Samuel L. Jackson said it best in his 2006 film "Snakes on a Plane": "Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherf--ing Snakes in this motherf--ing Western Division!"

I'm having teeshirts and formal wear printed with these amazingly prophetic words because it appears the Arizona Diamondbacks have officially challenged the San Francisco Giants in the fight for the 2011 National League West title. And for some reason they're in no rush to fade back into 4th place where they belong.

In 2010 Arizona went 65-97-- finishing in last place in the NL West with third worst record in the Majors after Seattle (61-101) and Pittsburgh (57-105). The D'Backs were 25-56 on the road last year.

Jump to 2011 and Arizona is now 61-49 and tied with San Francisco for first place in the West. The Snakes' 2011 road record is 32-26, tied with Tampa Bay for fourth highest road wins in the game.

And did I forget to mention that the D'Backs lead all National League teams with 127 home runs? Maybe I did, maybe I didn't; but enough about the high flying motherf--ing Snakes.

The San Francisco Giants are on a five game losing streak. After winning 2 of 3 at Philadelphia last week they got slapped around for three games in Cincinnati then crawled home and proceeded to lose the first two games of a three game set against the surging Diamondbacks. What's going wrong right now for the Giants?

1. The Carlos Beltran trade will eventually provide a surge in offense for the run-starved Giants, but going into today's day game with the D'Backs, Beltran is hitting .200 (5 for 25) since joining the team six days ago. The front office and the fans would have liked a more explosive start to Beltran's career as a Giant, but everyone needs to be patient.

2. After showing a slight improvement in team runs scored the Giants have slipped back to 29th of 30 MLB teams with 385 runs scored. The Red Sox lead the Majors with 595 runs and the National League average is 453. Pablo Sandoval can't do it all by himself.

3. As a group, the outfielders continue to a struggle at the plate. After a short run of success in early July, Nate Schierholtz is 4-34 (.118) in his last 9 games with 2 RBI. His excellent defense is still a joy to watch but a corner outfielder has to be a run producer no matter how good his glove work is.

Andres Torres continues his year long slide at the plate hitting .233 with a .319 OBP. As of now, Torres has lost his center field/lead-off job to Cody Ross. Aaron Rowand is batting .248 with a .295 OBP.

Question: how long can the Giants outstanding starting and bullpen pitching hold the line and take the pressure of limiting opponents to 3 runs or less per game?

Answer: the pitchers may not have to wait much longer because there's positive news. The everyday batting line-up is starting to look formidable. The trio of Jeff Keppinger, Pablo Sandoval, and Carlos Beltran are a legitimate and potent heart of the batting order and their success will soon make the rest of the line-up better.

Most importantly, this is a Championship team with a group of players who seem to thrive living on the edge of 2-1 and 3-2 games the past two years. They are fearless and not prone to panic or cave into the pressure. No matter how many Snakes are on the plane.

The San Francisco Giants have traded minor league outfield prospect Thomas Neal to the Cleveland Indians for thirty-six year old shortstop Orlando Cabrera. This is a deal that perfectly illustrates an ongoing addiction to the safety of mediocrity that occasionally overcomes General Manager Brian Sabean and the Giants' front office.

What we have here is yet another past his prime veteran player brought in by the Giants who instantly becomes a roadblock for more talented organizational players in need the kind of development you can only get at the Major League level.

Neal is a mid-level outfield prospect with declining power numbers but I will guarantee the local sports talk radio shows in the Bay Area will be awash with fans outraged over losing Neal. Thanks to the infosocial network, serious baseball fans are more knowledgeable about their team's minor league system and the annual draft, which leads to a level of identification with specific minor league players that was unknown prior to the 1990s.

So when Zack Wheeler gets traded for Carlos Beltran, or Thomas Neal for Orlando Cabrera, fans feel something is lost even though they've likely never seen either of those players in a ballgame. But they know the latest stats for players at Single A San Jose and they're hyped about the possibility of seeing those players come up to the bigs.

In the Giants' case, trading Thomas Neal is not a dramatic loss. (Remind me I wrote that three years from now when Neal wins the American League Most Valuable Player Award.) San Francisco has two outstanding outfield prospects who are doing great, Gary Brown and Francisco Peguero, and there are a number of emerging minor league outfielders who are about to pass Thomas Neal by. So losing Neal is not the issue.

The loss here is bringing in yet one more aging, past his prime infielder in an attempt to squeeze out even a little more run production from the shortstop position. And so continues a 3 year tradition at AT&T Park of trotting out another in a series of birthday-challenged shortstops who have no range and seem to think that turning a double play will somehow raise their personal income tax.

Current shortstop Brandon Crawford is a rookie who can't stop slow dancing with the Mendoza Line, but his range at shortstop is breathtaking and he can turn jaw-dropping double plays. The Giants' great pitching depends on infielders with great range and a great arm. No matter who they dance with.     

So, if I'm correct (and I am), next week the World Champion Giants infield will feature Miguel Tejada batting .242 with a .274 OPB, and Orlando Cabrera hitting .244 with a .277 OBP. Cabrera will be 37 years old this year and Tejada plays like he is just months away from getting his first AARP card. Anything else we need to know about Cabrera? Yes-- he's been on 8 teams in his 15 year career.
       
This old school reliance on previously talented veterans during times of run scoring stress is not new to GM Brian Sabean. But I thought he had moved on to a better place on this issue. I was wrong.

The San Francisco Giants have acquired slugging outfielder Carlos Beltran from the New York Mets. The deal marks the Giants' biggest offensive addition to the team since the 1993-2007 Barry Bonds era. To get Beltran the Giants sent top tier minor league pitcher Zack Wheeler to the Mets; Wheeler is considered one of the best prospects in San Francisco's minor league organization.

According to FoxSports.com the Giants will also pay an estimated $2.5 million toward the remaining $6.5 million of Beltran's $18.5m 2011 contract. Beltran signed a seven year $119m deal with the Mets in 2005   

Thirty-four year old Carlos Beltran has been a premier slugger during his 14 year career, posting eight 100+ RBI seasons as a member of the Mets (2005-2011), Houston Astros (2004) and Kansas City Royals (1998-2004). Beltran is a six time All Star and played in the 2004 National League Championship Series for the Astros and in the 2006 National League Division Series with the Mets. 

Two years ago a severe knee injury and the resulting surgery hampered Beltran, limiting him to 81 games in 2009 and 64 games in 2010. 
  
The Giants picked Zack Wheeler #6 overall in the first round of the 2009 First Year Player Draft. This year Wheeler has played for the single-A San Jose Giants, posting a 7-5/3.00/1.38WHIP, striking out 98 hitters in 88 IP. Keith Law of Baseball America rated Wheeler as the 36th best prospect in baseball.  

Wheeler was projected as a can't miss addition to the Giants' starting rotation in several years, but San Francisco has a core group of very young starters at the big league level who the team will attempt to lock up longterm: Tim Lincecum (27), Matt Cain (26), Jonathan Sanchez (23), and Madion Bumgarner (21).

It remains to be seen if the Giants are interested in signing Beltran after this season; certainly they have the money and if Beltran's knees stay healthy he should be an offensive force for the next four years. With the return of Buster Posey in 2012, the emergence of Brandon Belt, and potent slugger Pablo Sandoval, Beltran's signing could make the Giants everyday batting line-up one of the best in the National League next year.

The Giants gave up a lot to get Beltran but this is exactly the right trade at the right time. This team has been unable to consistently score runs this season and has seen the efforts of their outstanding starting staff wasted time after time in low scoring loses. Zack Wheeler may be a choice prospect but he is currently playing on a single-A team and his future as a Major League ball player is yet to be determined.  Carlos Beltran not only has proven himself at the highest level, he is the offensive game-changer the Giants desperately need.

The Beltran trade brings the Giants up to the level of the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies-- the two teams standing squarely between the San Francisco Giants and a second consecutive World Series Championship.

The wise philosopher will choose to wear the tools of ignorance. No one wore them better than Yankee guru Yogi Berra, who might have said the following about Major League Baseball's annual July 31st trade deadline: "You can't cross the same general manager twice". 

Usually true unless it's the Pittsburgh Pirates general manager, in which case he's feeling for his missing wallet, keys and wristwatch just about the time you've told the cab driver to get you to the airport, and pronto. But I'm veering off line here.

For the 2010 World Champion San Francisco Giants, the 2011 trade deadline is particularly dicey, and everybody knows why. People in remote villages in the northern Alps have been photographed by National Geographic forming groups to discuss the Giants' glaring lack of offense.

What will happen? What should the Giants do? And will those people in the northern Alps be able to let all the trade talk go and get back to their quaint lifestyle of rendering sheep and herding cheese?

The Giants want to do something that hasn't been done since the Cincinnati Reds did it 36 years ago: win consecutive World Series titles. Here's the answer to a few questions that may buy a ticket on that bus:

1. Will San Francisco make a "big deal" to get a run-producing bat between now and Sunday night July 31st?

70% yes, 30% no. The closer we get to Sunday, the more the Mets are climbing down from their unrealistic demands for Carlos Beltran. Some team is going to pick up Beltran and not by giving up a couple of their best prospects. Now, it's down to the $6 million owed Beltran and a couple of grade B/C minor leaguers.

2. On a scale of 1-10 which team has the best shot at getting Carlos Beltran?

Texas - 9
San Francisco - 7
Milwaukee - 6
Atlanta - 5
Philadelphia - 4

3. Usually only teams pretty much out of the running, or starting a rebuild project, are willing to trade a big bat in July. Are there 5 players from those teams any one of which the Giants should go all out for-- including trading one of their current starting pitchers or a grade "A" prospect?

Yes, there are:
1) Carlos Quentin - White Sox
2) Hunter Pence - Astros
3) Adam Jones - Baltimore
4) Alex Gordon - Kansas City
5) Hanley Ramirez - Florida

4. You're so damn smart, how about predicting what trades the Giants will actually make?

This is kind of a useless exercise, but OK.
1) The Giants will trade a minor league pitcher (grade "C") and a minor league outfielder (grade "B") for a starting catcher.
Like Miguel Olivo of Seattle, Yorvit Torrealba of Texas, Ronnie Paulino of the Mets, or Chris Snyder of the Pirates.

2) SF will trade one outfielder on the 25 man roster, one left handed reliever, and one minor league pitcher for an RBI bat from a team that needs to move that player. Like Carlos Beltran.

Baseball headlines from newspapers around the Nation:
  

PRESIDENT PUTS NATION ON YELLOW ALERT AS PIRATES MOVE CLOSER TO 1ST PLACE IN NL CENTRAL
"This will make Katrina look like a walk in the park," Warns Former President George Bush

PITTSBURGH PIRATES' UNEXPECTED SURGE ABOVE .500 CREATES GLOBAL CHAOS
World's Largest Media Conglomerate Crumbling in Crisis, United States On the Verge of Financial Default

SOCIAL ORDER IMPLODES AS NEWS OF PIRATES' POTENTIAL WINNING SEASON SPREADS
Cats and Dogs Stand in Line for Marriage Licenses, Quaker Oats Ceases Production of Captain Crunch Cereal

SCIENTISTS FEAR "WORMHOLE" MAY OPEN IN COSMOS IF BUCS' 18 YEAR LOSING STREAK ENDS
NATO Strike Force Poised to Carpet Bomb Allegheny Tri-County Area


                                                        

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The San Francisco Giants made two big roster moves today when they called up rookie Brandon Belt from Triple A Fresno and traded two minor league pitchers for Houston Astros second baseman Jeff Keppinger. The moves start to provide a blueprint for the direction General Manager Brian Sabean is taking the World Champion Giants as they look to prepare for the 2011 playoffs.

Brandon Belt is batting .324 with 29 RBI in 43 games at Triple A Frenso and is considered the top prospect in the Giants' minor league system. Belt will likely morph into the Giants starting left fielder, although he will see some time at first base. Catcher Hector Sanchez was optioned to Fresno to make room for Belt.

Jeff Keppinger is not an impact-type player but should provide the Giants with better run production at second base where Emmanuel Burriss is batting .216 and Mike Fontenot .233 through July 18th.   

Keppinger is currently hitting .307 with 4 HRS, 9 doubles, and 20 RBI after appearing in 43 game this year. San Francisco sent pitchers Henry Sosa (8-3 at Richmond and Fresno in 2011 with a 5.51 ERA) and Jason Stoffel (1-2 at Richmond with a 3.98 ERA and 31 SO in 31.2 IP) to the Astros for the veteran second baseman. Neither Sosa or Stoffel were considered important prospects in the Giants system.

Keppinger missed the better part of two months at the start of the season after having foot surgery and only has 163 at-bats so far this year. He came up with the Mets in 2004 and has played for Kansas City, Cincinnati, and Houston since 2009. Jeff Keppinger is considered a solid contact hitter and would likely fit into the second slot in the Giants batting order. In his career Jeff Keppinger has played 225 games at 2nd base, 178 games at short, and 103 games at 3rd base.

Giants starting second baseman Freddy Sanchez is out with a dislocated right shoulder, and just recently started to swing a fungo bat as part of his rehabilitation program. Sanchez has a history of knee and shoulder injuries, and if he is not able to return at 100% this season Keppinger is a capable starter who brings a productive bat and good defense at second base.

The move cost the Giants very little, but could prove to be a critical mid-season addition in 2011.

As the sun was busy setting over the Pacific Ocean beyond the golden shores of San Diego in the early evening of Sunday July 17th, the San Francisco Giants were winging north in preparation for a six game homestand with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers. 

The Giants had just put the Padres down in three of four games at the Pound to start their 2011 post-All Star campaign.

In those games the Giants did two things they almost never do: score runs and steal bases. Los Gigantes plated 19 runs over the four game set to drive their ranking in MLB runs scored from 27th to 26th (351) overall. It is a testament to the Giants that they also found time to steal 10 bases, six during Sunday's 11 inning grudge match in the puppy patch.

For the record, the finals were Thursday: 6-2 Giants; Friday: 6-1 Giants; Saturday: 11-3 Pads; Sunday: 4-3 Giants.

The Baseball Hall of Fame may not have called to get their bats or the second base bag from the San Diego series, but for the San Francisco Giants this was an historic start to the final push to the 2011 playoffs. Through July 17, 2011 they are 55-41, which projects to 93 wins, one more than last year. Only Atlanta (56-39) and Philadelphia (59-35) have a better record in the National League. 

With 66 games to go, there is little chance San Francisco's pitching-centric attack will stumble; but there is a strong possibility they will increase production in two critical categories: extra base hits and run scoring. But how? you ask. 

Giants fans should not fret over the impending July 31st trade deadline. To get slugger Carlos Beltran the New York Mets apparently want more from a trading partner than the ability to Joey Chestnut large amounts of salary. The NY Post estimates Beltran is owed about $6 million for the rest of 2011 and the Giants could easily wolf that down with little lower intestinal financial distress.

Problem is the Mets are trying to get younger and cheaper. So prospects mean more to the Metropolitans than money at this point-- they expect bodies in return for Beltran and will happily offset a little cash to make it feel right.

While the Giants have money, they don't have the prospects. The idea of dealing any of the team's few A or B-grade minor leaguers for Beltran would be a poor decision wrapped in a very bad idea. The feeling in the Giants' front office is that Brandon Belt has a chance to deliver runs and significantly improve the outfield defense, so why consider coughing up even one promising prospect to rent Beltran for two months and the playoffs. It's the smart play.

For now, the San Francisco Giants are en route to October with the cards they have been dealt. The road to the 2011 World Series winds through Atlanta, Georgia on the home field of a Braves team very unlike the damaged group the Giants faced in the 2010 playoffs. The stop after that is located in a city along the Delaware River, and apparently the Phillies can't wait to see the San Francisco Giants again.

Check out another TPN Sports Buzz interview with Richard Dyer of The Giants Cove (hey, that's me!).

I went live at 8:00AM with Sports Buzz host Butch Stearns from the TPN studios in Boston, Massachusetts. We covered the Dodgers filing chapter 11, the image of Barry Bonds among Giants fans, and potential moves the Giants' front office should make at the trading deadline.  

Butch Stearns is an engaging and savvy host, and he and the Sports Buzz production team did a great job dealing with video problems from my end during the interview, masterfully cutting to graphics and news video and generally making it all work. The team at Sport Buzz are broadcast pros.  

Go to the Sports Buzz link here for the latest Giants Cove interview.

Let's make two things clear at the start: first, Federal law mandates that every MLB blogger must publish a "halfway report" on their respective team somewhere around the All Star break. You can look it up, it's right there in the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution. So bring on the dark-suited auditors with the narrow ties, this entry puts my blog house in order. 

Second, these ubiquitous team-at-midseason reports are often merely random ego exercises in baseball puffery by the author. And I believe I have assembled just the right amount of arbitrarily selected information to prove that.

On July 4th 2010 the San Francisco Giants were 41-40 in 4th place in the NL West, 7.5 games behind the 49-33 San Diego Padres. They had been 4-11 in their last 15 games, but turned it around and went on to win the National League West and (you might have read) the 2010 World Series. 

On July 4th 2011 the Giants were 48-38 in 1st place in the NL West, three games ahead of the Arizona D'Backs. So the Giants are doing so much better than last year, right? Then why doesn't it feel that way?


 The San Francisco Giants 2011 Mid-term Report Card

Winning baseball games	A	Comments: Enough of the constant chattering about how weak the NL West is as a way to explain why the Giants are in 1st place. If you actually watch the games you know their success can be traced to a pitching staff that has been dominating virtually all National League hitters for two years. As of July 7th the Giants are 50-39, third best record in the NL after Philadelphia (55 wins) and Atlanta (53). The Giants have the 5th best record in the Majors (add Boston @ 52 wins and the Yankees @ 51).
Starting pitching	A	Comments: Ryan Vogelsong (6-1, 2.13) has been a major contributor to the team's 2011 success. After an April injury, Barry Zito has returned and posted three dominant starts in a row (3-0, 1.29). This is now a team with 6 quality starting pitchers and it may be time to think about moving one of them for some offense. For the first time this year the starters have serious defensive back-up in the infield courtesy of the amazing Brandon Crawford at short and Pablo Sandoval slapping great leather at third.
Bullpen	A+	Comments: Simply the best pen in baseball. The Giants pen has won 20 games because the lack of offense steals games from the starters. Closer Brian Wilson is 6-1. Their 1.22 WHIP is third best in the Majors. In Triple A Fresno, lights out lefty fireballer Dan Runzler is waiting to join them.
Hitting and run scoring	D	Comments: The hitters do not play well with others. The offense recently moved up to 27th out of 30 MLB teams in runs scored, but let's not start sucking each other's d--ks quite yet. The Giants lost their three best hitters (Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval, and Freddy Sanchez) for much of the first half. Sandoval is back, but Posey will not play again this year and Sanchez may be out for several more months. Aubrey Huff, Cody Ross and Andres Torres have not been able to carry the offense and plate runs. Miguel Tejada has been a bust in the batters box and on the field. There's a lot of baseball left (ever hear that before?), and the Giants front office is steady, smart, and not prone to make panic moves. It will be fascinating to see what they do about this offense.
Working opposing pitchers	C-	Comments: Probably should be a "D" but Pat Burrell works a count better than just about anyone else in the game. So Burrell brings the curve up. It is uncanny how often Aaron Rowand, Aubrey Huff, and so many other hitters seem to start their plate appearances at 0-2 and are lucky to only ground out and not hurt themselves or others. This is a classic egg and chicken conundrum: what comes first, good hitting or working opposing pitchers and the count?
Defense	C+	Comments: What can you say about Miguel Tejada at short and Bill Hall at second, Pat Burrell in left and back-up catchers behind the plate? The immediate future of the infield defense improves every day the Giants play Brandon Crawford and Emmanuel Burriss up the middle. Left field will improve dramatically when Brandon Belt finishes his injury rehab at Triple A Fresno. The number one task for the Giants front office is to go out and get an everyday catcher to "replace" Buster Posey for the rest of the season. And that needs to happen soon.
Manager	A	Comments: Bruce Bochy's reputation as a Jedi Bullpen Master is well earned. Bochy keeps the starters focused and the bullpen fresh. The pitchers in the pen know exactly what their roles are on this team, and you have no idea how rare that is on teams around both Leagues. And, somehow, Bochy also finds time to get enough runs out of this damaged line-up to win games and keep a death grip on 1st place in the NL West. Bruce Bochy is at the peak of his talent and he is a joy to watch working his craft.
2011 Second Half Prediction	A	Comments: It may not feel like the Giants are dominating, but the ESPN.com standings don't lie. This year isn't like last year, and I'm digging every minute of it.  The San Francisco Giants are a team built to make, and be successful in, the MLB post season. With a clubhouse full of driven players who have been there before and want to get back. If the front office can reboot the catching and find a game-changing bat that can deliver more runs (and Brandon Belt may be that bat), they will go toe-to-toe with Atlanta and Philadelphia in October.

Up until now, the heavy rocks of the Giants' 2011 MLB season have been carried up the hill by the team's pitchers. Sure, Manager Bruce Bochy sends players to the plate every half inning, but that's mostly because the game is set up that way and the rules make you do it. But on Tuesday June 28th, the Giants tried an experiment: what if the hitters scored a lot of runs, wouldn't that also be a way to win some ballgames?

Well, yes it would. And yes they did. Winning a split game doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs 13-7 and 6-3.

Throughout the afternoon and early evening, the Giants batting line-up chased Chicago Cubs pitching all over the deteriorating confines of quaint Wrigley Field, scoring 19 total runs and featuring a 5 run inning in each game. This all came courtesy of 30 hits, 8 walks, and 3 Cubbie errors. Giant hitters got it done and maybe in the process the offensive light bulb has been switched on.

But leave it to the San Francisco Giants to insist that there also be a compelling pitching story in each game. First, the continuation of Ryan Vogelsong's amazing oddessy to reinvent a second chance and make the most of it. This time Vogelsong needed some back-up because his streak of 9 starts giving up 2 runs or less ended quickly when the Cubs scored 3 runs in the second inning of the opener.

Vogelsong ended giving up six earned in five innings, but Giants hitters Pat Burrell, Aaron Rowand and Aubrey Huff made sure that didn't matter-- they jointly knocked in 8 runs and scored 6. And Ryan Vogelsong's overall numbers still look kickass after that dust up: 6 wins, 1 loss, a 1.15 WHIP and 2.09 ERA.

All Star Game here we come; and while you're sitting on the couch watching the Midsummer Classic in two weeks, prepare to pretend like you have something in your eye when Vogelsong walks out on that field and you get a little misty-eyed.

The other great pitching story was the return of Barry Zito as a contributing member of the Championship Giants. For those with previous-year-memory-loss, Zito won 9 games for the Giants in 2010 without which they don't make the playoffs and go on to win the Series. Zito was tremendous, his signature looping curve ball dropping down behind the plate, causing the Cub hitters to create a nice mix of 10 fly ball outs and 8 ground outs. Zito went 7 strong, giving up 4 hits, 2 walks, and two runs. The pitching-rich Giants just got richer.

I can't let the story of these two great wins go without two comments about the defense. First the negative, sour, downer, do-you-really-have-to-bring-this-up? stuff: Miguel Tejada at short and Bill Hall at second base continue to look like they were just invited to come out of retirement and play in an old timer's game.

Tejada leads the team with 7 errors and his range is just about non-existent. But he hit a home run in the first game, and that type of anecdotal performance usually dazzles Giants fans and allows them to forget Tejada's otherwise dismal offensive contributions this season: .229 BA and a .257 OBP.

Worse is Hall, who is apparently no longer able to run or bend over. As a result, in the 5th inning of the first game Hall bobbled an easy doubleplay grounder then followed that by watching an easy three hop grounder glide by his glove. This after leaving the bases loaded twice in a weekend game against Cleveland and failing to cover first base on two bunt plays the past week.

The defensive good news is all Brandon Crawford all the time. Crawford was at short in game 2, going 2 for 4 with a two-run double. He also saved a run in the bottom of the 3rd inning after the Cubs' Starlin Castro tripled with two outs. Aramis Ramirez followed with a hard hit grounder deep in the hole at short. From the left field grass, Crawford went to the turf, grabbed the ball, sprung up in an instant and rifled a throw to get Ramirez by an eyelash at first base.

Perfectly awesome.