Are the San Francisco Giants National League pennant contenders?

I don't think I had this question on my mind a week ago. And I hate to jump to conclusions in April baseball (remember the Orioles led the AL East in 2005 for two months before finishing 74-88), but man, the San Francisco Giants look good and the NL West looks really good. So, are the San Francisco Giants NL pennant contenders? Their 6-1 record is tops in the majors with the Phillies.

Let's just walk through the Giants start to the season and maybe a few of you will follow this team a little closer this season. And bear in mind, as author of this blog, I reserve the right to completely change my opinion next week.

The first thing that jumps out to me about the Giants is their starting pitching. Two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum looks, surprise surprise, dominting through his first two starts. Try this on for size, 2-0 record with 1.29 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 17 strikeouts in 14 innings. It's possible he gets the three peat this year, especially if he continues on that incredible pace. Barry Zito is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA. Matt Cain had a decent first start and we can expect another great year out of him with a career 3.53 ERA and 163+ strikeouts in each of the last four seasons. Todd Wellemeyer and Jonathan Sanchez may not be the best four or five starters, but neither are terrible and Sanchez has the potential to bring electric stuff out to the mound any given start. Just check out his no-hitter last year.

The Giants have a team 2.82 ERA, first in the National League, and a 40-23 run differential on the year. Their top four bullpen guys, Brian Wilson, Sergio Romo, Guillermo Mota and Dan Runzler haven't allowed a run in 14 1/3 innings.

But the pitching shouldn't be too big of a surprise, even if it still remarkably good through seven games. It's the offense that has caught my eye. Going up against division rivals like the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers, the Giants knew they were going to have to score runs. Pitching can only take you so far. Sometimes you just have to score some runs. Ask Matt Cain about that, 3.53 ERA, 44-51 career record.

The Giants are batting .294 as a team, fourth in the majors. Edgar Renteria has made an immediate impact. Renteria is hitting .440 with a 1.157 OPS. And that's with an 0-4 yesterday against the Pirates. Renteria isn't the only one raking. Bengie Molina is hitting .421 with 7 RBIs and the panda Pablo Sandoval is hitting .414 with a 1.158 OPS. Not bad considering new acquistion Mark DeRosa is about the only one not hitting on this team with a .217 average. I expect those very high averages to come down to earth and DeRosa to settle in around .285.

Now this offensive output will most certainly not continue, but it's good for manager Bruce Bochy to know his team at least has the capability for an offensive outpouring on any given night. Yes, the Giants started against the hapless Astros, but took 2 of 3 from a quality Atlanta Braves team that they may be competing against for the wild card.

I still like the Rockies to win this division, but if a big injury hits them Jeff Francis can't produce on the mound, the Giants could make a giant leap in this 2010 season and find themselves in the playoffs. But its only been seven games. Stay tuned.