Back in July, if you would have looked up the MLB odds against the San Francisco Giants reaching the 2010 World Series they would have been preposterous.
Arguably the weakest hitting lineup in the majors, with some bull pen issues at time, its top pitchers struggling and seemingly no source of power this was flawed team that at best –very best- could maybe somehow snag a wildcard spot in the National League playoffs.
Making the feet even more difficult was the fact that at the midway point of the season the San Diego Padres owned the NL West and despite what many of ht baseball odds experts had expected, had yet to show any signs of letting up and actually had the best record in the MLB odds action.
But strange things can happen over the course of a baseball season and 162 games is a very long and unpredictable process.
Eventually, in August and September the Padres meltdown happened and the team lost 11 straight ballgames at one point, but the Giants failed to capitalize and the clinched only at the 11th hour.
The team never did find a power source and hit just enough to score the absolute minimum runs to win but you don’t get any extra runs for style.
And the team’s starting pitching staff snapped out of its funk and began dominating opposing batters. Two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum found his stuff closing out the season with a 5-1 record and giving up just 9 runs in final 6 starts. Other unexpected aces emerged like rookie Madison Bumgartner (who’s the 3rd man in the team’s MLB odds playoff rotation) and Jonathan Sanchez who led the team with a 3.07 ERA.
In the post season Lincecum has been even more effective (2-0, 1.69 ERA, 22 Ks, 16.0 IP) as has fellow Starter Matt Cain and closer Brian Wilson.
At the plate this team has had a different hero every night but more times than not it’s been the pint-size Cody Ross, a player brought over in a late season trade from the Marlins and mere afterthought in the minds of most MLB odds fans. But he’s got 8 RBIs is 8 games and 3 HRs and is a major reason why the Giants are just 1 win away from a World Series berth.
This may have been the most unlikely team to reach title World Series but now that the Giants are on the cusp of greatness there’s not a baseball odds fan out there doubts this team’s capabilities.