It's Fantasyland at AT&T

My fantasies usually involve a beach, endless mai tais and Charlize Theron in a severly-distressed mylar thong. Giants pitchers probably close their eyes and dream about people in orange and black uniforms actually touching home plate.

Don’t look now but a three-game sweep of The Hated Dodgers means the Giants have won 20 of 25 and find themselves in the thick of the hunt. If the season were over today, the G-men would be one of the lucky few invited to the after party. Who'd have thunk it?

Are they a serious contender for a 2010 World Series ring? I doubt it. There are still too many flaws. A pair of deadline moves did seek to fortify the bullpen but the back end of the rotation is spotty and the offense horrific. One can only hope that a waiver deal or two will address the issues.

Once again the starters did the job. Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito and Matt Cain combined for all but five of the 27 Blue-tinted innings, allowing three runs between them. That’s a starters’ ERA of 1.22. So it’s a crying shame that each of the three games was in doubt until the final pitch.

Kudos to Cain, who finally bested the Dodgers in his 15th try. Having been the victim on non-support more than once in that stretch, he finally got the monkey off his back with an incredible performance – hanging on until (for the second straight day) someone finally hit the offense with defibrillator paddles and got a solitary blip on the EKG.

Zito was just as impressive despite (shudder) allowing a run. Pat Burrell bailed him out with his very own Brian Johnson moment, taking a seven-iron out of the yard to shake off an uninspired offensive day against a hurler throwing for the first time on short rest.

The shakiest outing came courtesy The Freak, who needed 123 pitches to finish seven frames but seemed to get stronger in the later innings. Lincecum spent the first three innings tap dancing in a mine field but showed why he could eventually become one of the all-time greats. He doesn’t throw the ball past people anymore, he pitches. There are claims that he’s lost some velocity. Whatever. Pitchers last longer than throwers anyway.

Pitching wins. Pitching is also very deep in the NL West. The team that finds a way to add offense to the mix is the team that will steal the division. The Giants haven’t done that, and time is running out.

The rest of the West was far more proactive, and did so at bargain prices. San Diego needed offense. Enter Ludwick and Tejada. The Dodgers needed to bolster their pitching staff and add some speed. Lilly, Dotel and Podsednik were upgrades, while Theriot replaces DeWitt up the middle. Heck, the Dodgers even got cash out of the deal -- which I guess Frank and Jamie need to pay the divorce lawyers.

I understand the bullpen  needed help. Anyone who watched them go Hindenberg twice last week got that message loud and clear. When your only lefty option is Jonathan “Oh God, Not Him” Sanchez (who was as advertised with a wild pitch and hit batter to go with his one strikeout), it’s time for some new blood. But even if new arrivals Ramirez and Lopez fill the bill, the Giants are going to be hard pressed to score runs on a consistent basis.

Realistically, can the Giants continue to pin their playoff hopes on the off chance that Burrell and Renteria occasionally run into one? Burrell’s shot on Saturday was his only round-tripper of the month. Renteria’s triple (or at least Kemp played it into a triple) was a very pleasant surprise considering he delivers hits about as often as Mungo Jerry or Toni Basil.

I do have to apologize to Aubrey Huff.  I groaned at his signing. Average stick and the only guy as qualified as Roberto Duran for the "Hands of Stone" nickname...or so I believed. To my surprise, this guy is the Giants' MVP. Posey is a breath of fresh air and true ROY candidate, but Huff is the gamer Rowand was supposed to be. He's having a resurgence at the plate, but I'm equally impressed with his glove.

Once you establish something in people's minds, it's hard to shake the image. Some will always believe that blondes are ditzy, that southern men sleep with their sisters, or that I am the single greatest blogger in the history of... okay, some reputations are deserved.  But Huff has proven that those who dismissed him as a defender perhaps wrote him off too soon. He won't make forget anyone forget Willie Mays or even JT Snow, but you don't have to worry about him spiking himself either. He catches and scoops what he should, and occasionally goes beyond that. Can't ask for more.

This was about the point last year where two things happened that were polar opposites. At the same time the Giants were faltering, the Rockies hit a stretch where they had one improbable win after another. Offense and pitching took a 30-day hiatus in Colorado, being replaced by smoke and mirrors. Twelve months later it’s the Giants who seem to be pulling victories out of their backsides.

Colorado rode its good fortune to the playoffs, but the season ended badly. I’d like to see the Giants poised to do more, but that won’t happen without another stick or two. The Giants might have averaged four runs a game in July, but that’s only part of the story. With solid pitching, four runs a game stand up. You have that same average when you score 8, 2 and 2 over a three gamer, but you likely dropped two of them.

The Giants have three top-flight starters, one up and comer, and a Stephen King creation in the rotation. The bullpen is a heart attack waiting to happen. The offense is the definition of mediocre: “Moderate to inferior in quality; ordinary.” That does not a pennant winner make.

I’m hopeful the pen will be better, if for no other reason than the arrival of Ramirez and Lopez means someone’s gotta go. I only hope the Giants don’t forget the lesson of 2003 and choose to carry 13 pitchers. The Giants are only carrying four outfielders (Huff makes five) but with starters going deep into games, that 13th spot needs to go to a position player.

Who that might be is another matter. Rohlinger is with the big club for now but he’s certainly not an offensive threat. Velez could return but isn’t likely to set enemy pitchers a quivering. Bowker is on his way to Pittsburgh. The Giants can’t pin their hopes on Sandoval awakening from his slumber or someone else getting hot for an extended period. They gotta go get someone dependable.

Waiver deals happen, as evidenced by the Scott Kamir and Jake Peavy moves of a year ago. Some names should be out there this time around. Adam Dunn could still be moved, as could Ty Wiggington and half the Mets roster. Vernon Wells could go to a team looking to add payroll, and Marcus Thames to a bargain hunter. There are options, but the Giants are going to have to be bold.

That doesn’t mean foolhardy, however. The Padres and Dodgers gave up little to nothing. The Giants don’t have to mortgage the farm, but they can’t let opportunity slip away. The pitching staff is young, but as a whole this team isn’t. The window won’t stay open long.

Big week ahead. The Giants will try to exorcise the ghosts of their last trip to Colorado with a two-fer at Coors before heading for a four-gamer at Eastern leader Atlanta (I'm sweating with a flashback to '93). Then it's home for four with the freefalling Cubs leading into a weekend showdown with the Padres. By August 15th the Giants will be in this thing, or they'll be dead.

Let's hope they find the help they need to make it interesting.


Reader Mail:

From DrBGiantsfan: “Bowker "their best minor league stick?’ Boy, you sure don't know much about the Giants farm system, do you? Well, that statement might be right if you emphasize "Minor League." Yeah, Bowker is a great minor league hitter. It's just that MLB pitchers know how to easily get him out and he shows no signs of overcoming that.”

Thanks for  making  my point. My comment was about how little credibility the Giants front office has. Bowker was the best option for offense, and he wasn’t much. In the span of four months, Bowker went from "The Answer" in right field to a guy who had to be packaged with another highly-touted “prospect” to get a situational reliever. It shows how bare the cupboard really is. Player evaluation clearly ain't what it should be. It emphasizes the need both for outside help and a front office intervention.

Anonymous said:“Isn't it pointless to keep whining about the Giants when they're having such a good season, sweeping the hated Dodgers, making the most out of new players (Posey, Bumgarner) and veterans (Huff, Renteria, Burrell)?”

Pointless? Nope, I have a point. Teams are never as good as they appear when they’re hot, and never as bad as they appear when they go cold. This has been a very good July, but if the Giants slip at all, and I mean AT ALL, they become a very average team. The way the Giants are winning doesn’t breed confidence. Nobody can look at this team with the goal of building a World Series contender and pronounce it “Mission Accomplished.” There’s still plenty of heavy construction to be done.

Ah, to heck with it.  Clap your hands together, say "I believe" enough times and maybe Tinkerbelle will survive. THEY SWEPT THE HATED DODGERS. I can think of worse ways to spend a weekend.