San Francisco Giants: Injuries Are Team’s Biggest Undoing
By Johanna Bear
It seems that the San Francisco Giants are channeling a different rock ballad this season. This year, it’s not “Don’t Stop Believing” — the anthem of their three World Championship seasons — but is instead, Queen’s, “Another One Bites the Dust.”
The only starting position that has not seen a player’s absence due to injury this season is third base, where rookie Matt Duffy has held down the hot corner in the midst of one of the most injury-ridden seasons in recent Giants history.
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Five of the nine opening day starters are potentially out for the rest of the season, not to mention that of the original starting rotation of Matt Cain, Jake Peavy, Tim Lincecum, Tim Hudson and Madison Bumgarner, only Bumgarner has yet to have a stint on the Disabled List.
The most recent Giant to fall? Brandon Belt, who was diagnosed with a concussion as a result of the side of his head connecting with a Cincinnati Reds infielder’s knee. Though initial testing had shown no evidence of a concussion, further examinations on Friday after Belt left the game complaining of feeling woozy, revealed a concussion that could potentially end the first baseman’s season.
Sep 14, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt (9) hits a RBI triple in the third inning of their MLB baseball game with the Cincinnati Reds at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports
Belt sustained a concussion last year after an errant throw from Marco Scutaro hit him in the head, so the Giants will most likely want to play it safe. Especially with the now unavoidable fact that — barring a massive collapse from the Dodgers and an unprecedented win streak from the Giants — there will not be a repeat performance of last season’s remarkable playoff push.
Belt becomes the third Giants player to suffer post-concussion syndromes, joining the unfortunate company of Gregor Blanco and Nori Aoki, all of whom are out indefinitely to allow time for recovery.
The Giants also announced that catcher Andrew Susac underwent wrist surgery to decrease discomfort that has been present for him since the beginning of the season.
He is expected to be ready in time for Spring Training, but will most certainly not return for the remainder of 2015. This comes on the heels of Joe Panik being shut down for the season with lower back inflammation and Hector Sanchez also being put on the shelf with a left ankle sprain, leaving Trevor Brown and Jackson Williams to back up Buster Posey behind the plate.
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Tim Lincecum underwent successful hip surgery on September third and the right-hander seems to be on pace to pitch during Spring Training, though the team he will pitch for remains unknown as Lincecum will be a free agent at the end of the season.
According to Bruce Bochy there is a chance that he will be able to come as a dugout spectator for the final week of the season.
Bochy also offered doubts that Hunter Pence will be able to play before the end of 2015, as Pence’s recovery has been very slow and he still has yet to resume hitting a ball off a tee.
Though the injuries throughout the season have all but eliminated the Giants’ chances at making the postseason, they have offered rookies opportunities to get some big league starts under their belts. That opportunity has given them some invaluable experience and a chance to learn at the highest level of the game.
At the beginning of the season names like Kelby Tomlinson and Chris Heston were unfamiliar to Giants fans, but they have been huge bright spots throughout the year for San Francisco.
While there will most likely be no Championship in San Francisco this year, the true journey of the team has been a matter of overcoming a laundry list of injuries. And with the season winding down, it is time to look ahead to what could be an unbelievable, and hopefully healthy, 2016.