Giants update: 5 games left

The Giants lost two more to the Cubs after Thursday night's crushing blow, including a complete game shutout by Carlos Zambrano with Tim Lincecum going for the black and orange.

This loss all but ensures Timmy won't repeat as NL Cy Young but that the honor will instead go to either Chris Carpenter or Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals.

Until just recently, despite the low win total, a very good argument could still be made that Lincecum deserved to win it again. But at just 14-7, despite a meager 2.47 ERA and a league-high 254 K's it's hard to imagine the young phenom finishing higher than third.

Carpenter has a better ERA (2.30) and a better record (16-4). Wainwright sits just behind #55 in ERA (2.58) but at 19-8 could be the only 20-game winner in the NL.

It's hard to imagine how Lincecum could lose seven games but when you pitch in as many close, low-scoring games as he does fluky things do happen.

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Great effort by Matt Cain Sunday as the G-Men salvaged one with the Cubs and four-hit nights from Pablo Sandoval and Bengie Molina led the boys of the bay to an 8-4 win over Arizona last night.

Two more with the D-Backs at home before the season's final three in San Diego.

The rollercoaster looks to have made it's last stop

If nothing else, it's been exciting.

The 2009 Giants have brought meaningful innings to their side of the Bay for the first time in too long.

But just when that anticipation has reached a crescendo it has come crashing down.

It has risen, and then painfully and quickly it has finally fallen flat.

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Last Wednesday was the last great chance the G-Men had to get close to the Rockies and position themselves to sneak into the playoffs.

They fell behind 4-0 and managed to get three across in the ninth before falling 4-3.

The magnitude of that loss? 3.5 back instead of 1.5 with just 16 to play.

But they won the opener at Dodger Stadium and the Rockies lost. 2.5 back, 15 left, there's still time!

Then Saturday happened. Penny got shelled and an early 1-0 lead was long gone.

Same thing Sunday. Torres leads off with a homer and Timmy was going strong until he walked Dodgers pitcher Randy Wolf. A 3-2, 2-out, 2-run bomb from Ethier gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead in the third and the Giants never recovered.

To make matters worse Colorado took the next two from Arizona and the Giants looked finished again.

The Giants win Monday while the Rockies are off but fall short in their rally Tuesday night just like San Diego does in pursuit of Colorado.

Five back with 11 to play, things aren't looking good.

But Colorado loses Wednesday night and the black and orange hold on.

And Colorado loses again Thursday night and the Giants have a 2-1 lead when John Bowker takes a pitch into the right field seats.

Wait a second, if the G-Men hold on they will be three back with nine to play. And Carpenter and Wainwright are pitching for the Cardinals at Coors the next two days. Timmy and Zito are going for the Giants.

We might be alive still!

And then it happened.

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ESPN's Bill Simmons calls it the "Stomach-Punch Game." It feels like there have been 10 this year.

With two outs, two strikes and still leading 2-1 Jeff Baker takes Brian Wilson deep for a two-run homer and the Cubs lead 3-2.

If your a fan of almost any other big league club there is still solace in the bottom of the ninth.

Giants fans don't really have that luxury.

Even with two on and one out there it still that feeling that they will blow this chance and yet even when they do it hurts.

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With one out Rowand strikes out. He looks so overmatched at the plate, I can't imagine why Bochy would even let him near the dish at this point in such a pivotal game. I would rather see Matt Cain up there, at least he got a triple the other night.

Three pitches and Rowand strikes out. Everyone is quick to criticize the Zito signing but even at half the cost Rowand looks like a bigger bust.

Pinch hitter! Fred Lewis? He strikes out too.

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And there you have it. In recent memory there has not been a worse team at doing the little things right when it comes to producing runs.

The Giants don't take pitches, they don't work counts, they don't walk.

They don't steal bases, take extra ones, they don't hit-and-run.

No one can get down a sacrifice bunt, they don't try to, or worse, if they do they pop it up.

No one knows how to execute.

They will get a lead-off man on 2nd and strand him. Runners on 1st and 2nd and strand both.

Did I mention they can't bunt?

Not only can no one, or will no one bunt, but no one will move a runner over.

The Giants give up outs like millionaires give up 20 dollar bills.

When that lead-off man gets to 2nd base a good team will find a way to get him to third. Then somebody will knock him in.

Even if that means a groundout and a sacrifice fly.

Sample Giants inning twice a game: Leadoff double, groundout to third (runner has to hold), strikeout, pop out.

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For a team that generates so few opportunities the ease and carelessness at which the 2009 Giants squander them is beyond frustrating and downright appalling.

This is not the 1927 Yankees. There are no three run homers just waiting to fall out of the sky.

This is a team that has to manufacture runs and they refuse to do it.

There is only one guy hitting over .300 and Pablo Sandoval has been near the league leaders in hitting for most of the year.

The only other guy close is Juan Uribe. He has had a great September and it's scary to think where the Giants might be without his emergence.

Everyone else has struggled. Even the guys brought in to shore up the spotty offense are gone. Freddy Sanchez is hurt again and Ryan Garko can't get off the bench.

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The Giants don't need superstars at every other spot in the order but they do need a few decent hitters. They need professional hitters.

Guys that are willing to do the things I talked about.

They need unselfish and smart guys at the plate that will bunt, move guys over by hitting ground balls behind the runner and driving in runs via the sacrifice fly.

A few of those guys and the Giants are on the verge of a playoff spot. Better yet they are at least a 95 win team.

They would have at least ten more wins. They have squandered way too many close games because they blew chances to score a run here and a run there based on poor hitting approaches and guys failing to acknowledge or execute the right way based on the situation.

That kind of play is downright unacceptable time and time again at the big league level and people need to be held accountable.

Can you teach an old dog new tricks? Not sure but you sure can set a tone and let them know what is expected. The time for winning 75 games has long past for a proud franchise and the mediocrity needs to be put to bed.

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It's gonna be a long winter for Giants fans wondering what could have been if this team could have come up big in a few spots where they really needed it.

The core of the team will be back and in many ways that's a good thing.

The future is still bright but I have my serious doubts whether Brian Sabean and Bruce Bochy should really be pulling the strings anymore but after a surprise run at a playoff spot both seem near locks to return.

If the Giants are serious about contending and Buster Posey's rookie year won't include 60 home runs and 180 RBI's then they really need to find more bats lest we sit through another year of putrid and futile attempts to push a couple of runs across each night.

It's been a great ride but I think it's about time to jump off this one and onto the next one headed towards the 'Stick. I know you miss October's there.

Two down, one to go: Giants almost all the way back

I should have known better than to write the 2009 Giants eulogy last Saturday.

After all I took great pride in writing the "Back from the Brink" post after they won the first two games of a home series with the Rockies August 28-30 finding themselves just one game behind Colorado in the NL wild card after falling four games out just five days earlier.

But after celebrating their sweep over the Rockies when Renteria's improbable grand slam propelled the G-Men into a tie as the calendar made the turn for September, things quickly deteriorated.

Jim Tracy's bunch wouldn't lose while Bruce Bochy's squad couldn't muster enough runs to back their outstanding pitching.

Heading back to AT&T for Labor Day offered a glimmer of hope and a 9-4 trouncing of the Padres that Monday seemed to be a big step in the right of direction.

But the wheels came off for the NL's best home team, especially against the Dodgers on Friday and Saturday, as the Giants fell a whopping five-and-a-half back.

Once again, all seemed lost.

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If the Giants were teetering on the edge of a quiet October late Saturday night, they stand once again at the precipice of a playoff crossroads.

They blew out the Dodgers on Sunday and San Diego upended Colorado.

Desperately needing a sweep of the Rockies - albeit this time to pull within one-and-a-half games with just 16 to play - have thumped the Rox 9-1 and 10-2 in consecutive nights and truly are back from the brink once again.

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Fittingly, Matt Cain goes again for the Giants the man who started, but didn't finish, that seminal victory highlighted by Renteria's heroics.

The key for Cain and the Giants will definitely be the location of the flamethrower's fastball.

There is no doubt Cain has a tremendous weapon when he can run it up there at 95 or 96 but what we have seen lately, even at the spacious confines of AT&T Park is if he leaves that heater up in the zone it can get hit a long way.

In that August 30th start the Rockies laced two doubles, a triple and two homers off the big right-hander in just six innings.

Despite exploding for 26 runs in the last three games the Giants cant afford to fall behind early in such a pivotal game.

Only two-and-a-half hours to first pitch. I hope you'll be watching.

Giants season, playoff hopes unravel

It's been a week since I last posted. My last semester started but after the 2-1 extra inning loss to Milwaukee and the hell week that followed the drive to post hasn't been there.

I don't want to come off like a front-runner but the Giants haven't been good since I was in high school and the last five months were so exciting as a result.

So to have it all crash and burn so quickly is painful.

The Giants bats erupted on labor day for nine runs. I actually told people at work as I kept refreshing the box score on my iPhone that I hoped we saved some runs and that nine runs was a week's worth for us.

The G-Men who were 45-21 at home following that win - have lost four in a row at AT&T since and scored 9 runs total in those contests.

They blew close games to the Padres (4-3 and 4-2) with more pathetic situational offense and have been embarrassed at home by the rival Dodgers 10-3 and 9-1 to cement a third place finish in the NL west and their sixth straight season out of the playoffs.

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The future is bright in San Francisco but there are some guys on the roster that need to take a long look at themselves this winter and set out about getting better.

As an organization the black and orange need to set a standard of excellence.

The guys that laid the groundwork for that are gone and in their place a new group needs to pick up that legacy and it starts with the little things.

Winners make the most of opportunities and seldom waste them. Hopefully the Giants won't waste another in 2010.

Pair of 3-2 nail-biters keep Giants one back

So the Rockies keep rolling at home against awful opponents while the Giants left Philly for Milwaukee.

But with just enough offense and more great performances on the mound the G-Men took the series from the Brewers and go for the sweep tomorrow.

Zito struggled with his command last night but kept the team in it.

Then that stout Giants bullpen went to work and an error by Mike Cameron opened the door in the sixth.

In the eighth Molina came through with a solo homer and Wilson shut the door in the ninth.

That 8th frame has provided some big heroics for the Giants recently and there have been a lot of injury/contract whispers about Molina so the game-winning poke couldnt have come from a better source.

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This afternoon Matt Cain really came to pitch.

As good as Cain is, that fastball can be sent a long way if the opposing team barrels it up and although Milwaukee made some long outs and Fielder's double almost went out he saved the Giants by keeping the Brew Crew in the yard.

He also went the first seven without issuing a walk.

Uribe hit another monster bomb (on a 3-2 hanger, after taking the previous pitch out but foul) his second tape measure shot of the trip and Eugenio Velez had a stellar game both at the plate and in the field.

Papa Dubs five-out save including working out of a jam in the eighth ranks right up there in the best performance category Saturday.

16 of the last 25 are at home after tomorrow's contest where the Giants are an NL-best 44-21.

The G-Men haven't won more than 76 games since they won 91 in 2004. Today's victory was win # 75 in 2009.

Penny dominates, Pedro outduels Timmy

After the newest Giant Brad Penny dispatched the Phillies 4-0 Wednesday night things sure looked good for the Gigantes.

But when they wasted an unbelievable effort by Lincecum 24 hours later, reality seemed to be back.

For all the Giants great pitching efforts this year there's always just a couple of runs from the offense leaving the slimmest of margins for success.

Thankfully the Mets took out the Rockies to keep the Giants within one game.

Juan Uribe's homer was an absolute bomb. He may not hit all that consistently but like Sandoval he sure doesn't get cheated when he's in the box.

Speaking of Sandoval the Giants need him to get healthy early because when he struggles that really changes the dynamic of the lineup.

Bochy told Penny they only needed him for five. Something tells me he took that a bit personal and channeled it in a great way.

He may only start 4 more games the rest of the way but his impact Wednesday was huge.

Onto Milwaukee where the Giants have really struggled but Zito and Cain and Sanchez should keep the black and orange in contention.

Philly scored three runs in three games but won two. Hard to give them away like that.

Even harder in September.

Giants offense downright offensive

Despite his struggles this year Cole Hamels is no slouch on the mound.

If you've been watching baseball longer than 6 months you may remember his domination last October.

Tuesday night the Giants were missing Sandoval and Molina again and Freddy Sanchez is still on the DL.

But the G-Men managed just two hits and worse wasted a great effort by Jonathan Sanchez who has been tremendous since his return to the rotation after Randy Johnson went down.

The Rockies won leaving the Giants once again looking up at them in the wild card standings.

Tough matchup tonight with Penny squaring off against the Phillies rookie standout J.A. Happ but the black and orange will really need to steal a win with Colorado's soft schedule the next week-and-a-half.