 The San Francisco Giants put together a great season in Year Two in the post-Bonds era. The team went 88-74 and finished in third place in the NL West, remaining playoff relevant into the last full month of play on the 2009 season schedule. The baseball team was among the best in MLB at home with a 52-29 record at AT&T Park and decent enough on the road with a 36-45 record. The Giants team was typified by a struggling offense that barely managed to cover for one of the best pitching staffs in the National League. The team managed to score the fourth least runs while the pitching posted the second best ERA in the league. Without question, the star of that stellar staff is Tim Lincecum. He went 15-7 with a 2.48 ERA. He had help from Matt Cain (14-8, 2.89 ERA), Barry Zito (10-13, 4.03 ERA), and Jonathan Sanchez (8-12, 4.24 ERA) during the season. Randy Johnson struggled and late addition Brad Penney provided a bit of hope at the end. The bullpen was great as well. Closer Brian Wilson rebounded from a terrible 2008 with a 2.74 ERA and 38 saves. He had plenty of help from a number of quality set up men. The offense had a few stars. Third baseman Pablo Sandoval hit .330 (good for second in the NL and fifth in MLB), bashed 25 home runs, and drove in 90 RBI. Shortstop Juan Uribe had a decent years (.289, 16 homeruns) and catcher Bengie Molina provided some pop (20 homeruns). Overall, though, the team struggled to put players on base. The 2010 season will be the third season without Barry Bonds, and this team seems to have found its offensive centerpiece in Sandoval. The year will be interesting as the team tries to grow around the under-the-radar third baseman. Get your San Francisco Giants tickets and see if they can compete next summer in the NL West again.
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