Andres Torres

Andres Torres, the center fielder and lead-off hitter, is the most irreplaceable member of the San Francisco Giants' lineup.

The Giants have to replace him, though, because he's out for the remainder of the regular season following surgery on his appendix.

Buster Posey and Tim Lincecum are the big names in Giants territory. Newcomers Jose Guillen and Cody Ross are the new fan favorites.

However, the man right now red hot in San Francisco with his bat is Andres Torres.

Say who?

Even in his own Puerto Rico many baseball followers are starting to listen and know about Torres.

Major League Baseball wasn't necessarily meant to be enjoyed with one finger extended in an attempt to find a target for today's round of criticism.

Oh, the 2010 San Francisco Giants have made it easy for fans who want to affix blame, find solutions to every potential problem, and moan about what will go wrong next from Opening Day through the dog days of summer.

Yes, this is an incredibly bold conclusion. Actually, I haven't concluded anything, I've just posed a question.

The fact of the matter is, the Giants have an incredibly fickle nature. Remember in July, when they won 20 games for the first time since September of 2000? Well, right before that month, they had a seven-game losing streak. Are they going to once again bounce back?

The Giants got off to yet another promising start to the game, as Torres led off with a solo home run. The Giants would only tack on one more run in the game, though (Pat Burrell solo homer), as they suffered an 8-2 loss to the Phillies.

Matt Cain did a decent job, pitching six innings and giving up only two earned runs. A Mike Fontenot error, however, would lead to a Jimmy Rollins three-run homer that the Giants never answered.

A quick look at the past week's least owned and most productive. Everything from the hitting streaks of Chris Johnson & Raul Ibanez to Anibal Sanchez's one-hitter. Can these guys keep it up?

BOMBERS

Andres Torres (48% owned)
5 R / 1 HR / 4 RBI / 2 SB / .367
Torres has been torrid in the past month. He's batting .317 with 23 R, seven HR, and 20 RBI. Not to mention the five steals. From Huff to Posey to Torres, the Giants have some hot hitters as of late.

It's tempting for the more seasoned (really old) followers of the San Francisco Giants to sit back and enjoy what has been a fabulous start to the second half of the season.

Dear SF Giants Offense,

We're writing this letter to express our deep concerns over a growing team problem: good offense.

In 2010, the Giants' offense has scored less than three runs accordingly:

April: 9/26  34 percent.
May: 11/28  39 percent.
June: 1/12  8 percent. 

The offense is currently riding an 11 game streak of scoring three runs or more.

Before we dive in, let us remind you since the departure of Barry Bonds, we have become accustomed to sluggish inconsistent limp offenses.

If you talk to any Giants fan this year, they'll probably talk to you about Aaron Rowand's dismal slump, the equally underwhelming season by Bengie Molina, and the slight concern about franchise players Tim Lincecum and Pablo Sandoval and their sub-par seasons.

You'll hear stories about the lack of opportunity for young guys like Nate Schierholtz and John Bowker and the clamoring for youngsters like Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner.

And, as always, you'll hear plenty of criticism for San Francisco general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy.

The Giants have recalled Buster Posey and signed Pat Burrell to a minor league deal, leaving some to question where all the pieces will fit if things go as the club would like.

Posey started with a bang on Saturday night, playing first base. Let's imagine that he is in the big leagues to stay. And, let's pretend that the veteran outfielder Burrell uses his time in the minor leagues to prove he belongs in the big leagues.