There's a famous Billy Beane quote near the end of moneyball, where he says that "My s**t doesn't work in the playoffs", trying to justify, after a brilliant 103-59 season, how the A's lost to the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS. Well, for Brian Sabean, a GM often derided as an old-school fool by Sabermetrics, his S**T does indeed work in the playoffs. Six straight playoff series wins; Two World Series' Titles in the past three years. The Giants were long-dormant after their tragic '02 World Series loss, but they are now the model organization in baseball (along with the Rangers and Rays). The ost incredible part: only one of their eight position players were the same in the 2010 and 2012 Teams: Buster Posey.
To me, that is the most incredible part (the other is that they were legitimately very good teams in those seasons, unlike the Cardinals of '06 and '11). Andres Torres replaced by the (better) Angel Pagan. Aubrey Huff replaced by Pablo Sandoval (who was a backup in 2010). Edgar Renterria replaced by the great defense of Brandon Crawford. Juan Uribe replaced by Marco Scutaro. Whoever played right replaced by Hunter Pence. They aren't a great team, but they fit together. The Giants in 2010 and 2012 just worked. 2010 was a dominant postseason run, winning in four, six and five, against two great teams (Phillies and Rangers). This team was different, needing to overcome 0-2 and 1-3 defecits, but they not only did it, but dominated the late stages of those series. How good was their last seven games: they outscored the Cardinals and Tigers
Of course, saying that they nearly completely changed their lineup hides the fact that they kept their pitching largely the same. Of course, the Giants most reputed pitcher in 2010 was Tim Lincecum, who threw a complete game two-hit shutout with 15 K's in Game 1 of the 2010 NLDS. Tim Lincecum in 2012 was a disaster, with the worst ERA of any qualifying pitcher, but found a new life as a brilliant relief pitcher. But Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner were the same. Sergio Romo moved from elite set-up guy in 2010 to lock-down closer in 2012. The pitching was still the key, and they were so dominant in the postseason. As bad as the Yankees were in the NLCS, the Tigers in the World Series were almost definitely WORSE. That's how good the Giants pitching was, with even Barry Zito pitching in.
Barry Zito, actually, is probably the largest example of the perceived failures of the Brian Sabean era. Everyone, and I mean everyone, new that Barry Zito's 7-year 126 Million contract was horrible. And it most certainly was. But Barry Zito was brilliant in the playoffs, pitching 8 innings of shutout ball in Game 5 of the NLCS as the Giants tried to stave off elimination, and then came back to pitch almost as well in Game 1 of the World Series. Does this suddenly make Sabean's awful contract good? No. But who cares, really. Sabean's real job was the lead the Giants to assembling a roster capable of winning a World Series, and bad contracts and all, he's done that. He, much like Kenny Williams in Chicago, hasn't been afriad to make moves. The fact that the Giants lineup has changed so much since 2010 is an example of that. Last year, with the team clinging to postseason hopes, he traded top prospect Zack Wheeler to the Mets to rent Carlos Beltran for a half a year. It didn't work, but he definitely tried. That's all Sabean's done, and twice in the last three years, he was successful. The Giants were successful.
I love watching games in AT&T Park right now. That place was always beautiful, but cheapened by their whole "loving Barry Bonds" thing. Anyway, with the Bonds era in the rear-view mirror, they become the greatest game-day atmosphere in baseball. When the Giants clinched the NLCS in a monsoon, was it even a question that seemingly not one person would leave that stadium before the celebration was over? Of course not. That city, that crowd, loves their team, and why wouldn't they? The Giants, even despite harboring Barry Bonds, the pariah of the Steroid Era, took a hard stance with Melky Cabrera, a decision that would have been scrutinized much more if Cincinnati just finished the Giants off.
The Giants are still set up great going forward, especially if Lincecum can regain anything close to even his 2010-11 form. They have the best young catcher in baseball in Buster Posey. They have a newly committed and dangerous Pablo Sandoval. They have a player who could become a lot better in Brandon Belt, and they have that pitching, that beautiful pitching. Anyway, the Giants, much like their football counterpart, are something special right now, and all because their maligned GM takes chances, but also decided to draft a heck of a lot of good players.
