San Francisco Giants

It was a fun time at good old Wrigley Field earlier this week. The Giants scored two week's worth of runs in one afternoon. Barry Zito won his first game since Ronald Reagen was elected to his second term, and Ryan Dempster figured out that there’s a team in the National League that he can pitch well against.

I know what you must be thinking after reading that headline.

How can Jonathan Sanchez, a starting pitcher who was just placed on the disabled list and was leading the league in walks, be the key to the success of the defending world champion San Francisco Giants in the second half?

In the wake of last night’s 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers, the San Francisco Giants received some rather unsettling news: Their star Gatorade bucket is likely out for the season.

The Giants offense has been lifeless over the past week and now, their best offensive threat is injured.  Third baseman Pablo Sandoval broke the hamate bone in his right hand while taking a swing in Washington on Friday and will have surgery to remove it this Tuesday in Arizona.  He will likely miss at least 4-6 weeks, accordin

The San Francisco Giants heard it throughout 2010.

“Not enough hitting. There’s no way they’ll even make it to the postseason with such a stagnant offense.”

92-70, NL West Champions.

“So what, they made the playoffs. Let’s see them try and score runs against Derek Lowe, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt…”

NLDS: SF – 3, ATL – 1
NLCS: SF – 4, PHI – 2

Though it's still too early to determine who will take the field in Phoenix for the 2011 MLB All-Star Game, it's always worth a look back at who has played well in the first month of the new season.

The San Francisco Giants are looking forward to having their manager, Bruce Bochy, lead the National League All-Stars and to having the most All-Stars from San Francisco in nearly a decade.

Here's a look at the Giants All-Stars from the month of April, ranked in order of their impact for the club.

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has been heralded as a baseball purist. A traditionalist. One who's primary concern has always been and, as he has put it, "will forever remain," the integrity of America's pastime.

Tim Lincecum, on the other hand, is a 26-year-old, two-time Cy Young recipient who sports shoulder-length hair, utilizes what is perhaps the most unconventional pitching delivery in baseball, and has been known to enjoy unwinding late at night.

If one thing is certain, it's that the San Francisco Giants will need good starting pitching throughout the entire 2011 season if they have any hope of repeating as world champions.

Barry Zito, who was the team's fourth starter, has been below average to say the least for the past few years, and he didn't get off to a great start again this season.

In 13 innings, Zito has allowed nine earned runs while only striking out six and has a record of 0-1.

All Major League Baseball stadiums have their own sets of appeal and charm—whether the history of Wrigley Field or the beauty of a new building like Target Field.

The debate as to what stadium is the greatest in the league is one that has raged on for many decades, and I would imagine that it will not be dying down any time soon.

What I wanted to do was to attack this argument from a different angle—taking the actual stadium itself out of the conversation.

As the San Francisco Giants attempt to repeat as World Series champions, there are a some major concerns that face them. 

In 2010, GM Brian Sabean did a remarkable job infusing the team with players who helped lead the Giants to their first ever world championship in San Francisco.  Sabean may very well need to work his magic again in 2011.