94-68, 1^st in the NL West

Won World Series

The Giants won the World Series in 2012, so this is a pretty academic review. They won 94 games in the regular season and had two great series comebacks in the playoffs before stomping on the Tigers on their way to the second title in three years.

Buster Posey’s MVP season (8.0 WAR) led the way for Angel Pagan (4.8), Melky Cabrera (4.6 in 113 games), Pablo Sandoval (2.8), Gregor Blanco (2.4), Brandon Crawford (2.0), and Marco Scutaro (1.8 in 61 games). AT&T Park suppresses offense, so some of the traditional numbers might not look great, but I assure you the Giants position players were good.

When you think Giants, you think pitching. Cain (3.8), Bumgarner (3.4), and Vogelsong (2.6) did their jobs despite a terrible season from Tim Lincecum (1.5). The bullpen was great again and it helped carry them through the postseason.

Cain tossed a perfect game and the team came back from big deficits in the NLDS and NLCS to set up their sweep over the Tigers.

The Giants will keep most of the 2012 crew together going into next season and will likely get a better performance out of Lincecum. They’ll lose the wins from Melky but should get a little more from Scutaro and Sandoval.

2013 will likely look a lot like 2012 for them in regular season and they’re set up for another deep playoff run. The Dodgers look stronger out west, but they’re not a lock for anything.

The Giants won the World Series in 2012 for the second time in three seasons and the party will continue until Opening Day.

2012 Grade: A

Early 2013 Projection: 92-70