Giants Sizzle into the Break

June 30 the SF Giants sent Bengie Molina to the Texas Rangers and set the stage for Buster Posey and the other young stars on the Giants to take their role as leaders and starters. Since the departure of Molina, Posey has hit .477 in 12 games with 6 HRs, 15 RBI’s, 12 Runs scored and 6 multi hit games.

Travis Ishikawa, another emerging young star, has solidified himself as the everyday First baseman. Since Posey is finding himself behind the plate more often, Ishikawa has taken the job of bringing a strong young bat into the Giants lineup. He has hit .429 with 11 RBI’s and 4 multi-hit games over the 7 games that he has started at first base. Posey hit 4th behind Huff and Ishikawa hit 5th on Sunday, just before the All-Star break.

Sandoval has been dropped down in the lineup to the 7th spot since his sophomore slump is beginning to look like it will last most of the year. The Giants are hoping that the mid-season classic will give Kung-fu Panda the rest he needs to refocus and find the swing that he possessed last season. He is taking the break to make some adjustments to his approach and swing and hopes they are the changes he needs.

Chris Ray (Giants received Ray from the Rangers in the Molina trade) has pitched 6.2 innings and has 2 holds. He has only allowed 1 Earned Run and struck out 5 while only walking 2. So far the move to deal Molina to the Rangers has turned out to be a good decision. It has forced Manager Bruce Bochy to play his youngsters more consistently and they are proving that they can handle the full work load.

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LOOKING FORWARD

The Giants enter the break 47-41 and 4 games behind the San Diego Padres. GM Brian Sabean suggested that he would like to see the pitching staff right the ship in the 2nd half. The Giants are 3rd in the NL with a 3.5 ERA but they are also 4th in the NL in pitches per plate appearance and led the NL in walks thrown. Sabean also suggested that he would like to resign Huff at the end of the season rather than trade him before the deadline if the Giants have a meltdown after the break.

The Giants official website noted that Sabean has been in contact with 20 teams about trades before the July 31 deadline but no details were given about names or teams involved.

The Giants believe they have a real chance at making the playoffs. It will only take the Pitchers to limit walks and the Lineup to be a little more consistent since they seem to have found their missing links since the Molina trade.

By: David Greeley
MLB Centers San Francisco Giants Correspondent

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