Kuzul

In some recess of his or her brain, every San Francisco Giants fan is thinking the same thing now that Dontrelle Willis has signed a Minor League contract with the club.

Does this mean someone in the current rotation is on his way out?

It’s natural.

Although rookie Madison Bumgarner’s name has popped up on the trade radar, it’s doubtful the Gents would be interested in moving the 20-year-old lefty, given he’s twirled a quartet of blinders since being called up at the end of June.

Plus, he’s cheap and under control for a while as a member of the 2007 draft class.

Even the most cynical skeptic of Brian Sabean has to believe the San Francisco general manager has been impressed with the No. 5 starter and recognizes the cost-benefit analysis weighs heavily against moving the kid.

On the other hand, more of the recent trade gossip has theorized that Jonathan Sanchez—a 27-year-old southpaw with electric stuff who can struggle with his control—would be the centerpiece of any high-profile move los Gigantes might be contemplating.

Well, lo and behold, the team just brought in a 28-year-old southpaw with electric stuff who can struggle with his control.

Granted, paralleling Sanchez’s lack of consistency with Willis’ Rick Ankiel act is a bit like comparing your water-retaining girlfriend to Kirstie Alley (the latter is FAR dumber), but you get the point.

The acquisition of a player who profiles similarly to one who’s been at the heart of trade rumors justifiably sets the fan base’s gears in motion.

Some are excited at the thought because they can almost imagine Corey Hart or Prince Fielder winging his way to the Bay Area, complete with shining white armor.

Others are sickened by the thought if they’re even acknowledging the splinter is there.

It’s there, though, it’s gotta be.

But let’s be reasonable about this before the full-on paranoia hits.

Dontrelle Willis has been an absolute catastrophe in cleats since something went horribly awry in the 2006 season.

The goofy native of Oakland had a career year in 2005 when he won 22 games while posting a 2.63 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, seven complete games, five shutouts, and 55 walks in 236.1 innings.

He was an All-Star, finished 11th in the National League Most Valuable Player voting, and was the runner-up to the NL Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter.

One more key stat—Willis hit only eight batters in all those frames.

In ’06, some of the numbers still looked pretty good. He notched a 3.87 ERA with four complete games, a shutout, and a 6.4 K/9 (only a tenth off his ’05 rate) in 223,1 IP. But his walks shot up to 83 and his WHIP bloomed to 1.42.

More distressingly, the D-Train side-swiped 19 hitters.

From his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2003 through 2005—a span covering 594 innings—Dontrelle Willis hit 19 batters.

Then he hit the same number during one 162-game stretch.

The wheels were officially wobbling.

They came off in 2007 as the bad numbers went up and the good ones went down. A move to Detroit in 2008 as a throw-in part of the Miguel Cabrera deal didn’t help, and 2009 brought more of the same.

This year started in the same fashion, so the Tigers shipped Willis off to Arizona, where the Diamondbacks experimented for about 22 innings until kicking Willis to the curb.

That’s a very thorough way of saying the dude isn’t even close to being an option at the moment.

A brief way would be to mention his 56 free passes in 65.2 innings this year.

Nah, if I had to guess, Dontrelle is in the system on a wing and a prayer to see if he can find himself enough to be a help out of the bullpen.

Ever since Dan Runzler went down during that awkward at-bat, the firemen have a decidedly right-handed lean—only Jeremy Affeldt brings it from the south side and he’s been Rickety Cricket thus far.

The Gents are getting desperate for lefty relief and this move hints of desperation.

Maybe the big southpaw has been signed with dreams of reinforcing the starting rotation.

It’s possible, but even so he’d still have to right the ship well enough to be a reliable plan B by the July 31 trade deadline.

In two weeks.

Judging from the last few years, that would be nothing short of a flippin’ miracle.

The Bay Area worked its magic on Pat Burrell, another ballplayer who spent his youth within driving distance of the City.

Perhaps it will do the trick for Dontrelle Willis.

But the odds are too long for this to be a sign of things to come…

Right?

**Click here to learn more about the Paralyzed Veterans of America**

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Ah, the Major League Baseball All-Star break.

It marks the Show’s midway point even though most teams have played 88 contests, which is seven past the actual hump in the 162-game slate.

Regardless, the breather in the figurative middle of the season means it’s time for every club to take stock of the first half and decide what the modified plan of attack will be for the last three months.

More specifically, it’s about time to decide whether you’re a buyer or a seller.

To be or not to be…a contender.

For some, that’s easier said than done.

For the San Francisco Giants, it’s an especially tenuous time because the squad is obviously a contender in the National League West and the Wild Card.

As flawed as the team may be, nobody else in either race can claim to be running on all cylinders.

That generally means general manager Brian Sabean would be looking for shiny toys to shore up the roster.

Namely, a big bat.

The perception of San Francisco is that it’s all pitch and no hit. In reality, the pitching hasn’t been as good as its reputation, and the hitting hasn’t been as bad.

The arms have still been excellent, but the sharp edge that both the rotation and bullpen began the year with has disappeared. Walks and sloppy innings have replaced it.

Meanwhile, the offense has been anemic, but the emergence of Aubrey Huff (.295/.384/.544 and 17 HR), Buster Posey (.350/.389/.569 and 7 HR in 137 AB), Andres Torres (.281/.378/.483 and 17 SB), and the steadying presence of Freddy Sanchez (.285/.348/.360) have given los Gigantes a solid quartet of contributors.

What’s more, Buster and Franchez didn’t join the lads until late May, whereas Torres spent most of April in a platoon before running away with a regular spot in the lineup.

That putrid smell wafting from the bats should smell a lot sweeter as those three pile up the PT.

Finally, the overdue trade of Bengie Molina to the Texas Rangers has allowed Posey to assume the catcher-of-the-future mantle. Consequently, Gerald Demp the Third no longer needs to jam up the works at first base.

With the kid behind the dish, it’s opened up more playing time for first baseman Travis Ishikawa (.354/.394/.538 and 15 RBI in 65 AB), outfielder Pat Burrell (.286/.365/.484 and 5 HR in 91 AB), and outfielder Nate Schierholtz.

Nate the Great’s been struggling of late at the plate (take that, Dr. Seuss) so his numbers won’t blow your skirt up, but his fleet feet and cannon arm are large assets even when his bat goes limp.

Plus, he hadn’t been seeing regular plate appearances so don’t judge the 26-year-old too harshly.

Ultimately, jettisoning Big Money has created some semblance of consistency in manager Bruce Bochy’s game of musical lineup cards, and the early returns have been promising.

Since the Molina trade on July 1, the Orange and Black has seen its runs-scored per at-bat jump to 0.18—San Francisco had registered a 0.12 R/AB from April through June. That’s about a 50 percent hop.

Granted, the post-trade sample size of 11 games is quite small and eight of the contests came against the Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Nationals (two of the less impressive pitching staffs in the National League).

But it bears mentioning nonetheless, especially because the Gents were matched up with Ubaldo Jimenez (whom they roughed up) and Stephen Strasburg (whom they did not) for two of those 11.

Translation: there’s reason to believe the Giant offense will continue to improve on the season’s back slope, just as there is to believe the pitching will rediscover its April/May rhythm.

Nevertheless, trade rumors are very much driven by public perception.

As mentioned, that means the winds have been blowing whispers of San Francisco sniffing around lumber at various times.

Names like Prince Fielder and Corey Hart of the Brew Crew have been most frequent, but the Nats’ Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham have surfaced, as have the Kansas City Royals’ David DeJesus and Jose Guillen .

The two Royals could probably be acquired on the cheap, so I wouldn’t necessarily be against either addition.

DeJesus is steady across the board, but not spectacular in any facet; plus, he’s 30. Guillen is one-dimensional and 34—enough said.

So the asking price shouldn’t be prohibitive. The problem is that, while neither would be too expensive, neither would be an emphatic upgrade.

Which begs the question, why insert another body into an already crowded outfield situation?

Depth is fine, but only if it doesn’t cost a genuine prospect.

On the other hand, the remaining blips on the rumor radar—Dunn, Fielder, Hart, and Willingham—would all be considerable improvements. Each one would also cost an arm and a leg.

The snag here comes in two flavors of budgetary inefficiency.

Mr. Sunglasses at Night or Willingham would immediately become the best outfielder in Orange and Black, unless Huff plans to make this a yearlong renaissance. Unfortunately, the brass would be walking right into a nightmare:

—Check the links, both players are having career years, so SF would be buying high on both players. That’s no bueno.

—Hart enjoys the protection of Fielder and another beast in Ryan Braun. Willingham has Dunn and dazzler Ryan Zimmerman to do the heavy-lifting. They’d be moving from third fiddle to first (or very close to it) as a Giant.

—Miller Park is a band box and Nationals Park has to be a better offensive yard than AT&T Park just because of the scalding D.C. summers. The deep alleys of the City’s jewel and the heavy Bay Area air crush all newcomers holding a bat.

To me, that list screams bad ending to a bad beginning.

On the other hand, the two bigger fellas would require the Price-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named and would be short-term solutions.

Thankfully, Adam Dunn seems like a non-starter, because he’s a free agent following 2010.

The Prince would be a slightly longer rental, since he hits the market following 2011, but who really cares?

The Burly Brewer is represented by a coprophagous (which is a fancy way of saying “s***-eating,” so it should be more popular) insect that will DEFINITELY have his young lefty slugger in the free agent waters following the expiration of his current deal.

There’s also this suspicious little home/away split in almost the exact same number of plate appearances: .275/.414/.544 with 12 HR at home vs. .256/.387/.445 with 8 HR on the road.

So the club would have to mortgage the future and part with one of the rotation studs for a guy who isn’t necessarily a lock to solve its offensive woes? And who’s gonna walk after a year and a half?

No, thanks.

The Giants are most definitely contenders as MLB’s second act opens, which means extra bullpen arms and bench help will probably join the roster.

But when it comes to the big-ticket items, San Francisco should walk away.

**Click here to learn more about the Paralyzed Veterans of America**

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Unless you’re new to Major League Baseball, you know the American League has been unbeatable against the National League in the All-Star Game for the last 13 years.

Excluding the 2002 contest that ended in a tie and featured the infamous Bud Selig shrug, the Junior Circuit has won every game since being shutout in 1996.

Obviously, a 12-game winning streak that spans over a decade has a litany of explanations. For example, the AL has been quite a bit stronger at times during the run and Lady Luck has played her role as she always does on the diamond.

However, for at least the last several years, there’s been a blatant and irritating deficiency with the assortment of Senior Circuit talent. It’s opened the Midsummer Classic with a distinct disadvantage.

One that can be traced back to the voters—including the fans, players, and managers.

While the American League has suited up for the early July exhibition with its strongest roster of available athletes (give or take a couple on the fringe), the National League has been taking the field with a mixture of richly deserving stars and guys who rode the coattails of misplaced popularity to the honor.

Either the hometown fans in a large market ignorantly and blindly stuff the ballot box or the players/managers give a pseudo-lifetime achievement nod to a recognizable name. One way or another, glaring omissions are common-place and the team is weaker as a result.

The situation is no different in 2010.

The errors almost jump out at you:

—The San Francisco Giants’ Tim Lincecum hasn’t even been the best pitcher on his own team, yet he’s going to Anaheim and Matt Cain gets a long weekend.

—Or what about the St. Louis Cardinals’ Chris Carpenter getting the call over teammate Jaime Garcia or the San Diego Padres’ Mat Latos?

—The Friars are the Show’s biggest surprise, they’re tied for the NL’s best record with the Atlanta Braves, and have the same number of All Stars (one) as the putrid Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Arizona Diamondbacks. The Milwaukee Brewers, who are eight games under .500, have three.

Meanwhile, the Braves have five.

—One of those Bravos is a utility infielder with a painfully empty .311 average in only 164 AB. For some reason, though, Omar Infante beat out the Cincinnati Reds’ Joey Votto’s .312 BA and league-leading .984 OPS (over 200 points better than Infante’s).

Got that? A decent singles hitter who doesn’t play every day beat out arguably the NL’s Most Valuable Player for the first half.

Of course, the Philadelphia Phillies’ manager Charlie Manuel—who’ll skipper the All-Star club for a second consecutive year—sees a ton of Atlanta. Apparently, Infante has played in enough of those games to impress one key set of eyes.

The list of self-inflicted wounds could go on and on—no Ryan Zimmerman, no Aubrey Huff, no Josh Willingham, etc.

But an exhaustive and tedious look at all the snubs isn’t necessary because there’s one in particular that demonstrates the ill-fated phenomenon to a perfect tee.

Athletic injustice, thy name is Miguel Olivo.

The Colorado Rockie hasn’t just been the best catcher in the Senior Circuit, but he’s been the best one in all of baseball. If you don’t believe me, take a quick look (minimum of 200 PA):

—His .308 BA, 5 3B, .540 SLG, .905 OPS, and 3.0 WAR lead all MLB catchers.

—His 39 RBI are tied for second.

—His 11 HR and 37 R are tied for third.

—His 4 SB are fourth.

—His .365 OBP is fifth.

If you narrow the contenders to the relevant field (NL backstops), Olivo leads the way in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base-plus-slugging percentage, runs batted in, home runs (tied with the New York Mets’ Rod Barajas), and triples.

Pump your brakes; there are two sides to the ball, you say?

Fine, Miguel has also been the best defensive catcher in all of baseball and the margin’s even clearer over here.

To give you an idea of exactly how suffocating a weapon the 31-year-old has been, you have to go beyond his .993 fielding percentage. You have to look at his 20 runners caught stealing against only 19 successful swipes, good for a 51.3 percent success rate.

It’s not often you stumble across a rifle arm that nabs more would-be thieves than it suffers, but the more staggering observation is the company it keeps with that lofty caught stealing statistic.

Olivo’s 20 CS is good for second in the Majors behind the 22 belonging to Jason Kendall of the Kansas City Royals.

In stark contrast to Colorado’s sparkler, Kendall has a meager 25.0 percent success rate courtesy of 66 thefts allowed. Only Yadier Molina’s 47.4 percent clip (18 CS against 20 SB) can hang with Olivo and the Redbird will start the All Star Game simply for his defense i.e. it’s his only contribution and it’s still not better than Miguel’s.

That’s really where this charade becomes perversely laughable.

Neither All-Star rep that “earned” the selection over Olivo—neither the Braves’ Brian McCann nor Molina—can beat the rightful starter in anything except doubles and on-base percentage (in McCann’s case).

St. Louis Cardinal fans should be flat-out embarrassed by their counterproductive idiocy, masquerading as bias.

Their team stands a very good chance of actually making the World Series where home-field advantage could be a huge asset. In other words, it ultimately might not be just an exhibition for the Cards and their faithful.

Yet, they voted their guy to start the game despite offensive metrics that rank dead last almost across the board. What is supposed to be an intelligent baseball city just delivered a .231 hitter with a .616 OPS to the All-Star Game, trying to justify it by pointing out he’s a defensive specialist.

Trouble is, he’s the second-best defender at the position and can’t hold a candle to the lumber swung by the real defensive leader.

Sadly, the fanatics under the Gateway Arch are just the latest example of National League stupidity.

Which is why the Senior Circuit is already trailing the American League, for a 14th straight year.

And the All-Star Game hasn’t even started.

**Click hear to learn more about the Paralyzed Veterans of America**

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Nobody can accuse me of being hypercritical of the San Francisco Giants’ management, including the Bay Area’s two most bullet-ridden targets.

For all his warts, I’ve always believed general manager Brian Sabean’s gotten more heat than is justifiable. Meanwhile, Bruce Bochy got the 2009 team to overachieve, which is usually evidence of a good manager.

Consequently, somewhere in Bleacher Report’s vast archives, I’m on record as supporting the two-year extensions both men received.

Sabes is still gold in my opinion. Bochy, though, is a different story.

The Giants have the talent to seriously contend in the vulnerable National League West.

The pitching staff, even while experiencing a bit of a correction since its torrid start, is one of the best in the Big Leagues. The offense is torture, but the San Diego Padres are in the process of proving that’s not a deal-breaker if you get plus contributions from the arms and leather.

San Francisco cannot pick it with the Fathers and its bullpen is inferior, but the Orange and Black starters are better than San Diego’s. Perhaps even enough to make up the difference.

The problem, however, is Bochy’s predilection for veterans that sometimes borders on psychosis.

Unfortunately for the City’s faithful who are calling for the kids, it’s not a new one. This is from a 2004 Hardball Times article discussing the skipper while Bochy was still with the Pads:

“Bochy has a maddening tendency to play mediocre veterans over promising or unheralded youngsters…it is frustrating to watch him with young talent, because it appears that he will not give young players a full-time shot.”

Sigh.

At the moment, the raving masses want the heads of Bengie Molina, Aaron Rowand, Edgar Renteria, and/or Juan Uribe now that he’s cooled off.

Through differing quantities of spittle, the more fanatical fans (check the comments, some are hilarious) scream for Nate Schierholtz and Posey to assume everyday roles while rotating the vets to keep them fresh.

With Huff, Pat Burrell, Rowand, and Andres Torres jostling for playing time in the outfield, the argument for devoting a spot to Nate the Great is a tough one to see. He should definitely get more of a run than Bochy’s been giving him, but I’d pump the brakes before entering “make him a regular” territory.

On the contrary, the lunatic fringe is spot on in their demand for more Gerald Demp the Third.

At the moment, there is only one plausible explanation for Molina’s continued presence in the lineup. Namely, the stud on the mound that day must demand it.

Even then, I’m not so sure you can justify penciling in Bengie, but I don’t have to deal with the clubhouse egos and chemistry, nor can I pretend to have a handle on the battery dynamics at a professional level.

In other words, I’d give Boch the benefit of the doubt should that development come to light.

Unless that’s the case, however, Posey is the only plausible option.

The kid is not just a promising rookie, he’s a blue-chipper of the Jason Heyward/Mike Stanton ilk. The only newbie with more Major League-ready talent is that dude who throws for the Washington Nationals. Maybe I’d recall his name if he got a little more hype.

In a very short time, Posey’s established himself as one of the team’s leaders in plate discipline and patience—both of those skills usually come after experience has polished raw talent.

His 3.76 pitches per plate appearance land him near the league average, which is a substantial improvement for many Giants. Combine that with a quiet calm and ease befitting a grizzled old-timer, and you have an asset that should be working through slumps—he’s currently in a bad one with seven hits in his last 47 at-bats—on the field.

The former Florida State Seminole shortstop has especially sparkled defensively, whether he’s parked at first base or dropping signals wearing the Tools of Ignorance.

And there’s the rub.

It’s not pleasant to say because Bengie Molina has been an outstanding Giant during his four-year tenure. His contributions have made Molina the first catcher identifiable with the organization since Bob Brenly.

Benito Santiago is the only other backstop I can remember that became part of the team’s backbone, and even that only lasted for a cup of coffee.

Nevertheless, Big Money has gone Big Molasses and it’s killing the club in every facet.

Since coming to los Gigantes, Molina has never been lauded for his defense. He’s been one of those rare breed of catchers whose value lay in his offense and, perhaps, his ability to receive a quality game.

Further narrowing his potential contribution is his absolute and shocking lack of speed. The portly 35-year-old must thump to contribute with the lumber. Otherwise, he becomes a rally-killing roadblock.

As of this writing, Bengie was notching a .257 batting average, a .312 on-base percentage, and a .332 slugging percentage.

Obviously, almost all of the Puerto Rico native’s hits have been singles. A closer look reveals that’s precisely the case—of his 52 knocks, six have been doubles and three have been home runs.

Singles represent 83 percent of his offensive output.

That’s a fatal statistic for someone who runs like he’s carrying several pianos on his back. In thigh-deep mud.

It means you can’t bat him first, second, seventh, or eighth because he turns anyone behind him into a station-to-station pawn, and Molina doesn’t create anything except outs on the basepaths.

But you can’t put him third through sixth because he’s not producing any power and he’s not hitting well enough to drive in runs (.224 with RISP).

If the eldest of the Flying Molina Brothers were a defensive whiz like Yadier, fine, jam him into the eight hole and pray for rain. Of course, we covered that—he’s not a whiz, not even close.

Again, the San Francisco Giants have the pieces to make a charge at the NL West pennant, but the margin is thin. Until Buster Posey is playing regularly, at least one of those pieces won’t be on the field.

Bruce Bochy has no excuse for that.

**Click here to learn more about the Paralyzed Veterans of America**

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Take a peek at the San Francisco Giants’ active roster and you’ll see a curious thing. You’ll see Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey checking in at a green 23 years of age—the Kung Fu Panda’s birthday is coming up in August whereas Gerald Demp the Third just had his in March.

There’s also newbie reliever Dan Runzler, who’s recently turned a grizzled 25.

Other than those three, there’s nobody else on the 25-man docket wetter behind the ears than stud right-hander Matt Cain (who turns 26 on October 1).

Perhaps it doesn’t jump off the page if you’re not amongst the team’s die-hards, but Cainer also happens to be the longest-tenured Giant player. He entered the organization soon after being drafted as a 17-year-old in 2002 and made his big league debut about a month shy of 21 in 2005, making this his sixth year by the Bay.

Granted, the margin’s not exactly huge.

Southpaw starter Jonathan Sanchez and closer Brian Wilson would join up in 2006. Meanwhile, the infamous Barry Zito deal would be signed before the 2007 season as would Bengie Molina’s first contract with the franchise. Lastly, the ’07 campaign saw Tim Lincecum’s much-anticipated premiere as well as Nate Schierholtz’s less heralded one.

Nevertheless, it bears mentioning that not a single player who suited up with Cain during his first experiences in Major League Baseball is still donning the Orange and Black.

That’s pretty crazy when you consider how young he still is and the fact that the Gents current roster doesn’t exactly give off that new car smell.

I mention this because his experience-beyond-years is underrated, like pretty much everything the Quiet Kid has done with San Francisco.

You might say it’s an odd time to be singing the praises of the Alabama native, considering he got absolutely torched by the Houston Astros on Thursday. I mean, he got battered from start to premature finish—Matty served up a three-run bomb to Hunter Pence in the first inning that might as well have been on a tee.

Carlos Lee, the dormant Lance Berkman—I drafted him in one fantasy league because he always seems to hit .400 against my make-believe squads and this is what I get, awesome—and rookie catcher Jason Castro each hit lasers off los Gigantes’ second ace. Luckily, only Castro’s ball left the yard, otherwise Cain’s final line would’ve been even uglier than it was.

And it was already every shade of ugly—2 2/3 IP (or eight outs), 9 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HR, and 4 2B. Yeah, that’s six hits for extra bases in less than three innings of work.

Oof.

Ironically, though, all that carnage should give you a better understanding of just how excellent the product of Tennessee high school baseball has been thus far in 2010.

Despite all the hideous Houston gore, Cain saw his earned run average skyrocket all the way up to 2.72 and his WHIP balloon to 1.10. Opponents can’t exactly brag about their .219 average, .61 HR/9, or .624 OPSA, either. Finally, his 1.9 wins above replacement ties him for ninth-best in the National League.

Those are superlative numbers even in a vacuum, but reconsider just how awful his twirl against the ‘Stros was. Of course, the statistics don’t tell the whole story.

Any assessor must also appreciate the intangibles.

Everyone realizes the San Francisco Giants are defined by their pitching staff and Lincecum sets that unit’s pace. But the two-time Cy Young struggled through a brutal month of May as his command abandoned him. When the Freak lost his control, the Giant ship lost its rudder.

Enter Matt Cain—with No. 1A in shambles, No. 1B stepped into the void.

Lincecum posted a 4.95 ERA, a 1.54 WHIP, a 5.70 BB/9, and was oddly hittable as the opposition tallied a .244 average for the entire month.

By contrast, Cain was a virtually untouchable workhorse—6 GS, 44 2/3 IP, 1.81 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, .154 BAA, .468 OPSA—and threw consecutive complete games without allowing an earned run. If not for his worst start of the season until the Houston debacle (against the San Diego Padres on May 12), he would’ve given Ubaldo Jimenez some stiff competition for Pitcher of the Month honors.

Instead, he had to settle for playing the Franchise’s role perfectly.

Actually, he one-upped his diminutive stablemate because Lincecum’s always enjoyed ample run support with San Francisco. Cain, on the other hand, constantly seems to draw the iron from the offense’s blood—he somehow managed to lose three May starts, including one of the complete games by virtue of a solitary, unearned run.

Regardless of what the record says, the youngest member of the starting staff led by example and became the reliable option at the front of the rotation that had gone missing.

In the process, he did as much as anyone to rescue the Giants’ season from sliding off a cliff.

Matt Cain’s demeanor and approach won’t earn him much attention outside the Bay Area, but the locals already revere him.

Thanks to his performances on the mound, the rest of baseball is beginning to catch on.

**www.pva.org**

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

When I first arrived at the Oakland Coliseum for Tuesday’s game against the visiting Cincinnati Reds, the sky was mostly blue as the sun was successfully holding streaks of gloom at bay.

By the time the Athletics had finished batting practice about an hour later, the clouds had inflicted heavy casualties on the other side and were threatening to win the battle in a romp.

That seems like a pretty good metaphor for the tack Oakland’s 2010 season is on at the moment.

What started off in azure warmth is beginning to go cold and gray.

The Elephants have lost five of six games and eight of the last 10. They’ve fallen four games under .500 (ties a season-high) and dropped 8.5 games off the pace set by the first-place Texas Rangers (sets a season-high).

After finishing May at the top of the American League West, a June swoon—the club is 6-14 in the month—has been the anchor on the contention ship.

Only the Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates have been worse for the last 22 days. That’s not the company you want to be keeping when rubbing Major League elbows.

Of course, all is not lost…yet.

You don’t need a calculator to figure out that, at 34-38, los Atleticos still have 90 games left on the docket.

Translation: forget about the All-Star break, we’re not even at the mathematical halfway point so there’s plenty of ball to be played.

The team could just as easily snap back to its April/May form as it could fall off the same cliff that’s swallowed the Seattle Mariners.

Regardless, the slide comes at a particularly inopportune time because of the Green and Gold’s history of having its hand forced by the small-market albatross circling above the Coliseum.

For the last three years, the franchise has wisely used the July 31 trade deadline as a chance to flip veteran commodities for younger ones.

And it’s done so at the slightest hint of non-contention.

In 2009, general manager/Moneyball mad scientist Billy Beane sent outfielder Matt Holliday and shortstop Orlando Cabrera packing.

Bob Geren’s bunch was 15 games under .500 and 17 games out of first when it pulled the July 24 trigger on Holliday; things had not improved noticeably when Cabrera hit the road a week later.

In 2008, pitchers Joe Blanton and Rich Harden were the veteran centerpieces moved for prospects. Harden took his exit on July 8 with the A’s eight games over .500 and sitting in second place, only five games out of the catbird seat.

Blanton walked out the door nine days later with the fellas in roughly the same spot.

In 2007, it was mercurial outfielder Milton Bradley and stoic catcher Jason Kendall on the move. Bradley said goodbye on June 29 with Oakland one game in the black and holding on to third place, 9.5 games out of first.

When Kendall took his leave 17 days later, the wheels were starting to come off as indicated by a 44-49 record and 12-game deficit.

All of the above begs the question, how much longer will seasoned vets like Kevin Kouzmanoff and Ben Sheets be with the franchise given the recent downturn?

The third baseman absolutely must be on some contender’s wish-list given the dearth of offensive might available at the hot corner.

For those of you who don’t get out to the West Coast much, Kouz has been utterly scalding in June.

Pick your favorite nugget—he’s raking at .418 with a 1.097 OPS and he’s launched five of his eight bombs this month.

Perhaps most impressively, he’s only suffered three hitless games and those came in starts made by Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, and Ryan Dempster.

Toss in the 28-year-old’s quality leather, his $3.1 million contract (expensive by Oaktown’s standards, but reasonable by most), and his departure seems like a matter of “when” as opposed to “if.”

By contrast, the big right-hander is a tougher sell.

Unfortunately for the A’s brass, it’s probably a more important one to make given his $10 million salary. If Kouzmanoff’s number is big in Oakland’s relative world, then that sucker is positively Zito-esque, which makes the fact that baseball’s Big Ben has yet to rediscover his pre-injury rhythm doubly troublesome.

The 31-year-old’s 6.29 K/9 is the lowest it’s been since his rookie campaign in 2001 and his 1.34 HR/9 is the highest since that same year. Meanwhile, his 3.81 BB/9, 4.95 ERA, and 1.47 WHIP are all career-highs.

In other words, the Athletics won’t exactly be selling high unless things change.

That’s not meant as an indictment of the Olympic gold medalist.

His body of work is incomplete and, frankly, it’s a tremendous accomplishment just taking the pearl every fifth day.

Remember, my man is trying to rebound from a serious elbow injury that caused him to spend an entire year gathering dust on the shelf. He literally didn’t throw a professional pitch in ’09 after a stellar ’08 effort was cut short by the torn flexor tendon.

And there’s always that pedigree.

Hopefully, Ben Sheets can turn it around and rattle off a string of quality outings.

But, if he doesn’t take the team with him, those blue skies of April and May won’t be the only fading memory around the Oakland Coliseum.

If history is any guide.

**www.pva.org**

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Even after absorbing Tuesday’s loss to the visiting Baltimore Orioles, the San Francisco Giants are humming along now that May is but a memory.

Since the calendar flipped to June, the Gents (quick note—I don’t care that the New York nickname was Gints and neither does anyone else in the Bay Area) are 9-5. If you include the last five games of a mediocre preceding month, San Francisco is 13-6.

So things are good for the baseball-conscious in the City.

Nevertheless, there are three glaring and potentially enduring problems with the club.

Forget about the recent rockiness from the bullpen and the struggles out of the No. 5 slot in the rotation. Neither is serious.

The ‘pen has too many talented arms for this stretch to be anything more than the periodic lull that even the best units suffer. Dirt merchants like Sergio Romo, lefty Dan Runzler, lefty Jeremy Affeldt and newcomer Santiago Casilla all have top-shelf arsenals plus each fireman has shown signs of snapping back to form in their latest outings.

More importantly, closer Brian Wilson hasn’t been perfect, but he’s been consistently dandy. There’s little sense in hitting the panic button when the most critical arm isn’t inducing ulcers.

As for the final spot in the rotation, it admittedly hasn’t been pretty.

But that can be said of virtually every team in Major League Baseball and Todd Wellemeyer has actually been splendid at home—2.97 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, .209 BAA, .606 OPSA and 1.71 K:BB in 36 1/3 IP.

Granted, Wellemeyer’s been the batting practice pitcher every group wants to face on the road, but he’s currently hurt i.e. he’s moot for a while.

Joe Martinez is now manning the position and, though the results weren’t what fans wanted to see in his first start on Tuesday, there is ample reason to be optimistic.

Martinez was erratic as a starter in 2009 but remember he was coming back from that fractured skull courtesy of a Mike Cameron line drive. Those episodes tend to rattle a hurler so it’s not unreasonable to overlook the initial returns.

In 2010, the 27-year-old was tossing it nicely at Triple-A in the Pacific Coast League. His line of a 3.06 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 2.36 K:BB in 67 1/3 IP in 11 GS is quite fine considering the PCL is apparently like playing in an entire league full of pre-humidor Coors Fields.

Furthermore, Martinez twirled it better than his final line (6 1/3 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K and 1 HR) looked. His sinker was working; the grounders just found too many holes. That could be attributed to a range-challenged defense, but it seemed more like bad luck.

Regardless, the Orange and Black pitching is rarely cause for concern.

Nah, the three biggest bugaboos facing the squad now and potentially for the foreseeable future are catcher Bengie Molina, shortstop Edgar Renteria and center fielder Aaron Rowand.

Let’s work from the easiest solved up.

Molina is simple—the pitching staff loves him enough to justify his presence even when not hitting and his lumber is showing signs of life after an atrocious May. Giant fans also need to remember that backstops are rarely a source of offensive production and that’s OK because they contribute in so many other ways.

Bengie doesn’t do everything well in the Tools of Ignorance, but he does enough to win the praise of some very good pitchers. If Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain are happy, so am I.

And he’s only on a one-year contract so if Big Money goes Big Arctic again, Buster Posey’s here to stay.

Renteria’s imminent return isn’t too tough a situation to deal with, either. It actually could prove to be a positive moving forward if handled correctly by all involved.

Once the veteran finishes his rehab assignment (from a hamstring strain), he’ll expect and receive playing time. Fine, except it can’t come at the expense of arguably the Giants’ best hitter to date and the man who’s been patrolling the hole in Edgar’s absence.

Juan Uribe leads the team with 41 runs batted in and is tied with Aubrey Huff for the lead in home runs with 10.

His 41 ribbies are also a high for all MLB shortstops. His tater total is good for second in that regard, his .843 OPS ranks third and his .289 average is tied for fourth. If you’re hip to those sexy sabermetrics, his wins above replacement (WAR) is 1.8, which trails only Troy Tulowitzki’s 2.1, Derek Jeter’s 2.0 and Hanley Ramirez’s 1.9.

In other words, Uribe must play as much as possible.

The keys, however, are health and versatility.

Los Gigantes have two crucial bats that demand playing time, but would benefit from rest due to injury issues.

Uribe, who is dealing with a balky hammy of his own, is one and the other is Freddy Sanchez, who has been raking since finally recovering from off-season surgeries to knee and shoulder. Both have been invaluable so they haven’t seen much down time, but a blow here and there would probably be beneficial come August and September.

So Renteria, whose bat was blazing prior to the hamstring snag, shouldn’t disrupt the mix too much or dilute the suddenly respectable offense.

He can be used at short to directly spell Uribe. Additionally, he can be used to rest Sanchez, third baseman Pablo Sandoval, or first baseman Posey thanks to jack-of-all-infield-trades Uribe (and a touch of the Kung Fu Panda).

As San Francisco fans have seen, Uribe can play second base or the hot corner with excellent ease. Since Pablo can also play a quality first sack, manager Bruce Bochy essentially has a game of musical chairs on his hands.

If you want to get really creative, the 34-year-old Renteria could even be used to give fellow sore spot Molina a break. Uribe would move to third, Sandoval to first, and Posey behind the dish.

Finally, Renteria’s contract is also up at the end of ’10.

If he hits, SF gets the best of both worlds—it eases off some valuable assets without losing production. If he doesn’t hit, there’s less artificial incentive to play him.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Rowand. The center fielder is a large and sincerely troublesome thorn in the franchise’s side.

A-Row’s been swinging a flaccid noodle since mid-May (sub-.200 BA, sub-.300 OBP). It’s gotten so bad that he’s begun to lose reps because (A) he’s shown no hints of pulling out of the massive slump; and (B) the Giants have Andres Torres, Aubrey Huff and Pat Burrell smoking the ball while flashing adequate-to-insane leather.

Further complicating matters are the atrophying five tools of Nate Schierholtz on the bench.

Usually, the answer is easy—bench Rowand until someone cools off or he gets hot. The rub is that the Giants must deal with an unusual kick to the groin—Aaron’s bloated contract for five years and $60 million, running through 2012.

That money is a sunk cost , but try convincing baseball executives and managers. The average member of that group will tell you it’s not sunk because Rowand could still be productive again and they’ll waste at-bats or innings in tribute to the idea.

To a degree, the logic is sound.

Aaron Rowand is notoriously streaky and that means a hot one might be just a matter of time—the gamble could pay out. But the San Fran lineup isn’t all that prolific even when cruising along; it can’t afford 0-fers when there’s a more attractive option available.

Right now, the fellas have four such players.

Uh oh.

Aaron Rowand doesn’t seem the type to become a distraction nor does he seem like the sort who would be thrilled about cooling his cleats. Yet it’s almost impossible to justify his presence on the field as anything but a defensive replacement at the moment.

Something’s gotta/will give.

Which means the San Francisco Giants could find themselves in a particularly awkward spot. For two more years.

**www.pva.org**

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Every so often, you hear people of influence connected to or interested in Major League Baseball fuss about how the black American baseball player is disappearing from the diamond.

Various reasons are given—the game’s simply not cool, it doesn’t translate to the urban setting, MLB doesn’t do a good job of reaching out to the black community, etc.

In my opinion, one of the biggest—if not most popular—reasons for the disparity in racial demographics between the Majors and the other big two American sports is the money.

More precisely, it’s the speed with which a prospect can cash in on his talent.

There is a general understanding that the riches come quicker in the National Football League and the National Basketball Association. It may be true that the average career is longer in professional baseball, but patience and forethought have never been the calling cards of youth.

Consequently, the lure of the pro contract is much stronger and the image of the pot of gold more tangible in basketball and football.

In truth, the Show will always feature a longer trek to the Promised Land. It will never be able to compete with the NBA’s stable of teenage millionaires and the NFL will remain a greener league because virtually all of its players enter before the age of 23.

However, there’s a fresh breath of air blowing through baseball these days. The last couple of years have seen an influx of super-young, super-talented ballplayers who’ve made an impact right away.

As this collection of pulse-racing ability will attest, the path to the big leagues is getting shorter for the truly elite blue-chippers. Understand, these aren’t guys with a shot at being just average or even good.

This is a list of 15 superstars in the making who will ring in 2011 shy of their 24th birthdays.

Begin Slideshow

Call it Christmas in June for the usual suspects in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Given the warm yuletide season around here and the scorching hot couple of days the City’s seen recently, the analogy works splendidly. The only real difference is that baseball is being played at the Oakland Coliseum and AT&T Park.

And it’s in the outfield of the jewel formerly known as Pac Bell where the anti-Brian Sabean ogres will (soon) find their unexpected present.

I’ll ruin the suspense—underneath the fancy paper and shiny bow is a 33-year-old, allegedly broken down, no-range left fielder who spent the last two (unsuccessful) years in Tampa Bay as a designated hitter.

Ray fans would probably say he’s more accurately described as a designated out.

Aging beauty, thy name is Pat Burrell.

But before getting to the San Francisco Giants’ latest Hail Mary to save their struggling offense, let’s address a quick bit of housekeeping.

When I say anti-Sabean ogres, I don’t mean his skeptics at large—the man has given Giant die-hards PLENTY about which to be skeptical over his tenure so I can’t blame everyone who wants new blood.

Instead, I’m screaming directly into the deaf ears of the geniuses who pretend the general manager has never done a darn thing right.

The ones who will tell you the former New York Yankee amateur talent scout who inked Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte (amongst others) got lucky when Jeff Kent was “accidentally” acquired in the famous Matt Williams trade.

The ones who pretend Brian had a gun to his head when he was “forced” to draft Tim Lincecum.

The double-jointed magicians who surely are working up some crazy explanation for the 2010 excellence (to date) otherwise known as Aubrey Huff. Or to contort away the resurrection of Freddy Sanchez from the ashes of injury.

In other words, the snark is reserved for Brian Sabean’s unreasonable detractors.

If you play it close to the middle and simply aren’t a fan of the Giant GM, stay out of the crossfire because my rubber bullets aren’t meant for you. I don’t want, need, or expect a consensus.

Back to the point—Mr. Burrell.

I’m sure the hew and cry around the Bay for the next few weeks will be about the at-bats now earmarked for a guy on the wrong side of 30 who is neck-deep in decline. Even if Pat the Bat hasn’t been brought aboard to be anything more than a menacing name off the bench, certain fans will be apoplectic about the chances that could be better spent on developing potential young studs like Nate Schierholtz and John Bowker.

The logic will go like this—the dude hasn’t been useful since he hit more than 30 bombs for the eventual World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies in 2008.

Even that season, he only hit .250, fanned way too frequently (136 times), played a brutal left field, and had his offensive numbers bloated by a bandbox. Since then, Burrell’s had a full season worth of plate appearances in a more realistic baseball stadium and didn’t produce squat.

Despite being a cog in one of Major League Baseball’s premium batting orders with Tampa, he authored the following horror story: 496 AB, 54 R, 21 2B, 16 HR, 77 RBI, 67 BB, 147 K, .218 BA, a sub-.680 OPS, and 8 GIDP (much to any Giant fan’s terror).

So the questions will be some form of, “What, pray (or prey) tell, are Los Gigantes thinking?”

What is the point of trying to revive a bleeding pulse in an equivalent (or worse) yard for lumber work, a hideously inferior lineup, and under adverse circumstances considering he’ll either be a pinch-hitter or actually have to play both sides of the ball?

There might even be a profanity or two sprinkled in to spice it up for the hoi polloi.

To be honest, the invisible question mark hanging over San Francisco isn’t totally unwarranted. Nevertheless, there are several things that turn insanity to sanity and they won’t make it into the public grousing.

As it’s usually the case.

Before anyone gets carried away, I’m not talking about his performances while with the Fresno Grizzlies. Forget that nonsense for a whole slew of reasons too numerous to list here.

Nope, we’re talking legitimate rays (yes!) of hope.

First and foremost, there is the price—a Minor League contract means San Fran is only on the hook for the prorated Big League minimum. That’s not cheap to you and me, but it is a relatively minuscule amount in the cuckoo world of professional sport economics.

If the move works, you’ve got yourself a wonderful bargain. If not, you pay the sunk cost in the span of a good home stand and return the plate reps to the kiddie corps.

Clean and easy.

Granted, you could make the same observation about paying some hack sports columnist to swing the bat and that wouldn’t make it a wonderful idea to pay me to don a Giant uniform. There’s gotta be the sincere threat of contribution otherwise the Gents are just setting fire to good money.

That’s generally a bad idea, no matter how little. Consequently, there must be at least one reason to believe and it can’t be too ridiculous.

Which brings me to my ace in the hole.

I’ve got a little birdie on the inside of the Burrell nest and it told me there is no way to overstate how miserable the guy was in Tampa. Word is he literally hated every second of his stay in so-called Florida—not that the organization or area is evil, just that it was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad personal fit.

There was also the nasty little matter of an arduous divorce—as opposed to the picnic variety, I guess. By contrast, playing in the cavernous confines of AT&T might not be so tough.

Especially when you remember Burrell is a Bay Area native, rocked high school ball at Bellarmine Prep in San Jose, and has only ever tasted success in the Show’s National League time slot.

Naturally, my insider also leaked that ol’ Pat is as happy to be in the City as he is to be out of Tampa. Bears mentioning when you realize how complete the train wreck was down there.

Now, as we near the end, allow me to pump the brakes a bit.

None of the above guarantees that Pat Burrell will snap back to his thumping ways or even be a valuable San Francisco Giant. It’s hardly scientific and he’s certainly zeroing in on a birthday that will bring a precipitous/permanent decline.

But he’s not necessarily there yet.

Baseball is an insanely difficult game even when your noggin is screwed on tight.

It takes a special, special ballplayer to play like a winner when he feels like a loser. So it shouldn’t be a huge surprise if Burrell let the dark St. Petersburg days affect his play.

Nor would it be a miracle if the one-time MVP candidate started knocking the pearl around with more authority.

As the saying goes, stranger things have happened.

And it goes double in baseball.

**www.pva.org**

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

And if you were at AT&T Park watching last night’s game against the Washington Nationals and booing—booing —Tim Lincecum, you should be ashamed of yourself.

You’re also amongst the dumbest life forms on the face of this planet.

Life forms, not just humans or even animals.

I’d wager on an amoeba or protozoa if you were matched against one in a battle of wits. In fact, you’re too stupid to breed or drive an automobile. Sadly, you’re probably allowed to do both.

The point is, you’re a moron. Plain and simple.

Let’s review.

For the first time in Lincecum’s brief career, the ace has been unable to get his Freak on in the month of May. Check that, he’s been unable to find his rhythm for PART of the month. Consider:

—May 4 : 7 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 13 K, 1 HR, 3 ER, 110 pitches, ND at Florida Marlins

—May 9 : 6 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 8 K, 0 HR, 2 ER, 116 pitches, ND at New York Mets

—May 15 : 8 IP, 4 H, 5 BB, 5 K, 0 HR, 1 ER, 120 pitches, W against Houston Astros

—May 20 : 5 IP, 5 H, 5 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, 5 ER (all in one inning), 100 pitches, ND at Arizona Diamondbacks

—May 26 : 4 2/3 IP, 6 H, 5 BB, 5 K, 0 HR, 6 ER, 96 pitches, L against Washington Nationals

In the absolute world of the Franchise, that’s four subpar outings in five starts.

The trouble began in the Big Apple, where Timmy was oddly hittable in spots and labored through six frames. It got worse in Houston, where Lincecum’s control went AWOL, and he again hiccuped through eight innings. Even though the line ends up looking pretty, it was because of a hapless Astro offense, and they worked one of Major League Baseball’s best hurlers for 120 bullets.

Normally, that doesn’t happen

The wheels officially came off in his last two turns as you can see. Even so, remember that’s measuring the man against his growing legend.

Measured by the relative standards of the mortal world, you’d have to be happy with three of the starts—in the muggy heat of Florida, in the adverse conditions of New York, and the win over the ‘Stros.

It would also be fair to point out that the Snakes play in a very live yard, and the knock that chased Lincecum from his dates with the Nats (in addition to plating two runs with two outs) was a check-swing blooper over first.

In other words, Tim Lincecum is having an awful month, and he’s still not getting battered around the yard. Once his control comes back, he’ll be virtually unhittable again.

Like he was in April.

The only reason there is even the slightest room for criticism is because the dude has been so spectacular to start his career.

Obviously, there are the pair of National League Cy Young Awards in his first two full seasons. But there is also the fact that Lincecum has quickly and easily become the beloved face of the franchise.

The Freak is cherished around the Bay Area as much for his approach to the game as his performances in one. Additionally, he’s replaced Barry Bonds as the image conjured in the national consciousness when minds bend toward the San Francisco Giants.

One other thing, his overall statistical brilliance speaks for itself (162-game averages): 34 GS, 227 IP, 15-6, 2.91 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 258 K, 83 BB, 3.12 K/BB, 10.2 K/9, .216 BAA, .605 OPSA.

And some of my fellow Orange and Black faithful had the audacity to boo him?!?!

Yeah, the diminutive Giant can’t or doesn’t hold runners on.

At all.

Nobody has been caught stealing with Lincecum on the bump thus far in 2010 and word has gotten out. Only two bags were swiped off him in April, but that’s probably because he was so dominant as far as keeping runners off the bases.

The two-time defending Cy Young has allowed more baserunners of late and the result has been a constant parade from first to second (sometimes to third)—two steals by the Metropolitans, three by the Astros, one by the D-Backs, and a quartet on Wednesday.

Needless to say, that’s a glaring weakness.

Unless things change, Lincecum is essentially surrendering a double every time a runner with good speed gets aboard.

Of course, it’s also a minor one given his arsenal of untouchable offerings, age, and experience.

When Tim Lincecum is going well, you could put a duck on third base to start every inning and he wouldn’t cross home plate. The flamethrower is that good.

More importantly, if you think he’s ever been forced to worry about runners at any point in his journey from high school to college to the Minors to the Bigs, you’re crazy.

This is a stud who Major Leaguers struggle to hit—I’m guessing holding runners was never much of a consideration until he graduated to the show. It’s pretty tough to believe it’s been much of a concern until recently given his TWO CY YOUNGS.

Furthermore, even if the franchise never solves the riddle of shutting down the running game, harping on the deficiency is a little like booing Picasso for bad penmanship.

After he spent two years painting masterpieces for your personal enjoyment.

This what-have-you-done-for-me-lately mentality that seems to be spreading is not the sign of a savvy or intelligent fan. It’s the sign of incredible hypocrisy—an abhorrent show of disloyalty from individuals who surely rankle whenever a pro athlete takes the money and runs.

In other words, it’s dumb.

Really, really dumb.

**www.pva.org**

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com