[OutsiderFan]

I've grown quite tired of the Dodgers finding guys off the trash heap nobody wanted and then turning them into All Stars.  Justin Turner, Max Muncy, and Rich Hill all were nothing players until they got to the Fodgers. That's why I told a buddy a couple weeks ago that Zaidi is turning the Giants into the Dodgers with all these guys nobody wanted starting to perform for the Giants.

Reading all the fan comments online, it's pretty clear Giants fans have convinced themselves Farhan Zaidi has some sort of baseball personnel move Midas touch, and that he's developing a cult of personality following without doing much talking, as evidenced by the fact everyone calls him Farhan. The fans are starting to get expectations about another post-season run, probably based on the fact the Giants have won coming from nowhere before. There is not a lot of objective thinking going on within the fan base right now as a result, but I don't know if paid professionals know any better.

There are several dynamics at work on the team right now that make evaluating it properly very difficult:

- The turnover of the roster from first half to second; basically two different teams
- Bumgarner eschewing trade talk, turning into MadBum and making the team believe it can win, by example
- The bullpen that masks a lot of offensive warts; 9-2 in extra inning games, 22-10 in 1-run games = best in MLB
- Bochy's final year and guys wanting to win for him
- Bochy managing the team and melding the personalities
- All the energy from guys getting their first Big League chances when they thought they might never get them
- The win streak that has to give the team more confidence to play better down stretch
- The rest of the National League outside of the Dodgers and Braves not being all that much better now, if at all

[OutsiderFan]

I've grown quite tired of the Dodgers finding guys off the trash heap nobody wanted and then turning them into All Stars.  Justin Turner, Max Muncy, and Rich Hill all were nothing players until they got to the Fodgers. That's why I told a buddy a couple weeks ago that Zaidi is turning the Giants into the Dodgers with all these guys nobody wanted starting to perform for the Giants.

Reading all the fan comments online, it's pretty clear Giants fans have convinced themselves Farhan Zaidi has some sort of baseball personnel move Midas touch, and that he's developing a cult of personality following without doing much talking, as evidenced by the fact everyone calls him Farhan. The fans are starting to get expectations about another post-season run, probably based on the fact the Giants have won coming from nowhere before. There is not a lot of objective thinking going on within the fan base right now as a result, but I don't know if paid professionals know any better.

There are several dynamics at work on the team right now that make evaluating it properly very difficult:

- The turnover of the roster from first half to second; basically two different teams
- Bumgarner eschewing trade talk, turning into MadBum and making the team believe it can win, by example
- The bullpen that masks a lot of offensive warts; 9-2 in extra inning games, 22-10 in 1-run games = best in MLB
- Bochy's final year and guys wanting to win for him
- Bochy managing the team and melding the personalities
- All the energy from guys getting their first Big League chances when they thought they might never get them
- The win streak that has to give the team more confidence to play better down stretch
- The rest of the National League outside of the Dodgers and Braves not being all that much better now, if at all