San Francisco Giants Team of the Decade: The Pitchers by Evan Aczon The San Francisco Giants have had one of the strongest traditions of pitching in all of baseball throughout their franchise history. They have had Hall of Famers, league leaders and two Cy Young award winners. When they were the New York Giants, they boasted such names as Carl Hubbell, Christy Mathewson, Red Ames, Joe McGinnity, and Rube Marquard. Since the Giants relocated to San Francisco in 1958, Juan Marichal, Vida Blue, Gaylord Perry, Rod Beck, and Mike Krukow have all taken the mound. This tradition has continued into the new millennium, and this edition of the San Francisco All-Decade Team will look exclusively at the pitchers that have made the 2000s a truly memorable era for Giants hurlers. As Andrew Nuschler said in his slideshow about the outfielders, San Francisco has slipped into mediocrity in the last couple years, with a few years under .500 and more than a few years of being out of playoff contention. But over the last decade, their pitching has always been a strong point. We’ ve seen many times when pitching prospects were traded away by Brian Sabean, but in the last few years the homegrown pitching has risen up to be one of the top pitching franchises in the majors. Filling Out the Staff—Honorable Mentions There have been so many good pitchers coming through the Giants system that didn't make this list, and so many that shouldn't be on it at all, but are. Here's the best of the rest of the bullpen, in no particular order. —Felix Rodriguez, who had a brilliant run in San Francisco, including a 2001 where he went 9-1 with a 1.68 ERA, will always be remembered for THE Game 6 of the 2002 World Series, when he replaced Russ Ortiz in the seventh inning and promptly gave up a Series-altering 3-run homerun to Scott Spiezio. It still stings. —Armando Benitez, who "took over" for Robb Nen in San Francisco, saved 47 games in 2004. For the Marlins. He then saved 45 over three years with the Giants, and was booed off the field more than once, the last time after balking twice in the same inning. —David Aardsma, who in 2004 became the first person in the alphabetical list of every Major League Baseball player ever, taking over for Hank Aaron. No pressure. —Joe Nathan, for winning 12 games out of the bullpen in 2003 for the Giants but never once recording a save. Since being traded to the Twins, he has amassed 247 saves. —Pat Misch, who spent four partial years with the Giants, making 38 appearances, 11 starts, and going 0-7, not recording his first win until September 3, 2009, with the Mets. —The "coulda-beens" of Jerome Williams and Jesse Foppert. —The "never-shoulda-beens" of Sidney Ponson and Damian Moss. —Noah Lowry, who had led the Giants in wins, strikeouts, and ERA in 2005. —Russ Ortiz, who went 17-9 in 2001 and pitched beautifully in the postseason in 2002, and then went on to become the most expensive player ever cut, being paid over $40 million NOT to play. —Tyler Walker, who in four years with the Giants, blew 12 saves out of 35 chances, lost 14 games in relief, and allowed 25 homeruns in 205 games. Thanks. —Brad Hennessey, for his name and inability to find a spot in the rotation. Or the bullpen. —Dustin Hermanson, for his beard-thing. Starting Pitcher—Kirk Rueter You might be thinking...Kirk Rueter? Really? What about Matt Cain? Well, Cain has really improved since he arrived on the scene in 2005 at age 20, but his development is only now becoming as polished as people thought. Cains stats aren't very impressive, but his power, strikeouts, and growth have really impressed over the last two years. But check this: Woody is the winningest left-handed pitcher in San Francisco Giants history. His 105 wins as a southpaw are second only to Carl Hubbell in franchise history. He made two Opening Day starts, and even though he didn't throw hard, or strike out anyone, or have a gloriously glorious season, his work ethic, attitude, and general craftiness helped him build a reputation with the Giants that he never lived down. Although his career ended abruptly when he was unceremoniously designated for assignment in 2005, he eventually warmed back up to the Giants, and many of them still manage to visit him in his St. Louis "Shed" when they're in town. When you take out his disastrous final season, Rueter went 58-46 for the Giants in the 2000s, inducing 22 double plays per year and always managing to look goofy doing his job. Starting Pitcher—Jason Schmidt Jason Schmidt was the Giants rock in the rotation for a good while. He was the product of one of Brian Sabean's finest hours at the trading deadline, coming over with John Vander Wal from Pittsburgh in return for Armando Rios and Ryan Vogelsong. To review, in return for an outfielder in between right field and the bench, and a relief pitcher who went 10-19 with an ERA of 6.00 over five years with the Pirates, the Giants got an Opening Day starter who went 78-37 with an ERA of 3.36. He was in double figues in wins each year, always over .500, and struck out over 1000 batters while having a WHIP of 1.18. He average 9 strikeouts per 9 innings, and his K/BB ratio was almost 3. In 2003 he finished second in the Cy Young vote to Eric Gagne. His 2.34 ERA, three shutouts, .773 winning percentage, 179 strikeouts, and 0.953 WHIP all led the league. In June 2006 he struck out 16 Florida Marlins, and in his career had 30 games with 10+ strikeouts. In a trivial note, he struck out former Giant Ryan Klesko 18 times. Schmidt's devastating change-up just dominated lineups, especially when you take in the fact that his fastball was 95-98 mph and the change-up was coming in at 88-91 mph. He had a good slider and a little curveball, too, but his 1-2 combo was as good as anyone else's. Always a great pitcher, he decided to leave the Giants to go pitch for the Dodgers, and we all know how that ended up. I hate to say it, because I liked him a lot when he was pitching for San Francisco, but that's what happens when you choose to put on Dodger Blue. Starting Pitcher—Tim Lincecum Do I really need to say anything? Back-to-back Cy Young Awards. Two-time All-Star. Two-time NL strikeout leader. Did I mention he's 25? And has only been in the league for two full years? And his nicknames include both "The Freak" and "The Franchise"? I really don't think I need to say anything else except that Tim Lincecum's version of the "Madden Curse" was to go 15-7 with a 2.48 ERA, getting more strikeouts, walking fewer batters, amassing a lower WHIP, and winning a second Cy Young. He's only getting better. He's a smarter pitcher, his mechanics are improving, and he's still showing no signs of getting big-headed, money-hungry OR wanting to get out of San Francisco. He loves us (the fans). And we love him. And so do the Giants. So, with all these big words being thrown about, like "arbitration," "Ryan Howard," "a kajillion dollars," don't panic. He'll write something down, and the Giants will pay it. Because "The Hair" is here to stay. Take that, Shaun Alexander/Michael Vick/Vince Young. Relief Pitcher—Brian Wilson Brian Wilson broke in to the majors in April of 2006. He pitched in 31 games and had a so-so 5.40 ERA as a rookie. He was kind of an afterthought middle reliever and didn't garner much interest at first. Wilson spent most of 2007 in Fresno, posting a 1.93 ERA over 34 outings and getting 13 saves before he was promoted. For the Giants, his 2.28 ERA was much more on par with what they were expecting. The fact that he emerged as the closer of the future was not. He has tattoos. He wears a mohawk. He's got crazy eyes. He has a post-game celebration that gets people mad. He's also a hardcore Christian and definite recipient of the "Most Unique" award. He is...B-Weezy. He has a wicked slider and hits 100 on the radar gun at least once a week. He even developed a "changeup" that runs 88-90 MPH that makes hitters look downright amateurish when they face him. B-Weezy arrived in San Francisco in 2008 in a big way, coming in second in the NL in saves (41), reached the All-Star Game, and striking out almost 10 batters per 9 innings. In 2009, he got even better. He had fewer saves (38) but also cut his ERA in half, had more strikeouts, and gave up half as many homeruns. He pitched in more high pressure situations, including fifteen games where he pitched more than an inning. In the last two years, his 79 saves are the most by any Giants since the next guy on this countdown. Weezy is here, and like Lincecum and Matt Cain, he keeps getting better. Relief Pitcher—Robb Nen Robb Nen was THE premiere closer in the early 2000s. The American League may have had Mariano Rivera, but the National League had Robb Nen. And Mo didn't have a toe-tap. The toe-tap, the weird set point, and the all-powerful grunt were things that were unique to Nen, as was the combo of his 97 MPH fastball followed by hits 92 MPH slider. Over his closing career he averaged 37 saves per year between the Marlins and the Giants, and his performance in the World Series was superb. He only pitched three years in the 2000s with the Giants before his career was cut short prematurely by an arm injury, but his stats speak for themselves. From 2000-2002, Nen had a 2.28 ERA, 129 saves in 149 opportunities, allowerd a .201 BAA, a 1.012 WHIP, and averaged 11 strikeouts per 9 innings. Yet again, his last season with the Giants was about as good as a pitcher can go out without winning the World Series. In 2002 he was an All-Star, went 6-2 with a 2.20 ERA, amassed 43 saves, and struck out 81 batters. In the playoffs he appeared in 10 games, had seven saves, and gave up one run in nine innings. This included three scoreless outings in the World Series against the Angels. If you think of what could have been, imagine this. Nen's career was only ten years long, and he wasn't old by any standards when he had to be shut down. If Nen had pitched another three years with the Giants, that would mean no Armando Benitez, Dustin Hermanson, Matt Herges, or Tim Worrell closing out games by committee. It would have been a great run for a great player, and his legacy will not be forgotten in San Francisco. Pitchers of the Teens? There are a lot of pitchers that are just waiting to dominate the 2010s for the Giants. As before mentioned, Tim Lincecum will be here for years. Matt Cain came into his own at the end of the 2000s, so look for him to become a stellar second gun in the Giants arsenal. Madison Bumgarner squeaked into the 2000s but has a chance to be up in the majors in 2010, vying for the fifth starter spot. San Francisco also got their first look at Dan Runzler, who had success at every minor league stop on the way to the majors, and won Minor League Pitcher of the Year. They also picked up some newcomers in the last couple drafts, including 2009 first round pick Zach Wheeler. The Giants have a strong tradition of developing young pitching, so look for more names from their farm system to pop out as the 'Teens go forward. http://is.gd/5Im7q --

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