Unpredictable Giants

The San Francisco Giants have been nothing short of frustrating over the past few days. After taking the NL West lead by half a game with their 10-2 victory over the Dodgers on Thursday, the Giants have mustered only 1 run in the first two games of their series against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers are 9 games below .500 and out of playoff contention; these are the types of games that the Giants must win. And as a result of this the Giants find themselves back a half-game of the Padres and only a half-game ahead of the Rockies. It is extremely frustrating to see the Giants offense put up 10 runs in a game only to be followed up with 1 run over the next two games and only 8 runs in the past 7 excluding the 10 run game. The Giants needed to bring in a big bat at the deadline and they failed to do so, now it really starting to show as they are in the thick of the NL West and NL Wildcard races.

Pablo Sandoval and the Giants offense need to get on track before it is too late. Picture courtesy of ESPN

Manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged the struggles of the offense after the Giants 2-1 loss Saturday night, “I do think we’re trying to do too much, overswinging a little bit. We’ve got to calm down a little bit. I know they all want to be the guy.” The Giants are by no means a power hitting team, their offense is built on getting singles and doubles and getting hits with runners in scoring position. Getting their bats on the ball is the key, and they just haven’t been able to do it. The Giants got so desperate for runs that Bochy brought in a pinch-hitter for Tim Lincecum in the bottom of the 5th inning. With runner on 1st and 3rd and only 1 out, Bochy pinch hit Nate Schierholtz for Lincecum, making it Lincecum’s shortest outing of the season. Lincecum was fuming in the dugout, but the Bochy felt it was their best opportunity to bring in some much needed runs. Schierholtz drew a walk, and the Giants got one run, but it wasn’t enough. The gamble by Bochy didn’t really hurt them as the bullpen was able to shutdown the Brew Crew after Lincecum was pulled. The Giants need some offense, and they need it as soon as possible. If not, they may be once again watching the playoffs from home.

This is just an opinion…so please Pardon My Bias.