Back to Business....

Had to take a break from the Giants yesterday. Was out watching the game on Thursday and it's just disheartening watching the Giants sometimes. But MadBum threw really well last night and Keppy had the hit they've been looking for for 2 1/2 months and the Giants get a win. The Giants had 4 hits against a guy (J.A. Happ, just up from AAA) who had given up at least 5 runs in his last 8 starts. They did scartch out 4 walks but seriously, as bad an offense as there's been in SF for quite a while (by comparison, ARZ is 10th in the league in runs and have scored 136 more runs than the Giants).

No need to tell u about Cabre-jada anymore. But my favorite was Cabrera's weak groundout with the bases loaded after the guy walked Stewart and the pitcher. Oh, I forgot to mention, it was the first pitch. Solid approach but he's a veteran, so what do we know. I really didn't mind seeing DeRosa in there to give Huff a mental day but now we know. He's helpless. He's a baby bird. He really shouldn't see the field again, especially once the roster expands September 1st.

So this Kid Eric Surkamp starts tonight. I think his strongest attribute is he's not Dan Runzler. His AA numbers were very good so maybe, hopefully, the Giants found a 5th starter. I'd prefer Mota but if it's not Zito/Sanchez/Runzler, I'll relent.

So is the offense Bochy or Muelens' fault? In a way, yes and no. The players play. No doubt. But I think a good leader puts guys into situations where they can succeed. So Huff and Ross...they play bad. But their approach has not changed one bit all year. If I'm a coach, I tweak things in those guys approach. The swing isn't the problem, it's the pitches you swing at. If the coaches stressed a different approach (Cabrera swinging at the first pitch last night is an example), I see guys coming out of their funks sooner.

And as I've said in the past, if you're last in run production as a team, you need to do the little things. If you can scratch a run or two early because you steal bases, bunt, hit and run, get guys in from 3rd with less tahn 2 outs, it's basically a win with this pitching staff. But Bochy just DOES NOT believe in small ball. His guys will figure it out. They did for 2 months last year on their run to the World Series, so why not now? That's a lazy way of coaching. It hasn't worked for 3 months, so make a change (P.S.- A "change" isn't playing Tejada while Panda is hurt or having Belt lose AB's to Rowand).

Put guys in a situation to succeed. Individual and as a team. Sabean did him no favors by signing and trading for the shit heap that are the SS's and not trading for a Catcher at the deadline (I refuse to believe that Ramon Hernandez, Miguel Olivo, Geovany Soto, John Buck). But the pieces are potentially there and Bochy will have more flexibility with the expanded rosters. While you can't tell, I'm an optimist when it comes to the Giants players, not their leaders. I can see Torres, Ross and Huff coming out of this with good months of August. If this happens, the Giants have a shot at the division. We need to see a better approach by Bochy and hopefully it's not too late....