The San Francisco Giants as the Black Knight

Some brief thoughts on the Giants' series split with the Cincinnati Reds:

Giants Quote of the Weeek #1:
KB: They just won the World Series. It seems like they should just chill out the next year.
Me: That's basically what's happening.
Ryan: God is making that happen for them.

The Giants are hanging on by a thread.

They're dangling on the edge of an eroding cliff, overlooking a 300 foot drop into an acidic lake filled with genetically mutated sharks.

Considering that the Giants fielded a weaker lineup than their AA affiliate the Richmond Flying Squirrels, that Tim Lincecum gave up 7 runs, and that Vogelsong didn't pitch a perfect game, the fact that Giants were able to split 4 games with the Reds is nothing short of amazing. It's the equivalent of Tim's French Bulldog, Cy, working Bobby Fischer to a draw at the World Chess Championships.

Saturday's matinee may have been the most revolting Giants game I've seen in a long time. Eli Whiteside is an absolute wreck behind the plate. Sabean said he'd be given a chance to see if he could handle the starting job. He answered that brain-buster by failing to throw out a runner stealing second base and then allowing a run to score on a passed ball later in the inning. I believe in catcher-sign-language that spells "N-O." Of course you can't blame Whiteside. He's a backup catcher. But the Giants have to find someone who can handle the job NOW. Saturday revealed just how much havoc a good team can wreak when they know the guy behind the plate stinks.

The offense, well, that can be summarize with:

Giants Quote of the Week #2: "Every time I look and see who's up, I'm disappointed." Ryan in reference to the Giants' lineup.

That just about does it right there.

On Monday, the Giants enjoy their first off-day since May 23. That's 20 straight days of baseball. Think back to May 23 -- the G-men were coming off a 3-game sweep of the A's at home. Buster was healthy, Freddy was healthy, Tim had just pitched a complete game shutout. Earth was still spinning on it's normal axis.

The last 20 days have been a freaking gauntlet. The Giants have essentially been a contestant on the show MXC, running repeatedly down an obstacle course which they have no chance of surviving.

And yet, in those 20 games, they've gone 10-10. They're finding a way to hang on. Despite being brutally beaten, they keep getting up and asking for more, and for that they should be commended.

It's hard to imagine this lineup winning a division. But as the Giants have proved many times in the past, you just never know. 'Tis but a scratch.