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The San Francisco Giants are for real

Christopher Hanewinckel / USA TODAY Sports

Torture. Watching the San Francisco Giants used to be tortuous. Their pitching, defense, and ballpark placed the Giants in countless tight games. Plus the Giants were bad for a while, so their fan experience was tongue-in-cheek torture.

After two World Series titles in three years, the 2013 Giants season returned to the torture motif. San Francisco started well with a collection of smoke and mirrors victories over, putting them in first place at this time last year.

But reality set in and the walkoff victories and valiant rallies fell short. The Giants ended up a mediocre club, winning only 76 games.

This season, the Giants are back it. They have the most wins of in baseball, trailing only Detroit by a matter of percentage points. A team some (ahem) thought would challenge in the National League West looks every bit a contender through one quarter of the season. How are they doing it and, more importantly, can it last?

The offense has room to grow

One of the underrated factors of the 2012 World Series champions is the strength of their offense. They hit for the third highest average in baseball that year and finished with a top five offense in baseball when corrected for ballpark and league effects, though they only managed 100 home runs as a team all year long.

Through 42 games San Francisco boasts 49 home runs, behind only the Rockies and Blue Jays and halfway to 2012’s total with 120 games to play.

This offensive outburst comes in no small part to the action of Michael Morse. GM Brian Sabean brought in the enormous former shortstop to provide some pop to his lineup, sacrificing the speed and defense of Gregor Blanco in the process. Morse has been a revelation, hitting 10 home runs and getting on base at a healthy clip. Turning around 99 mph and hitting it out the other way? In San Francisco? That’ll play every time.

The Brandons - Crawford, Hicks, and Belt - account for 21 of the Giants 49 home runs. Before a hand injury put him on the shelf, Brandon Belt made some key swing changes in the offseason that unlocked the inside half of the plate and made him a more dangerous hitter.

Brandon Hicks is an old rookie just filling in as Marco Scutaro works his way back from injury. If the Giants are able to ring a few good months out of an injury replacement before a better player returns to the fold, they’re playing with house money.

Brandon Crawford started strong last season as well. So far in 2014, he’s hitting the ball in the air much more, resulting in a nice power surge. Even if his numbers return to his career norms, he’s a shortstop with a league-average bat - nothing to sneeze at in this day and age.

If (or when) Morse cools, Pablo Sandoval could step forward and replace his offense. The Panda got off to a dreadful start to his walk year, struggling badly to the point that manager Bruce Bochy confronted questions over Sandoval’s viability as an everyday player.

Sandoval looks better at the plate recently, notching hits in six straight games. As streaky as the wild-swinging Panda can be, his offense is trending in the right direction as the Giants brace for reality at other positions around the diamond.

Overall, the Giants benefit from some uncharacteristically good performances early in 2014. Some that might disappear entirely and some that look like they could be more permanent adjustments. There is nothing to really suggest the entire offense will fall flat on its face over the remainder of the season.

The starting pitching can’t get worse

A slight misnomer in the subtitle above. Just because the Giants starting pitching “can’t get worse” doesn’t mean it automatically gets better. These starters are a largely underwhelming group. Tim Lincecum is a junk baller who will have good days and BAD DAYS. The bad days are laborious affairs in which he’s lucky to last five innings. Ryan Vogelsong is every bit a fifth starter, though a durable one for the money.

Matt Cain returned from a brief DL stint on Thursday night to give the quintessential Matt Cain outing - he gave up a bunch of home runs early on but managed to stick around for a bunch of innings. The gopher ball will plague Cain for his entire career so managing walks is key for the former ace. His performance is likely the one to improve the most among Giants starters.

Madison Bumgarner remains the ace of the staff, but Tim Hudson’s arrival has been a huge boost. Though the Giants will skip the 38-year old’s start Friday night due to a lingering hip issue, he isn’t likely to require a DL stint. Hudson has been the Hudson of old, throwing strikes and inducing ground balls. Hudson provides a solid middle of the rotation presence and reliable innings eater - he just happens to be pitching even better than that right now. 

The whole package

Just one year ago, the Giants were in a similar position, first place in the National League West, ahead of the scuffling Dodgers and disappointing Diamondbacks. That Giants team faded badly, finishing well below .500 and posting the worst record in the division over the final 120 games of the year.

At the very least, the 2014 Giants look like a better club. There is room for both improvement and regression without derailing the entire ship. Their early season run differential points to a good team, not so much a fortunate one.

The Dodgers will get better and the Rockies inspire terror for very real reasons, but the San Francisco Giants are not going anywhere. This a good team that will figure prominently into the National League playoff picture for the duration of 2014.

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