San Francisco Giants

Everyone knew the San Francisco Giants' starting pitching would be the team's strength heading into the 2010 season.

However, even those lofty expectations didn't prepare the Major League Baseball world for what would unfold in the month of April—the starters came out firing bullets.

Extremely accurate and effective bullets.

Tim Lincecum roared from the gates (1.27 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 43:7 K:BB) and three of the other four starters were right on his heels.

The San Francisco Giants' pitching staff has been on an unprecedented tear in the last three weeks. The Giants have pitched in 17 consecutive games in which they've held an opponent to 3 runs or fewer, and 12 consecutive games in which they've limited them to 2 runs or fewer.

Both of these streaks are records.

Where does this feat place San Fran's rotation amongst the greatest pitching staffs of all time?

Are they even the best staff in Giants' history? In honor of their feat, here are the 20 greatest pitching staffs of all time. 

By the time the San Francisco Giants take the field in Colorado Friday night, there will be nine regular season games left.

I'm not sure there is anything regular about them. In these remaining games, the Giants will face the Colorado Rockies who are very much in the hunt AND the division leading San Diego Padres.

Through today (9/23), the Rockies are 3.0 games out of first place, and dropping three in a row to Los Angeles and Arizona.

The Giants and Rockies clash for three games over the weekend. If you are starting to see a trend here, you nailed it.

The State of the Union for the San Francisco Giants is slightly north of bleak.

With 10 games left in the pennant race, it looks like two, possibly three teams stand in the way of the Giants and their first playoff appearance since 2003.

What is probably closer to the truth, the Giants are also standing in their own way.

At various points throughout the 2010 season, we have already seen the "here today, gone tomorrow" offense, no matter who seemed to be in the lineup.

It is almost a daily topic now. Which Giants offense will show up?

The pitching has held up its end of the bargain and is pitching like a playoff team should. Not so much for the offense.

San Francisco has not allowed more than three runs in 16 straight games. This is tied for the fifth longest streak since 1900. They have thrown four shutouts during the streak.

Doesn't the photograph of A.J. Burnett say it all?

I think it does (Yankee fans, including myself are used to it). 

Therefore, sit back, relax and enjoy, as you read "AJ Burnett and MLB’s 10 Contending Pitchers Who Do Not Deserve a Playoff Start".

Let's play ball.

The playoffs are around the corner. 

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Although you might not be able to hear it over the din of the early NFL season, Major League Baseball has opened the throttle for its stretch run.

Magic numbers are dwindling in the American League as the Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins are days away from officially clinching the AL West and Central, respectively.

Over in the AL East, the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays are still tussling over the pennant, but the runner-up will be the proud owner of the Junior Circuit's Wild Card.

The NL West has featured some of the more interesting pennant races in recent memory, mainly centered around the Rockies amazing comebacks in 2007 and 2009 to snag the Wild Card spots.

The year 2010 is no different, as the San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies are all within two games of each other entering play today.

Three teams separated by 1.5 games. Three teams that have their strengths and certainly have their weaknesses. Three teams that have 12 or 13 games remaining and two of them play the final weekend of the season.

That is the National League West.

The San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, and Colorado Rockies will be battling it out over the final two weeks for the NL West crown. Let’s look at the tale of the tape over the next two weeks and try to find out who has the advantage in the NL West.