2006 San Francisco Giants Predictions & Season Preview


June 5, 2008 | Posted By Larry Cook

With Barry Bonds back, our 2006 San Francisco Giants predictions show them at the top of the NL West.  Other than losing Bonds for the nearly the entire 2005 season, the Giants starting pitching staff really struggled last with Jason Schmidt enduring health problems. If he can return to form and become the ace of this staff again, they have a legitimate threat with a 20+ win guy . San Fran also picked up Matt Morris in the off-season. This guy is getting up there in years and has had health issue of is own, but he’s a possibility of another threat and could be a solid 2-man in the rotation. The bullpen remains a liability just as it has been for quite sometime, and it could be the weak spot that keeps San Francisco from capturing a division title this season.

The Giants are an experienced team to put it nicely. In Layman’s terms, they are old. Alou, Bonds, and Winn are all up there in years and won’t be tracking near as many balls as they used to. How many games will Bonds be able to play is the first question that probably pops into the heads of Giants fans? This is a big question and Alou seems to be managing his playing time well in the early going. Hopefully this fluke batting practice accident won’t be a big deal. But having to play everyday down the stretch in order to win a division title is a scenario that could cause Barry to revisit his knee injury. I also think it will be important for this team for Barry to break Ruth’s homerun mark early. After that weight is off Bonds’ shoulders, we might really see him get hot. If be can get this out of the way before June, the Giants will be in decent shape.

If Bonds is in the lineup most everyday, I expect the Giants to be a good team to pick your spots and make money on this season. They had a down year last season, but then again, what do you expect without arguably the best player to ever play the game in the in left field. Here’s why the Giants should be on your list of teams to back. They have gained their supporters 91 total units the past 6 seasons without enduring a losing season and they play in a very weak division. That’s time tested success.
I expect the Giants to make a run for the top spot in a weak NL West division this year. That maybe says more about the division being weak than the type of team the Giants have. The Giants finished third in the NL West behind Arizona and San Diego, but they were just 7 games back of the Padres who were just 2 games over .500. The Giants are capable of cleaning up their league and mounting a huge 10+ game turnaround with Bonds in the lineup everyday. We all saw the impact he had in his short stint at the end of last season.

It’s easy to see that the Giants are a solid investment as they have profited their backers, but let‘s get a little but more in depth. You’ll want to look for the Giants at home when they are going up against lefties. Over the last 3 years, they are an unstoppable 49-17 for a positive 27 units. You might find this somewhat surprising knowing that their top hitter is a lefty. But I’m not sure I buy into the strategy of lefties facing lefties and vice versa anyhow. You’ll have to show me more convincing numbers on that.

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