Staff Hits the Wall (but at least THEY Hit Something)

It was at about this point in 2009 that the Giants' posteseason train derailed, so it should come as no surprise that in 2010 the same thing is happening again.

It's the same team.

Oh sure, some of the faces have changed. That doesn't alter the basic character or construction of the team. They've depended far too long on one aspect of the game, worn it out, and now theyve got nothing left for that point in the season where the big boys earn their money.

I could take countless megabites detailing the current and ongoing failures of this Godforsaken franchise. But what galls me the most on this day isn't that they're collapsing like they just got hit by a hijacked airliner. It's that right now, they aren't even competing.

The wildcard continues to slip away, much as the division already has. It's telling that the last time the Giants found themselves alone in playoff position was the result of a day off. Interesting game, Professor Falken. The only winning move is not to play.

Over the last two nights you could watch the Giants take on the Diamondbacks and be told that one team was in a playoff race, one team was a cellar dwellar, and be asked to determine which was which. You'd guess wrong. Arizona is playing like it matters. The Giants? Not so much.

It's not like we didn't see this coming. I took the opportunity on the off day to go back a re-read some of my old posts. I wanted to see just how many times I predicted the pitching would wear out. I lost count. I was especially proud (and disturbed) about a comment from last Wednesday after Zito was forced to throw in relief. I predicted a debacle in his regular start, and I got one. Damn, I hate being right all the time.

I didn't however, predict that Jose Guillen would prove to be the worst outfielder in the Majors...which actually is kinda sad because he had pretty much proven that to be the case in Kansas City. He's stunk defensively for 14 years, but a change of scenery was sure to be the cure, right?

It seems that every deadline move made by Sabean is worse than the one that came before it -- and Guillen is playing like it's 2016. I mean. it's bad enough watching this guy ground into double plays (like the Giants needed more of that), flail away at high strikes like he was swatting nats, or patrol the outfield as though wading through jello. Now balls are clanging off his glove like Peter Criss banging on a hat cymbal. Six outfielders on the rotster and this is the guy who gets a starting nod?

My normal routine after Giants game is a beer. One more night of watching this "talent" screw the pooch and I may have to switch to black tar heroin.

Back to the basics. We were told the team would compete thanks to superior pitching and defense. The pitchers aren't getting it done and they're getting no help. The offense that took the field in April wasn't even mediocre. It was missing in action. Personnel moves since then have made little difference in that regard, but they have accomplished one thing -- they've destroyed the defense.

There's a Little League team from Hawaii that is more fundamentally sound than these guys.

The starters are simply worn out. Zito and Lincecum both have struggled, MadBum may have hit the wall, and Sanchez is, well, he's the same inconsistent annoyance he's always been. Only Cain is even remotely recognizable. For the entire staff to go south (well, Sanchez was already there), you gotta have a reason.

Stupidity. Sheer stupidity on the part of Giants management. As I noted back at the start, this happened last year. Where's the friggin' learning curve? The Giants are trying to win with pitching. Fine. But you can't win with ONLY pitching. As a whole, the Giants rotation may be a thoroughbred. Unfortunately the jockey didn't pace this one. They got rode hard out of the gate and they've turned into a nag at the top of the stretch.

Complete teams win titles. One-dimensional squads go home early and lament what might have been if they'd only had a few needed ingredients added to the stew. The Giants?

Looks like they'll be home for supper.