Giants' Offseason Thus Far

They call it the offseason, but in reality there isn’t an offseason in baseball, especially if you’re World Champions. The Giants brought euphoria to the Bay Area on November 1^st, 2010 in winning the World Series. But their extended postseason run put them behind the majority of Major League Baseball by about a month in constructing their offseason plans. But no complaints right? A World Series title is worth more than anything else.

The Giants were in a great position this offseason because as World Champions, and with most of the starting roles already occupied, they really didn’t have much to do. They took care of their major business early, and now only have to address their arbitration-eligible players and sign a backup shortstop. Winning the World Series is great on all levels!

Let’s take a look at what the Giants have done so far this offseason:

Re-Signed 1B/OF Aubrey Huff for 2 years, $22 Million

Aubrey Huff was in my mind the Giants’ MVP last season. He was the one constant presence in the lineup from opening day, and his production went far above and beyond anyone’s expectations and the 1-year/$3 million deal the Giants gave him last year. Huff was the best free-agent signing last year considering the value of his contract. By hitting 26 HR, he became the first Giant left-handed hitter to belt more than 25 HR ever since some guy named Barry Bonds hit 28 HR in 2007. His .506 SLG and .891 OPS ranked 12^th and 10^th respectively in the National League, and were better than those posted by players such as Ryan Howard, Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, and David Wright. His 5.7 WAR (wins above replacement) ranked 10^th in the NL, ahead of Adrian Gonzalez, Chase Utley, and Hanley Ramirez. Huff came to the Giants with a terrible defensive reputation, as a player who was best suited as a DH in the American League. But not only was he willing to play first base as well as both left and right field, he was solid at all three positions, and wasn’t a defensive liability whatsoever. I remember reading an article during the summer where a longtime MLB scout was quoted as saying that Huff had turned himself into a much better all-around player.

Therefore, Huff had to come back, and kudos to the Giants’ front office for recognizing that. The $11 million annual salary is a bit high, but the two-year length is right. The Giants would have sorely missed his bat and defensive versatility if they had lost him. Also, Henry Schulman of the SF Chronicle reported that Ned Colletti Dodgers were going hard after Huff, and it would have been unbelievably sad to see him donning ugly Dodger blue. Huff was clearly motivated playing on a winning team for the first time in his career, and his elevated production across the board reflected that. He should continue to be a valuable middle-of-the-order presence for the Giants over the next couple of years and his ability to play multiple positions will allow the Giants to ease top prospect Brandon Belt into the majors.

Signed SS Miguel Tejada for 1 year/$6.5 Million

The Giants wanted to bring back fan-favorite Juan Uribe, but the Dodgers snatched him with a 3-year/$20 million deal. It’s going to be tough seeing Uribe in Dodger blue, but I’m glad that the Giants didn’t break the bank to keep him. Uribe is a fine player, and the Giants would not have won the World Series without him. His 20+ HR power is a luxury for a middle-infielder and he has an unbelievable knack for coming through in the clutch (11 of his 24 HR during the regular season either tied the score or put the Giants ahead). Of course, his walk-off sacrifice fly and pennant-clinching HR against the Phillies will live forever in Giants lore. But $7 million a season is a lot of dough for a player who won’t hit above .250, doesn’t have great range in the field, and is best suited as a utility player. Last season, his batting average and OPS declined every month except for a minor uptick in September. The Dodgers will probably regret this contract.

To replace Uribe and Edgar Renteria (although he might come back for a year to be the backup SS), the Giants signed 36-year old veteran SS and former AL MVP Miguel Tejada to a one-year deal worth $6.5 million. Now, even though the contract is only for one year, I was not a fan of this move, but before I explain why, let’s look at how Tejada will help the Giants next year.

Like Aubrey Huff and Edgar Renteria, Tejada elevates his game when the stakes are higher. After starting last season in Baltimore, he was clearly reinvigorated by the midseason trade that sent him to San Diego. With the Padres, he posted a serviceable .268/.317/.413 batting line with 8 HR in 59 games. Over the past three seasons, Tejada has a .275 AVG with runners in scoring position. Tejada probably won’t supply the same power that Uribe did, but he should be good for a solid batting line of .270/.330/.420 with 12-15 HR out of the sixth slot in the lineup. Tejada, who is by all accounts a great person and leader, will also fill the void in the clubhouse among the other Hispanic players left by Uribe’s and possibly Renteria’s departure.

However, there is a lot not to like about this deal. First of all, Tejada’s age and lack of range in the field are sources of major concern. He’s simply not a serviceable shortstop anymore. Unless Pablo Sandoval morphs into a Gold-Glove caliber third baseman, the Giants are going to have one of the most porous left-sides of the infield in the National League. Brian Sabean responded to this notion by saying that the Giants have mostly fly-ball pitchers on their staff. That’s true, but for the foreseeable future, the Giants are going to be built around pitching, and the best way to support that strength is with strong defense. I have a feeling that seeing-eye groundballs that sneak their way into the outfield through the five-hole are going to be a problem for the Giants next season. Also, while Tejada doesn’t strike out much, he does hit into an awful lot of double plays, and we all got quite sick of seeing so many rallies thwarted because of the double-play ball.

I would have much rather seen the Giants trade for someone like Jason Bartlett, Marco Scutaro, or J.J. Hardy. Granted, none of them are top shortstops, but they’re younger and better all-around players. Also, acquiring one of those players would have given the Giants more security to address a long-term solution at shortstop. Many people are assuming that prospect and Bay-Area product Brandon Crawford will be ready to be the Giants’ everyday shortstop in 2012, but I’m not so sure. According to scouts, Crawford’s glove is ready for the big leagues, but his bat is not even close. His .241/.337/.375 batting line last season with 77 strikeouts in 79 games doesn’t scream “Major League Ready.” If Crawford makes the necessary adjustments at the plate and increases his offensive production, like what Brandon Belt did last season, then the Giants will be set long-term at shortstop. But that’s certainly no guarantee, and by trading for someone like Jason Bartlett, the Giants would have at least had the option of locking him up for a couple of years until Crawford or another prospect like Ehire Adrianza was ready. I have a feeling that the Giants are going to be back at square one at shortstop next offseason.

Re-Signed Mike Fontenot for 1 year/$1.5 million

Mike Fontenot turned out to be a solid acquisition for the Giants last season, and he’ll be valuable as a backup infielder that can play 2B, SS, and 3B. He also had some key hits for the Giants last September as they made their push to win the NL West.

Re-Signed Pat Burrell for 1 year/$1 million

In my mind, there were three players tied for 2^nd place in the Giants’ team MVP race: Buster Posey, Brian Wilson, and Pat Burrell. The Tampa Bay Rays cut Burrell loose and the Giants picked him up for nothing. He was reborn coming back to the National League, as he posted a .266/.364/.509 batting line with 18 HR, many of them in clutch situations (particularly that 2-run HR off Jonathan Broxton in late July). He took over the everyday LF spot that was a revolving door of Mark DeRosa, John Bowker, Aubrey Huff, and even Eugenio Velez. He also brought over a swagger and a winning presence from his days on the Phillies.

It’s silly to expect Burrell to repeat his production from last year, but bringing him back on a one-year deal for peanuts was a no-brainer. If he’s not the starting left fielder, which he probably shouldn’t be, he’ll at least provide some valuable right-handed power off the bench. He obviously demonstrated that he could still hit. He’ll also be reunited with his partner-in-crime Aubrey Huff. As evidenced by this very team-friendly contract, it’s clear that Burrell wanted to be a Giant, play for the team he grew up rooting for as a kid, and be in a place where he was comfortable. It’s refreshing to see an athlete turn down better financial offers for winning and happiness.

Over the next few weeks, the Giants will announce new contracts for their arbitration-eligible players (Jonathan Sanchez, Andres Torres, Ramon Ramirez, Cody Ross, and Javier Lopez) and sign another backup infielder. But barring a major trade, or the signing of Adrian Beltre, the Giants have finished their major business for the offseason. With it’s pitching intact, a full season of Buster Posey, and hopefully a slimmer and reenergized Pablo Sandoval, the Giants will be equipped to defend their title.

2010 WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!!!

"We're a bunch of misfits, but we fit well together."

Those words came from Tim Lincecum after he dominated the Rangers for 8 innings in clinching the 2010 World Series. Have truer words been spoken?

I, and the millions of die-hard Giants fans across the globe, died and went to heaven tonight. Our San Francisco Giants are the 2010 World Champions. No longer will we be haunted by McCovey's caught line-drive in 1962, the earthquake of 1989, or Game 6 in 2002. San Francisco, the most beautiful city in the world, finally has its first baseball title.

All of the heartbreak over the years, all of the games at Candlestick Park with frigid temperatures and gusty winds, all of the torture this season: TOTALLY WORTH IT!

I don't even know where to begin, because the feeling of witnessing the team you live and die with win a title is indescribable. It's not just about undying love of baseball. It's about treating other fans of your team, even if they're strangers, like family because you share a special bond with them. It's about identity and being proud of your roots.

What made the 2010 Giants so special, and more endearing than any other pennant-winning Giants squad, was that this group of guys was the pure definition of a team. Everyone on the 25-man playoff roster contributed in some significant fashion throughout the postseason. Everyone. Don't believe me? Read more:

Jeremy Affeldt: Saved Game 6 in Philly after a Jonathan Sanchez meltdown

Madison Bumgarner: Won Game 4 in Atlanta, pitched 2 innings of scoreless relief in Game 6 in Philly, and pitched 8-innings of shutout ball in Game 4 of the WS. Oh by the way, he's 21.

Matt Cain: Sported a 0.00 ERA through 21.1 innings in the playoffs

Santiago Casilla: A 1.93 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in the playoffs

Tim Lincecum: Began and ended the playoffs with Cy-Young worthy outings. Beat Derek Lowe, Roy Halladay, and Cliff Lee twice.

Javier Lopez: Shut down left-handed hitters all postseason. Was so good he made Charlie Manuel alter his lineup

Guillermo Mota: Only pitched a couple of innings, but didn't allow a run

Ramon Ramirez: Not great, but got some big outs

Sergio Romo: Had a terrible series against Atlanta, but didn't allow a run afterwards

Jonathan Sanchez: Pitched beautifully in Game 3 in the NLDS, and had a gutty effort in Game 2 of the NLCS

Brian Wilson: 6 saves in the postseason and a 0.00 ERA

Buster Posey: Caught this fantastic pitching staff and had huge hits in Game 1 and Game 4. He's only 23. Unbelievable.

Eli Whiteside: Well, he didn't play, but I'm sure he contributed on the bench and clubhouse

Mike Fontenot: A clutch triple off Tim Hudson in Game 3 of the NLDS

Aubrey Huff: RBI hits off Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee, and a mammoth homerun that won Game 4 of the WS (oh, and the wearer of the rally thong!)

Travis Ishikawa: The walk of the decade in the 9th inning of Game 3 of the NLDS

Edgar Renteria: The World Series MVP

Freddy Sanchez: 3 doubles in Game 1 of the World Series, and stellar defense, better than any other 2nd baseman in the playoffs

Pablo Sandoval: A huge 2-run double off Chad Durbin in Game 4 of the NLCS that gave the Giants the lead

Juan Uribe: The game-winning HR in the NLCS, a blast in Game 1 of the WS, and terrific defense

Pat Burrell: 3-run homerun off Tommy Hanson in Game 2 of the NLDS

Cody Ross: 5 homeruns in the postseason, and the NLCS MVP

Aaron Rowand: A bases-clearing triple in Game 1 of the WS

Nate Schierholtz: Excellent defense all playoffs, including running down fly balls in right-center at AT&T Park

Andres Torres: The Giants' sparkplug. Gold-glove caliber defense and a .318 avg in the WS

There were no superstars on this team (well, expect maybe Tim Lincecum). The 2010 Giants were just what they called themselves: "a cast of misfits", "a bunch of knuckleheads" whose total was greater than the sum of its parts. It was a team that embodied the city of San Francisco perfectly.

How did the Giants win this series? The same they won the NLDS and NLCS: dominant pitching and timely homeruns. The Rangers came into the World Series with the best offense in baseball, an enviable combination of speed and power. They feasted on the Rays' and Yankees' starting pitching, but the Giants shut them down completely, and became only the 2nd team to shutout a team twice in the same playoff series. Josh Hamilton was the hottest hitter on the planet coming into the World Series, but he was helpless against the Giants. Hamilton went 2-20 in the World Series, and Vladimir Guerrero went 1-14. In fact, the Giants quieted the big hitters on every team they played this postseason:

Jason Heyward: 2-16, Chase Utley: 4-22, Ryan Howard: 7-25, Shane Victorino: 5-24...

Mix dominant pitching with some perfectly-timed homeruns by Juan Uribe, Cody Ross, Aubrey Huff, and Edgar Renteria, and you have a formula for winning a World Series.

Kudos to Brian Sabean. He's taken a ton of well-deserved heat during his tenure, but he's the architect of the first World Series winning team in San Francisco. He hasn't built a great offense since the Bonds glory days, but he knows pitching better than most of his counterparts. He put together only the 2nd set of homegrown starting pitchers to win a World Series. He drafted Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner, Jonathan Sanchez (27th round), and Brian Wilson (24th round). This season, he signed Aubrey Huff, signed Pat Burrell, picked up Cody Ross, and acquired Mike Fontenot, Ramon Ramirez, and Javier Lopez. Since 1997, the Giants have averaged 87 wins and have 5 postseason appearances, 2 NL Pennants, and a World Championship under Sabean's watch. With this young pitching staff, and Buster Posey behind the plate, he has set up the Giants to contend for many years to come.

And of course, the highest praise to Manager Bruce Bochy. They should build a statue of Bochy next to AT&T Park. He's the first manager to win a World Series in San Francisco, and he did not make one wrong move in the playoffs, a time when many managers crumble. He set his rotation perfectly, made all of the right moves in the bullpen, and wrote a different lineup almost every game to fit the circumstances. He put his players in a position to succeed, and he demonstrated extraordinary calm and leadership throughout all of the torture. Bochy, despite his track record in San Diego and now a World Series with the Giants, has always been one of the most underrated managers in the game. Not anymore, though. He schooled Bobby Cox, Charlie Manuel, and Ron Washington. It's great that he'll finally get the recognition he deserves.

A World Series title is a once-in-a-lifetime accomplishment. This championship is for the players who fought through a tough season, the Giants' legends from the past, the Bay Area, and for the millions of Giants fans who pour their heart and soul in this franchise. I know that I'll never forget Dave Flemming's cracking voice as he called Renteria's 3-run homerun, Duane Kuiper's call of the clinching strikeout, and the mayhem that took place as the players rushed onto the field to celebrate. After years of heartbreak and failure, the World Series Championship is ours.

THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!!! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!!!

I had two reactions after Brian Wilson froze Ryan Howard with a gutsy 3-2 slider on the outside corner to clinch the pennant for the Giants. One, obviously, was pure elation, kind of like this guy: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/giants/detail?entry_id=75395 (fitting because I live in Philly too). The other was asking myself the same question that all of the disappointed Philly fans asked themselves: Are you serious; THIS team is going to the World Series?

I'm sure most Giants fans have pinched themselves, but this is no dream: these Giants, a self-described "cast of misfits" are your 2010 NL Champions.

Obviously, I'm quite the homer, but I, along with most Giants fans, did not see this team coming even close to winning a pennant. I thought they'd make the playoffs, and then falter against superior competition. As Damon Bruce said, "This team can't hit a lick, but they're in the World Series?!" Remember, this team's two marquee free agent signings last offseason were an injured Mark DeRosa, and Aubrey Huff, a player that no team wanted. How did this team knock off the two-time defending NL Champions and shock not only the city of Philadelphia, but baseball spectators across the globe?

As they've done all year, they won with their pitching. The Phillies have an intimidating lineup, but the Giants' starters and relievers shut down Philadelphia's big hitters. In the NLCS, Chase Utley hit .182, Shane Victorino hit .125, Raul Ibanez hit .211, and Jayson Werth hit .222. Ryan Howard, despite hitting .318, did not have an RBI. The Phillies batted .167 with runners in scoring position. The starters, aside from Matt Cain, didn't dominate the Phillies, but they kept the Phillies' hitters off-balance all series. What more can you say about the bullpen? Javier Lopez was so lethal against lefties that he forced Charlie Manuel to change his lineup, and Brian Wilson, although he took 5 years off of all Giants fans' lives, saved 3 games and earned a victory in Game 4.

Just like it's been since September, there were different heroes every game on the offensive side. It was Cody Ross in Games 1 and 3, Buster Posey and Juan Uribe in Game 4, and Aubrey Huff and Uribe again in Game 6.

Game 6 of the NLCS will live forever in Giants lore. It was a prime example of what the 2010 Giants are: a team with no superstars (well, maybe except Lincecum) and much more than the sum of its parts. Jonathan Sanchez didn't have anything, and usually, the Giants would lose that game. But nearly every person on that 25-man roster saved Sanchez and contributed to the clinching win. Aubrey Huff smartly ran the bases in the 3rd inning, driving in a run and scoring the tying run on Placido Polanco's throwing error. Jeremy Affeldt, who had become somewhat of a forgotten man in that bullpen, saved the game for the Giants by shutting down Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, and Shane Victorino with runners on base after Sanchez's implosion. 21-year old Madison Bumgarner pitched two scoreless frames while leaving the bases loaded and Raul Ibanez at 3rd base. Javier Lopez made Utley and Howard look foolish in the 7th. Juan Uribe hit a band-box homerun that will haunt Philly fans for years. Tim Lincecum struck out Jayson Werth for a huge out in the 8th inning, and Brian Wilson gutted a 5-out save. If that isn't a great example of unselfish team work, I don't know what is.

Brian Murphy on KNBR spoke about how this Giants team weathered some ghosts from the past, and why it may bode well for the Giants as they enter the World Series. The Giants, until last Saturday, had a horrific history of going on the road with a 3-2 series lead. In 1987, the prime of Roger Craig's Humm-Baby era, the Giants took a 3-2 lead into St. Louis, but gaffes by Candy Maldonado and Atlee Hammaker cost that team a pennant. In 2002, the Giants were five outs away from winning the....why am I writing about 2002? It's just going to depress me; we all know what happened.

It was looking like deja vu after Jonathan Sanchez couldn't throw a strike to save his life, the Phillies took a 2-0 lead, and Citizens Bank Park was going nuts. But this team didn't give up, and didn't let the past haunt them. They said, "We're not going down tonight. Not us." The fighting spirit of this team has been unbelievable to watch throughout the season.

As a Philadelphia resident, there was nothing sweeter than wearing my orange and black in celebration and seeing the looks of shock and disbelief on the faces of Philly fans. These fans thought the NLCS was over before it even started, and they were getting ready for another Phillies/Yankees World Series. Even though the Giants were up 3-2, when the series shifted back to Philly, they thought the Giants had no chance. I'm sure that most Philly fans are still thinking, "How the $*@! did that happen?"

Bruce Bochy deserves a statue to honor how well he managed this series. He pushed all of the right buttons: switching Cain and Sanchez in the rotation, starting Renteria and Rowand in Game 3, starting Uribe at 3B in Game 6, removing Jonathan Sanchez early in Game 6, and his overall managing of the bullpen. Quite a masterpiece by Bochy, and I hope that the rest of the country found out that the quiet, unassuming, and sometimes boring Bruce Bochy is terrific at what he does.

The Rangers are a great team, and they will be tough to beat. They have Cliff Lee and an offense that features a lethal combination of speed and power. The Giants are underdogs again, but I think they'd prefer nothing else. They'll torture the Rangers and use everything they've got to scratch some runs across. Why should it be any different? Maybe I'm delusional, but I really believe that this team is special, and that they'll find some inexplicable way to bring San Francisco it's first World Series Championship. We'll probably age ten years through the process, but it'll be worth it.

Bring On The Phillies!

Torture and resiliency. If there are two words I'll use to remember the 2010 Giants, no matter how the series against the Phillies goes, it will be those. The first word, torture, is obvious: this team refuses to do anything easily. The second word, resiliency, speaks volumes about this team's grit and ability to rebound after countless tough losses during this season. Resiliency (well, along with some historically great pitching) carried the Giants in their series win against the Braves to secure their first trip to the NLCS since 2002.

Game 2 was a crushing loss. The Giants got a terrific outing from Matt Cain and actually scored runs without help from the Braves' defense. They had a 4-1 lead going into the 8th inning set up perfectly for Sergio Romo and Brian Wilson to shut the door. That was their formula for success all season: give a lead to the bullpen and game over.

Eric Hinske's 8th-inning homerun in Game 3 had the potential to be the ultimate back-breaker for the Giants in the NLDS. How were they going to respond to a gut-wrenching loss like that one? But Travis Ishikawa, Freddy Sanchez, and Aubrey Huff each gave the at-bats of their lives in the 9th inning, and thankfully for the Giants, Brooks Conrad was playing 2nd base for the Braves. Most teams would have folded after Hinske's homerun. But these Giants have shown a toughness and grit all season that allows them to shove aside heart-breaking moments.

We all knew the Giants were deep in pitching, but did anyone expect the dominance the starting rotation displayed against the Braves? I thought they'd be good, but not historically great. Here are the combined numbers that Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, and Madison Bumgarner posted in the NLDS:

29 innings, 17 hits, 3 earned runs, 5 walks, 36 strikeouts

That adds up to a 0.93 ERA, which by the way, was the third-lowest starters' ERA by any NL team in the playoffs, and a 0.76 WHIP. Amazing numbers.

Granted, the Braves had a lineup that made the Giants look like the 1927 Yankees, and the Giants will surely face a greater challenge going against Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jayson Werth. I live in Philadelphia and I hear 24/7 about how great the Phillies' big-three starters Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels are. They are terrific, at times unhittable, and what they did in the NLDS, shutting down the Reds' league-leading offense, was very impressive. But the Giants will counter with starters of their own who are just as good, and perfectly capable of shutting down the Phillies' offense. The Phillies' starting 8 position players have hit a collective .231 against the Giants' starters in their careers.

The Phillies are the most complete team in baseball, and on paper, they are a better team than the Giants. They have an envious combination of dominant starting pitching and forceful hitting. There's a reason why they are heavily favored to win this series, and the Giants are going to have to improve their play dramatically in order to have a chance.

First off, there cannot be any drop-off in the starting pitching from the Atlanta series. Getting through Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, and Raul Ibanez is going to be a lot harder than facing Derek Lee, Brian McCann, and whoever the Braves batted 5th and 6th. The starters need to attack the strike zone just as they did against the Braves. The Phillies have a lineup full of patient hitters, and they will wear out opposing pitchers who are not consistently throwing strikes. Also, the pitchers must control the Phillies' running game. The Phillies have a reputation of being a homerun-hitting team, and while that's true, many don't know that they have the best stolen base percentage in baseball over the last couple of years. Lincecum and Sanchez have had problems holding runners all season, and they'll have to do a much better job of making sure the Phillies' baserunners don't get sizable leads. If the starters can hold the Phillies to one or two runs over six-seven innings, the Giants will have a chance.

Of course, most people are giving the Giants a slim chance in this series because of the difference between the two teams' offenses. It is true that the Phillies do have a better lineup, a group that is more than capable of throwing a crooked number on the scoreboard. But one thing the Phillies have demonstrated this season which they didn't show the last two years is that they are prone to slumps. Their offense didn't do a darn thing against the Reds' mediocre pitching. They won Game 2 because Jay Bruce lost a fly ball in the lights, and they scored their two runs in Game 3 on an Orlando Cabrera throwing error and a 375-foot, Cincinnati band-box special, Chase Utley homerun. Many fans here in Philly think that their Phils are going to out-slug the Giants, but I don't think that will be the case. The Giants can shut down the Phillies offense, and I predict that all the games are going to be low-scoring, tight matches.

The offense has to wake up, particularly at the top of the lineup. Andres Torres, Freddy Sanchez, and Aubrey Huff went a combined 8-47 (.170 avg) in the NLDS. The Phillies are not going to give as many gifts on defense as the Braves did, and so the Giants top to bottom must take smart at-bats, and try to draw deep counts from the Phillies' pitchers. Also, the Giants need to have better at-bats with runners in scoring position, particularly with runners on 3rd base with less than 2 outs. They were atrocious in situational hitting against the Braves, and the Phillies are a team that won't forgive the opposition's mistakes. Both the Phillies and Giants are in great shape at the back of their bullpens, but the Phillies have a huge weakness in their middle relief, the bridge between their starters and Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge. If the Giants can force the Philly starters to throw a lot of pitches early, and get to the likes of JC Romero and Chad Durbin by the 5th or 6th inning, they'll have a great shot to do some damage.

All of the "experts" on ESPN and other outlets have picked the Phillies. The Giants are heavy underdogs in this series, but I still like their chances. They're going to play loose, like they have nothing to lose, and the Phillies are going to be under a tremendous amount of pressure. Believe me; Philadelphia, which has always been an Eagles town, is crazy about their Phillies, and they expect nothing less than a World Series parade down Broad Street. One thing we can be sure about is that the Phillies are going to have their hands full with this scrappy Giants team. The Phillies may very well win this NLCS, securing their 3rd-consecutive NL Pennant, but the Giants will give them a serious run for their money. Maybe with a little bit of torture and resiliency, the Giants can pull off the upset.

NL WEST CHAMPS!!!

It was "Giants baseball...torture" in its purest form. As Bruce Bochy said after the game, these 2010 Giants never do anything easily. It had to come down to the final game of the season in nail-biting fashion. But the Giants took care of business today behind a strong outing by Jonathan Sanchez, and clinched their 1st NL West title since 2003 (yeah, I was in high school back then).

The Giants have a roster full of likable players, but I felt especially happy for three guys in particular: Aubrey Huff, Freddy Sanchez, and Matt Cain. Huff, formerly on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (right, before they became just the Rays and a World Series contender), and Sanchez, who used to play for the Pirates (18 losing seasons in a row), wallowed in the basements of their respective divisions their entire careers before they put on a Giants' uniform. It was very fitting that those players drove in the first two runs today, and seeing their reactions as Brian Wilson struck out Will Venable to clinch the division was priceless.

Cain, 20 years old at the time, began his big-league career at the end of the 2005 season, at the beginning of the dark ages of the Barry Bonds era. Although he just turned 26, he's the longest-tenured Giant. Too many times, he's pitched well yet been the victim of terrible run-support, but he never moaned about the team's lack of offense over the past few years. Instead, he focused on turning himself into one of the elite young pitchers in the league. It's great to finally see him rewarded with a trip to the postseason.

Brian Sabean, for all of the criticism he gets (some of it is justified), made a number of smart moves this season: trading Bengie Molina to bring up Buster Posey, signing Pat Burrell, acquiring Javier Lopez, Ramon Ramirez, and Mike Fontenot. But his best move this year was NOT trading Jonathan Sanchez, the pitcher the Giants would have been forced to part with in order to acquire a power bat such as Adam Dunn. Sanchez was dominant over the final month of the season, going 4-1 with a 1.02 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. The production would have been irreplaceable had the Giants traded him.

As I wrote many times, the Giants' fortunes were going to be determined by the quality of their pitching, regardless of how pathetic the offense looked at times. After being berated by Bruce Bochy and Brian Sabean at the end of August, the pitchers rose to the occasion in September and completely shut down opposing teams. The Giants' pitchers posted a 1.78 ERA in the month of September and held opponents to a .182 batting average. By the way, that includes Barry Zito's 4.66 ERA since September 1st. According to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times, the last team with a better September ERA was the 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers and they ended up winning the World Series (just saying). The bullpen was the perfect compliment to the starting staff, sporting a 0.90 ERA in the month when bullpens usually flame out. Just like in the regular season, the Giants' postseason success will be determined on how well the pitching can shut down the opposition. Usually in the playoffs, strong pitching beats strong hitting.

At the beginning of September, Mike Krukow spoke about how playoff teams have different heroes every game down the stretch. The Giants certainly had a complete team effort in September and the 1st weekend of October to clinch the NL West, with players from across the entire roster coming through in the clutch. There was Juan Uribe on September 4th, crushing a slider into the smoggy night at Dodger Stadium against Jonathan Broxton. There was Nate Schierholtz on September 6th with a two-run triple in the 11th inning in Phoenix. There was Buster Posey on many occasions, including September 12th against Mat Latos in San Diego. Or how about Mike Fontenot, an August waiver-wire acquisition, with a big hit against the Dodgers. Jose Guillen got in on some of the action with a timely grand-slam on September 19 against Milwaukee. There was Pat Burrell on September 29th, crushing a 3-run homerun off Ian Kennedy, and of course, Aubrey Huff and Freddy Sanchez in the clinching game.

The 2010 Giants are in many ways the complete opposite of the 2002 Pennant-winning team. The 2002 team featured slightly above-average pitching at best, and relied almost solely on the superhuman play of Barry Bonds and his sidekick Jeff Kent. But the 2010 Giants, a potent combination of young, exciting players (Lincecum, Cain, Posey, Wilson...), grizzled veterans (Renteria, Huff, Rowand...), and cast-offs (Pat Burrell, Andres Torres, Jose Guillen), are just as special as that 2002 team. This team is a perfect example of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. Maybe I'm crazy, but I think these 2010 Giants have a deep postseason run in them. They got hot at the right time at the end of the season, and top to bottom, they have the best pitching in the National League. As long as they scratch out some runs, and provide us fans with some more torture, this team will be dangerous in the playoffs.

All Tied Up In The NL West

Up until this weekend, the Padres, the surprise team of the National League, had been alone in first place since early May. But they have company now, as the Giants forgot about their previous woes against the Padres, and won 3 out of 4 in a crucial road series in San Diego. Today's win capped in impressive 7-3 road trip through Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Diego. With 18 games left, the Giants and Padres stand tied for first place in the NL West, with the Rockies, winners of 10 straight (they always do this!) only 1.5 games out.

Today's victory was the win of the 2010 season thus far. Considering that the Giants had won the first two games of the series, leaving San Diego with only a split would have been disappointing. Mat Latos had been dynamite against the Giants all season, posting a 0.96 ERA in 4 previous starts against the orange and black until today. He looked like he was going dominate the Giants again today, as he was throwing a crackling mid-90s fastball with sharp off-speed pitches. But after Aaron Rowand and Freddy Sanchez struck out in the 1st inning, Aubrey Huff, who had been hitless against Latos in his career, battled and stroked a single to right field to put Latos in the stretch. Buster Posey's homerun following Huff's hit was certainly the hit of the series, and he continues to amaze the baseball world with his talents. But Huff's single was just as important because prior to today's start because it clearly rattled Latos, who has a reputation of being a hot-head. The TV cameras showed Latos yelling at himself and furiously shaking his head after Huff's base hit. The Giants' offense, top to bottom, showed up to play today, and they made Latos earn every strike and every out. They played today like a team with lofty postseason aspirations.

The Giants needed Tim Lincecum to pitch like an ace today, and he responded with another brilliant outing, his third in a row. It's amazing what a flip of the calendar can do mentally for a pitcher. Lincecum had a forgettable August, going 0-5 with a 7.82 ERA and a 1.83 WHIP. But he's looked like a back-to-back Cy Young Award Winner in September. So far this month, he's 3-0 with a 2.12 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP, with a 29/2 K/BB ratio. The secret to his success? The rediscovery of his fastball, which he's now throwing consistently around 92-94 MPH with command on both sides of the plate.

As I've written many times, the Giants will live and die with their starting pitching. In August, the Giants' starting staff had an ERA that was only better than the 58-85 Cleveland Indians. But they've responded to the pressures of a pennant race, and have elevated their game in September. Matt Cain, who's by far been the most consistent starter on the Giants, set the tone this series with an impressive 8-inning effort on Thursday, and Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner, and Lincecum followed his lead. Here are the numbers for the starting staff collectively in September:

72.3 IP, 47 hits, 19 ER, 19 BB, 79 K. That adds up to a 2.37 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. Fantastic numbers.

The Giants received terrible news today as Andres Torres, one of the MVPs of the 2010 team, will probably miss the rest of the season after undergoing an appendectomy today. Torres, while being a fine leadoff man, has played Gold-Glove caliber defense, and the team is going to miss his presence. Aaron Rowand figures to get the majority of playing time, and it's time for him to step up to the plate and demonstrate that he can help this team win. Rowand is capable of going on hot streaks, and now would be a perfect time for one.

Kudos to all of the Giants fans who packed Petco Park and turned that stadium into a neutral site, if not one that favored the orange and black!!!

18 more games...

Giants One Game Out Of First Place

Guillermo Mota spoke the truth when the Giants lost of two of three to the Padres August 13-15: "Every team has a down time. Every team has its lumps. They haven't had their lumps. You don't think they're going to be playing like that all year, do you? If they do, congratulations."

The Padres have lost 10 in a row, and the Giants have gained 5.5 games in the standings in that stretch. After today's rubber-match victory against the Dodgers, the Giants now find themselves just one game out of 1st place, with a huge 4-game series in San Diego about to start this Thursday.

Jonathan Sanchez finally showed a glimmer of consistency, as he posted back-to-back quality starts for the first time since April 14th and April 20th. Over his last 15 innings, Sanchez has allowed only 1 run on 8 hits with 15 strikeouts against 3 walks. The walks, of course, are the key to Sanchez's success. With a robust .212 opponent's batting average, Sanchez is almost unbeatable as long as he's pounding the strike zone. He's had a consistent arm slot over his last two starts, and the evidence has been his ability to locate his fastball on both sides of the plate. The Giants will be a dangerous team in September if he keeps up this production because he's by far the best 4th starter in the National League.

The great Henry Schulman of the SF Chronicle wrote that Juan Uribe's go-ahead homerun (a homerun which is probably only landing now) off Jonathan Broxton in the 9th inning on Saturday was the "Brian Johnson moment" of the 2010 season. There have been many huge hits throughout this team's 30+ come-from-behind victories this season, but Uribe's homerun on Saturday tops them all. The Padres are floundering, and the Giants looked dead in the water against Ted Lilly, unable to capitalize on their great fortunes. But Uribe sent a jolt through the Giants dugout, and Saturday's win was the type of victory that can propel a team on a hot streak. With 19 of their remaining 25 games against teams from the NL West, the Giants could sure use a sustained run to get themselves into the playoffs.

A Terrible Weekend, But It Could Have Been Worse

After a rough 12-game stretch against the Padres, Phillies, Cardinals, and Reds, this weekend's home series against the D-Backs was supposed to be easy pickings for the Giants. The D-Backs are awful, sitting in last place, and the Giants had won 7 straight against them before Friday night. Plus, one thing the Giants had done well all season was beat up the weaker competition, as evidenced by their 36-12 record against teams below. 500 entering Friday night.

But except for today's somewhat miraculous win to prevent an embarrassing sweep, the Giants didn't show up to play this weekend. They slumped in all areas: pitching, hitting, and defense. The Giants actually looked like a last-place team this weekend. Thankfully, the Phillies swept the Padres in San Diego, leaving the Giants within striking distance of both the NL West and the Wild Card.

If Jose Guillen and Bengie Molina were to compete in a race, who would win? It'd be close, and that's alarming considering that Guillen is in charge of patrolling the spacious right field at AT&T Park. He can still swing the bat, but he's like a statue on defense, and he definitely cost his pitchers a few runs this series. It's time for Bruce Bochy to start Cody Ross or Nate Schierholtz more just to upgrade the defense and to help the pitching staff as they try to get out of their collective slump. Guillen's bat certainly lengthens the lineup, but whatever contributions he gives at the plate are negated by his hideous defense.

September could not come sooner for Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito. Here are the ugly August numbers for Lincecum and Zito:

Lincecum: 0-5, 7.82 ERA, 1.83 WHIP

Zito: 0-4, 7.76 ERA, 1.91 WHIP

Lincecum took a step back on Friday night from his outing in St. Louis. He didn't have any command of his fastball, the most important pitch for any pitcher. Also, Lincecum was tipping his pitches, as an astute cameraman caught footage of Stephen Drew relaying signals to Adam LaRoche before he hit that monstrous 3-run homerun. He allowed only 1 run in his remaining 5 innings of work, but he wasn't fooling any of the D-Backs' hitters. He got lucky that the wind and the fog on Friday night tracked out a few fly balls that would have been homeruns earlier in the week.

Zito had been a 2nd-half pitcher throughout his entire career, except for this season. He actually was terrific for his first four starts after the All-Star Break, but he ran into a brick wall in August. He might benefit from an extra day or two of rest before his next start. His fastball velocity, like Lincecum, has dropped a few notches. Zito is effective when he's throwing his fastball 87-88 MPH, but he has no chance when he misses with a 84 MPH fastball. That's like batting practice for major league hitters.

As I've written many times, the 2010 Giants will live and die with their starting pitching. Matt Cain has been the only consistent member of the rotation in the 2nd half. This team can say goodbye to postseason aspirations unless the pitchers carry this team on their shoulders.

Giants Take Two Of Three From Reds In Wild Series

The Giants ended a deflating road trip being shut out at the hands of Cardinals' starter and potential NL ROY Jaime Garcia, who needed only 89 pitches to carve through the Giants through nine innings. The offense looked dormant all last week, which was not a good sign considering that the Reds are the National League's best offense.

But magically, the Bay Area experienced a searing heat wave, and the Giants looked like the 1927 Yankees, out-slugging the Reds en route to winning two out of three. In the three games series, the Giants scored 38 runs on 53 hits.

Today's loss was heartbreaking, considering the Giants came back from a 10-1 deficit. Brian Wilson, despite the Sandoval error, should have been able to get through the 9th inning with a save. But I want to focus on the positives, particularly the reemergence of the Kung Fu Panda.

Pablo Sandoval swung the bat this series like he did all of last year when he hit .330 with 25 HR. He went 10-16 in the three games against the Reds with 2 doubles, 1 homerun, and 7 RBIs, and even his outs were solid contact. Sandoval has enjoyed a very nice August, hitting .302 with 5 HR, .570 SLG, and a .903 OPS. The Panda finding his swing would be beyond lightning in a bottle for the Giants, as we saw last season that he's capable of single-handedly carrying a team in postseason contention. Add him with Buster Posey, Andres Torres, Aubrey Huff, and a suddenly-hot Freddy Sanchez, and the Giants now have a somewhat deep lineup that can complement the pitching staff. The Giants will not average 12 runs a game as they did this series, but their offense more than made up for two shaky outings by Jonathan Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner.

Giants Finish Awful 2-4 Road Trip

The Giants posted a 20-8 record in July, which was 2nd-best in the Majors behind only the mighty Yankees. They were pitching well and scoring runs. Many people declared then that the Giants were going to secure their first playoff berth since 2003.

It's a shame that July had to end, because August rolled around and the Giants are 9-11 so far this month. They just concluded a 2-4 road trip through Philadelphia and St. Louis and got their brains beaten in three of those games, including 9-0 today.

It's easy to see why the Giants were so good in July considering the teams they played that month: Arizona, Milwaukee, Washington...basically, the bottom-feeders of the National League. However, this month they've faced the elite teams in the league: Atlanta, San Diego, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Cincinnati starting tomorrow. The only series the Giants have won in August was the four-game set against the lowly Cubs. But against the stiff competition, the Giants have played like a second-tier team. No wonder they're 6 games out in the NL West and 2 games behind the Phillies in the Wild-Card.

In a recent blog post, the great Andy Baggarly outlined the Giants' record against teams with winning records versus those with losing records. The Giants play terrific baseball against weaker teams, as a playoff hopeful team should do, with a 36-12 record. However, after getting crushed the by the Cardinals today, the Giants' record against winning teams is 33-44. Baggs also compared the Giants' play against teams over .500 with the other contenders and here's how they stack up:

Braves: 34-31

Cardinals: 31-24

Phillies: 38-33

Reds: 24-28

Padres: 32-31

Clearly, the Giants at 33-44 fare the worst against winning teams out of the National League teams in the playoff race. The Giants have no business considering themselves a playoff contender unless they drastically improve their play against the National League's elite. The real playoff teams are the ones that beat up on the weaker competition and hang tough with the best. The Giants are only doing half the battle.

Early in the season, Aubrey Huff told Matt Downs, "When we hit, we win." He should have also said, "When we don't pitch, we have no chance." When the Giants struggle, it usually involves the offense not scoring enough runs to support the pitching staff. The offense has certainly scuffled as of late, averaging only 2.7 runs/game over the last nine contests. But the starting pitching staff, which is the bread and butter of this team, has been abysmal of late. In many of the games this month, the Giants have been out by the 4th or 5th inning.

Here are the ugly numbers for the Giants' starters over the past 17 games (Giants are 7-10 with 3 of those wins against the 51-74 Cubs):

93 innings, 109 hits, 56 earned runs, 29 walks, 77 strikeouts

2-10 record, 5.42 ERA, 1.48 WHIP

Those numbers speak for themselves, and it's apparent why the Giants have slumped in August. Jonathan Sanchez pitched a gem in Philly on Thursday night (I was there!), but the only member of the rotation who has consistently pitched well this month is Madison Bumgarner, the 21-year-old rookie 5th starter. Zito has pitched in the playoffs before, and Cain and Lincecum, while still young, have been around the block a few times, but these veterans are not leading by example. As a result, this team is falling fast. Despite their chronic offensive woes, the Giants are built on pitching, and it's this starting staff that is going to determine whether or not the Giants are playing October baseball. The great Mychael Urban put it best on his Twitter account: "If the starters don't get their s$&t together fast, this season is over!!!"

The Lincecum Quandary

What's wrong with Tim Lincecum? That is certainly the most popular question in San Francisco right now.

After a thrilling, extra-inning victory against the Padres yesterday afternoon, the Giants had a chance to finally win a series against San Diego and move within 1.5 games of 1st place. It certainly wasn't the right time for Tim Lincecum, the staff ace, to turn in his worst outing of the season: 3.2 innings, 6 runs, 8 hits, 3 walks, 93 pitches. The Giants now stand 3.5 games behind the Padres, and are tied with Phillies for the wild-card lead entering this week's crucial series in Philadelphia.

Lincecum was the most dominant pitcher in baseball the last two seasons, but his numbers now are alarmingly pedestrian. In fact, he has the worst statistics out of the Giants' starting pitchers. His 3.62 ERA and 1.34 WHIP are right in the middle of the pack of the National League. He's already given up more homeruns (13) this year than he did all last season. His fall to mediocrity is especially surprising considering how dominant he was at the beginning of the season. Lincecum started the season 4-0 with a 1.27 ERA, a 0.83 WHIP, and a 43:7 K:BB ratio in 35.1 innings, well on his way to a 3rd-straight Cy Young. He was throwing his fastball with good velocity and movement, and his change-up was as devastating as ever.

What's happened since then? Most noticeably, his fastball velocity has dropped considerably. Instead of pitching around 94-96 MPH, he's now at 89-93 MPH. As a result, his change-up, which he throws at about 84-86 MPH is not effective because of the smaller disparity in velocity, and he hasn't been getting as many swings-and-misses as beforehand. Lincecum the past two seasons was a back-to-back Cy Young Award winner because of his pinpoint command, as evidenced by his over 4:1 K:BB ratio the last two years. But lately, his command, particularly with the fastball, has been all over the place. In today's game, he was constantly in 3-0 or 3-1 counts, and all pitchers, no matter how great they are, are going to lose if they're giving hitters the advantage.

What has caused the struggles? I don't think even Lincecum knows the answer to that question. He has said on many occasions that it's a mechanical issue, and it surely could be that because of his complicated delivery. Even though no one on the Giants is saying this, it could possibly be that he has a tired arm. Mychael Urban has said on KNBR that Lincecum has been inconsistent in his long-toss routine, the foundation of his throwing program. Every pitcher is expected to go through ups and downs; baseball is a humbling game. But Lincecum is the ace of a team that has postseason expectations, and it hurts the team even more when he goes through rough patches.

It's amazing that the Giants are on pace to win 91 games without steady contributions from their two star players from last year: Lincecum and Pablo Sandoval, who's defense has significantly regressed at 3rd base. Their winning play this season is really a testament to how great Aubrey Huff, Andres Torres, and Brian Wilson have been. But this team, built on pitching, isn't going anywhere without Lincecum. He better find out immediately what's ailing him because his team's playoff chances ride strongly on his arm.

Giants Sweep D-Backs, Finish 6-1 Road Trip

A Majors' best 16-6 record in thus far in July, a league-leading 122 runs scored this month, and 3.08 pitching staff ERA. No, those aren't numbers from the Yankees or the Braves; they're from the Giants, who completed they're second 4-game sweep on the road to cap a 6-1 road trip against the Dodgers and D-Backs. The Giants have now won 16 of their last 20 games and are now a season-high 13 games over .500.

While the Giants remain 3 games behind the Padres, who have continued to play great baseball, the Giants have separated themselves a bit from the Dodgers and Rockies, who are now 6 and 7.5 games out of first place respectively. Although it's way too early for this, the Giants lead the Reds in the Wild-Card Standings by 1.5 games.

Usually, a Giants hot-streak coincides with a homestand, but what has been most impressive about the team's 16-6 record in July is that they have played 18 of these 22 games away from AT&T Park. Entering July, the Giants were only 15-20 on the road, but they upped it to 28-25, and they are one of only three NL teams with a winning road record.

What is the secret to the Giants' success? With a 3.08 staff ERA and an average of 5.54 runs per game in July, the Giants for the first time this season look like a complete team. Although the Giants during the first half of the season won more games than they lost, the brand of baseball that they're playing now is a far cry from the one they were before this month, when they were tremendously over-dependent on their pitching. Now, the offense is potent enough to swallow a rough outing by one of the starting pitchers. Case and point: Tuesday's game against the Dodgers. Tim Lincecum was awful, and the Giants fell in an early 5-1 hole against Dodgers' ace Clayton Kershaw. However, the Giants battled against Kershaw and pulled out an improbable victory against Jonathan Broxton in the 9th inning (with Bruce Bochy's brilliant managing against Don Mattingly mixed in). Neither the 2009 team, nor the 2010 team before July would have won that game. In the end, the Giants will live and die with their pitching, but the pitchers are clearly pitching with a bit more confidence as they know that with the new offense, they don't have to pitch a shutout every game.

All hail Buster Posey, his 18-game hitting streak, and his ridiculous .469 batting average in June. Watch out Stephen Strasburg and Jason Heyward, because you both have stiff competition in the Rookie of the Year race.

The Giants' recent success has been very exciting, but the schedule from here on out only gets tougher, as 44 of their remaining 63 games will be against teams with winning records. The Giants will have to sustain this winning formula if they want a shot at October baseball.

A Bogus Call Prevents A Sweep

Armando Galarraga's blown perfect game should have been enough reason for Major League Baseball to institute some format of instant replay. But baseball still chooses to operate in an archaic manner. Replay would have been plenty helpful today, as Phil Cuzzi botched a call at home plate that would have capped a thrilling comeback against Francisco Rodriguez, and given the Giants a four-game sweep of the Mets. Instead, the Giants lost in 10. Nonetheless, the Giants should be very proud of their game as of late, and should walk into Dodger Stadium brimming with confidence.

In the 6-1 stretch before the All-Star Break, the Giants survived their pedestrian starting pitching and won with surges of offense, feasting on the weak pitching staffs of the Brewers and Nationals. However, this past weekend, the Giants won with dominant starting pitching, solid defense, and timely hitting, the formula that they have to use to compete for a playoff spot. Lincecum, Zito, Cain, and Sanchez were all fantastic. Those four pitched a combined 31 innings, allowing 4 runs on 18 hits with 23 strikeouts. The most encouraging aspect of the starting pitching was that all four starters pounded the strike zone, and they issued only 5 walks. They must have heard Brian Sabean's message loud and clear. Sabean over the All-Star Break rightfully called out the starting pitching staff as not living up to expectations, citing their NL-leading walk totals. Despite the sporadic sparks from the offense, the Giants are going to live and die with their pitching.

From the offensive side, Buster Posey continued, as FP Santangelo put it, "to make a mockery of Major League Baseball." He now has a 12-game hit streak is for my money, the most complete hitter in the Giants lineup, at age 23. The homerun he hit Saturday night to right field was a thing of beauty. Not even some of the most notable right-handed hitters of the last 10 years have come even close to doing that at AT&T Park.

The best storyline on offense was the reemergence of Pablo Sandoval, who went 6-12 in the series with 3 doubles, 4 RBIs, and the key leadoff walk that sparked the rally against Francisco Rodriguez today. Sandoval seems to have discovered his swing from both the left and right sides, and Santangelo pointed out on the broadcasts that he's slowed his leg kick in order to have his hands in the hitting position earlier. The Giants, maybe unfairly, constructed their offense around Sandoval building on the season he had last year, but clearly, that has not worked out so far. But a reinvented Sandoval bodes well for the Giants in the 2nd half. The Giants need him, and he knows it.

Many fans have been clamoring for an extra bat for this lineup, and it's true that another solid hitter would be a welcome addition to this team. But the Giants' most pressing need is a reliable arm in the bullpen. While the starting pitching took a step forward this weekend, the bullpen, outside of Brian Wilson, is still shaky. Brian Sabean should devote most of his energy towards prying one of the available relievers (like Toronto's Scott Downs). For a team that's so reliant on pitching, the Giants need to have a solid bridge from the starters to Brian Wilson. Plus, assuming that Sandoval is back to his old self, a 3-4-5 of Huff, Posey, and Sandoval is not bad at all. Sure, it's not Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jayson Werth, but with the Giants' pitching staff, it should be enough to make a deep run in August and September.

The Giants should not dwell on today's bogus loss. They need to capitalize on a downtrodden Dodgers team that just got swept by the Cardinals and exact revenge for the sweep that they received a few weeks ago. With Bumgarner, Lincecum, and Zito set to take the hill, the Giants have to take at least 2 of 3 from the Dodgers. BEAT LA!!!

After A 6-1 Week, Giants Finish 7-4 Road Trip

What a difference a week makes. The Giants had lost 7 in a row, 3 of 4 in Denver, and 12 of 16 overall, but a week in Milwaukee and Washington DC was just what the doctor ordered. The series against the Rockies was a debacle, but the Giants, as they have showed all season, demonstrated grit and resiliency to finish their longest road trip of the year 7-4. The Giants head into the All-Star break with a 47-41 record, 4 games behind the 1st-place Padres.

Throughout the week, the Giants' offense stole the show, scoring 53 runs this week. That comes to an average of 7.6 runs/game during this week, and with their pitching staff, the Giants are going to win their fair share of games even if the offense averages 5 runs/game. Aubrey Huff bluntly told Matt Downs earlier in the season, "When we hit, we win; it's as simple as that." Granted, aside from Stephen Strasburg, the Giants did not face an impressive lineup of pitchers. But their have been many instances during this season when the Giants have struggled to hit anyone throwing the ball from the pitcher's mound.

The Giants got contributions up and down the lineup, but this week was all about Aubrey Huff and Buster Posey. Huff has proven to be one of the best, if not the best, free-agent signings from this past offseason, finishing the 1st half of the season with a .296 average, 17 HR, and 54 RBIs. Huff has a terrific 40:43 K:BB ratio. His .384 OBP, .544 SLG, and .929 OPS rank 7th, 8th, and 6th respectively in the National League. In an interview with the great Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com, Huff lashed out against the All-Star game: "It's a sham. It's so backward, it's a joke." Huff has a legitimate beef, as his numbers are clearly better than many of the National League All-Stars. Also, there were major concerns about his defense, but he's been fine either at 1st base or in the outfield. Certainly, the best $3 million the Giants have spent in a while.

The Bengie Molina trade might have turned the Giants' season around, because it installed Posey into the lineup as a regular contributor on offense and behind the plate. Also, the trade netted Chris Ray, who has become one of the most reliable arms in Bruce Bochy's bullpen, posting a 1.35 ERA as a Giant. Defensively, Posey a huge upgrade from Molina. He's been fine as a receiver and blocker, and I dare anyone to find another catcher who has a stronger arm. Posey has thrown out 42% of the players attempting to steal bases against him, which ranks 3rd in all of Major League Baseball behind Miguel Olivo of the Rockies and Yadier Molina of the Cardinals. The Giants would not have won Saturday night's game if Posey had not thrown out two runners at 3rd base in the 6th inning.

Buster Posey was unstoppable at the plate during the 11-game road trip. In the month of July, Posey's numbers are off the charts: .514 AVG, 6 HR, 13 RBIs, .558 OBP, 1.027 SLG, and 1.585 OPS. The most impressive aspect of Posey's hitting has been his ability to drive the ball opposite field to the right-center gap. 5 of his 7 HR have been to either right or right-center field. Obviously, he's going to have to tinker that approach while playing at AT&T Park, but it's so refreshing to see a young hitter drive the ball with authority all over the field. He's on his way to being one of the elite catchers in all of baseball.

On the other hand, Barry Zito has fallen off the tracks after his dominant April. He's been below-average ever since his 5-0 start, posting ERAs of 4.50, 4.30, and 7.20 in May, June, and July. Zito's past two outings were extremely disappointing because he was unable to pitch effectively despite receiving more-than-ample run support (7 runs in Colorado, 6 runs in Milwaukee). Maybe he's just in shock, not knowing what to do with run support after getting almost none all of last season. Zito had a fantastic April because of his classic, pinpoint control; in 35.1 inning in April, Zito walked only 11. But recently, he's been falling behind the count a lot, forced to come into the strike zone in 3-0 or 3-1 counts. For a guy who doesn't feature overpowering velocity, that's not a recipe for success. Thankfully, it's the All-Star break, and this is about the time when Zito gets it together.

The first half of the season was a mixed bag for the Giants. Most of us expected this team to be better than 47-41, but they finished the half on a hot streak, winning 6 of their last 7 games. Best of luck to Brian Wilson and Tim Lincecum in the All-Star game!

The Misery Continues: Rockies Take 3 of 4 From Giants

After a disastrous 1-5 homestand, it was incumbent upon the Giants to turn things around on this 11-game road trip. Everyone knew that it was not going to be an easy task, as entering this series against the Rockies, the Giants were 15-20 on the road. Also, the last time the Giants had played a game in Coors Field prior to Thursday was the awful Ryan Spilborghs walk-off grand slam "This is not good, folks" game.

The Giants continued their losing ways, dropping 3 of 4 to the Rockies, including today's crushing loss in a 15-inning, 5.5 hour long game. The Giants are now 7.5 games behind the Padres.

Saturday's victory, where they knocked around Ubaldo Jimenez, was very impressive. They jumped on Jimenez early, and even though Barry Zito couldn't hold a 7-1 lead, they came back in strong fashion after Colorado took the lead. But in the other three games, the Giants played the same brand of baseball that they did while on their 1-5 homestand. The starting pitching was average at best, the bullpen was unreliable, the situational hitting was abysmal (3-18 with runners in scoring position in the 3 losses) , and the defense made four errors. No wonder they can't win a game.

Bruce Bochy made a very questionable move today: pinch-running Eli Whiteside for Buster Posey in the top of the 8th inning. Bochy explained after the game that he thought that Whiteside is a faster runner than Posey, meaning that he thought Whiteside had a better chance to score on a base-hit in the gap. Pinch-running Whiteside for Bengie Molina was always a good move, but I think Bochy got it wrong today. Posey is not Michael Bourn, but he's got decent speed and I'm sure that if Whiteside is faster, it's not by much. Plus, Posey was having a terrific game, having thrown out two excellent base stealers in Dexter Fowler and Carlos Gonzalez. Whiteside will be catching Jonathan Sanchez tomorrow, so it didn't make sense to have him catching at all today. Also, Whiteside went 0-2 with runners in scoring position, including striking out with Aubrey Huff at 3rd base with one out in the 13th inning. Posey surely would have had a better at-bat. Eli Whiteside is terrific for what he is: a backup catcher. But the catching job is Posey's now, and Bochy should not have taken out one of his best hitters in a tied game.

Aaron Rowand and Edgar Renteria, despite being two of the higher-salaried players on the Giants, have seen more of the bench than the field over the past couple of weeks. It should stay that way, because they're not doing contributing at all. Rowand and Renteria went a combined 1-12 today with 4 strikeouts. Renteria has 3 hits in his last 24 at-bats, and Rowand cannot lay off breaking balls in the dirt. There's no reason why Bochy should pencil them into the starting lineup; he can't just keep waiting for them to suddenly emerge out of their slumps.

Speaking of Aaron Rowand, Henry Schulman, the fine Giants beat-writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, put up an interesting trade idea on his blog: Aaron Rowand to the Cubs for pitcher Carlos Zambrano. There's no evidence suggesting that this trade has been discussed, but if it were to come up in the future, the Giants have to consider this swap. Rowand has been a huge disappointment ever since donning a Giants uniform. Although his defense has been terrific, he's been completely lost at the plate and overtaken by Andres Torres. Rowand by all accounts is a great guy, but he's in need of a change of scenery. Schulman points out that Rowand would probably benefit going to a more hitter-friendly park in Wrigley Field and playing in a city where he won a World Series. Zambrano, who's had a tumultuous relationship with the Cubs, might have punched his ticket out of town following his latest meltdown where he got into the face of Derek Lee, one of the most respected players in the game. Zambrano, if is head is on straight, and sometimes that's a big if, is a very good pitcher and he's only 29 years old. As Schulman says, money would be an impediment if the Giants and Cubs were to discuss this deal. Zambrano is owed $45 million over the next three years versus $30 for Rowand. I think if I were Brian Sabean, I'd still do this trade, even with Zambrano's checkered past and the money he's owed.

The Giants will play four in Milwaukee and hope to get out of this team-wide slump before they fall way behind in the division standings. The Brewers have terrible pitching (they rank 27th in ERA), but they have a loaded offense that features the likes of Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. With the bullpen chewed up after today's 15-inning marathon, Jonathan Sanchez, who hasn't gone more than 5.1 innings in his last 3 starts, has to go deep into tomorrow's game. One more week before the All-Star break, and the Giants need to play with a sense of urgency.

The Worst Thing In The World: Dodgers Sweep Giants

When the Giants' 2010 schedule was announced, I'm sure most fans circled this homestand against the Red Sox and Dodgers. These six games were a chance for the Giants to test how they stacked up against two playoff teams, and prove that they belong in the postseason discussion. Instead, the Giants, who generally play very well at home, went 1-5 and looked like a team of rookies just getting their feet wet instead of a veteran team with playoff aspirations. Worst of all, they were soundly swept by the Dodgers, who are now 8-4 over the two seasons at AT&T Park.

Teams generally rise to the occasion when they play tougher competition, especially when aided by sellout crowds dying to make their presence felt. They battle and grind it out for nine innings. The Giants, however, played disinterested baseball this series, and they shot themselves in the foot more than anything else with boneheaded mistakes. The 1-5 homestand dropped the Giants to a 40-37 record, 4th place in the NL West, and 5.5 games behind San Diego. Ever since the team started the season 7-2, they've gone 33-35, and 8-17 against other teams in the NL West.

Give the Dodgers credit, as painful as that is, because they played terrific baseball throughout the series. They got three superb outings from Chad Billingsley, John Ely, and head-hunter Vicente Padilla. Their bullpen pitched well too, as they didn't have to use closer Jonathan Broxton all series. They played strong defense, and they scored 16 runs in three games.

What was most impressive though about the Dodgers' play was how hard the Dodgers' hitters fought against the Giants' pitchers. The Dodgers didn't allow the Giants' starters to go deep into the games because of how many tough pitches they fouled off, waiting for the one pitch they wanted in the at-bat. Jonathan Sanchez threw 88 pitches in 5 innings today, Matt Cain threw 105 pitches in 5 innings yesterday, and Barry Zito threw 113 pitches in 6 innings on Monday. On the other hand, Vicente Padilla threw only 98 pitches in 7 innings today, an average of 14 pitches per inning. The Dodgers had 15 instances of a hitter seeing 20 pitches or more in a game this series, while the Giants only had 3. The Dodgers demonstrated how teams play winning baseball. Every team should know that it's best if you knock the starting pitcher out early, and get into the bullpen.

The Giants offense during this series resembled the performance during the series in Oakland: bad at-bats, poor situational hitting, and of course, double-plays. But it went beyond all of this, to immature baserunning and bad defense. No team can win this way.

The Giants will now embark on a crucial 11-game road trip that will lead them to the All-Star break. It's going to be a tall task for the Giants to right the ship, as they are only 15-20 on the road thus far. But because of the disastrous homestand, the Giants have to go 7-4 or better to be in good standing during the All-Star break. Hopefully the Giants observed the Dodgers closely, and saw first-hand a formula for winning baseball.

As I'm writing this post, multiple media outlets are reporting that the Giants have traded Bengie Molina to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Chris Ray and a player to be named later. This trade is good news for Giants fans. Bengie Molina was a terrific Giant: he was a two-time Willie Mac Award Winner, and he performed admirably in the cleanup spot in the lineup for two years even though everyone knew that he wasn't fit to hit in that spot. Molina, who was batting .257 with a .312 OBP and an awful .332 slugging percentage, had no place on the Giants any more, especially since his defense had significantly faded. This trade allows Buster Posey to play every day at the catcher position, which is a huge addition for the Giants. Despite his slump, Posey has to be in the lineup every day; he and Pat Burrell are the most disciplined hitters on this team. Chris Ray is a former closer, and he will provide an experienced arm to the Giants' bullpen, which is in dire need of some stability. Plus, with Posey behind the plate full time, and with Aubrey Huff able to play either first base or right field, the Bengie Molina trade will give Brian Sabean some more flexibility to acquire a proven hitter who can either play the infield or outfield.

If the Giants truly believe they are postseason contenders, they better turn up their play against Colorado, a team coming off a series win in San Diego. Almost halfway through the season, it's time for the Giants to get serious and play consistently well.

Giants Conclude Frustrating Week By Reverting To Their Bad Habits

After the sweep of the A's, and winning two of three against the Orioles, it seemed as if the Giants were coming together as a more complete team. The offense was scoring more runs with good situational at-bats and timely hitting, and the pitching staff was continuing its run as one of the best in the game.

It's amazing how quickly things can sour in two weeks, as the Giants just concluded a very disappointing 2-4 week, with series losses at Houston, who the Giants had dominated earlier this year, and at home against the Red Sox. Going back to the series in Toronto, the Giants are 3-6 in their last nine games, and are now 4.5 games behind the Padres, who just completed a 5-1 road trip against the Rays and Marlins.

In rare form, the Giants' starting pitching struggled mightily this week. Barry Zito and Matt Cain turned in their worst starts of the season on Wednesday and Thursday, Tim Lincecum went only 3 innings today, and Jonathan Sanchez, after pitching only 2.2 innings last Sunday, labored through 5.1 innings on Friday. Obviously, the Giants, a team almost too dependent on their starting pitching, are not going to win when they don't pitch. All starting pitchers fall victim to bad outings once in a while, and I'm sure that the starting staff will be back to normal soon.

However, the offense this week reverted back to the terrible play they showed during the games against the Padres and in Oakland against the A's. The Giants could have easily gone 4-2 instead of 2-4 this week, even with the shaky starting pitching, had they not wasted so many opportunities. The Giants did a fantastic job setting the table, but were atrocious in bringing runners in scoring position home. In the six games this week against Houston and Boston, the Giants stranded 42 runners, and went 9-51 with runners in scoring position, which is almost as bad as the 5-54 stretch with runners in scoring position they had in late May. Once again, it's hard to fathom that a team could be that comically incompetent with runners in scoring position.

Also hurting the Giants are the continued struggles of many of the key cogs of the offense, namely Pablo Sandoval, Bengie Molina, and Buster Posey. Posey, after his torrid start, is now mired in a 7-42 slump, the type of slump that all young players new to the big leagues go through. Pablo Sandoval hasn't shown any signs of breaking out of his prolonged funk. Sandoval is suffering from Randy-Winn-Syndrome, hitting only .219 against left-handed pitching this year. His at-bats with runners in scoring position have been awful, and in his last 13 games, he's gone 10-42 with only 4 extra-base hits. Molina in his last 10 games went 8-32 with only 1 extra-base hit. We can keep saying that it's only a matter of time before these guys heat up, but they're not showing any signs of working out their problems.

The Giants have a crucial 14-game stretch before the All-Star break: 3 at home against the Dodgers, 4 in Denver, 4 in Milwaukee, and 3 in Washington DC. The Giants must at the absolute minimum go 8-6 during these next couple of weeks to keep themselves in good position for the 2nd half of the season. It's time for this team to wake up and rise to the occasion against quality opponents.

Payback!! Giants Sweep A's

Revenge is so sweet! The Giants' previous set against the A's in Oakland was the most painful of the season for the Giants, as they were handily swept after scoring only one run in three games. In a long season, it's amazing what a difference just a couple of weeks makes. This Giants team that just completed a sweep, and has won seven of ten games, looks nothing like the squad that stumbled in and out of Oakland.

The biggest difference between the Giants now and the Giants two weeks ago: consistent offensive production. In their last 10 games, the Giants are averaging 5 runs per game. That's not great, but it's a ton better than the 2.7 runs/game that they were scoring around the time of their previous against the A's. Also, if the Giants average 5 runs per game, they're going to win plenty of games as their team ERA is only 3.33.

Why the increase in offense? You have to point to the arrival of two new guys: Buster Posey and Pat Burrell. Buster Posey has done everything right since being called up from AAA Fresno. He's hitting .368 and playing excellent defense at first base, to the point that Bruce Bochy is no longer bringing in Travis Ishikawa as a late-inning defensive replacement. Burrell, obviously more comfortable in the National League, is hitting .381 and four of his eight hits as a Giant have been for extra bases. Maybe Burrell, after many productive years in Philadelphia, fell victim to baseball's toughest division, the AL East. Plenty of players fall into that category: Carl Pavano, Julio Lugo, Danys Baez. Aside from tearing the cover off the ball, both Burrell and Posey have brought a disciplined approach at the plate to balance the free-swinging tendencies of Pablo Sandoval, Juan Uribe, and Bengie Molina.

The starting pitching was once again fantastic all weekend. Tim Lincecum looks like he's rebounded from the previous erratic three weeks, as he went 8 innings allowing only 2 runs and striking out 7. Barry Zito followed with a terrific outing (his curveball was unhittable) beating his former team for the first time in his career. Zito has now beaten all 30 MLB teams. Today, Matt Cain continued his dominance, allowing only 1 run in 7 innings. Cain's ERA is now 2.11, his WHIP is 1.02, and he has a 65/28 strikeout to walk ratio in 92.1 innings.

The bullpen, however, as been another story as of late. The Giants were very fortunate the last two games to hold onto their leads. Aside from Brian Wilson, Santiago Casilla, and maybe Sergio Romo, I doubt that Bruce Bochy feels comfortable handing the ball to anyone else in that bullpen. Good bullpens (such as the ones Kevin Towers assembled in San Diego) are built with pitchers who pound the strike zone and right now, Guillermo Mota, Jeremy Affeldt, and Dan Runzler are not doing that.

The great Andy Baggarly in a tweet during the game praised the low-cost signings (1 year, $3 million) of Aubrey Huff and Juan Uribe, the two steadiest hitters for the Giants all season. Huff after going deep twice today, has 10 HR and 33 RBIs to go with his .303 batting average, .395 oBP, and .926 OPS, which is 9th-best in the National League. Huff's defensive versatility has also been invaluable to the Giants. Uribe, after homering today, has 10 HR along with a .290 batting average and a .356 OBP. His 41 RBIs are best among all major league shortstops, and his .844 OPS ranks 3rd among all MLB shortstops.

Aubrey Huff and Juan Uribe have also put up significantly better numbers than Matt Holliday (7 years, $120 million) and Jason Bay (5 years, $80 million), the big free agent signings from the previous offseason. Holliday is hitting .289, but has only 6 HR, 25 RBIs, and a .444 slugging percentage. Even worse for Holliday and the Cardinals is that he's posting that type of pedestrian production in the most enviable position: hitting behind Albert Pujols. Jason Bay has been worse, hitting .284 with 4 HR with 25 RBIs and a .435 slugging percentage. Brian Sabean receives a huge amount of criticism, and some of it is legitimate. But he spent the funds available to him this past offseason very wisely and for that, he deserves a ton of credit.

As interleague play continues, the Giants will begin play tomorrow against teams from the AL East. First up, the worst team in baseball, the Baltimore Orioles. The Giants better take care of business against the inferior Orioles before they face the Blue Jays and Red Sox.

A 4-3 Road Trip, But It Could Have Been Better

The Giants lost a heartbreaker today in Cincinnati by a final of 7-6, a game they really should have won. The loss turned what could have been a very successful 5-2 road trip into a satisfactory 4-3 trip.

Today's game was the most maddening of them all. The Giants jumped out to a 4-0 lead against talented Reds rookie Mike Leake, who came into the game 5-0 with a 2.22 ERA. The Giants pummeled Leake for 5 runs and 11 hits in 4.1 innings, and it easily could have been a lot more if the Reds hadn't turned two magnificent double plays. Todd Wellemeyer was throwing the ball well for the first time on the road, but trouble started after he tweaked his quad in the 3rd inning.

Knucklehead of the week: Denny Bautista. Bautista was clearly unprepared to come into the game, and he was lackadaisical warming up to face the Reds' hitters. He inexcusably walked Mike Leake, the pitcher, to open the bottom of the 3rd inning and basically had no idea where the ball was going. Mike Krukow rightfully ripped Bautista in the postgame wrap on KNBR. Today's loss exposed a major flaw on this team: the absence of a long reliever. Todd Wellemeyer is best suited for this role, and not the 5th starter spot. I'd imagine that after his DL stint, he'll go to the bullpen and that Madison Bumgarner will assume his spot in the rotation the rest of the way.

Speaking of the bullpen, the Giants really need to get another quality arm in their middle relief just as badly as they need an extra bat in their lineup. The bullpen was a huge strength of the team last year, but it's been vulnerable this season. Brandon Medders was a disaster in the early part of the season and was designated for assignment after posting a solid season in 2009. Jeremy Affeldt, after being the best setup man in baseball last year, has a 4.58 ERA with a 1.73 WHIP, issuing 14 walks in 19.2 innings. Sergio Romo has been prone to giving up big homeruns. Dan Runzler has had command issues all year. I hope Brian Sabean is scouting the trade market for a valuable reliever, because as we've seen recently, this team is struggling to hold leads.

The Giants finally return home and hopefully will take out some revenge on the A's.

Some final tidbits:

*All hail Matt Cain! What a game he threw on Tuesday! To pitch a shutout against the Reds, the National League's best offense, in that bandbox joke of a ballpark was unbelievable. He's only the 5th pitcher to throw a shutout in Great American Ballpark ever since the stadium opened in 2003. Look at his numbers over his past four stars: 34 innings, 17 hits, 1 earned run, 6 walks, 23 strikeouts, with a 0.26 ERA.

*Pablo Sandoval made a HUGE mistake today missing a squeeze sign in the top of the 7th inning that denied the Giants a run. He can't make stupid errors like this, especially since he's the Giants' 3rd place hitter. The Giants desperately need him to get his act together.

*Buster Posey continues to rake, posting a .444 batting average. His upper-deck homerun off of Aaron Harang was also very impressive. He needs to play every day, simple as that. It's also time for Bruce Bochy to move him up in the batting order.

Giants Win Series Against Pirates

The Giants for the most part have played well at home thus far, posting a 19-11 record, tied for 4th-best in the National League. But their road play has been maddening at times, and entering this past weekend's series against the Pirates, the Giants had a 9-13 road record. But they began turning that road record around, taking 2 of 3 from the Pirates in Pittsburgh, a city that for some odd reason, hasn't been kind to the Giants the past few years.

While usually the focus of a successful series is on the pitching staff, the offense deserves a ton of credit for the comeback victory on Friday and today's extra-inning win. The offense also had an even more remarkable comeback Saturday night, had Lastings Milledge not made the catch of the year.

The Giants in most surprising fashion won on Friday with the long ball, as Eli Whiteside, Juan Uribe, and Aubrey Huff all went deep. But the two main offensive catalysts this weekend were the guys at the top of the lineup: Andres Torres and Freddy Sanchez. Torres and Sanchez have formed a very nice 1-2 combination at the top of the lineup. Torres has posted a .292 average with a .377 OBP, and he's used his speed very effectively, swiping 11 bases so far. He's also played excellent defense, and he made two spectacular catches in the outfield this weekend. Sanchez had quite a series back at his old stomping grounds, going 7-13. Since May 26th, Sanchez has raised his batting average from .192 to .371. Torres and Sanchez are getting on base with great frequency, and it's up to the heart of the lineup to bring them home.

Tim Lincecum had a better outing today, going 7 innings allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, striking out 6 against 2 walks. It looks like he took a small step forward in getting back to his normal self, but he still did not have full command of his pitches. There were many instances where Lincecum pitched to the Pirates hitters behind in the count. The great Andy Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News wrote a breakdown of the 50 fastballs that Tim Lincecum threw today. 40% were balls and he had no swings and misses on the fastball. However, I don't think it's an issue of velocity, as the radar gun in Pittsburgh had Lincecum's fastball in the 92-94 mph range. Lincecum needs to regain his pinpoint command of the fastball in order to make his offspeed more effective, and thus, a tougher at bat for his opponent.

The Giants head to Cincinnati to face the surprising 1st-place Reds, who have offensive stars such as Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips, a tough bullpen with Arthur Rhodes and Francisco Cordero, and a hot-shot rookie starting pitcher named Mike Leake, who's 5-0 with a 2.22 ERA. The Giants should shoot for a split of the 4-games series, which would give them a 4-3 record on this 7-game road trip.

Some final tid-bits:

*Quite a provocative move by Bruce Bochy, batting Pablo Sandoval 8th on Saturday. I don't know if I would have dropped Sandoval 8th, and put Molina 4th, but I'm glad that Bochy is sending Sandoval a message. Sandoval does have to realize how pitchers are attacking him and he needs to make the necessary adjustments. He's way too talented to be slugging only .429 with a .763 OPS. The Giants need him to be better.

*The Giants cannot possibly hand the ball to Todd Wellemeyer in Cincinnati on Thursday after yet another disastrous outing on the road. Wellemeyer has been good at home, but his road numbers are frightening: 0-4 with a 10.62 ERA, 24 ER in 20.1 innings, 9 homeruns, 20 walks against 16 strikeouts, and a .305 opponent's batting average. Baggs has a hunch that it's going to be Madison Bumgarner who takes the hill on Thursday.

*Aubrey Huff has been a nice addition for the Giants so far, hitting .298 with 7 HR and 26 RBIs with an .868 OPS. His defensive flexibility has also been good. It was well-documented this offseason that the Giants pursued Adam LaRoche, who's now on the Diamondbacks. The Giants offered LaRoche a 2 year, $17 million contract which he turned down to sign a 1-year deal with the DBacks. The Giants then signed Huff to a 1-year $3 million pact. LaRoche has 33 RBIs thus far and is a much better defensive 1st-baseman, but in more categories, Huff has been the better player, hitting for a higher batting average and posting a better OBP, slugging percentage, and OPS. Looks like the Giants are getting tremendous value from Huff considering the contract he signed.

Despite Series Loss Against Rockies, Giants Complete 6-3 Homestand

After a dismal road trip that ended with a sweep at the hand of the surprising Oakland A's, the Giants came back to the friendly confines of AT&T Park to try to turn things around. Despite losing 2 of 3 to the Rockies, the Giants finished the homestand with a fine 6-3 record, including a revenge-sweep of the Diamondbacks.

Positives before negatives. I want to focus on three players: Matt Cain, Freddy Sanchez, and Buster Posey.

Matt Cain with Tim Lincecum's prolonged struggles has assumed the role as the top man of this staff, and no one should be surprised by this development. He's always possessed a winning combination of great stuff with tremendous poise, and it's hard to believe that he's only 25. He'd get a ton of more well-deserved national attention if abysmal run-support didn't plague him now and then. Cain now has a 2.36 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, and an opponent's batting average of .192. In his last few starts, he's been able command all four of pitches, as evidenced by his 4 walks in the past 25 innings. With Lincecum's slump, the responsibility of carrying this talented pitching staff rests on Cain's broad shoulders, and I'm very confident that he'll handle the task well.

The clamoring for trading for an accomplished hitter is justified; the Giants need a hitter like Prince Fielder in the lineup. But Matt Cain should be absolutely untouchable, and part of no trade for a bat. Cain is truly a special pitcher, a player that can be the ace of a team for 10 years. Just look at his physical stature; he's built to pitch 200+ innings every year, as he's already done three times in his young career. If he played on a team that had a half-decent offense, he'd be a Cy Young contender every year, and even though his career record is only 48-55 now, I'm 100% sure that he's going to finish his career with many more wins than losses.

We Giants fans were getting fed up with Freddy Sanchez with his slow recovery from offseason surgery, but his play thus far has been worth the wait. He's hitting .327 thus far with a fantastic .414 OBP. Perhaps the biggest surprise has been his stellar play defensively at 2nd base. I think we all knew that he'd be a solid 2nd baseman, but with his play so far, he's become the best Giants' defensive 2nd baseman since Robby Thompson. He and Andres Torres, with his .375 OBP, have formed a nice 1-2 at the top of the order and if only other players on this team were hitting, the Giants would actually score some runs. That hit-and-run single off the bat of Sanchez in the 9th-inning comeback in Sunday's game was beautiful example of his excellent bat control.

Buster Posey is finally here, and all he's done is hit .474. Let's hope he's here to stay for good, because the Giants absolutely need his bat in the lineup. Even though he's played only six games, he probably has the best approach at the plate out of all of the Giants' players. To help this team win now, the Giants should find a way to play Posey every day, whether it's at 1st base or behind the plate. He's advanced and mature beyond his years.

On the negative side, Tim Lincecum has now struggled mightily in his last three starts, and it's a legitimate source of concern. The numbers over his last three outings are not pretty: 15.1 innings, 14 earned runs, 15 walks, and 14 strikeouts. Those are the exact opposite of the Lincecum numbers that we've grown accustomed to. It's true that every great pitcher goes through slumps, but this stretch doesn't look like a normal stretch. Smart money is that Lincecum will work his way out of this funk; you don't win back-to-back Cy Young awards without having tremendous skill. But whether it's a mechanical issue, or whether he's being bothered by blisters, Lincecum needs to get out of this rut now because the Giants depend on him so much. Every time Lincecum starts has to be win day for the Giants.

The Giants will now embark on a 7-game road trip to face Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, one of the major surprises of the National League with a 31-23 record. The Giants' current road record of 9-13 is not consistent with playoff contention, and the Giants need to drastically improve their play on the road. As always, it has to start with the hitters taking smart at-bats.