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.