Ray Ratto doesn't hold out much hope for the Giants, but he points out Bochy has the experience for this rebuilding:

"This isn't like if we were in the American League, where you have some teams that can go out and win the 10-9 game when their pitching isn't right," he said. "That's why we have the sense of optimism that this can happen in a year. You just see what Arizona did, and you realize that maybe we're not that far away."

Yeah, maybe. But probably not. Rebuilds are painful, especially ones that have been deferred as long as this one. The Giants are probably closer to what you think of them than what Bochy thinks of them, but as much as he was hired for a year like this, there is one other thing to consider.

He was also hired for the year after a year like this one. Bruce Bochy won't be the reason the Giants get better, when they do, or even if, and he doesn't pretend that he is. Bochy can, however, say that having done this before, he is as suited to easing the transition from Barry Bonds' backup band to a contender as any manager in baseball.

If the pitching turns out to be great, the Giants don't need to build a great offense to contend, just a pretty good one.