8. It is an even year, but no World Series by the Bay in 2016
The San Francisco Giants sequence of win the World Series, followed by missing the playoffs, winning the World Series and repeat is about as improbable as it gets. But that run ends this season. Not because winning the World Series every other year for four years seems unlikely, but the roster faces question marks.
Will Jeff Samardzija be able to fill a top-of-the-rotation spot in the rotation behind Madison Bumgarner? Though I like the fit with the Giants, and in going to a pitchers park such as AT&T Park, Samardzija is a wildcard. He flashes brilliance, and then battles through inconsistencies.
Of course to be fair, he’s never had the best teams around him, as he was shipped out of Chicago prior to Cubs finally arriving onto the scene, and the White Sox were towards the bottom in baseball when it came to runs scored in 2015. This will be the year we finally see what Samardzija is all about.
Is Johnny Cueto going to pitch more like he did with the Reds (92-63, 3.21 ERA), or the Royals/spring training Cueto? Will injuries subside? If so, the Giants are in the thick of the race, but will fall just short of the ultimate October prize this even year.
