It's easy to buy the notion that the Giants can contend. Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain are really good at the top of the rotation, Randy Johnson has changed speeds this spring and thrown in the 90s, and in his last start Barry Zito -- who maintains his delivery is coming back -- threw harder and with a better breaking ball than at any time this spring. Bruce Bochy is trying to fill out the bullpen in front of closer Brian Wilson, who could easily be mistaken for a Metallica roadie.

But as much as there is hope for Pablo Sandoval at third and Travis Ishikawa at first, there are questions about the defense on the left side of the infield and about how many runs the Giants can score.

Sure, they are improved, but the thought is that their pitching will allow the Giants to eat up a weak NL West division and win 87-90 games. The problem is, other than the Padres trying to rebuild from ground zero, the rest of the NL West isn't as bad as portrayed. The Dodgers probably have the best positional team in the league, although they have pitching depth issues. The Diamondbacks strike out a ton, but if Justin Upton, Stephen Drew and others improve and if they can line up the rotation and bullpen to the point of adequacy behind Brandon Webb and Danny Haren, the D-backs can be an 85-90 win team.

And I may be crazy, but the Rockies are nowhere near as bad as some think. They will badly miss Matt Holliday and Jeff Francis, but if they get stability behind Aaron Cook and Ubaldo Jimenez, if Ian Stewart blossoms, if Todd Helton comes back, this is a dangerous team; they have Dexter Fowler, Ryan Spilborghs, Carlos Gonzalez, Matt Murton, Brad Hawpe and Seth Smith for outfielders. That's a lot of talent.
I disagree with Gammon's thought on the Rockies, not on the Giants. The Rockies do not look that good. Losing Holliday and Francis hurts and hurts a lot. Todd Helton seems to have his swing back, hitting over .500 this spring with a ton of extra base hits, but he can't carry this offense anymore. Hawpe and Atkins will suffer from Holliday absence. The pitching is pretty weak or inconsistent behind Cook but the bullpen will be much improved. All in all, the offense will suffer and the starting pitching can't hold up. I see a 4th place finish.

One thing's for sure, the Giants are definitely improved.