The Giants start their season today against the San Diego Padres.

In my opinion the Giants are being underrated by the so called baseball experts. I am expecting a huge season out of the Giants and I think they will contend for a playoff spot.

The Giants projected line up looks like this (with 2006 Stats) :

1. Dave Roberts, CF - .293, 49 SB

2. Omar Vizguel, SS - .295, 24 SB

3. Barry Bonds, LF - .270, 26 HR

4. Ray Durham, 2B - .293, 26 HR

5. Rich Aurilla, 1B - .300, 23 HR

6. Pedro Feliz, 3B - .244, 22 HR

7. Randy Winn, RF - .262, 11 HR

8. Bengie Molina, C - .284, 19 HR

Bonds will surely DH in all AL games with Ryan Klesko or Jason Ellison taking his spot in the OF

Looking at this lineup I'm struck by a few positive things. First of all I believe that Bonds good finish to last year and his great spring training point to a possible return to something close to his 2001-2004 numbers. I'm very hopeful that he'll put up numbers far surpassing .270 and 26. Even last year when he struggled he lead MLB in OBP. Bonds is still one of the biggest impact offensive players in the major leagues. This fact is being overlooked by most sportswriters simply because they do not like him. This is a big factor in the Giants being underrated this year. Another positive point is that the top of the line up looks stronger than it has in recent years. There is now speed at the 1 and 2 slots especially Roberts as the lead off man with 49 steals. This should give Bonds some excellent opportunities. I also feel that Bonds has more protection than he has recently with Durham & Aurilia coming off great years. If Durham and Aurilia can match last year they should be good enough in the 4 and 5 slots. I also think Molina is a strong hitter to have in your 8th slot. He hit .284 last year with 19 home runs. Very good for an 8th slot hitter and for a catcher.

I'm also happy that Bonds is batting 3rd. He's not gone along with it in the past but now he seems happy to be hitting 3rd. This will allow him to get up in the first inning of every game and should get him more PA. I think this will make for more productive first innings and get the Giants off to a good start more often. I also think it's important for the Giants run production for Bonds to be surrounded by decent hitters both in front and behind him. The Giants are quite weak at #6 with Feliz only hitting .244 last season.

Certainly it's not an overpowering line up. But if Bonds can come close to his 2001-2004 production and the rest of the line up can have above average seasons I think that people will be surprised by the level of run production this line up can create.

Pitching. I'm very excited by the pitching of the Giants this year. I'm looking for a break out year for both Matt Cain and Nick Lowry. I'm also looking for Barry Zito to return to his Cy Young level. The Giants are not a very good defensive team and that will put even more pressure on the pitchers. The Giants and their fans have to hope that every pitcher in the rotation all pitches up to their potential.

The projected rotation is as follows:

1. Barry Zito: 16-10, 3.83 ERA
2. Matt Cain: 13-12, 4.15 ERA
3. Matt Morris: 10-15, 4.98 ERA
4. Noah Lowry: 7-10, 4.74 ERA
5. Russ Ortiz: 0-8, 8.14 ERA

The relief pitching may be one of the biggest problems for the Giants. Hopefully Armando Benitez can improve on last years 17 saves and 3.52 ERA

Labels: Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants