Panda Saves Wilson's 2nd Straight Blunder

After a really weird series in which the Giants dominated the Cubs on Tuesday and swept the double header with ease, only to go on and get shut down in the final two games of the Series to split, and Friday nights game was very similar to that of one of the last 2 Cards games, only the Giants came out on top of this one.

Both offenses were really irrelevant, though the Giants collected 11 hits and Detroit 7, they only scored 3 runs between them, with the Giants taking it, 2-1. It certainly wasn't an easy journey though, to say the least. Like against Ryan Dempster and Carlos Zambrano, the Giants lineup was unable to string together hits. They got some hits, but they spread them out, then hit into a double play and really were unable to come up with that big hit with a runner in scoring position. All except for Pablo Sandoval that is (2 RBI on the night). They did carry a 1-0 lead into the 8th but Brian Wilson blew save #2 in as many days and looks a little over-worked and desperate for the All-Star break (and no, I'm not at all worried about him). The Panda, on the other hand, came up huge Friday night in a game in which he hit 2 doubles and drove in 2 runs, including the eventual game-winning, RBI double in the top of the 10th. Nate Schierholtz added an RBI-walk with them loaded up off of a rattled Jose Valverde to drive him out of the game, and it was another comeback for the comeback kings, where once again, pretty much all the guys got into the action in some way or another. Neither Huff nor Brandon Crawford got hits, but Huff had a big walk in the 10th and Crawford was on three times the same way, including driving in the 4th Giants run (Crawford is improving 10-fold at the plate before out eyes ladies and gentlemen). So the Giants only needed a few knocks here and there, and certainly took advantage of the late mistakes made by the Detroit bullpen.

As far as the Giants pitching, it was good all week in Chicago, and Madison Bumgarner picked right up where Lincecum, Cain and Zito left off.The 21 year-old lefty went 7 1/3 strong innings, allowing just walk which ended up turning into the 1 run the Tigers scored, although it came in with Brian Wilson on the hill. Just goes to show you what walks do to pitchers, even if they aren't giving up hits, they come back and bight you in the tail! It cost MadBum his 5th win and instead he got stuck with a no decision and stays stuck at 4-9 despite a strong 3.65 era and about 8 K's per 9 innings. That's strong for a 21 year-old, period, don't even look at his record, just look at all his other stats. A left-handed horse who's set to go 200+ innings and sport and era in the mid-3'rs is a rare bread. Just think about what he'll be doing 4-5 years down the line when he hits his prime and really knows how to pitch. They say he already throws like a 10 year vet and is a student of the game, so this guy is just going to get better. He'd certainly be on my "off-limits" list as far as tradeable Giants players are concerned and I think Sabean and Tidrow are well aware of that. Not that I really want to deal him, if someone in the rotaion has to go, it's gotta be Vogelsong or Sanchez. "The V" has a value that's at an all-time high, and could possibly bring in some stud bat. I do believe he'll be free at the end of the year anyway, and the Giants have Zito and Sanchez with Wheeler and Surkamp knocking on the door. Again, not advocating dealing an arm, but the 3 guys that are off limits need to be Cain, Timmy and MadBum.

Well folks, the calendar has officially turned to July, and the Giants sit 2.5 (2 or 3 depending on the D-Back outcome tonight). With only a few weeks until the trade deadline, The Giants have been quiet, but I don't think it will stay that way. They could use a back-up middle infielder, a la Jason Carroll, or preferably a starting middle infielder or corner outfielder. I also think they're OK with going with Stewart and Whiteside behind the plate until Hector Sanchez is ready.

So, who are some middle infielders and outfielders who could be available in the next few weeks? Here are just a couple of names who Sabes very well could be entertaining, if not as I type, then certainly in the coming weeks, I can guarantee you there's more than a few names here on the Giants board too, now obviously, the Beltran's and Reyes' can be had, but it would definitely cost the Giants, but here we go:

SS Jose Reyes, OF Carlos Beltran, OF Adam Lind, SS Alexi Ramirez (if/when ChiSox go into fire-sale), 3B/OF Alex Gordon, OF Hunter Pence (would cost the farm, but attainable), SS Hanley Ramirez (see Pence) 1B Carlos Pena, OF Carlos Quentin, 2B Brandon Phillips, 3B/1B Aramis Ramirez (Pablo/ARam to 1B, Huff to LF if needed for offense), SS J.J. Hardy, 1B Gaby Sanchez, OF Bobby Abreu, OF/1B Carlos Lee (if Houston would take on Rowand and Giants worked out a money deal), 2B Dan Uggla (If ATL falls out and sells, great 1 year stopgap), OF/IF Michael Cuddyer, 2B Aaron Hill, C Ramon Hernandez, OF Alfonso Soriano (see Carlos Lee), 2B Omar Infante, OF Melky Cabrera, 2B/OF Adam Kennedy, IF Jeff Baker, 2B Alexi Cassilla, 2B Jeff Keppinger, OF Jeff Francoeur, 2B Chris Getz, OF Josh Willingham, 2B Orlando Hudson, C John Buck, C Ivan Rodriguez...

There will be many more names that surface in weeks to come, but these are just some players who could will be available and could fill immediate, and some long-term, needs for the Giants and provide upgrades to their position offensively!