The San Francisco Giants are in big trouble without Pablo Sandoval

It is no fun to be a San Francisco Giants fan right now. The team is in fourth place in the NL West and just got swept by the Miami Marlins.

Pablo Sandoval is out with a left hand injury and will be gone for about six weeks. His replacement is Conor Gillaspie.

Gillaspie appears to be nothing more than a singles hitter and that is not good.

Brian Wilson is out for the year and Freddy Sanchez keeps on having setbacks while rehabbing his shoulder injury.

There's not a lot out there in the trade market right now so the Giants are stuck with what they have.

The Giants got rid of Mike Fontenot and Jeff Keppinger and are stuck with infielders like Ryan Theriot, Manny Burriss, and Brandon Crawford.

Crawford was supposed to be great on defense but he keeps hurting the team with his critical errors at shortstop. He had two bad errors today in the 3-2 loss vs. the Marlins this afternoon.

The G-men don't have a wide margin for error and the mistakes by Crawford on the field are unacceptable. Crawford gives the offense absolutely nothing so the only way he will continue to get starts is due to his glove.

Being five games back in early May is not bad but when the Panda comes back, how many games will they be back of first place?

The starting pitching has been solid but the starters can't go all nine innings in every game. Why pay Matt Cain all that money when you need some more power in your offense?

Tim Lincecum has struggled all season and has a 5.74 ERA coming into Friday's game vs. the Brewers. He most likely will be in for another rough outing Friday night when Ryan Braun and gang comes to town.

Opposing teams will now focus on Buster Posey and Melky Cabrera since the Panda is out. The good news is that Aubrey Huff will return on Monday.

The Giants need to play Huff at third, put Posey at first, and have Hector Sanchez behind the plate in order to get their best hitters in the lineup.

Gregor Blanco has been playing well of late but the Giants would have been better off with signing Jerry Hairston Jr. in the offseason. Hairston Jr. signed with the Dodgers.

It's no fun going to the ballpark and watching a pathetic offense night in and night out. It gets very frustrating.

The 2011 offense was horrendous and even the 2010 World Series team wasn't that great on offense. The 2010 team was lucky to get into the playoffs and got hot at the right time.

The Giants won't be getting any outside help right now to bolster their woeful offense so they must try to get the bats going with their current roster.

Can they do it? Probably not. Unless Huff turns back the clock and Gillaspie surprises everyone, it will be up to Cain and Madison Bumgarner to shutout teams every fifth day in order for the Giants to win.

It seems like this season is lost before it ever got started.

Giants Are Contenders in the Weak NL West

I have been the  biggest critic of the 2008 Giants. Most of my articles have been negative towards the team and rightfully so.

They got rid of my favorite player, Barry Bonds, and the management pretends he never existed or played for the team. They didn't sign Japanese stars OF Kosuke Fukudome or pitcher Hiroki Kuroda. I even hate the "gamer" commercials.

I called for this team to lose over 100 games this year. Expectations for this team was very low coming into the season.

This team is now 29-35 and won't lose 100 games. In fact, they are contenders in their division.

After sweeping the lowly Nationals last night, they are now only five games back of first-place Arizona. No team in the NL West seem to be able to ever take control of the division. The division race is always tight every year and comes down to the final week and days of the season.

The Padres, who were left for dead a few weeks ago, are now only 6.5 games back of first place.

The Padres and Dodgers start a series today while the struggling Diamondbacks have to face the Mets in New York.

The Giants face the Rockies in Colorado and have a very good chance to gain more ground in the division.

Although the Giants are not the most talented team, they play very hard and never quit. Their youth has contributed to their never-give-up attitude. Players such as John Bowker, Fred Lewis, and Travis Denker  all have had key hits in the last two weeks.

Their bullpen has been a strength and Keiichi Yabu has been a revelation. Yabu's ERA is now 2.00. The one weakness in the bullpen is Tyler Walker. Bruce Bochy insists on having Walker has the set-up man in the eight inning. Walker does not instill any confidence among Giants fans as he is prone to giving up key hits and runs at the wrong time.

Jonathan Sanchez has matured of late and is a good middle-of-the rotation starter for this team. Tim Lincecum is going to the All-Star Game and  Matt Cain is better than his 3-4 record. Even Barry Zito has pitched better in his last three outings.

The offense comes and goes which can be expected of a team without a power hitter or star. The youngsters are still learning and the veterans sometimes just don't have it on certain days.

I would love to see this team contend throughout the summer. It would definitely make things interesting out here in the Bay Area.

The Giants have proven they are not as bad as most people thought they would be. They are not going to lose 100 games as teams who lose that many games do not go on extended winning streaks. They are still under .500 but no team is going to run away with the division in the NL West.

GM Brian Sabean needs to make some bold moves and make this team better before the trade deadline.

I heard Bonds was still a free agent. If the Giants resign him, this team would be tough to pitch against. Unfortunately for Giants fans, the chances of him wearing orange and black again are not very good. 

MLB News and Notes: 5/29

• Jorge Campillo has been a revelation for the Braves. The former Mexican League pitcher has shut down the Mets, Diamondbacks, and the Brewers. After holding the Brewers to one run this afternoon, he lowered his ERA to 0.99. He has good command of his pitches and pitches backwards to hitters which might surprise hitters the first time they see him. It will be interesting to see if he can continue to be successful facing teams the second time around the league.
• The Braves are 22-7 at home and only 6-18 on the road.
• I think Brad Wilkerson was a good pickup by the Blue Jays. Why did the Mariners get rid of him? He struggled with them but the whole team is struggling offensively.
• Eric Chavez finally returns to the A's starting lineup this afternoon and will make his 2008 debut. He was sidelined with a back injury.
• A's starting pitcher Dana Eveland has a 0.94 ERA at home.
• The Boston Red Sox are really struggling on the road. They got swept by Oakland and lost two of three to the Mariners. They head to Baltimore this weekend to face the Orioles. They have not been hitting on the road and ran into some solid pitching. Felix Hernandez and Erik Bedard both shut down the Red Sox.
• Arizona is showing some kinks in its armor. Eric Byrnes is on the DL and Justin Upton is struggling at the plate. Brandon Webb and Dan Haren have lost their last few starts as well. They will try to avoid a sweep by the Giants tonight. Barry Zito will oppose Randy Johnson.
• Arizona is 13-7 against lefties this year.
• The Royals are on a 10 game losing streak. Their pathetic offense actually scored eight runs last night but their bullpen gave up five runs in the top of the ninth inning and lost the game in extra innings.
• Jose Guillen called his teammates "babies" after the loss to the Twins.
• The best pitching matchup today is in the afternoon when Eveland faces off against Jesse Litsch of Toronto. Litsch quietly has six wins already and a excellent 3.57 ERA.
• Johnny Damon's infield hit last night against the Orioles in the ninth inning helped give the Yankees an important insurance run. The bases were loaded and Damon's two out single showed his hustle and speed out of the batter's box. It was an important hit by a savvy veteran.
• Brad Penny starts for the Dodgers against the Mets tonight. Penny is 5-12 with a 6.21 ERA lifetime against the Mets.
• Since OF Matt Diaz is on the DL and out for four to six weeks, why won't the Braves sign Barry Bonds?

Things to Like and Dislike So Far for the 2008 Giants

The Giants are surprising their fans so far with their 6-8 record. The team has given fans a glimmer of hope for the future. Players like Eugenio Velez, John Bowker, and Fred Lewis have brought some excitement and energy to the club.

It was a true blessing in disguise that OF Dave Roberts hurt his knee again and Lewis now gets consistent starts. The fans were sick and tired of seeing Roberts get called out on third strikes and playing bad defense in the outfield.

Bowker was a big home run hitter in the minors and he could be here to stay. The Giants need all the power they can get in the lineup and Bowker should get every chance to develop and show he belongs in the majors.

Brian Wilson looks to be a legitimate closer and his electric fastball is probably the envy of Barry Zito. Keiichi Yabu and Merkin Valdez have solidified the middle relief.

Eugenio Velez has sparked the Giants with his speed and Brian Bocock has provided steady defense. They both are base-stealing threats as well and have combined for six steals so far.

Rich Aurilia, Ray Durham, and Randy Winn are still starting unfortunately. Fans are tired of seeing them play and they bring nothing to the table. Bruce Bochy should start Dan Ortmeier over Aurilia and let Ortmeier learn on the job.

The Giants should also send Barry Zito to the minors. He is 0-3 and he has run out of excuses. The Giants don't have the guts to send Zito down to Fresno but he is doing nothing but hurting the team. I would rather see them bring up a pitcher like Matt Palmer from Fresno than see Zito pitch again.

Overall, the Giants should be happy with their 6-8 start after starting off the season 1-6. The Giants lucked out on Robert's injury and also Kevin Frandsen's injury. If Frandsen was healthy, Velez would probably not have made the opening day roster.

This team will continue to take their lumps during the course of the season, but the future looks a lot brighter now than it did two weeks ago.