Infographics are the rage these days, and for good reason: They paint a pretty picture in the most literal sense. So how'd you like to find out about the Giants window to win another World Series in infographic form?
Is that something that might interest you? Excellent, because David Fung of FunGraphs.com (you can follow him on Twitter @CobraDave too) did an awesome breakdown of the Giants (and every other MLB team) over at Beyond the Box Score.
The idea is this: Take the current starting lineup and starting rotation and then plot out how long each is under contract with the team and what kind of contract they're under.
As you can see, the Giants have a great window to win with the current rotation -- everyone on one of the best pitching staffs in the majors is locked up for two more years.
Unfortunately, one of those guys is Barry Zito, and he's the reason the Giants can't get any more offense -- he's owed $46 million on his contract.
beyondtheboxscore.com / fungraphs.info / @cobradave
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The Giants also have three years of Pablo Sandoval, three cheap years of Brandon Belt and one more non-arbitration year of Buster Posey. (How Posey plays this year will greatly affect his cost going forward).
The bullpen is a bit concerning, but relievers are cheaper to find than anyone else, and the Giants are quite adept at finding them, so it's not terrifying to assume that Brian Sabean can go out and find some more guys to plug into the bullpen.
The real question for San Francisco is whether or not they can find offense going forward. The Giants believe they have enough bats to win it all again this year. Many critics would disagree. But we get to find out who's right beginning on Friday.
