5:38AM Tuesday
March 19, 2013

Last season could not have worked out better for Brian Sabean. Before the season, he locked up Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner to long-term deals and traded the inconsistent Jonathan Sanchez for an All-Star Game MVP (etc.)-in Melky Cabreba. At the trade deadline, he acquired impact players Hunter Pence and NLCS MVP Marco Scutaro for a handful of role players. Best of all, his San Francisco Giants won the World Series despite former Ace Tim Lincecum suffering one of the worst pitching seasons in the live ball era. Even that swung Sabean's way as San Francisco was not forced to sign him to a ridiculously priced extension. Assuming The Freak had a freak year, this season the Giants return one of the top pitching staffs in baseball, and although critics will point to their inability to generate runs over the past couple seasons, this year's lineup has the potential to be dangerous.

Projected Lineup:

Angel Pagan (CF)

Marco Scutaro (2B)

Pablo Sandoval (3B)

Buster Posey (C)

Hunter Pence (...