Vegas, Baby!

Here's a tip on how to make a killing in Las Vagas. Wait until the Giants face a critical series, then bet the farm ... against them.

I wrote a couple of weeks ago that we'd know a lot about the Giants by August 15. The "Contender or Prentender" question would be answered. Since then they split a pair in Colorado, struggled to take a series from the lowly Cubs, and had their clocks cleaned by San Diego and Atlanta. Contender? Not likely.

The Giants are 3 1/2 games out, hardly an insurmountable advantage. But keep in mind they went on a month-long hot streak and still made up a grand total of four games. They face the team they need to hunt down for two more series, including the last three games of the campaign, and they clearly can't beat them on a regular basis.

It was at just about this same point in 2009 that they sufferend the extra-inning debacle in Colorado that spelled their doom. The numbers didn't say the Giants had no chance, but we all knew it to be true. In 2010, the story hasn't changed much.

In a game they had to have, The Freak freaked out and the offense pulled yet another disappearing act. Four hits. Four lousy hits -- and three of them by Posey. The latest ill-advised acquistion, Jose Guillen, got the fourth yet managed to screw that up by trying to stretch a double into a triple and being thrown out from here to Brisbane.

Conventional baseball wisdom is you never make the first out at third or home, but Guillen -- who ran like a giraffe on qualudes -- didn't get the memo. Hey, it was a close play. They only got him by, what, about 30 feet? Welcome to San Francisco, Jackwaagon.

I still don't get the acquisition of Guillen. Once again the Giants waited far to long to make a move, and then did far too little. This team neded an impact bat. It got a .255 hitter with his 10th team in 14 seasons. You can argue that if he's had that many addresses then there was always someone who wanted him. Yeah, but Celine Dion is popular in elevators -- that doesn't mean she should headline Woodstock.

I guess Shea Hillenbrand wasn't available.

Another series, and season, down the tubes. God, there are times I hate this team.