Ding Ding! Giants Open First Round at Arizona

"Oo de lally, oo de lally, golly what a day!"
- from the Disney animated classic, Robin Hood
- also, what I'll be saying tomorrow as the Giants kick off their season against their division rival Arizona Diamondbacks. Big games, these three. They mean just as much as the September contests. But, if the Giants get swept while being outscored 24-3 over the weekend, let's promise not to freak out. Small sample size and all that jazz. However if they do the sweeping and the outscoring, we should definitely freak out, because that will be hella fun. LinceBumCainer! Improved offense! Bearded relievers! Yeah, that sounds about right.

The Giants are hosting a viewing party at AT&T Park for Friday's opener, inviting fans to watch (for free) on the big screen. I encourage all to go. You might even see me there...on the big screen. That's right, I'm grabbing some buds and heading to Phoenix to catch all the weekend's action in person. Boom.

As the regular season approaches, my optimism grows, even though I have my doubts. It's all too exciting to arrange my thoughts in well organized prose, but I do feel the need to jot some down. So we'll all have to settle for long-winded bullet points:

• Cain got his extension, at that is a very good thing. It's a ton of money, but there was no real alternative. Macho Camacho thinks otherwise (my thoughts in the comments). They've got the Lincecum/Cain/Bumgarner trio locked down for at least 2 more years, and I'd take those 3 against just about any other pitching trio.
• Ian Kennedy and the Diamondbacks are due for some regression. Things like going from winning 65 games in 2010 to 94 in 2011 don't happen too often without sliding back the next year. They have, however, added some pieces to help improve the team from last year. Trevor Cahill is one. A full season of Paul Goldschmidt at 1B along with some other potential young stars will help. 
• Speaking of regression, I'm just a bit worried about Ryan Vogelsong. What if he was a fluke? The difference between a great pitch and a horrible pitch is about 6 inches. Vogey doesn't have devastating stuff -- he thrived last year by painting corners. If the pitches that were on the outside corner last year are 3-6 inches off in one direction, he'll fall victim to the walks that derailed his career as a prospect. 3-6 inches in the other direction, and he'll be serving up ding dongs all year.
• I continue to be amazed at how much the media and his teammates present Buster Posey and "how much he means to this team". Maybe ease off a bit, guys. He's just a kid. He can't do everything.
• I also continue to shake my head at the lack of Carlos Beltrans on this team. I wrote this back in December:

           Sanchez enters the season on the DL. I don't know if he's just a sissy, but the Giants' medical staff    has continued to swing and miss on his prognosis, ever since he came over from Pittsburgh. Point is, second base is not going to be a strong point on offense. They will miss Beltran's presence in the line-up.

• Overall, I liked most of the final roster moves:
• Of those who made the team, Nate Shierholtz winds up the big loser. All indications are that Belt will be starting at 1B, with Huff moving to the outfield, pushing Nasty Nate to the bench. Poor Nate. Been throttled around like a doggy toy for years. My guess is that Bochy just wasn't impressed with his abs. But there are a couple ways Nate could find himself back in right field: Belt could go 0 for 5 the first game. Or, for 2 months, Aubrey Huff could continue to piss all over himself hit soft grounders to second, just as he did all of last season. All I know is, the Giants a probably a better team with Belt in there every day, so I'm happy.
• A bit sad to see Chris Stewart go (traded to the Yankees for a potential September call-up reliever). But glad that Hector Sanchez beat out both him and Eli Whiteside for the back-up catcher gig. He'll get plenty of starts, as the Giants will continue handle Posey with care. With Brandon Crawford at short, and either Emanuel Burriss or Ryan Theriot at 2B, there's just no room for another pitcher-like hitter.

Prior to the 2010 season, I had 2012 marked down for a title. Coming off the surprisingly good '09 campaign, I told people to expect some regression in '10, improvement in '11, and a deep post-season run in '12, when the pitchers enter their absolute peaks and the young hitters have enough experience to shine. Turns out I got the title in '10, and regression in '11. That leaves "improvement" for 2012. Sorry, Giants, but that just won't do. Go get that trophy back!