Season Preview: New York Giants

Last Season: 81-73, 4th in NL

Manager: Mel Ott (7th season in New York, 7th total)Offseason: New York purchased Jack Conway from Cleveland, who will start the year as the leadoff hitter due to an injury at second base. They also signed a pair of veteran pitchers in their 40's to help out one of the worst pitching staffs in the league last year. Thornton Lee and Bobo Newsom have a combined 321 wins in their two careers. The Giants hope this experience can help out their under-performing group of arms on the mound.Catcher: During the war, Walker Cooper was an MVP-caliber backstop who had the rare combination of hitting ability and expertise calling pitches behind the plate. But last year, he added something new to his game: power. Cooper nearly equaled his 38 career homers that he started the season and at one point in the year hit a home run in six consecutive games, tying the all-time record. With Ernie Lombardi gone, the Giants will now turn to rookie Wes Westrum when Cooper rests.
Infield: Johnny Mize gave up three prime seasons of his career in the war. If not for that, he could very well be headed to 500 homers. In perhaps his greatest campaign yet, Mize eclipsed the 50 home run barrier and became the first player ever to do so without striking out at least 50 times in the process. Mize is now 35 and could start declining soon, but the National League is a better place now that one of its most dominating sluggers is back at the top of his game. The rest of the infield is a puzzle, though, that Mel Ott will have to work out to have a shot at the pennant. Conway will hit leadoff and fill in at second base for Bill Rigney until he returns. Conway is not expected to do much, but Rigney is after a breakout sophomore season last year. His 17 homers were only fifth on the team, but combined with solid defense it made him one of the most important contributors on the team. The left side of the infield is the big weakness and does not have the experience compared to the rest of the team. Jack Lohrke did not do much to secure the third base job in his rookie campaign and the Giants may look to replace him with someone else if he continues to struggle. Rocky Rhawn will start at shortstop on Opening Day, but it is Buddy Kerr's position, as it has been for the last four years. Kerr hasn't done much at the plate but his defense is top notch. Buddy Blattner can fill in in the middle infield and veteran Johnny McCarthy makes the roster to back up Mize as needed.Outfield: Utility man Sid Gordon will bounce back and forth between left field and third base as the Giants try to get him in the lineup most days. Whitey Lockman will go for his first full season starting the year in left field but able to play anywhere out there. He made his debut as an 18-year-old in 1945, playing 32 games for the Giants and impressing with a .341 average. The Scotsman Bobby Thomson had an amazing rookie campaign, slugging 29 home runs at the age of 23, and has adjusted well to covering center field. Willard Marshall is the old man in the outfield at 27, but he only has three seasons of experience due to the war. He was an All-Star as a rookie six years ago and then again last year, when he finished third in the league in homers and fifth in RBIs. In addition to Gordon, rookie Les Layton will see some time in the outfield. He hit 20 home runs in Jersey City at the AAA level and looks to make the jump like Thomson, though he is actually two years older.Rotation: If not for Jackie Robinson, Larry Jansen would've been the runaway Rookie of the Year. In his first season, he had the best winning percentage in baseball, going 21-5 even though he didn't make his first start or get his first decision until mid-May. In his final 22 starts of the year, Jansen went 17-1 in one of the most memorable summers ever by a rookie pitcher. There is certainly no way his success can be entirely a fluke, but the Giants have to be prepared in case he does regress as the luck did go almost entirely his way in that stretch. Last year's number two starter, Dave Koslo, is still recovering from elbow surgery and will not be in the rotation to start the year. This will be a problem for New York, as he was the only pitcher other than Jansen to win at least ten games for the Giants last year. Veterans Lee and Newsom will be called upon frequently to help fill this hole. Sheldon Jones and Ray Poat, who have a combined total of 31 career starts, will be given chances to start, as well. Clint Hartung will see some action, too, though his underwhelming results in 20 starts last year may relegate him to the bullpen if he cannot improve.Bullpen: With 110 total appearances, Ken Trinkle has led the majors in games pitched in both of the last two seasons. That has resulted in 244 innings of work as one of the most trusted relievers in the league. New York will continue to turn to him with its limited options in the bullpen. Like Hartung, Andy Hansen will make some starts but will mostly pitch late in games as he cannot be trusted to start. In three seasons, he has a 4.98 ERA, though there's plenty of room to grow at age 23. Veteran Joe Beggs never had a bad season this decade until last year, when Cincinnati traded him to New York and he struggled to limit runs. Barring injury, rarely should the Giants use anyone else out of the bullpen.Outlook: The Giants absolutely shattered the team record for home runs last year, beating the previous record by 39 for a total of 221. Unfortunately, that did not correlate with success as the crosstown Dodgers cruised to the pennant even with just 83 total. Even with the historic season at the plate, their pitchers could not keep up and allowed the second most runs in the National League. The offense would need to have another incredible season, Jansen would need to win another 20 games, and the remaining pitchers would have to significantly improve their game for the Giants to have a shot at the pennant. While one or two of these things seems possible, it is nearly impossible all three happen at the same time. Games at the Polo Grounds will surely be the most exciting in baseball with all the runs scored by both teams, and it would seem New York will finish either above or below .500 depending on whether their offense can succeed more than their pitching, minus Jansen, struggles.