Beginning on August 29, 2010, the San Francisco Giants charged forward to go on an improbable run that would eventually lead to the first World Series title in their 52 years since moving west. From that point on, they compiled a record of 32-15, bulldozing through heavily favored opponents on a pitching fueled demolition that no one saw coming. Some said that the 2010 Giants were the worst offensive team to ever make it to the Fall Classic, then they went out and scored more runs in the first two games than any team in history. Fans of advanced statistics claimed that Matt Cain’s ERA figures were always lower than what they should have been (apparently due to luck, ballpark, etc.), then he went out and allowed a grand total of zero runs over 21 1/3 postseason innings. As improbable as their playoff run was last fall, an even more daunting task is repeating this performance one year later. The last team to repeat as champions were the New York Yankees, who actually three-peated from 1998-2000. Do the Giants have the chops to be Major League Baseball’s next mini-dynasty? Since I don’t have a crystal ball, let’s examine four reasons why they will and four reasons why they won’t. Four Reasons Why The San Francisco Giants Will Repeat in 2011 A Brandon Belt Breakout There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the driving force behind their unlikely run was the dominant starting pitching they received by one of the best collections of young hurlers in the game today. However, if the San Francisco offense had lived up (down?) to the expectations they had in 2010 of being one of the worst offenses in the National League, then five Cy Young clones couldn’t have carried them to postseason glory. The Giants posted a league average offense in 2010, which proved to be enough to support their talented starters en route to playoff success. The Giants received wildly successful offensive campaigns from a number of unexpected sources last season, including Aubrey Huff, Andres Torres, Pat Burrell, Buster Posey and even Cody Ross in the postseason. Critics will point to these players, minus Posey, as prime candidates for regression. However, one player who will go a long way in balancing out this regression will be top prospect Brandon Belt. If he progresses into being the all-around threat that most people think he is capable of becoming, it will be instrumental in making up for any slippage that the might occur in his teammates statistical output. While Belt hasn’t been tearing the cover off of the ball in the early going, he is boasting an 11.8% walk rate and is four for his last ten. Despite an impressive home run off of Chad Billingsley, the power hasn’t really materialized so far in 2011, but he should be able to crank out 15-20 home runs to go along with a significant number of doubles if he stays in the majors all season. Matt Cain’s Continuing Dominance Tim Lincecum might get all of the publicity from the national media, but Cain was the first of the studly starters to reach the big leagues from the Giants farm system. In fact, it might come as a surprise to some, but Cain is in fact the longest-tenured Giants player currently on the squad at the ripe old age of 26. His 2010 playoff run was arguably one of the best in history. True, he doesn’t blow away the competition with impeccable stuff, but it is difficult to ignore the success that he has attained as Robin to Lincecum’s Batman. What if the 2010 postseason was a harbinger of things to come for Cain? If that is the case and he is able to build upon his recent success, the Giants will be able to brag about their hard to match co-aces. In the first few weeks of 2011, Cain has produced a 1.42 ERA in three starts, despite an unimpressive 4.74 strikeout rate. Even though he isn’t fanning batters at a prolific pace, he is making up for it by walking less than two batters per nine innings. If Cain continues to improve himself year over year as he has done in recent seasons, he will no longer remain the underrated force that he has been near the top of the Giants’ rotation. Pablo Sandoval Returning to Form If there is a better nickname, and apt, for that matter, in all of sports than the Kung Fu Panda, I haven’t heard it. However, Sandoval did not display the nimble skills in 2010 that earned him the nickname one year prior. It appears that 2009 and 2010 were the upper and lower limits of Sandoval’s ability on offense, as one year had him pegged as one of the best young hitters in the sport, while the next had him languishing on the bench in favor of the likes of Mike Fontenot. Much like what was described above in regards to Brandon Belt, a return to form for Sandoval will help to keep the Giants’ offense afloat. He doesn’t need to perform at his 2009 level to be a valuable asset to the team, but a repeat of 2010 will likely render him a bench/platoon guy. Giants fans had to be wary of reports over the offseason that the Panda had dropped some serious poundage, as they had heard the same thing last offseason. However, when Sandoval showed up to camp 40 pounds lighter this spring, it was apparent that there was a newfound bounce in his step. The Giants will need consistent production from their favorite portly playmaker if they are to deliver an encore performance. Tim Lincecum Being Tim Lincecum for the Entire Season Ever since being drafted, the knock on Tim Lincecum was that long-term success was in no way guaranteed due to his unorthodox motion and slight build. The naysayers were no doubt saying, “I told you so,” last August when he posted a 7.82 ERA and opposing hitters had a .902 OPS during the month. This rough patch coincided with a significant drop in velocity, leaving the organization to wonder whether Lincecum’s dominance was behind him or if his mechanics were simply out of whack. The latter was indeed more likely, given the custom-built pitching motion his father designed for him at a young age, but just the possibility of the former could set the organization back a bit. If Lincecum’s September didn’t prove the doubters wrong, his 14 strikeout, shutout playoff debut and subsequent postseason performance sure drove the point home. The Freak has picked up right where he left off, as he has racked up a 1.86 ERA in three starts in the early going. Perhaps even more interesting, his average fastball velocity is actually up 1.5 miles per hour. This could be the indicator that Giants fans were waiting for when they were hoping for a third straight Cy Young Award last season. So, if Lincecum is indeed back into his dominant groove, it would be a boon for their chances of a repeat championship. Four Reasons Why The San Francisco Giants Will Not Repeat in 2011 Andres Torres Reverts Back to Mediocrity Perhaps 2010’s biggest surprise breakout performance was none other than Torres. The former minor league journeyman established himself as a premier two-way center fielder last year after more than ten years of trying to do so. It must’ve been incredibly satisfying for the Giants’ sparkplug to finally “make it,” but there are plenty of doubters out there who consider last season a fluke. Rarely does a player make such an enormous impact at the major league level this late in life, but some point to the fact that his attention deficit disorder went untreated for so long. Once he started taking medication to treat his condition, his career sky-rocketed. Unfortunately for the Giants, Torres came up lame last week and has been put on the 15 day disabled list due to a strain achilles tendon. San Francisco is hoping for a speedy recovery, because Torres covers a ton of ground defensively and their corner outfielders do not. Aubrey Huff Turns Back Into the Rally-Killing Pumpkin he was in 2009 Right behind Torres in the race for surprise breakout performances in 2010, Huff’s success was slightly less expected. The Giants took a flyer on him for a measly $3 million and he morphed into one of the premier middle of the order sluggers in the NL. Talk about money well spent. If the Giants are hoping to accomplish anything resembling the 2010 version of themselves, Huff will need to supply similar power numbers as he did a year ago. A lot like the aforementioned Sandoval, Huff is coming off of two seasons of polar opposite production. Huff just happens to be coming off of the good season, as the increase in his OPS from 2009 to 2010 was a whopping .197 points. Huff has gotten off to a rough start in 2011, having yet to hit a home run as well as producing a paltry .602 OPS. His primary position so far has been right field, so the unfamiliarity with playing there might be carrying over to the offensive side of the ball. Manager Bruce Bochy is considering moving Huff back to his regular first base position and giving the rookie Belt a shot in right field. Either way, without Huff and his rally thong, San Francisco’s chances at the postseason take a big hit. Any of the Big Four Starters Miss Significant Time to Injury The stars of the starting rotation, Lincecum, Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner, are no doubt critical to a team that is lacking a juggernaut offense. If any one of these four were to miss a chunk of the season, it would likely have a momentous effect on this team’s chances. However, the durability of these four stalwarts is downright amazing. Including fifth starter Barry Zito, the only starting pitcher that has spent any time on the disabled list in their career with the Giants is Jonathan Sanchez, back in 2008. That was a short 15 day stint, but since then none of them has so much as had a hang nail. Has it been luck that Dave Righetti’s staff has had a remarkable run of health or is it an organizational strength that keeps these guys on the mound every fifth day? I doubt anyone will be revealing any secrets any time soon, but the fact remains that depth at starting pitcher is something that the team does indeed lack. There isn’t a starter in the minors ready to step in at the major league level, so in order to be the same pitching-rich team that marched to October greatness last fall, this string of hurler health better keep up. The Colorado Rockies Put Together a Full Season of Playing Up to Their Potential While it was the San Diego Padres who posed the biggest threat to the Giants’ postseason hopes in 2010, the trade of Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox appears to have sealed their fate for 2011. The primary competitive roadblock that the Giants should face in 2011 is the division rival Rockies. The upstart Rockies have boat loads of young talent that should be approaching its peak potential. With a nucleus of Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado will certainly hit, but the question remains whether or not their pitching can lead them to a division title. As it stands, it could be argued that both of their best starting pitchers are currently on the mend on the disabled list in Ubaldo Jimenez and Aaron Cook, with Cook being on the 60 day variety. If Jimenez posts closer to average numbers than the spectacular season had last year, I’m not sure the potent offense will be able to do enough to compensate for the lack of run prevention. However, despite losing Jimenez early, Colorado has started quickly, winning 11 of their first 13 games and currently holding the best record in baseball. Surely, they will have a lot of say in who will emerge victorious from this season’s NL West.