The Decline of the Giants: Injuries and Veterans

This post is the second part of a series detailing the Giants' decline, starting in 2004.

With the Giants facing considerable criticism for the rather disastrous 2004 campaign, Brian Sabean made many moves during the off season to attempt to return the Giants to their 2003 form. However, the Giants were weak in so many areas by this time, and paying so much money to stars Jason Schmidt and Barry Bonds, that the club did not have enough money to hire stars. Instead, Sabean went with a trusted formula: fill the struggling positions with veterans who are cheaper, but still able to produce. He signed shortstop Omar Vizquel, outfielder Moises Alou, closer Armando Benitez, and catcher Mike Matheny. Vizquel and Alou were stars who were past their prime, but were still upgrades from previous years, while Matheny brought better defense to replace the unpopular Pierzynski.

The idea of hiring veterans to replace previously weak positions is certainly not a bad one. However, the aging players that were signed in 2005 only added to an already old team, with JT Snow playing first base, Barry Bonds in the outfield, Ray Durham at second base, and Marquis Grissom in center field. This combination of adding older players to an already aging team led to a season in which all of the Giants' best players spent time injured. Armando Benitez and Barry Bonds were both out before the first month was over, and would not return until very late in the season. Ray Durham, Moises Alou, Marquis Grissom and Jason Schmidt would all miss time due to injuries throughout the season. Without a closer once again, and with three top hitters missing significant time, the Giants simply could not win.

A team built to win the division instead became the first losing team ever fielded by Brian Sabean, and set a dangerous precedent of signing veteran players.