Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Ace Killers

GIANTS 6 - MARLINS 4
NEW YORK - APRIL 29:  Josh Johnson #55 of the ...Image by Getty Images via @daylife

OK so they didn't beat Josh Johnson or Ubaldo Jimenez.  They did put 7 runs on the board against Jimenez earlier this season before the the Rocks tied the game.  The Giants did eventually win that game.  Against Johnson, they put three runs on the board which might as well be seven runs since JJ had not allowed more than 2 runs in a start in 13 straight starts.

Now 3 runs in 7 innings is still a quality start and Matt Cain matched Johnson run for run only allowing only 3 runs in 7 innings.  He actually pitched a little better than JJ did allowing only 4 hits to Johnson's 8.  Cain's only 2 mistakes turned into all 3 of the Marlin's runs on the day.

The fact that Cain allowed 3 runs and wasn't tagged with the loss marks a change in the Giants, and Cain's fortunes.  In the past, Cain would have taken the hard luck loss after giving up 3 runs.  Last night the Giants scored 3 runs for him while he was in the game and even went on to win the game after he left.

The other big news of the night is obviously Buster Posey extending his hitting streak to 20 games.  He has now moved in to the position of favorite for rookie of the year.  Posey's numbers rival Jason Heyward's with about 150 less ABs.  The other favorite, Washington's Stephen Strasburg was scratched from his start Tuesday night  and the clock is ticking until the Nats shut him down for the season.  I can't really come up with any other NL rookies who can compare to Posey.

Trade Rumblings:

I'm not too thrilled with the rumors of the Giants interest in the Blue Jays' Jose Bautista.  The guy has hit 28 homers so far to be sure but he is hitting in a Blue Jays lineup that has considerable more pop than the Giants do, his home games aren't currently being played in AT&T park, and he is only hitting .245 on the season.  Is he going to be an automatic out when he isn't hitting homers?

Jose Guillen is a head case, All through his career he has been up and down performance-wise.  Last season he only hit 9 homers to go along with 40 RBIs.  He does have 59 RBIs and 16 HRs this season and he could be the Giants' target seeing as he will probably come cheap since KC will be looking to dump salary.  A package deal that brings Scott Podsednik along would be a great move for Sabean provided A) the price is right and B) Guillen doesn't have an attitude like he did with the Angels

Adam Dunn is the guy I would most like to see the Giants get.  The guy bats around .280, he hits bombs, and has seven  30+ homer seasons in his career.  He is 7 away from his 8th and the best part about Dunn is that he will only be 31 this offseason.  He hits bombs that will easily get out of AT&T and he is OK defensively.  Although the asking price is reportedly Madison Bumgarner and if that's the case I'll pass.

At this point Guillen and a left handed middle reliever seem to be the most likely moves the Giants will make.  If they can somehow come up with Podsednik too, then the moves look good.

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