybe don’t win the NL West and miss out on the playoffs entirely. That chemistry the team had was admirable. If you played team sports ever in your life, you were jealous of that clubhouse and the glimpses into it we got as fans.

That chemistry appears to have taken a hit in 2011. This season, as the Showtime cameras follow the team into Barry Zito’s kitchen, Freddy Sanchez’s swimming pool, and Bruce Bochy’s office, the team finds itself with more drama than last year despite a better record thus far. Zito and Jonathan Sanchez have been DL’d with phantom injuries. Tejada is shelved for Brandon Crawford, and then again for Orlando Cabrera. Andres Torres has faded to the background despite his great 2010 season. Brian Wilson campaigned for Carlos Beltran to be traded for. Brandon Belt has been sent down, up, down, and up. In the past 3 weeks, three spots in the starting line-up are filled by imported players from the Astros, Mets, or Indians. The current line-up is hardly recognizable from its 2010 World Championship line-up that featured Posey, Freddy Sanchez, Pat Burrell, Juan Uribe, and Edgar Renteria.

This is a new Giants team with new faces and new personalities that fans don’t know yet. Amidst a four game losing streak, three new guys are in the club house and have taken over positions while guys like Burrell, Rowand, Torres, Fontenot, and Belt wait for their turn to resume their chance to participate. The time it takes this new team to gel has a direct effect on whether the Diamondbacks are allowed to slip back into contention and make a run for the NL West. Fans have not embraced Keppinger and Cabrera as they did Burrell and Ross last year, granted the time they have had to work with so far is much shorter. But for them to truly be Giants, they need to provide the walk-off hit and end the torture of a late-inning game. Like Shierholtz has. And Huff. And Sandoval. And Wilson. Until they do, fans and teammates are liable to ask: “What are these guys doing here? We were better off without them.”

And that is valid. Fans would prefer to see homegrown Brandon Crawford earn his stripes rather than an old veteran from another team go 1 for 4 playing the same position. Fans would rather see Zito released or sent to the minors than a deserving reliever taken from the bullpen and sent down. Bruce Bochy’s ability to manage this roster before September 1 when the roster expands to 40 players is critical. While the Giants current style allows for no egos, it is important to keep guys like Burrell, Rowand, and Torres involved in the playoff push as they resonate with fans and have performed in the clutch in the past. Too many times of keeping them on the bench to allow Cabrera to pop up while pinch hitting could make this thing come unglued.

This morning on the twice-weekly call-in with Murph and Mac of KNBR, Duane Kuiper got mighty defensive when Brian Murphy prodded him regarding Carlos Beltran’s choice to swing out of the box and ground into a double play to kill a late inning rally in Monday night’s game against Arizona. The often friendly banter was at a noticeable tense level, an indication that there may be some panic or discomfort frothing even among the homer radio personalities. With the visiting Diamondbacks just one game back, the pressure is all on the defending world champs, and the new guys haven’t played as advertised.

Which can make for one uncomfortable locker room.

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