Posey is SO sick.

Dirty:
That was one explosive game yesterday. They could have used a few of those runs to disperse over their previous 10 games. That’s two starts in a row in which Lincecum maintained a 94 MPH fastball throughout the game. That’s really encouraging. It’s kind of crazy to when you think of how disappointed we’ve been in him this year – and then you look at his stats and he’s at 3.16 or one good start from having a sub-three ERA to go with 9 wins and 131 strikeouts. He’s definitely a case where colossal expectations cloud your judgment on how good someone is or needs to be. I guess back-to-back Cy Young’s will do that. Speaking of Cy Young, how awesome was it to completely screw up Ubaldo Jimenez’s ERA? I didn’t see it but they tagged him for 7 ER, that’s awesome.

I guess the Giants are in love with Corey Hart. That seriously concerns me. Hart is having a career year but we’re talking about a hot 3 months. He sucked last year and wasn’t very good in 2008. He’s also not a great defender. His OBP is only .346 so his outstanding season is driven by slugging percentage. If anyone thinks his slugging percentage is going to continue to be above .550, they are smoking dope – especially if he’s playing half his games in AT&T and not the homerdome Milwaukee. All of his stats seem to be in line with his career numbers except for his fly ball % and HR/FB. He’s hitting the ball in the air more often and the ball is finding its way into the seats more often than it ever has. If they give up Jonathan Sanchez for this kid I’m going to lose my mind. Also, weren’t the Giants just saying they were concerned the lineup had gotten too right handed? So why is Corey Hart the answer, another righty? And if you trade Sanchez, who is going to pitch in his spot? Wellermeyer? Joe Martinez? Oh boy …

Bob:
As disappointed as I was about the slump Tim was in, I never actually thought it was going to be long term. I was figuring he'd return to form day one after the all star break at the latest. He was way to good at the beginning of the season to not return to form (at least that was my take).

If the giants trade J Sanch for less than say Prince Fielder, I'll be disappointed as hell.

Dirty:
Padres haven’t yet played today, but the Giants are just 4.5 games back as of this moment. They just pummeled the Brewers for a 4 game sweep and still have a quality run differential. That was a rough stretch but they’re still very much in this NL West race. Posey hit another jack today, giving him 5 in the past week or so. Kids on fire – I remember telling Rusty how his HR seem to come in bunches. If Panda ever starts to even resemble the hitter he was last year and the Giants add some pieces, they’d be in pretty darn good shape.


Rockfish:
I'm afraid to start believing again. After what seems like an eternity of dsiapointment after so many years of contention, my broken heart isnt quite mended yet. They can be so good in these stretches, then be so bad in other stretches. Think about how open the West really is...the fricking Padres are in first, and have been for a while. How did they do it you ask? Great starting pitching, a huge park, shut down bullpen, and speed with timely hitting. Sounds like a formula doesn't it? They will fade, guaranteed. Too young, and there is no way they can win without ever scoring runs. This is the Giants division for the taking. I hope Sad Fat Panda lays of the fried pork rinds over the break, and turns back into super Panda again.
Posey is soooooooooo sick!
 
Dirty:
I think the division is Colorado’s or the Giants’ for the taking. The Giants need to stop playing like trash when they play in the division. I feel like the Dodgers and Rockies have torn the Giants’ guts out so many times the past few seasons that the Giants have no confidence when playing them. If they can learn to play better against the West they’ll come out on top.








I don’t care how long the Padres have held the division lead, I agree completely. They can’t continue to win this many games with their pitching staff. Their starters in particular have over pitched, like Garland. Also, they have some younger guys in the rotation that might have innings restrictions – Latos and Richard. Timely hitting isn’t really something that is sustainable, either. It has a lot to do with luck. The Giants have been terrible at it while the Padres have been terrific at it. That’s a good sign for the Giants.

Posey is SO sick.

You remember the SJ first baseman I mentioned – Brandon Belt? Well, the Giants did promote him just after the all-star break. He’s the only player hitting in that AA lineup (although NEAL has thankfully started to turn it around) – and he’s already hit 2 HR in like 5-6 games. I don’t know where the heck this kid came from, but I hope he keeps it up.

If the Giants can accept grabbing a right handed bat though they prefer a left handed bat, they should be looking at Josh Willingham. There’s a reason why he (and not Hart) is on the Rays’ radar. Now that would be a quality bat and pickup.