San Francisco Giants 2018 Season Preview
By David Hill
The 2017 campaign was a disappointment for the San Francisco Giants. Will their even year magic come back in 2018?
Heading into the 2017 campaign, the San Francisco Giants had hopes for another playoff run. They had reached the NLDS last year before being bounced by the Cubs, and with virtually the same roster, another run seemed to be in the works.
However, the Giants even year magic did not spill over to 2017. Hunter Pence suddenly hit the age wall, and was a shell of himself. Mark Melancon, their prized free agent signing, struggled in San Francisco. To make matters even worse, Madison Bumgarner was injured, and only made 17 starts last year. Understandably, the Giants struggled, ending the year with a 64-98 record, tied for the worst in baseball.
This year, the Giants made moves to make sure those struggles would not happen again. They acquired Andrew McCutchen, moving Pence to left in order to solidify the outfield. Evan Longoria was brought in to strengthen third base, a position where the bloated corpse of Pablo Sandoval was somehow allowed to play 38 games at the hot corner. The roster has received a dramatic upgrade.
But will this be enough? Can the San Francisco Giants recapture that even year magic and make another run into the postseason in 2018?