Each year, the MLB non-waiver trade deadline produces innumerable “winners and losers” lists from Baseball sports writers around the country. It’s an opportunity for fans to step away from local broadcast and print media happy-talk about their baseball team and get a sense of what the national press thinks.

For Giants fans, a quick survey of 2010 non-waiver trade deadline winners/losers lists around the Majors will not be reassuring. First, a large number of those lists don’t even include the Giants, suggesting the Giants' front office did nothing of substance to critique. For the record, San Francisco picked up lefty reliever Javier Lopez from the Pirates, giving up pitcher Joe Martinez and minor league outfielder John Bowker, and got righty reliever Ramon Ramirez from the Red Sox for Double A pitcher Dan Turpen.

The 2010 trade assessment lists that do include the San Francisco Giants put them solidly in the losing column; thankfully they do not appear at the top of any “loser” lists I could find.

Several samples:
                                                              Winners      Losers
Jeff Passan, Yahoo Sports              Rangers     White Sox
                                                              Padres        Giants
                                                              Phillies        Red Sox

Jason Stark, ESPN                           Rangers     White Sox
                                                              Padres       Blue Jays
                                                              Yankees    Baltimore
                                                             Astros         Giants

Frankie Piliere, MLB FanHouse     Yankees     Red Sox
                                                              Astros         Giants
                                                              Rangers     Tigers

Jeff Passan of Yahoo wrote, “This is a Giants team with the sort of starting pitching depth that begged for a deal. Whether it was Jose Bautista or Corey Hart or any other big bat, the Giants needed to wave goodbye to Jonathan Sanchez. Another missed opportunity for GM Brian Sabean.”

From Jason Stark of ESPN: “Not dealing for [a bat] could turn into one of those critical missed opportunities to go deep into October. ‘They should have found a bat, no doubt about it,’ said one NL executive. ‘They've got the best pitching in the league. Give that team a little more offense, and look out.’”

In reality, Brian Sabean did pretty much what he did last year, when he traded for Ryan Garko and Freddie Sanchez, picking up two non-impact payers for a team rich with pitching and in serious need of more offense. As they have since 2006, the Giants front office continues to be unable to effectively use their deep pitching resources to craft a consistently effective run-scoring offense.

Despite the Giants sitting on the sidelines, the trade wire for hitters was sizzling this year. For example, the San Diego Padres delt for Miguel Tejada of the Orioles (199 hits, .313 AVG with 46 doubles in 2009) and immediately batted him 4th in their line-up at shortstop. What did they give up? Wynn Pelzer, a Double A pitcher at San Antonio with a 6-9 record and a 4.20 ERA this year. Pelzer was the Padres’ 9th round pick in the 2007 amateur draft. Oh, and the Padres also received $1.15 million from Baltimore as part of that deal.

Since we’re talking about San Diego, let’s mention another bat they picked up: outfielder Ryan Ludwick from the St. Louis Cardinals, who was part of a three team deal that included the Cleveland Indians. Ludwick knocked in 97 RBIs in 2009 with 22 home runs. What did the Padres give up? Class A pitcher Nick Greenwood, who is 4-4 with a 4.15 ERA at Fort Wayne.

While these moves were being made, and other teams around the Majors were managing to pick up quality bats, Giants GM Brian Sabean consistently fed the local Bay Area media the same tired party line he has expertly developed over the years: every team he talks to about a deal for a hitter demands a Giants starting pitcher, like Jonathan Sanchez. Oddly enough, virtually all other Major League teams apparently deal with each other at all levels of their organizations and routinely make deals, except when Brian Sabean is looking for a bat.

How can this be? Over the past five years, how can so many other teams manage to land quality Major League hitters by packaging deals that feature double A and single A players, while the Giants are being held hostage for their best pitchers? The problem is not the quality of the Giants’ minor league system, which is rated very high, the problem continues to be a Giants front office rooted in the past, unable to develop long-term planning strategies, their negotiating creativity frozen in fear of giving up any pitching.

Because of the many emails I get from San Francisco Giants fans who apparently, 1) just started following the Giants this year and are unaware of the team’s recent history; or, 2) have been sniffing so much amyl nitrate that it’s no longer possible to keep track of any day-to-day information, I have to again remind the faithful of Brian Sabean’s dismal track record the past five seasons:

2005 – 3rd place, 87 losses.
2006 – 2nd place (SD and LA tied for 1st), 85 losses
2007 – last place, 91 losses
2008 – 4th place, 90 losses
2009 – 3rd place, 74 losses

Despite the lackluster abilities of the front office, the Giants have come to life offensively the past month, and they are now pushing San Diego hard at the top of the National League West. The critical balancing act here is, which is the real team— the April/May/June third place squad or the resurgent run scoring line-up led by hard chargers Buster Posey and Aubrey Huff? 

Watching the July 2010 Giants every day, this could be a team that not only makes the playoffs, but could potentially dominate throughout the playoffs. They'll just have to do it without much support from the front office. What a story it will be.

Legendary Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver had two revealing quotes about the role of a Major League manager:

"A manager's job is simple. For one hundred sixty-two games you try not to screw up all that smart stuff your organization did last December."

"A really good manager will make the difference in maybe six or eight games all season."

Somewhere, Los Angeles Dodger hitting coach Don Mattingly is writing these words on a blackboard, over and over again, like Bart Simpson in "The Simpsons" intro. In a game against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday July 20th in LA, Mattingly managed to violate both of these precepts in one inning and it cost the Dodgers the game.

2010 has seen a particularly high tide of bad blood in the historic rivalry between the Giants and the Dodgers. LA headhunting starter Vincente Padilla hit Giants outfielder Aaron Rowand in the face in April, breaking bones and putting Rowand on the DL. For the remainder of that game and series, Giants pitchers did not retaliate which left a bad taste and caused controversary in the clubhouse and among fans.

Flash forward to the 5th inning of last night's game which saw starter Tim Lincecum buzz a fastball past Dodger outfielder Matt Kemp's nose, nearly knocking him over. The next pitch drilled Kemp, who took a few steps toward the mound as Lincecum took a few steps toward Kemp. The home plate umpire then gave the traditional warnings to both benches.

After Giants reliever Denny Bautista nearly hit Dodger catcher Russell Martin in the bottom of the 6th, Dodger bench coach Bob Schaefer started up the dugout steps yelling at the home plate umpire to toss Bautista. Instead, Schaefer was ejected. Putting two and two together, it is obvious that, at the end of that inning veteran catcher Martin communicated to his pitcher that it was time to rumble.

The Dodgers' Kershaw retaliated in the 7th inning with a pitch that caught Aaron Rowand in the lower back. And that was the start of a great unraveling. Not only did it put the lead-off hitter on base in a 5-4 game, but both Kershaw and LA Manager Joe Torre were ejected from the game. Inexplicably, long time Major League manager and Dodger third base coach Larry Bowa was not chosen to man the bridge for the rest of the game; instead, hitting coach Mattingly took the helm.

With the score still 5-4 Dodgers, the Giants loaded the bases in the 9th and Manager Mattingly went to the mound to discuss strategy with ace closer Jonathan Broxton. Mattingly then turn around and walked just off the dirt area of the mound onto the grass before he turned back around and went back to the mound to say one more thing to his pitcher.

MLB rule 8.06D states a manager or coach can only make one trip to the pitcher's mound in an inning; a second trip means the pitcher is automatically removed from the game. Giants Manager Bruce Bochy saw Mattingly's slight misstep, bounded out of the dugout and informed the umps of the violation. Bochy also told them he was prepared to protest the game if Mattingly wasn't called on the gaff. Although the homeplate umpire also recognized the violation, for some reason he kept it to himself and waited for Bochy to protest it before taking action.

As Broxton was removed from the game, Dodger coaches made another mistake by not getting someone immediately up in the bullpen, and Mattingly graciously accepted the ruling instead of going into a tantrum to give his reliever more time to warm up.

George Sherill replaced Broxton and promply gave up a two run double to Giants right fielder Andres Torres to make the score 6-5 Giants. After a Buster Posey RBI single, the Giants held on to win 7-5.

Amazingly, Bochy called the exact same violation against then Dodger Manager Grady Little in 2006, forcing Little to remove his starting pitcher from a game.

The Dodgers are giving the appearance of being in complete organizational disarray. Billionaire owner Frank McCourt is about to go through a bank account-draining divorce, Manager Joe Torre is contemplating retirement, and the team itself appears to be sleep-walking through the season while heir-apparent Don Mattingly apparenty has just a little more to learn about baseball.

The good news? The storied San Francisco Giants-Los Angeles Dodgers rivalry, begun in 1890, is still cooking filthy 120 years later.

Baseball headlines from newspapers around the Nation:
 

BASEBALL COMMISSIONER HEEDS CALL FOR MLB ALL STAR GAME TO HAVE MORE MEANING AND DRAMA
2013 Game Will Feature Live Hostage Situation, Stunning 7th Inning Revelation About Santa Claus, and Free Lifetime Supply of Bacon to Winning Team

PETE ROSE CONFESSES TO GAMBLING ON BASEBALL, ASSASSINATING PRESIDENT GARFIELD, CAUSING MASSIVE OIL LEAK IN GULF
“This changes everything,” states Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig

NEW YORK YANKEES PURCHASE EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRY OF ESTONIA
Yankee Stadium Peanut and Churro Vending Sales Fund Purchase of Expanded Spring Training Location

CUBS HURLER CARLOS ZAMBRANO GOES ON SHOOTING SPREE IN ANGER MANAGEMENT CLASS-- NO INJURIES REPORTED
“We’re just lucky his aim is so bad”, said a police spokesman

MLB UMPIRE JIM JOYCE WANTS DON LARSEN’S 1956 PERFECT WORLD SERIES GAME OVERTURNED
Controversial Ump Convinced New Evidence Proves Brooklyn Dodger’s 5th Inning Foul Ball Was Actually Fair, Demands Corrective Action

YANKEE FRONT OFFICE MUM ON QUESTION OF ESTONIA NUCLEAR CAPABILITY
Yankee GM Brian Cashman’s Message to United Nations: “We Hope the World Community Understands the Value of the Yankee Way”

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National League Central  

National League East

 American League West 

  American League Central

 American League East 

> After a sweet four game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers on the road, and finishing the first half by taking two of three from the Nationals, the Giants look up and see themselves still in 4th place in the NL West, four games behind the San Diego Padres.

While the Giants were going 7-3 in the last ten games, the surging Colorado Rockies went 8-2, and in the process are now second in the National League in runs scored (430 to Cincinnati’s 437). The Giants are 20th out of 30 MLB teams in runs scored with 391.

> After finally being brought up from the minors, Buster Posey has put up commanding numbers in his first 38 games this year:
-- an eye-catching slash line of .350AVG/.389OBP/.958OPS;
-- hitting .383 with runners on, and .367 with runners in scoring position;
-- 7 home runs, 5 doubles, 2 triples and 25 RBIs.

Posey is also demonstrating that his plate discipline is very solid; specifically, he will work a pitcher and is not concerned about taking bases on balls, which pays off each game as Posey gets a progressively better look at what the opposition pitcher has on his tool belt that day.

Posey has been slotted at various locations in the Giants' batting order, but looks just like that picture in the dictionary under "classic #3 hitter". Of his 137 at bats this season, the Giants spent 97 of those at bats hitting Posey 6th or 7th in the line-up.

Posey PS: While Giants fans gush on local sports talk radio about Posey, and GM Brian Sabean insists the team brought Posey up at just the right time, let’s remember something: Giants ownership did not want to bring Posey up before he would qualify under the “Super Two Rule” to be arbitration eligible in three years.

To stop him from qualifying, the team needed to limit Posey to less than 86 Major League days of service this year, which would have meant a mid-July call up. But because the Bengie Molina situation was disintegrating so fast on the field and in the clubhouse, and because the team’s lack of run production looked to produce a sixth consecutive year of finishing third to last place in the NL West, the Giants were essentially forced to bring Posey up.

> Twenty-year-old Madison Bumgarner won his first Major League game, beating the Brewers on Tuesday July 6th (8 innings, 3 hits allowed, no runs, 3 walks, 5 strike-outs). The next night, Tim Lincecum was facing Milwaukee, and during the telecast a brief shot of the Giants dugout happened to catch a significant moment: at the dugout railing, in a tight group, were Lincecum, Posey and Bumgarner animatedly talking and laughing together. They were confident, at ease and very much at home. 

All of a sudden, it seemed the tired parade of over the hill veterans the Giants front office has generously overpaid to sleepwalk in and out of games the past six years might finally be over. This is now their team— Lincecum, Posey, and Bumgarner's team. When Pablo Sandoval gets his hitting act together he’ll join them, and there are a half dozen other players in the minors who should be at that railing in the next year. The prospect is absolutely exhilarating.

> Mid-season trade talks heated up during the series between the Giants and Milwaukee, with typical Brian Sabean old school front office posturing. It’s fascinating to listen to Sabean’s circa-1970s GM speak, and his transparent dodging and silly attempts at misdirection and hiding his intentions. Close your eyes, and it’s like a hearing a statement issued fifty years ago by the Russians in the middle of the Cold War.
  
The Brewers should be, and likely will be, dealing hitting soon. The Giants would love to get superstar Ryan Braun, but the Milwaukee front office would have to be extremely over medicated to even consider that. Corey Hart was apparently seriously discussed, with Jonathan Sanchez as part of the package the Brewers wanted. But, once again, the Giants hold on to their pitching like a security blanket, snarling and hissing at the real world, too paralyzed to let go.

Sanchez is 7-6 with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP; which projects out to 13-11 for the 2010 season. Sanchez has a career win/loss of 28-36 with a 4.54 ERA.

Corey Hart is tied for the National League lead in RBIs with 65; he’s tied in second place with 21 home runs; his All Star break stats project out to 124 RBIs, 40 home runs, and a .918 OPS.

> Do the Giants have a chance to get to the 2010 playoffs? Absolutely. Four games out of first with 47 wins at the All Star break puts them right in the mix. The obvious downside here is being in 4th place, which means the Giants can’t simply play well, three other teams have to start having problems and not play so well.
 
The Giants need San Diego to finally show signs of fading (I mean, who are those guys…?). They need the Dodgers to not get better via a trade for pitching or a blockbuster return by Manny Ramirez, and they need Colorado to simply stop scoring so much. A tall order all around, but it should make for a fascinating second half to the 2010 season.

In the first major trade of the 2010 baseball season, the San Francisco Giants sent veteran catcher Bengie Molina and $2 million in cash to the Texas Rangers for twenty-eight year old right handed pitcher Chris Ray

Buster Posey now becomes the Giants starting catcher, and inherits one of the best starting pitching staffs in the Majors, featuring two Cy Young Award winners (Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito), and one of the youngest players in the Majors, twenty-year old fifth starter Madison Bumgarner.

The Giants #1 pick in the first round of the 2008 first year player draft, Posey stampeded through the minor leagues, excelling both at the plate and behind the plate. The 23 year old Florida State product is expected to add extra base hit punch to the Giant's anemic offense.

Molina, 36, was signed as a free agent this season for $4.5 million and had previously played for San Francisco from 2007-2009 as their starting catcher and clean-up hitter. But Molina's production fell off dramatically in 2010, with 17 RBIs in 61 games, and a .257AVG/.312OBP/.332OPS final line as a Giant. Not only was Molina's offensive production down, he was visibly out of shape and his defensive skills had diminished.

Chris Ray is 2-0 with 1 save, and has played in 35 games for the Rangers in 2010. Ray has a 3.41 ERA, 16 strikeouts in 31.2 innings, and 1.26 WHIP; he also walked 16 batters. Ray was originally traded from the Balitmore Orioles to Texas for starter Kevin Millwood in December 2009. San Francisco is expected to give Ray a shot in their bullpen, where his power arm will add even more punch to a potent pen.

As part of the deal, the Rangers will also send right handed pitcher Michael Main to the Giants. The Rangers selected the 21 year old Main as the 24th pick overall in the 2007 first year players draft. Hot-Prospects.net rates Main with a 90-94 MPH fastball, a power curve and still-developing change-up. Texas has a minor league system bursting with young pitching prospects, and Main is rated in the middle of that talent pool.  

The Rangers had been looking to upgrade at catcher for several months, and the Sporting News reported Texas approached the White Sox last month about a deal for Sox catcher A. J. Pierzynski. Ranger catchers are batting .212 this season, the lowest average in the Majors.

This deal could work out to be a significant success for the Giants, who moved out an unproductive, aging Molina thus clearing a path for Buster Posey, picked up a promising bullpen arm in Chris Ray, and received a legitimate minor league pitching prospect in Michael Main. The $2 million Texas received to supplement Molina's salary is spare change compared to the potential value San Francisco received in this deal.

The Giants, who already had the ability to take on additional payroll, can now make a serious push to find a legitimate power bat for the middle of their line-up.

There may have been past seasons when more Major League teams were hit with major injuries to star players, but for the sake of this piece I cannot recall any.

Today, the Philadelphia Philles announced that All Star second baseman Chase Utley has been placed on the 15 day DL for a severely sprained thumb (from Monday's game with the Reds, trying to stretch a single into a double). At the same time, the Phils put third baseman Placido Polanco on the 15 day DL for a bone spur in his left elbow, which he landed on making a dive in a game last Friday.

This follows the seemingly annual DL stints of star shortstop Jimmy Rollins; so far twice this year, including 29 days in April. 

Last weekend, the Boston Red Sox played a nightmare interleague series with the San Francisco Giants, which featured a Sox starter going down with an injury in each of the three games: on Friday, All Star second baseman Dustin Pedroia broke his foot and is expected to miss at least six weeks; Saturday, starter Clay Buchholz strained his left hamstring running the bases, and he'll be out at least a week and a half; and during Sunday's finale, Boston starting catcher Victor Martinez suffered a broken bone on the tip of his thumb after taking two foul tips off his hand, and is on the 15 day DL.

Boston already has starting pitcher Josh Beckett out until August with back problems, and starting center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury on the DL with a recurring rib injury.

Colorado Rockies All Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki broke his left wrist in a game earlier this year, and may not return until August at the earliest. Unlike Los Angeles Angels' first baseman Kendry Morales, who fractured his left leg during a homerun celebration pile-on by teammates after crossing home plate. Morales, an RBI monster for the Halos, is out for the season.

Here is a brief sampling of other top players currently out with injuries:

> Cincinnati Reds: starting pitchers Edinson Volquez (from 2009, one year with Tommy John surgery), and Homer Bailey 15 day DL (inflamed shoulder).
> New York Mets: centerfielder Carlos Beltran due back in August (knee surgery), starter John Maine 15 day DL (rotator cuff), starter Kelvim Escobar out for the season (shoulder surgery), and Daniel Murphy probably out for the season (right knee tear).
> Detroit Tigers: just lost fire-balling relief pitcher Joel Zumaya for the season (elbow fracture) in a game win that put the Tigers in first place.
> Arizona: All Star starter Brandon Webb 60 day DL (shoulder).
> Atlanta Braves super rookie Jason Heyward 15 day DL (after All Star break), and starter Jair Jurrjens just completed a 15 day stint on the DL (hamstring).
> Cleveland Indians: Grady Sizemore out until August (knee injury).

Keep in mind, every team routinely has players on the DL throughout the season, but the sheer number of key starters on the DL in the first half of 2010 means the upcoming July 31st no-waiver trade deadline just got a lot deadlier.

Aggressive teams will move even quicker this year, and possibly give up a little more, to get what they need to compete the rest of the season. The biggest needs in 2010? Infielders who can hit and RBI power bats top the list, with competent relief pitchers next, and quality starters bringing up the rear.

Teams that traditionally take a long time to pull the trigger on deals, or that like to wait and pick up "bargains" the last few days of July, could very well find themselves boxed out and wondering what the hell happened.
To paraphrase Keyser Soze in "The Usual Suspects",  GMs who blink and then look for that player they desperately wanted may find, "Poof, like that. They're gone."

This year, the Major League Baseball trade train will likely leave the station ahead of schedule.

San Francisco Giants ownership has to be assessing the team’s position regarding 2010 trades, and that means not waiting to make a move just prior to the 2010 MLB deadlines. The deadline to trade players without securing waivers is July 31, 2010, and the trade-by-waiver deadline is August 31st, but the Giants should be thinking about what they might do in the next three weeks.

Which MLB teams are motivated to trade early? Teams that, 1) are going absolutely nowhere and want to get an early start on salary savings and rebuilding; and, 2) a team willing to make a tactical strike now, rather having their GM stand in line with a dozen other GMs just before the trade deadlines.

Word has surfaced the Giants put out some preliminary queries about Kansas City Royals center fielder David DeJesus. At first glance DeJesus does not seem to fit the Giants’ three greatest needs: power, more power, and a lot more power. This year, DeJesus is batting .323, with a .393 OBP, and a .874 OPS; he’s played in 71 of KC’s 73 games, and has 5 home runs and 31 RBIs.

But DeJesus is on track for 200 hits, and he put up 159 hits in 2008, and 157 hits in 2009. Just to compare, DeJesus has 132 total bases this year, Aubrey Huff has 129. A trade like this would likely involve the Giants giving up a pitching prospect (that’s almost mandatory), and one or two very inexpensive outfielders (Nate Schierholtz, John Bowker, or Andres Torres come to mind).

DeJesus is in the final year of a $13.8 million, five year contract with the Royals; he’s making $4.7 million this year, with a club option in 2011 (when DeJesus either gets $6 million from his club, or a $500,000 buyout). Since Schierholtz is making $416,500, and Torres is making $426,000, the price is right for both the Giants and Kansas City.

David DeJesus has been with the Kansas City Royals his entire 7 season career. In the past three years, he primarily batted lead-off (1,299 times) and hit 3rd (152 times); in the field he plays center field and some left field. While DeJesus is not a base stealer or a power hitter, AT&T Park would play perfectly for his batting style: line drives, extra base hits, high average.

Who is selling what the Giants should be buying? The Milwaukee Brewers are probably the number one trading partner on that list. Desperate for any kind of legitimate pitching help, the Brewers have legitimate hitting to trade— and this is exactly the kind of match up that would immediately improve both teams.

Setting aside the “never trade within your Division” theory, the Arizona Diamondbacks are a great fit for what the Giants need (power) and what the Dbacks need (starting and/or relief pitching). And Arizona is apparently in full out selling mode.

The Snakes’ Mark Reynolds solves two major problems for the Giants: the need for a power hitter and the need for a third baseman. Not only would the team's home run power increase, Pablo Sandoval could be moved to first base where he really belongs. The Diamondbacks are desperate for a starter like Jonathan Sanchez and a couple of pitching prospects. But, the silly tradition of teams refusing to trade within their own Division probably makes this otherwise attractive transaction unlikely.

There are many other trade possibilities out there, but two questions have to be answered first: does the Giants front office have the ability to successfully assess available players for value and need (this has been a problem in the recent past), and do they have the will to get it done. That means, invariably, giving up quality pitching to get quality hitting.

As far as ability, the Giant's front office has a dismal track record in the trifecta of building a winning ballcub: free agent signings, trades, and developing a solid minor league base and promoting from within (although that's getting better).

In terms of the will to get things done, ESPN.com's Buster Olney recently conducted a poll among a group of MLB GMs who ranked the Giants' Brian Sabean as "the most difficult GM to trade with."

Several weeks ago I heard a commentator on KNBR, the Giants flagship radio station, pose the following question: if they could, should the Giants trade starter Matt Cain for Milwaukee Brewers power hitter Ryan Braun? The commentator hesitated, and finally said the Giants should probably not make that deal, because they just can't give up Cain.

Absolutely unbelievable, and it accurately reflects the mind set of team management. This is exactly the kind of deal that could turn the current Giants team into legitimate playoff contenders, and it would give them a real chance to make the 2010 World Series. But the Giants, frozen in indecision and clutching their pitching for dear life, simply cannot part with a starter like Matt Cain, who is 50-56 in his six year career with the team.

Nothing better illustrates the hostage mentality that grips the Giants front office, keeping ownership from pulling the trigger on the type of trades needed to move this team forward (while they still have pitching talent to deal).

Here is a quick reminder of what good pitching, without power and the ability to score runs, has gotten the Giants the past three seasons:
2007 – last place, 91 losses
2008 – 4th place, 90 losses
2009 – 3rd place, 74 losses.

But, hey, they still have Matt Cain.

There are vivid instances during every baseball season that perfectly express the sheer beauty and artistry of the game. Fans can be at the stadium, watching a game on TV, or listening on the radio and feel it; players in the field or standing along the dugout railing can experience it. That instant of heart pumping insight and understanding, and suddenly you’ve dropped deeper than ever before into the center-core of the game.

I was watching the Friday night June 18, 2010, Comcast broadcast of the San Francisco Giants interleague road game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Giants starter Barry Zito was pitching against one of the best offensive line-ups in baseball— Toronto has the lowest number of at-bats per home run in the Majors, and the Jays’ 266 extra base hits are second only to the Red Sox (270).

At the same time, I flipped over to the Extra Innings White Sox at Washington Nationals game to check out Nats star rookie Stephen Strasburg. In the top of the 4th inning in Washington, Strasburg faced Alex Rios, Paul Konerko and Carlos Quentin. In throwing his third consecutive brilliant game, Strasburg struck out 10 Sox in seven innings, though the Nats would go on to lose the game 2-1 in the 11th. But, in the middle of Strasburg’s pitch sequence against the right hander Rios in the top of the 4th inning, he threw a fastball strike that was a jaw-dropping 98 mile per hour streak of white that unexpectedly bent, then violently dipped down to the side just as it crossed the plate.

The moment had me staring at the screen long after the pitch was thrown, and I thought, my god, have I ever seen that before, can any batter possibly hit that pitch, and can Strasburg throw that stuff whenever he wants to? Even though I’d seen Stephen Strasburg’s debut a few weeks ago, this pitch in this moment was astounding.

Then back to the Giants-Jays game and it was the start of the bottom of the 5th, and Barry Zito was facing shortstop Alex Gonzalez. As he started his wind-up, framed from behind in the ubiquitous centerfield camera angle, Zito threw the baseball in that confounding, easy motion with which he throws all his pitches. Only this pitch wasn’t a change-up or a fastball, but a curve that arched so high the ball actually swept up and out of the top frame of the TV picture, before reappearing again and slicing directly across the plate. Both Gonzalez and umpire Dana Demuth were fooled by the pitch:  a frozen Gonzalez watched it sail by, and Demuth called it a ball.

But Barry Zito’s pitch to Gonzalez was an absolute perfect strike; a precisely placed curve that, if it could have been hit at all, would have gone foul. Zito's off-speed pitch was the exact opposite of Strasburg’s blazing, twisting heater but its equal in every way. Zito's craftsmanship was damn near impeccable the entire game, and although he threw a complete game, the Giants lost to the Jays 3-2.  

Two breathtaking moments on the same night during this breathtaking 2010 season, full of amazing rookie debuts, the welcomed reemergence of pitching dominance in both leagues, no hitters, perfect games, and near-perfect games. Who could ask for anything more…

It took the Giants front office two months before they finally brought catcher/first baseman Buster Posey up from Triple A Fresno to the big club. When Posey didn’t make the big league team after a blow-out Spring Training, a number of radio and TV commentators, sports writers, bloggers, and fans were stunned . (At times like that, I turn resignedly to my Giants buddy and say, "this is the life we have chosen".)

Before that moment, throughout April and May, the team was already slip-sliding back to its tired 2007-2009 profile of having great pitching and not scoring, and soon enough the Padres and the Dodgers pushed San Francisco aside as they took over the NL West lead.

During that depressing time, Manager Bruce Bochy’s everyday batting line-ups were a model of giving old school veterans and high contract underachievers as many at bats as they wanted. The slumping, out of shape Bengie Molina batted clean-up as recently as June 5th; and Molina’s total of 83 at bats in the 4th and 5th spots in the 2010 Giants line-up have produced a grand total of 4 RBIs.

Now, in just three weeks, everything has changed. The team is winning, the hitters are hitting, and runs are being scored. As Giants TV broadcaster Duane Kuiper pointed out, five of the starters in the Giants’ Opening Day line-up against the Houston Astros are no longer in the starting line-up. That’s a huge turnabout, and speaks louder than any series of statistics just how desperate the Giants are to score more runs. 

But in the wise words of Mr. Wolf from the film “Pulp Fiction”, “Let’s not start sucking each other's d---ks quite yet”. The front office didn’t suddenly get brilliant, innovative and daring; it was a series of significant events that put the Giants just a half game out of first place in the NL West with a 14-6 record since May 25th, and pushed the creation of a batting line-up capable of producing runs and wins. 

What started it all? An injury to Edgar Renteria induced the front office to grudgingly bring Buster Posey up from Triple A; now Posey is playing every game, hitting .391 and producing runs. The Giants are very conservative when it comes to bringing up starting position players, so Posey's promotion was a hugely symbolic event.

Meanwhile, a series of other events were happening at about the same time…

A catastrophic series sweep at the hands of the Oakland A’s in late May finally convinced Bochy to move Aaron Rowand out of the lead-off spot. In his last game batting leadoff, on May 22nd, Rowand was hitting .248 with a .287 OBP. Andres Torres essentially replaced Rowand and has been spark plugging the offense for the past three weeks at lead-off and making stunning plays in centerfield.

A critical addition to the line-up occurred when the injured Freddie Sanchez finally played his first 2010 game on May 19th, and he has absolutely energized the offense and defense. Aubrey Huff has always been an extra base hitter who drives in runs, and now he’s doing that for the Giants and leads the team in total bases with 112.

But the crunching offensive catalyst this year has been Juan Uribe. Re-signed in the off-season to be a quality back-up infielder, Uribe now has 211 at bats (third highest on the squad), 10 home runs (tied with Huff), and leads the Giants with 41 RBIs. Bochy has leaned heavily on the 31 year old Uribe who has responded and so far shows no signs of tiring.

Here is the mark of where this team is at: premier hitting third baseman Pablo Sandoval’s early season slump and Tim Lincecum’s semi-serious pitching issues have not stopped this team’s momentum. A year ago, these same issues would have turned the Giants into instant Pittsburgh Pirate pudding, and they would have completely sunk in the West. But this year, with so many contributions from so many players, Sandoval can work quietly on his hitting and Lincecum is still surrounded by three quality starters and an effective bullpen.

San Francisco Giants pitching is still among the best in the game. Overall team pitching ranks third in the Major Leagues with a 3.30 ERA, and their opponents' .229 BA is the lowest in baseball. Giant starters rank third in Major League quality starts with 41 (behind Tampa Bay’s 42, and St. Louis with 44).

This is a good time, and this team could be at the start of a resurgence that will take them into the 2010 playoffs. But I warn all of you: listen to me and please remain alert and aware…  Bruce Bochy has stated several times he is “excited” at the prospect of getting Edgar Renteria back on the team. What? So who sits down? Juan Uribe? Buster Posey? Freddie Sanchez? Pablo Sandoval? Just to get a shortstop with no range back on the field as soon as possible? Yikes.

Bochy is also publicly adamant that Buster Posey will not catch regularly; Bengie Molina is going to earn his one year $4.5 million salary no matter what. And Aaron Rowand’s $12 million salary (with another $12 million coming in 2011, and yet another $12 million in 2012!) will make it very difficult for the Giants not to play him. And who sits when Rowand plays? Aubrey Huff? Andres Torres? Add to the mix former Tampa Bay DH Pat Burrell, whose fine start with the team makes him the left fielder until further notice, and you have all the ingrediants of a steaming cluster stew.

So this story isn’t over by a long shot, and there is extreme drama, excitement, and (yes) torture dead ahead. But, right now, the lights are green and it’s all orange and black baby…