Dear Dodgers and Your Fans...

Dear Dodgers and Your Fans,

Wow. Here it is almost the middle of September and you look to have a real shot at winning the NL West. I expected you to have folded and crumbled at this point in time, but it appears the no-brainer pick-up of Manny Ramirez has broken that curse. We can ignore the fact that your 75-71 record would be good enough for fifth place in the NL Central - we still have to give you credit. It wasn't our intention to make your lives easier by sweeping Arizona - but we're not going to roll over just to screw you guys. Arizona is looking pretty weak right now and it is yours for the taking. There was a time when it would cause me genuine pain to see the Dodgers succeed, but frankly, I am enjoying the Giants success as of late that it doesn't bother me how well you do. If Tim Lincecum can win the Cy Young, you can go and win the World Series for all I care. If its possible for us to put a dent in your plans later this month, than I would be happy to do so. Let the rivalry continue, and I hoped we sent a message to you during this Arizona series that we are not a team to sleep on.

See you soon...

Still Orange and Black

Strong Start For Hennessey

Lost in the excitement of Eugenio Velez's game-winning triple is the fact that Brad Hennessey pitched a pretty darn good game for his first start in two years. He outdueled Arizona's Dan Haren, throwing six innings of one-run ball, allowing just four hits while striking out three. He left with the Giants up 2-1, but Brian Wilson allowed two runs in the ninth, giving Hennessey a no decision. Still, he certainly earned himself a second start if you ask me.

Velez Hero Again!

For the second day in a row, Brian Wilson blew a save, only to have Eugenio Velez drive in the winning run a half inning later. Velez's hit was all the more exciting, considering it came with the Giants down 3-2 with two outs and an 0-2 count. Velez drove home two runners with his two-out triple, completing a sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks. We called Velez "a bright spot" after his great play during the first week of the season. After some struggles and a stint in Triple-A, Velez seems to have found his stroke.

Molina Upset

Pablo Sandoval is giving us a number of reasons to be excited. But there is one thing Bengie Molina is not excited about - he thinks Sandoval has been assigned as Barry Zito's personal catcher:

It is a personal catcher whether they say that or not. I'm not very happy at all. I can't be happy. I came here to play. If they don't consider me a No. 1 catcher, if I can't catch the No. 1 guy on the staff, let me know. I ain't stupid. I don't think I've ever been stupid. I've been in baseball for a long time. Come to me and tell me. Of course I'm going to be mad, but there's nothing I can do about it. They're the bosses.

While Zito has performed well with Sandoval behind the plate, both Bruce Bochy and Zito insist no official change has been made.

Hennessey Starting Today

With regards to the rotation - Kevin Correia is out, and Brad Hennessey is in. After spending time in the bullpen (including as a closer) in 2007 and 2008, Hennessey will be starting against Arizona today; this is his first start since September 15, 2006. After struggling earlier this season, Hennessey was sent to Triple-A Fresno and returned to starting, a move which proved successful. Whether Hennessey will start again this season is still up in the air.

Walk Off

Eugenio Velez just sent Giants fans home happy with a one out single in the bottom of the ninth. Brian Wilson gets the win after giving up a game-tying two-run homer in the top of the inning. Arizona is continuing to skid, while the Dodgers will hold a 2 1/2 game lead if they can hold their 6-2 advantage over San Diego.

Barry Zito started for the Giants and his line was pretty good - six innings, five hits, two runs, but most impressively, nine strikeouts. He was lifted for pinch hitter Bengie Molina in the sixth with the team down 2-1. Molina proceeded to tie the game with a single.

There's a Baseball Scene in Twilight

So, maybe you've heard of the insanely popular vampire romance literary series, Twilight, that is soon to be a major motion picture. Perhaps, you are a dude and thought these books were just for girls. Well, it appears as though they've got something for the fellas as well. Apparently, there's a baseball scene - according to the MTV Movies Blog:

“Personally, I’m hoping the vampire baseball scene will be really fun to watch,” the actor [Peter Facinelli] insisted, saying that all those fastballs and leaping catches should jump off the page and onto the big screen. “I mean, you can only do so much with your imagination, when you’re thinking about vampire baseball [and reading 'Twilight']. But actually seeing that and hearing the cracking of the bat? The super-vampire speed? That should be fun to watch.”

Dodger Fans Rooting For the Giants

It rarely happens - but for three days this week Dodgers fans will be cheering on the orange and black. Why? Because they need us to beat Arizona. After sweeping the Diamondbacks over the weekend, the Dodgers have found themselves in first place with a 1 1/2 game lead. As much as it pains me to see LA succeed, I am just not going to root against my team just to hurt their chances - especially when Tim Lincecum's Cy Young chances are at stake. The battle for the Cy Young is probably going down to the wire, with Lincecum and Arizona's Brandon Webb the frontrunners. Webb got shelled by the Dodgers on Saturday, while going for win number 20. By contrast, Lincecum shut down the Diamondbacks for 8 1/3, earning win number 16. It is unlikely that Lincecum will match Webb in wins, but he holds superior numbers in ERA and strikeouts.

The Diamondbacks will look to stop the skid when they face Barry Zito this evening. The Dodgers eight game winning streak ended with a loss in San Diego last night.

So, for Tuesday and Wednesday, Dodger fans can cheer on the Giants - though, come Wednesday, we can return to bitter rivals.

Molina Reaches Career High

With a three run homer against Arizona on Monday night, Bengie Molina increased his RBI total to 82 - a new career high. The fact was overshadowed by Tim Lincecum's performance, but the feat should not go unnoticed.

36 Year Old Rookie A Great Story

One of the best stories of September thus far for the Giants has been the success of Scott McClain. McClain is a rookie - like most of the Giants lineup these days. Only what separates McClain from the rest of the pack is that he is 36. Seeing only limited Major League time in his career, McClain has thrived at lower levels - in the minors and in Japan, he accumulated a total of 362 home runs and 1,280 RBIs. Last Wednesday in Colorado, he finally achieved his first homer in the majors. On Saturday, he added another, with a two-run homer against Pittsburgh that also gave the Giants the lead. McClain may not be a key figure in the Giants future plans, but it is still exciting to see him achieve a dream after two decades of hard work and tough breaks.

Jayson Stark Looks At Lincecum's Cy Young Chances

Today, Jayson Stark makes the case for Tim Lincecum, Brando Webb and C.C. Sabathia as viable Cy Young candidates. He says of Lincecum:

Tim Lincecum has been getting way too little play in this debate for way too long, anyway. But Webb's mini-funk has helped bring Lincecum back into the conversation. And it's about time.

True, Lincecum has four fewer wins (19 to 15). But how much of that is his fault? He's 15-3, with five blown saves and six CUS (Criminally Unsupported Starts - games in which he pitched at least six innings and his team scored one run or none while he was in the game). Webb has one blown save and only two CUS. So that accounts for your gap in wins, gang.

Toss wins out of the discussion, and Lincecum looks as if he has clearly outpitched Webb by most standards. Lincecum leads in ERA by more than three-quarters of a run (2.43 to 3.19), leads in strikeouts by 50 (210 to 160) and tops the league in both categories. Lincecum also leads the NL in OPS allowed (.609), quality-start percentage (22 of 27, 81 percent) and strikeout ratio (10.2 per 9 IP). And unlike Sabathia, you may have noticed that he has been in the same league, on the same team, all season.