The Four

As of right now the Giants have four set starters. All of them durable and, for the most part, reliable. Here they are in Opening Day order.

1. Barry Zito, 3.67ERA
2. Matt Cain, 3.73ERA
3. Noah Lowry, 4.03ERA
4. Tim Lincecum, 4.00ERA

The fifth spot is more of a question. There are quite a few people competing for the job. Kevin Correia, Patrick Misch, and Russ Ortiz are the prime candidates for the job right now. Whoever does the best in spring training will most likely have it come April. Personally I think that Patrick Misch really looked good in a few of his starts last year. He has the potential to become a pretty developed player. I would love to see that great curve ball a lot more. Russ Ortiz is past his due and should finish up his career. Kevin Correia just hasn't looked reliable over long periods of time. He has his occasional spectacular game here and there, but in the long run he hasn't looked that brilliant. It will be interesting to see who gets the spot when all comes to an end.

I really like the starting four except for Lowry (I will explain later.). They were MLB's seventh best staff and the National League's fourth best. I don't think that is going to change any time soon, if not improve. Here they all are in detail:

Barry Zito

Barry Zito did not have the best of years last year and that is putting it nicely. He struggled with his control and had trouble keeping the ball down. His curve didn't always have its usual bite to it. I think he was mainly uncomfortable taking in the role of ace and staff leader as soon as he arrived. I'm hoping he'll settle down and assume his position. If he does, I think he will resume pitching affectively and racking up those strike outs when players are standing frozen after the ball seems to drop from above the head to right at the knees.

Matt Cain

I don't know how he put up with it, but he was tortured beyond belief last year. I have never seen a pitcher get that little run support and still have an ERA below four. I don't know how many no hitters or shutouts he took into the seventh or eigth inning last year only to lose 1-0 or 2-1 in the ninth or extra innings. If the Giants had been alive at all and scored just 3 or 4 runs in any of his games his record would be reversed from 7-16 to 16-7. We would be talking about All-Star caliber play. I think if he repeats what he did last year and the line up comes to life at all, his worth will go up even more and he will be considered one of the top pitchers in the league.

Noah Lowry

This pitcher was said to be one of the up and coming young pitchers. I think he was never very interesting to begin with, let alone was going to be. He may be a pretty good pitcher but his stuff really isn't that fun to watch. He doesn't have any one pitch that is amazing or an interesting delivery. I don't look forward to his next start when the one he's on is over. I guess I shouldn't be ranting on him too much since he always seems to get the job done. We will just have to wait and see how he holds up this season. Last year he had a little problem with injuries. Hopefully that isn't going to be a long term thing. I certainly won't be disappointed if he starts off next year 4-0.

Tim Lincecum

Lincecum is probably my favorite pitcher. From his quirky wind up to his zipping fastball and quick-biting curveball, he is fun to watch. I think if he gets more mature and doesn't lose his control in stressful situations he will be a fantastic pitcher. He has already shown signs of a mind-boggling change-up. His 7-5 record doesn't show the potential he as. Rather, the 150 strikeouts in only 24 games does. That is averaging almost 6 strikeouts a game. I can't wait to see what kind of season he has this year. I'm expecting a lot more swing and whiffs and I can't wait.

I'm hoping San Fransisco's lineup doesn't ruin yet another good pitching season because this staff could be talked about f0r years to come if the team gets any recognition. Every night I will be saying "Yay Cain's pitching" or "Yay Lincecum's pitching." I really wish the season could start two months sooner so I wouldn't have to wait so long. But I do, so until then I'm just going to keep on writing.