Good Pitching Wins Baseball Games, Right?

We've all heard the cliché sayings that dominate the world of sports. "Defense wins championships", "Drive for show, putt for dough", "A season is a marathon, not a sprint", etc. And if you're familiar with all of these clichés, you have to be familiar with the idea that good pitching always beats good hitting. It makes sense, right? Well, it makes sense if you're not a member of the San Francisco Giants, because they seem to be defying that piece of logic.

Let me start off by saying the Giants are NOT awful. But they aren't great either. Currently in 3rd place in the turrrible NL West, the Giants aren't exactly sitting pretty and are piling up just as many wins as they are losses.

But according to the cliché statement about pitching, these Giants should have one of the better records in baseball. They have the best pitcher in the National League in 24-year-old Tim Lincecum and the National League's best relief pitcher in Brian Wilson. Don't believe me? Lincecum leads the National League in strikeouts and overall winning percentage, while Brian Wilson leads the National League in saves. And it's not just these two, either. 25-year-old Jonathan Sanchez is 5th in the NL for strikeouts and Matt Cain is currently 7th (he will move up after his start tonight). That's three pitchers out of the Top 10 Strikeout leaders in the league. Yet the Giants still hold one of baseball's middle-of-the-road records and have a miniscule, if not microscopic chance of making the playoffs. 

So the question I ask is, what is wrong with the Giants? Even their offense, which everyone claims to be supremely sub-par, is really not that bad. They are, as a team, 5th in the National League in Batting Average, 7th in On Base Percentage, and 6th in Stolen Bases. So really, why can't the Giants win?

I haven't really come up with an answer yet, but I am sure one will become apparent as the season goes on. Meanwhile, if this year isn't the year for the Giants to make the playoffs, we can look forward to some really good baseball from the team in the future. Most of the core players for the Giants are around the 25-year-old range, which means that, as they grow in their levels of experience, these guys are going to be really good. As for now, the Giants need to figure out why they can't win this season. 

Have any possible answers? Write some comments and let me know why you think the Giants are in the position they are currently in.