Kuzul

Andres Torres, the center fielder and lead-off hitter, is the most irreplaceable member of the San Francisco Giants‘ lineup.

The Giants have to replace him, though, because he’s out for the remainder of the regular season following surgery on his appendix.

Naturally, manager Bruce Bochy responded to Torres being sidelined Sunday by inserting Aaron Rowand in the lead-off spot, playing center field. Rowand went hitless in five at-bats, showing how he wound up buried on the bench as the fifth, perhaps sixth outfielder (Cody Ross has played ahead of Rowand since arriving from Florida, and Nate Schierholtz is clearly more important to the Giants than Rowand, too).

The Giants can’t play the final 18 games of the season with Rowand playing center field, let alone batting lead-off. No way.

The obvious alternative to Rowand would be Ross. He’s a proven big league hitter who can play center field. Being the obvious alternative doesn’t make Ross a viable, let alone a productive alternative to the ailing Torres or Rowand.

Schierholtz? No. The club has tried dozens of combinations in an effort to come up with a consistent outfield rotation, and Schierholtz in center has never been considered an option.

Darren Ford, the 24-year-old rookie who hit a paltry .258 at Double-A Richmond, is an interesting alternative. He’s shown he can change games with his speed on the bases. The speed enables him to cover more ground in center than either Ross or Rowand. It’s possible, however, that Ford simply can’t handle big league pitching.

The Giants don’t really have time to think about what Ford, Ross, and Rowand can or can’t do. They know what Rowand provides. They likely figure that Ross would provide a little more, but not a great deal more, than Rowand.

Ford, however, provides the defense and speed that the Giants need—and, really, how much would he have to hit to hit more than Rowand?

Before falling back to the obvious fallback positions (Ross or Rowand) with Torres out, Bochy should try Ford in center and bat him in the eighth spot in the order. Bump Freddy Sanchez up to the lead-off spot. Maybe, shoot Buster Posey to the No. 2 hole—sure, he’s a middle-of-the-order RBI guy, but batting second means he’ll bat in the first inning in every game and maybe get an extra at-bat every day.

Opposing pitchers will at least give Ford a fighting chance if he’s hitting eighth ahead of the pitcher.

He doesn’t have to get on base three times a game. Ford just needs to get on base once or twice, any way he can, and then Bochy needs to sit back and see if he can steal a run in a season where one run could be the difference between a playoff spot and heading home the first Monday in October.

Bochy has surprised Giants fans lately with his willingness to acknowledge that runners in motion are more likely to produce runs than waiting for the three-run home run. Perhaps, he’ll surprise fans again and give the mercurial Ford a chance.

Ted Sillanpaa is a Northern California sports writer and columnist. Reach Ted at tsillanpaa1956@gmail.com

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Buster Posey and Tim Lincecum are the big names in Giants territory. Newcomers Jose Guillen and Cody Ross are the new fan favorites.

However, the man right now red hot in San Francisco with his bat is Andres Torres.

Say who?

Even in his own Puerto Rico many baseball followers are starting to listen and know about Torres.

In the U.S. territory the biggest names are Carlos Beltran, Mike Lowell, Yadier Molina, Ivan Rodriguez, and lately newcomer Angel Pagan. Even rookie Florida Marlins Mike Stanton is well known due his publicized Puerto Rican heritage last June during the San Juan series between the Marlins and the New York Mets.

However, Torres?

It is time to know him because probably he should be contemplated by the national sports writers to be the National League Comeback Player of the Year.

Torres, 32, before this 2010 season was a true journeyman.

He made his major league debut back in 2002 with the Detroit Tigers where he only played 81 games in three seasons.

In 2005 Torres signed as a free agent with the Texas Rangers where he only played eight games in their major league uniform.

Thereafter, until 2009 he spent a lot of time in the minors with the Tigers, Minnesota Twins and the Chicago Cubs.

However, his luck finally changed when he signed last year as a free agent with the Giants.

Moreover, he is validating right now that he deserves to be in the bigs. Equable a good candidate for National League Player of the Month of August.

Torres is hitting .310 with 14 doubles, one triple, fve home runs, 25 RBI, and six stolen bases over his last 35 games.

To be more accurate on his hotness, he has gone 9-for-24 with one home run and 10 RBI over the last six games.

Last Sunday, Torres set a new record at San Francisco AT&T Park with 25 doubles in a season in a game against the Arizona D’Backs. By the way, that two-bagger was his 42nd this season, which tied him as doubles leader in the National League with Phillies’ Jayson Werth.

Torres if he continues his doubles pace he could record 51 this season and could set a new team record for a single campaign. Jeff Kent currently holds the franchise mark with 49 doubles in 2001.

Maybe he will not win a Silver Slugger award at the end of the season but watch out he could be a winner of a Golden Glove.

Torres is errorless this season in 119 games and his seven outfield assists are tied for seventh most in the National League. In fact, Torres has committed just two errors in his entire major league career.

Torres is errorless since 2003 and in his last 197 games in the majors.

Perhaps finally his time has arrived to be known.

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Major League Baseball wasn’t necessarily meant to be enjoyed with one finger extended in an attempt to find a target for today’s round of criticism.

Oh, the 2010 San Francisco Giants have made it easy for fans who want to affix blame, find solutions to every potential problem, and moan about what will go wrong next from Opening Day through the dog days of summer.

The Giants’ talented staff of starting pitchers has hit the skids. Pablo Sandoval, until very recently, lost his stroke after a brilliant 2009 campaign. The big hitter fans wanted never arrived. The bullpen has struggled. The club has yet to clinch first place in the NL West or the wild-card race, so those who find joy in finding misery can always finger general manager Brian Sabean or field manager Bruce Bochy to blame for something.

Not today. Not here. Not with the Giants in the thick of the NL wild-card race and within striking distance of the mercurial NL West leading San Diego Padres (it’s beginning to look like maybe the Padres aren’t going to fold, huh?).

This is a day for the top 10 feel-good stories of the Giants 2010 season:

10. The Giants built an offense on the cheap

No Adam Dunn, but the Giants have big league hitters at virtually every position these days. Jose Guillen can’t run well, but he can hit better than any right fielder the Giants have had in awhile. Pat Burrell (more on him higher up the list) is, to the uninformed fan, swings it like the Giants must have built the batting order around him. Now, they’ve added outfielder Cody Ross from the Marlins (fans will love the guy, honest).

Then, figure that they threw Buster Posey in as the big bat in the overhaul—by recalling him from the minors. A team can’t add that much punch for that minimal financial outlay very often.

9. Pablo Sandoval is finding his mojo

He won’t replicate his 2009 offensive production. Even if he does, fans and the media are ripping his defensive skills (did they actually think he was a good third baseman at some point?). Still, Sandoval’s worked hard and persevered and is swinging the bat well after fans and even some media “insiders” though he should be sent to the minor leagues.

Great story.

8. Travis Ishikawa has a big league job

He’s a late-inning defensive replacement. The guy proved he can play first base everyday in a pinch and produce (he’s also shown he’s not an everyday big leaguer…his value diminishes the more he plays). Fans love the guy. Well, people who value patience and hard work love the guy. Finally, Ishikawa has established himself as a fine pinch-hitter.

Long after fans forget John Bowker, Fred Lewis, and all those guys who were supposed to help save the offense, they’ll be talking about Ishikawa becoming a serviceable big leaguer.

7. Aubrey Huff can play defense

How all those American League teams that employed Huff refused to let this guy play defense is an absolute mystery. His offensive output makes him a guy who will get NL MVP votes, but the great story has been his play on defense.

In spring training, it appeared he’d struggle at first base. Huff was fine, good even. When Buster Posey was recalled to play first base, Huff moved to the outfield. And…he’s a serviceable outfielder with an adequate arm.

Best of all, he’s joyfully accepted the chance to prove he’s a big league defender.

How often do professional athletes happily accept, even joke about, having their role changed three times in less than one season?

Huff’s a guy to keep around awhile.

6. Madison Bumgarner is a big league pitcher

He’s only 21 years old, but…didn’t media types and lots of fans think that his abysmal spring training effort showed that the left-hander was overrated and, worse, a potential bust? His numbers are special because he’s only 21 and because he knows folks were counting him out. It takes stones for a kid to do what he did after losing a starting spot in spring training. He came back and, now, is pitching as well as anyone in the rotation.

5. Aaron Rowand is taking his diminished role like a pro

It might not mean much to fans, but bet that the Giants front office is overjoyed that Rowand is quietly accepting his ever-diminishing role in the lineup. The guy signed a multi-million-dollar free-agent deal and went bust in San Francisco. He lost his starting job to a career minor leaguer after an extended period when making contact with any pitch was a challenge. Now, he’s behind former Florida Marlins star Cody Ross, too.

Rowand hasn’t been heard to utter a single complaint. Fans can boo him and shout about his .230’ish batting average. He gives the appearance he’ll respond like a pro and do whatever he can, in the few times he’s called upon, to help the club. And Rowand is a key clubhouse presence—a veteran leader—so if he wanted to try to completely unhinge the chemistry with media tirades, he surely could.

4. Barry Zito bounced back

He’s struggling right now, but Zito has returned to be an effective big league starting pitcher in 2010. He’ll never truly earn the salary the Giants are paying him—unless he solves the crisis in the Middle East, cures the common cold and wins 20 games.

Everybody seemed so certain that the butt of every Giants’ fans cruelest joke was finished…done. Many roared that Zito was stealing money and that he should simply retire early in 2009.

When you hear a naysayer spouting off about something that, “can’t possibly happen” or about a player who “is absolutely finished,” remind him of the story of Zito in 2010.

3. Pat Burrell salvaged his career to key the bat attack.

It’s impossible to feel sorry for a millionaire, especially one who was getting paid millions to do nothing. Burrell flopped so miserably with the Tampa Bay Rays that they released the veteran outfielder and said, “Here’s your millions of dollars, just leave and give us an empty roster spot.” Burrell’s great seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies were forgotten. He was considered finished at 33 years of age.

The Giants were so desperate for home run power that they gave Burrell a minor league contract and two weeks to prove he could regain the form he showed in Philly. Burrell did the job in Fresno, got a call to San Francisco and …

His story has evolved as the type story that should give fans and general managers hope, regardless of their team’s plight. Paying him virtually nothing, the Giants are being led by the Bay Area native who joins Aubrey Huff to sandwich Buster Posey in the middle of the order.

Burrell brought the Giants the longball power, sure. He’s got 12 homers—two fewer than he had in about 200 games for Tampa Bay. Better, Burrell knows the strike zone and is the patient, veteran hitter that the Giants have lacked for years. Go ahead, gripe that he can’t run and that he isn’t a good defensive left fielder. Just acknowledge his .884 on-base percentage and his 41 walks.

A power hitter…who will take a walk…in the middle of the Giants order. And, another team is paying his salary?

Great story.

2. Buster Posey arrived in the big leagues as advertised

The young catcher arrived in San Francisco exactly as advertised. Well, he arrived as a first baseman for a team that couldn’t hit a lick, but eventually earned the everyday catcher’s job and became the player a franchise can plan to build around for a decade—or more.

The numbers don’t sufficiently explain why Posey has been such a wonderful story for the Giants. He is not only a Rookie of the Year candidate. The kid is clearly a calming presence, mature beyond his years. Since his arrival in May, there hasn’t been a player on the roster who hasn’t briefly appeared to have forgotten how to play the game.

When Posey doesn’t get the job done, it’s because the opposition just outplayed him. He knows, and fans believe, it won’t happen very often.

Who among Giants fans didn’t have some fear that Posey might be a .280 hitter, drive in 75 runs and hit 12 homers? Oh, and, remember all the skeptics who didn’t think he could handle big league pitching?

The story ends with Giants fans breathing a sigh of relief and planning on Posey becoming a Bonds-like franchise cornerstone—a big-time hitter around whom the Giants can build for years to come.

1. Andres Torres emerged as an everyday center fielder

If you like underdogs, you love Andres Torres.

The Giants grabbed Torres from the scrap heap entering spring training 2009. The chances that a 31-year-old outfielder could end 12 years in the minor leagues by becoming a big league team’s starting centerfielder and lead-off hitter are virtually nil. Torres is the Giants centerfielder, lead-off hitter, and arguably their heart and soul at the age of 32.

Never saw that coming, did you?

Torres has provided the Giants with a base-stealing threat with 23 thefts in 116 games. The switch-hitter has 13 home runs and ranks among NL leaders with 41 doubles and 5 triples. Playing alongside outfielders who don’t have much range, Torres has anchored the outer defense. For those who can’t forget the negative—Aaron Rowand is on the bench because Torres has become a big league contributor.

Posey’s going to be a star for years to come. Torres might be having the year of his life, so his is the Giants’ top story in 2010.

Ted Sillanpaa is a Northern California sports writer and columnist. Reach Ted at tsillanpaa1956@gmail.com

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Yes, this is an incredibly bold conclusion. Actually, I haven’t concluded anything, I’ve just posed a question.

The fact of the matter is, the Giants have an incredibly fickle nature. Remember in July, when they won 20 games in a month for the first time since September of 2000? Well, right before that month, they had a seven-game losing streak. Are they going to once again bounce back?

This is a team that can get on a roll, and dominate. They have all of the tools necessary to win a game. Their rotation is as good as any in the majors. They have a solid group of hitters—Torres, Huff, Posey, Burrell, Uribe, Guillen, Sandoval, Sanchez—the problem is, they aren’t always consistent.

Sandoval has struggled all year, but now he is starting to return to his 2009 form, or so it appears. He has four home runs in his last eight games, including his first home run of 2010 from the right side of the plate. These are promising signs. 

Aubrey Huff and Andres Torres have carried this team the entire year, amassing a combined 10-plus Wins Above Replacement by doing everything—they have versatility on the field. Torres can run, they can both hit home runs, Torres is among the top hitters in the National League in doubles, and so on…

Posey hit .440 for the month of July, and when he is hot, he rarely goes without a hit. He’s heating up again, currently riding a seven-game hitting streak during which he’s batted over .400. 

And, all the other guys—Burrell, Uribe, Guillen, Sanchez, etc.—have the tools to provide clutch hits here and there. Burrell, Uribe, and Guillen are all legitimate power threats, and Sanchez is the only Giant who can really play small ball—he always gets the bunt down when he needs to. 

Beyond Lincecum’s struggles, the rotation has really been solid. Even Lincecum has. The only problem is consistency, but after going 14 games without a win from a Giants starter, Sanchez and Bumgarner have now won back-to-back games. Lincecum, as the ace, has to be compelled to step up his game now, right? 

The Giants have a tough road ahead of them, facing St. Louis and Cincinnati, both playoff contenders. They are an inconsistent team, but they possess the tools to beat any other team in the National League—well, maybe not the Padres just yet.

The Wild Card is still within their reach, though, and if they get all the right gears clicking, they can go far. Consistency is the key though, and for such a fickle-natured team, it is impossible to say whether they will get all the right gears clicking. 

Their defense is average at best, with Guillen, Burrell, and Sandoval having minimal range. If they can manage to keep runs to a minimum, though, score some runs with their starting lineup in the earlier innings, then put in defensive replacements, the Giants could very well succeed. 

Potential is a word often thrown around, but it’s true—this Giants team has great potential. Will it be fulfilled?

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The Giants got off to yet another promising start to the game, as Torres led off with a solo home run. The Giants would only tack on one more run in the game, though (Pat Burrell solo homer), as they suffered an 8-2 loss to the Phillies.

Matt Cain did a decent job, pitching six innings and giving up only two earned runs. A Mike Fontenot error, however, would lead to a Jimmy Rollins three-run homer that the Giants never answered.

It’s hard to know where the blame is for the Giants’ poor month of August. They are 7-9, and their starters have not won any of the last 14 games.

Is it a coincidence, though, that this skid comes with the arrivals of Jose Guillen and Mike Fontenot, who are obvious defensive downgrades from Huff in right field, Ishikawa at first base, and Sanchez at second base?

Or should the blame be placed on the pitchers? How are they honestly to be expected to get outs with Burrell in left and Guillen in right covering minimal range (not to mention Pablo Sandoval’s rapidly decreasing range at third and the fact that no other Giants second baseman can cover the range that Freddy Sanchez covers)?

The fact of the matter is, the defensive downgrades that come with Guillen and Fontenot greatly outweigh their offensive upgrades (even though I don’t feel that Guillen is an upgrade over Ishikawa offensively).

The Giants won 20 games in July, behind a hot Buster Posey, reliable Torres and Huff, Burrell, and their usual great starting pitching. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it…” Thanks for fixing it, Brian Sabean. Thanks so much.

Of course, Lincecum needs to get his act together. Huff needs to get his act together. Other than that, all signs point to Guillen and Fontenot as the source of the Giants’ struggles. I was right with my original instinct—these were unnecessary acquisitions.

The Giants have a chance at making the playoffs. Fontenot and Guillen need to go on the DL, though, for that to happen. The Giants’ defense is pathetic. And is their offense really that much better? They scored just two runs off of  Joe Blanton. They’ve scored seven runs in the last three games.

As it stands, the Giants are two games back in the wild card, which is a manageable deficit. The division is quickly slipping out of their grasp, however, as they are six games out.

Notes:

Running statistic: Giants’ runs allowed per game with Guillen in the starting lineup – 8.33, record with Guillen in starting lineup: 0-3.

Buster Posey is now 6-for-12 in the two-spot. He appears to be starting yet another hitting streak, but it’s not helping that Huff isn’t hitting behind him.

Fontenot has made errors in two consecutive games. I think the saying goes, “A run saved is a run earned.” I’d rather have Freddy Sanchez out there saving the Giants runs with his defense, then Fontenot as a minimal offensive upgrade which is costing the Giants runs.

The Giants have hit four home runs in the last two games, all of them solo home runs. Pat Burrell has hit two of them, and guess who bats in front of him…Aubrey Huff. Aubrey Huff has carried this team thus far, and needs to continue if the Giants want to make the playoffs. Especially if he’s batting behind Posey and in front of Burrell.

Pablo Sandoval was 0-for-4. His week of magic has come to a halt.

Affeldt had a miserable return: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER. In his defense, though: 1) the defense behind him sucks, and 2) he was pitching at Citizens Bank Park.

The Giants have allowed 17 runs in two games to a Phillies team that is playing without Ryan Howard. Let’s say, hypothetically speaking, the Giants make the playoffs. How are they supposed to contain a lineup with Werth, Howard, Utley, Victorino, Domonic Brown, and Jimmy Rollins in the postseason, if they couldn’t contain them with Howard out of the picture?

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A quick look at the past week’s least owned and most productive. Everything from the hitting streaks of Chris Johnson & Raul Ibanez to Anibal Sanchez’s one-hitter. Can these guys keep it up?

BOMBERS

Andres Torres (48% owned)
5 R / 1 HR / 4 RBI / 2 SB / .367
Torres has been torrid in the past month. He’s batting .317 with 23 R, seven HR, and 20 RBI. Not to mention the five steals. From Huff to Posey to Torres, the Giants have some hot hitters as of late.

Juan Pierre (43% owned)
7 R / 5 RBI / 4 SB / .440
In what world does the leader in stolen bases, only owned in less than half the leagues? (its a rhetorical question if you didn’t figure that out). Pierre can hands down win you this category every week, so besides his low average he should be on your team.

Danny Valencia (5% owned)
5 R / 1 HR / 7 RBI / .565
Since being called up and owning third base for Minnesota, Valencia has batted a sweet .384. Nicknamed “The Franchise”, Valencia became the first Twins rookie this week to have back to back four-hit games.

Chris Johnson (8% owned)
3 R / 2 HR / 5 RBI / 1 SB / .500
The hot bat of Johnson is on a 14-game hitting streak. His power has finally found its way into the majors too, hitting four homers in the past 11 games.

Matt Joyce (1% owned)
3 R / 3 HR / 10 RBI / .261
It’s hard not to join in the fun when playing for a good team. In the past fifteen games, Joyce has increased his average from .175 to .232.

Raul Ibanez (59% owned)
5 R / 2 HR / 5 RBI / .435
Ibanez has been on the top of his game for the past four years so this year was a bit of a surprise to fantasy owners with a poor first half of play. He has picked up recently with a ten-game hitting streak and three homers in that span. At 59% owned, there is a chance Ibanez is on the waiver wire in lighter leagues.

HURLERS

Kevin Slowey (57% owned)
14 IP / 2 W / 7 K / 0.64 ERA / 0.64 WHIP
Total season numbers aren’t anything to brag about but the past two games have been gems – although against two of the worst teams in the league, Baltimore and Seattle. One amazing stat though is that Slowey hasn’t walked more than one batter in a game in the past 16 starts.

R.A. Dickey (32% owned)
14 IP / 1 W / 8 K / 0.00 ERA / 0.57 WHIP
Although Dickey has struggled to get a win in the past seven starts (1-4, 2 no decisions), his ERA is only a measly 2.33. At least we know its not Dickey’s fault for the dreadful 9-17 record in July.

Anibal Sanchez (23% owned)
9 IP / 1 W / 8 K / 0.00 ERA / 0.22 WHIP
In Thursdays game against the Giants, Sanchez was one walk and one hit away from a perfect game. This was Anibal’s only win in the month of July for five starts though. Hopefully this will lead into a strong August.

Brett Myers (44% owned)
9 IP / 1 W / 12 K / 1.00 ERA / 0.56 WHIP
Myers manhandled the Cubs, pitching a complete game four-hitter while striking out 12. Myers seems to like the heat and has dominated teams in July. In those five games Brett has a 1.69 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, and averaged 7.5 K/9.

Josh Tomlin (3% owned)
12.1 IP / 1 W / 7 K / 1.46 ERA / 0.73 WHIP
In his second career start, Tomlin picked right back up from where he started in his dominance over the Yankees. Josh has only allowed one run in both games. Now don’t get too excited, Tomlin is in no way supposed to be this good. As of right now he is a lucky rookie, trying to make an impression but I do wonder how he amounted a 51-24 minor league record…

Brad Mills (0% owned)
7 IP / 1 W / 4 K / 0.00 ERA / 0.71 WHIP
In his first start of the season, Mills destroyed Baltimore (shocker!) and only gave up two hits over seven innings. I’d like to see him pitch well against a better team before deciding if he’ll stay in the majors.

Miguel Batista (0% owned)
7.1 IP / 1 W / 6 K / 0.00 ERA / 0.95 WHIP
Reliever Miguel Batista had the honor to fill in for rookie phenom, Stephen Strasburg (jeez… no pressure or anything). Well fill in he did, pitching five innings of scoreless ball, allowing only three hits and striking out six. Unfortunately its only a nice story, seeing as how he has given up 25 runs in only 56 innings.

Article written by Evan Marx exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com . That’s right, exclusively… I ain’t no cheating man.

Think Valencia or Johnson are the real deal?
Leave a comment and let us know, or reply to us on Twitter@TheFantasyFix

Here are some more articles that will not self destruct in ten seconds…

MLB Fantasy Baseball Post ASB Positional Ranks: Catcher

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It’s tempting for the more seasoned (really old) followers of the San Francisco Giants to sit back and enjoy what has been a fabulous start to the second half of the season.

The club’s record is third-best in the National League and seventh in the big leagues three games into the Florida Marlins series in San Francisco. The Giants are 2 1/2 games out of the NL West lead and are atop the NL wild-card race.

Fans and media-types have to work, or ignore reality, to be critical of what were considered shortcomings with the Giants on a 11-3 streak since the All-Star break.

The team’s starting pitching has been superb. The bullpen has done a surprisingly good job getting games to closer Brian Wilson.

Manager Bruce Bochy has, apparently, become a great deal smarter in the second half. Unless he, alone, blew the three games the club lost in the last couple of weeks.

Every club can use another hitter, but the Giants are scoring plenty of runs. And, knocking situational hitting when a team is 11-3 seems silly.

Fans and the media should be relaxing and enjoying the fact that the Giants jumped from 10th to seventh on ESPN.com’s MLB power rankings this week.

Why bother worrying about the trade deadline when the Giants have one of the best records in baseball? Well, the cyclical nature of baseball indicates that the club’s flaws will become apparent again soon. So…

The Giants desperately need relief pitching (specifically left-handed relievers). The only way to get help for the bullpen is in trade. No help coming from the minor leagues and even the happiest of Giants fan likely quivers at the thought of relying too heavily on Denny Bautista, Joe Martinez, and Santiago Casilla.

While they’re poking around for a reliever or two, the Giants might as well see if any hitters are available for a decent asking price. Pablo Sandoval might return to first-half form. And Buster Posey just might not bat .368, with a .975 OPS and .571 slugging percentage for the final three months of the season. Although, nothing the kid does should surprise anybody.

There just isn’t a great deal of bullpen talent on the market, so trade rumors have focused on the organization’s reported interest in finding another proven hitter.

Oh, the Giants are going to get relief help. Before giving up anything in trade, the Giants might want to consider calling lefty Alex Hinshaw up to see if he can get outs or about giving Dontrelle Willis a shot as a lefty-vs.-lefty reliever.

The Giants have the luxury of giving a young farmhand and a fallen star a chance to stabilize the pen.

The club is a lot more likely to land an outfielder like Washington’s Josh Willingham or Kansas City veteran Jose Guillen than they are to trade for Adam Dunn. (Although, Dunn is on record now as denying that he ever said he would refuse to play in San Francisco. That, apparently, was an urban legend based on the assumption that AT&T Park is death to all lefty swingers who aren’t Barry Bonds.)

Dunn’s going to be a free agent at the end of the year, so the Giants aren’t interested unless they can sign him to a long-term deal before any trade is consumated. Teams typically allow for negotiations between a trade partner and a player in such a situation.

The Giants just aren’t willing to offer the type of package necessary to lure Dunn to San Francisco. The Nationals apparently turned down a Chicago White Sox offer featuring starting second baseman Gordon Beckham and insisted on a package featuring three top prospects headed by pitcher Daniel Hudson. Translation: Madison Bumgarner and two top prospects would, maybe, bring Dunn west.

Tampa Bay asked the Nats about Dunn and the Rays were told that any package for the slugger would have to include starting pitcher Matt Garza, who is having an outstanding season and pitched a no-hitter on Monday night. Translation: If Bumgarner’s untouchable, toss Matt Cain into the deal.

The Giants discussed Guillen with the Royals, the New York Post reported. The 34-year-old would, reportedly, go to San Francisco with cash to cover some of the $4.55 million left on his contract. ESPN’s Jayson Stark, however, reported that the Royals “have no real options” to trade Guillen—even while asking for little in return.

There’s word that the Giants are, again, interested in free agent-to-be Prince Fielder. Any package would start with trading left-hander Madison Bumgarner. Fielder’s out of the question.

Willingham can play right field, where he wouldn’t take any more at-bats from Pat Burrell.

The Giants had interest in Royals base-stealing outfielder Scott Podsednik, but the Los Angeles Dodgers wound up acquiring the left-hand hitter in exchange for two minor leaguers.

If first baseman Travis Ishikawa keeps producing, Aubrey Huff will split time between the outfield and first and the Giants wouldn’t necessarily have to add a hitter, because it appears that Aaron Rowand might be inching back to reasonable productivity after his single started Thursday’s game-winning rally against the Marlins.

It could be that this is the time for Giants fans to step back and acknowledge that the call for homegrown talent has gone on for years and, well, it could be that Nate Schierholtz, Ishikawa and, perhaps, a minor leaguer like infielders Emmanuel Burris or Ryan Rohlinger team to produce the runs the Giants need.

Why deal for a .260 hitter in Guillen if Schierholtz can hit .250 and contribute in every other area of the game, too?

The Giants are inching toward the trade deadline in position, remarkably, to just keep doing what they’ve been doing. That’s been plenty good enough over the last 14 games.

Ted Sillanpaa is a Northern California sports writer and columnist. Reach Ted at tsillanpaa1956@gmail.com

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Hitting leadoff is one of the most important, yet undervalued jobs in baseball.

It seems lost on some managers in baseball today, that the leadoff spot in a lineup is merely where you put a fast guy who can steal a few bases.

Crafting a lineup is really just apportioning playing time among the members of your team. Each lineup spot gets, on average, twenty more plate appearances throughout a season than the spot below it. Ergo, a leadoff hitter should be the man you want at the plate more than anyone else on the team.

The leadoff hitter’s job is above all— to get on base. It helps if he’s an intimidating force on the basepaths. Affecting a pitcher’s concentration as he pitches to the heart of the lineup is always beneficial. But if he’s a guy who runs whenever he feels like it, gets caught a lot and kills more rallies than he starts, then you’ve got a problem.

Some leadoff hitters in baseball today are a break from the traditional mold. And a lot of them are on contending teams. This is more than a coincidence. We’re going to soon see a change in the winds regarding what skills are valued in a leadoff hitter, and which are overrated.

I have put together a power ranking of the 30 leadoff hitters in baseball, factoring in the following statistics: On Base Percentage, Slugging Percentage, Runs Created (Bill James’ statistic that measures total offensive output), and Stolen Bases. Some are weighed more heavily than others, and I used my judgement to determine which of them really performed the job of leadoff hitter the best.

Enjoy and please comment with your opinions!

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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**

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Dear SF Giants Offense,

We’re writing this letter to express our deep concerns over a growing team problem: good offense.

In 2010, the Giants’ offense has scored less than three runs accordingly:

April: 9/26  34 percent.
May: 11/28  39 percent.
June: 1/12  8 percent. 

The offense is currently riding an 11 game streak of scoring three runs or more.

Before we dive in, let us remind you since the departure of Barry Bonds, we have become accustomed to sluggish inconsistent limp offenses.

Like a farm dog with ticks dug into our behind, we came to accept our cursed fate and that the world was generally a cruel place.

What do you expect, we have paws! How were we gonna reach back and pull the ticks out? You think biting helps, it only makes it worse.

At this point, our ticks are actually a source of comfort.

Now you’re back there digging around at the ticks and we have to tell you, don’t tease us. Don’t act like you’re finally going to screw them out, relieve our pain, and actually become a good offense.

Because the only thing worse than getting used to the pain and cruelty, would be thinking it’s finally going away and finding out it’s not.

Think of us as the sensitive girl who has always been a bridesmaid and never a bride. Men have been disappointing us our whole lives and now here you are acting like Mr. Wonderful.

If you let us down: look out! J-Wow’s right hook on The Situation will look like a tender kiss compared to the hell-fire scorn we will unleash on you.

Looking at your lineups recently and your numbers, we’ve been thinking, “What team is this?” And excuse us, but where are the gaping holes we have become accustomed to?

You know, we had gotten really used to cuddling up next to our teddy bear, then we slip into bed one night and find Bradley Cooper. Are we dreaming, are these hard, lean, rippling Runs, RBIs, and HRs really ours?

We call up some 15 year old looking kid from the minors (Posey), then we find some bruised and beaten up old mutt abandoned in an alley (Burrell), and presto, voila – we’re great!

And where do these slum dog cast-offs get off acting princely? Huff, Torres, Uribe…All Star caliber play? And we didn’t even know Sanchez was still alive – we thought compound injuries had killed him!

But come on, this is like a Cinderella story. And Giants fans do not believe in fairy tales.

Please go back to your old ways, so we can all just relax and accept the cruelty of the world.

Thank you.

Giants Fans

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