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You have to hand it to those San Francisco Giants: Their offense doesn't scare many people, but they sure are predictable.

The Giants rank 28th in the majors in runs and have only 18 homers, but they're hanging around in the National League West thanks to one of baseball's best starting rotations. That's precisely what the experts envisioned in spring training.

Cincinnati, Atlanta and Kansas City have also played to form, with strong pitching staffs carrying marginal offenses. At the opposite end of the spectrum, you can always count on Texas to score runs and surrender them by the 10-gallon-hatful.

But baseball, like life, often strays from the plan, and lots of general managers are aiming at a moving target these days. Just as one facet of the team surpasses expectations, a problem arises somewhere else. And suddenly it's mid-May, and you feel as if you're looking at a roster full of strangers.

This week's edition of Starting 9 takes a look at "plot twists''-- clubs that have changed character in a way that defies the Cactus and Grapefruit league expectations. North is south, day is night, up is down and Wandy Rodriguez ranks third in the National League with a 1.80 ERA. It's a strange world.

Cleveland Indians

The outlook in March: Lots of people figured the Tribe, with its rotation, would be challenged to compete in the American League Central. Cliff Lee seemed like a lock to regress after his Cy Young performance, and Fausto Carmona, Carl Pavano, Anthony Reyes and Scott Lewis didn't inspire much confidence behind him.

Fortunately, general manager Mark Shapiro spent the winter working diligently to upgrade a bullpen that was among the game's worst in 2008. With Jensen Lewis, Rafael Betancourt, Masa Kobayashi, Rafael Perez and Joe Smith in front of $20 million man Kerry Wood, the Indians appeared well-fortified in the late innings.

The reality in May: Where do we begin?

The starting pitching, while not great, has been good enough that Cleveland should be better than 12-22. Pavano is 3-0 with a 3.66 ERA in May, and Lee has pitched far better than his 1-5 record suggests. The Indians have scored a total of six runs in his five losses.

But Cleveland's bullpen has been a horror show. Indians relievers helped stoke a seven-run inning in Toronto and a 12-run abomination in Boston. They've allowed 34 of 69 inherited runners to score, with Lewis yielding 11-of-18 and Kobayashi going a perfect (if you want to call it that) 6-for-6.

Shapiro has tinkered like crazy to fix the problem. The Indians called up Vinnie Chulk, Aaron Laffey, Tony Sipp, Rich Rundles and Matt Herges from the minors. They sent Perez, Rundles and Zach Jackson back to Triple-A, shifted Laffey from the rotation to the bullpen, designated Chulk for assignment and shut down Smith with a strained rotator cuff.

Shapiro said Tuesday that "a lot more'' moves are in store by the weekend. Luis Vizcaino, recently released by the Cubs, should sign with Cleveland shortly, and Smith is expected back from the DL within 10 days. In the meantime, the pen isn't doing much for manager Eric Wedge's job security.

"We're just looking for answers,'' Shapiro said. "At some point it's clear that the combination you've got in place is not going to work, and you have to keep looking for alternatives. With the talent we have in place, it's hard to accept the fact that the bullpen is going to undermine our season.''

Oakland Athletics

The outlook in March: The A's defied convention by carrying an all-kid rotation on Opening Day. But at least the young ones wouldn't have to fret about run support. When Oakland added Matt Holliday, Jason Giambi, Orlando Cabrera and Nomar Garciaparra, it assured the A's would be more productive than last season, when they ranked 27th in the majors in runs scored.

The reality in May: Thanks to a 12-run outburst against Kansas City on Tuesday, the A's rank 26th in the majors in runs scored.

Injuries haven't helped. Eric Chavez, Mark Ellis and Garciaparra have all spent time on the disabled list. But with the exception of Jack Cust and Kurt Suzuki, the team's core players have underachieved. Holliday went homer-less until April 30, and Giambi's slugging percentage (.354) is just a tick better than his on base percentage (.347).

"I don't have a real good nuts-and-bolts explanation, unfortunately,'' assistant GM David Forst said. "But we feel confident there will come a time when everybody hits their stride and it becomes contagious and we play better baseball as a whole. These guys are going to figure it out. They're too good not to.''

The starting rotation has been a mixed bag, with Dallas Braden faring well and Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson enduring the usual growing pains. Andrew Bailey, Michael Wuertz and the ageless Russ Springer have been terrific in the pen, but Oakland's relievers have logged a major-league-high 118 innings. That workload is going to take a toll eventually.

Los Angeles Angels

The outlook in March: The Angels knew it would be a challenge early with starters John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar and Ervin Santana on the shelf because of injuries. The team took a much bigger hit, on and off the field, when top prospect Nick Adenhart was killed in a car accident in April.

But the bullpen looked strong enough to survive the loss of Francisco Rodriguez to the Mets. On paper, the contingent of Scot Shields, Jose Arredondo, Darren Oliver and new closer Brian Fuentes seemed more than adequate.

The reality in May: Jered Weaver and Joe Saunders both rank among the AL leaders in ERA, and the Angels have gotten as much as they could have expected from fill-in starters Shane Loux and Matt Palmer.

But the relief corps has been downright Cleveland-esque, with a 2-9 record and a 6.90 ERA. The league is batting .298 against the Angels' bullpen, which has allowed at least one run in 20 of 29 games this season.

Shields, bothered by patella tendinitis in his left knee, has walked 12 batters in 12 2/3 innings. Arredondo has 19 strikeouts and only four walks, but falls in love with his splitter at times. Fuentes, the new closer, has had good days and bad days.

"He's going to have his slumps more than most closers because his delivery is so high-maintenance,'' a scout said. "It's very unorthodox and awkward, and it looks like it could be tough to repeat. He'll go through stretches where he can't locate his secondary stuff or his fastball, and when he's getting hurt, he's just leaving pitches over the middle of the plate.''

The best thing to be said for the Angels' four-year, $18 million investment in Justin Speier is that it's closer to the end than the beginning.

"His stuff just isn't as good anymore, and he doesn't get ahead in the count enough to use his split,'' the scout said.

Boston Red Sox

The outlook in March: David Ortiz and Mike Lowell entered the season with health concerns, but the Red Sox knew they would be competitive because of a killer starting rotation and a deep bullpen. With a Big Three of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Sox had reason to believe they could match up with anyone.

The reality in May: After 33 games, Boston's starters rank last in the big leagues with a 5.72 ERA. Beckett, Lester and Brad Penny have mixed in enough clunkers to put a strain on the bullpen, and Matsuzaka lasted two starts before going on the disabled list with a shoulder injury.

Things would be worse if not for Boston's 42-year-old, knuckleball-throwing godsend. Tim Wakefield leads the staff with five quality starts, and he's pitching like a spry young kid of 39 or 40. Kevin Youkilis is on the disabled list with an oblique strain, Ortiz's homerless streak has reached 119 at-bats and the resilient Red Sox just keep on winning.

Wakefield hasn't pitched 200 innings in a season since 2005, so it's hard to say how he'll hold up this summer. But Charlie Hough, Phil Niekro and Hoyt Wilhelm all pitched into their late 40s, so Wakefield is still a threat to hang around awhile and surpass the franchise record for wins shared by Cy Young and Roger Clemens. Each pitcher won 192 games in Boston. Wakefield is at 168 -- and counting.

New York Yankees

The outlook in March: Sure, the loss of Alex Rodriguez was going to put a crimp in the Yankees' production, but the team had plenty of pitching to weather the storm. CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte and Joba Chamberlain made for a formidable rotation. And the Yankees were counting on Mark Teixeira to have a huge impact both offensively and defensively.

The reality in May: New York's staff ranks last in the majors with a 5.78 ERA, and a suspect bullpen is only part of the problem. Wang headed for the DL in the name of self-preservation after three starts. Sabathia has picked it up of late, but Burnett's ERA has spiked from 2.70 to 5.36 since mid-April.

The Yankees are second in the majors in slugging, but not because of Teixeira. Johnny Damon (1.006) and Nick Swisher (1.000) rank first and second on the team in OPS. Melky Cabrera is slugging .531, and perennial slow starter Robinson Cano was terrific in April before backsliding in May.

Teixeira, another notorious slow starter, has outdone himself this year with a .191 average in 110 at-bats. He's been working with hitting coach Kevin Long to iron out his mechanics, but the challenge of maintaining two swings doesn't make it any easier.

"I'm very upset I'm not getting hits,'' Teixeira recently told reporters. "I'm very upset I'm not coming through for my team and I'm embarrassed that I'm hitting one-something. It's embarrassing.''

The Yankees are sixth in the AL in runs scored. That's not bad for a club that has doled out more than 200 at-bats to Brett Gardner, Cody Ransom, Ramiro Pena, Jose Molina and Francisco Cervelli.

Florida Marlins

The outlook in March: Scouts in the Grapefruit League had questions about Florida's defense and major reservations about the bullpen. If the Marlins were going to contend, they would have to lean heavily on the rotation of Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco, Chris Volstad, Anibal Sanchez and Andrew Miller. But once the Marlins got a lead, who was going to protect it?

The reality in May: "About 10 days ago I said to the group, 'Our weakness has become our strength, and our strength has become our weakness,'" assistant general manager Dan Jennings said. "Or so we thought.''

Florida's heralded rotation is 8-13 with a 4.74 ERA. Johnson and Volstad have been fine, but Miller and Sanchez are on the disabled list and Nolasco has developed a severe case of big inning-itis. He's been victimized by nine multiple-run innings already this season.

The bullpen, meanwhile, has been superb in front of closer Matt Lindstrom. The league is hitting .151 against Leo Nunez, .152 against Dan Meyer and .158 against Kiko Calero. Florida's relievers lead the majors in strikeouts, and they've put together streaks of 24 and 19 consecutive shutout innings. Pitching coach Mark Wiley stressed fastball command from day one of spring training, and the philosophy has resonated up and down the pen.

Calero, who signed a minor league deal for $500,000 in January, is on pace to appear in 93 games.

"He's a flyer guy that almost every team in baseball passed on because his injury track record was so bad,'' an American League executive said.

Detroit Tigers

The outlook in March: The Tigers were one of only four clubs to hit 200 homers last year, and they ranked fourth in the majors with a .784 OPS. Even with some age on the roster, they didn't expect to have much trouble scoring runs.

But who was going to lead the staff? Justin Verlander posted a 4.84 ERA last year and tied for the major league lead with 17 losses. Edwin Jackson flamed out after the All-Star break in Tampa Bay, and Rick Porcello was the staff ace for Seton Hall Prep in New Jersey in 2007.

The reality in May: Things are coming together for Jim Leyland's club. Verlander is throwing in the upper 90s again, and he's regained command of his curveball. Jackson has been terrific. Porcello, at age 20, is showing he belongs, and Armando Galarraga went 3-0 with a 1.85 ERA in April.

The offense, however, is middle of the pack. Magglio Ordonez has two homers in 112 at-bats, and Carlos Guillen carried a .244 slugging percentage onto the DL last week. Unless the Tigers find a way to get more help for Miguel Cabrera, pitching and defense will have to carry the team.

In this case, the transformation is more planned than accidental. The Tigers brought in Adam Everett at short and moved Brandon Inge to third to tighten up the defense, and they made a nice pickup in March when they acquired speedy outfielder Josh Anderson from Atlanta.

Detroit is seventh in the majors in Baseball Prospectus' defensive efficiency ratings, which rank teams according to their proficiency in turning batted balls into outs. Last year the Tigers were 24th.

Colorado Rockies

The outlook in March: The starting rotation looked shaky after Aaron Cook and Ubaldo Jimenez, but the Rockies figured they'd score plenty of runs even without Matt Holliday in the middle of the order.

The reality in May: Cook and Jimenez have righted themselves after shaky starts and Jason Marquis and Jorge De La Rosa have pitched adequately behind them, but the offense isn't giving the pitching staff much breathing room. Before Colorado's 12-1 victory over Houston on Tuesday, the starters posted a 3.18 ERA over a 12-game span. The Rockies lost seven of the 12.

Manager Clint Hurdle tried 28 different lineups in the first 30 games to remedy Colorado's flip-a-coin offense. He recently told the Denver Post that the team's hitting issues are "baffling.''

With the exception of Brad Hawpe and Todd Helton, the Rockies don't know what to expect from one night to the next. The good Rockies have erupted for 8, 9, 10, 9, 10, 12, 7, 9, 11 and 12 runs in separate games. Their evil twins have been shut out four times, and went 2-for-28 with runners in scoring position in a recent series against Florida.

Tampa Bay Rays

The outlook in March: If one thing distinguished Boston and New York from Tampa Bay, it was a comfort level in the ninth inning. The Yankees have Mariano Rivera. The Red Sox have Jonathan Papelbon. And the Rays have Troy Percival, who's 39 years old, with a slew of health problems and a fastball that barely hit 90 coming out of spring training.

On the other hand, the set-up contingent was rock solid, with Joe Nelson and Brian Shouse joining the 2008 group of J.P. Howell, Grant Balfour and Dan Wheeler.

The reality in May: Although Percival has a knack for making things interesting, he's 5-for-5 in save situations and hasn't allowed a run in his past eight appearances. Percival recently spotted a minor glitch in his delivery and added 2-3 mph to his fastball.

Some of his bullpen buddies have endured a few bumps. Balfour's velocity was down in the early going, and he has 10 walks and a 6.08 ERA in 13 1/3 innings. Wheeler has given up four homers in his first 12 innings. The entire Tampa Bay staff has had issues throwing strikes.

"It's hard to replicate what we did last year,'' manager Joe Maddon said. "It hasn't been as lockdown, where we would bring a guy into a spot and he'd get through it without giving up any runs. We haven't had the same kind of choreography going on.''

Maddon is heartened that all of his relievers are healthy, and the bullpen workload hasn't been excessive. Reinforcements are also on the way. Jason Isringhausen and Chad Bradford are rehabbing in the minors and both should be up by June.

Jerry Crasnick covers baseball for ESPN.com. His book "License To Deal" was published by Rodale. Click here to order a copy. Jerry can be reached via e-mail.