SD 1, SF 0: 2nd Place? Yup.

Madison Bumgarner looked great today. As Keith Law pointed out on Twitter, pitching in Petco Park against the Padres will have that effect. Bumgarner went 7 innings, gave up only 3 hits, 1 of which was a HR, struck out 4 and walked none. He only had 79 pitches when he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the 8th, and could have conceivable gone the full 9 innings.

Unfortunately the Giants themselves only managed 3 hits against the Padres the entire game. Yeah, it was one of THOSE games. Not much else to say.

I agreed with Bochy's decision to lift Bumgarner in the 8th. At that point, your offensive outs are extra precious, and you can't waste any on a pitcher batting. On the other hand, I didn't understand the decision to pinch hit Pablo Sandoval for Freddy Sanchez. Sanchez is a hot hitter, hotter than Sandoval. It seemed like Bochy was going for the more powerful bat in hopes the Giants could tie the game with a HR. I don't agree with that. Especially in Petco Park, you don't play for the HR. You try to string together hits. And Freddy Sanchez would have been a better option for that. Whatever. We'll get them tomorrow. The Old Lincecum is going up against a terrible lineup. He has to shut them out. Mat Latos will finally have a non quality start. It's gotta happen that way.

SF 1, SD 0: First Place? Yup.

Hey, I don't care how it's done, as long as it's done. And tonight it was done. And when it was done I was happy. Done.

That was weird. Maybe it's not an unfamiliar type of game for Giants fans because that's how it goes against the Padres. With the exception of last night, usually we can't score against them or maybe we're able to squeeze out a run or two. And it figures that after Jonathan Sanchez lost a game in which he allowed just 1 hit earlier this year, the Giants would win a game where Sanchez walked 7 batters and threw as many balls as strikes. I guess it all evens out.

The player of the game has got to be Nate Schierholtz. With 1 out in the 7th inning, Aubrey Huff was on 3rd and Schierholtz had come in to pinch-run for Jose Guillen at 1st. Juan Uribe decided to hit what would've been a double play grounder to 2nd, but Nate slid aggressively into the bag, and the throw was late to first. Aubrey Huff scored to give the Giants a 1-0 lead, and that was all they'd need. Not always pretty, but I'll take it.

I don't like to complain when we, but something needs to be asked. Why the hell did Wilson swing the bat in the 9th?? He should've struck out and let Torres attempt to drive the runners in. I don't understand letting a pitcher, especially a reliever, bat in that situation when insurance runs are needed. We're lucky it didn't cost us. And why did Uribe feel the need to wrap is hand around the catcher's leg as he was crossing home?? That was a bizarre play.

WE ARE TIED FOR THE DIVISION LEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ahem. I'm pretty sure a late night FJM Friday post is in the works. I don't want to make any promises, but I think it's happening. You'll want to read it because Scott Ostler wrote a pretty ridiculous thing for the Chronicle today.

FJM Friday: Bench Ostler

I don't know much about Scott Ostler. I always get him and John Shea mixed up. And I rarely read the Chronicle anymore, unless it is ruthlessly/pathetically looking for articles to appear on Fire Joe Morgan Friday. I feel like I've heard him on KNBR before, but that might have been John Shea. Except it was probably Scott Ostler, because I remember the guy being kinda awkward and not very engaging, giving lots of short answers. John Shea looks like a nice guy, who would wanna talk. Scott Ostler looks like, um, someone that might be like that guy I heard on KNBR a couple years ago. Whatever. Scott Ostler wrote some really dumb things in today's Sporting Green, so here they are in bold, with my thoughts in regular text.

Bench Panda. The Giants are making a dash for the playoffs. They need runs. Time to bench Pablo Sandoval.

Uh oh. This can't be going anywhere intelligent.

Sandoval's batting average is 61 points lower than last season, 76 points lower than 2008. Hello. Something is wrong.

As long as you're going to use the sarcastic "hello?" as a device in your article, please include the recommended question mark, a punctuation tool that provides the tone necessary for accomplishing your intended sarcasm. Also, did you really just cite his 2008 batting average? When he had 154 plate appearances?

He cannot hit right-handed. Against lefty pitchers, he's at .233. With one home run. One.

Yes, Pablo Sandoval has struggled mightily this year against lefties. But splits, especially single year ones, can be very deceptive, and should be analyzed with caution. Here's why:

Sandoval, right handed, 2010: 146 PAs - .233/.288/.316/.603
Sandoval, right handed, 2009: 159 PAs - .379/.428/.600/1.028

Pablo Sandoval can't hit left handers. Pablo Sandoval CRUSHES left handers. Which is it? Well, it's neither. Sandoval was simply a better hitter last year, and it happened that he was STRONGER from the right side. This year, for whatever reason, he is struggling as a hitter, and he happens to be weaker from the right side. Why? Quite simply, randomness. That's what it is. It's random. If Sandoval had a serious problem seeing lefties or with his right handed swing, he wouldn't have made it this far as a switch hitter. And he wouldn't have OPS'd over 1.000 last year as a right handed hitter.

He would be better off batting lefty against lefty pitchers, so at least he could concentrate on grooving his lefty swing. That's not going to happen.

This is not a good idea. There is a reason that switch hitters are switch hitters. It is an advantage to hit in the opposite direction of the pitcher. Yet I hear this a lot, that a switch hitter should just focus on the one side. It's usually the side that he is appearing to hit well from. But that kind of thinking ignores what I presented above, that switch hitters don't naturally hit better from a particular side, that it is randomness that makes it appear so.

But at the very least, Sandoval should sit down every time the other team throws a lefty. Take a seat.

Please stop writing with the short phrase style of Ernest Hemingway. "Take a seat". "Hello". "One". We get it. You are making a point. This is not a telegram. Stop. (Yes, I did do right there EXACTLY what I just told you not to.)

Juan Uribe can play 3rd. Aubrey Huff. Freddy Sanchez. Get hot bats in the lineup.

You didn't seriously just suggest that Aubrey Huff play 3rd base. Okay, you did. And yes, Aubrey Huff has played 3rd base in the past. But still, hell no. Aubrey Huff should not play 3rd. Of course, all 3 of these players CAN conceivable play 3rd base in place of Sandoval. But they all already have positions in the starting lineup. So who replaces them?

Shortstop (Uribe): Renteria = Not better than Sandoval
2nd Base (Sanchez): Fontenot = Not better than Sandoval
1st Base (Huff): Ishikawa = Not better than Sandoval, ESPECIALLY NOT AGAINST LEFTIES!

None of these players is better offensively RIGHT NOW than Sandoval, nor do they have the offensive potential of Pablo. So this does not improve the Giants scoring in the least.

I'm not saying the Giants should give up on Panda. But the final 3 weeks of the season is all about now; it's not the time for a reclamation project.

You're right, and if the Giants had a better hitter to put in the infield, then it might be the right move. But any of the hitters that would ostensibly take Sandoval's place as an everyday player are NOT better offensively. Any defensive improvement is negligible at best. So stick with Sandoval, because there's nothing else to do, and he COULD always suddenly heat up.

Oh, one more thing before the clock strikes midnight. Brian Wilson is not a candidate for the NL Cy Young. And he shouldn't be. No reliever should ever be, unless he pitches maybe 100 innings, has a perfect save percentage, and allows .500 baserunners per inning. Only then. Goodnight.

SF 7, SD 3: Giants Win Important Home Game

You wanna know something? It's a little bit easier to write a recap when the Giants lose because it's easier to complain. When the Giants lose I can criticize the players, the manager, anyone. I can vent, I can curse, I can be angry. It's just easier to focus on the negative. So, maybe tonight's recap will be harder to write, but that's okay because everything went well in this game.

You have to love it when your leadoff hitter sets the tone for the offense and Andres Torres did just that, hitting a leadoff triple to start the game. Freddy Sanchez brought him in with an RBI single to give the Giants a 1-0 lead, but the real story of this game was the power display. Aubrey Huff went deep with a 2-run homer in the 3rd. Juan Uribe hit a solo shot in the 4th. Buster Posey hit a 2-run BOMB in the 5th. And Pat Burrell capped it off with another homer in the 6th. Four home runs in Petco Park, probably the hardest place to go deep in the majors. I just hope they saved some runs for the rest of the series.

Matt Cain was also very good. Actually, he was probably even better than his stat line would suggest. He went 8 IP giving up 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB with 8 K's but really, his only 2 mistakes came on 2 pitches. In the 3rd, he gave up a solo home run to Will Venable and a 2-run shot to Ryan Ludwick late in the game when it didn't really matter. All in all, he was very good. It's feels really nice when the offense and pitching produce at the same time.

How sad are Padres fans? There were just as many Giants fans as Padres fans there. You would've thought it was a home game. I get that the Padres are the most boring team in the league, but they're still in a playoff race. Terrible.

ARI 3, SF 1: Every Game Is Crucial Now

It seems a bit silly to care about each and every game right now and to react so strongly when the Giants lose. But it really isn't silly at all. This is the last month of the season and when you have a chance to sweep a very, very bad team on the road, you better capitalize. And you know what else? San Diego still scares me. They may have had a 10-game losing streak, but they're about to sweep LA and I don't doubt that they can still shut down our offense and score just enough runs to beat us. With the Rockies slowly creeping up behind us and the most important series of the year so far coming up, tonight's loss was very disappointing.

The loss was that much worse because Barry Zito pitched well for the first time in over a month. It seems like right now he can do no right, as he was hounded by Giants fans on Twitter early tonight when he gave up a couple of runs, but his start was solid. He went 6 IP, giving up 4 H, 2 ER, and 3 BB with 7 K's. That kind of performance should normally be good enough to get the team a win, but the offense failed the Giants tonight.

The only run came from a Freddy Sanchez home run. Surprise!

Tomorrow is the start of an absolutely CRUCIAL series against the Padres. It would've been nice to have been ahead in the standings before facing them, but the Giants have a chance to do some real damage this weekend anyway. It's looking like by the end of the night, they will be 2 games back in the West. It's a 4 game series, so the Giants will need to win at least 3 games to be tied or ahead of San Diego. On the other hand, if the Giants completely fall flat, they'll be in big trouble. Let's hope the pitching staff and the offense bring their A-games this weekend.

It's A Slow Day

It's cold and overcast here and I'm basically using that as an excuse for me not being able to come up with something to write about today. So, I thought I'd throw out a question for you guys.

Barry Zito is starting tonight, and as the rotation has started to heat up in September, Zito is the lone starter who has not found his groove. As a result, there seems to be a lot of negativity and hate surrounding Zito. I'm not saying it's unwarranted hate, he hasn't looked good for over a month now, but a thought came into my mind.

When the Giants make the playoffs, and if they go with a 3-man playoff rotation, who are your 3 guys?

This is NOT if the season ended today. By the end of the season, when the playoffs come around, which 3 guys do you want starting for the Giants? I think it's an interesting question because despite Zito's struggles, both heads of 8thInningWeirdness would go with Lincecum, Cain, and Zito. But I have a feeling that many of you would choose Bumgarner, maybe Sanchez over Zito.

I think Lincecum and Cain are locks for everybody. If you don't have both of them in your lineup, I would really like you to explain yourself. So, the focus is on the 3rd starter. Personally, I go with Zito because of his postseason experience and because I still think he'll be our 3rd best option. Sanchez is the most erratic of all the Giants starters and by the time the playoffs roll around, Bumgarner might be worn out.

Anyway, leave your 3-man rotation in the comments section and explain why you chose those guys.

SF 6, ARI 3: Tim Lincecum Is A Nasty Man

So, Tim Lincecum might be back. Yeah, I'm thinking he's gonna be okay. Ignore the fact that he had a rough 7th inning, giving up a 2-run homer and an RBI triple. Tonight he looked like the former Cy Young winner, giving up 5 H and 0 BB with 11 Ks in 6 2/3 innings. He was nasty.

Of course it helped that he got some early run support. The Giants put up 3 runs in the first inning, the first 2 coming on an Aubrey Huff home run. After Buster Posey doubled, Jose Guillen singled him in to make the score 3-0. Now, you make think I'm lying, but Freddy Sanchez hit an opposite field homer in the 5th. Yeah, I was surprised too. The Giants weren't done yet as Pat Burrell hit his own 2-run shot to give the Giants a 6-0 lead. All the scoring was significant because the last time they faced Barry Enright, a game I had to sit through, they couldn't hit anything.

Tonight is already a great night. It could be greater if the Dodgers would beat the Padres, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. God, they're useless.