In a smart move that will definitely help the Giants in the 2012 campaign, San Francisco traded for Colorado Rockies' veteran infielder Marco Scutaro.

Scutaro will give Manager Bruce Bochy another offensive chess piece to work with for the next two months as the team tries to increase their runs per game average.

The Giants sent Triple A Fresno second baseman Charlie Culberson to the Rockies for Scutaro, which will have zero impact on San Francisco's minor league factory. When he was brought up in mid-May of this year Culberson looked totally lost at the plate (.136/.136./.136) and shaky defensively.

But the reality here is that super prospect Joe Panik is likely the Giants' second baseman of the future and Culberson was just marking time in the organization.

The amazing thing is the typical response from fans calling into local sportstalk radio after Hanley Ramirez and the Dodgers demonstrated what a bold trade can do for a team in a tight Division race. Many callers were upset that Charlie Culberson was traded for Scutaro; for some unknown reason they thought Culberson was a promising prospect.

I love fan loyalty and sticking up for home players, but fans shouldn't ignore the objective assessment that statistics provide as a way to quantify talent and production. I've seen it with other players traded by the Giants in past years: fans went nuts when John Bowker was traded to Pittsburgh in 2010 for reliever Javier Lopez-- you would have thought Babe Ruth was just traded to the Yankees. Bowker's career ended last year after he hit .133 in 31 games for Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

We see the same thing with current Giants outfielder Nate Schierholtz-- a locally raised guy with a great right field glove and occasional power. But a six year career and 501 games with 1,200 at bats also counts for something: it demonstrates that Schierholtz is not an everyday player and is likely at best a 5th outfielder.

And even Schierholtz can mess up in the field. In last night's loss against the Dodgers, Schierholtz misplayed a ball in right field with two outs that led to two runs scoring. No one wants a player on their team to do poorly, but that's no excuse for not being analytical and recognizing a player's actual production.           

On another note, have you ever listened, I mean really listened, to San Francisco Giants General Manager Brian Sabean doing a sports radio or TV interview?

Brian Sabean always plays his cards tight around the annual non-waiver trade deadline. He puts out such a deliberate and detached casual attitude about potential trades when he's talking with the local media that he appears to be only vaguely aware that there is some kind of baseball trade deadline in late July.

Meanwhile he's quietly packaging a six player deal to get Hunter Pence from the Phillies (or some other impact deal).

In order to figure Sabean out, I'm working on a series of translations of his recent comments and phrases so we can all better understand what he's really saying. Eventually I'll put them in handy booklet that can be whipped out quickly whenever you hear Sabean giving an interview.

So far, I have three translations completed:

Sabean: "We doing our due diligence in exploring ways to fill our current needs, but we don't expect any big names to be involved."

Translation: "I've done everything I can to get Houston Street from Padres GM Josh Byrnes including an offer of domestic partnership and a commitment to wash his damn Lexus every morning".

Sabean: "We like our team make-up as is, but you always think you can tweak your roster here and there for the better."

Translation: "We can't f--king pick up the damn ball and our closer has one pitch in his repertory. You try tweaking that motherf--ker into a winning season."

Sabean: "As far as the team payroll, at the end of the day we do have some flexibility."

Translation: "Luckily the fans are still buying that 'small market' bulls--t. At this point, ownership is printing money and if we wanted to we could afford to have Ted Williams dug up, reanimated, and starting in left field by next week."

I expect there will eventually be a language course at UC Berkeley devoted to understanding Sabeanese. Maybe "Sabeanese 1A-- the Art of Speaking in Tao".

I have some serious decisions to make in my two MLB draft leagues. Several players, it turns out, have not performed up to draft day expectations and need to be replaced.

One league is held at historic McNally's Irish Pub in Oakland's Rockridge neighborhood. The other is out of the equally historic Kingfish Pub and Cafe also on the north side of Oakland. Luckily, both leagues have a trade deadline of August 30th, so there's plenty of time to ponder whether I should jettison the Rangers' Neftali Feliz or see if he comes back in early August and tears up the American League.

For Major League baseball teams, however, the non-waiver trade deadline clock is running out a lot quicker. The final alarm goes off on Tuesday July 31st at 1:00PM Pacific, 4:00PM Eastern Standard time.

General managers have four days left to pull the trigger on the moves that might put their franchises into the post season, where, as Yogi Berra might have put it, even the losers are big winners.

In the past week trade jockeying in the National League played like a series of outtakes from "The Matrix". Some teams have stumbled into a spectacular muti-dimensional free-fall while others have started strapping on rocket-launchers and putting black on their faces in preparation for all out war.

Slipping on a series of extra large banana peels in the first half of the season are the Florida Marlins who appear to have strapped "for sale" signs on the backs of every player except Giancarlo Stanton. Just-emptied lockers in Miami's new baseball stadium include those of SP Anibal Sanchez and IF Omar Infante who joined the contending Detriot Tigers, and IF Hanley Ramirez and RP Randy Choate who are now LA Dodgers.

It was quaint the way Marlins' General Manager Michael Hill and owner Jeffrey Loria insisted to the media that overpriced underachieving free agents Jose Reyes (.741 OPS, 48 RS @ $106m) and Mark Buehele (9-9 @ $58m) are "untouchable". And once again the Houston Astros are denied the final two pieces that would have put them over the top.

Pitcher Josh Johnson looks to be the next Marlin tossed out of the boat, except Florida is asking for Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in return. Take a quick photo of Carlos Lee, Ricky Nolasco, and Carlos Zambrano in their Marlin jerseys before they're put in cement and deep sixed.

I'm thinking it's just a matter of time before Marlin's Manager Ozzie Guillen calls another press conference to discuss Cuban politics and what's right with Fidel Castro.   

There was no indication the San Francisco Giants made a move on Hanley Ramirez and that's understandable. By all accounts Ramirez is a spoiled child with an ego the size of New Jersey. He could melt amid the temporal temptations of Hollywoodland. But I must admit that Ramirez does start to make the Dodger line-up look potentially scary. And that's scary.

It appears the new Dodger ownership has only started opening up their collective wallets. LA has expressed interest in a half dozen starting pitchers and any number of hitters, including OF Alfonso Soriano of the Cubs who is still owed $36m in 2013-14.

Apparently Chicago is so desperate to dump Soriano they are offering to pay virtually his entire remaining salary to any team willing to take him off their hands. The Cubs will also pack his suitcase, provide a limo to take him from Wrigley Field directly to his new team's stadium, and throw in a lifetime supply of sunflower seeds. If the Dodgers get Soriano along with Hanley Ramirez, and somehow entice Manny Ramirez out of retirement, I would pay cash money to see that nightmare on Sunset Boulevard.

The Houston Astros have given up going through the motions and at this point are simply refusing to come out of the team hotel until they have officially been moved to the American League West. And the once feared Philadelphia Phillies have absolutely no clue what they're doing. Half the time the Phils are saying they're open to trading anyone who can hold a baseball, half the time they're definitely standing pat.

The Milwaukee Brewers, who won the NL Central with 96 wins last season, have shipped top National League pitcher Zack Greinke to the Angels. Funny what a 44-54 record will make you do on July 27th.

Word is the Brewers' loveable mascot Billy Brewer will be quietly put to sleep this weekend in a salary savings move by ownership.  

The Colorado Rockies are 17.5 games out of 1st place in the NL West and falling. Unofficial reports are that team owners have asked Commissioner Bud Selig if they could also please go to the American League just like the Astros. Selig has promised to set up a commission to study the request.

With eight days to go before the MLB trade deadline things are finally starting to crackle like sizzling brats on a hot grill in Milwaukee.

For a while it seemed that too many teams were holding their cards tight in anticipation of the extra wild card opportunity in each League. But in the last 24 hours everything has loosened up.

I will pinpoint the exact moment the reluctance to trade started to fade away: when the Oakland A's completed their recent four game sweep of the New York Yankees-- their first sweep of the Bronx pinstripers in 40 years. And the last time the A's swept the Yankees at their home park? Try 99 years ago, in 1913 when "home" for the A's was Philadelphia, a place the Yankees would have gladly rather been (RIP W. C. Fields).

I'm convinced that series contributed to the Yankees pulling the trigger on a deal for Ichiro Suzuki today with the Seattle Mariners.

In reality, three factors played into this improbable deal: 1) current Yankee lead-off hitter and left fielder Brett Gardner looks like he will be on the DL for another month; 2) the Yankees scored 10 runs in their four losses to the A's which likely fried owner Hal Steinbrenner and General Manager Brian Cashman; and 3) the Mariners inexplicibly agreed to give up Ichiro for two middle of the road right-handers, Danny Farquhar and D. J. Mitchell.

Earlier, the American League Central Division leading Detriot Tigers solidified their starting pitching and offense by snagging Florida Marlins starter Anibal Sanchez and second baseman Omar Infante in a multi-player deal. Which means the Marlins have officially raised the international sign for "we give up" to the rest of Major League Baseball, whose general managers will now be looking to carve up the rest of owner Jeffrey Loria's cooked Fish.

Other trades pending involve the feisty Atlanta Braves who are looking to give up 22 year-old super pitching prospect Randall Delgado to the Chicago Cubs for the accidently recently good veteran starter Ryan Dempster. The Braves are serious about making the post season and look to challenge the Nationals for the NL East title or grab one of the NL wild card slots by October 1st.

Which brings us to the San Francisco Giants.

The two ongoing problems dogging the Giants in the first half of the season are back again in full force: 1) having a reliable closer, and 2) the lack of production at first base. Now that Santiago Casilla finally got a save last Saturday against the Phillies he's only blown 5 of his last 9 save opportunities. The Giants' brain-trust must come to the conclusion that Casilla has demonstrated he cannot be a consistent closer.

Fans might be wowed by Casilla's 94-95 mph fastball but when that's all he throws, opposing hitters also enjoy seeing it. And hitting the hell out of it. Getting a proven closer has to still be #1 on GM Brian Sabean's hit list during this final week.

MLBTradeRumors reported the Giants may be interested in Cleveland closer Chris Perez. But Perez is an experienced closer with 26 saves and a 1.04 WHIP and it's very hard to see what the Giants could possibly offer the Indians other than a combination of something like Hector Sanchez and a high end prospect.

It may be that San Francisco has to settle for a lesser piece to upgrade their bullpen, like Seattle's Brandon League.

The first base issue has recently grown into a first base problem. SF Chronicle beat writer Henry Schulman notes that Brandon Belt is currently 3 for 41 at the plate with 18 strikeouts, and has only 9 hits in his last 66 trips to the plate. If Manager Bruce Bochy and his coaches feel that Belt has really lost confidence at the plate it will be a green light for the Giants to really turn things upside down.

After all the years and effort the team put into keeping Pablo Sandoval in shape to play third base, they may grudgingly conclude it's finally time to move Sandoval to first base. And send Belt back to Triple A Fresno to get his mojo back. It would be a defeat for the Giants' future because Brandon Belt has shown extra base hit power and an ability to sustain a high OBP, while Sandoval is coming into his own defensively at third. Simply put, that scenario is a big step backwards.

But this is all about what's needed right now-- for the Giants to make the playoffs, and for the Giants to win in the post season.

The question remains, if Pablo moves who would play third base. Joaquin Arias has mirrored Santiago Casilla-- he really hasn't shown he can be an offensively productive everyday player. The key here would be for the Giants to trade for a front line, signable third baseman who would be under the team's control for at least several years. That would justify what San Francisco would have to do to pull off a trade of that magnitude: give up a top prospect (like Gary Brown or Heath Hembree) and likely one player off the current roster.

Names? Other than established starters, the only real potential impact player out there who might be Giants affordable is Hanley Ramirez of the sinking Marlins. 

Note: now that Nate Schierholtz has finally managed to put together two good games in a row for the second time this season, can the Giants front office please package him in a deal and move him off the roster. Being consistently unproductive at the plate his entire career is one thing, but whining to the media about not getting playing time? Please.

I am amazed that apparently all it takes to be a fan favorite is to have a rhyming nickname. Except for one small thing: Nate ain't that great.

There are any number of very good MLB online shows and podcasts, but few match the combination of knowledge and passion Dave Mitchell brings to his Baseball Bloggers of America Baseball Talk show on BlogTalkRadio.com.

The Giants Cove has previously been a guest on Dave's excellent show, and we just made a second appearance on Thursday July 11, 2012.

Check out Dave's commentary and our interview at: BBA Baseball Talk Show featuring Dave Mitchell. The shows are re-streamed at ultimatesportstalk.com.

Dave was interested in an SF Giants blogger's perspective on the All Star game and the amazing push San Francisco has made the past month to take over first place in the NL West. Dave is a scrappy, outspoken commentator but he knows his stuff-- both as a broadcaster and a knowledgeable MLB analyst. Check Dave out.

I should also mention that I'm currently juggling offers from MLBTV, ESPN, and COMCAST to indirectly be part of their excellent baseball broadcasts.

Apparently the MLBTV on-air crew needs their office water dispensers changed out several times a week, and I have been advised there is an application process for that position. ESPN has thus far not responded to my queries, but I found their logo in a magazine ad and it's now taped to my Atari PC.

For some reason COMCAST keeps sending me an application for cable TV installer, so I have to straighten that little miscommunication out.

In the meantime, catch me on BBA Baseball Talk with Dave Mitchell-- real baseball talk with real people.

Tuesday July 31, 2012 at 1:00PM Pacific Standard Time is the deadline for MLB teams to make trades without going through waivers. For many teams, it will be the last best shot to make a serious run at the playoffs.

For the Giants and every other MLB franchise the July deadline is not only about your team, it's also about what other team's might do. Before 2012, Giant fans might rightly focus their attention on other National League West teams, but with the wild card expanded from one team in each League to two teams concern and attention expands exponentially to multiple teams across all League boarders.

Right now, the Giants (49-40) hold a two game lead over the stumbling Dodgers (48-43) who are 6-18 over their last 24 games. But look at the NL wild card standings. The Giants start a three game series today in Atlanta (49-39), who shares the NL wild card lead with Pittsburgh (49-40). Right behind them are some tough and talented teams: the Dodgers, St. Louis (47-43), and the Mets (46-43).

Two wild card winners in each League now puts an even bigger premium on teams to win their Divisions. Within most Divisions the competition is four other teams and at least two of those likely have very bad losing records. For example in the NL West San Diego is 36-55 and Colorado is 35-54-- teams you want to play fighting for a Division win.

MLB teams fighting for a wild card slot face a more intensive level of competition: at least of two of the best three teams in each Division. And that's where the trade deadline looms so large-- who will improve their chances, who will boot an opportunity, and who stays put and crosses their fingers.

The San Francisco Giants have multiple needs, like virtually every other contenting team. The key is prioritizing those needs, then assessing the market of available players, and finally coming to an organizational consensus on what you're willing to give up to get the player(s) you need.

Teams have to offer either viable everyday players, valuable minor league prospects, money, or combinations of all three. This isn't sportstalk radio territory-- the San Diego Padres aren't trading Houston Street to the Giants for Nate Schierholtz and Brad Penny. Sorry Bill from Pleasant Hill.

As noted in an earlier blogpost, San Francisco's biggest need is to realign the bullpen. That could mean filling Santiago Casilla's 7th-8th inning spot with a hard strike thrower; or it could mean getting a veteran closer and moving Casilla back into the body of the bullpen where he was invaluable.

Either way, beefing up San Francisco's bullpen is priority #1.

A hitter? Who is available, who would make an impact, and are the Giants willing to give up Gary Brown, Tommy Joseph, Hector Sanchez, or Heath Hembree to get that bat? I actually believe the Giants are in a position to give up a some combination of high end minor league prospects and a current player to get a legtimate hitter.

Despite his current injury, Hector Sanchez has been extremely valuable as a catcher and a hitter to the Giants this season-- which makes him extremely attractive to other teams. Sanchez could be the piece that helps get an impact hitter who could be put under team control for a number of years.

Where is the Giants' greatest need for a hitter? The only logical offensive position for the Giants to upgrade is at lead-off (which likely means an outfielder).

In a perfect world, Atlanta's Michael Bourn is the ideal pickup for the Giants. But hold on partner.

First, it would likely take giving up Gary Brown and at least a starting pitching prospect to pry Bourn away from the Braves. And second, why on earth would Atlanta trade a player who has a .366 OBP, is tied for second in MLB runs scored (63), and third in MLB hits (115)? To compare, Melky Cabrera has 122 hits.

Here's why. Bourn, 30, has a one year $6.845m contract with Atlanta, who must determine if they can sign him long term before he hits free agency at the end of the season, or simply trade him now to extract some value.

Would some combination of either Gary Brown/Hector Sanchez/pitching prospects for Michael Bourn be a good trade for San Francisco? Absolutely and get it done.

Brian Sabean is a wily GM who has been to this dance a few times. And ownership should have little problem with taking on payroll to make a final push to the 2012 post season.

But there are, as usual, questions. After losing star minor league pitching prospect Zack Wheeler to the Mets last year just to rent Carlos Beltran for two months, does the organization have the will to potentially go down that road again? And do the fans have the patience to lose another star prospect?

Note: The Giants Cove welcomes guest blogger Chris Fields, a senior writer at ChatSports.com. ChatSports provides dynamic sports content  covering the pros, college, tennis, golf and even poker. Enjoy Chris's take on what the Giants need to do to make the 2012 MLB playoffs: 

With the All Star break wrapping up, the Giants are preparing to start their playoff run. Sitting half a game behind the Dodgers in the NL West and half a game behind the Reds in the wild card race, the Giants expect to be one of many teams fighting for a playoff spot.

Here are 5 things that will determine if the Giants will be suiting up in October.

1. Lincecum must be close to the old Lincecum

Maybe the most important key for the Giants is the pitching of Tim Lincecum. Big Time Timmy Jim has been flat out atrocious so far in 2012,  posting a 6.42 ERA.

The two time Cy Young winner has had control and velocity problems, not a good combination. He leads the team in walks and has seen his fastball top out around 90 or 91.

Three good starters (Cain, Bumgarner, Vogelsong) won't be enough to get the Giants to the postseason. The team currently ranks eighth in the league in ERA. In order to make the playoffs, Lincecum needs to get his ERA down to around 4 or 4.5 for the year, and the Giants need to have one of the top three staffs in the bigs.

2. One more bat must step up: Huff? Blanco? Schierholtz? Christian?

In the first half the Giants had 4 consistent hitters (Cabrera, Sandoval, Posey, Pagan). If one more player can join that group the Giants will have a great shot. The Giants lineup of 4 players is simply not up to par with the Dodgers or Reds, their two competitors for playoff spots.

Several guys are candidates to step up, but none look especially threatening. Could Aubrey Huff get healthy and regain his 2010 form? Doesn't look likely. Could Gregor Blanco pick his average up .20 points? Possible. Maybe youngster Justin Christian could emerge as the starting right fielder, but with such limited experience I wouldn't bet on it.

A player that seems to be getting overlooked is Nate Schierholtz. Schierholtz doesn't have Blanco's speed, but could be a more consistent hitter. Blanco put up a .252 mark, with a .337 OBP. If Schierholtz were to start the second half of the season I would guess he would do better the .252. Not to mention Schierholtz has an absolute canon for an arm. Bochy however doesn't seem to be extremely high on Schierholtz.

3. Casilla rebounds

While we are looking for one of many bats to step up to help the Giants lineup, the success of the bullpen could come down to one person: Santiago Casilla. Casilla became the closer when Wilson went down, and came out of the gates on fire, posting a 1.1 ERA through April and May.

During those months Casilla converted 14 of 15 save opportunities. Casilla hit a bump in the road late in June that carried through July and into the All Star break. During the last two months, Casilla has posted a Lincecum-esque 6.5 ERA.

Because of their low scoring mentality, the Giants play tons of close games, which makes the closer role extremely important. The Giants have the most save opportunities in the NL.

If the Giants want to be in the post season, they can't afford to lose games in the 9th. Casilla will be extremely important. If Casilla fails, the team should look at moving Sergio Romo to the closer role.

4. Penny provides good long relief

Everyone knows about the back end of the Giants’ bullpen. Lopez locks down lefties, Romo dominates righties, and Affeldt provides depth.

However the guy who could be the most important has barely pitched an inning for the Giants this year. Brad Penny, recently signed from Japan, will be the Giants long reliever in the second half of the season. Long reliever could be an especially important role for the Giants if Lincecum continues to struggle and Zito pitches inconsistently.

In blowouts, Penny will be asked to eat up innings to keep the aforementioned back end of the bullpen fresh. In tight games where the starter has to exit early, Penny will be asked to throw two or three innings and give the Giants a fighting chance. If Penny is good, he could make up for inconsistency by Zito and Lincecum.

5. Make a move for a bat

It doesn't look like Freddy Sanchez, a .300 hitter, will ever suit up for the Giants again. This leaves the middle of the infield pretty thin. Ryan Theriot has been the only consistent contributor from either position.

The most exciting way to make a post season push is to trade for an impact player (see: Carlos Beltran). The Beltran experiment didn't work, but trading for a slightly less expensive contributor could be a possibility. G.M. Brian Sabean has said that the Giants won't make a move to simply rent a player like Beltran, but are looking to make improvements for the future.

The positions of need - at first and shortstop - are currently held by young players Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford. The team currently seems committed to developing these two players instead of replacing them. Sabean has also said that the team will not pursue a starting pitcher, so Zito and Lincecum are safe in their rotational positions.

If the Giants add a bat, it will likely be a power hitter who would either make spot starts or find a position in the infield. The Giants are currently tied for last in the league with 51 home runs.

I believe it's Rule #78 in the International Baseball Bloggers Rule Book that states "Baseball team bloggers shall write an assessment of their team at the annual All Star Game break". Failure to do so could mean a costly and drawn out official hearing at the Baseball Bloggers Alliance headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.

The penalty for a first time offending blogger is two weeks all expenses paid in Cleveland; a second offense makes it a mandatory three week stay.

If you're found guilty a third time, you are sealed in small room with a 7.1 surround sound loop of Tim McCarver discussing the pros and cons of the double switch.

So let's talk San Francisco Giants at the 2012 Break. There's 1) some bad news; and, 2) some potentially troubling news.

So what's first? Tom Hagen said it best in "The Godfather": "Mr. Corleone is a man who insists on hearing bad news immediately."

Scoring Runs Redux
Although the Giants are plating runs like they haven't done in 10 years, they need to score more. Their runs per game has slipped to 3.93 and the team has dropped from 18th to 24th of 30 MLB team in runs scored (338). It's an old and tired story, but an increase in run production is critical to this team's success in the remaining 76 games.

Those who made it happen at the plate in the first 86 games include Melky Cabrera (44 RBI/55 RS), Buster Posey (43 RBI/35 RS), and Angel Pagan (33 RBI/38 RS). But two things have negatively impacted run production for the Giants in 2012.

First, Pablo Sandoval's hand injury limited him to only 51 games of the first 86 played. It may not seem important, but if Sandoval (30 RBI/30 RS) plays in the 35 games he missed it projects out to an additional 21 RBI and 21 runs scored-- minus the 9 RBI and 9 runs Sandoval's replacements produced during the 35 missed games (Arias, Gillaspie, Burriss and Pill hit a dismal combined .189 trying to replace Sandoval).

Minus whatever home runs he may have hit, that means a healthy Sandoval adds 12 RBI and 12 runs-- 24 additional runs to the season total. Enough to drive the runs per game up to 4.21 and no doubt good for several additional wins, which easily puts San Francisco in 1st place in the NL West at the break.

The second problem is fixable: more playing time for Brandon Belt. Another ongoing story, but an important one. At the plate Belt has at times looked as good as Will Clark; other times as lost as Lewis and Clark. But he is tied for the team lead with 32 walks and has an OBP of .358.

The Giants are unlikely to find a viable infield bat at the trade deadline who would be nearly as promising as Belt has been. To get better and be able to contribute more, Belt needs to start every day at first base the rest of the season.

The Pitching is Actually Pretty Good
The good news is the pitching. I know, I know-- Tim Lincecum! (Let's all run around in a tight circle waving our arms in the air.)

That's all fine, but while you're biting your nails over Lincecum's problems how many other MLB teams have three starters like Matt Cain (9-3/0.96 WHIP), Madison Bumgarner (10-5/1.10), and Ryan Vogelsong (7-4/1.12)? Maybe the Nationals or Texas.

And by the way, Barry Zito's 7-6/4.01 projects to 13 wins by the end of September as the Giants' fifth starter. Damn few teams get that from the fourth starter in their rotations.

Lincecum and his $18m 2012 salary (and $22m 2013 salary) aren't going anywhere. He is capable of straightening out his mechanics and his mindset. Let's just hope he does it sometime before September 1st.

Overall Giants' pitching comes in at 7th among 30 MLB teams with a staff ERA of 3.63. The real critical issue here is the bullpen.

San Francisco relievers are putting up a 3.59 ERA, dropping them to 7th among National League bullpens and 16th overall in the Majors. Over the past three seasons if you wanted to check out the Giants' bullpen stats you'd find them somewhere in the top three of all 30 MLB teams.

And this is where the 2012 season will make or break for the Giants.

By not replacing closer Brian Wilson, and putting Santiago Casilla in the closer role, the bullpen was permanently weakened on two levels: Casilla has yet to prove he has the grit to be the full time closer for a whole season, and Casilla's critical former role in the bullpen has not been successfully filled.

If the Giants are going to make any kind of move between the All Star Break and the the July 31st 1PM PST trade deadline it should be to bolster their bullpen. Nothing the team does will better help them make the 2012 post season.

The Giant's Cove is looking forward to a great All Star game from the boys, and a great start to the second half of the season. There. The International Baseball Bloggers can call off the dogs.

As the annual criticism of Major League Baseball's All Star Game player selection swings into full gear approaching the 2012 game, it's interesting to look back on the sometimes sullied history of player selection for the Mid-Summer Classic.

For instance, I discovered that current Baseball Commissioner Allan "Bud" Selig was linked to at least one ballot-stuffing scheme prior to the 1975 All Star Game, played that year in Milwaukee's County Stadium.

At the time, Selig was President of the American League Milwaukee Brewers and the Brewers' front office was actively seeking to get Brewer players, specifically first baseman George Scott and shortstop Robin Yount, into the starting line-up.

That year a man named David Jaeckels also made it his primary mission in life to complete as many All Star ballots as possible with Scott and Yount chosen at their respective positions. "They really deserve it," Jaeckles insisted. "With the game in Milwaukee it would be a shame if we don't get our players in the game."

The June 20, 1975 edition of the Milwaukee Sentinel featured a story about David Jaeckels, who was an employee at Allen-Bradley, a local manufacturing company.

Jaeckels was tracked down by Milwaukee Sentinel reporter Ken Bunch and he gave Bunch a detailed and lengthy account about how the Brewers front office was assisting him by providing "at least" 30,000 All Star ballots for him to mass puncture with a power drill. "I've got a small hand drill and I can go through them pretty fast," enthused Jaeckels.

In 1975 All Star ballots came in the form of cards that allowed fans to vote by punching a perforated hole next to a player's name. Preferably with a finger or pencil. But, as Jaeckels discovered, if you carefully lined stacks of cards up it was possible to power drill through dozens at a time. The cards could then be dropped off at  the Brewers' County Stadium and counted as official fan votes.

"I've already punched about 7,000 ballots at work," Jaeckels admitted in what may have been a surprise to his employer. "If I only punch out the Brewers, I figure I can drill 4,000 an hour and do them all (30,000) in a week."

And just how did David Jaeckels get 30,000 All Star ballots? He actually asked the Brewers front office for 50,000 ballots, but Brewers front office employee Marcia Selig (sister-in-law of team President Bud Selig) told Jaeckels she would only give him 30,000 ballots. Jaeckels told reporter Bunch that Marcia Selig "arranged for him [Jaeckels] to pick up the ballots Saturday morning" at the Brewers office in the stadium.

"I wanted to make sure she could do it so I called her back to confirm it and she said 'yes'," stated Jaeckels.

Jaeckels was not about to give up on getting the other 20,000 ballots he originally asked for. "When I bring them back [to the Brewer front office] and show them I'm serious I'm sure they'll give me some more."

Unless he was an incompetent President, it's logical that Bud Selig would had to have known about the ballot-stuffing scheme. But add one more element.

Milwaukee Brewers Ticket Manager Richard Hackett was completely aware of Richard Jaeckels' request for 50,000 All Star ballots. "The message I got was the impression he wanted them for Allen-Bradley employees." There are, as reporter Bunch succinctly wrote, approximately 7,400 employees at Allen-Bradley.

Hackett said he knew of no laws against All Star game ballot-stuffing, but stated the Brewers "would not be a part of it". "That would probably destroy the concept of fan voting," he added.

When told what David Jaeckels intended to do with the ballots Ticket Manager Hackett told Bunch, "I'm only aware he's getting them for Allen-Bradley employees."

Ironically, no Milwaukee Brewer was elected to start in the 1975 All Star game. First baseman George Scott was chosen as a reserve player as was slugger Hank Aaron.
 
To summarize, Bud Selig's sister-in-law made all the arrangements for David Jaeckels to pick up 30,000 All Star ballots at the Brewer's office. Jaeckels was confident he could get 20,000 more from the Brewers, and described to the Milwaukee Sentinel how he used a hand drill to create thousands of false ballots. Selig's Ticket Manager was made aware of the scheme by the Sentinel and essentially said he would be shocked, shocked if such ballot stuffing were to occur.

The 2012 All Star game provides an excellent forum for Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to answer questions about his integrity as the past owner of an MLB franchise. Is it against the law to stuff All Star ballots? No. Just like the use of performance enhancing drugs by players was not technically against the law in the 1990s.

But it's all about the essential integrity of the game. Right?

History was made at AT&T Park today as the San Francisco Giants shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers for the third consecutive game in a row to move into a tie for first place in the NL West.

Giants starter Tim Lincecum (3-8/5.60) , whose rocky 2012 season has been a concern for the team, was in total command this afternoon as he threw seven scoreless innings, giving up 4 hits with 1 BB, and 8 SO in 108 pitches.

The 123 year history of the Giants-Dodgers rivalry officially began in 1890, when the Brooklyn Bridegrooms (they became the "Dodgers" in 1911) left the American League and joined the rival New York Giants in the National League. In that entire time the Giants have never taken a series from the Dodgers in a three game shutout sweep until today.

On Monday, starter Barry Zito (6-5/1.37WHIP) threw seven shutout innings as the Giants won 8-0, and on Tuesday Ryan Vogelsong (7-3/1.15WHIP) was scoreless through seven as San Francisco topped LA 2-0.

Lincecum made the most dramatic play of the game in the third inning when Dodger pitcher Chad Billingsley tried to score from third base on a wild pitch.

Giants' catcher Hector Sanchez pounced on the ball when it bounced off the backstop and side-armed a throw to Lincecum who was covering home. Billingsley, a large hurler, slammed into Lincecum who was blocking the plate with his right leg. Lincecum caught Sanchez's throw but Billingsley knocked the glove off his left hand.

Lincecum held onto the glove and showed it to umpire Fieldin Culbreth who made the out call.   

San Francisco completed the sweep without using either of their two top starters this season, Matt Cain (9-2/2.27/0.90WHIP ) and Madison Bumgarner 9-4/3.10/1.12WHIP).  The Dodgers and Giants are both at 43-33 as co-leaders in the National League West, tied with the third best record in the Majors (after the 46-29 Rangers, and the 46-28 Yankees).

The Dodgers had held first place in the NL West since April 11th, but are 2-8 in their last ten games. The surging Giants added a hitting attack in the off-season with the additions of Melky Cabrera, Angel Pagan, Gregor Blanco, and back-up catcher Hector Sanchez to compliment the Majors' most dominant starting and bullpen pitching.

Like I would know what Tim Lincecum has to do to turn his 2012 season around and straighten out his delivery mechanics. Get real. Same goes for speculation from anyone else who has an opinion but doesn't have a desk in Dave Righetti's office.

Dozens of apparently out of work MLB pitching coaches have been contacting San Francisco sportstalk radio shows nonstop to tell the Giants what they need to do to fix Lincecum's pitching problems. I'm sure they're trying to help, but their comments make it clear to me why they are no longer employed as pitching coaches. 

Listening to sportstalk radio call-in shows is like being one of those guys who has to go into a damaged nuclear reactor. I can only do it for a few minutes at a time before my brain waves begin to flat-line. Suggestions I heard more than once included, trade Lincecum to the LA Angels for Albert Pujols because the Giants need more hitting, and send him to single A San Jose so he can dominate hitters again.

And the 2012 Albert Einstein Baseball Award goes to...

A large number of callers with hindsight derived from their hindquarters stated they knew Lincecum was going to be a bum two years ago. Hell, anyone could see that.
            
But back on point, Lincecum's first 14 starts of this season have been disappointing. To put it mildly.

As usual, the actual numbers cut though the mounds of bovine excretion that can be currently found on the subject of Lincecum, Tim throughout the clouded infosphere:

> a 2-8 record;
> a 1.57 WHIP;
> a 6.19 ERA;
> the Giants are 2-12 in his 14 starts;
> if San Francisco's record was a mere 7-7 in Lincecum's starts (a difference of just 5 games), they would now be 42-25, tied for 1st place in the NL West and tied for the best record in baseball.

So, yes, this is big. And uncomfortable. And really annoying.

But here's what I think everyone needs to do: stop waving your arms wildly, shouting "oh my god-- Timmy, Timmy, Timmy", and come in from the 89th floor ledge of the Giant fans headquarters building. Then sit down, have a bracing shot of Walgreen's brand tequila and eat some oreos. If you don't feel better, at least you'll have something else to distract you.

All the arrows point to Lincecum's pitching issues being worked out in time. Tim Lincecum is a world class pitcher in a world class organization that has been particularly adept at developing and retooling starting pitching. The chances are good that the Giants' coaching staff will help move his game forward. Eventually.

For Lincecum's part, he is feisty and combative about staying in the starting rotation and working out of his slump on his own terms. "I want to pitch every 5th day. I want that ball..." was Lincecum's statement after Saturday's loss to the Seattle Mariners, as quoted by SF Chronicle sports writer Henry Schulman.

Giants Manager Bruce Bochy has announced that Lincecum would make his next scheduled start against the Oakland A's on Friday June 22nd.

Now consider two things.

First, a glint of sunshine from the litterbox: Lincecum has struck out 83 batters in 77 innings pitched this season. And the Giants are in 2nd place in the NL West and have the 8th best record in the Majors. Starting in 2012, ten MLB teams will make the playoffs.

Second, Tim Lincecum just turned 28 years old and has done a few things in his career that give him huge cachet to work through this tough period. Period.

Career stats to date:
Record: 71-49
WHIP: 1.214
ERA: 3.20
Strikeouts per 9 innings: 9.9
Post season record: 4-1
Post season WHIP: .919
Post season strikeouts per 9 innings: 10.5
World Series won: 1 (so far).