Loser: San Francisco Giants
Any way you slice it, San Francisco’s first month was a mess.
The Giants couldn’t stay healthy in April. Buster Posey spent time on the concussion DL. Brandon Crawford enters May on the disabled list. Thanks to a dirt bike accident, Madison Bumgarner is out until somewhere around the All-Star Break.
The healthy San Francisco players have been largely ineffective. The Giants are 24th in batting average, 28th in on-base percentage, 29th in slugging, 29th in runs scored, 29th in home runs, 23rd in overall ERA, 20th in starter’s ERA and 24th in bullpen ERA.
Bruce Bochy has under performed as the manager. His lineups are unimaginative and don’t put his best hitters in optimal spots. His use of the bullpen is formulaic, which doesn’t work when you only have two or three truly reliable arms — and that’s being generous.
The Giants finished April at 9-17. They never won more than two games in a row and only reached that height once. If things don’t turn around in a big way in May, San Francisco is in for a long summer.