San Francisco Giants: Five Positives Moving Forward
By Johanna Bear
![](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/7060c006a05258c22905b0c131b8baadeb7af0c3c8ce93c932380e10f5742eed.jpg)
Time to Heal
Jul 19, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; San Francisco Giants outfielder Hunter Pence against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The unfortunate storyline of the vast majority of the 2015 season for the Giants has been the seemingly never-ending injuries that have plagued them from spring training until now.
Between losing Hunter Pence for all but 52 games and then losing Gregor Blanco, Nori Aoki, Brandon Belt and Ehire Adrianza to concussions along with the questionable health of Hector Sanchez (ankle), Andrew Susac (wrist surgery), and Angel Pagan (knee) down the stretch, Bruce Bochy had to cobble together a lineup every day using a bizarre mixture of rookies, acquired veterans, with Buster Posey, the one constant on this Giants squad.
All-Stars Joe Panik and Brandon Crawford also missed significant amounts of time over the course of the season, further depleting an already depleted team. One of the few good things about the Giants’ season ending on Sunday is that it will provide much needed time for these players to rest and get healthy for their 2016 campaign.
Live Feed
Kings of Kauffman
Even the seemingly indestructible Madison Bumgarner looked a little weary on Tuesday night in the Giants’ heartbreaking 8-0 loss to the Dodgers. Bumgarner, a little off his game, gave up back-to-back home runs for the first time since his rookie season in 2010.
Getting an extra month off will give Bumgarner and the rest of the team a break to heal, relax, and get physically and mentally ready for another potential push to October next year.
If the Giants stay healthy, their lineup is a formidable one. Between their homegrown infield of Posey, Brandon Belt, Joe Panik, Brandon Crawford, and Duffy and an outfield that can include Pence, Angel Pagan and Nori Aoki, 2016 looks promising if they can somehow manage to keep the injuries at bay.
Next: The Rookies