San Francisco Giants

Despite being over .500 (15-14) coming into today's series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers, much has been stated about the San Francisco Giants' anemic offense.

Granted the Orange & Black are 26th in average, 29th in slugging, 29th in on base percentage, 28th in doubles, 29th in hits, and last in both home runs and runs scored, they are still one game over .500 and in second place in the wide open National League West.

Look, it's one thing when you flip on the local coverage of a local ballclub.  In those situations, you can stomach the Hawk Harrelsons, Bob Brenlys, and the rest of the clowns who only have eyes for the home dugout.

Personally, I prefer my broadcast booth to play it closer to the middle—give me sound analysis of both uniforms, keep it entertaining, and mix in a subtle air of hometown loyalty.

I have been one of the biggest critics of Barry Zito over the past two years, but I am very impressed with the 20009 Zito. It was a joy to watch him pitch last night against the Dodgers.His performance reminded me of his great days in Oakland where he was often very dominant.

Zito only gave up one run in six innings and struck out five batters. He got his first win of the year and is now 1-2 with a respectable 3.57 ERA.

It's not even because Manny Ramirez wears Los Angeles Dodger blue (OK, that's part of it).

In news I'm sure you'll hear from my fingers first, Ramirez has tested positive for human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). 

Although his agent, that bastion of credibility and integrity Scott Boras, tried at first to spin it away with a story about a prescribed medication for a personal ailment, I'm beginning to think that might not be the case.

Right off the bat, hCG is a female fertility drug.

With 2008's dismal season behing them, the San Francisco Giants are looking to bounce back in 09.

With one of MLB's best starting rotations and an unproven defense the Giants will look to make a run for the National League West's Penant.

Manny Ramirez and Dodgers loom as the obvious choice for the division leaders. The Padres, Diamondbacks and Rockies all have more recent post season appearances than the Giants.

Still, if the Giants can play to their strengths and limit their weaknesses, they might have a fighting chance.

And so it seems another baseball great has fallen. Fallen to the inevitable black hole in the baseball universe called steroids. 

Manny Ramirez is the latest player to fall to the allegations that he took steroids, and while I can go on and on about Mannywood or what the implications this has had on the game. I'm not going to, solely for the reason that this is an article about why this is an ample opportunity for the San Francisco Giants and the rest of the NL West to take advantage of a team blindsided by the recent controversial news.

I thought that the Giants would have a better offense this season than last season, but I was very wrong. This 2009 lineup of the Giants is just plain awful.

I figured that the young players such as Fred Lewis, Pablo Sandoval, and Travis Ishikawa would boost the offensive production of this team and that the veterans, such as Edgar Renteria and Aaron Rowand, would also help out.

Rowand is only batting .233 and Renteria is not doing that much better with a.253 average.

The first month of the season has never been easy for Giants starter Barry Zito. Even when he was at his best in Oakland, the stats he put up in April made it look the subsequent months would be a struggle.

However, for the first time as a Giant, Zito has found a groove in his first five starts of the season. His ERA is under four for the first time since June of 2007 and his dominance at home is something to note.

I know, I know—I'm a tad late with this one. Not only have the San Francisco Giants already started their next series against the Colorado Rockies, but the first pitch for the second game is only minutes away.

And it's all the more inexcusable because the series I've been dragging on was a fantastic offering that saw our good guys slay the evil Los Angeles Dodgers twice in three chances.

Good teams find ways to win close games. Right now, the Colorado Rockies are not a good team.

Despite an outstanding effort from Ubaldo Jimenez, the Rockies dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker to the Giants on Friday night in San Francisco. The loss moves the Rockies to 8-13 on the season, 4-8 on the road.

Of the 13 losses, five of them have come by one-run margins.

An inability to get hits at key moments continues to plague the Rockies.