San Francisco Giants Missing Key Players, but Still Winning

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images for Reebok)

The absence of Bengie Molina, Pablo Sandoval, and recently-acquired Freddy Sanchez isn't what San Francisco Giants fans hoped for as the final month of baseball is yet to be played. 

Pablo Sandoval, the best player on the the team next to Tim Lincecum, was out of the starting lineup for the second consecutive day. 

Freddy Sanchez has a hurt shoulder and is on the 15-day DL, a move that has made Giants fans cringe and point fingers at Brian Sabean for trading a bonafide prospect for an injured second baseman.

And then we have Bengie Molina, who is ailing with tight quadriceps, but just happened to squeeze out out every bit of strength to hit a three-run homer to help the Giants win over the Diamondback yesterday evening.

I might add that he was limping across home plate, which might leave one to wonder whether or not he'll be able to last the rest of the way.

Yet, with all these key Giants missing or hurt, you would think that Giants fans would be saying this, "Well guys it was a nice run, at least we'll beat our win total from last year..." 

Well guess what?  The Giants are still just three games back in the Wild Card.

Surprising as it sounds, they have managed to bounce back from their horrible 14-inning loss on Monday. 

Demoralized, beat up, and without their best hitters in the lineup, it was hard to imagine what they would do next, even if the series was against the lowly Diamondbacks. 

Twice in this series, the team not known for power or comebacks, have done the unthinkable and beat a team with three-run homers in two nights.

This is one hell of a roller coaster ride isn't it folks? 

But that's been the Giants' M.O. this year: they put us on a high winning series after series, then we hit a low point with terrible play, silenced bats, and gut-wrenching losses. 

Like a sailor navigating through the eye of the storm, the Giants are staying afloat hoping to see the land of the playoffs.  

There's one thing I would like to say about the Giants, though.

They play through adversity. 

It's amazing to think that the Giants are "in this thing."  They are proving to me and the rest of the baseball world that they are no fluke. 

Even if they aren't built for a deep playoff push if they get there, they have chemistry. 

You can see it in the dugout, in the intensity of every defensive play, and how they are willing to fight till the very end. 

This is what the Giants are, they are an enigma, because no one including myself could have expected the Giants to be right there with the other top teams of baseball. 

For all their troubles, though, and a month left in the season anything could happen from here on out. 

Which is why I can't wait to find out what the Giants will do next.  Who knows, they have already surprised us with their play this far into the season, so what comes next is anyone's guess.

And I couldn't be any more excited. 

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