Kuzul

Nobody predicted that the San Francisco Giants would conquer improbable playoff series deficits to climb atop the baseball world for the second time in three seasons.

The same critics that doubted the Giants last October claim the rival Los Angeles Dodgers to be the team to beat in the National League entering the 2013 season. It’s a supposed safe bet, given name-brand products and a payroll big enough to eclipse half of Hollywood.

Bad business decisions don’t render champions, though. Big money is a flawed formula, proven to be fallacious in professional sports; it’s tried and tired. Just ask the Red Sox and Yankees.

The Dodgers didn’t buy themselves a championship team. Instead, they bought a heaping landfill of bad contracts and wanna-be success. It’s not that the so-called “new blue” won’t compete with the reigning champs this summer, but checkbooks have never won championships, nor have clubhouse cancers, like Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez and Josh Beckett.

No sleek slogan is necessary for the Giants. The new season represents business as usual. Baseball-hungry fans, who have sold out picture-perfect AT&T Park for 180 consecutive contests, including postseason, will build on an already established reputation as the loudest fans in the game. The gentlemen in the clubhouse will pour grit and tenacity onto the diamond with one goal in mind: three titles in four seasons.

A team’s image is worthless when it doesn’t win. The Giants don’t have that problem. They have rings on their fingers to prove it.

It’s not even about beating the Dodgers. It’s about dominating October to climb atop the baseball world and prove critics wrong, again. It doesn’t matter that the Giants are chalked as average on paper because no team has ever won a championship on a legal pad.

The Giants return 22 of 25 players from last season’s triumphant team. The pitching staff is entirely intact and arguably better than ever, considering the resurrection of crafty lefty Barry Zito (15-8, 4.15 ERA, 114 Ks in 2012) and the potential revival of two-time Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum, who surrendered just five runs in 17.2 innings pitched in the 2012 postseason.

The cornerstone of the franchise, and defending NL MVP, Buster Posey (.336 AVG., 24 HRs, 103 RBI in 2012) is officially signed up for the next nine seasons after inking a $158 million contract extension.

Rising stars Brandon Belt (.275 AVG., 7 HRs, 56 RBI in 2012) and Brandon Crawford (.245 AVG., 4 HRs, 45 RBI in 2012) consistently flash signs of steady improvement, demonstrated in outstanding performances this spring.

Savvy veterans Angel Pagan (.288 AVG., 8 HRs, 56 RBI in 2012) and Marco Scutaro (.306 AVG., 7 HRs, 76 RBI in 2012) lock down the top of an order consumed in the old-fashioned idea of simply getting on base, instead of blasting home runs.

The Giants sustain the most solidified team concept in baseball. On-base percentage (.327 in 2012) combined with stellar pitching (3.68 ERA in 2012) is the acumen behind two championships in three seasons, and the reason why they stand a chance to repeat in 2013.

There isn’t hype engulfing the Giants into unrealistic expectations, but they’re aware of what they’re capable of. The same critics dubbing the Dodgers preseason favorites claim the Giants can’t do it again.

It’s an old mantra that the Giants continue to prove wrong.

Paul Swydan of FanGraphs (via ESPN Insider) chalked the Giants as unfit for October before the playoffs last season, pointing to a surplus of wins against “inferior competition.”

The irony in that standpoint is that no team has proven themselves more capable of dominating October than the Giants. They’ve done it twice in three seasons, recording an astounding 8-1 record in two World Series appearances.

Why would 2013 be any different?

The big money Dodgers are ignorantly considered the favorites in the NL West this season, but the Giants are ready to reclaim their role as World Champs.

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San Francisco is still relishing the aura of earning championship glory for the second time in three seasons as the offseason hot stove is about to start up.

The Giants have adopted a wait-and-see approach in relation to potentially resigning outfielder Angel Pagan and infielder Marco Scutaro.

GM Brian Sabean has publicly stated that the World Champions have prioritized bringing back the two catalysts that solidified the top of the order in 2012, but both free agents are commanding significant value in the market, and it remains unknown how much the Giants are willing to spend on player payroll entering the 2013 season.

The market should heat-up when MLB Winter Meetings commence in Nashville, Tennessee on December 3rd, although the Giants have until midnight EST of November 30th to tender contracts to Pagan and Scutaro before the exclusive signing period ends.

It doesn’t seem likely that either free agent will ink a contract before that date, however.

Pagan is widely considered to be one of the best outfielders on the market and is coming off a stellar season. The 31-year-old hit .288 with eight home runs and drove in 56 runs during the regular season, while also crushing a league-best 15 triples.

Pagan struggled in the postseason offensively, but played Gold Glove-caliber defense to aid a lights-out pitching staff en route to a championship.

He’s expected to earn a multi-year contract worth more than $10 million annually, which could prove to be too costly for the Giants, who have previously outlined a payroll ceiling in the $130 million range.

Scutaro has immeasurable value to the Giants and should be easier to retain than Pagan. The NLCS MVP was outstanding, hitting .362 in 61 regular season games with the Giants.

The 37-year-old veteran never let up in the postseason, mounting a historic performance in the NLCS when he collected six multi-hit games and sustained a .500 average. His 21 hits in 64 at bats were good enough for a .328 postseason average.

It would be cataclysmic for the Giants not to resign Scutaro. He figures to command a two-year deal worth about $16 million, which fits the Giants’ budget.

The Giants’ front office has not publicly stated what their expected player payroll will be for the 2013 season, but it should incrementally increase from last season’s figure of $130 million, especially given the influx of new revenue generated from winning another world championship.

Left-handed set-up man Jeremy Affeldt earned himself a three-year, $18 million deal after tossing 10.2 shutout innings in the postseason. That contract, coupled with contracts already in place, means that the Giants have approximately $84 million allocated to eight players for 2013, including all five starting pitchers.

It’s assumed that funky outfielder Hunter Pence will be retained in his final year of arbitration for a figure of about $13.8 million, which would increase total payroll to about $98 million.

That means the Giants have nearly $100 million in place for nine players. Team payroll has increased every year since 2008, jumping $22 million in 2011 after the Giants won a championship the season prior.

It would seem reasonable for player payroll to stretch to about $150 million for the 2013 season, giving Sabean approximately $50 million to sign 16 players, including those who are arbitration eligible.

The Giants’ eight arbitration-eligible players (not including Pence) are estimated to yield a collective sum of $27.1 million, according to MLB Trade Rumors. Those players include Santiago Casilla ($5.4), Brian Wilson ($8.5), Sergio Romo ($3.6), Jose Mijares ($1.6), Buster Posey ($5.9), Gregor Blanco ($1.3), and Joaquin Arias ($0.8).

If all eight arbitration-eligible players are retained for 2013, then the Giants’ player payroll would reach an estimated total of $125 million with nine available roster spots remaining.

Brandon Belt (1B), Brandon Crawford (SS), Hector Sanchez (C), and George Kontos (RHP) are among non-arbitration eligible players that had significant influence on the Giants’ 2012 title run. Each will earn approximately $0.6 million apiece.

Retaining both Pagan and Scutaro would boost the total payroll to at least $140 million and leave less than $10 million in the bank to fish for at least three more players.

Signing Pagan to a multi-year deal totaling more than $10 million annually could potentially cripple the Giants’ roster depth on the bench and in the bullpen.

However, failing to retain Pagan could prosper a significant void in the lead-off spot.

Blanco would be the most obvious candidate to fill in if Pagan signs elsewhere, but the speedy outfielder hit just .241 in the lead-off spot in 2012, compared to .321 in the seventh slot in the lineup.

The most pivotal decision that Sabean faces this offseason is consequentially whether or not to potentially overpay Pagan and keep the entirety of the 2012 World Series lineup in tact.

The Giants provided outlandish contracts to players such as Aubrey Huff (2 years, $22 million) and Cody Ross (1 year, $6 million) after winning the 2010 World Series.

It’s doubtful that they’d repeat a familiar debacle, but that decision is dependent on how highly they value their coveted center-fielder.

The Giants ultimately enter baseball’s winter meetings with two goals in mind: Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro.

The determining factor in retaining both players is objectively dependent on how high the Giants’ payroll ceiling climbs.

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The 35-year-old journeyman pitcher enters Game 6 of the NLCS with a chance to propel his team one step closer to winning their second NL pennant in three seasons. Ryan Vogelsong will take the ball at AT&T Park this Sunday night in what will be the biggest start of his major league career.

Don’t expect Vogelsong to back down, especially in front of what will be a raucous home crowd. Vogelsong dominated Game 2 en route to a 7-1 Giants win. He’ll try to duplicate that performance against former ace Chris Carpenter, who earned the loss in their first matchup. Vogelsong has allowed just 12 runners to reach base in 12 innings pitched this postseason while surrendering only two earned runs.

Vogelsong doesn’t overpower hitters with velocity; his two-seam fastball ranges from 89-91mph with hard downward movement, forcing batters to hit the ball on the ground. He mixes that pitch with a nasty cutter, painting the corner against righties while keeping them off-balance with a changeup that ranges 81-83mph. The Cardinals stack their lineup with right-handed hitters, giving Vogelsong a seeming edge as righties hit just .230 against him.

St. Louis will attempt to fend off Vogelsong and the Giants to win their second consecutive NL pennant, and they’ll need a solid outing from Carpenter to accomplish the feat.

Carpenter was lackluster in four innings of work in Game 2, giving up five runs on six hits, including a lead-off home run to speedy outfielder Angel Pagan. He has failed to get through the sixth inning in both of his playoff starts, although the hard-throwing right hander earned the win in his first postseason appearance against the Washington Nationals.

Vogelsong has to out-duel Carpenter again if the Giants are going to force a decisive Game 7.

If he fails to do so, it won’t be for lack of aptitude. Vogelsong will enter Game 6 with the same attitude that virtually aided him in reaching his pinnacle of success. A win would strengthen his accolades and force him into the upper echelon of big league pitchers.

But it’s not notoriety that Vogelsong seeks.

His elongated baseball journey has never been about that. Vogelsong‘s consistent demonstration of resilience embodies the mindset shared by his teammates. His inclination to achieve success and essentially ‘win the day’ is what drives Vogelsong. It’s what has launched the San Francisco Giants into believing they can overcome yet another gigantic playoff series deficit, and it’s what impels a sense of defeat into each opponent.

Vogelsong will try to give the Giants their fifth win in elimination games this postseason, a feat rarely accomplished.

Giants Manager Bruce Bochy assimilates his band of hard-nosed ballplayers with “cockroaches.” They sustain a “can’t-be-killed” mentality, partially encompassed in Vogelsong‘s fortitude. The Giants will test their resilience again in Game 6 and Ryan Vogelsong will lead the way.

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