Hopes Run High For Giants As Clock Counts Down To Opening Day's First Pitch
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/AP) — For the first time in three years, the San Francisco Giants will be welcoming a sold-out crowd to Oracle Park Friday as hopes were soaring high among the faithful for a repeat of last year's historic National League West championship season.
Young ace Logan Webb will be taking the mound at 1:35 p.m. against the Florida Marlins and the Giants fans simply can't wait.
"This is a ball town, it's a baseball town," said Pete Strasser. "It always will be."
But there will be a some fan-favorites missing from the action. Future Hall of Famer Buster Posey has retired. Outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr., whose late inning heroics in 2021 captured the hearts of the faithful begins the season sidelined by injuries as is veteran Third baseman Evan Longoria.
"There are always injuries on every team," versatile infielder Wilmer Flores said. "The good thing about this team is there are always good options where you can keep a good level of baseball going. That's what it is right now."
Longoria underwent surgery to repair ligament damage in his right index finger last week and no timeline has been set for his return. Wade had a bone bruise in his left knee in spring training, and it is uncertain how much time he will miss.
Brandon Belt will be back, recovered from his late-season injury that sidelined him for the playoff with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Belt hit a career-best 29 home runs with a .975 OPS a year ago after playing in only a handful of spring training games because of illness.
"You always wish you could have a few more games to get ready for the season, but sometimes that's not how it works out," Belt said. "I did the same thing last year and I wound up being fine."
Because of injuries or strategic off days, no Giants position player played in more than 139 games last season, and 14 played in at least 76. All but two of those pieces return, and the Giants added Joc Pederson to fill one of the outfield spots.
"We're not trying to recreate all the incidents that happened last year, where one guys gets hurt and another guy steps in and performs great," manager Gabe Kapler said.
"Rather, we are thinking about the processes and the practices that lead to those things happening. We are just going to stay really focused on that."
Flores is expected be the primary third baseman in Longoria's absence, and Pederson can provide a left-handed bat with Wade out. Flores and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski led the Giants with 139 games a year ago.
Yastrzemski and shortstop Brandon Crawford were the only players who had more than the 454 plate appearances made by catcher Buster Posey, whose retirement left an opening for Curt Casali and Joey Bart behind the plate.
The Giants were nothing if not versatile a year ago. Kapler, who likes to play matchups, never used the same defensive lineup more than five times, and that happened once. The Giants used 10 left fielders, eight right fielders and seven third basemen. The most common 1-through-8 batting order was used five times.
"That's part of what made us so successful last year," Yastrzemski said. "We all embraced what was going with our team strategy and our willingness to put our egos aside and say 'I'm ready when I'm called upon.'"
Leftty-hitting Wade started in all three outfield spots and at first base. Righty Darin Ruf started at least 25 games in left field and first base. Crawford (130), Yastrzemski (119), Posey (102) and Belt (85) were the only players who started at least half the Giants games.
"'Kap really likes matchups," Ruf said. "There are so many ways to get at-bats that 'Kap' likes to figure out. We are always ready for anything."
"With him we all know never to be surprised by anything. Be ready for an opportunity. More or less you know what that opportunity is going to be, and he makes that move more times or not," he said.