San Francisco Giants by Marc Normandin

For a team with a closing window, the Giants were pretty chill in the offseason. They spent big money on a Grade-A closer, which was expected, and then they took the rest of the offseason off, which was most certainly unexpected. For a team that will likely need to scrap for every last win, it’s certainly ... interesting that they’re going with Jarrett Parker and a 20-homer/200-strikeout chase in left field. This will be the 10th different Opening Day starter in left field since Barry Bonds disappeared, you know.

Instead of looking at the holes they didn’t fill, though, it’s probably more important to look at the holes they didn’t have to fill. They have one of the better 1-2 punches in baseball, with Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto, and they have two solid starters behind them. The lineup is going to be extremely lefty-heavy, but it does have six players who have made an All-Star team within the last three seasons, which means you can almost forgive their lack of urgency with left field.

Something that’s easy to forget is the Giants were supposed to be an excellent offensive team last year, and it was the pitching that was supposed to be suspect. Cueto fizzled toward the end of the year for the Royals, and Jeff Samardzija led the AL in runs allowed the previous season, so they were both considered serious question marks. As the season progressed, it was exactly the opposite, which should probably make them feel better about the lineup. It’s better than what they showed last year.

Not only should the lineup be better, but the bullpen can’t possibly be worse.

[takes off shirt, gestures wildly toward baseball gods]

Yeah, that’s right, I wrote they can’t possibly be worse. You don’t scare me! You don’t control me!

If the Giants take over the NL West, they’ll need something unexpected and dramatic. Ty Blach winning the fifth starter’s gig and doing a prime Mark Buehrle impression, for example. Austin Slater or Steven Duggar becoming a rookie presence, or Parker justifying the organizational faith and hitting 30 home runs. As is, they look to be roughly in the same spot they’ve been in for years: Good enough to play in a wild card game, but not good enough to catch the Dodgers.