The Giants Mid Season Report

As most baseball fans know, the All-Star games symbolizes the midway point in the baseball season. It also marks the start of the playoff race. Teams who are in the race often look to acquire a star player or two, while the teams with a slim chance look to cash their stars that have value.

A quick glance at the San Francisco Giants can be quite telling. They have a stellar starting pitcher core with Tim Lincecum, Randy Johnson, and Matt Cain leading the way.

Their offense has been surprisingly better than expected, but still gets silenced by good pitchers.

With the wild care in sight, there are concerns that I think need to be addressed.

One, although the Giants have a starting rotation to die for, they have a few issues.

- Randy Johnson, the best left starter they have, is injured and will be out until the end July, if not longer.

- Barry Zito is an unstable element, since he can have a mental melt down at any second.

- While Jonathon Sanchez did pitch a no-no his last time out, he has not proven that he can win in a consistent fashion. He, too, tends to have melt downs.

Two, second base has been the only position that hasn’t had a regular starter. The opening day starter, Emmanuel Burriss, is no longer in the majors, along with his replacement, Matt Downs. Burriss is out for two months after getting injured in Triple A.

- Is Juan Uribe the answer? Possibly, but I would feel more comfortable with a veteran at this position.

Three, Fred Lewis is not an outfielder the Giants can afford to play! Yes, he can hit, but his fielding stinks. He is prone to strike out more times than not in clutch situations. I personally think that he doesn’t belong on the Major League roster.

I would like to see Brian Sabean get at least a veteran second baseman, but I don’t see that happening knowing his history. I am also aware that Lewis is not going to be traded since he has little value.

Talking about trades, as we get closer to July 31, the ‘no-waiver’ trade deadline, there are plenty of rumors flying around, but one player I think Sabean should pursue if he wants to upgrade his team.

Get Adam Kennedy from the Oakland Athletics. He is cheap and can hit with the ability to run. The only thing is that the A’s may be considering he as Eric Chavez’s replacement at third. Read my A’s Mid Season Report article for more on Kennedy and Chavez!