Can Giants' Madison Bumgarner Avoid World Series Hangover?

Filed under: Giants, Spring Training SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Madison Bumgarner sits at the intersection of baseball's old and new schools. Last year the Giants rookie phenom came to the big leagues and pitched beautifully. And he pitched. And pitched. And pitched. He pitched more innings, over more weeks, than he'd ever pitched before. Modern baseball statistical analysis is full of evidence that young pitchers who see dramatic increases in their workload are headed for trouble, either injury or ineffectiveness. The Giants were well aware of the numbers. But they also let their eyes guide them. Bumgarner looked fine, said he felt fine, and he pitched well. Besides, they were trying to get to the playoffs and win a World Series -- which they did -- and there were no better alternatives.