I'm just not sure who out there thought the Giants could overtake Arizona, LA, or Colorado. All three of the aforementioned teams have by far better lineups. Adding to this, I think Arizona (especially with the whole humidor thing) and LA both have better pitching staffs than the Giants, even if they had Madbum. Probably not the Rockies however, given the youth of their staff, and of course, Coors Field. Regardless, Longoria and McCutchen were great four years ago. This year (what's the phrase, the twilight of their careers) if you got a .280 average, twenty something home runs, maybe eighty runs and rbi's, out of both, you couldn't complain, in fact you'd be downright ecstatic. Still, this production would not be good enough to save the Giants. Really, I'm kind of glad. I was tired of seeing them, seemingly every year, miraculously getting to the World Series. As you said, this is what happens when an organization fails to keep their prospects. Eventually, it always catches up.
RE: Big Trouble by the Bay