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Showing posts from June, 2013

Biggest Need: Relievers, Starter or Outfielder?

We're still over a month away from MLB's non-waiver trading deadline, but with the Giants battling injuries left and right, and the team sinking in the standings, they may not have the luxury of waiting it out to see what kind of bargain they can find. The reigning world champs certainly haven't looked the part lately. They've gone 9-13 in June and there doesn't appear to be a whole lot of help on the way. Just as their starting pitching has started turning things around to a certain extent, the offense and bullpen have started to nose-dive. Losing Angel Pagan for what could be the remainder of the season creates a huge void in the Giants outfield and starting lineup. Gregor Blanco has really caught fire this month, and appears capable of holding down the leadoff spot in Pagan's absence, but that creates a new hole over in left field, where Andres Torres just doesn't appear capable of handling the everyday duties. Now a team that was in desperate need of a

Giants Need to Make Changes With Pitching

We're approaching the halfway mark of the 2013 MLB season, and for about the last month or so, the Giants have been the definition of a mediocre baseball team. Their pitching has been an issue all season long, and we've talked about it here in nearly every post over the last 6 weeks, and the fact that they haven't made any significant changes yet surprises me a bit. We all knew that once Vogey went down at the end of May, it would force Chad Gaudin into the starting rotation (where he's been remarkable so far), and would cause a ripple effect in the bullpen by result. Now we're seeing more of George Kontos where we were seeing Gaudin and Santiago Casilla late in ballgames and he's getting exposed. The lefties have been on point, and Sergio Romo continues to get the job done, but the Giants bullpen needs to add some stability. Luckily, Kontos was optioned back to Fresno after the game, but it wasn't in exchange for the guy I was hoping. I've been asking

Giants Notes: Pagan To Return, Lincecum to Pen?

The last time the Giants saw the Blue Jays, they played one of their worst series' of the year, and they've struggled with a 7-12 record since. Tuesday night, Toronto will roll into town, and the Giants have to get back on track and take advantage of the reeling Blue Jays. One positive the Giants get to look forward to when their homestand gets underway will be the return of leadoff man Angel Pagan. The Giants speedy center fielder has been on the bench since May 25th due to a hamstring strain that narrowly missed landing him on the DL. It will be nice to get some semblance back at the top of the order and gets to return to face a pitcher he's had good success against in Josh Johnson (7-17 in career). Not that Torres and Blanco have been bad in Pagan's absence, but having both of those guys in the lineup together doesn't exactly give you a potent offense. Mix that in with the fact that Pablo Sandoval has been sidelined since late-May as well and it's made thin