The San Francisco Giants added much-needed help to their depleted bullpen, pulling the trigger on two deals as the July 31st deadline came and went. 

With injuries sidelining lefties Jeremy Affeldt and Dan Runzler, the Giants traded for relievers Javier Lopez and Ramon Ramirez from the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox, respectively. 

Lopez is a left-handed specialist, suited for pitching exclusively to tough-out southpaw hitters.  From what I understand, he’s really good at this, which is big due to the aforementioned injuries.  He cost a pretty penny too, as San Francisco sent outfielder John Bowker and starting pitcher Joe Martinez to the Pirates in return.  Both were bouncing between Fresno and the home club all season, so I can’t say that they’ll be horribly missed.  Bowker never really showed that he was capable of hitting at the major league level, despite ample opportunities.  Martinez both never performed in the majors and, to be honest, wasn’t really needed as the Giants have a full starting five.  Good move made.

Ramirez is a right handed thrower and less exciting of a pickup than Lopez.  He had a 4.46 ERA in 44 games for the Red Sox this season and is just a piece to toss into the mix.  Can’t say he’ll do well.  Can’t say he’ll crash and burn.  Just a matter of wait and see.  He was good in the two previous seasons and probably is an upgrade over either Denny Bautista or Santiago Casilla, so that’s something.  I can’t imagine being disappointed with such a low expectation level.  He also only cost the team minor league pitcher Daniel Turpen (who?).  Exactly.  This won’t seal their visit to the World Series, but it also won’t be a bummer if it flames. 

Go Orange and Black.

Travis Ishikawa’s extra-inning single led the San Francisco Giants to a 3-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks and capped off a four game sweep in the desert.

Batting with two out in the tenth and the score knotted at three, Ishikawa stroked a single to right field, driving home pinch-runner Eli Whiteside as the Giants continued their post-All-Star game tear.  Rookie phenom Buster Posey culminated a four-hit day with a double to lead off the inning before being lifted for pinch-runner.   Posey also drove in a run with a double in the first and extended his hit streak to 18 games.  Tim Lincecum went eight dominant innings, striking out five, but ended up with a no decision.  Sergio Romo (3-3) struck out two in the bottom of the ninth for the victory and Brian Wilson pitched a perfect tenth for his 29th save.  Esmerling Vasquez (1-3) picked up the loss.   Barry Enright pitched well for the Diamondbacks and drove in two runs with a double and two hits.

In the openeer, Matt Cain (8-8) shone, evening up his record while striking out nine over eight shutout innings, as the Giants won 3-0.  Andres Torres homered (9) and Buster Posey had two hits.  Brian Wilson tossed the ninth for his 27th save.  Rodrigo Lopez (5-9) took the loss, despite seven solid innings.

In the second game, Aubrey Huff homered twice (18, 19), driving in three and the Giants withstood Kelly Johnson hitting for the cycle and driving in three runs, as San Francisco prevailed 7-4.  Jonathan Sanchez was wild but struck out ten in five innings and Chris Ray (3-0) picked up the victory.  The Giants took advantage of two throwing errors by starter Edwin Jackson (6-9) in a three run seventh inning, highlighted by a two run triple off the bat off Andres Torres.   Brian Wilson tossed the ninth for his 28th save.

In the third game, the Giants worked around a scare with Juan Uribe hitting a grand slam (13) and rookie Madison Bumgarner dominating for seven innings as San Francisco won, 10-4.  Bumgarner (4-2)  struck out seven over seven strong innings.  Ian Kennedy (5-8) picked up the loss.  The scare came in the fourth inning when Eugenio Velez, in the dugout, was struck in the face by a line drive foul off the bat of teammate Pat Burrell.  He was conscious and taken to the hospital for tests.  Preliminary results were negative.

Well, great series for the Orange and Black.  Nice to see the perfect combination of offense and incredible pitching.  A little more focus from Jonathan Sanchez would be nice.  Walks are killers.  Prayers with Velez as this was a fluke injury.  He was placed on the DL for this and the team recalled Ryan Rohlinger.  Get back soon, Pharoah.  Also, Pablo Sandoval took off after yesterday’s game.  I guess he was heading back to Venezuela to take care of personal issues.  Again, prayers that he gets this taken care of.  Such things might be contributors to his slow start this season.  Again, great series by the Giants, especially on the road.  No real complaints.  Posey is awesome.  The team needed him and he hasn’t disappointed.  Go Giants!!!!

The Giants will next host the Florida Marlins on Monday night.  The Arizona Diamondbacks will travel and play the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday evening.

After suffering from a first half of non-production from the catcher spot, the San Francisco Giants shipped Bengie Molina to the Texas Rangers in exchange for reliever Chris Ray and minor league pitcher Michael Main. 

Okay, first things first, I love this move.  It clears up a log-jam in the lineup.  Molina had some good years in San Francisco but, this season, was doing 1) very little with the bat 2) less on defense and probably 3) minimal with his ability to call a game.  Those things, combined, mean one thing.  He wasn’t helping the team.  His movement opens up the catcher position for uber-blue-chipper Buster Posey.   Baptism by fire?  Yes.  However, I have little doubt that he can do it.  Also, Eli Whiteside is still in the mix to mentor and spell the rookie (probably when Jonathan Sanchez pitches, actually).  Since Posey is now playing catcher, first base is open.   Will Aubrey Huff return to the position?  He might, but I think that the team is probably happier with Travis Ishikawa at first base than Nate Schierholtz in right field, a position currently occupied by Huff.  Being a fan of both Ishikawa and Schierholtz, I’d be happy with either in their respective positions.  Perhaps this is the beginning of more beneficial moves.  Who knows?  Perhaps next, the team could ship off Aaron Rowand.  Stranger things have happened. 

Oh, and by the way, Ray is a former closer for Baltimore.  He should do well to shore up the bullpen.  Another bonus.

The San Francisco Giants had a perfect set up, starting the top of their rotation for a home weekend series against the Oakland Athletics.  The results were equally perfect as the Giants beat the A’s in three straight, exacting revenge on an Oakland team that swept them not two weeks earlier. 

In the opener, Tim Lincecum (6-2), who of late had appeared human, regained his usual dominance.  The two time Cy Young winning phenom went eight innings, surrendering two runs and striking out seven while walking only one as the San Francisco won 6-2.  Pat Burrell hit his first homerun for the Giants (3) and Bengie Molina added a blast (3) for good measure off loser Gio Gonzalez (6-4).  After Jeremy Affeldt had trouble to start the ninth, Brian Wilson came in to put out the fire, recording the final out via strikeout for his 16th save.

In the middle game, Barry Zito (7-2) finally beat his old team, winning by a margin of 5-4.  The Giants staked Zito to a 5-1 lead behind two RBI by Juan Uribe and a homerun off the bat of Pablo Sandoval (5), all off loser Ben Sheets (2-6).   Zito struck out six in seven innings,  giving up two runs.   The Athletics made it close, rallying against Guillermo Mota in the seventh, but never got closer than one run.  Brian Wilson entered in the eighth, picking up the final five outs for his 17th save.   Matt Carson hit his first homerun of the season off Zito in a losing effort.

In the finale, Matt Cain (6-4) continued his dominance of anybody holding a bat, winning his fourth straight start, 6-2.  Cain pitched seven dominant innings, scattering eight hits and striking out four.  The Giants backed him with power as Aubrey Huff (9,10) and Juan Uribe (10) each homered to back the right-hander.  Guillermo Mota had another shaky outing but newcomer Santiago Casilla pitched the last 1 2/3 innings for his second save.  Vin Mazzaro (2-1) picked up his first loss of the season for the A’s.  Kevin Kouzmanoff had hits in each game to extend his career best hitting streak to 14 games.   

Wow.  What a difference a few games makes.  The orange and black played awesome this weekend.   The pitching was on and dominating.  We like to see that.  Cain is in a groove.  Here’s hoping he continues what he’s doing.  Ditto Brian Wilson.  Not sure what to make of Guillermo Mota’s latest struggles.  Perhaps his early success was not representative of what we were getting.  Where’s Sergio Romo in the eighth?  Jeremy Affeldt was okay, but it’s pretty obvious that the team doesn’t have total faith in him, as yet.  But, the big story is undoubtably that Lincecum’s back.  Only one walk through eight is nice.  This is more expected than what we’ve been seeing lately.   Nice to see Panda slamming the ball again.  Ditto Huff.  He’s truly been a nice surprise, as has Pat Burrell.  Aaron Rowand’s starts seem to be dwindling.  I think that’s only a good thing for the offense.   Perhaps a DFA in the future?  2 1/2 years is a lot of patience to save face for a bad signing.  It only a few weeks (games?) to tell Travis Ishikawa, Nate Schierholtz, and John Bowker that they weren’t up to par.  I wonder what is taking them so long for Rowand.  Hmmmm.

The Giants will next play host to the team with the worst record in the majors, the Baltimore Orioles, on Monday night.  Here’s hoping that they don’t let up the intensity.  The Oakland Athletics will travel to Chicago to play the Cubs on Tuesday evening.  On a roster note, Todd Wellemeyer went on the 15-day disable list after his last start.  His roster and rotation spot will be filled by second year player Joseph Martinez, who will make his first major league appearance of the season on Tuesday evening.   He’s been pitching alright in AAA Fresno.  Here’s hoping his return to the majors will pay dividends.

The San Francisco Giants decided that Edgar Renteria’s groin injury was worthy of two weeks of rest and relaxation.  As a result, they placed the veteran shortstop on the 15 day disabled list.  To fill his roster spot, the team recalled infielder Ryan Rohlinger from AAA Fresno. 

In another move, the Giants recalled veteran reliever Denny Bautista from Fresno and optioned struggling utility player Eugenio Velez to the AAA affiliate.

What do these moves mean for us?  First, get well Edgar.  Second, get better, Eugenio.  Third, we are now lacking in players whose first names begin with the letter ‘E’.  Fourth, the addition of Bautista is interesting.  It gets the pitching staff back up to 13.  He’s an adequate reliever.  However, he’s never been consistent at the major league level.  In parts of seven seasons, he’s only played in 100 games and sports a rather unimpressive 6.26 ERA.  He has journeyman and stopgap written all over him.  Yes he pitched well in AAA.  However, he’s pitched well in the minors before and has yet to prove he belongs in the majors.  I can’t see how he can help the team in the long term.  I just pray that, should Todd Wellemeyer be pulled from the rotation, that Bruce Bochy doesn’t figure out that Bautista used to start  *shudder*  Additionally, Rohlinger is back for try number three.  He’s been good in the minors and overmatched and under-impressive in the majors.  This oozes of AAAA player.  I know that I thought the same thing of Matt Downs when he was first recalled this year and he’s done well.  Perhaps he’ll prove me wrong.  However, I don’t think so.  He has fifteen days to prove himself up to the task.   Go get ‘em kid.

A late homerun by Manny Ramirez sunk the San Francisco Giants, 2-1, and kept them from gleaning the fruits of victory from back to back excellent starts Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito against the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Staked to a 1-0 lead via a solo shot by Juan Uribe (2), Zito spun 7 1/3 shutout innings and exited, ahead 1-0, following a one out walk to Garret Anderson.  Sergio Romo (0-1) came on to face pinch hitter Manny Ramirez who launched a two run homerun (2) for the final tally, 2-1.  Clayton Kershaw tossed seven excellent innings for a no decision.  Ramon Troncoso (1-0) pitched 1/3 of a inning and backed into the victory for Los Angeles.  Jonathan Broxton pitched the ninth for his first save of the season.

In the opener, the Dodgers jumped all over Todd Wellemeyer (0-2) early, scoring seven runs in the first two innings, winning 10-8 after the Giants scored five meaningless runs in the ninth.  Adam Ethier blasted two homeruns (2,3) including a grand slam to back Vicente Padilla (1-1), who went seven solid innings, striking out seven Giants.   He also hit Aaron Rowand in the helmet with a pitch in the fifth inning.  Rowand exited and was taken for examinations which revealed several fractures around his nose.  He was placed on the 15-day disabled list.  Matt Downs was recalled from AAA Fresno to take his roster spot.

In the middle game, Tim Lincecum (3-0) shone for the third straight game, pitching six shutout innings, striking out seven, as the Giants won 9-0.   Giant hitters tore apart knuckleballer Charlie Haeger (0-1) to the tune of seven runs on seven hits and five walks in three innings.  With the bat, Lincecum went 3-4 with three RBI, to support his own cause.  Juan Uribe, Bengie Molina, Eugenio Velez, and Edgar Renteria all drove in a run to back Lincecum.

To be honest, this is the best I’ve felt after losing a series in quite a while.  Pitching was above average.  Hitting was adequate to good.  Per the games lost, the second could have gone either way.  Of course, there’s the argument, why wasn’t closer Brian Wilson brought on?  Why was Manny pitched to?  While both are legitimate, Romo is a quality pitcher and worthy of being trusted in the eighth in such a situation.   Per the first game, yes the bats weren’t there for a slugfest.  However, my only complaint is Wellemeyer (though he did alright after the early stumbling).   I’m starting to doubt he’s up to the task to be the team’s number five starter.   I think he did well enough in spring training to be here now.  However, I say that if he doesn’t start producing in the next game or two, he should get a few reps in the bullpen and they should look to the minor leagues for a replacement (probably Kevin Pucetas).  After all is said and done, the Giants went toe to toe with the Dodgers and came out of it looking pretty good (if even with less victories than losses). 

The Giants will next travel to San Diego to play the Padres.  The Dodgers will travel to Cincinnati to play the Reds on Tuesday night.

The San Francisco Giants dealt outfielder Fred Lewis to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for either a player to be named later or cash considerations.

Okay, this move was needed and I hope he does better for Toronto than he did for the Giants.  I was always a fan and think he could be a star, but he needed a change of scenery.  That said, I think I’d like to see some more wheelin’ and dealin’ here.  If the Giants end up getting cash, that will be the third player they’ve dealt since the end of last season (Kevin Frandsen and Merkin Valdez being the first two) for cash.  That’s silly.  That’s lazy scouting.  Is there nobody languishing in the minors that would be given in return?  I look at Darren Ford, who the Giants got as practically a throw-in for Ray Durham.  Also, Vinnie Chulk was servicable several years ago.  The list goes on.  It’s not that tough to pry somebody loose from another team.  However, perhaps the front office is in need of help paying for the Zito deal.   It’s a thought.  Dunno.

Good luck in Toronto, Fred!!

Rumors have injured Giants left-fielder Fred Lewis heading north to the Toronto Bluejays via trade perhaps as soon as Thursday.  No word on who the team can expect to receive in return.

On one hand, should these rumors be true, I’ll miss Lewis.  I don’t think he ever hit his full potential in San Francisco.  However, he was expected to take over left field for Barry Bonds.  Good luck living up to that one.  The glut in the Giants outfield signalled that his days by the Bay were numbered.  If he stays healthy, the Blue Jays will be getting a good leadoff hitter who might blossom in the great north.  Enjoy the weather, Fred.  Good luck and God bless.

The San Francisco Giants cleared up a roster spot, sending infielder Kevin Frandsen to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.  

What does this mean for us?   To be honest, though I like Frandsen, it shouldn’t really have that much of an impact on the team.  He was probably slated to spend the better part of the season at AAA Fresno.   From that perspective, it clears up a spot on the minor league club.   Frandsen was a hard nosed player, to be sure.  However, it was in the cards that his future with the team was limited.   The Red Sox will get a possible diamond in the rough.  The Giants just couldn’t wait around for it.  I am sure that all Giants fans wish him the best with his new club.  Now, make us bummed that we got rid of you, Kevin.  Have a great time in Bean Town.

Starting catcher and block of wood on the basepaths Bengie Molina, after testing free agent waters over the offseason, re-signed to a one year deal with the San Francisco Giants, reportedly at $4.5 million. 

Okay, on one hand, he’s a okay hitter.  That will help the lineup and benefit the team.  On the other hand, this signing means that future star Buster Posey will likely start the season in AAA.  Posey lit up the minors last season and might be ready for the jump to the majors.  However, he gets another season of minor league ball.  Perhaps he’ll benefit from a year of AAA ball in Fresno, being managed by former major league catcher Steve Decker.  I think they might have been able to get Molina for less than $4.5 million, too.  But, what’s done is done and such.  Eli Whiteside gets another season of backing up Molina.  I really would have liked to see Posey over the season, but they’re taking their time with him.   That’s alright.  Molina should NOT be in the same position in the lineup this season.  He needs to bat 6 or 7 in order to avoid clogging the basepaths.   All in all, not a horrible move, provided that they (and he) keep it in the proper perspective.  He’s just back for one more season (if that much).