25 Games In

[Stanford]

Well, we're 25 games into the season and no one can really complain about the production we've been getting. Sure, we lost a Sanchez gem and Bochy is doing his usual thing, but we've been getting better than expected production from both the offense and the defense.

Let's take a look at where the Giants rank as a team.

Offense:
The giants as a team have a 5.1 WAR right now. That's good for sixth in the NL, behind two division rivals, the DBacks and the Padres. Pablo leads the team with a 1.1 War with three players tied at .6 behind him.

The teams wOBA is .338, which is also sixth in the NL, this time behind the Dodgers and DBacks. We're still walking at a dreadful rate though, with a BB% of 8.0. That's ahead of only Houston and tied with the Marlins in the NL. So the bad news is that we haven't seemed to fix the things that were wrong with the offense last year (Bochy decisions, inability to draw a walk), but the good news is that guys like Rent, Rowand, Nate and Molina are all hitting the ball more consistently.

Pitching:
Right now the Giants as a whole have a 5.1 WAR, best in the majors. Tim leads the team with a 1.8, but Zito is close behind with a 1.2. They have an xfip of 3.82, tied with the Padres for best in the majors.

Fielding:
The Giants have a UZR of 12.0 right now, behind only the Padres in the NL and the Rays in the AL. It's interesting to note that the Padres are close in almost every category. The teams have played similar baseball so far.

So the question is, are you surprised with what you've seen from this team so far? How does it compare with your expectations coming in?

[RIPskaterdude]

I thought we would be good, but not this quick. Then again, we're only 6 games over .500 due to that damn Padres/Dodgers series. I just can't wait to see this team fully healthy when Sanchez comes back. Also, I'm going to call it now....the Giants will have at least 3 All-Stars this year!

[Stanford]

Great article on Lincecum's start so far. It's amazing that he's gotten better while losing velocity, on top of everything he was known for coming into the majors.

http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/index. ... her-level/

Lincecum, sitting 91 MPH with a four-seamer and two-seamer and going to his change over a quarter of the time, is even harder to hit than his previous, higher-octane self. His contact rate, between 74 and 76% from 2006-2008, is just 70 percent this season (80-81% MLB average). That’s tied with rotation mate Jonathan Sanchez for the lowest mark in the majors. Lincecum’s swinging strike, which ranged from 10.3-11.8% from ‘06 to ‘08, sits at an obscene 14.4. Opposing hitters just can’t lay off his stuff: Lincecum has a major league-best 35.8 outside swing percentage in 2010. That blows away his 24-27% marks the previous three years, as well as the 27% big league average.

According to our pitch type run values, Timmy’s change has been worth +3.27 runs per 100 pitches over the past three calendar years. It’s the sort of offering that can cause batters to have an existential crisis at the dish: Lincecum has thrown the pitch for a strike 75.9 percent this season (60.7% MLB average). It has a 34.3 percent whiff rate (12.6% MLB average). The pitch has been swung at 69.9 percent of the time (48.1% MLB average), to no avail.

No one could argue it's not the best pitch in baseball.