San Francisco Bull Pen has been abused

A closer should be indicative of the finish line for most teams. "If they can just get the ball to Lee Smith", "If they can just get the ball to Dennis Eckersley", this game is over. In the bag, one in the win column.

Brian "orange shoes" Wilson seems to long for more work. He doesn't like the simple walk off appearance. (it was the Eck that coined the term "walk-off") Eck would come in with a one run lead, two outs runners in scoring position and strike out anyone in the batter's box and "walk off" the mound with a save. Wilson thinks he gets paid by the pitch I would guess. It's been Wilson's routine to load the bases before getting the final out. (or blowing the save/lead)

The Giants need to think long and hard about making Chris Ray the 8th inning guy and Dan Runzler the Closer. It's my opinion that unless Wilson is sent a message about his role as closer, he won't be reliable for another 4 years. A typical SF scenario is where Wilson gets traded to Tampa. Tampa sends him to AAA to humiliate him, then brings him back up and he becomes the Eric Gagne'ish closer we expected. But until he cans the orange shoes and takes his role as close seriously, you can expect more unnecessary drama in the ninth.

It was good to see Don Mattingly on the field

Sort of......

I have respect for the game of baseball. I loathe injustices such as the memory of Bill Buckner. Bucker was a great player. He should be remembered for his years in Wrigley where he hit over .300 but he'll mostly be remembered as the cripple that lost the 86 World Series for Boston. With out Buckner's 18 home runs and 102 RBIs Boston might not have made it into the World Series as they finished the regular season only 5 games in front of New York and had to struggle to beat the Angels in game 7 of the playoffs.

Don Mattingly put up one of Baseball's finest set of stats that same year. He hit 31 home runs (sans steroids) 113 RBIs, 53 doubles batted .352 and only struck out 35 times in 742 plate appearances. I've always wondered how many of those doubles would have been home runs had he played for Texas or Colorado. Hopefully history will be kind to Donnie Baseball and his inexperience in trips to the mound will not be his baseball epitaph.

The real winner in Tuesday night's game against the Dodgers was the home plate umpire Adrian Johnson who tossed Clayton Kershaw in the top of the 7th. It was his duty to do so as Kershaw retaliated with a beaner in Aaron Rowand's left Gluteous Maximus. This was a MAJOR turning point.

If Kershaw cruises to the end of the 7th inning; Hong Kuo (who has been lights out against anything orange and black) would have probably taken the mound in the 8th and possibly the 9th inning. There is little question in my mind that Kuo is San Francisco Kryptonite. Posey, the Giants most prolific (and inspiring)player has struggled like most of the league against the Status Kuo. Kuo left the game in the bottom of the 8th after lowering his era to .095.

If Rowand doesn't take one for the team; Giants lose 5 to 4. But ugly is as ugly does and the 9th got ugly. Broxton was not on his game. His command was taking the night off. Then the Buckner....... uhmmm Mattingly boner. (yes that's actually an old fashion baseball term for mental error) This set the table for Posey vs. Schlichting aka MEAT. Giants win 7 to 5 . It's important to give credit to Jeremy Affeldt for another solid outing after last night's great performance.

These are the kind of games the casual fan takes pleasure in celebrating. The fan of the game sees this kind of game as a 33% game.

Every team is going to win 33% of their games no matter how good or bad they play, while the same team will lose 33% of their games no matter how good or bad they play. The other 34% determines the Champions from the high draft pickers.

Ugly is as Ugly does.

Honor the Unsung Heroes

The usual suspects contributed in tonight's win over the Dodger Blue. Posey and Panda drove in runs, but what was great to see was Nate Shierholz driving in Travis Ishikawa with a 2 run homer. We need to stop and appreciate from time to time that Baseball is a TEAM SPORT.

On the other hand, I was most impressed with the pitching performance of one Jeremy Affeldt. Affeldt came in to the game with the bases juiced in the bottom of the 7th with 2 outs in relief for Sergio Romo and got Andre Ethier to ground out to 1B. In the 8th Affeldt allowed one base runner after retiring the first two batters he met. He gave up a single to Matt Kemp then got Belliard swinging. A great solid performance by a middle reliever should always be appreciated.

Bochey chose to go with a tired B.Wilson in the ninth. Wilson loaded the bases before he struck out Casey Blake to end the game. Wilson pitched his fourth game in a row with out a day's rest. In doing so Wilson set himself up for a walk off situation. This writer questions Bochey's reluctance to go with a rested Chris Ray. Sitting on a three run lead tonight, you wonder who Bochey is going to call on tomorrow if they're trying to save a 1 one lead in the ninth?

Again, Bochey shows a lack of faith in his players. They may have won tonight's game, but now the GIANTS Bull Pen is without a closer for game #2.

Hanging out with Tony and D-Train

I really hope Dontrelle can get his command back and contribute to the Giants organization. He's so talented yet he was used, abused and left confused. We love ya D.

POLITICS AND BASEBALL............. STFU!

I turn to Baseball to escape politics. "Mentally". I mean it's impossible to escape politics. It's there whether you talk about it or not. The less you talk about it, the more empowered the politicians are. I started this blog because I needed a break from the 24/7 battle I was fighting as a political activist. I would never dream of mixing the two.

Last night however; while watching a certain female political talk show host, they went live to Anaheim where a bunch of "mostly Hispanics" were protesting the All-star game. But not the 2010 game, the 2011 game scheduled for Arizona. The protesters were mad at Bud Selig because Selig also refuses to mix politics and Baseball. This would be one of the few great things Selig has done for the game.

Since I don't have video of the interview (and I don't want to discuss the protest) I'll simply say that the interviewer shredded the protester. I mean, she made him look like Kanye West at the Grammies. It was pathetic. It was like watching a person drown. (only I had no feelings of throwing him a rope) He truly hurt his cause because he was so stupid. The protest is stupid. Bringing it to a Baseball event was down right offensive.

And just when I felt I couldn't take any more;(I'm yelling at my TV "STFU") the poor misguided tool adds: "and I hope the San Francisco Giants stars help win it for the national league".

Baseball and Politics.......... Worse than watching your parents have sex.

The Buster Posey Tour

Does the price of admission guarantee you a site of Buster Powey hitting a homerun deep to RCF? That's how it seems the last 6 games. BUSTER POSEY is hitting .351/7 home runs /23 RBIs and scored 21 times in only 1n only 37 games. (134 ab-bats)

It makes you ask how long would Bruce Bochy have kept Bengie Molina behind the plate? Bengie who is currently hitting .190 in Texas, was starting behind the plate forcing Buster to play 1B , thus forcing Huff to play a corner OF etc......

Bochy's handling of Posey alone should be enough to get him fired. But what's worse is Bochy's treatment of Lincecum and Huff. Sometimes you have to have faith in your bull pen to save the arms of your rotation. If not; you get sore arms in the 4th inning. Remember, these are young arms in the rotation. No pain does not mean no gain when "stretching out young arms (ucl/mcl) Keep an eye on the over-usage of Madison Bumgarner. He's already got 82 innings pitched at AAA Fresno. The balls weigh the same. How long if ever, will Bochy shut down Bumgarner? He's only 20 years old. He can't even celebrate with Champagne yet.

This is a great play off team. It has horrible managing. Just be Glad we have Buster Posey to keep things light.

Standing in the presence of Greatness

I thought when I saw McGwire, Canseco and Bonds play, that we were all so lucky to witnessing a golden age in baseball. But the only gold was the color of certain anabolics and disigner steroids kicked out by "under the radar" laboratories like BALCO. The closest I ever got to seeing greatness was getting to watch and meet Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Willie McCovey over the years. I did get to see Micky Mantle once at the Oakland Coliseum.

I have to confess that my favorite ball player of my life time, is Orel Hershiser. Orel has a record that will be hard to beat. I have good reason to believe that his record comes with no asterisk*. His performance at the 1988 world series was legendary. His performance in that season was magic.

I never got to see Mohammad Ali other than on TV, nor did I get to see Larry Holmes. (truly the greatest) I got to see Steve Young and Jerry Rice. I met Joe Montana and Dwight Clark. I drank with many Oakland Raiders. (wish I could remember all of them)

I'm proud to have seen "The Great one" Gretzky play even if it was in L.A. I never saw Mario.

I never saw Michael Jordon, The Bird or Magic.

But the current generation will have the chance to say they saw Stephen Strasburg. I don't like to use Hyperbole but this kid has some serious stuff. When I watch him pitch, I think of Mark Prior and "what could have been". I don't just think of guys like Nolan Ryan or Tom Seaver, I think of guys like Walter "The big train" Johnson. Maybe even Cy Young. He's only 21. He's an effective machine. He's been able to block out the distractions. He has the composure of a closer and the stamina of an old school "Grover Cleveland Alexander" with a 91 mph change up.

So far, only one word describes this kid. Greatness.

Externalities ~ Homecomings and Pat Burrell

I will be the first to admit that I was furious when I heard Sabean was signing Pat Burrell. Pat is a product of the Steroid era. (I know that doesn't disturb my S.F. readers.....BLB ROCKS) but as far as I'm concerned, I can't wait until everyone who played in the 2003 All-star Game is out of the game. The only 2 players who WEREN'T juicing in that game were Ichiro and Todd Helton. (Helton was battling Crohn's disease and still is)

Pat Burrell is from Eureka Springs, Arkansas. (not far from where my mom was born) and moved to California some time after the dust bowl. He went to Highschool in San Jose where he developed Bay Area roots. Out of Highschool, he attended the University of Miami where he won the Golden Spikes Award. (an award given to the best amateur Baseball athlete) Coincidentally Pat has 2 other Golden Spikes winners on the GIANTS in Tim Lincecum and one "Buster Posey". Last year's Golden Spikes award was earned by D.C. Phenom Stephen Strasburg.

Originally Sabean was not interested in signing Burrell. In fact Sabean signed him to a minor league contract (taking Buster Posey's place) with an advancement clause of a month.

When players come home it isn't always a good thing. Allstar outfielders Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis were putting up obscene numbers in New York and Cincinnati respectively. But when both went home to L.A. in 1992 they were welcomed by poor childhood influences that did little to promote their career. (you do the math)

Adrian Gonzalez on the other hand came back to his hometown of San Diego and played as though Petco were a hitters park hitting 36 HR's in 2008 and 40 in 2009.

The 33 year old veteran of Philadelphia and Tampa Bay seems to be relaxed in his "home" environment. He's proving to be an asset to the team in more ways than one. He has been seen coaching Andres Torres on playing the massive outfield grass in Colorado. He's been seen helping the young phenom Buster Posey with hitting tips.

Pat Burrell is a new Ball Player. Instead of a big guy that was headed for the DH in the A.L., he's turned into an integral part of the San Francisco Roster.

My congratulations to the Right Handed outfielder.

GIANT SHORTSTOPS ~ and BIG SHORTSTOPS

My first shortstop Hero was Hal Lanier Then Alan Trammel. Now Troy Tulowitzki.

With the exception of one Hallard Lanier, the rest are/were capable of hitting 30-40 honest home runs.

I never cared for guys name Jose,Robbie, Johnny, Ozzie, Omar, Edgar (even on steroids) oscar, Raphael, or even "BIP". Shortstop has turned into a light power position. The league is getting saturated with guys like Hanly Ramirez, Elvus Andrus, Troy Tulowitzki, JJ Hardy, Sterling Castro, and with the exception of the latter, these are 6' shortstops not 5'9' guys from Puerto Rico. The GIANTS have plenty of great talent in the Organization. The one troubled spot in the Line up is Short stop. As mentioned many times before; Edgar Renteria is not even a shadow of his 2004 season. He continues to make bad throws. (Is his arm gone?) He struggles with laying down a bunt, and shows no reaction except for a casual sway back to the dug out. And he's simply not in the game mentally anymore. On Dexter Fowler's 2nd triple (to LCF) Rowand fired a ball to the cut off (Renteria) who bounced the relay to Sandoval at third. HE DIDN'T EVEN TRY! The next night, Renteria would go 0 for 6.

Juan Uribe who (for 3 weeks in Renteria's absence) was the sweet heart of the National League making web gem after web gem and keeping up with Aubrey Huff every time Huff hit a home run. When Renteria returned off the DL on June 16th, both Panda and Uribe adopted a "survivor" frame of mind wondering who was going to get benched so Renteria could play. Their nervousness was really obvious as they double clutched and bobbled simple grounders. I have a feeling that Edgar Renteria needs to be traded ala Bengie Molina. Then let the starters know that they're secure in their jobs. THEN if URIBE continues to slide to an unacceptable level, I would then call up UCLA 4th round draft pick Brandon Crawford.

Many famous Hall of Famers started their careers as Shortstops. Micky Mantle was a shortstop. Robin Yount played his whole rookie season as a shortstop. Eric Davis was a shortstop. Matt Williams was a shortstop. Baltimore CF Adam Jones was a pitcher/shortstop. This list goes on and on. Oh and of course, Alex Rodriguez was a gold glove shortstop before humbling himself in the New York Organization.

This GIANTS NEED TO ADDRESS their smelly issue between 2nd and 3rd. (one way or another). It's this writer's opinion that Renteria be traded for a young #5 right handed starter. If Uribe can not return to his late May or early June production; I would trade him as well and promote Brandon Crawford.

Bruce Bochy vs. Buster Posey

Bruce Bochy broke into the majors in 1978 with the Houston Astros. (1st round, 24th pick) He was never a very good catcher and for his 9 years in the bigs as a player, he never got more than 154 at-bats a season (his rookie year with Houston). He has a lifetime batting average of .239 while collecting 26 lifetime homeruns. Bochy would be the back up catcher year after year to average catchers like Alan Ashby in Houston and Terry Kennedy in San Diego. One wonders if this had an affect on Bochy's paradigm of starting catchers. In Major League Baseball; there are two types of catchers. The Alpha catcher that starts 6 out of 7 games, and the back up or beta catcher that pinch hits and gives the alpha a rest. It's common knowledge that the beta catcher knows his place in the hen pecking order and is fine with it. Beta catchers aren't usually as talented as the Alpha catcher and usually makes the squad because of his ability to pinch hit.

The Golden Spikes Award is awarded annually to the best amateur baseball player. It is awarded by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association. Though the award can be presented to any amateur player, it has always been given to a college baseball player.

Former Florida State catching star Buster Posey was a first round draft pick by the San Francisco Giants in 2008. (1st round, 5th pick) He was also the recipient of 2008 Golden Spikes award. (an award recently won by Stephen Strasburg, Tim Lincecum and in 2002 by Mark Prior)

In 2007 Posey was awarded the Coleman Company "Johnny Bench Award"

In Buster Posey's 2010 May 29th debut, he drove in 3 runs. He is currently hitting .302 with 2 homeruns and 11 RBIs. Buster Posey is on a completely different path from that of the 1978 Bruce Bochy. The problem is; Bruce Bochy is now Buster Posey's manager.

From an outsider's observation, it appears that Bochy has done everything to stall the progress of Buster Posey. I could be wrong (and I hope I am) but I can't see the virtue in making Posey play out of position for 29 games while allowing the slumping (and terribly out of shape)Bengie Molina to start behind the plate. It came down to Sabean trading Molina to Texas before Buster would have a chance at catching for the parent club. However in a San Francisco Chronicle article, it was reported that Bochy wanted Eli Whiteside (the back up catcher) to catch the Majority of the games during the transition to let the pitching staff get "use" to the Golden Spikes/Johnny Bench award winner. In the 4 days since the Molina trade, Posey has played first base once and was pulled out of today's game early so Whiteside could pinch run in a game the GIANTS would lose in the 15th.

Is it possible that Bruce Bochy has a chip on his shoulder concerning Buster Posey (a fan favorite)? Bochy said he was going to bench Posey against the Rockies' super star Ubaldo Jimenz in San Francisco. But he added if he did, he would be booed by 40,000 people in the stands. I think this is when the animosity started. During the recent 15 day losing streak, Bochy was trying every new line-up he could think of to play 11 position players. Most of the time Posey was squeezed out of the line up to make room for Edgar Renteria at short stop. (a move Bochy refuses to admit isn't working) Renteria took Uribe's position at shortstop, pushing Uribe to 3rd base, pushing Sandoval to 1st base, thus benching Posey.

Bochy has the talent on this team to compete in a weak NL west division. He has one of the most sought after talents that he is treating like a walk on try out. Does Bochy have his own "Good ol' boys club"? Molina (36 years old) was on a 4 for 59 slump yet continued to start behind the plate. When benched, Eli Whiteside would start.

Now that Molina is gone; the new plague is the performance of Edgar Renteria. (a one time all-star gold glove short stop) Renteria is 35. His defense is not what it was in his St.Louis days. He's spent 35 days on the DL in the first 3 months of the 2010 season. Since his return, he's hit into multiple crucial rally ending double plays. While going 0 for 6.

I have always avoided placing blame on the manager. In fact, I've given Bruce Bochy credit for the 1st place finishes he took his San Diego teams to. Yet once I started looking at the catchers he's managed, with the exception of Bengie Molina in the last 3 years, most of his starters had there time behind the plate split up amongst the back up catchers. Ramone Hernandez averaged 350 at bats per season in San Diego. It's really safe to say that Bruce Bochy favors back up catchers.

Buster Posey has been compared to Minnesota's Joe Mauer. Mauer had 523 at bats last year.

Major League Baseball is full of great managers that were awful players. Many of them were back up catchers(Gene Lamont) or utility infielders (Tony LaRussa/Sparky Anderson) Some feel that rookie prospects have to "pay their dues" before they are given a chance in the bigs. This seems to be the issue with Bruce Bochy. Some of Bochy's recent statements would scare me if I was an owner of the team. When asked recently about the log jam of talent, Bochy replied:"I can't play all of them". Then in another statement he said: "I'll get them all in there". This isn't the sound of a bold leader. This is the sound of someone trying to please everyone. We know you can please some of the people some of the time etc......

Buster Posey could easily be the best catcher in San Francisco GIANTS history. Not even Tom Haller would disagree with that. But if Bochy treats Posey the same way he treated Ramone Hernandez; don't be surprised when Posey is looking at Yankee dollars once he's a free agent.

The GIANTS and The Cherry Tree

I spent Yesterday cutting back a tremendously overgrown cherry tree. I had two very effective tools. I had a hand axe and a set of trimming sheers. (designed for cutting small branches) I whacked away at this huge tree for an hour or two. Then I came upon a really stubborn limb.

It was too small for the axe, yet too big for the hand trimmers. For some reason I started thinking about the GIANTS roster issue and current losing streak.

It finally came to me that using the axe was futile. Just as going in and making whole sale changes would be on the GIANTS roster. I also realized that trying to take big bites with the hand sheers was painfully futile as well. Both methods ended in defeat.

I decided to relax and take simple small bites with the hand sheers. I cut through this one branch quite quickly with this approach. It wasn't necessary for any of the other branches except this one.

What does this have to do with the GIANTS?

At the end of June people were panicking and saying the GIANTS needed a left handed hitter. They NEEDED PRINCE FIELDER. Some were even saying TRADE POSEY AND BUMGARNER for FIELDER. (as if we didn't have enough overweight ball players in this organization) I call that drastic. (STUPID) Sort of like using the Axe.

At the same time screwing with the line up and making little tweaks here and there without a plan was simply aggravating the whole 25 man roster.

Then the Molina trade came. It was a small move, but many parts seem to be falling into place. Today the GIANTS played the regulars where they played during the previous winning streak and they played with more confidence. Letting Travis Ishikawa start at first base was brilliant. (see yesterday's article about "Ishikawa is too good to be sitting on the bench) With Molina gone the GIANTS could make steady progress just as I did on that stubborn branch. The key was to remain calm and utilize a plan. In the last two weeks it looked like Bochy was just trying to please 11 guys when only 8 could start. That turned all 11 into part time players with no regulars. It's OK to platoon your left fielder or your DH (in the AL) but in this game, you need consistency day in and day out to play championship baseball.

For two weeks, it was obvious that Bochy was panicking and without a plan. Yesterday Aubrey Huff said, "Sometimes you just got to say screw it and relax and try to have fun". There were plenty of smiles in Colorado today. Congratulations GIANTS on ending your 7 game losing streak.

BTW, HAPPY AND GLORIOUS INDEPENDENCE DAY AMERICA!

Welcome to the GIANTS POST GAME SHOW

Welcome to the GIANTS Post game show on BlogCast Sports Net, Hi I'm Gary Radnich in with Bip Roberts. First let's go back to Coors and Talk to Kruk, Kuip and Ace.

Gary: Kuip what would you do if these were your GIANTS?

Kuiper: Well Gary, each player has to make the best out of each of his at-bats and every pitcher needs to pitch like it's game 7 of the World Series.

Gary: Krukow how about you?

Kruk: Well Gary, I think the club needs a steady line up they can follow and get comfortable in.

Gary: Thanks Kruk. What would you do Ace if you owned this club?

Ace: Thank you Gary. I'd fire Brian Sabean and do the General Managing myself. I'd fire Bruce Bochy tonight and bring in Orel Hershiser to manage. I'd fire Dave Rags and bring in Leo Mazoni as my pitching coach. I'd trade Edgar Renteria to the A's for Grant Green.

Then I would tell Panda not to worry, that he is our 3rdbaseman. (and assign a dietitian to follow him) I would also make him a LEFT HANDED HITTER. I would tell Jose Uribe he is the everyday Short stop and can stop worrying. I'd tell Freddy good job keep doing what you're doing. I'd tell Aubrey Huff 1st base looks good on him and keep up the good work. I'd tell Buster Posey You're catching everybody even Sanchez and when you need a day off, Whiteside will catch Sanchez.

I am Happy with Pat Burrell in Left Field until the 7th inning then Shierholz will be his defensive caddy if we're ahead. Aaron Rowand will start every game in center field. And Andres Torres will Start every Game in Right Field.

I would send Madison Bumgarner to the Bull pen once he gets close to 75 innings. Since he's not even 21, I would not let him throw more than 80 innings and not allow him to reach 100 pitches per start. Then in the next 2 years, keep his innings totals down to 180 for the season.

My fifth starter would be Jeremy Affeldt after Bumgarner hit 80 innings.

Chris Ray joins the Bull pen and Santiago Casillo joins the Fresno club. If Brian Wilson continues to make the 9th exciting; I would prep Runzler as the new closer. In fact I would consider trading Wilson for someone 'like" Chris Tillman of Baltimore, or Jake Arrietta.

Matt Downs would come up to replace Edgar's spot. Matt Downs is the perfect replacement for Renteria as none of the infielders would see him as a threat. I would be inclined to send down or trade Travis Ishikawa because he is too good to sit. In his place I would call up John Bowker as a utility guy. Ideally I would want to get Ryan Rayburn from Detroit who can play both corner outfield positions as well as 2nd and 3rd. My Idea of bench players are to have guys that compliment the starters. Not compete with them.

It's about having the RIGHT players not necessarily the BEST players.

Lastly, I'd make that girl in the "Magic" commercial my administrative assistant.

Back to you Gary........

WIN STEAK + RENTERIA = LOSING STREAK

Deductive Logic is the thought process of elimination. You reduce all of the common denominators until you're left with one of these things that isn't like the other. (Sesame street)

It appears that Edgar Renteria is a common denominator that is present when the GIANTS LOSE. He is NOT PRESENT when they WIN.

MAY 27th
EDGAR RENTERIA goes on DL (2nd time in 5 days)

MAY 29th
BUSTER POSEY CALLED UP FROM AAA . He's forced to play 1st base. Same day GIANTS sign a contract with Pat Burrell on Waivers from Tampa Bay.








JUNE 4th
PAT BURRELL joins the Major League club in Pittsburgh.

JUNE 5th
PAT BURRELL starts in Left Field.




JUNE 11th - 13th
GIANTS SWEEP OAKLAND

TURN OUT THE LIGHTS...............

JUNE 15th
EDGAR RENTERIA completes his AAA rehab stint.
"He'll join us tonight but it's not certain whether he'll be activated," ~ Bochy

JUNE 16th
GIANTS Beat Orioles. Both Uribe and Sandoval bobble ground balls but make the plays. Both Played like they were walking on thin ice.

JUNE 18th
EDGAR RENTERIA starts at Shortstop for the Giants in Toronto.

"It's a long season; we'll find a way to get all of them at-bats," Bochy said. "It's hard to break things up the way things are going right now."
"It's not a case of [Renteria's] play as much as Juan's play, that's what's tough," Bochy added. "You have a guy [Renteria] who's had quite the career but is caught in a hard spot because you can't put them both out there."
"It will be a little easier cause we can rotate, give some guys a day off," Bochy said. "Put Juan at third or second, Pablo [Sandoval] at first, get Edgar to move around.
"That will be the time I'll have to rest some guys."~ Bochy

Translated: I'll screw with every one's positions and make everybody insecure about where they play. It'll be fun having to learn a new position every day. [rest=benched] Just so the guy making 10 million a season feels better. We apologize for winning so many games without him.
Edgar Renteria was on the DL from May 27 - June 16 .

Without Edgar the GIANTS Won 14 and Lose 6.

Aubrey Huff interviewed in post game show says:"This is the most fun I've had playing baseball"

JUNE 20th GIANTS LOSE 2/3 to Toronto.

JUNE 24th GIANTS LOSE 2/3 to Houston.

JUNE 27th GIANTS LOSE 2/3 to Boston.

JUNE 29th - JUNE 30th
GIANTS SWEPT BY DODGERS.

JUNE 30th GIANTS announce trade: Bengie Molina to Texas for Chris Ray and Mike Hain.

YOU DO THE MATH.

With EDGAR RENTERIA the GIANTS Win 3 Lose 10

IN CONCLUSION: I don't know Edgar Renteria. I know that he's played on 6 different teams in 14 years. He started his career in Florida and played 3 years for the Marlins. He spent the next 6 years in St.Louis during the McGwire era. Then he went to Boston for 1 year, Atlanta for 2, Detroit for 1 then landed a sweet 10,000,000 a season contract with Brian Sabean.

Edgar is 35. 35 is the age most middle infielders hang up their cleats. You can almost watch the decline from 34 - 35. In the last 60 days, Renteria has spent 35 days on the DL. That roughly equals $2,160,493.00 US. Edgar makes roughly 60,000.00 a game.

IRONY AND PARODY

Would it surprise you to know that the players that were contributing during Edgars Absence make about 13 million collectively (excluding Bengie's 4.5M)
Burrell is making 9 Million but I think Tampa is paying that.

Edgar is not pulling his weight offensively or defensively. His defensive deterioration is the most obvious. Tonight he "BOUNCED" a relay from CF to 3B. His throws to 1st bast are careless and rushed. Offensively, he still has numbers from April; However he's been the biggest culprit of being involved in double plays. San Francisco leads MLB in GIDP KDP POIDP and FOIDP . What a bargain! All this for only $10,000,000.00

I really wonder how Aubrey Huff (3M) feels? I wonder how Juan Uribe (3 M) feels? I wonder how Panda ($460,000) feels? I wonder how Andres Torres ($400,000) feels? How do you think Freddy Sanchez feels (6M)?

But I truly wonder how Aaron Rowand sleeps at night? (13,600,000.00) Yes that's thirteen million six hundred thousand a season.

I think the difference is; Rowand is ashamed of his lack of productivity, where as Renteria thinks he doesn't have to do anything but wear the uniform to earn his money.

Ace out

Congratulations Giants - Welcome Buster Posey Starting Catcher

The domino effect has been sent to Texas. Buster will no longer have to play first, and Huff will no longer have to play a corner outfield. This clears up a major gridlock.

But we need to pick up where we left off yesterday. Someone needs to find a new home for the 34 year old Renteria or tell him to: SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN. Uribe and Sandoval need to know that their positions are safe. But as long as there is a whimpering/disgruntled 34 year old sitting in the clubhouse, you will not have the Chemistry that makes teams GEL.

The best Trade I could think of that would be a great fit for the GIANTS would be to trade PANDA and RENTERIA to Colorado for Ian Stewart and a prospect. The Rockies just lost Troy Tulowitsky for 6 to 8 weeks. And could use Panda at third. Ian Stewart is a young 25 year old Left handed 3rd baseman that is half Pablo's size. He has power and is learning pitch selection. He can also play shortstop and 2nd base. He might even be a better fix at short stop sending Uribe to 3b.

Who ever the GIANTS go after next, one thing is certain; Renteria has to go.

IT's OFFICIAL ACCORDING TO CSN's Mychael Urban

MOLINA HAS BEEN TRADED TO THE TEXAS RANGERS FOR CHRIS RAY rhp relief pitcher.

(KOOL AND THE GANG CELEBRATE MUSIC GOING LOUD IN THE BACKGROUND as is THE SOUND OF CORKS POPPING)

RUMORS

We don't discuss Rumors here at the GIANTS CAFE. But hopefully tomorrow we will have GREAT NEWS to RELAY.

TEAM MORALE

Sometimes called "Esprit de Corps" , Morale is something that is reflective not created. You can create the conditions for good MORALE and certainly you can destroy MORALE but you can't create MORALE. When they say happiness comes from within, it means you're happy because there is nothing stopping your happiness from being the dominate feeling in your life. How many people have said: "I've given you everything in life you want; Why aren't you happy"? Without getting all new age on you, lets say good MORALE comes from being in harmonic vibration with your surroundings? (please, don't sing Kum-by-yah)

Good vibrations - Excitations

From May 29th to June 15th the GIANTS had "good, good, good, .......Good Vibrations! Yes GOOD,GOOD,GOOD........ GOOD VIBRATIONS!!!!!! Nsw naw naw naw naw etc.......

The only Buzz kill in the line up was Bengie the Burrito Belly. When the camera would do close ups on Molina after the NKOTB came up you would see "fear", "anger", disgust", "shame", "envy" and above all "Jealousy". Even though playing Molina moved Posey to first and Huff to a corner outfield position, smiles still shined in the the San Francisco dugout. Except for Bengie who went through a horrific 4 for 59 slump.

With Huff in the outfield, the other collateral damages included Aaron Rowand and Nate Shierholz. Instead of one guy being a starter, he became the 4th outfielder while the 4th outfielder became the 5th outfielder. But to their credit, Rowand and Shierholz didn't complain.

I think the Streak was highlighted by Aubrey Huff saying, this is the most fun I've had playing Baseball.

June 15th ! Edgar Renteria comes back from the DL. Ya know Wally Pip wasn't a bad guy. He was actually a pretty good 1st baseman. But he never played first base again after Lou Gehrig took his place. But you see, Edgar DID complain. I believe the exact words were: "How come I'm not starting"? Bochy caves in the historic June 16th t0 June 30th SWUNE, SLIDE, SLUMP, LOSING STREAK BEGINS.

Same camera in the GIANTS dugout shows everyone with BENGIE MOLINA FACES. Renteria who's found NEW WAYS to hit into double plays has caused more outs than At-Bats. It was noticeable that first week after Renteria's return that both Panda and Uribe were nervous. They each bobbled easy routine grounders. Both started swinging for the fences. (which usually results in a K or a pop out)

NO MORE GOOD VIBRATIONS, EXCITATIONS or CELEBRATIONS.

Bochy was forced to make someone that was contributing Big in the first 2 weeks of June feel like a square peg in a round hole. Buster Posey who was the Catalyst of the WIN STREAK seems to be taking it for the team. But it seemed apparent to sportscasters, talk show hosts and 40,000 Giant fans that Buster Posey was the spark the GIANTS needed. The shot in the arm that gave the GIANTS a NEW LOOK. In a word LEGITIMACY.

Buster Posey was like SAGE SMOKE vanishing the evil lingering presence of the DARK STEROIDAL OVERLORD and his *Home run record with his born again innocence. He gave GIANT fans a REAL REASON TO BE PROUD. They wouldn't take us for fools any more. We're a team damn it, and not just the Fat Head's back up band.

People were calling Posey "THE TRUTH". Some at KNBR even called him "THE MESSIAH". But the seeds of failure were planted in this organization when Molina was given 4.5 million Burritos and a starting job out of training camp and the front office didn't have the huevos to tell Edgar Renteria to shut up and sit down.

CHEMISTRY V 2 The 1988 Dodgers vs. 2010 GIANTS

On paper, the GIANTS have what appears to be a very dominating crew in this match up. In the 88 World Series, The Oakland A's had one of the mightiest Teams in the History of Baseball. But with all the HGH and forearm bashing that went on, The 88 Bums had Orel Hershiser, John Tudor, Ramon Martinez, Tim Belcher and a bunch of little punks named Micky, Franklin, Sharpie and guys that will never make the hall of fame except of course one Kirk Gibson.

The 88 Dodgers had exceptional pitching. The 2010 Giants have better pitching. The 88 Dodgers had a better manager and pitching coach. The 2010 Giants have position players that can go deep. So there's no need for talk about trades for more expensive meat. In fact, the GIANTS could do better with less. Have you ever had to much of something and you had to just hack part of it off and throw it in the freezer? I'm going to take the GIANTS during their recent productive stretch and compare that line up to the 88 World "Series" Champions.

Pitching is a draw

88 Dodgers vs 2010 GIANTS

Mike Scioscia vs. Buster Posey..... advantage DRAW

Franklin Stubbs vs Aubrey Huff ..... advantage GIANTS

Steve Sax vs Freddy Sanchez .......advantage GIANTS

Alfredo Griffin vs Juan Uribe.......... advantage GIANTS

Mike Hamilton vs Pablo Sandoval....advantage GIANTS

Micky Hatcher vs. Pat Burrell.......... No Contest GIANTS

John Shelby vs. Aaron Rowand........advantage DODGERS

Mike Marshall vs Andres Torres.... advantage GIANTS

*The Dodgers did have an injured Kirk Gibson who would have comped to Pat Burrell in leftfield.

With an obvious position player advantage and equal if not better pitching, you can see why I say there is no need for the GIANTS to make a foolish trade. It does however; make good sense to find new homes for Edgar Renteria and Bengie Molina.

The Yankee organization (love them or hate them) has been successful over the years because it forced it's starters to help the new guys. The Yankees put a priority on winning and didn't care who played where or how they got it done. Wally Pip actually taught Lou Gehrig how to play first base. Jerry Coleman took Billy Martin aside and taught him how to play 2nd base.

It wasn't until personalities got involved that the Yankees started losing. Reggie Jackson vs. Dave Winfield. Billy Martin vs. George Steinbrenner. And of course the most obvious being AROD vs. Jeter.

In Baseball more so than any other sport, the team that plays together stays together. It's about having players that give their best; as opposed to having the "best" players.

BTW, for those of you too young to remember the 1988 world Series, The A's had Jose Canseco - 42 homeruns, Mark McGwire - 32 homeruns, Dave Henderson - 24 home runs, Dave Parker - 12 homeruns in 377 abs and Terry Steinbach- 9 homeruns in 350 abs.

The Dodgers "Series" team only had Mike Marshall with 20 homeruns. Everybody else (except Kirk Gibson-25) had less than 10 homeruns. This team had no power and no .300 hitters (again Gibson who was injured for the Series only hit .290)

The 1988 A's won 104 games. Yet lost to the Dodgers in 5 games in the World Series.

If I were a betting man and the 1988 Dodgers (the weak playoff team) played the 2010 GIANTS I would not hesitate to take the Bums because they did it by working together. As I said earlier, the 2010 GIANTS are playing like the cast of "Survivor". They're worried about who's going to get voted off the Island. The 1988 Dodgers were playing like a bunch of kids playing "Sandlot" ball. They were having fun.

When Young Arms Go Bad

Any pitcher that's had Tommy John Surgery (MCL/UCL elbow reconstruction) has as good a chance if not better than the virgin elbow that is drafted out of Highschool. This is one reason there is a premium on College pitching. College pitcher are drafted between the ages of 21 and 22.

Most pitchers break into the Major League level at the age of 25. The human body is mature at the age of 25. In fact, the body begins to reverse and deteriorate at the age of 25. Everything from spinal disc degeneration to Male pattern hair loss begins around or at the age of 25.

When a professional pitcher with high velocity comes up at the age of 20-24;he runs a very high risk of tearing or avulsing (ripping off) his MCL or UCL ligament. It's a piece of soft tissue that holds the forearm to the elbow joint. It also stabilizes the two bones (ulnar/radius) in the forearm.

Little League Elbow. A recent study showed that 40% of kids between the ages of 9 and 12 suffer from an MCL tear or inflammation. This symptom is known as Little leaguers elbow. One of the major culprits of the symptom is a child learning to throw a hammer before his MCL matures. In fact, the MCL is often one of the slowest ligaments to mature. There's a period when young boys appear quite "Gangly" this is because their skeletal growth exceeds there soft tissue growth. These are real "Growing Pains".

Major League Baseball has a recent history of recognizing this and certain educated franchises have been quick to shut down young arms. One perfect example would be Felix Hernandez in Seattle. The King was brought up at the age of 20. However;as he was putting up incredible minor league numbers as a "teenager" in 2005 he developed shoulder bursitis and was put on the DL. After his inflammation subsided, he was called up and America saw the newest AL phenom at the age of 20. Following the Twins practice with Johan Santana, the Mariners let Hernandez work briefly his first year. In the following two years, Hernandez proved that he could own most American league batters. He possessed a 90 mph slider that was unhittable. It was also unsustainable for a 21 year old. Seattle wisely not only shut Felix down after his first bout of elbow pain, but took away his slider for 2 years. Felix who is now 25 is finally leaving the danger zone for pitchers.

But for every young arm that is shown this kind of attention, there are hundreds that get flat out "ABUSED". We saw in 1981 Billy Martin take 5 of the brightest pitchers in Baseball, Steve McCatty, Brian Kingman, Mike Norris,Rick Langford and Matt Keough and brutalize their arms all in one season. The group of pitchers made baseball history by setting the record for a pitching staff in complete games.(94)
By 1982 the "Class of 81" became the orthopedic ward of 82 leading the A's to a 5th place finish and the firing of Billy Martin as Manager and GM. None of the A's 81 staff ever came close to repeating their 81 performance.

In 2003 another Rookie phenom was brought up in Chicago. Mark Prior who was drafted as a 20 year old was brought up at the age of 22. 2003 was the year that made Major League clubs take a serious look at pitch counts. In 2003 the Rookie was averaging 113.4 Pitches per start during the regular season. In September Prior's pitch count went up to 126. Both Prior and Kerri Wood (Chicago Heat) would continue to work with high pitch counts thru the 2003 season. Prior would never repeat his Rookie year performance as a collision with Marcus Giles in 2004 would put him on the DL for what would be his primary residence for the rest of his MLB career. In 2004 while on the DL for an "Achilles strain" there were documented reports that Prior needed Tommy John Surgery. Both Prior and the Cubs denied this. Prior would return for short periods then return to the DL for pitching arm related injuries including a concussion fracture from a Brad Hawpe Line Drive.

Kerri Wood who DID have TJ surgery in 1999 came back in 2003 setting a career high in strike outs (266) and made the all-star team. In 2004 Wood sat out 2 months with a "Strained Triceps muscle". Wood's career would never recover from the punishment he took in 2003.

In Tim Lincecums first two full years of work he pitched 452.1 innings. By comparison; Felix Hernandez thru 381.1 in his first 2 full years at the Major league level. The additional 70 innings thrown by Lincecum averages out to 1050 pitches or an extra 525 pitches a season. In Hernandez's first year he thru 84.1 innings as opposed to Tim's 146.1 innings. Again, in their rookie seasons, Lincecum would throw almost 1000 pitches more than Felix.






STEPHEN STRASBURG was called up in June of this year. Washington has already said that they will INCLUDE the 21 year old Strasburg's minor league pitch count in his 2010 season and shut him down accordingly.


Tim Lincecum's recent problems come as no surprise to anyone who has been watching his usage by Bruce Bochy (who took the Giant's helm in 2007, Lincecum's rookie year)

The 2010 Barnstorming Victory Tour....and Implosion

I'm never one to head hunt the manager. It's simply to easy to blame one person. Bochy did a fine job in San Diego in the first part of the decade, it's hard to believe this is the same skipper that turned around the Padres.

In May the Giants were offensively anemic. However strangely enough, things started falling into place for the Orange and Noir with the May 29th call up of "mega-prospect" Buster Posey. On the night of Posey's 2010 debute he put on a hitting clinic. He took 0-2 counts to the opposite field like an 8 year veteran. Then in a controversial yet serendipitous move, the Giants landed Pat Burrell. Burrell was seeing the ball well and hitting with authority. This had a synergistic effect on Aubrey Huff who transformed into the ghost of Lou Gehrig. With Edgar Renteria on the DL; Juan Uribe became the sweetheart shortstop of the national league. It was not uncommon for the Giants to have back to back home run production out of the 3/4 spots occupied by Huff and Uribe. Between May 29th and June 15th the Giants won all but 5 games including a sweep of the cross bay rivals in Oakland who were in 1st place and had earlier swept the Giants.

June 15. Edgar Renteria returns from the DL. The party literally ended. San Francisco has not won a series since Renteria's return.

Chemistry. During the Giants barnstorming victory tour; Bengie Molina was experiencing a 4 for 57 slump. The effects of Buster Posey on Bengie Molina (who stopped blogging on June 2nd) can be seen on everyone Renteria is having an effect on. Molina caused a domino reaction. Bochy made catching time for Molina and played Posey out of position at first base. Aubrey Huff (an excellent DH)was put in the weak out field corner. (strong RH line up, Aubrey plays RF and etc...) Bochy even went so far as to swap multi-tasking superstar Andre Torres with Huff when ever a pinch hitter came up and the game was on the line.

With a catcher playing first,it caused the first baseman to take a position normally held by an outfielder. The Giant clubhouse was already filled with disgruntled out of work outfielders. Back to June 15th. Renteria returns but sits as the Giants would win the last game of their 2010 Barnstorm Victory tour. On June 16th, Renteria went into Bruce Bochy's office and asked why he wasn't playing. The first report was Bochy saying something like "We've got a good thing going; I'll play you when I need you". It was said that Renteria turned and walked out of Bochy's office without saying a word.

This writer questions those reports as Renteria was back in the line up in Toronto and the 2010 version of the June Swoon began. Giants lose 2/3 to Toronto. They lose 2/3 to Houston (WTF?) Ah the home stand. Giants lose 2/3 to Boston.

All I can say is Heads need to roll. It sounds to me like agents are involved and calling the shots. If Bochy is being userped; then Sabean needs to intervene. If he's not Bochy needs to be fired. If Sabean is trying to make everyone happy; Sabean needs to be fired. The bottom line is, The Victory tour will not come to your town again until Renteria, Molina and possibly Aaron Rowand have found new employers.

POSEY 3 for 4

Buster Posey dispelled any rumors of a sore wrist by going 3/4 against Boston in the home opener. Tonight at 4:00 PM PST Watch Buster catch Madison Bumgarner in his 2010 Major League Debut.

Rumor has it that Buster Posey nursing sore Left Wrist

I only have 3 questions:

1. Is it true

2. How did it happen

3. Is it a rumor to cover for the Uribe/Renteria bottle neck.

If it is true, why are the Giants trying to play it down?

If it's not true, then Bochey is trying to buy time while he screws with line-up to make crabby Veterans happy.

If it's true, is this a result of a "Golden Spikes" catcher playing out of position?

If it's just a cover, the real question is, who's going to get the axe and when?

GIANTS LOSE TO HOUSTON AGAIN

2-4 on this road trip and 2-4 with the return of Edgar Renteria. The Giants were a happy family 3 weeks ago. This dysfunctional family seems to have 2 common denominators.

Don't look for things to improve with Boston in town. Not unless Sabean trades Renteria and waves Molina.

The Making of a DYNASTY

During my days as an avid Oakland A's fan, I joined the team when they were once called the "Boat People" of the American League. 1977. It was an awful year. Elvis Died. And the A's won 63 games losing 98. For those of you who happened to frequent the east bay it looked like this in 77.

1977 .....................................Early 80's ................1988
C Jeff Newnamm.............. Mickey Tettleton....Terry Steinbach
1B Dick Allen .....................Bruce Bochte ......Mark McGwire
2B Marty Perez .................Donnie Hill ..........Tony Phillips
3B Wayne Gross ................Carney Lansford .....Carney Lansford
SS Rob Picciolo....................Alfredo Griffin..........Walt Weiss
LF Mitchell Page ................Rickey Henderson ...Ricky Henderson
CF Tony Armas ..................Dwayne Murphy ......Dave Henderson
RF Jim Tyrone ....................Mike Davis ..............Jose Canseco
DH Manny Sanguillen .........Reggie Jackson........Dave Parker


This is a caveman to Neanderthal to Champion progression of the talent acquired between 1977 and 1990. It's safe to say that in between these groups were transition players hardly anyone would remember such as Johnny Lemaster, Shooty Babbit and Luis Polonia.

But it's safe to say that the first wave of upgrades came when Billy Martin came to Oakland in 1980. Billy had a fine crop of starting pitchers in 1981 that made the cover of SI called the "Class of 81". Matt Keough, Steve McCatty, Mike Norris, Rick Langford and Brian Kingman would lead all the majors in complete games. 1981 would be the Billy Ball era most remembered as Billy Martin took his A's to a playoff game against the New York Yankees. The A's were defeated. There was controversy over Billy's use of the A's starters. Steve McCatty was the only starter from the class of 81 to have some what of a career. Billy would be back in New York in 1984. Not only was Billy the field manager, but Martin was the General Manager as well.

The next wave of maturation would come in 1986 as the White Sox would Fire their Manager Tony LaRussa. Tony would go on to win 3 American league titles and 1 world series.

The unsung hero who would join the A's organization in 1983 would be "Richard Lynn Alderson" a Dartmouth grad who would be the General Manager of the A's from 1983 to 1997 at which time he would be promoted to president of the Oakland franchise. In 1998 Sandy would leave Oakland for a job as Executive Vice president of Major League Baseball Operations. Sandy is credited with all of the acquisitions between 1983 and 1997. Not only is Sandy responsible for signing Canseco, McGwire and Weiss 3 back to back to back Rookie of the year recipients, but he receives great credit for literally stealing talent from other teams in the make up of the 1988 Championship team. Most of his great trade acquisitions came from the Dodgers in the pitchers of Honeycutt and Bob Welch. Sandy's first brilliant pitching acquisition was Dave Stewart, who had been traded around the league from L.A. to Texas then to Philadelphia. Stewart was the mainstay of the A's Dynasty.

Alderson went to the Chicago Cubs to bring home Fremont native and multiple Rolaids and Sporting News "fireman of the Year" and Cy Young winner Dennis Eckersley .

I believe the secret to Alderson's success is not his ability to find who the best available free agent was and sign him; but rather Sandy went after the best fit for the A's as well as the free Agent. (Win/Win) Eckersley was an average pitcher until he "came home" and connected with Dave Duncan. Dave Stewart had the raw intimidating talent but couldn't put it together until he was appreciated by the Oakland Community and was sat down with Dave Duncan. Alderson saw a new Ricky Henderson in New York and brought him home to Oakland.

Alderson addressed his glaring weaknesses with the draft. Proof of this is in the 3 R.O.Y. awards won by Alderson Drafts.

In retrospect, many speculate that Tony LaRussa left Oakland for the reason many managers left Steinbrenner. Sandy Alderson acquired good young talent and Tony felt comfortable with veteran players. While Sandy was using the same paradigm that created the dynasty, he couldn't get Tony to go along with the DB&R of aging players. (death, burial and resurrection) Part of any dynasty's plans are to infuse new talent while veteran talent is still there to train them. We saw this masterfully done in the 49er organization in the 80's. (just look at the many supposed replacements for Jerry Rice)

Alderson kept the A's competitive well into the 90's only now the east coast was catching up. Small market teams like Minnesota copied Alderson's/Beane's "Money ball" strategy. Then after Tony left and took Eck and Mac with him, the re-instated Steinbrenner made his presence known in Baseball. It wasn't long before Steinbrenner had the best team big money could buy.

GIANTS unable to beat 5th place Houston

The Giants brought Edgar Renteria back to the 25 man roster on June 16. Since then, the Giants lost 2/3 to Toronto, and have now split with next to last place Houston. What happened to the Giants that swept Oakland then Barnstormed through Pitt and Cinnci? What happened to the team that was 12 and 5 after Buster Posey and Pat Burrell joined the club?

Bochey lost his focus (mind) and went back to the losing line up he had before Renteria's stent on the DL. (sans DeRosa) The Giants were blown out by a rebuilding Houston squad. The truth is, Houston played with more Chemistry than the Giants.

Buster Posey has been benched for 3 days now. Bochey must have thought that the winning streak in late May was a fluke, or he caved to Renteria in the closed door meeting.

It appears the underachieving millionaires are showing the manager who has the power on the team. This must be crushing the spirit of the guys that carried the team through the winning streak. Huff, Burrell, Torres, Uribe, well pretty much everyone except Molina and Renteria.

What separates Championship teams from losing teams is Chemistry. Not the kind that turned Barry Bonds into a size 9.5 hat size. I'm talking about guys feeling good around each other. The problem is, the manager has to be firm with those who don't know their place.

Perhaps as soon as Bruce Bochey grows a set, he'll tell the overpaid millionaires that they're in a holding pattern waiting to be released or traded while the producers carry on putting games in the win column. If not, the season will be long. Sabean will try to over compensate by spending more money on former steroid users and by August the Giants will be 12 games behind Los Angeles and San Diego. It wouldn't surprise me to see Colorado in 3rd as the Giants and D-Backs fight it out for a draft pick.

On the other hand; If Sabean finds new homes for Molina and Renteria and decides to bring up Madison Bumgarner, the Giants might be playoff bound instead of the same old same old.

The Giants had that Chemistry for one game. The game Buster started behind the plate. There was balance in the universe. Huff at first, Freddy at 2nd, Uribe at Short and Panda being panda.

The birds were singing and sun was shining.

That's how it was for 1 game in June.

Nightmare Line up AGAIN

Bochey thinks he's a genius because he pulled off a win with his Ace against a team that is .5 games out of last place. Perhaps he could use the Lineup that Beat AZ 12-1 ? Ah but what to do with the millionaires. Screw them. Send them to the Yankees. They like to pay good money for useless talent. Only unlike Sabean; Steinbrenner cans their but as soon as he finds out that they're useless bums.

Like Molina and Renteria.

The Beginning of the END? Or The End of the Beginning?

According to a tweet by SF GIANT BEAT WRITERS, Bochy is doing a major screw job on the roster. All of this to make Renteria Happy. I say, what ever it takes to start a losing streak. As soon as the Giants start losing consistently, They will see that this shotgun approach to the 25 man roster will not work. Panda at first? Uribe at 3rd and the has been at Short Stop. And of course Fat boy behind the plate.

Sometimes you need to look at what worked when you were winning and try to build on that foundation. Sticking injured players back in the line up just because they're off the DL is not good logic. Good logic is putting Molina and Renteria on the DFA list.

STEROIDS 2010

The great news is, The era of the HULK is over.

The Bad news is, Steroids are here to stay.


In the late 70's and early 80's, Cocaine usage was rampant. It was at parties every where. It wasn't until John Belushi, and other popular celebs were found dead because of Cocaine did the public start to respect Cocaine. Cocaine was glorified at Studio 54 in NYC. It was glorified in the movie Scar Face. In the early 80's, I didn't know many people that hadn't done Cocaine.

Is Cocaine still around? Sure. There are still some people that end up selling their kids college tuition to get one last wire. But it's still here.

Steroids had it's glory days as well. Long before Barry saw Mac beefing up at the Home run hitting contest in Pac Bell. Once again we can go back to the early 80's. Steroids have been prescribed to help the body heal faster. HGH (Human Growth Hormone) aided in the maturity of muscle tissue. So almost over night; the average lanky baseball player started looking like Hulk Hogan or at the least, a power hitting linebacker. In the early 2000's I asked a ball player from San Mateo College if he saw much juice at the college level. He told me he and his friends had been injecting since high school. When it comes to multi-million dollar bonuses, whats a little testicular shrinkage anyway? But unfortunately steroids go beyond just minor annoyances.

Take Bret Benoit. (1967-2007) Bret was a soft spoken Canadian WWE wrestler that was being treated with testosterone for low hormone levels as a result from illegal steroid abuse. When police entered the Benoit residence the once loving father had killed his wife and only son before taking his own life. This fueled speculations of "Roid-Rage" .

In the early 1st decade, Steroid use in Baseball was ubiquitous which led to a congressional hearing in March of 2005 and strict testing in 2006.

The Players are smaller now. Even the He-men that are still playing look like shadows of themselves. But offensive numbers have dropped. Is this proof that the game is steroid free?

NO!

In fact, steroids are there if you have the right chemical connections. The scam is to find new steroids that haven't been put on the list of 58 PEBs or 30 Stimulants. Add a molecule here or there and the substance becomes something else with the same results. That's how certain home run records were broken. Chemistry combinations are endless and the Chemist is the chef.

But like Cocaine in the 80's; better education of long term steroid abuse has encouraged more players to play clean. In fact, those who put up steroid numbers are watched like the KGB. It's not worth getting caught. The era of steroidal promiscuity is over. Steroidal use isn't, but the attitude of "everybody else is doing it so I have to" is gone.

More runs are being scored by "little ball" and "base running".

This is great news and an even better reason for fans to come back to the park. Baseball is and has always been a team sport. With less steroid monsters in the league; the more "team play" you'll see on the field.

The FUTURE of the GIANTS

Soon to be 21 year old Madison Bumgarner, was a first round pick for the GIANTS in 2007. The Left handed pitcher out of Hudson N.C. has a mid 90's fastball, a nice slider and change up that is still a work in progress. Baseball America has comp'd Bumgarner to Kevin Brown as far as being a tough competitor. He is a front of the order starter so unless something happens to Lincecum, Cain or Zito; do not look for Bumgarner to come up any time soon. Just recently the Giants called up Joe Martinez when Todd Wellemeyer was sent down. Bumgarner will probably come up in August if the Giants are looking at the playoffs.

Zack Wheeler is 15 months younger than Madison Bumgarner and throws from the Right side. Unlike Bumgarner, Wheeler is further advanced than Bumgarner was coming out of highschool. Wheeler is also a front of the order prospect. Wheeler acquired in the first round of the 2009 draft, has a mid 90's heater, a hard breaking curve and a change up that is quite advanced for such a young prospect. Zach started 2010 in Low A Augusta and will not be rushed. With all the concern over Jonathan Sanchez and Todd Wellemeyer, the GIANTS are in no hurry to rush Wheeler at all. With all the tools Wheeler has developed at such a young age, he still needs to work on his command. It's possible to say that when the time comes, Wheeler and Bumgarner will become the new Lincecum/Cain tandum.

With all the competition this year at shortstop between Juan "ooooh" Ree-bay" and Edgar Renteria, the Giants are blessed with a 23 year old college draftee named Brandon Crawford out of UCLA. Brandon was originally slated to go in the early 1st round of the 2008 draft having received national attention with both his defensive and hitting skills. Then came the Cape Cod league. (a Showcase for potential college prospects) The general consensus was that Crawford was struggling with the transition to wooden bats. So instead of going in the first round of 2008; the GIANTS got a steal in the 4th round enabling the GIANTS to draft Buster Posey in the first round. Offensively, Crawford has the power to hit 15 to 20 homeruns a year. He has good speed on the base paths and is learning to bunt for hits.

He has been compared to J.J. Hardy.