Denny Bautista: physical embodiment of the term "Death March"

The Braves are a very good team clinging to a 1 game lead over the Phillies in the NL East who seem determined to score runs exclusively off of home runs.  In the first two games, the Giants have met the challenge by clinging to the old ways, putting baserunners everywhere with nothing to show from it.

Last night’s 11-inning slog was a perfect example of a contest that the Giants had no business winning, probably as karmic reward for Phil Cuzzi’s home plate felony against the Mets.  The Braves walked and hit batters left and right, so appropriately the Giants scored the go-ahead run in extra innings on a sacrifice fly after loading the bases.  It was a 3-2 win that really didn’t feel like a win in the end, which probably means Braves fans feel even worse than we do.

Last night’s victory coupled with a Padres loss brings the Giants within one game of the NL West lead, continuing what I affectionately have labeled the Death March to the Top.  We’ve gained games here, and lost games there, with it all culminating in a grind to the brink of division superiority.  Now assuming that the standings hold until next Friday, the real battle begins with a three game set at AT&T against the a Padre team the Giants have lost seven of eight against up until this point.

What this means is that we can win all the games against everyone else we want to, but if the Giants want to end the season at the top of the division, they absolutely must win head-to-head matchups against San Diego.  And to be completely honest, the Padres absolutely should not be as good as they are.

Minus Adrian Gonzalez, their offense is God-awful.  Past Mat Latos, their pitching staff is anchored by the likes of Wade LeBlanc, Clayton Richard, and Jon Garland who quite frankly aren’t as good as their season stats would suggest.  To their credit, their bullpen is downright terrifying to think about in the late innings, which is why the Giants should be able to score runs off of the aforementioned shmucks.

August is going to test the Giants’ ability to be a playoff team.  In addition to Atlanta and San Diego, they face the Reds, Cardinals, and Phillies, followed by an NL West swing into September.  The Padres’ schedule on the other hand has them playing these teams next month, meaning the Giants are going to need to hold their own in order to push the issue late into the season.

For the time being, winning this series against the Braves would be a good start on the path to postseason competency.  The pitching the Giants face doesn’t get any easier, so the offense has its work cut out.  The rotation will need to be able to limit damage to 2-3 runs a game on a daily basis, which for them is business as usual.  There’s a lot of season left to play, with nothing even close to decided right now.  I’ll be holding my breath until then.

Best wishes Geno

Having spent a good portion of my day on a boat in Puget Sound enjoying the best weather Seattle has to offer, I missed out on my daily Giants baseball fix.  Needless to say, when I got back and checked the score (10-4, Giants victory), I thought everything was peachy.

Then I saw the news that Jeremy Affeldt is hitting the DL, followed by the replay of Eugenio Velez getting hit in the head by a foul line drive into the dugout.  Everything from the look on the hitter’s face (Pat Burrell) to the stretcher and board the medics brought out brought back some scary memories from Joe Martinez’ line-drive-to-the-head experience.  Whenever something like this happens to any player, baseball seems kind of frivolous in comparison.  Velez may not be my favorite player, but I’ll be damned if I wasn’t genuinely concerned for the poor guy after seeing that replay.

Thankfully, all reports coming back are telling us that while he’s suffered a concussion (something I myself have experienced twice), he should be alright.  Wishing you a speedy recovery Eugenio.  Seriously.

With all this happening, it’s hard not to have mixed feelings about today’s shelacking of the Diamondbacks.  On one hand, the Giants have completely shown their mettle as a team during a stretch where 18 of 22 games were played on the road.  In their last 17 games, their 14-3, showing their capability to put together a consistent period of winning.  On the other hand, we’ve lost Jeremy Affeldt, Eugenio Velez is in the hospital, and the Padres are determined to never lose another game ever again.

On the other, other hand, it’s really quite therapeutic to see this much winning.  It represents a nice change from the normal, heart-breaking style of play the Giants have become so accustomed to in my lifetime.  They’ve done all this on the collective backs of the starting pitching, Aubrey Huff, Andres Torres, and of course, perennial Rookie of the Year candidate Buster Posey.  The most important stretch of the season though has yet to come.

I’ve mentioned this before, but it deserves some further review.  From August 27th through September 16th, the Giants play NL West opponents in rapid succession.  The schedule as it sits now has the Giants playing Arizona and Colorado at home, then the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Padres on the road.  The NL West swing concludes with a three game set against the Dodgers at home.  That’s 19 games total (10 on the road, 9 at home).

If the Giants can get through this stretch, they’re home free through the end of the season, finishing up against the Brewers, Rockies, Cubs, and finally the Padres (at home).  My point here is that things are far from over.  Maybe an extra bat will fall into our laps at the deadline without hurting the pitching staff.  Maybe Buster Posey hits .350 for the remainder of the season.  And maybe, just maybe Pablo Sandoval will rediscover his long-lost power.

WIth my parting words, I’d once again like to give my best wishes to Eugenio Velez and wish him a speedy recovery.  From personal experience, I know how scary head injuries can be.  Get better soon Geno.

Give me a nice dose of Werth if it's not too much trouble.

Things being the way they are, I’m throwing my support out to acquire Jayson Werth.  Rumor has it that the Phillies are looking to unload Werth and use the players in that deal to bring in Roy Oswalt.  In other words, the Phillies want minor leaguers to flip to Houston.  According to an interview on KNBR, Brian Sabean isn’t willing to deal anyone in the rotation, meaning minor leaguers are our only option in any trade.

If the Phillies want Oswalt, they need to unload Werth, plain and simple.  They would need to clear the salary space for Oswalt’s contract as well as acquire pieces to send to the Astros.  Philadelphia also has a replacement for Werth ready in the form of Domonic Brown, who many tag as one of the top prospects in baseball.  All this means that Werth is not only expendable, but needs to go if the Phillies want to add a crucial piece to their rotation.  If they ask for a Brandon Belt/Zack Wheeler-centric package, I’d be on board completely.

The one caveat here is that he would be the quintessential rent-a-player.  He’s a free agent after this year, so the Giants would be sacrificing future value for 2-3 months of Jayson Werth.  Even so, with the team we have now, a bat like his could prove to be essential down the line in a playoff run.  He’s shown that he’s not an average player having a fluky season (Corey Hart, Jose Bautista), and that he can stay healthy enough to be in the lineup every day (David DeJesus).

Before you call me insane, try imagining a lineup with Aubrey Huff, Buster Posey, Jayson Werth, and Pablo Sandoval hitting 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th respectively.  That’s a playoff-quality offense there folks, especially if Sandoval has truly found his stroke again.  Couple that with the pitching staff we have right now and the Giants would be well-equipped to make a deep run into the postseason.

As good as our offense has been so far the second half, it has the potential to be much better.  The one thing separating the Giants from playoff-hopeful to playoff certainty is an improved offense.  Dealing for Werth would leave our rotation intact, while improving the lineup, and pushing Aaron Rowand out of playing time for all of eternity.  The hit we’d take down the road prospect-wise is something we’d have to stomach if we want a postseason team.   And while it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if we didn’t get a hitter, it would help quell a lot of doubts about this team’s ability to go deep into October.  Just some food for thought.

Hero, savior, genius

Tonight’s game couldn’t have started out worse.  Tim Lincecum’s stuff looked terrible, he gave a quick three spot highlighted by a first-inning home run off the bat of Andre Ethier, and before we could blink, the Giants were down 5-1 in the 3rd inning.  After looking foolish against Clayton Von Patchybeard for 5 innings, this game looked all but over.

And then things started to get a little weird.  After getting two on with one out in the 6th, Pat Burrell crushed a ball that Jon Miller on the radio side made me believe was a three run homer.  Instead, left fielder Xavier Paul dropped the long fly ball on the warning track, bringing in one run.  After Pablo Sandoval doubled in two more runs, the game suddenly became interesting.

The very next inning, Kershaw decided that it would be wise to bean our worst hitter, Aaron Rowand, leading to the ejection of the Dodger pitcher along with manager Joe Torre, leaving the aforementioned Don Mattingly in charge.

After a couple uneventful innings, the Dodgers brought in the whale of their bullpen for the save in the 9th, the 300 pound Jonathan Broxton, who had just come off of a rough blown save against St. Louis.  Very quickly, the bases were loaded, Broxton couldn’t top 92 on his fastball, and acting-manager Don Mattingly decided a mound meeting would be wise.  After speaking his piece, Mattingly left the mound, turned around, and headed back to Broxton for additional advisement.

From there, Bruce Bochy cried foul, arguing that Mattingly had gone out for a second visit by turning back.  As such, Broxton was forced to be removed from the game, and George Sherrill and his 7+ ERA came in to pitch.  Andres Torres took full advantage of the mistake, doubling in the tying and go-ahead runs.  After Buster Jesus Christ Posey drove in an insurance run, suddenly a 5-1 loss had turned into a rousing 7-5 victory over pure evil.

Thanks to the maneuvering of our very own big-head, Bruce Bochy, the Giants were able to replace All-Star closer Jonathan Broxton with the first shmuck they could find to come in from the bullpen.  The fact that this shmuck happened to be the struggling lefty George Sherrill gives Bruce some extra bonus points.  Hate him all you want, but tonight, he came through.

For the time being, I’ll be riding the high off of some inspiring baseball.  Tomorrow, the Giants go for the sweep in Los Angeles, proving that there may indeed be a God.  And for the first time in recent memory, it seems as though He’s rooting for the Giants.  Of course, given the pact with Satan that the Dodgers have made, God probably has a vested interest in a Giants victory.

All theological discussion aside, I think we can all agree that this has been an interesting game to say the least.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get my jaw off of the floor.

Continuing the "best-of" series of Giants/Dodgers brawls

Tonight’s game was a shining example of good prevailing over evil.  Madison Bumgarner pitched well enough, going 5 and 2/3 innings and giving up just one earned run.  Travis Ishikawa continued to defy reason and hit well.  Pablo Sandoval had another game with a lot of hard contact.  Everything was going according to plan, and the Giants seemed to be on the fast track to victory.  Then the bullpen took over, and things quickly became unraveled.

And obviously, we should come to expect this from the Dodgers.  They made a deal with the lord of evil, Satan himself.  He’s not going to let the Dodgers go down without a fight, and our bullpen was happy to oblige.  After some moments that almost relegated me to hugging my knees in the corner, Brian Wilson decided to lead us even further down the rabbit hole to hell.

With the bases loaded, who else but Casey Blake would step up to the plate against Wilson.  The man who in the past has crowed about Wilson’s arm gesture after every save.  The man who many times before has hurt the Giants in a moment of need.  The man who’s evil beard conceals only more evil beneath it.  Naturally, three pitches and one coronary later, the Giants are up 1-0 in the series.

In a series like this, it’ll never be easy.  A 5-2 victory that on paper may seem harmless was in fact the most stressful game I’ve had the pleasure of viewing since…well, yesterday actually.  Thank Phil Cuzzi for that.  The result?  The Dodgers have now lost 5 games in a row and are 6 games out of first place.  The Giants on the other hand have now won 4 of 5 coming out of the break, and the one game we did lose should have gone in the win column anyways.

It’s not always pretty, but I’ll be damned if it’s not satisfying on so many levels to continue to see Los Angeles freefall through the standings.  These are the consequences when you make a pact with Satan people.  Take note.

This classic good versus evil matchup continues tomorrow, with the savior himself, Tim Lincecum taking the mound against Clayton Von Patchybeard.  Let’s hope we see the same amount of winning sans the stressful innings.

And in bigger news, Croix De Candlestick now has a Facebook page. Click the link, go be a fan, and thank me later.

Just another good, old-fashioned Giants/Dodger brawl.

Out of first by 4.5 games and trailing the Wild Card by half a game, the Giants are still very much in the chase for a playoff spot.  For the transition from contender to true playoff team to occur though, they need to improve on their 9-20 record against NL West competition.  The Giants are 1-7 against the Padres, 4-6 against the Rockies, and 1-5 against the Rockies, with plenty of games left to play against all three teams.

The three game set against the Dodgers on the road represents the beginning of turning this unfortunate trend around.  The Dodgers are coming off of a sweep at the hands of the Cardinals and are in the midst of a freefall.  The Giants just won three of four from a formidable Mets team, and honestly would have swept were it not for Phil Cuzzi.  Buster Posey is proving his first half wasn’t a fluke, Pablo Sandoval is beginning to show signs of the old Kung Fu Panda, and the pitching staff has been as good as ever.

All these factors are converging in Los Angeles tonight, making this the perfect opportunity to get back on the horse against teams within the NL West.  Playing a struggling team while your own is just beginning to find its stride entering late July presents the Giants with a golden opportunity.  And while we play the reeling Dodgers, the Padres draw the red-hot Braves, who have built themselves a considerable lead over the Mets and Phillies in the NL East.

With the opportunity to pick up some games in the standings against a Padres team that seems determined to never lose again, the Giants will send Madison Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum, and Barry Zito out opposite the Dodgers’ James McDonald, Clayton Kershaw, and Chad Billingsley.  After this series, the Giants make their way to Arizona to play a four game set against the one team in the NL West that we can still beat (3-2 against them on the season).

These next seven games are going to be crucial in terms of moving up the standings.  The Giants have drawn an easy schedule for the next few weeks, while their NL West opponents aren’t so lucky.  It may seem pretty obvious, but we absolutely need to take advantage of this next stretch of games.   Come September, things may not be so easy.  From August 30th through September 16th, the Giants play nothing but NL west competition.  We play Colorado at home, then go on a road trip to LA, Arizona, and San Diego.  The following homestand kicks off with a three game set against the Dodgers.

This next series will be a litmus test of sorts to how this new and improved Giants team will fare against some of their most important opponents.  It represents a golden opportunity to gain some confidence back, and what better way to do it than against team as inherently evil as the Los Angeles Dodgers?

As we look to Beat LA, let’s start the week off the right way with a Monday link dump:

On this date in, 1960, Juan Marichal made his Major League debut (Hardball Times)

The New Yorker’s perspective on Phil Cuzzi’s incompetence (New York Times)

Recap of the Giants/Mets series (Lefty Malo)

Q & A with Giants scouting director Doug Mapson (Baseball Beginnings)

He'd look good in orange if I do say so myself.

Per usual, the discussion begins with Jonathan Sanchez.  Lefty Malo touched briefly on Sanchez’ trade value, pointing out both his biggest strengths and most glaring weaknesses.  Think Oliver Perez back when he was actually an effective pitcher if you want an accurate portrait of Sanchez’ ceiling.  On one hand, the guy has a deceptive delivery, a good fastball, and solid offspeed offerings.  The downside?  At the age of 27, he still has no idea where the ball is going.  He runs up high pitch counts, walks a ton of hitters, and frequently exits games in the 5th inning.

My biggest concern in dealing Sanchez for anybody at this point is the fact that there’s really no one in the system who could step in and replace his value in the starting rotation (no, Dontrelle Willis will not be an option).  You then have to weigh the following: will the added offense we get out of a David DeJesus or Corey Hart improve the team more than losing Sanchez will?  It’s hard to say.

That said, I would be completely on board with acquiring DeJesus in a mid-level prospect-laden deal.  With the Royals in severe rebuilding mode (as they have been for the last decade or so), the right minor leaguers may be enough to pry DeJesus away.  He has a team-controlled option for 2010 worth $6 million, so he’s relatively inexpensive.  With a career line of .290/.368/.428, he would represent a solid upgrade in the outfield and plays solid enough defense in right and center field.  He’s in the midst of a more sustainable career year than Corey Hart in that he’s walking more often, striking out less, and making solid contact on a consistent basis, as evidenced by his 21% line drive rate.

The reality that the Royals would be willing to overlook Jonathan Sanchez though is unlikely.  Sanchez is a young, affordable arm, although in my opinion he may have reached his potential already.  He’s entering the prime years of his career at 27; odds are if he can’t throw strikes now, he isn’t going to learn anytime soon.  His walks per 9 innings rate hasn’t seen a significant decrease at any level (his BB/9 from the last four years: 4.85, 4.27, 4.85, 4.60 respectively).  He’s always going to be a high strikeout/high walk rate pitcher; to hope that he’ll suddenly cut his walk rate in half would be more than I could stomach.

If the only option at this point though is DeJesus for Sanchez straight up, I’d have to say no thanks.  Through all of Sanchez’ flaws, he’s still one of the best #4 starters in the NL.  On any other team, he could be a #2 or #3 guy, and as such provides us with a luxury that not many other teams can afford.  Going into the dog days of summer, rotational depth is more important than adding a bat that will marginally help an offense that may not need too much assistance as it is.

If yesterday’s game was any indication, the old Pablo Sandoval may be back, Buster Posey can still hit like the illegitimate love-child of Zeus and Anubis, and Tim Lincecum is still very, very good.  If there’s a deal out there that can net us a halfway decent bat and not cost us an integral part of pitching staff, I’d be very much on board.  Until then, I’d say the best approach is to stay patient and see if anything arises in the next couple weeks before the deadline.

Welcome back to the Bay, Dontrelle

The real story here is the downfall of Willis that began when he lost the strike zone in 2006, the year after he won 22 games.  He was never a strike out pitcher, and relied heavily on a deceptive delivery and average offspeed pitches.  Inexplicably, his walk rate went from 2.09 BB/9 in 2005, to 3.34 in 2006.  Since then he’s never been the same pitcher, battling mechanical issues, chronic anxiety, and shattered expectations.

The story of Dontrelle, a Bay Area kid from Oakland, is tragic.  After bursting onto the scene in 2003 to win Rookie of the Year, expectations have run high for him ever since.  To see someone fall so far is at best disappointing.  So if by some miracle the guy can work his out his problems and contribute down the road, I see no reason why that shouldn’t happen in San Francisco (or Fresno for that matter).  Welcome to the Giants Dontrelle; here’s hoping you find yourself now that you’re closer to home.

Oh Ned. Only now do I realize how little I miss you.

His reign in Los Angeles is highlighted by two major successes: the deal that netted them Andre Ethier from Oakland for Milton Bradley, and the one that brought Manny Ramirez to Chavez Ravine from Boston for Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris.  Past that though, there hasn’t been a whole lot to write home about.  The Ethier trade was actually Ned’s first one as the boss of the Dodgers.

His third trade, made approximately one year and one month later, sent young pitcher Edwin Jackson to Tampa Bay for a couple of relievers.  Jackson has gone on to be a more than effective starting pitcher, breaking out last season in Detroit to the tune of a 13 win season to go along with a 3.62 ERA and 1.26 WHIP.  This year in Arizona he’s been stuck in a hitters park, but still has shown flashes of brilliance as evidenced by the no-hitter he threw in Tampa Bay.  Even with the four years spent in south Florida twiddling his thumbs, Edwin Jackson has become a serviceable Major League starter.

In what was clearly a busy year for the new Dodger GM, 3 months later he dealt outfielder Cody Ross to Florida for a player to be named later.  The following season Ross broke out, hitting .335/.411/.653 in limited at-bats.  Since then, he’s been a respectable source of power and is a name being discussed right now pre-trade deadline.  Given the need that many teams have for an outfielder who can hit (the Giants included), odds are Ross is going to fetch the Marlins some decent value come July 31st.

Then in November of 2006, Colletti outdid even himself, signing slap-happy outfielder Juan Pierre to a five year deal.  To be fair, a certain Giants GM was rumored to have been pursuing Pierre as well.  Mercifully, Ned stepped in and saved us, locking the defensive-deficient and power-deficient outfielder up for a lot more money than he was worth.  Once Manny Ramirez arrived in Los Angeles, Pierre, much like our own Aaron Rowand, became a very expensive bench-warmer.

Since that fateful year, the volcano of Ned Colletti’s ineptitude laid dormant until July of 2008.  In a deal that sent catching prospect Carlos Santana and Jon Meloan to Cleveland, the Dodgers brought in Casey Blake.  And while Blake has been completely adequate for Los Angeles up until now, Santana has been pegged as the next big thing prospect-wise, in line with our Buster Posey.  Soon thereafter, Mannywood arrived, erasing the memory of the Blake/Santana trade that was essentially a coup for the Indians.

Colletti wasn’t finished there though.  Looking for some help for a beleaguered bullpen last season at the deadline, the Dodgers acquired lefty George Sherrill from Baltimore in exchange for third base prospect Josh Bell.  Sherrill, now with an ERA over 7, was place on waivers earlier this week.  Bell on the other hand was recently called up by Baltimore and sports a career minor league line of .285/.355/.474.

It’s easy to point out the flaws in our own GM, as we live with them on a daily basis watching the Giants.  Yes, dealing Joe Nathan and Francisco Liriano was a horrible travesty of a trade.  And yes, Aaron Rowand and Barry Zito both received too many years for too much money on the free agent market.  But Ned Colletti has screwed up more frequently and more recently than our esteemed general manager by a longshot.  Brian Sabean’s most recent moves include trading Bengie Molina for a relief arm and top pitching prospect, not shipping Jonathan Sanchez off for Corey Hart, trading an overrated arm in Tim Alderson for a starting second baseman, signing Aubrey Huff, and picking Andres Torres, Santiago Casilla, and Pat Burrell up off the scrap heap.

Colletti, in all his inexperience, hasn’t had a sustained run of success like that in all his five plus years in Los Angeles.  The success of recent Dodger teams has been largely due to the farm system (Matt Kemp, James Loney, Russell Martin, etc.), which is largely in control of the scouting department, not the GM.

With that, credit must be given where credit is due.  At times, Brian Sabean has made me want to pull out my hair and run screaming through the streets.  Over the last year and a half though, there’s been a marked difference in his judgment.  He’s a man who seems to have learned from past mistakes and become a better General Manager as a result.  When it comes to renewing his contract a year from now, I’m still not quite on board.  But in light of recent dealings, as well as the fact that he’s not Ned Colletti, I bestow upon our Fearless Leader the very temporary Croix De Candlestick Stamp of Approval.  This stamp is of course subject to revocation should the trade deadline result in complete disaster.  As a Giants fan I reserve the right to be as mercurial and bipolar as the team I root for.

Sorry Corey, we don't want you, or your crazy Amish beard

This being so, trade discussions involving NL RBI leader Corey Hart came into play shortly before the All-Star break.  Hart is in the midst of a career year, exceeding his averages in just about every category, leading many experts to believe that he’s due for a crash back down to Earth any day now.  The asking price from the Brewers, per Henry Schulman, was one of either Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner.  Such a deal would likely result in mass hysteria in the streets of San Francisco.  I’m talking seven horsemen of the apocalypse hysteria too here people.  Hart plays abysmal defense and is putting up unsustainable numbers that inflate his value.  Lucky for us, Brian Sabean wisely declined, and now we’re back to speculation.

So who would be a good fit?  Given that there are approximately thirteen teams right now that consider themselves “out of contention,” the options have been limited.  Rumor has it the Brewers are willing to listen on offers for Prince Fielder, but if Corey Hart would cost us Jonathan Sanchez or Bumgarner, I imagine the asking price for Fielder would be astronomical.  Other than that, there haven’t been a ton of rumors around the water cooler.

All we know are a few things.   Firstly, Brian Sabean has stated that if the Giants were to acquire a player, it wouldn’t be for a rental.  Keep in mind that the rent-a-player trade deadline strategy  has seen mixed results for the Giants.  For every Andres Galarraga, there’s been a Ricky Ledee.  For every Jason Schmidt, there’s a Shea Hillenbrand lurking in the shadows.  The point here is that any movement at the trade deadline isn’t necessarily good movement.

I’m of the mind that on the right day, the Giants offense can be positively average.  Pat Burrell has found a new home in San Francisco to the tune of a .286/.365/.484 line, Buster Posey is the reincarnated human form of Thor himself, and Aubrey Huff/Andres Torres are putting together career years.  Grant over at McCovey Chronicles made a good point in that the biggest addition to the offense in the second half the Giants can make is Pablo Sandoval.  Mired in a season-long slump, all the statistical indicators right now point to some bad luck for our portly corner infielder.  Last season after the break, the Panda hit .327/.389/.530 in the midst of a breakout season.  Now if he can even approach a line like that in the next two and a half months, the offense may well be able to compete with the likes of the Padres, Dodgers, and Rockies.

If by some miracle the Giants acquire a big hitter in a multi-player deal that doesn’t end in complete disaster and misery, then of course I’d be on board with a trade.  Hell, even last year’s Freddy Sanchez/Tim Alderson deal isn’t looking so bad right now, given that Alderson was recently demoted back to high-A after struggling in AA.  The problem here is that it’s difficult to envision a trade that wouldn’t seriously hinder the pitching staff, or cost the Giants a major piece of their future.  Any club we approach with a trade offer is going to automatically inquire into Sanchez and Bumgarner, two guys we can’t afford to lose at this point.  It would be wise to avoid the “any trade is a good trade” mentality, and so far it appears as though we’ve been a success in that department, given the recent overtures from the Milwaukee Brewers.

The next few weeks of wheeling and dealing may very well decide the fate of the National League West.  At this point, it’s a question of who’s available for the right price in the right deal.  If somehow the Giants can fenegle Lance Berkman out of the Astros for Thomas Neal and a couple other prospects, you can color me interested.