Give Me Liberty or Give Me Baseball

Yeah, I know. We've been hearing it all week: The Giants have no chance against the two-time defending NL Champion Phillies... Well you know what? I'm not a talking head on the MLB Network. I'm a Giants fan, and I love our little Teflon Team. As such, I know we've got slightly more than a chance in Hades. So here's how I see the NLCS playing out if we're gonna make it to the Classic:

Game 1
One of the Cy Young aces is getting lit up tonight. As a Giants fan, obviously I hope it's Doc Halladay. The pundits and prognosticators are predicting a 1-0 duel in South Philly, but any fan knows baseball exists to thwart expectation. So I'm gonna go out on the limb, leap before I look, and say the bats are gonna come alive and pepper the short porches to support another stout performance from Big Time Timmy Jim. Los Gigantes prevail 7-2. Look for an early wake up call from the Huff Daddy and his Rally Thong.

Game 2
Absolutely crucial. You've got what you wanted, a guaranteed split, but you can't let up now. Dirty Sanchez has to come out and put his foot square in the Adam's Apple of every phan in the Bank. He has to be electric, because they're gonna come out swinging like their postseason life depends on it. Be calm, be focused, be collected, and most importantly, keep the ball down. Dirty will make it through six strong with a high pitch count, and the bullpen will bend but not break. The G's have shown no difficulty in getting to Little Roy, so I'm calling a 5-3 win. Up 2-0 coming home...

Game 3
This being the 2010 Giants, there has to be a little torture involved. I admit, I'm gonna play off the 2002 NLCS a bit and say this is where someone spills the beer bong. Matt Cain is going to come out just as strong as he did against the Braves, pitching through seven, giving up a pair of runs. But the bats will suddenly come up limp in the October heat of China Basin. Shotgun has long been our hardest luck starter — only recently eclipsed by Zito in terms of paltry run support — and he'll watch a familiar scene play out as the bullpen holds but the offense can't produce in clutch situations against lefty Cole Hamels. Phils win 3-1 and take back the Mo.

Game 4
Madison Bumgarner became a man against the Braves. In this game, he becomes a legend. The sidewinding lefty, who at times this season has reminded me of a young Randy Johnson, finally got his first home win against the D'Backs in the final homestand at the Cove. This is a very important note. It got that gorilla off his back, which will give him the confidence he needs to follow Dirty's lead and shut down Philly's lefty boppers. Charlie Manuel will get greedy and throw Halladay out there on short rest after an early exit in Game 1. The Giants will scratch out a few runs, Weezy will load the bases with one out in the 9th and get a double play to end a 3-2 Giants victory.

Game 5
Here's the deal: We can't go back to Philly. We have to close this out at home. Game 6's and 7's just don't agree with us. And in this scenario, we'll get a dream matchup: Timmy vs. Oswalt. Lincecum is undefeated in his career against Little Roy, and I don't forsee that changing with a chance to close out the series in front of the orange-clad faithful. Buster Posey hits the go-ahead homer in the fourth, and Timmy cruises through 8. Weezy comes in and cleans up in the ninth. Giants win 4-1. Game over. Series over. We chill at home for a week and wait for another Game 1.

Optimistic? Most definitely. Ridiculous? Not really. Possible? Por supuesto. After all, this is baseball,  this is the Giants, this is your life. And it's ending one inning at a time...

Enjoy the ballgame.

Best. Waiver. Claim. Ever.

Cody Ross was an afterthought. Cody Ross was a cast-off. Cody Ross was a Giant killer. Cody Ross has never been tagged on this blog. Cody Ross was the last guy you'd ever expect to be the Giants' NLDS MVP. But he was. And that's kinda how this series went. Brooks Conrad had become a household name in Hot-lanta with an epic debut after a decade in the minors. Dude hit two grand slams in like a week and was on the verge of becoming a local god. Then he made three errors in one game, and his highlight reel got boos from a less-than-full house in his home park. That's kinda how this series went. Matt Cain and Dirty Sanchez pitched absolute gems and came away with workouts, yet Sergio Romo has an unblemished postseason record of 1-0. The Braves were a virtual MASH unit for the better part of the series, yet they fought to make every game a one-run sphincter shrinker. Los Gigantes couldn't score with one out and the bases loaded, yet they could and did score twice with a runner at first, down to their final strike. That's kinda how this series went. And now, it's on to the next one. The next round of torture. The next chance for greater glory...

BTW...

> Can we get a "Hallelujah!" for Madison Bumgarner? Talk about full circle. Remember last year, and even Spring Training, when everyone was wondering, "What happened to MadBum?" What happened to that heat we've all heard about? What happened to that bulldog intensity? I hope y'all got your answer last night. Kid was off the chains good in a pressure situation on the road in front of 45,000 red foam tomahawks and an equal number of motivated hometown fans. If there were any doubts about holding my fellow Trojan Barry Zito off the roster, I think they've been answered. And then some...

> I freaking love Javier Lopez, but I love him for what he is: a LOOGY. For the uninitiated, that's a Lefty One-Out Guy. His two K's of Jason Heyward in Games 3 & 4 were the highlights of my week. Yet a postgame show does not pass my ears without a caller begging for Javy to see extended use against righthanders, even pitching full innings of setup. Of course, none of these yokels comes armed with the facts. And when I say "facts", I mean statistics: In the 2010 regular season, Javy Lopez (the pitcher) posted a .162/.250/.242 against lefties and a — wait for it — .306/.361/.405 against righties. I rest my case...

> Santiago Casilla. What the f***? Where did that come from? And where did Bochy get the brass balls to keep him out there for more than one inning? I think it's safe to say our manager has found himself in the postseason. There have been some serious head scratchers (more in a moment), but for the most part, he's rolling 7's, and he couldn't have expected Romo to wet the bed so brazenly...

> Okay, enough Bochy love. Let's indulge in a little second-guessing. It started with replacing Sandoval with Fontenot in Game 2, only to turn around and pinch hit Renteria for Fontenot an inning later. Didn't come back to haunt him because RIck Ankiel mercifully ended things before either bench was exhausted. But it surfaced again yesterday, when Bochy inexplicably pinch hit an ice cold Aaron Rowand for Fontenot against the Braves flamethrowing bullpen, knowing full well he'd have to burn another player to replace Fontenot on the infield. Enter Edgar Renteria, who made what could have been a game-changing error in the bottom of the 8th, shortly after entering the game. If Lopez hadn't woven his magic on Heyward, we could be talking about Game 5 tomorrow. My point is, it seems like Bochy's managing a 25-man roster like he would a 40-man September squad, burning through position players like Republicans spew fear and lies. So far, it hasn't bit him in the a**, but when you get away from yourself in the heat of the postseason, it's only a matter of time before it does. Just ask Dusty...

> Hats off to Bobby Cox. Dude was, is, and always will be a class act, and I was very proud to see our boys take a step back from their dance on Ted's infield to honor a man who's been managing longer than most of them have been alive. I resented the result of our '93 slugfest, so I was gratified by our LDS victories '02 and again this time around, but I'll never take a swipe at an honorable competitor. Enjoy your retirement, Bobby. Here's hoping you don't go crazy next April...

War Giants. Beat the Phillies. NLCS preview coming soon...

162 down: The Lost Weekend

I don't mean for the title of this blog to denote a negative outcome or sour feeling, simply that spending two thirds of one's weekend in a small corner of San Francisco watching baseball that could best be described as suffocating leaves one with the sensation of having been repeatedly thrown to the ground and kicked in the jaw for good measure. And yet, on the brink of epic collapse, your @sfgiants picked themselves off the ground, put us on their backs, and led us to the Promised Land. Seven years of pain receded into the late afternoon fog, Buster Posey leaped into Brian Wilson's arms, and it was done...

I wanted it to end on Friday. We all did. Matt Cain, the Giants most reliable starter in the second half, pitching on his birthday against the reeling Padres who'd just dropped three of four to the Cubs — at home. I could barely focus at work long enough to get enough done. The boss left early, but I stuck it out to make sure I was free and clear until Sunday night. The normal traffic pockets presented themselves, but I got to the lot in time to share a beer (or three) with my season ticket partner. On the way in, I noticed two things that made me think this might not be an easy weekend: the fog was rolling over the hills from Half Moon Bay for the first time all week, and the sidewalk on Third Street that had been barricaded all season was finally open to pedestrians. It must be fascinating for-sports fans to observe the behavior of the truly mad baseball junky! Sure enough, the Cainer gave up three jacks for the first time in his career, and I ended up eating crow from the pack of Padres family faithful in Section 104. (Altogether, there were probably more Fathers Fans in front of us than at their home game at Petco the night before, but I kid...) One gent two rows in front of us flaunted his Mat Latos jersey like a flag of pride. He probably didn't expect to get an earful from Row 39, but he shouldn't have been surprised. Of course, his wife didn't do him any favors by turning around to get in our faces. This pretty much forced him to respond, flashing the "L" for loser and "two outs/sign of the Devil" with his fingers. But hey, this is all in good fun, right? Especially since there wasn't much happening on the field... That is, until Aaron Rowand hit a $12M home run. Always great to see the boys fight back, even when they don't get it done, and they did both royally on Friday night. And seeing so many at'em balls made your humble narrator feel as though a win was coming. Not on this night perhaps, but soon...

Saturday was going to be a long day before it even started, but a fun day nonetheless. I'd picked up tickets to see Arcade Fire at the Greek Theatre that night, right around the time I gave up on the Giants for the second time this season — in other words, the middle of August. At 6.5 back, I figured these games would be meaningless. And if they were meaningful, I didn't think I could take it. Then, alluvasudden, the Padres lost 10 in a row, and I found myself in an indie rock conundrum: In order to go to Saturday night's game, do I trade my Saturday AF tickets for the Sunday show they announced shortly after the first sold out? What do I do if the Giants blow it all on the final day of the year? I'll never make it to the show. I'll drive my car off Pier 32. I'll strap myself in and float to the bottom because I can't take it anymore... So, of course, Fox picked up the Saturday game, moved it to 1:10, and I was safe at home... sort of. Barry Zito, you see, had other plans. My fellow Trojan came with absolutely nothing in the biggest game of his Giants career, and even a stirring rally couldn't dig the team out of his hole. He was out of the postseason rotation long before Bruce Bochy took the game — and the ball — out of his hands. Jose Guillen had one last chance to take Zitti off the hook, but he couldn't wait around long enough to give Darren Ford a chance to stretch his legs. Whatever, right? Get 'em tomorrow. Only now, there's not much choice... Btw, the show was excellent. I've seen them twice at the same venue and both shows were unique and emotionally dynamic. On the suggestion of my show companion, we had dinner at Marlowe prior to hopping the pond. Certainly coming back here to celebrate a win or two — or three...

My friends made breakfast at their place in Mountain View before we carpooled up and spent some quality time on the Public House patio with @MUrbanCSN and his parade of special guests including Rich Aurilia, Bruce Jenkins, and Chris Lincecum. (I'm a name-dropping fiend!) Btw, Richie was on deck when J.T. Snow was thrown out at home by Jeff freaking Conine and Pudge Rodriguez did his dance of joy. Yep, seven years. Still stings... Anyway, the point is, it was a good morning, with a good vibe, and I was honestly amazed by the crowd. They all had that same glow, like they knew something good was coming, and I was struck by how atypical that is for Giants fans. But somewhere around the time Jonathan "Dirty" Sanchez was burning around second on his way to a stand-up triple, I started to get that look myself. How great for that kid to defy his lesser angels and bring a wave of confidence to the mound that fed the rest of the team. How great for Freddy Sanchez and Aubrey Huff to be part of the victory that finally puts them in the postseason? How great for San Francisco? How great for the fans? I haven't seen the video yet, but I was probably a hot mess in the ninth, curled up in the fetal position while Weezy blew through the Dads like a bunch of kids and Pablo Sandoval pumped his fists after every out like a fan who'd snuck onto the field in full uniform. 1-2-3. Game over. Party time. The Victory Lap was quintessential 2010. I don't care who suggested it (Bochy) or who led the charge (Panda). The spontaneity was what made it beautiful. After all, we've been playing with house money all year. If this team suddenly got predictable, I'd be worried.

BTW...

> Look for my blogging to pick up as we approach Thursday's NLDS opener against the hated Braves at the Cove, for the simple reason that I can't keep all of my myriad thoughts locked under my dome piece long enough for them to subside. You can expect quick hits on 2010 Team Awards and full recaps on game days. And, as always, I'll be tweeting up a storm as @ArcadeDreams. Follow me, or don't follow me. Either way, I'll keep doing it to calm my nerves.

Let's go Giants! Stop the Chop!

112 down. 50 to go.

Okay, everybody, time to take a step back from the cliff. It's one week, one road trip, six games, a very small sample size from which to deduce that the 2010 season has officially bit the big one. Please try to remember this is a marathon and not a sprint. Is it disturbing that the Giants' bats all tend to go cold at the same time? Yes. Is it frustrating that our pitching staff tends to wilt like a poppy in the heat and humidity of August's dog days? Yes. Is it discouraging that we had an opportunity to move into first place this weekend with a few more timely hits and yet fell flat? Yes. Don't I hate losing to the Braves as much as you do? Of course. But it was wrong for me to call the coroner in the first week of July, so I'm certainly not gonna join the doom-and-gloom brigade after one week in August. I don't know what causes the collective outbursts from our offense nor the requisite collective slumps. But is it too far fetched to think that, over time, a ballclub begins to function in a similar fashion to a group of women who see their menstrual cycles come into alignment while living under the same roof? It certainly puts a crimp on the whole winning ballgames thing when nobody can get a hit to save their life, but it is what it is, as they say, and I doubt we'll hear any bitching if everybody gets hot in September and October. As for the pitchers, there's not much you can do when you play your home games in the coldest winters ever experienced in the summertime and have to travel to places like Hot-lanta, Philadelphia, and St. Louis around the time of year when those cities turn into oversized saunas. A little wilting is to be expected, but still, the starters were not the problem in this series... Okay, so maybe "Dirty" Sanchez could have been better... No, the real problem is what it's always been: situational hitting. You cannot — CAN NOT — go 1-for-31 with RISP over a four game series and expect a split. Hell, you shouldn't even expect to win a single game with that stat hanging off your utility belt. But again, this is something that's plagued the Orange and Black for years, and while we all wanted the July explosion to stick around a little longer, we've just been reminded that this is a hit-and-miss offense. When they hit, they crush. When they miss, you may as well be watching Matlock if you're looking for excitement. And before you start ripping Sabean or Bochy for not making a deal for a hitter, look at the market. Ludwick was the steal of the show, and even that deal took a third team and almost didn't happen. There was no instant offense on the market. If there was, it would've been had by hook or by crook. I agree with the brass. The right move wasn't there. And instead of risking the future on a rental who may not work out (ahem, Sidney Ponson, Shea Hillenbrand, Ryan Garko), the brass decided to have confidence in the hit-and-miss offense and push on through with a team built around pitching and defense and just enough hitting — exactly their game plan coming into the past two seasons. It's worked out so far. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt and see how this plays out on October 3rd.

BTW...

> Looks like Gerald "Buster" Posey had a little trouble getting it up in front of the hometown crowd. Let's hope his bat springs back to life at the Cove, or we're in for a long couple of months...

> What the hell is wrong with Freddy Sanchez? Dude needs to pick it up. He's the only guy whose bat didn't heat up in July, but at the time, his ineptitude was obscured by production from everywhere else in the lineup. Good thing is, the guy knows it, and he pushes himself out there. Good attitude to see from a millionaire every now and again...

> As if we needed a reminder of why Todd Wellemeyer is no longer in the starting rotation. Question: Whose bright idea was it for him to make his return to the bump on a road trip?...

> Only once this season has "Dirty" posted consecutive quality starts — back in April. Looks like he'll be platooning for Team Hopey Changey from here on out. And Big Time Timmy Jim may suffer the same fate if he can't figure out his mess...

> It should not be surprising to anyone who follows the team that our bats went cold against Tim Hudson or Derek Lowe, both dyed-in-the-wool Giants Killers. I'll leave the stat crunching to others who do that better. This blog is for the fan take, and that's my take. Pfft.

109 down. 53 to go.

Two pitches. That's all it takes to lose a game. So how'd you like to be a starting pitcher? For what it's worth, we all know Big Time Timmy Jim has issues with the heat, especially east of the Rockies. Hell, I can't blame him. The humidity is brutal. And if he hadn't been forced to run the bases in the second after Pablo's a late break from second on Timmy's sac bunt attempt, who knows? Maybe he comes out in the bottom half and sets down the side in order, gets in a rhythm, and coasts through seven strong. Maybe he doesn't allow the jack to Gonzalez and another to Hinske — wall-scrapers, both of 'em. Maybe the offense piles it on in the second and puts the game out of reach. We know for sure it would have led to at least one more run on Torres' double. But if you know me, you know I'm not one to play "What if..." This game is about results, not hypotheticals, and nobody ever won a game on a do-over — though that Mets game a few weeks back made Butch think about petitioning MLB for a rules change. As it stands, not the worst loss of the year, but definitely one of the worst performances with RISP that we've seen from the 2010 club. I'll tell ya right now, one hit with RISP and 9 LOB is not gonna git 'er done in October... BTW: "No, no, no, no, no, no, no no!" No, this is not a Bohemian Rhapsody reference. It's what I would've said had I been in the room with Giants brass when the subject of acquiring Jose Guillen came up. I'm not a fan of clubhouse cancers, and A's fans should know well enough to steer clear of this loser. I don't care how good his stats look or how quick a bat he swings. If we didn't make a move at the deadline, we certainly should not make this one... War Gerald "Buster" Posey for cleaning up the POTM awards from MLB: Player of the Month, Rookie of the Month, Clutch Performer of the Month. Why not combine them all into the Rookie Clutch Performing Player of the Month? That way, BP can save some space on his mantle for the awards sure to come in his future (ROY, GG, MVP?).

P.S. Great first night of Phish at the Greek, even though I didn't get in. Heard the whole gig from the berm behind the venue. God bless Berkeley! Possum, Wolfman's, Divided to open it up. DwD, Free, Tweezer, Fluff in the second set. Looking forward to getting in tonight. Wish me luck!

162-0

Welcome back to baseball, everybody!

Unless you've been hiding under a rock all week, you've seen our Giants break camp in fine form, dispatching the 'Stros with a series sweep in Houston and coming from behind in dramatic fashion to knock off the Bravos in yesterday's thrilling (and unnecessarily long) home opener. Los Gigantes are the only undefeated team left in the league, and they lead the West by a game.

When Edgar hit the tying tater, I was noshing at In-N-Out, halfway through a Double-Double, and tracking the game on my iPhone. The ScoreCenter update came through... "Na-na-na! Na-na-na!" And damned if I didn't raise my arms and do a little seat dance. I pumped my fist about three times before I remembered I was at In-N-Out, and no one else knew what the hell I was jazzed about. So I brought the theatrics down a bit and went back to eating my burger. But I knew we were gonna win that game.

So far, I have to say I'm impressed with the vibe of the club. Everyone in the dugout seems loose and upbeat, with the kind of swagger you normally see in teams like the BoSox or the Yanks, who go out there every day expecting to win. The offense is doing just enough to take advantage of the chances they get — but really, Panda... four double plays? And the pitching is, well, what we expected.

It's safe to say I'm optimistic. But then again, I have to be. I bought season tickets.

Which brings me to tonight. My first live game of the season. Four starters have ripped it up — yes, even Dirty Sanchez, despite the runs and the early exit. I get Todd Wellemeyer and then pray it doesn't rain on Sunday. Timmyday. Fair enough. And who knows? Maybe there's something to this fast start. Or maybe it's just wishful thinking. A bit of both? Likely.

As this is an election year, my day job will be consuming a lot of my time, and an unfortunate byproduct of that is less time for blogging. But since attention spans are dissipating across the board these days, this shouldn't be a problem for most of my avid readers, who would probably prefer I keep it short and sweet.

With that in mind, I invite you to become a fan of Under the Arcade on Facebook and follow me @ArcadeDreams on Twitter. I'll do a little live tweeting during the game tonight, and I promise it won't be RT of Baggarly.

See you at the Cove...

Where the Wild Things Are

I conceived of this post about a week and a half ago as an off-day story to lead into the crucial 11-game trip that got off to a smashing start yesterday...

The G-Men were coming off a clutch road series victory in Houston, returning home to face the thoroughly incompetent Reds in a weekender before the Hated Ones came to town for a series that could have put the squad from the City right back in the Western Division mix. They had regained their Wild Card advantage over the Rocks and were flying high with new addition Freddy Sanchez off to a thrilling start in the orange and black.

I was going to tell you how the N.L. Wild Card race would come down to the two teams from the West. How the Cubs and Brewers would beat each other senseless in their attempts to chase down eventual Central Division champ St. Louis. How the Marlins don't have enough pitching consistency. How the Braves lack depth on either side of the ball. Why that didn't matter because the strength of the East from top to bottom — including the lowly Nats who shocked the world by reeling off eight W's in a row — would do in both Florida and Atlanta down the stretch anyway. How the Giants and Rockies were uniquely positioned to duke it out over the season's final weeks thanks to the weakness of 'Zona and the Pads and the overall strength of their respective pitching staffs full of young studs. And how the Giants would eventually prevail thanks to six games against Colorado in the friendly confines of 24 Willie Mays Plaza (where they still enjoy a 39-20 record despite a pitiful 2-4 homestand).

I started writing on the travel day after the Houston series. I attached links to multimedia, stat graphs, articles and blogs. I wrote prose poems in honor of Freddy Sanchez's club foot. I sang the praises of the soon-to-return "Nasty" Nate Schierholtz. Satisfied, I set the piece to post yesterday morning. I figured the only reason I'd have to scrap it would be if the G's managed to sweep the struggling Hated Ones and jump right back in the division race...

Then, this happened.

Now, our team is reeling at the absolute worst time imaginable. I said before that if they managed to hold on through this trip, they would make the postseason. While that's still a very manageable goal to aim for given they trail the Colorado team by only 1 1/2 games in the WC standings and sit 6 1/2 behind the Hated Ones — despite dropping two out of three to them earlier this week in atrociously mediocre fashion — a reasonable appraisal of this team would tell you they need the offense back in its late-June, early-July mode if they're to have any shot at all. (They certainly need to figure things out in time for the four-gamer in Denver that closes this little jaunt.)

So I scrapped my story and banged this out instead. Now, the boys have gone and dropped the first game of the trip with little more than a whimper, leaving Barry Zito hanging on the bump without a run of support for the eighth time this season — that's a full third of his starts, people (eat your heart out, Matt Cain) — and I have a hard time getting up the will to posit my theory, which still holds water, though it's leaking from numerous tiny fissures that could very quickly become gushers if the ship is not righted in short order.

I still believe the Central teams —aside from the Cards, who are suddenly running away thanks to the addition of .493 hitter and resident jackass Matt Holliday — will beat each other into bloody pulps by the time the season winds down and finish at or around .500. I still believe the East is too tough a division to produce two playoff teams. (The Phils are running away there as well, with Clifford Lee dominating N.L. batters, even in the band box that is Citizens Bank Park.) I still believe the Giants have a chance to make this a two-team race with the Rockpile. But if they're going to turn my faith into reality, they need to wake up the bats. Now.

The Giants have failed to rack up any prolonged stretches of brilliance this season. The five- and six- and seven-game winning streaks that mark well-crafted and durable teams. The kind of runs that could have put them back in the division race long ago or put some distance between them and the rest of the Wild Card pack. That deficiency has nothing to do with a pitching staff that still boasts the best team ERA in the majors (3.51). It has more to do with an offense that has never clicked on all cylinders at once.

Every player in the lineup has flashed their bat for weeks at a time, but not once have all the bats come together to put on the displays that generate sustained success. Pablo Sandoval has been a revelation, but even he has been prone to slumping thanks to his free-swinging, Vlad Guerrero-esque style at the plate. Bengie Molina's bat has only now started to come alive, but was truly needed in the season's opening months, when young talents like Panda and Schierholtz had yet to make an impact and the team was floundering around .500. Eugenio Velez was a pleasant surprise, but the shine is starting to wear off his cleats. And then there's Randy Winn, Aaron Rowand, and Edgar Renteria, a triumvirate of overpaid veterans hitting a collective .262 — and a weak .262 at that. F. Sanchez has certainly provided a spark at the top of the lineup, but without professional hitting lower in the order, there's nobody to knock him in.

Callers to the 50K-Watt juggernaut and commenters on local blogs regularly deride the team for failing to make a competetive offer for the likes of Holliday, as if one power bat would solve all of our problems. Let's not forget, the Cards already had a superstar in their lineup when they added the ass-head former Denver-ite — some kid by the name of Pujols. If Marvin Benard hit next to that guy in a lineup, he'd be a superstar, with or without the cream and the clear.

At this juncture, there's no point to constructive criticism of the Giants deadline deals. That's the past. This is the team we have now. And it's not a bad team. We're still ahead of schedule, still loaded with talent down on the Farm, still stacked with the finest pitching staff in the majors, and still within reach of the final playoff spot, the spot that propelled them to an N.L. pennant in 2002, the spot we all wish were available to them in 1993.

But games like last night's have a tendency to leave a sour taste in the mouth of the faithful, those of us who race home from work to catch the final innings of an East Coast roadie, who make the 45-minute trek up the Peninsula to stand in the bitter cold under the Arcade for three and a half hours (two and a half when Timmy or Matty pitch), who defend their boys against all enemies, foreign and domestic, who wear their orange to family functions and business meetings alike, and always with a sense of pride.

Here's hoping today's nationally-televised contest is the worm-turner that gets the Giants' season back on track. If not, it's time to start salivating for Madison Bumgarner's first start of Spring Training 2010.

¡Vamos Gigantes!

The Long and Winding Road

Butch’s recap of Giants @ Braves...

Monday, July 20th
Braves 11, Giants 3
WP: Hanson (5-0); LP: Romo (2-1)
HR: ATL - Anderson (7); C. Jones (11); Church (3)

Somebody finally got a hit off Jonathan Sanchez, and boy what a hit. But apart from GA’s bomb and a two-run shot from Chipper, Sanchy was pretty clean. A surprise removal in a 3-3 tie after making only 86 pitches in six innings precipitated the first, honest-to-god, absolute and complete bullpen meltdown of the season.

Not the best start to a four-game marathon in Hot-lanta, but the offense managed to plate a few for the second straight day, and most importantly, Sanchez seems to be finding a groove for the first time in his career as a starter. I’ve got a feeling his name is coming off the trade boards as I write these words. Of course, that has more to do with the condition of Randy Johnson’s rotator cuff than his performance on the mound, but at least he hasn’t looked like a stop-gap recently.

Stat of the Day

Sergio Romo gave up four runs without recording an out and saw his ERA jump over two and a half runs to 6.59.

Tuesday, July 21st
Braves 8, Giants 1
WP: D. Lowe (9-7); LP: Sadowski (2-2)
HR: ATL - McCann (10)

Looks like the honeymoon’s over for the perpetually frightened-looking Ryan "The Big" Sadowski. As eager as I am for everybody to get their chance to shine — just like in tee ball — I wasn’t all that hot on the kid before today, and I soured even more around the time he gave up back-to-back crooked numbers.

Here’s the rook's line from this gem:
SADOWSKI - 3.2 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, HR (ERA 4.15)

I know all the arguments in favor of a much bally-hooed “trade for a bat,” but there is no reasonable way to contend that one bat would prevent losses of 11-3 or 8-1. You know what could prevent them? Pitching we were seeing just before the break. Baby, baby, where did our staff go?

Good point from Haft’s gamer:

The Giants have climbed above .500 largely because their bullpen has been just as effective as the rotation. But all it takes to upset that favorable balance and overwork the relievers is a few more abbreviated performances such as Sadowski's within a short span.

I’m beginning to think the whole All-Star break thing is a really bad idea. Maybe next year, we can just play through. You know, like in golf.

Quote of the Day

“I can do nothing to help the team." - Edgar Réntería, to which I would add: “No shit, Sherlock.”

Wednesday, July 22nd
Braves 4, Giants 2
WP: Jurrjens (9-7) ; LP: Lincecum (10-3); S: Soriano (14)
HR: ATL - Y. Escobar (10)

Not much to say when Lincecum gets out-pitched except: Damn. I will say that this offense is starting to look pretty pathetic, but at the lowest point of the season in mid-May, they weren’t scraping across runs in the late innings. They were just giving up.

I’ll take a team “trying to do too much” over one that rolls over and dies. You can see it in the eyes of everyone in that dugout. They’re searching for the spark they lost over the break (or somewhere in the middle innings of that afterthought of a loss to the Padres that closed out the first half).

Fear not, reactionary Fringe-dwellers! The worm still has time to turn again, but we may have to give up on last week’s pipe dream of an NL West championship. From here on in, it’s Wild Card or bust!

Quote of the Day

"We're not playing with the same intensity." - Bengie Molina

Thursday, July 23rd
Giants 5, Braves 1
WP: Zito (6-10); LP: M. Gonalez (3-3)
HR: ATL - Y. Escobar (11)

There may be no such thing as a “must win” game in July, but this has to be as close as it gets. The chartered flight to Denver would’ve been rather quiet coming off a four-game sweep with only one win in seven games. Not that two outta seven sounds much better, but the dynamics of a baseball season can change from day to day. When you’re about to enter the house of the team that just passed you in the Wild Card race, you need all the swagger you can get.

The need to pull one out of their ass became even more pronounced after Barry Zito completed the seventh inning, snapping a thread of Jekyll and Hyde performances going back to mid-June. He’s now the proud papa of two quality starts in a row. All for only $5K a pitch.

As previously reported, the Z-Man gets the lowest run support in the league, and that’s really the only reason to feel sorry for him. In his last start, the Giants offense plated none runs. They only managed a run before he left the game today. A four-run outburst of seeing-eye groundballs and generous errors saved him from another workout and handed him his sixth victory. He didn’t win his sixth last year until August.

While I’ll be the first to defend my fellow Trojan, and he’s shown some real progress this year, especially in April/May, they call these the “Dog Days” for a reason. Looking back at his career arc, Zito’s numbers are appreciably better in the second half — ERA about three-quarters of a run lower, reduced WHIP, and BAA drop of .27 — but his problem has always been consistency. It makes you wonder what he was smoking in 2002.

Whatever it was, I want some of that shit.

Quote of the Day

"You know, you get your dauber down and when you're not hitting, you look flat as a team. To get a win does a lot for the morale of this club.” - Bruce Bochy

We'll have a much better idea of where this team's "dauber" is at after three games at Coors...

P.S. I know many of you are anxious to hear my take on K-Fran's most recent demotion to Purgatory, er, Fresno. Look for a special edition of Franny Watch, coming soon to a Blogspot near you.