Rock Bottom (?)

August 30

The month of August has provided a lot of bad baseball for Giants fans. Last night was the height of ineptitude. Let the piling-on begin.

There’s really not much left to say after a stink-bomb like that. A team that previously had showed fight, seemed to have disappeared. Maybe that extra-innings loss to the Astros finally knocked the stuffing out of them.

There was hope that Tim Lincecum could right the ship, but when Alfonso Soriano went yard in the 5th there was an audible gasp at A-T-and-T Park, like “oh no, how will we ever come back now?”

Of course, the Giants would have had to score a run anyway, but that was out of the question against the great Randy Wells. Their hitters were no match for Wells’ fastball-chanegup combination, and predictably, he threw his first major league complete game shutout.

Predictably? Well, at least a couple of people on Twitter predicted as much, but it’s an easy call these days. If the Giants don’t get a run early, and that’s very difficult right now, they press even more at the plate. Not a good idea for an uber-aggressive lineup.

Lincecum and other Giants pitchers know they’re dead if they give up a run, and Monday, the Giants couldn’t hit or field for him. Orlando Cabrera once again produced a fielding miscue, the kind of play that screams “I don’t care if Brandon Crawford can’t hit.”

Lincecum also decided to go back into the wind-up instead of the stretch, but he discounted the change as a factor in his trouble. More to the point, he said the home runs he yielded were “three s*** pitches.” Typically, he took the blame when it’s well beyond that now.

It’s not good when one of the pillars of the Giants’ rotation has Gumby-shoulders, betraying the feeling of frustration that only a San Francisco pitcher can know. You can imagine what Matt Cain is thinking, too.

Unlike the Giants, the Cubs have several guys who can hit home runs. They must have looked like the Titans of Greek mythology to Giants fans unaware that one can actually send a baseball out of the field of play.

Oceanus, Cronus, Crius and Hyperion managed to clear the Forbidden Wall of A-T-and-T by striking the moving orb with their great tree branches. Actually it was Soriano, Soto, Pena, and DeWitt.

I’m hearing a lot of people say this is “rock bottom.” I heard the same thing after Thursday’s 3-1 loss to the Astros, a black hole of a game that sucked the life out of everything within 100 light years. I’m not sure the Giants have hit bottom yet.

It looks like this team has quit. Of course it should not, there is still a month to go. Larger gaps have been closed in less time. ( By better teams than the Giants, however. )

If they can gain a game on Arizona before the weekend, the series with the Diamondbacks is at least mildly interesting. Duane Kuiper says Tuesday’s game is a must-win. I’d agree.

When the Diamondbacks took a 5-0 lead, Kuip on television said the Giants should take note and start playing “like their hair is on fire.” Instead, they look burned-out.

If this team doesn’t get its’ act together and falls further behind than five games, it’s time to clean house and re-load. This combination is clearly not working now. Especially for the pitchers.

Judging by the mood in the ballpark, the Giants’ honeymoon is over. A sure way to dim the glow of last November in Texas is to continue to cart out a tired team playing bad baseball.

Injuries have certainly taken their toll, but bench players are still major-leaguers. You would assume they would be able to play at something approximating major league-level, but their approach at the plate is strictly high school. This might be the worst hitting team I’ve seen in baseball since the late 60′s or early 70′s.

Mathematically, it is not the end. It just feels like it. Only a rapid turnaround in the next week will change that. Otherwise, a September that promised a pennant race may only be an after-thought.

San Francisco, We Have A Problem

August 28

After scuffling to split four games with the Astros at home, and going 3-4 vs. the worst team in baseball over the last couple of weekends, the Giants are making the case that they’re truly not playoff contenders.

I know, I know. Seven games are a small sample size, and if you run into any major league pitcher on a good night, you’re going to have trouble. But these seven games are all we have to judge, and the Giants have made each of Houston’s starters look like Cy Young contenders.

Consequently they’ve dropped to four games back of Arizona in the National League West. They played three spirited games over the weekend after a lifeless 3-1 defeat on Thursday, but it took all of their effort and energy to scrape out a split with the Astros.

The Astros. A team with a largely double-A lineup. Granted, a team that also has a fresh infusion of young energy, a team that’s playing like it has nothing to lose. Because it has nothing to lose.

There’s some obvious talent there. J.D. Martinez has shown the Giants he has pop in his bat AND a good throwing arm … and Jose Altuve, Jimmy Paredes, Brian Bogusevic and Jordan Schafer have not looked overwhelmed.

What is galling for the Giants is that they were beaten by two of their former farmhands: Henry Sosa on Thursday and Matt Downs on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Padres played the role of prairie dog and pocket gopher, on which the Diamondbacks could engorge their bellies.

Ok, you want a larger sample size than seven games ? How about a month of bad baseball ? The Giants are 10-16 in August.

Yes, injuries have obviously played a role. A major role. The Giants have been without their best hitters for all or part of the season.

Just as frustrating, however, is that many of the players who made contributions last year have fallen off a table this season. Aubrey Huff, Cody Ross, Andres Torres and Pat Burrell have failed to recapture the magic for various reasons. Mark Derosa has been unavailable for most of two seasons, only beginning to make a contribution this weekend.

Also, veteran players called upon to pick up the slack haven’t picked up anything. Miguel Tejada has provided little but a succession of soul-crushing at-bats, save for a respectable showing against some left-handed pitchers and a brief “hot streak” earlier this year. Then he got hurt. Aaron Rowand is unable to even make contact anymore.

The Giants have also gotten mixed results at best from new acquisitions Carlos Beltran, Jeff Keppinger and Orlando Cabrera. Beltran was out two weeks with a hand injury and is just beginning to hit. Keppinger has been the best hitter of the bunch but not a real power threat and Cabrera has gotten a few clutch hits but has largely been the out-making machine his stats would suggest — and he’s no prize in the field.

It’s a team with little power, little speed ( although Torres is back and Darren Ford is coming ), and little patience at the plate. Toss in the fact they already have 20 more errors than ALL of last season, and it’s a bad combination.

Anything in the Giants’ favor ? Yes. The season didn’t end on August 28th.

They still have those great arms and still have six games with Arizona. They are getting a bit healthier and they’re hoping young players called up in September might give a boost off the bench.

The 2010 Giants got historically-good starting pitching down the stretch, and this year’s team will need the same. But the 2010 team also hit a home run per game and could actually rally from a deficit of more than two runs, which doesn’t describe this year’s model.

They also benefitted from the Padres’ 10-game losing streak, and the Diamondbacks have already survived a seven-game skid this year. The Giants of 2010 were also lucky in the postseason, and to their credit took advantage of that good fortune.

All in all, the signs in 2011 are not good. A team as one-dimensional as the Giants — even more one-dimensional than last year’s squad — does not usually go far.

Even the 1988 Dodgers averaged almost 3.9 runs per game. That would amount to a 20-megaton offense for the Giants, who are barely averaging 3.4 a game. They have dropped behind the Mariners for the worst offense in baseball, and it would take a climb up Mt. Everest to reach 28th place, currently occupied by the Twins.

It’s not all their fault: few teams would sustain the number of injuries the Giants have and remain in contention this long. Their arms have kept them in the race.

What is disappointing is that the position players called into service have, for the most part, failed to perform at a major league-level, especially in situations that call for hitters to think of the team and not themselves.

They say hitting is contagious. So is not hitting. The Giants are holding the bat so hard they’re grinding it into sawdust, and they’re clearly inside their own heads.

Beyond that, the Giants have players who are either done as major leaguers or should not be starting anywhere. But that’s the hand they’ve been dealt.

It is very tough to watch them play right now. I would rather watch Roseanne Barr strip-tease than watch the Giants hit. Actually, no: even the Giants’ offense is not the bad.

Anyway (ahem ), the hopes for September are not high. However, while some of you may have the shovels out, it isn’t time to turn dirt just yet.

As Andy Dufresne said in “The Shawshank Redemption,” “remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things.”

They still have hope. It might not be much, but it’s about all the Giants have to hang their lids on now.

Senseless

August 22

It’s happened again.

Two men are shot outside a sporting event. This time in the parking lot after Saturday night’s 49ers-Raiders preseason game at Candlestick Park. There were also fights in the stands during the game, and another man was beaten in a stadium bathroom in an incident apparently unrelated to the shootings.

Was the violence actually related to the sporting event, a mixture of testosterone and alcohol, or was Candlestick simply the convenient venue for some out-of-control characters? There’s a theory that the violence might be gang-related but police have yet to establish a motive.

One of the victims was reportedly wearing an “F— the Niners” t-shirt, and police detained a person who was reportedly wearing Raiders gear. The search for suspects continues.

When Bryan Stow was beaten, I said on the air that I hoped the incident would at least make fans think twice before resorting to violence. I wanted to give people that much credit but in this day and age, I knew better. In such incidents, people aren’t thinking at all.

Often, they are people whose circumstances give them a completely distorted perspective of life. Not just rabid sports fans, but thugs who feel the need to take out their aggressions on others. Then, throw in a few 32-ounce cups of beer and …

Sadly in our society, stupidity and malice know no bounds, so why would sporting events be immune? However, if you believe games should at least provide a brief haven where people can have fun, we’re apparently going to need to further increase security before and after such events.

It’s debatable whether more security would have deterred Saturday’s sad human display, and one of the shooting victims might have been saved because he was able to drive to a security guard. However, it’s clear that more must be done by local teams, the league, and local law enforcement.

The league, and both teams, have issued statements expressing extreme dismay at what happened Saturday. Fans who resort to violence are not representative of the overall fan base, their teams, or the support.

However, the 49ers and Raiders — and the entire NFL — need to know this: families that aren’t already priced out of pro football games will stay away unless they know it’s safe. Or at the very least, safer.

Does the NFL care about families, or is it solely interested in corporate sponsors and advertisers who cater to young men who gamble and/or play fantasy football ? The NFL has been seeing more empty seats at games in the last couple of seasons, and in a bad economy that trend will continue. To me, it would be stupid not to make games more family-friendly.

***

A few days ago I blogged that despite all their misfortune, the Giants had a chance to come home just a game and a half behind the Diamondbacks in the National League West. After Sunday’s huge 6-4, 11-inning win in Houston, that’s exactly what happened for the Giants. Or, what’s left of them.

The good news: the schedule is getting easier for the Giants. The bad news: they’re adding a player per day to the disabled list. Sunday’s addition might be the most damaging: Brian Wilson.

He goes on the DL with a strained elbow, but manager Bruce Bochy and trainer Dave Groeschner seem to think it won’t be a season-ending injury and he should be ready for the September stretch run. Of course, any time the words “pitcher,” “elbow,” and “disabled list” are in the same sentence it can be very scary.

The Giants haven’t needed Wilson much lately, and that isn’t good news. They had to scrape and claw to win one game this weekend from the worst team in baseball, and you couldn’t tell which team was in contention the last few days in Houston.

Bochy says he’ll use a bullpen by committee, which includes the rookie right-hander with the funky delivery, Steve Edlefsen. He was called up from Fresno and got four big outs on Sunday. Ramon Ramirez closed out Sunday’s game without incident.

The Giants return home after three weeks of the most brutal baseball they’ve had in a while: brutal both on and off the field. Yet there they are, much like the “cockroaches” General Manager Brian Sabean characterized during Showtime’s “The Franchise.” And he meant that in a good way.

It’s questionable whether the Giants can continue to overcome the injuries and stay in contention. After a 3-7 homestand and 4-6 road trip they’ve given little evidence they would be able to do so. But right now, they’re within breathing distance of the Snakes, and they have six games left with Arizona.

Maybe it’s just payback for last year. Just about everything broke the Giants’ way in 2010, and their fortunes have seemingly done a 180 in ’11. G’s fans hope and pray that the DL virus doesn’t spread to the starting pitching, because that’s their last remaining ace in the hole.

The lame and halt outnumber the healthy. Pablo Sandoval won Sunday’s game with one good foot and one good shoulder. Carlos Beltran may or may not return this week, and the longer he stays out the more disastrous the trade (which I supported) becomes.

The bullpen is hanging on by a thread, although without Wilson and Sergio Romo it pitched 9 1/3 scoreless innings Sunday, granted against a young Houston lineup. The Giants have a giant sinkhole where the #5 spot in the rotation used to be, and the veterans who are healthy are terrible.

Bochy has been a magician to keep the Giants in contention, although he appears to have aged this year more than FDR did during his four terms in office. Some of his veterans have also aged — their career clocks are spinning rapidly toward the end. Some are already at the end.

You’ll know what the Giants really think of some of these players when they clear out dead wood in the offseason. Due to injuries, the Giants must give playing time to some people who shouldn’t be in the major leagues any more. Others would not be starting on most clubs.

Either because they’re no longer physically-able, because they have a terrible plate approach or both, they fail to do the most minimal things to help their team. That’s especially true at the plate with a runner at third and less than two out. It’s contagious now; young and old, Giants hitters can’t keep the line moving or advance a runner when needed.

Before Sandoval stepped to the plate Sunday, I told my wife that the only way the Giants were going to win was if somebody hit a home run. I said Sandoval is one guy who could do so, although he’s reverted to Panda Gone Wild lately.

True to form, he expanded his strike zone in his final at-bat, flailing wildly at a couple of pitches, but crushed a pitch over the plate for a two-run shot to left-center. Sandoval, who is emerging as a leader amid all of the calamity, gave the Giants a reason to celebrate the flight home.

Earlier, Belt did a very unkind thing to a Henry Sosa pitch, with a jaw-dropping three-run shot to right field, the Giants’ third three-run shot since June. SINCE JUNE.

Home runs. The Giants used them to help win the NL West last year. They lack the ability to hit as many this year, but I know one thing that can help.

If Bochy is reading this blog ( and I’m sure he does ), or if he listens Monday night on Sportsphone 680, he will hear this message: stop leaning on the veterans. Play Brandon Belt every day. Repeat: Play. Brandon. Belt. Every. Damn. Day.

It’s an argument I’ve been making for weeks now ( and I’m far from the only one ), and it’s an argument that should’ve been settled on Sunday, when he had four hits. The Baby Giraffe has shown he possesses as much thunder in his bat as The Panda.

Bochy ostensibly plays the veterans because he wants to keep the clubhouse happy. You know what keeps everyone happy, especially pitchers ? Runs. Putting Belt in the lineup will give you more runs. Maybe not a great deal more, but enough.

He can hit right-handers and left-handers. He qualifies as a selective hitter on this roster. He can run a little bit and can play more than one position.

Play him every day. Repeat: Every. Damn. Day. The more he plays, the more you’ll like it, Boch. Hell, you can even say it was your idea.

Apparently there is something about Belt that Bochy has disliked up to this point. Maybe Belt ran over his dog. I’m not sure what it is, but almost every Giant on the roster had to suffer an injury, ( or Dengue Fever or Dropsy) before Belt could play.

Bochy was apparently comforted by the Devil He Knew. Cody Ross wildly flailing away as his average dropped into the .230s, Aubrey Huff rolling over for the 288th time this year and grounding out to the right side, Aaron Rowand missing a slider low-and-away by a foot, and of course, Miguel (GIDP) Tejada.

Bochy may be aging rapidly this year, but I know he hasn’t gotten any dumber. I know he has very specific reasons to rely on veterans, especially those who have helped the Giants, but the times they are a- changin’. Belt should not see the bench the rest of the season.

And when September rolls around, make use of youthful or younger energy, i.e.: Darren Ford, Brett Pill, Emannuel Burriss, Hector Sanchez, and Edlefsen, among others.

No time to worry about hurt feelings. The kids are alright, Boch. And with an old and injury-plagued lineup, they just might save your season.

***

Chris Drury recently retired after a 12-year NHL career, but he first became nationally known as the kid who led Trumbull, Connecticut to the 1989 Little League World Series title.

As someone who played and coached Little League, I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with the LLWS. I think it’s a great tournament, a great way to develop character, and a great opportunity for young people to expand their horizons through baseball. I just don’t think it should be televised.

The Little League World Series used to be cute. It used to be fun. Now it’s just kind of creepy and odd.

Granted, there’s not a kid in America who wouldn’t want to be on television right now in Williamsport, Pa. It’s just about the largest stage available for a young person, outside of being in a motion picture or TV.

At least they pay young actors. These kids get a trip to Pennsylvania but that’s about it. Meanwhile, ESPN gets to fill hours of programming and make money off sponsors.

You know it’s working for the sports network. In fact, they’ve expanded and enhanced their coverage over the years, now showing regional semi-final games.

The players’ emotions, both good and bad, are exploited. Just as bad, we’re starting to see kids trying to act like big-leaguers when the camera is on; for example, posing for home runs. We’re also seeing way too much of their parents, who along with other adults place way too much pressure on these kids.

Jelisa Castrodale of NBCSports.com aptly called it, “equal parts ‘Baseball Tonight’ and ‘Toddlers and Tiaras.’ In a word, eww.

I understand that the championship game of the LLWS has been televised for more than 50 years. That’s just one game. It is now two weeks of programming.

Enough. Let kids be kids. Keep them out of the abnormal hothouse that is illuminated by TV lights and cameras. This society already makes them grow up too fast.

It’s OK to dream. But delusions of grandeur are something else. To me, it’s just very unhealthy.

“Minor” League

August 19

Atlanta Braves rookie starter Mike Minor is not chopped liver. He played college ball at Vanderbilt with David Price and Pedro Alvarez, and was on Team USA with Stephen Strasburg. The Braves chose him seventh overall in 2009.

Minor has a fastball with decent life and above-average slider. He is averaging a strikeout per inning in his brief career, and has struck out as many as a dozen in a game. He has not allowed a home run this year.

Mike Minor is not, to my knowledge, the next Randy Johnson. However, the lineup the Giants ran out Thursday night in Atlanta made him look that way. He made them look like “Minor” leaguers.

To be fair, expectations weren’t high when the Giants lineup was announced. Any lineup that has Miguel Tejada batting fifth is one that screams “bet the under.” Orlando Cabrera as a #2 hitter? Please. ( The Giants showed how they felt about Cabrera at shortstop, by moving him over to second base in favor of TEJADA. )

After Cody Ross hit a leadoff double Cabrera almost knocked him in with a line drive that went barely foul down. Cabrera eventually struck out. The Giants did not score.

Cabrera squared to bunt at one point, but in the end he failed to at least move Ross over to third. Baseball 101: FAIL.

Would a bunt have worked in that situation ? Well, Pablo Sandoval struck out and Aubrey Huff subsequently grounded out, so that’s hard to say. Generally, you don’t want to give up outs in the first inning, and just one run wasn’t going to help the Giants.

Assuming the Giants scored, it would have been a 1-1 game late, with the Giants’ depleted bullpen going up against a Braves ‘pen that might be the best in baseball right now. It will get better when Peter Moylan comes off the disabled list.

Whatever the strategy, we’re arguing over scraps. One run. The bigger problem is an offense that, due to injuries and ineptitude, is unable to put up crooked numbers against a rookie pitcher or most anyone else who puts on a major league uniform.

It leaves pitchers like Tim Lincecum on the losing end of 1-0 games, despite a brilliant effort. His egregious mistake: giving up a solo shot to future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones. Lincecum actually took some ownership for the loss, which he should never have to do.

Bochy was fuming at the poor offensive showing afterward. He should also look in the mirror. The Giants should never field a lineup that has Miguel Tejada batting fifth. Ever. Again. It was reminiscent of the Bad Old Days when Jose Castillo was an everyday player.

You’re telling me a lineup including Mike Fontenot ( 3 hits the night before, .800 OPS vs. lefties this year ) and Brandon Belt would have done worse ? The lack of patience and judgement exhibited by Giants hitters wasn’t even minor league-level. Try Little League.

Granted, if Jeff Keppinger was 100 percent both Tejada and Cabrera would not have been playing. Bochy has been a magician trying to juggle lineups and he favors veterans because he wants to keep the clubhouse happy. But is anyone happy after a 1-0 loss ?

Inserting the likes of Fontenot and Belt might not have made a difference, and Bochy and the Giants are left to search for answers in a season littered by injuries. A healthy Giants lineup was struggling to score runs anyway, but last night’s lineup was a message to Lincecum: “you’d better throw a shutout.”

He didn’t and he lost. Nine times this season, Lincecum has left a game with the Giants failing to score a run. Matt Cain’s lack of run support is legendary and has lasted even longer. An arm is a terrible thing to waste.

There has been much discussion about whether the two pillars of the Giants rotation will tire of the offensive impotence and eventually bolt for a team with some bats. Say, a team with pinstripes ?

For Lincecum, that won’t be an issue until the end of 2013, when he is no longer under the Giants’ control. Cain’s contract runs through 2012. One would assume the Giants’ lineup will look much better by that time, but much of that will be determined in this offseason.

Lincecum’s numbers this year are in line with his Cy Young years, but he is 11-10. If Felix Hernandez could get the Cy last year, it’s not a stretch to say Lincecum should get consideration in the National League this year. But with guys like Roy Halladay around, he’s a long shot.

Lincecum and Cain must wonder what life would be like on a team that actually scores at least four runs a game, or getting extremely greedy, five runs a game. They have already shown they can thrive on the big stage, so I don’t think New York ( or Boston ) would scare them. Whether it’s a cultural fit is another story.

For now, the Giants remain 2 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks in the NL West with the Giants heading to Houston and Arizona heading to Atlanta. The Giants have to face a pretty tough lefty in Wandy Rodriguez Friday, and ex-Giants farmhand Henry Sosa on Sunday. There are no guarantees, but there’s a chance the Giants could come home a game and a half back.

Then the schedule favors the Giants, who have 21 games at home and who don’t go east of Denver the rest of the way. The schedule is weak enough that you could even throw a healthy Jonathan Sanchez out there for a couple more starts. Plus, they have six games left with Arizona.

All this is assuming, of course, that the Ebola virus doesn’t strike the clubhouse.

Amid all the injuries, there is one that concerns the Giants the most right now. Not Carlos Beltran’s hand, although a healthy Beltran would be a shot in the arm. It’s Brian Wilson’s elbow. He’s being re-evaluated Friday, and without him the Giants will be in deep yogurt.

The Giants have been like cockroaches this season, surviving just about everything thrown their way, still in contention in a weak division. One big reason: a great bullpen. But injuries to Wilson and Sergio Romo could be the equivalent of D-Con.

If Wilson and Romo are healthy in September, and Beltran can return to form, the Giants still have a shot. Also, I think the expansion of the 40-man roster might benefit the Giants more than many other teams. Considering how many tight games they play, specialization is key, and Bochy will be licking his chops with a chance to use guys like Darren Ford.

One thing is for certain: the Giants will go into September in contention, and playing very meaningful games, even as punchless as they have been. I don’t think anyone foresaw that when Buster Posey went down.

Another thing is for certain: the Giants MUST address their offensive problems, and clear out the dead wood, in the offseason. Short-term, that will be costly, but failure to do so could be even more damaging long-term. It could cost them those two pillars in the starting rotation.

No More Drama

August 9

Maybe it’s the Dog Days of August. Maybe it’s the economy. Whatever it is, drama abounds lately. We spend more time talking about what people said, less about what they did.

On Friday, there was the infamous Tony Bruno tweet. Then Steve Williams drops a v-bomb on Tiger. Then Aaron Rowand gets in trouble for what he DIDN’T say.

Sheesh. I know sports is the Toy Department. I didn’t know we were covering lunchtime with the girls at the Junior High quad.

Look, I get it. We get into this stuff because sports is ultimately about human beings and how they react to stress. As fellow humans, we feel qualified to weigh in. In fact, our daily stress is often more serious; it just doesn’t get the media spotlight.

Here’s the Readers Digest version of my takes on these topics:

Bruno tweet was wrong, and inaccurate. His apology-turned-attack was very disappointing. In my experience he’s been a good guy and I saw no evidence he was a racist, but even good guys do dumb things. He needs to wear this one, and his one week suspension is appropriate, but I don’t think he should be cut loose.

Williams’ rant was borderline hilarious. Whether or not he’s played golf before ( and he was once a very good golfer ) he didn’t swing a single club at Firestone, and barely mentioned Adam Scott. He has now admitted his reaction was “over the top,” brought on by his excitement at winning on Scott’s bag. However, he and Scott seemed to have helped each other, and the rant does make the PGA this week even more spicy.

Sun-Times interview with Rowand by Joe Cowley ends in such as way that you wonder if Rowand isn’t happy wearing a uniform with “San Francisco” on the front. I think follow-up questions were needed, and as a result left a smoldering fire Rowand had to put out Tuesday. His defense was a bit weak, saying he thought the interview was about football and Chicago, but he’s a conscientious dude and I think he deserves a pass on this one. It bothered me more that Rowand counts A.J. Pierzynski as a friend. I just wish he’d change the batting stance and stop waiving at slop low-and-away.

In fact, I wish that for the entire Giants’ offense. At least advance a damn baserunner.

Here’s what I think is happening:

A) The obvious: most of Giants’ top hitters are gone.

B) Hitting problems made worse by run of tough opposing pitchers.

C) Everyone is trying to do too much, creating anxiety at plate.

D) Offense can improve only a bit, unless hitters are changed.

E) The Giants are still in 1st, but offense puts them in peril.

F) Thank goodness they’re in a division of trolls.

Felt good to end this blog discussing something that is actually going on in the field of play.

Now, back to people talking. Will L.A. get a new stadium before Santa Clara ? The city council in Nuestro Puebla de la Reina approved a downtown stadium plan if an NFL team commits to moving. My source in L.A. city government says Chargers are the first choice.

That’s no fun: a return of the Raiders to their gangland kindred spirits would be much more fun for the media to cover. Maybe THAT’s where they should build a shared stadium.

Alright, time to check Wall Street. Now where was my duffel bag full o’cash ?

A Weekend Epiphany

August 7

The Giants offense has been bad all year. That is not news. It was, however, not enough to drag them down until the past week, when they lost eight of nine and gave Arizona renewed hope.

The offense was especially wretched in the first three games against the Phillies, as the Giants mustered three runs and couldn’t get a hit with runners in scoring position. Their frustration is such that on Sunday, they actually had three hits with runners in scoring position yet still failed to score.

They avoided a four-game sweep, which would have been the Phillies’ first in the Giants’ home park since 1943, thanks largely to Tim Lincecum. He needed to be at his very best to be the stopper, and he was. The offense showed just enough signs of life, with 13 hits, to eke out a 3-1 win.

Every team goes into a slump, and the Giants’ slump was aided and abetted by the likes of Cole Hamels and Ian Kennedy. It was the kind of slump that nearly sucked the hope out of the fan base. It seemed like the only way the Giants could get a win was to throw a shutout.

We’ve talked about problems with the offense for weeks on end. We wondered aloud many times whether the pitching would collapse under the pressure of the offensive ineptitude. Yet the Giants have been able to stay at or near the top of the squalid NL West.

The Giants made moves to improve the offense, but the changes have yet to take hold, although Jeff Keppinger has swung the bat well and went 4 for 4 with a sacrifice fly Sunday. Carlos Beltran is off to slow start in a Giants uniform, and even heard a smattering of boos Sunday.

He needs to do more and is certainly capable of doing so, but we all want quick results because he’s a rental player. The situation is made worse by the fact that the Phillies’ acquisition, Hunter Pence, was on fire this weekend.

Fans will judge a team or a player based on a week, or a weekend.
But baseball doesn’t always work that way, and there’s no way to judge any player based on 40 at-bats. Beltran should eventually make a big contribution with the Giants, if he can stay healthy.

As I’ve also mentioned for a while now, Aubrey Huff is a big hole in the middle of the batting order — and that’s based on several hundred at-bats this year — but Bruce Bochy has made it clear Huff isn’t going anywhere. He will also continue to search for the right platoon among Schierholtz, Ross, Torres and Rowand.

Meanwhile, Brandon Belt gets his hacks in the minors, back in September to do his Travis Ishikawa imitation. He’s better than that, but Bochy has Belt pigeon-holed.

The message, Giants fans, is simple: grin and bear it. As bad as the offense has been for the past couple of weeks ( save for one day against the Diamondbacks ), it should at least perk up a BIT.

Barring another waiver-wire deal, the Giants and their fans must hope there’s enough gas in the tank to the get to the finish line in
October. Due to numerous injuries and the ravages of time, the offense will continue to struggle to one degree or another.

The Phillies will be waiting for them this fall. They’re the best team in baseball, and they’d love to get revenge on the Giants. It’s clear they wanted to leave a parting impression this weekend, and that impression is a boot-print on the Giants’ neck.

After all that, guess what ? The Giants are still in first. Are they “this year’s Padres?” Maybe not, but they’re not the same as last year’s Giants, either. That’s just the way it is.

However, only 10 of the Giants’ 47 games are against teams currently sporting better than a .500 record, and with their pitching they are still good bets to win the division. The Phillies are clearly better than them, but if they happen to meet in a short series, well … you know what can happen.

***

After Adam Scott won the WGC-Bridgestone at Firestone Sunday, CBS interviewed his new caddy, Steve Williams. He said, “I’ve caddied for 33 years — 145 wins now — and that’s the best win I’ve ever had.” He also said it was the “best week” he’s had.

Zing ! That was for you, Tiger Woods. By the way, Tiger finished 18 strokes behind Scott.

Williams is still miffed at how Woods let him go. He says Woods told him over the phone, not in person as Woods contended. He felt like his loyalty went unrewarded, and he was undercut just because he was trying to make a buck as a temporary caddy for Scott. He clearly fell out of Tiger’s shaky Tree of Trust.

This may all be true, but as I blogged previously, he’s become a very rich man thanks to his association with Tiger. However it ended, he may be better off living a lower-stress life on Scott’s bag.

There’s no doubt Williams is one of the best caddies in the world, and he appears to have a relaxed and happy relationship with Scott. This paid big dividends on Sunday, and could mean even bigger things in the future for the talented 31-year-old Scott.

There’s also little doubt that a good caddy can be a big help to a golfer, and Williams deserved some credit for Tiger’s great run of excellence. It was Williams’ eighth victory alone at Firestone.

Williams, however, got a bit carried away with himself after hearing the “Stev-ie” chants on Sunday, and getting so much media attention during the past few weeks. He described himself as a “good front-runner when I’m caddying.” Funny, I thought it was SCOTT who won.

***

Scott is a good bloke and all that, but it was hard NOT to root for 19-year-old Ryo Ishikawa, who in a world of selfishness — especially the world of sports — has decided to do something very unselfish.

Ishikawa is donating all of 2011 tour earnings to relief efforts following Japan’s earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster. His Top 10 finish at Firestone was good for another 332-thousand dollars. He’s also donated 12-hundred dollars for every birdie and eagle he makes this year. He had 17 birdies and one eagle at this tournament.

Granted, he is already financially comfortable, having earned a ton of money on the Japanese tour while still living with his parents. However, it’s a sacrifice unlike any you’ll see in professional sports.

Tiger Woods says “give him a decade and this kid is going to be awesome.” Wrong. He already is.

***

One thing I’ve learned in writing these blogs, and posting messages on Facebook and Twitter: behind a keyboard, people feel 10 feet tall and bulletproof. They have said some incredibly vile things to me.

Here’s the difference: when I am on the air I have to think on my feet and use a filter, lest something untoward slips out. On Twitter, Facebook, and in commenting to blogs, people have a built-in filter: the “send” button.