At the beginning of Spring Training, I told myself that what happens that it doesn’t mean anything, it’s just a tuneup, arms are just getting loose, along with every other generic spring time jargon. Whatever happens, good or bad, the rotation will be just fine.
That was the original train of thought. Then Matt Cain has a cyst removed from his arm. Then Madison Bumgarner says he can’t find his release. Then the rotation has a combined ERA of 8.10. With every bad start, I just kept repeating to myself It’s going to be fine. It’s going to be fine. It’s going to be fine.
By the end of Spring Training, I completely abandoned that philosophy and went into full freak out mode. Against all better judgement, I began to think that the starting rotation was doomed to fail. One pitcher having a bad spring is understandable. Two pitchers having a bad spring is comprehendible, even with a little angst. Every pitcher having a bad spring is maddening.
There’s having a bad spring, but then there was this. For the first time in a long time, the validity of the rotation felt very much in question. Is Bumgarner still good? Should we have given Cueto and Samardzija that much money? Are Cain and Peavy the second coming of an aging Chet Steadman, without the postseason surge?
Eight games into the season, it's safe to say that the rotation just might be okay.
After Samardzija’s brilliant start yesterday at the Coors Field, which is probably an oxymoron, the anxiety finally feels to have gone away. The Shark easily had the best start of the young season, only striking out five while only allowing two runs over eight innings. Samardzija struggled to command his pitches early on, but by the fourth, he found his release, and finished the game on a high note.
Before Samardzija Cain, Bumgarner, and Cueto all had encouraging starts in the series against the Dodgers. We can pick at the fact that Bumgarner wasn’t razor sharp or Cueto had the five-run first inning, but that isn’t the point. The point is that we don’t need to worry about this rotation.
This is a group of guys who knows what it takes to succeed at the major league level, and, with the exception of Samardzija, every member of the rotation has won a championship. Sure, there might be some struggles down the road, but you can be that this is a group that can figure it out when it matters.
We already know that the Giants can hit the ball a whole lot better than any of the championship teams. If the rotation is suspect during 2016, it's nice to know that there’s the offense to fall back. But if and when the Giants pitching staff finds its niche and matches the quality of the offense, the rest of the league is in for a real treat.
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