Ninety losses usually equate to a bad season, but the Giants' youth movement, implemented in the final two months, left intriguing results.

Corner infielder/catcher Pablo Sandoval, a .345 hitter in 145 at-bats (just 14 strikeouts), and middle infielder Emmanuel Burriss figure to be in next year's lineup, along with left fielder Fred Lewis, who played his first full season in the majors, and maybe right fielder Nate Schierholtz if Randy Winn is traded.

Ace Tim Lincecum, a Cy Young Award candidate, and closer Brian Wilson were All-Stars all season.

So 2008, the first year without Barry Bonds, came and went with a one-game improvement over 2007, but the bigger picture is that the Giants have more hope for the future. For years, their farm system was one of the worst -- Lewis is the first player since Bill Mueller who was drafted by the Giants and evolved into an everyday player.

The Giants finally went with their long-awaited youth movement beginning in early August. It came after they failed to trade their veterans (other than Ray Durham) before the July 31 trade deadline.

The results were better after the team went younger. The Giants were 44-63 before Aug. 1, 26-27 after.

But to return to contention, they need outside help, particularly in the heart of the lineup. Bengie Molina was the cleanup hitter and led the team with just 16 home runs, and top newcomer Aaron Rowand (five years, $60 million) hit .271 with 13 homers, and he had just one RBI in September.

The bullpen, except for closer Brian Wilson, was sub-par, though rookie Sergio Romo made a late splash, going 3-1 with a 2.12 ERA.

The strength is the rotation, led by Lincecum, who topped the majors with 265 strikeouts and was second in the NL with a 2.62 ERA. But Matt Cain had a second consecutive losing record (8-14) despite a 3.76 ERA, and Jonathan Sanchez struggled in the final two months. He was 8-4 before July 1, 1-8 after.

Barry Zito, in the second year of his seven-year, $126 million contract, lost his first eight games and finished 10-17 with a 5.15 ERA.

Copyright (C) 2008 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.