The San Francisco Giants didn’t need to win the World Series for other teams to be envious of their starting pitching. They have entered the past two years as legitimate playoff contenders because of that staff, despite having a lineup full of question marks and well-traveled veterans.

So while most sports are considered copycat leagues, this win isn’t going to cause teams to suddenly realize they have to improve their own efforts to procure a high level of pitching talent.  They already knew that.

It starts with the Giants’ ace and the two-time reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, Tim Lincecum. He led the league in strikeouts for the third consecutive season, even if his overall numbers across the board appeared to be a little less dominant than the previous two. In the postseason he went 4-1 and 2-0 in the World Series, winning both the first and the last games of the Series.

Fire-balling Matt Cain didn’t allow a single run in three postseason starts and was particularly dominant against the Phillies and Rangers. He went 2-0, allowing only six hits in 14.2 innings during his National League Championship Series and World Series appearances.

Lefty Jonathan Sanchez didn’t fare quite as well in the postseason, going 0-2 (someone had to lose games for the Giants), but he didn’t receive a decision in a masterful effort over the Braves in the National League Division Series. He also posted the best ERA in the regular season for the Giants at 3.07.

 Madison Bumgarner, just 21 years old, represented the fourth member of the Giants’ postseason starting rotation. After a brief stint with the team late last year, he returned to AAA Fresno for a 14- game tuneup before resuming his big league career. That happened in late June, and 18 starts later he enjoyed a 2-0 postseason of his own, including eight shutout innings against the Rangers in game four of the World Series.

San Francisco accomplished its victory without its big free-agent acquisition from the 2006-07 offseason, Barry Zito, who was left off of the playoff roster. Manager Bruce Bochy knew his starting staff would go only four deep in the playoffs  and decided not to carry the veteran lefty in his bullpen.

(That move alone was somewhat of a microcosm of how this team was managed and played.  No one seemed to be stuck in any one role – Aubrey Huff, the team’s best hitter, bunted with runners on first and second in the final game of the series – and the lineup never looked the same from one day to the next.)

Not only was this group of pitchers collectively good, but they also stayed healthy. Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez and Zito all started 33 games. Bumgarner started 18 in a row since his callup, replacing Todd Wellemeyer, who made 11 starts for the Giants. Only one other pitcher made a start for the Giants all year long. Joe Martinez (who was traded at the deadline along with John Bowker for Javier Lopez of the Pirates) made one start in mid-June.

That means only seven pitchers made starts for the Giants this year.

Lincecum and Cain easily surpassed 200 innings pitched, while Zito and Sanchez just missed (199 and 193, respectively).

Even more astonishing is that Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez and Bumgarner (all right, Martinez as well) were all drafted and developed entirely from within.

Lincecum (2006), Cain (2002) and Bumgarner (2007) were all first-round picks, while Sanchez went in the 27th round in 2004.

Joining Sanchez as a late-round success story from the Giants’ drafting and player development success is closer Brian Wilson, who led all of baseball in saves this past year with 48 and continued his dominance into the postseason.  In 10 postseason games, he recorded six saves and allowed only five hits, striking out 16 batters in 11.2 innings.

Bullpen mate Sergio Romo was also drafted by the Giants (28th round in 2005) and was a big part of their success.

However, the starters were so good, it didn’t even seem as though the Giants needed much of a bullpen. After the first game of the World Series, in which six relievers were used by San Francisco to get through the final 4.1 innings, the bullpen was used for only 6.1 more innings across the four final games. Wilson tossed two of those frames, recording saves in games four and five.

It should be noted that almost all of the teams pitched well this postseason. The Yankees and Twins were the only teams to post a staff ERA over 3.80, with four teams below the 3.00 mark, and one (Atlanta Braves, 1.95) below 2.00.

There is more internal help on the way for San Francisco.

Hard throwing left-handed reliever Dan Runzler was eased into big-league life this year, making 41 appearances but tossing only 32.2 innings. Waldis Joaquin, another hard-throwing reliever, has also spent some time in the big-league bullpen with the Giants each of the last two years, but inconsistent control has limited those stints. Henry Sosa is another live-armed righty that is on the cusp of contributing to the big-league ‘pen, and Jason Stoffel could be fast-tracked for a similar role.

They are a little thin in true starters in the upper levels, not that they need them.  The organization’s best prospect and the sixth overall pick from the 2009 draft, Zack Wheeler, made his professional debut this past season and fared quite well for the Augusta Greenjackets at the low-A level. Lefty Clayton Tanner, coming off of a solid season at the AA level, should be prepared to help out next season should the team need a starter from within.

You won’t find too much rhyme or reason to what kind of pitchers the Giants draft. They seem to prefer bigger guys with equally big arms, but that didn’t stop them from taking Lincecum, and they certainly don’t shy away from high school arms. Quite simply, they are the best at what they do best.

Good enough

Don’t expect the Giants’ starting lineup to be copied by any team in the near future. Watching and listening to most of the games throughout the playoffs, I often heard the usual cliches about how this was the Giants’ year, and how they were destined to win it all. Looking at some of the names in their lineup, this is the one year I actually buy into those cliches.

Huff had a fine year, batting .290/.385/.506 while leading the team with 26 home runs and 86 RBIs. He also led his club in runs scored with 100, seemingly low totals for a team leader in those categories.

Rookie Buster Posey led the team in batting with a .305 average, the only Giants hitter to hit above the .300 mark.

Andres Torres led the club in doubles and was the only player on his team to have more than seven stolen bases with 26.

Joining Posey and Huff as regulars in the everyday lineup were Pablo Sandoval (who didn’t play nearly as much during the postseason) and Juan Uribe. Torres, Edgar Renteria, Cody Ross, Pat Burrell, Aaron Roward, Travis Ishikawa and Freddy Sanchez were all juggled in and out of the lineup to receive regular, if not consistent, playing time for the other four spots in the lineup.

You don’t have to crunch the numbers too far to recognize this truly was a team effort, but don’t slap the small-ball label on this team, either. Collectively they only stole 55 bases (second to last in the NL) and were caught another 32 times, a far less than desirable 63 percent success rate.

They were also fairly good at hitting the ball over the fence, finishing sixth in the league in both home runs and slugging, seventh in batting and ninth in runs scored.

The three previous World Series winners finished first, second and third in their leagues in runs scored and boasted names such as Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Derek Jeter, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Kevin Youkilis, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz.

I’m not saying the Giants are an anomaly, as the team achieved success quite similar to how the White Sox did so in 2005. The Sox also finished ninth in the league in runs scored with a relative group of no-namers in their starting lineup, while also boasting the American League’s best pitching staff.

Outside of Posey, the Giants haven’t fared quite as well developing their own impact hitters from within. Sandoval enjoyed a huge season in 2009, but dropped back significantly this past year with serious questions about his body and conditioning. First-round picks Nick Noonan and Conor Gillaspie haven’t hit as well as expected, although both spent the year at the AA level.  While the team has increased and improved its presence in Latin America, the $2.1 million they gave Angel Villalona at this point in time seems to be a giant mistake.

They have seemed to recognize the need for more bats in their system, using five of their top six picks from the last two years on hitters. In addition, first baseman Brandon Belt enjoyed a breakout year, spending time at three levels this past season, and he is now knocking at the door to the big leagues and may be considered a replacement for Huff, a free agent.  Outfielder Thomas Neal continued to progress with another strong season at the AA level. Another outfielder, Francisco Peguero, is another example of the Giants’ increased spending in Latin America, as he too enjoyed a big year one step below Neal.

Regardless of how they are built, their strengths and their weaknesses, it will be difficult for the Giants to repeat for the simple fact that in the last 10 years – after the Yankees’ dominance in the late 1990s – only one team (Boston Red Sox) has won more than one World Series.

The thoughts and opinions listed here do not necessarily reflect those of Perfect Game USA.  Patrick Ebert is affiliated with both Perfect Game USA and 5 Tool Talk, and can be contacted via email at pebert@5tooltalk.com.