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Dude... what happened last year?
-We had no Left Fielder - (Blanco? Torres? Both much to spotty, especially platooned)
-Our Center Fielder (and lead off hitter) got injured - (Losing Pagan was big)
-Our Second Baseman (and number 2 hitter) got injured - (Like Pagan, Scutaro going out hurt. His contact % at the plate is huge, even without any pop in his bat)
-Our Third Baseman was fat - (There's a broken record. Here's hoping Sandoval can hold up and give us a FA walk year to remember, even if we don't keep him)
-Our First Baseman has yet to convert promise into productivity - (I love Belt as much as the next guy. He's not quite a JT Snow, but he's decent. But when he slumps, he slumps hard, and he can't seem to break into hot streaks with consistency)
-Our Catcher can't handle 162 behind the dish - (Well, who can? Still, Posey needs more time at 3B (likely in 2015 if Sandoval leaves) or 1B (possible if Belt doesn't step it up this year. Regardless, he just couldn't maintain star power last season)
- Zito was Zito
- Lincecum is still trying to find himself. His second half was promising, and we'll see how that transitions into this year.
- Vogelsong was injured, but regressed heavily from his 2012 campaign even before that.
- Cain slumped a little his first year of his new contract. Not in a way that is TOO concerning, but it's another drop in the bucket of 2013.
- On the plus side, Bumgarner was good. So was Pence. Crawford's defense remains some of the best in the league at SS, even if he can't hit.
So yeah. Injures to the top of our lineup (Leadoff and #2) were big setbacks, no left fielder, and 2+ subpar starting pitchers left us nowhere to go.
As for the 2014 campaign...
Well, Hudson isn't Zito, so that's a plus. Lincecum DID have a better second half last year, and if he turns a corner that'll be a bonus as well. Vogelsong I still expect to be a weak spot in our rotation, but he's proved the critics wrong before, so we'll see. Our lineup hasn't really improved all that much. Getting Pagan back is big, but we still don't have a #2 hitter. Neither Pence nor Belt really fit the bill (Pence is a little better, but both have big holes in their swings). Sandoval will be primed for a good year (hopefully. Contracts talk production). Posey will remain a .300 hitter, but isn't likely to see .330 again until he gets out from behind the dish. I'm not sold on Morse in LF, Crawford still can't hit at SS, and 2B is a hole for the foreseeable future.
So.... yeah. We might be able to scrap by with decent threats in our lineup #1-#6, but #7-#9 are going to be outs waiting to happen. If they manage to turn the lineup over, we'll have a good season. If they convert to the outs they're slated to be, we'll struggle.