Its interesting...the top teams most people feel are the two worst teams in baseball, the Phillies and White Sox, are both playing decent ball and winning with youth lately. Not so the Giants, who are still using their grizzled veterans and are losing regularly and might just slip into that 1.1 spot if they keep sending out guys who have basically called it a year.
The Giants right now remind me so much of the 2012-2015 Phillies, who refused to give up the ghost on their past success and kept hoping for one more magical lightning in a bottle campaign. I would think a wise GM like Sabean would know better but he sounds like Amaro when he continues to insist that the Giants aren't going to rebuild, they are going to reload.
So many similarities...many years of sustained winning, a million sellouts in a row, great park, great fans, great run. But teams need to know when to start over and move on. Someone on this site mentioned Bumgarner are a guy to go after and I thought this was a brilliant idea, though I do not think the Giants could let him go psychologically right now...much as the Phils were pained at the thought of even moving Hamels for young talent.
BUT, if it were possible, this is the guy I would target...still youngish, tough as nails, a #1 starter, lefty, good leader and a tradition of winning big games. He knows he made a dumb mistake this spring, has owned up to it and is back to pitching well. He is the unquestioned co-leader of the clubhouse [along with Posey] and would be a wonderful addition for the Phils.
Odds are slim, but a Bumgarner would be precisely the kind of out of the box move that the Phils should be considering right now.,