Same ol’ players: Giants hope unchanged lineup leads to wins

MLB lineups are altering at a speedy tempo with free-agent signings and trades. Among the many groups that haven’t dramatically modified their make-up: the defending NL West champion San Francisco Giants.

“One of many issues that helped us win a pair World Sequence earlier in my profession (2012 and 2014) was maintaining the identical guys round,’’ veteran shortstop Brandon Crawford mentioned Tuesday. “I really feel like we form of knew what success appeared like and we will construct off that success from final 12 months, with many of the group again, not less than from the lineup standpoint.’’

Crawford, 35, is coming off his fourth Gold Glove and third All-Star season, posting an .893 OPS, and .298 batting common, together with 24 residence runs because the Giants went 107-55 to finish the Dodgers’ eight-year consecutive run of NL West Division titles.

“The extra you play with guys, the extra comfy you’re going to be, whether or not it’s floor balls or shallow pop ups, you might have a reasonably good concept of the place they will be,‘’ Crawford mentioned.

Third baseman Evan Longoria mentioned it is uncommon to see how few persons are new at spring coaching, which he mentioned “can go a great distance.”

“You’re not feeling like it’s important to be taught a ton of latest folks … you’re not having to construct camaraderie. Camaraderie is a big half, I feel, of a profitable workforce,” Longoria mentioned. “We had nice relationships final 12 months, everyone actually meshed collectively, and I feel that’s why we had been capable of be so good.’’

That familiarity and camaraderie extends to third-year supervisor Gabe Kapler, who changed longtime skipper Bruce Bochy.

“We’re getting increasingly comfy with Kap and that results in much more communication,’’ Crawford mentioned.

Of the position-player group, Kapler mentioned: “They’ve a extremely good understanding of how we run our offense and the way we use our bench, and the way we attempt to get guys off their ft. That familiarity is a feather in our cap and one thing we will lean on going into the season.’’

Off the sphere, the group is tight, too. A number of gamers reside within the Scottsdale space within the offseason.

“We spend birthdays collectively,’’ Longoria mentioned.

When the 99-day lockout prohibited entry to the Giants’ amenities, Crawford and Longoria ramped up their hitting in Longoria’s yard cage.

“I’ve felt good the previous few days … with the place my swing is,’’ Crawford mentioned. “I had a reasonably good basis to return to. I feel we simplified issues a lot the previous few years, it was simple to return to.’’

When requested if Crawford is ready for one more season effectively above his profession averages of .727 OPS and .254 batting common, Kapler mentioned, “with Craw and the remainder of our gamers, we actually need to deal with the issues we need to management, issues like, how we follow, how we plan and put together for the moments which are troublesome within the season. And having a plan in place for when occasions get powerful.

“We actually belief that these issues will result in good statistical outcomes and good win/loss outcomes, and good chasing postseason outcomes.”