The NL West

Anybody watched the SF-Pittsburg series? Wheeew! The Giants won today, 3-4, the last game of a 3 game series to salvage it somewhat. It was 1-0, Pittsburg the first 5 innings, mirroring the two previous games. The first game, Zito gave up a one run homerun, and that was all he gave up, SF lost 1-2 (14 innings). The second game, Lincecum gave up a one run home run as well. They lost 0-2. Today, Cain gave up a one run homerun, and I thought *dejavu*? all over again. Fortunately for SF, the bats began singing in the 6th and they mustered 4 runs in that inning. In the first two games, they had several opportunities to win but they couldn't hit a lick when there were men in scoring positions. On the upside, the pitching staff pitched well.

The first two games of this series illustrated the need for another good hitter who can hit when the going gets tough and I think a hitter like Freddy Sanchez can fulfill that need as I stated in my previous post.....that is if the Giants are really intent in pursuing the wild card slot. It might or might not work, but in the least, they have shown the fans and the players the desire to go to the next level.

That is my .02 cents. What do you think?

I agree.

I think the Giants are a hitter away from being a serious contender, but their pitching staff is aces!

If they can land a decent hitter within the next two weeks............watch out baseball!!!!
 
Giants trade for Indians' Garko

Ryan who? Must have seen him play when he was at Stanford a few years ago, but don't remember watching him play in the majors, so I don't have any opinion of him. His stats look pretty decent thou. Hopefully those numbers will translate into meaning hits for my team. BTW the Giants beat Pirates tonight 4-2. Fifteen Ks for Lincecum, complete game.

Giants trade for Indians' Garko
(07-27) 20:52 PDT -- Giants fans have been kicking and screaming for help on offense.

Well, the friendly neighborhood general manager finally has delivered, and another potential trade for an unidentified energy boost was in the works well into the night
The Giants traded for Indians first baseman Ryan Garko on Monday, handing over a Class-A pitching prospect in exchange for a right-handed bat who can hit lefties with some pop.
In other words, everything the Giants' right corner has been missing all season.

"The timing is right," Giants general manager Brian Sabean said before Monday's game against the Pirates at AT&T Park. "This guy can drive in a run, he can hit the three-run home run. Hopefully, he can do some of that for us."
Somebody has to, and it sure hasn't been any other of the regular first basemen in the lineup.
Not Travis Ishikawa, a modest .269 hitter with seven home runs. And not John Bowker, who was sent back to Triple-A Fresno on Wednesday with a .156 batting average.
So Garko it is, with his return to the Bay Area - he went to Stanford - possibly in time for tonight's game.
His name may not scream blockbuster deal, but it's a big deal in these parts, all things considered. If nothing else, it shows the Giants don't really think a lineup half-filled with easy outs is the brightest way to make a playoff push.
Sabean doesn't sound like he's done just yet. He knows one Ryan Garko does not a murderer's row make. Asked if this meant the Giants were done dealing, Sabean said, "I don't expect it will be."
He has four more days to do some offensive addition. Here's a closer look at the trade-deadline deal of the hour:

In Garko, the Giants get a .285 hitter with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs in 78 games. More importantly, Sabean said, they get a player with more experience than Ishikawa and Bowker combined - a fourth-year player with a hot streak this time of year.

Last season, Garko hit .352 over the final 36 games - and .410 after Sept. 5. This season, Garko batted .349 over the past 23 games. For the season, he is at .333 (23-for-69) against left-handed pitching to lead the Indians.
"There's definitely something to be said for experience," Sabean said. "These games will only get harder. It can only help."
It also helps that Garko won't be a one-hit wonder. He is approaching his first year of eligibility for arbitration, which means the Giants will control his rights beyond this season.
Translation: Garko isn't a rent-a-bat, and Sabean anticipates he'll be a Giant beyond this season.
The deal became all the more doable when the Indians were willing to accept a Class-A pitcher - left-hander Scott Barnes - in lieu of a big leagues-ready prospect.
Be sure, Barnes is prospect enough. Just 22, he went 12-3 with a 2.85 ERA, 99 strikeouts and 29 walks for San Jose. Sabean called him a top-20 prospect who will one day play in the major leagues. But he wasn't going to help the playoff push currently underway.

Garko will be ready to go once he lands in San Francisco. Sabean expects him to hit fifth or sixth. Ishikawa will remain on the roster but not as the primary first baseman.

E-mail David White at dwhite@sfchronicle.com.
 
Welcome to SF, Freddy Sanchez!

First at bat a line drive single up the middle and a two run double in the fifth. Giants beat the Phillies 7-4. Paying dividends already this Sanchez. Awesome!

The Giants are 6-1 in this homestand and not one long ball. Just a bunch of singles and a bunch of doubles. This is the post-Bonds Giants.
 
Get out a BIG bowl of popcorn and a few cold ones tonight when the Brewers and Dodgers meet for the final time this year. If the umps stay out of the way of this one, it has all the markings of a knock-down, drag out, big ol' bench-clearing brawl coming by about the 3rd inning. :D


[ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4378397"]Prince Fielder of Milwaukee Brewers tries to charge Los Angeles Dodgers clubhouse after beaning - ESPN[/ame]
 
I predicted the Giants would win the division before the season started and it looks more and more like I am going to be correct. I will also predict that the Giants will not only sweep the Dodgers this series, they will do the same the next time the meet as well. Within 2 weeks the Giants will be in first and never look back.

BTW, the Dodgers will not make it as the WC either.
 
I predicted the Giants would win the division before the season started and it looks more and more like I am going to be correct. I will also predict that the Giants will not only sweep the Dodgers this series, they will do the same the next time the meet as well. Within 2 weeks the Giants will be in first and never look back.

BTW, the Dodgers will not make it as the WC either.

I can't believe you're saying that. :eek::eek:

You REALLY have no faith in your team?

I am shocked.
 
I can't believe you're saying that. :eek::eek:

You REALLY have no faith in your team?

I am shocked.
I was wrong about the sweep.

Faith has nothing to do with it. As a fan, I hope they win and root for them to do so. I also get very disappointed when they don't. But the realist in me thinks otherwise.
 
IMHO, barring a major pitching collapse the Dodgers are a cinch to win the NL West. Past that may be a different story.

(Sounds alot like the team just down the 5, doesn't it?)
 
IMHO, barring a major pitching collapse the Dodgers are a cinch to win the NL West. Past that may be a different story.

(Sounds alot like the team just down the 5, doesn't it?)

Man, there is still almost 50 GAMES left.....:confused: That is what I hate and try not to predict....SO MUCH can happen with 20 games left...much less 50!

Ask the NY Mets the last couple of years.
 
Sandoval tries to charge the mound on a foul ball. The pitch didn't hit him, was on the corner of the plate, he swung at it, and it hit the bat. Sandoval then gets upset. What a friggen idiot.
 
That pitch was replayed over and over again ad nauseum and clearly the ball hit the panda's elbow. The ball's trajectory showed it. I wish he would have really charged the pitcher to make it a bona fide brawl. These two teams hadn't had one for a good long time. The umpiring staff sucked big time. The worst I've seen. The game should have not gone to the 10th and Lincecum should have had his 13th win if these morons did their job. And the Giants - they sucked big time too.
 
That pitch was replayed over and over again ad nauseum and clearly the ball hit the panda's elbow. The ball's trajectory showed it. I wish he would have really charged the pitcher to make it a bona fide brawl. These two teams hadn't had one for a good long time. The umpiring staff sucked big time. The worst I've seen. The game should have not gone to the 10th and Lincecum should have had his 13th win if these morons did their job. And the Giants - they sucked big time too.
He checked his swing on a pitch that was no more than a foot inside and the ball hit the bat. The dodgers broadcast (which is not available on-line) showed a side view from the 3rd base dugout (which is also not available on-line) that showed the ball hit the bat.

They did miss the Furcal play which allowed him to score the tying run. But the Manny play they got correct. Travis never touched Manny. Unfortunately the only highlights they use are from the Giants broadcast. The fact that the announcers are quick to say the umps got it wrong, "unbelievable", before the see the replay, and then they don't mention that they did get the call right (at least in the replay) speaks for their own bias.

Baseball Video Highlights & Clips | LAD@SF: Manny eludes the tag at first base - Video | MLB.com: Multimedia

I find it interesting that Harold says the Giants are for real (which I too believe) because they manage to win 1 out of 3 in extra innings from a struggling team in their own ballpark with their best pitcher (the best pitcher in baseball) against their opponents bullpen (Billingsley got hurt so they used their bullpen for the entire game)
 
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OK, I'll grant you the Manny call. So that made it about six to seven blown calls during the course of this series, mostly on first. But Sandoval, however I looked at the replay showed the ball hit his elbow area, not the bat, not even close. Krukow and Kuiper thinks the same way also, and they are pretty objective when it comes to these kind of situations. They'll call what they see regardless of the team.

I guess you can say that blown calls are part of the game. If the giants are out of the race completely, maybe it would have not mattered that much. But for a team in the giant's position right now, struggling to make the wild card slot, missed calls could potentially harm their chances.

Honestly, when Furcal scored, I didn't give the Giants much chance to win. But it was Motta who saved the day (maybe indirectly). They will be on the road for an 11 game stretch and this trip probably will determine their playoff future. May the baseball gods be with them. Amen.

BTW, your team will win the division and I'll take this opportunity to extend to you my advance congratulations. I'm serious, I'm not trying to hex your team.
 
OK, I'll grant you the Manny call. So that made it about six to seven blown calls during the course of this series, mostly on first. But Sandoval, however I looked at the replay showed the ball hit his elbow area, not the bat, not even close. Krukow and Kuiper thinks the same way also, and they are pretty objective when it comes to these kind of situations. They'll call what they see regardless of the team.
It looked like it hit his elbow from the front view (center field camera), that is true. If you look at the side view from the 3rd base dugout camera, you can see it hit his bat. Anyway it is not relevant since he walked anyway and assisted in the 2nd run scoring.
I guess you can say that blown calls are part of the game. If the giants are out of the race completely, maybe it would have not mattered that much. But for a team in the giant's position right now, struggling to make the wild card slot, missed calls could potentially harm their chances.
I understand. Blown calls are frustrating. The only blown call during this one game was the Furcal hit in the 9th, which did allow the Dodgers to tie it up. Again, not really important since the Giants won it in the next innings and forced the Dodgers to use, yet another reliever in their already overused bullpen.
Honestly, when Furcal scored, I didn't give the Giants much chance to win. But it was Motta who saved the day (maybe indirectly). They will be on the road for an 11 game stretch and this trip probably will determine their playoff future. May the baseball gods be with them. Amen.
I had the feeling the Giants would win. The home team usually has the advantage in extra innings and the Dodgers started the game with their bullpen and pretty much had no one else left to pitch
BTW, your team will win the division and I'll take this opportunity to extend to you my advance congratulations. I'm serious, I'm not trying to hex your team.
Like I said at the beginning, I predicted the Giants to win the division before the season started and I still believe that to be true. The Dodgers pitching is worn out and they went 8 - 12 in their last 20.

I will also say this. Once in the playoffs it is pitching that wins and you only need 2 dominate starters. If the Giants make it, even with their AA offense (sorry, but their offense does stink), they can go a long way.

Remember the '88 Dodgers. They had a horrible offense in the playoffs (during the year with Gibson, ex it wasn't that bad), but they still won the WS because of one dominate starter and a lot of luck all happening at one time.
 
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