Reality Check: The Giants Won't Contend

It would have been difficult for the Giants to play any more awful than they had leading up to the All Star break. The trend continue with a miserable sweep at home at the hands of the Milwauke Brewers. The problems that have plagued the team all season continued - the team couldn't score behind Matt Cain, the bullpen didn't keep them in the game, scoring opportunities came and went, while not even Tim Lincecum could stop the downward spiral. Trading Ray Durham makes sense. We cleared some salary, and word is we did not get much in return. Fact is, Emmanuel Burris can now begin to develop into an everyday player and the Giants can put their focus where it needs to be - getting this team ready for 2009. Hopefully, more trades are in the works. Jack Taschner and Rich Aurilla are two names that have floated around, while unloading Dave Roberts is a bit of a pipe dream. Let's hope the Cain-to-Phillies rumors have no basis. The nails were already in the coffin, but hopefully this weekend solidified it. This year is about evaluating talent, and that is where our heads need to be.