San Francisco Giants Can Still Make a Giant Comeback and Snatch the West

The Padres have been one of the most successful teams in the National

League this year, if not the most successful. It has surprised many

people throughout the year that they have not only claimed greatness,

but kept it.

Their pitching has been stellar all year, and their offense is good

enough to supply the runs for this team. They often have outbursts of

double-digit runs and this comes as a shock because they do not have an

offense like the Phillies.

They have survived by playing smart ball the whole year and doing the

little things right. Will Venable's virtual stealing of home against

the Cubs a few weeks ago was beautiful to watch as a fan of baseball,

even if it made my blood boil as a Giants Fan.

But I have been suspicious of the Padres success all year, and it was

not until I looked into it a little more that I found possible reasons.

Everyone has been wondering why the Padres have been winning so many

games lately and I couldn't remember them going through a stretch like

the Giants were going through where they played several division leaders

or playoff contenders in a row.

They have been feasting on the Pirates, Diamondbacks, Marlins,

Dodgers, Cubs, and Brewers. Most of these teams have struggled with

pitching, which is why they are not in the playoff picture. This may

also be a reason as to why the Padres are able to score so many runs

with not many offensive threats. The Giants did the same thing when

they played these teams which led to an incredible July record of 20-8.

The only two playoff contenders (besides the Giants) that the Pads have

played since the break were the Braves, a 3-game series in which they

lost, and the Phillies, a 3 game series they got swept in. I checked

out the calendar and they have games with the Cards and Reds still

coming up in September.

We, Giants fans, have been waiting for this team to fail all year, and

they will be tested in September. If the Giants play consistent ball

and their pitching is as advertised, there is a great shot that they

can still win the west. The Pads pitching should be tired by the time

they face potent offenses such as the Reds and Cards, and maybe even

the Rockies.

Now that everyone has begun to actually believe in the Padres success,

they might be surprised at how this season ends up if the Padres don't

deliver against good teams. If the Giants can take out the Padres in

their 7 remaining head-to-head games they are in a great position.

The Giants' explosion of run support against the Reds was amazing but

it did not last forever. They still rely on their pitching to win

games, but it helps when your offense scores 16 runs for you. That's

when everyone is hot.

Imagine what could happen if only a couple of players were hot!

Well, now that I think about it, we know the result

of that because it has been the definition of the Giant’s season.

Buster Posey, Aubrey Huff, and Andres Torres have been a part of most

of the Giants victories. They have rarely had help from Pablo Sandoval

or Freddy Sanchez until recently, even though Juan Uribe and Pat Burrell have picked

up the slack at times. This has led to the roller coaster ride of a

season for the Giants and doubts that they will be able to make the

playoffs.

The series against the Reds showed an upside to the ride, even after a

disappointing road trip. Everyone was hot and it led to an unreal

amount of runs scored by the Giants. The recent series against the

Diamondbacks was a disaster and almost resulted in an embarrassing

sweep.

It has been said over and over, but the Giants will not make the

playoffs without a turnaround in their starting pitching.

The Giants need to get hot if they want to overtake the Padres,

as they start to finally struggle. They have the tools to succeed

they just need to use them ALL at once.