Padres Dismantle Giants Yet Again

As of today, 2-9 is the Giants record versus the Padres. Two and nine. *gags*

Are the Padres the more talented of the two squads? I’m not sure. Are they the better team? As of now, without a doubt.

The Padres do the small things on offense to make up for their glaring holes. Their starting pitchers have been nothing short of amazing. The bullpen is by far the best in baseball. And their coaching staff, especially Bud Black, is premier despite the lack of big names.

I’ve heard doubts about the Padres all season long, living in San Diego and all. But frankly, I saw a Giants team that was outplayed, outworked, and outhustled all weekend long. Don’t take this the wrong way – I’m not saying the Giants can’t overtake the Padres and win the NL West. The Giants are still a very good team and have seven games remaining versus the Friars. But the odds are quickly stacking up against them. Being five games back in the loss column doesn’t sound nearly as nice as being “three and a half back”. If the Giants are going to take the NL West, they’re going to have to play spectacular ball the next few weeks and that wont be easy with the upcoming schedule. After their off day today, they travel to Philadelphia and St. Louis, then return home for a tilt with the Cincinnati Reds. The Cardinals and Reds would both be in the playoffs today and the Phillies are right on the cusp. And oh – the Giants get the fantastic luck of facing Cole Hamles, Roy Oswalt, and Chris Carpenter in this 6 game mid-west swing. Time to sack up, boys.

As for the game, well, it was awful. Everything about it. From poor defense to getting abused in the batters box by Wade LeBlanc – you think of it, it sucked. And not to pile on, but speaking of sucking, you can throw Mr. Lincecum in there. It’s pretty clear that something isn’t right with Tim. It’s hard to speculate what exactly, everybody has their own view on it – but he’s just been downright awful lately. In all honesty, he hasn’t had a very good season at all – even his June and July were a bit skewed as his WHIP and BAA told a different story than his results. Whatever the case might be, Tiny Tim needs to figure out the issues – and if he can’t, I’m pretty sure the Giants don’t need to worry about the Padres or any other team this season.

Here’s to a hopeful split considering the juggernaut the Giants will run through this week.