GAMEBALL 2009 First Half

Wow, what a great year…..the Giants expected to turn in its 5th straight losing season finds itself at the break 10 game above .500 with the 2nd best record in the National League and in the lead for the wild card…… so everything must have gone perfectly right? No way, we have had our share of failure and frustration… promises not kept and potential unfulfilled…… I am tempted to do one of those ESPN's esque lets give em A, B and C….. but this ain't college….. and if it was a college it would probably have this guy ….. telling us to ask him about his weiner

GAMEBALL and JOKE
2009 First Half

GAMEBALL

PANDA

BAP!, POW!, CRASH!, Ker PLUNK! as if from the pages of a comic book, Pablo Panda Sandoval stepped into Giants fans lives from seemingly out of nowhere…. less that 2 years ago he was just a pudgy catcher toiling in San Jose. He wasn't even listed in the top 30 Giants prospects by Baseball America in 2007, a list that included such greats as Dan Ortmeier, Brian Horwitz, and Marcus Sanders. It wasn't until he hit .350+ in San Jose last year when he opened eyes, and when he continued to mash in AA the Giants brass figured….well, what the fuck…..lets try him in the bigs…..and Sandoval hasn't stopped mashing since…….for all of the sparkling pitching performances the Giants have received in the first half, I believe that the emergence of Sandoval as one of the most potent bats in the game, a solid defender at 3rd, and smart and surprisingly face baserunner, and a joy in the clubhouse on the field and with the fans and media has been the biggest difference in the 2009 Giants. An energetic fun loving player with hardcore ability to back it up has sped up the Giants rebuilding process giving the Giants offense a true threat, the Giants faithful a icon to rally around, and all in a nice cuddly package you can sell ……proving you don't have to be built like Glenallen Hill to be a ballplayer…….

TIP OF THE CAP :
TIMMY
What Panda is doing this year, is what Timmy did last year. In his first full year in the majors, Tim became not only the new face of the franchise, but the new cover boy for Major League Baseball itself. Tim is everything a marketing department would want, a great story of father and son, a quirky delivery, all in a small package that is just made for selling to kids. Tim had tons of expectations heaped upon him after winning the Cy Young and has lived up to the hype and is now the All Star starter. Get used to it Giants fans, we are going to have to share Tim with the rest of Major League Baseball.

CAIN
After enduring poor support from the offense and the bullpen, Cain has emerged as a top of the rotation horse with 10 wins and a sparkling ERA are the results, but there were some whispers that the Bad Luck kid was getting too much Good Luck. Well his K rates are climbing from early season lows, his walk rate is dropping and his strand rate is coming into more normal levels. Is he really a much better pitcher this year? Well the results are certainly better and he was already pretty damn good. Low 2.00 ERA sustainable? Who knows but either way he is still pretty damn good…..

AFFELDT
I think we can say he was the best Free Agent acquisition from the off season. The one time phenom failed as a starter, but not for lack of stuff. Affeldt never found the strike zone enough to keep a rotation spot. After being traded from Royals, his original club to the Rockies and then spending a full year in the pen Affeldt found his niche, although he still has a wide streak, his stuff is so fucking nasty he doesn't really have to worry much about his walk rate being a little high…..still 30 years old and under control at least 1 more year he has been a godsend…..

ROMO
Getting Romo back did wonders for this team. Since Romo return May 30th the Giants are 25-16. And sure the offense came alive during that time, but slipping Romo into the spot previously occupied by Howry gave the bullpen 3 shutdown arms……

ROWAND
The Offense has been hot and cold, but overall pretty solid…..but the reason I put his here is his defense. He has actually been pretty good compared with what we saw last year. Overrated to be sure, but nonetheless has been at least a major league average centerfielder, which is good enough for a team devoid of any real alternatives in center…..

MILLER/ MEDDERS
Two pitchers from the bargin bin have provided some great middle innings without much fanfare. Medders has gone cold at times, but otherwise both of these pitchers have put up solid performances when called upon and have saved the rest of the staff for high leverage innings…..

SCHIERHOLTZ
Stepping into the void of disappointment in the outfield, Nate got hot fast and hit for average and power and made Giants fans remember what a cannon from the outfield looked like again. His success has come in limited time to be sure, but the signs are there and Nate should get a chance to prove himself in the 2nd half barring a big trade…..


JOKER TOMORROW