No runs? No Problem!

GIANTS 1 - METS 0

Well the Giants offense has started the second half in a slumber having scored a lousy 3 runs in the first 2 games.

They are 2-0 in those games!

It also marks the first time this season that the Giants have won a game 1-0.  Which is pretty amazing when you consider the Giants pitching staff.  Up until last night, the Giants were 0-8 in games which they had scored 1 run.

Normally I would be lamenting the fact that The Giants offense has gone back into a deep slumber but not tonight.  I guess I'm OK with the offense when the Staff has a 0.00 ERA!

Zito was Lincecum-esque.  He actually was even more dominating than Lincecum was the night before by racking up 10 k's and allowing only 2 hits, one of which was a bloop double by Carlos Beltran in the 7th, in 8 innings pitched.  I guess he really was pissed after his last outing.

The Giants did manufacture the run that they did get however.

In the fourth inning, Aubrey Huff drew a one out walk, Buster Posey followed with a double, and Pat Burrell brought Huff home with a grounder to second that brought a throw home which Catcher Rod Barajas just couldn't hold on to.

This sequence of events prompted the always quotable Huff to remark: " I don't think I've been pumped up to score a run in the fifth inning, ever. It was a nice atmosphere at the yard tonight. It kind of felt like a playoff-game atmosphere." 


He also added:


"Not that I would know what it feels like"


Man I love that guy.


Links of the day:


I got two today.

First off Bengie Molina Hit a grand slam against the Boston Red Sox last night.  To top that feat, he also managed to hit for the cycle.  This made a bit of history as Molina was the first catcher ever to hit for the cycle and hit a grand slam in the same game.  Molina is hot BTW.  This was the second night in a row that he slammed a HR!


How did he celebrate after he walked around the bases for the ever elusive triple to complete his cycle?  


He came out of the game with a strained hamstring.


Congratulations big money!


The second link was actually pointed out in a blog post by El Lefty Malo who was able to find a little nugget of sense in the Dontrelle Willis signing.  It shows his stats against left handed batters this season.  Situational lefty anyone?

Halfway through the season

Last night's 6-1 win over the Brewers marked the beginning of the second half of the season by games played.  So it was good that they started off with a win.

2 weeks ago, everyone was feeling good about the chances of this team making a playoff run and they were ready for the offense to turn a corner.

Well, a 7 game losing streak and the evaporation of the offense has led a lot of people to fell not so good about this team's playoff chances.  

I will admit that I am have been one of those guys.  I even went so far as to buy a Fire-Sabean t-shirt, I got it Saturday and wore it when the Giants finally broke that losing streak!  My Twitter feed looks like a complaint fest.  But I have realized that it's a long season.  At least until tomorrow's game.

So how do these Giants look right now?  What needs to Happen in the second half?  Will Pablo become Pablo gain?  Can we be a little more positive again?

How do the Giants look right now?

Right now the Giants are in disarray.  They have been struggling on offense most of the year while their pitching had been stellar.  Over the last two weeks, the Giants pitching has struggled to go along with the offensive struggles.  

All teams go through a point in their season where things just don't go right.  The Dodgers' 8-14 start to the season  is a perfect example of this.  We Giants fans notice it more when it comes to the Giants because we are so invested in this team.  We have seen 3 World Series appearances in the 51 years the Giants have been in San Francisco and more recently it we have not seen a postseason since 2003.

So yeah we are naturally going to think it's the end of the world when the Giants struggle.  We don't exactly have a winning tradition when it comes to the postseason around here.

What needs to happen in the second half?

They need to find an offense.

Since Bengie Molina was traded last week the Giants have gone 2-3.  They have scored 26 runs in those 5 games which sounds like a lot until you realize that 17 of them were scored in 2 games.  In the other 3 games, which they lost BTW, they only scored 3 runs in each of those games.  

3 runs seems to be the tipping point for the Giants.  If they can score 4 or more runs it's a good bet that they will win that game.  

Now, obviously most teams are going to win games when they score 4 or more runs in a game, but it happens so infrequently with the Giants that it is a huge problem.  We are talking about a team here that has been shut out 7 times, scored one run 8 times, and scored 2 runs 12 times!  That's 27 times they have scored less than 3 runs per game!  In 82 games!

A huge key to the Giants scoring more runs is Pablo Sandoval.  If Pablo can even start hitting close to what he hit last season, then the Giants are going to score more runs.  He is not striking out that much, 39 times in 308 ABs coming into the game tonight, but he is hitting into too many DPs, and he is not making solid enough contact.  More on Pablo in a minute.

They need to win more on the road.

17-23 on the road is just not getting the job done.  If the Giants were playing .500 ball on the road things would be looking a lot better right now.  they would be 45-37 which would have them tied with the Dodgers for second place still.

They have to win in the division.

They are an astounding 9-20 against the NL west.  The only team they have a winning record against is the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Who are 19 games under .500.  But it's not like they are beating up on the D-backs or anything since they are only 3-2 against them.

Will Pablo become Pablo again and can we be more positive?

These two things go hand in hand I think.  Pablo Sandoval is going through a prolonged slump for the first time in his life.  This guy has hit everywhere he has been and when he has struggled, he has righted the ship rather quickly.  He has been somewhat snake bitten this season by the DP ball and there really is no good explanation for that other than rotten luck.

However a more disturbing thing is happening to Pablo.  Maybe to Pablo isn't the right thing to say maybe it's more like around Pablo.

The fans have started to turn on him.

Last season, he was the talk of San Francisco.  There was a huge campaign to try to get him elected to the All-Star game, a cottage industry sprung up around Panda merchandise, and he made a legitimate run at the NL MVP award.  Everybody loved their rotund third baseman.

Now people make fun of the Panda nickname, Pablo is suddenly being called fat instead of pudgy,  message board lurkers are demanding for him to be traded, and fans are loudly questioning why Pablo is in the starting lineup.

The same fans, mind you, that cry when their "pet" prospects don't get enough playing time while some old veteran is allowed AB after AB to come out of his slump.

Just because Pablo doesn't qualify as a rookie anymore doesn't take away from the fact that he is still only 24 years old and is playing in only his second full season.  He is undergoing a bit of a sophomore slump right now and will work his way out of it.  He has got to be wondering how he could have been so loved last season and so vilified this season.

Sure, he has made some bone-headed plays this season.  I think that those bone headed plays can be partly attributed to the way that the fans have treated him.  His slump at the plate and his youth are obviously more to blame but being lambasted by the fans doesn't help.

So that's what I'm hoping that we as fans can do more of the second half of the season.  We can be more positive and supportive of the players.  We can put a positive outlook on things rather than complain even when the Giants win.

We can still bag on Boch and Sabes though!

Lastly, instead of the Nate watch that I have been running for a while, I am going to start posting links to interesting Giants stories that I have come across.  The first one is from the Obsessive Giants Compulsive he provides a lot of interesting analysis as to how the 24th overall pick for the Giants this season, Gary Brown, might be a little bit of a better pick than we thought.  

The only thing I can add to this post is a bit of trivia.  The PTBNL that we got in the Bengie Molina trade, Michael Main, was also the 24th overall pick in 2007. 

At least they scored 3 runs

ROCKIES 7 - GIANTS 3

About 2 weeks ago, this team was looking promising.  They were scoring runs, pitching well, and winning games.

Then they went to Toronto.

The Giants haven't won a series since they played the Orioles back on June 14-16.  Since that time they are 3 - 10 and they have now lost 3 in a row.  The offense scored 3 runs for the first time in 6 games but the pitching staff gave up 7 runs.

The result was another loss.

The only real positive from this game is that the Giants future was on display and performed well.  Buster Posey was the only Giant to get more than one hit, including his second homer, and Madison Bumgarner threw 7 decent innings.  They seemed to be the only 2 Giants who decided to show up to play.

More fallout from the Molina trade.

The PTBNL turns out to be minor league pitcher Michael Main.  He is a mid level pitcher who has had a few issues recently but throws hard and possibly projects to the bullpen.  It really makes this a good deal for the Giants.  It was actually a good deal for both teams since that Rangers had almost zero production from their catchers and the Giants lineup couldn't afford the non-production from Molina.

Molina was a good Giant.  Up until this season, he was solid offensively and really shaped and molded our excellent staff.  He will be missed.

What is wrong with the pitchers?

A lot of what is wrong with the starters can be boiled down to a slump.

I think a lot of what ails them is actually related to the offensive struggles.

You always hear baseball pitchers say that it's not necessarily pitch count that matters but how many high stress pitches a pitcher throws.  Usually high stress pitches come from situations where the game is close and every pitch the pitcher makes can lose the game so a pitcher has got to be almost perfect with each pitch.

Almost every pitch a Giants starter has thrown can classify as a high stress pitch.

The Giants staff is usually pitching with one or two runs of support and each pitch they throw has the potential to lose the game for them.  They are constantly under pressure to be perfect or lose.  The Giants haven't even scored more than 3 runs since June 25th so there hasn't been one instance where a pitcher has had a 2 or 3 run lead since at least then.

With all the stress on the staff, slumps like this are inevitable.  They are inevitable anyway, but when the offense can't score enough runs to pick up Barry Zito who battles and battles and only gives up 2 runs, it is disastrous for a team and that starter.

The bottom line is the Giants need more offense.

The only rumor on the search for more offense is that the Giants want Jonathan Sanchez and Thomas Neal for Prince Fielder.  The Giants are balking at that deal and I can understand why.  Who are they going to replace Sanchez in the rotation with?  If they can figure out the answer to that question then I am all for the deal.  right now the Giants can't afford to replace anybody in the starting rotation.   Although a little offensive firepower makes the starters all look a little better.  They also probably don't want to part with Neal.

Nate watch, Bowker watch, and prospect watch:
Nate got a start and went 1 for 4.  Hopefully with some regular playing time he can start to hit with some authority.  John Bowker went 0 for 2 for Fresno and lowered his average to a paltry .323.  Lastly Brandon Belt the San Jose Giants first baseman was promoted to AA Richmond.  Belt was batting a respectable .383 with 10 homeruns for San Jose so hopefully he can continue that success in Richmond.

Bengie Molina traded!

WOW!

The Giants traded Bengie Molina to the Texas Rangers for a pack of chewing gum, reliever Chris Ray and a player to be named later.

Well OK, I'm not sure about the pack of chewing gum cut most Giants fans would have been happy if that was all that they got for him.  Instead B.S. filled a need (reliever), cleared the way for Posey to start, and was even able to get a Player to be named later out of the deal.  Maybe since he was named one of the toughest GMs to trade with the day before, Sabean needed to prove that he could get a deal done!

The Giants didn't rob the Rangers as I'm sure many Giants fans will believe he did.  Expect Molina's offensive numbers to improve slightly once he plays every day in the Bandbox that the Rangers play in.Plus, for them, he is an upgrade at catcher since all of the Rangers catchers combined have hit .212 so far this season.  Plus with guys like Nelson Cruz and Vladimir Guerrrero in their lineup the Rangers are better equipped to take on player with Bengie's limited offensive skills.

Molina was a good Giant, offensive struggles this season aside.  But the time had come for him to go.  Buster Posey has shown that he can hit at the major league level and as Bruce Bochy said the other day: "You can't get em all in there."  Hopefully this opens the door for Nate Schierholtz to play more every day.  i doubt it though since Bochy will almost assuredly jump at the chance to get Aaron Rowand back in the lineup and I have to admit that he did earn himself at least one more start after yesterday's 3 for 4 performance.

I'm not even going to comment on yesterday's 8-2 loss to the Dodgers since I have nothing positive to say.  I will say that I am a man of my word and my order for a Fire-Sabean.com t-shirt has been placed.

Giants muscle up! Are they better than last year?

Giants 9 - Blue Jays 6

If you told me before today's game started that the Blue Jays were going to score 6 runs I would have told you that the Giants were going to lose.  However Aubrey Huff, Freddy Sanchez, and Pat Burrell each hit homeruns to make up for a shaky start by Jonathan Sanchez on the way to the Giants scoring 9 runs in their 9-6 victory in Toronto. 

This Giants team is tough to figure out.  In the previous 4 games they had been held to 2 runs or less 3 out of the last 4 games.  One of those games they were shut out and another they only scored one run.  This stretch prompted everyone to wonder if the offensive explosion that the Giants flashed on the last homestand was a fluke. 

This made me wonder if the Giants are a better team than they were last year?

It's still tough to tell even after the Giants scored 9 runs today.  It brought their season record on the road to 14-18 which isn't as bad as their 36-45 record on the road last season but it's not much better. They have slightly increased their runs per game from 4.1 last season to 4.3,  their team ERA is down to 3.31 from 3.35, and their team batting average has gone from .257 up to .263.  All this has translated to a record right now of 38-30, last year they were 37-31 after 68 games so they are exactly 1 game better this year at this time than they were last year.

The Giants brass really will need to make a splash at the trading deadline to significantly change this team over the rest of the season.  There aren't that many big names out there.   Right now we have David Dejesus, Lance Berkman, Miguel Tejada, Derrek Lee, Carlos Lee, and Paul Konerko.  Kelly Johnson is possibly available too but it's tough to see Arizona dealing him within the division.

So what options do the Giants have out of those guys? Berkman and the two Lees are all batting in the low .200s.  I don't think the Giants can afford anymore automatic outs since they already have Rowand and Molina.  Tejada is batting a decent .271 and Dejesus is batting .331 but these two have combined for 9 home runs total and pop is what the Giants need right now. 

This leaves Paul Konerko as the guy the Giants MUST get.  I know I sound like a broken record but this guy is hitting .294/.396/.974 with 17 HRs.  he is the best option on the market.  Sure, his arrival will finally send Bengie Molina to the bench, but the Giants need this kind of power in the lineup rather than hoping that Pat Burrell can provide it.  With him you have a potential lineup of:

Torres CF, Sanchez 2B, Huff LF, Konerko 1B, Uribe SS, Sandoval 3B, Posey C, Schierholtz RF.  However more likely we would see a linup along the lines of: Torres CF, Sanchez 2B, Huff RF, Konerko 1B, Sandoval 3B, Uribe SS, Posey C, Burrell LF.  Either way I like it a lot better than what we are throwing out there right now.

Nate Watch:
Nate got in the game and did not get an AB.  Rowand on the other hand got 5 ABs collecting a hit in one of them.  He is batting a robust .220

The return of the Freak!

Giants 6 A's 2

So you were  scared that Tim Lincecum lost his stuff?

Shame on you!

Tim Lincecum put on a really good performance last night.  Now it wasn't the dominating stuff we are used to seeing from Timmy, but it was close.  Timmy pitched 8 innings, gave up 2 runs on 7 hits, and had 7 k's.  But his most telling statistic of the night..... 1 BB.  That's right after walking 22 batters in his last 5 starts, Timmy only issued 1 free pass.  Now, I'll admit, it didn't start off all that promising.  Timmy uncorked 2 wild pitches in the first inning with Kevin Kouzmanoff on base.  Those led to an early 1-0 lead for the A's.

Based on their last series in Oakland that would have seemed to be enough for the A's to get the win.  But these aren't the same Giants.  To start the Giants scoring, the newest Giants, Pat Burrell hit a 2 run HR, his first as a Giant, in the third inning.  At that point the Giants had already scored more runs than they did all of last series.  But the Offense didn't stop there.  Buster Posey added a hit and an RBI, Freddy Sanchez had 2 hits and scored a run, Bengie Molina hit a 2 run HR, and Aaron Rowand ..... well Aaron Rowand got a walk to offset his 0 for 3 with 2 K's.

All around it was one of the better games the Giants played this season.  They managed to do all of this without Aubrey Huff, who got a routine day off.

Tonight, Barry Zito goes for his team leading 7th win and hopefully pops his cherry against his former team.  Ben Sheets will be chuckin the leather tonight for the A's.  He's 2-5 with a 4.96 ERA on the season.

Hopefully the Giants keep their hittin' shoes on!

On the farm:
Matt Yourkin improved to 4-1 on the season, Tyler Graham went 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs and raised his season average to .421! Eugenio Velez had 2 hits, John Bowker chipped in with a double, and Brock Bond reached base in his 15th consecutive game.  The Grizzlies beat Tacoma 8-2 and increased their lead in the PCL to 12.5 games!

In San Jose, the Giants beat Bakersfield 4-0 and righty Craig Westcott ran his record to 4-0.  Brandon Belt went 1 for 3 and kept his average at .380.  Charles Culberson hit his 8th Homer of the season and drove in 3 runs, accounting for most of the Giants' offense.

Nate watch:
Nate had 1 AB and struck out.  His season average is .277.  Aaron Rowand's is .223.  But Bochy would rather play the "hot hand"