What to look for in 2007

[opzoneworld]

As a realist, my thoughts for the 2007 Giants season is that they will finished 2nd, 5 games or less behind the hated Dodgers; thus, not making the playoffs but keeping our interests to the end. I have that much faith in Bochy as a manager. I believe their starting rotation will be among the top in the NL and their experience mixed with a small sprinkling of youth at the plate will help put together a second-half race. Of course that experience, which is a nice way of saying age, can be their demise if it turns into consistent, nagging injuries.

Everyone has their list of things to watch for in the 2007 season so I have comprised my own list ranked in my own order. While I see the Giants having no shot at a Championship (the realist in me again talking here), I do believe they have some good young players that can change that starting in 2008. Therefore, here is my unique list of things to watch for in the 2007 Giants season.

Tim Lincecom (SP): What a camp this kid had. It is going to be fun watching him pitch in AAA Fresno this year. I hope that he remains in Fresno until September call-ups, mainly because I want see him win the ROY award next season. Baring unforeseen circumstances (injury or Fresno falling off the face of this earth), Lincecom will be a starter for the Giants next year and every year thereafter for the next 10-15 years. Putting out Zito, Cain and Lincecom as our top three pitchers is going to be amazing to witness. With a full season of minor league ball under his belt in 2007, 15 wins may not be too much to ask of this kid in 2008. Really, the only big question is whom will he replace in the rotation.

Brian Wilson (CL): Was there a bigger disappointment in camp this year than Wilson ? You would be extremely hard pressed to find one. At the very least, he should be our setup guy this year. We have to be counting our lucky starts that Benitiz seems to be back to his all-star form or it would certainly be a bottom of the cellar 2007 for the Giants. The last couple of seasons in MLB we have seen how important setup men are. While I do believe the young arms in the Giants pen are going to do fine in 2007 (many disagree with me here), without a setup man to get them to Benitiz, he cannot be as effective as he could be. If Wilson would have claimed the setup role during camp, I would have the Giants winning the division. If he can claim it by the all-start break, I give them a shot like my original prediction states. If he cannot correct his ship at all this season, the Giants have no shot and should begin to worry about their future in Wilson .

Emmanuel Burris (SS): One of the biggest questions in 2008 will be what to do with Omar. The answer will heavily weigh on the type of season Burris, the second 1st round selection in last years draft, has in 2007. He will probably start in A ball, hopefully with San Jose . If he can make it to AA Connecticut by midseason and finish off strong there, he will have a good chance to earn the starting shortstop spot in the 2008 camp. This kid can flat out play. He was 4th in the nation in steals and batted over .300 in his last year of college. In the rookie league short-season, he batted over .300 with 35 steals in 46 attempts with an OPS of .750. Baseball American rated him as the Giants best defensive prospect as well. He is the very definition of a leadoff hitter. Just imagine Burris and Robert (maybe Fred Lewis when Roberts in done) batting 1, 2 in the Giants order causing all types of chaos on opposing defenses.

Kevin Frandsen (2B): No real surprise that Frandsen made the big club this camp. He is being dubbed as the Giants second baseman of the future; however, does anyone really know how good this kid really is? From all published reports, nobody is really certain. Could he come out of nowhere, a la Noah Lowry, or is he greatly over hyped? This season will be big for him. With Durham proving over the last few seasons that he cannot stay healthy and the Giants need for Omar