2-Run 9th Inning Fuels Giants To 7-5 Victory Over the Cubs

Matt Cain was surprisingly uncharacteristic, but the Giants came back from a 5-3 deficit in the later innings to prevail 7-5. Not only did they win, but they completed a very successful road trip, posting a 5-1 record on trips to Houston and the windy city. That marks the second consecutive time that they had a 5-1 road trip, with the other occasion being against the Padres and Dodgers.

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Cain is generally one to feast on the Cubs. He had a 20 inning scoreless streak at Wrigley Field coming into the game, but that streak was snapped in the bottom of the third inning when David DeJesus singled home Darwin Barney.

Run support is also wary when Cain is on the mound. But the Giants’ surging offense backed their pitcher early with three-third inning runs. Xavier Nady reached base by the way of the walk to begin the explosion. Angel Pagan drove him in with an RBI single. Then, the Giants started some two out thunder as Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey each drove in a run. Those runs came after Anthony Rizzo casually picked up what was supposed to be a sacrifice bunt, and threw wide to first base, allowing Cain to reach.

DeJesus continued his success against Cain in the fifth with a one out single that Hunter Pence bobbled in right field, allowing Barney to score for the second time in the game. The Cubs would work some two out magic of their own.

Cain laid a fastball right out over the plate to slugger Alfonso Soriano, and even with the wind blowing in, the ball soared into the bleachers. Cain knew it right away, as he slammed his glove on the ground immediately following the mistake. And just like that, the Cubs took the lead, 5-3 on Soriano’s three-run jack.

At home, a comeback would seem far-fetched, but the Giants have played much differently on the road this season. They instantly fired back with a two-run inning. Brandon Belt tripled with two outs on a slicing line drive that Soriano was unable to coral in, scoring Nady who reached base four times on the day. Then, Belt proceeded home on a wild pitch from Manny Corpas to even the score at five.

In the ninth, Nady reached base for the fourth time and Gregor Blanco was put in to pinch-run for him. Blanco created plenty of havoc and ultimately scored the go-ahead run on a Pagan RBI single. Marco Scutaro padded their lead with an RBI single of his own to score Crawford.

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Giants Expected To Add Players to the Roster

It's the time of year when teams can expand their rosters to 40 from 25. The Giants aren't expected to use all of the surplus roster spots, but you can expect them to make a few moves to bolster the depth of their current rosters.

So far, the notables appear to be Aubrey Huff, Xavier Nady, and Brad Penny. Others will also be promoted, but as for Gary Brown's status, a call-up seems unlikely. In fact, he injured his should last night (Thursday), and manager Bruce Bochy has stated multiple times before that he doesn't seem him getting a September call-up.

-Barring a move to acquire an extra outfield bat tonight (unlikely), Nady would presumably receive a good amount of starts in left field for the Giants, as the combination of Gregor Blanco, Justin Christian, and Carlos Peguero have failed to provide any consistency from that spot.

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8/21: Giants Trade Options, Cabrera Associate Banned, Bochy on Left Field

 One of Melky Cabrera's associates, Juan Nunez, is being implicated as the sole conspirator, and, pending official word from the Commissioner's Office, has such been banned from all Major League club-houses.

Ah, glad all that's out of the way.  Now we can focus on the issue at hand:  What are the Giants going to do in left field?

Personally, I think it's Gregor Blanco's job to lose, but with Justin Christian getting almost equal playing time, there's no room for further regression.  Bruce Bochy implied that they are in fact looking for some help in left field:


ESPN Senior Baseball analyst Jim Bowden reports:

"Bochy told us that it is 'Fair to say we're looking for help in LF. Brian is working on it now," via his Sirius XM Inside Pitch radio show.

So who is Sabean eyeing?  Most are reporting that former Dodger/Angels out-fielder Vernon Wells might be a good fit, but I am going to have to venture off the reservation and give that idea a big no, as aging production-less veteran out-fielders are not something the Giants brass or fans are looking to try out again.  Remember Aaron Rowand?  I thought so.

Another option (apparently) is Alfonso Soriano, the 36 year old leftfield and 2nd basemen for the Chicago Cubs.  I really don't see this happening, because all season we've been hearing rumblings of bringing in the aging vet, who has publicly stated that he does not want to join the San Francisco Giants.

That's fine Alfonso, we don't want your wheel-chair to disrupt all the speed we have in our outfield, sorry.

My money is on Jeff Francoeur, Kansas City leftfielder, who isn't having the best year, but has respectable numbers so far this season for Kansas City (hitting just .240, but does have eleven homers, thirty-three RBI and has scored forty-three runs).  He's only owed another $7.5 million, and is signed through next year.  Seems similar to the Hunter Pence deal, just not as costly, as the Giants would surely only have to pick-up MAYBE half of his salary, and send a Dan Otero or someone of the sort.  They wont miss him, as he's currently in a platoon role with fellow outfielder Jarrod Dyson.

Who knows what Sabean has up his sleeve this time.  Whether a deal gets done or not, though, it will be interesting to see how the front office handles the situation.

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Vernon Wells a Possible Fit for Giants?

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, suggested on Monday that the Angels' Vernon Wells could be an option for the Giants on the waiver wire. The Giants, who just recently lost their star left fielder Melky Cabrera to suspension, could use some new blood in the outfield. 

Wells, 33, has a hefty contract for such little contributions over the past couple of seasons, however. This season, he's hitting just .222/260/.389 with only seven home runs. His MVP caliber years are likely numbered, but practically anything could bolster the Giants in left field at this point. The combination of Gregor Blanco and Justin Christian is one of the few options that the Giants currently have, making a proven veteran is seemingly a better route to take. 

For any deals to at least generate some interest from the Giants' side, the Angels will have to send a massive chunk of money to San Francisco in order to ship Wells out of the "Big A". However, the Angels, who spent hundreds of millions in the offseason, would love to let their struggling veteran loose. Simply, money is not an object for them. 

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Don't Flush the Giants' Playoffs Down the Toilet Just Yet

The Giants’ road to the postseason just got a lot steeper. News broke Wednesday morning that Melky Cabrera tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. And just like that, the air was sucked right out of the Giants’ clubhouse.

Cabrera, who was in the midst of a career year, batting .346 with 11 home runs and 60 RBIs, will miss the remainder of the regular season, and if the Giants are to move onto the postseason, he will miss the first round. Quite simply, he won’t be wearing the orange and black again this season, and possibly ever. Even if San Francisco reaches the NLCS, it’s unlikely that the organization would let Cabrera return. It’s not like he would be returning from an injury. He would be returning from a drug scandal. He even admitted it.

So while everyone presses the panic button, don’t forget about the 1-2-3 punch of Pablo Sandoval, Buster Posey, and Hunter Pence. Yes, Cabrera was arguably their best hitter, but it’s not a loss that instantly salvages their postseason hopes. In comparison, his absence won’t be as meaningful as Posey’s was last season simply because they still have the pieces to make a run at the postseason. Last season, Sandoval was the lone bopper left in the mix.

However, a player like Cabrera, who had a 4.5 WAR this season, can’t be replaced at this point in the year, six weeks away from the end of the season. Gregor Blanco will seemingly be the prime candidate to takeover left field. Although, coming into today’s game, he hadn’t had a hit in 19 at-bats. The Giants are left to wonder if he could transform back into May form where he posted an .884 OPS. Everybody can dream, though, right?

What the suspension truly does though, is amplify how important the trade for Hunter Pence was for the Giants. Granted, Pence is nowhere near a replica of Cabrera, but he will have to be the guy who steps up in the wake of this suspension. No one should forget about Pablo Sandoval, either. Manager Bruce Bochy had Cabrera, Posey, Sandoval, and Pence all in the same lineup on the same day exactly once this season. Ironically, that day was Tuesday night, the night that will always been remembered as the Melk Man’s last game in 2012.

The point is, the Giants still have enough to advance to the playoffs. While Cabrera departs San Francisco facing a ton of questions, they can still reach the playoffs without him. In fact, in the back of Bochy’s head, I bet he has the slightest intention that this could benefit the team’s mentality. Cabrera is irreplaceable at this point. That’s crystal clear. Yet, the loss of him could bring together the Giants’ clubhouse even more so that it already is. Of course they have always been a tightly knitted group, but they need to pick each other up now more than ever.

For Cabrera, the $50+ million contract that he was eyeing to sign after season’s end, becomes a lost cause. The 201 hits he collected last season, and the numbers he put up in 113 games this season, now seems suspicious more than anything. Not just because of the positive testing, but also because he had never had a batting average higher than .300 before breaking out last year. Ryan Braun was essentially in the same boat during the offseason, but he won his appeal and is currently on pace to have a better year this season than he did last year in his MVP campaign. So that comparison shouldn’t even be considered.

Yes, some team will take a flyer on him, though it won’t be a long term contract. At most, it will be a two year deal because he needs to prove that he can perform without the PEDs.

Will that team be the Giants? Only time will tell.

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