Of all of the things that could have happened this off season I didn't expect the Giants to turn into the most overexposed team in the country.
I guess that is something that happens when you win the World Series and are situated in one of the largest markets in the country (#4 for radio and #6 for TV) but man I didn't see all of this coming.
The attention is well deserved but I have to say that this makes me nervous. The band of misfits
(also the title of forthcoming book by Giants beat writer Andrew Baggarly) thrived while being the underdog that no one believed in and now that they are the team in the limelight with the target on their back can they also thrive as a front runner.First and foremost I want the Giants to win games, spreading "Giants Nation" isn't the biggest priority for me especially if it is a source of distraction for a team that should be in contention once again. As a fan of this team I already saw the team have to deal with the everyday circus that was Barry Bonds at the end of his career and you have to imagine that it didn't make performing at the highest level easy but that was just one player this round of scrutiny will hang over all of the players.
I get that the Giants have some very marketable players (Tim Lincecum and Buster Posey) and some personalities that are made for TV (Brian Wilson, Aubrey Huff and Pat Burrell seem to right out of central casting) that need to be shown off to the rest of the country.
You just have to wonder what kind of effect this will have on the team. It is easy to have all the attention when things are rolling but what happens during the inevitable rough patch that will pop up during a 162 game 6 month season. This kind of thing may make sense form a public relations angle but what about from a winning angle?
This just adds to the already daunting task facing the Giants this seasons as the defending champions and I think that the added pressure is not necessary.
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