Dunn In at D.C.

I didn't know bad defense was viral, but apparently the bug that hit Milwaukee followed the Giants to the nation's capitol. The G-men looked absolutely pathetic in an 8-1 drubbing at the hands of the Washington Nationals.

It started well, with Andres Torres lighting up phenom Stephen Strasburg in the first AB, giving the Giants a 1-0 lead. The first four Giants hit the ball on a line as they went to the plate looking for that blazing Stasburg fastball. Then the wheels came off.

It was a forgettable day for Matt Cain, who made more than his share of location mistakes. Teams with power playing in hitters' parks will kill you when you don't locate. Cain was taken deep twice by Adam Dunn, with both blasts showing up on the threat detection screens at NORAD.

But I want to focus on another part of the game. It started in the bottom of the first, with a man on second and the Giants in their really stupid Dunn overshift. For those who didn't see it, Cain wheeled toward second on a pick-off play and fired to ....no one. Seeing the base uncovered, Cain tried to choke off the throw and ended up whipping a 37 hopper into left field, allowing the runner to come all the way around.

As a former pitcher, I'm going to defend Cain and assume he didn't do that on his own. That's usually a called play. Either Cain hallucinated the signal or someone was supposed to cover second and missed the boat. And who had responsibility for the base?

Edgar Renteria. Pay attention. There's a theme to this.

Later the Giants trailed 2-1 but a lead-off double set the stage to push across the tying run. Now the Giants would go on to give up eight, but who knows what that run might have accomplished? All that is certain is that the Giants had a scoring opportunity but the next three hitters failed, and they included Renteria and Aaron Rowand. Funny how most of the Giants' misfires seem to include one of both of these heroes.

In fact, Renteria was made to look like a Little Leaguer who just saw his first curveball. He was overmatched by Strasburg, who started breaking off benders that had Renteria bailing like a frighened school girl. The curtain came on a two-strike hook that left the ball unscathed but saw Renteria's bat lying near shortstop as he broke down his swing and lost both his grip and any illusion that he's still a professional hitter.

So the chance was wasted, the Giants went on to melt down defenisvely, with Burrell gettng on the act by chasing a shot down the line around the corner like Stallone chasing that stupid chicken in the first (and best) Rocky flic.

It was a comedy of errors. Why am I not laughing?

Here's hoping that Torres' injury is minor. The Giants' chances are much improved without Rowand's continued hack-a-thon a feature of the batting order. Finding takers for him and Rent-a-wreck while collecting another option at shortstop should be the top prioritioes for Brian Satan, uh, Sabean as the July 31 deadline approaches.

The Giants remain five games out at 45-41 as San Diego struggles. Colorado is red hot (the Giants helped a bit with that one)  and just two games out -- three ahead of the G-Men. It's bad news when anyone ahead of you gets on a roll, and with the Giants mired in fourth place there are plenty of options in that regard.

Sanchez on the hill next, and you gotta wonder what kind of hilarity will ensue. He's liable to walk enough guys to fill out a Congressional subcommittee, and he is Mister Location Mistake. Craig Stammen brings his 5.73 ERA to the mound for DC. Can the Giants capitalize, or was the four-game win streak more a testamony to opposition ineptitude than San Francisco power?

Adam Dunn has gotta be licking his chops.