Giants Add a New Starter

The Giants have bolstered their starting rotation by adding Brad Penny. Penny cleared waivers on Monday, and was quickly signed by the Giants.

Penny has 101 career wins, and is a clearly a better 5th starter than anyone else on the roster. He'll add experience, knowledge, and the ability to win game to an already great pitching staff. Because Penny cleared waivers he will only cost the Giants around $100,000, and the rest will be picked up by the Boston Red Sox, his former team.

The Giants also claimed Aaron Heilman, of the Chicago Cubs, off of waivers. However, a deal was not worked out so Heilman will remain a Cub.

Giants Sweep Rockies

The Giants swept the Rockies with a 9-5 victory Sunday afternoon. With the win the Giants are now tied with the Rockies for the lead of the NL Wild Card. Matt Cain pitched six innings but did not get a decision in the game.

Edgar Renteria lead the Giants with a Grand Slam in the seventh inning to give the Giants their first lead of the game. Renteria's Grand Slam, his fourth homerun of the season, came with two outs. Renertia had a monster game, going 3-4, with a walk, and 5 RBI's. Renteria also went 2-2 with runners in scoring posistion.

Ryan Rohlinger also had a big game. Coming in the game during the eight inning, Rohlinger got a pinch-hit single allowing two runs to score. It was his first hit, and first RBI's of the season.

Tomorrow is an off-day for the Giants. Then on Tuesday they will play the Philadelphia Phillies as they hope to gain complete control of the Wild Card.

Brad Penny Becoming a Giant?

Recently the Giants sent their 5th starter, Joe Martinez, back to Fresno. Martinez posted a 3-2 record while with the club, but struggled with a 7.52 ERA.

The Giants have an off-day Monday, so the current four Starting Pitchers(Lincecum, Zito, Cain, Sanchez) can go on regular rest if fifth starter is not picked up. Randy Jonhnson has no timetable for his return to the Giants, and the Giants can not wait for him to come back.

San Fransico is still looking up at the Rockies, in the Wild Card. That is why I believe the Giants need to add Brad Penny to the rotation now.

Brad Penny will add to the Giants rotation by his knowledge of the NL West. He also is a proven winner, and left and bad terms with the Dodgers last season. Penny will add all of this without making the Giants give up any talent in the farm-system. Brad Penny was recently released by the Red Sox, and if he clears waivers on Monday, will cost around $100,000. Also from 2006-2008, he was 9-1 against the Rockies.

All players put on waivers are not reported so its hard to tell what else the Giants could do i to improve, but a big bat could be out there. A power hitting Outfielder is what the Giants could use. This could effect Randy Winn's playing time, but he hasn't proven himself this year. The Giants need someone who can hit 4th or 5th in the linup that would bat behind Pablo Sandoval.

Marvel Smith Retires; 49ers Beat Dallas

Marvel Smith, the San Francisco 49ers potential starting Right Tackle decided to end his career today. Smith had been battling a bad back this offseason, and the battle proved to be to tough for him to defeat.

Marvel Smith is a native to the Bay Area and was going home in a 49ers uniform. He spent all nine of his NFL seasons with the defending Super Bowl Champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers. On the Steelers, Marvel won two Super Bowls.

The 49ers beat the Cowboys today 20-13 at the Cowboys' new stadium. With Alex Smith not able to play due to injury, Nate Davis proved he is too is a quaterback. Playing most of the second half, Davis went 10/15, throwing for 132 yards.

With the victory the 49ers have improved their record to 3-0 this preseason.

Giants Pull Within 1 Game of Rockies

Barry Zito threw an absolutley beautifully tonight as the Giants roll past the Rockies 5-3. Zito threw 8 1/3 innings and only allowed one run. Zito's ERA is now below the 4.00 mark, at 3.94. After Sergio Romo allowed two runners to score, Brian Wilson picked up his 32nd save of the season.

Leading off in the second inning Pablo Sandoval launched his 21st homerun of the season into McCovey Cove. This was the 50th splash hit in AT&T's history. Pablo wasn't done after his blast, finishing the game 3-3.

The Giants offense improved compared to the past few days, but still only went 2-8 with runners in scoring position. Five Different Giants each got one RBI in the game.

Tomorrow Matt Cain takes the mound as the Giants go for the sweep of the Rockies, and a tie for the wild card lead. With the Dodgers win the Giants remain six games behind them in the division.

Lincecum Dominates Rockies

Behind Tim Lincecum, the Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 2-0. Timmy threw 8 shutout innings in his great outing. Brian Wilson came in and completed the shutout with his 31st save of the year.

The Giants offense continued to struggle in the game. In each of the first 4 innings the Giants left at least 2 runners on base without scoring a snigle run. Then in the 5th inning Pablo Sandoval smacked his 20th homerum of the season despite not being able to play at full-strength. The Giants scored their second run in the 6th off a single by Eugenio Velez.

This win pulls the Giants within two games of the Rockies in the wild card, and six behind the Dodgers in the division. Tomorrow the Giants will send Barry Zito to the mound as they play the second game of the series against the Rockies.

Giants Whipped By D'Backs

In the 3rd game of the series against the D’Backs, the Giants lacked all of phases of their game. The performance lead to a 0-11 loss. Despite their horrific performance, the Giants still managed to win the series two games to one.

Joe Martinez started the game of poorly allowing three runs on the first inning. Martinez was not able to bounce back, and allowed eight runs over 4 1/3 innings. Martinez's ERA rose to 7.52 on the year.

The Giants did not score a run in today's game. However, we have to remember they had to play the game missing their 2-3-4 guys in the lineup. Freddy Sanchez, Pablo Sandoval, and Bengie Molina, were all not available to play in tonight's action.

With Joe Martinez having such a terrible outing it brings the question: Brad Penny? Brad Penny was released earlier today by the Red Sox and is a proven pitcher in the NL West. Penny can keep the Giants in games like tonight. Not to mention he left on bad terms with the Dodgers, and is itching for revenge. He will give the Giants the necessary push in order to win the wild card, or division.

This game is now in the past, as the Rockies come to town with a 3 game lead in the wild card. The Giants big three pitchers (Timmy, Zito, Cain) are all scheduled to pitch.

Shaun Hill Wins QB Battle

The 49ers Quarterback battle has ended. Shaun Hill won the battle that has lasted for months.

Overall, this decision is a good one. Shaun Hill doesn't have the strongest arm, the quickest feet, the best looking release, and is not considered an "ideal" Quarterback. But none the less Hill is the Quarterback the 49ers need.

Hill puts his effort on the field, does not make mental mistakes, and always finds a way to win games. Mike Singletary likes players that put their heart into the game, and Shaun Hill definitely does that. When he needs that extra year, he will drive head first to get it, unlike some quarterbacks that that will dive feet first to protect themselves. He doesn't always make the big play, but he doesn’t make the dumb one either. Shaun Hill has a 7-3 lifetime record, including a 5-3 record last year.

As for Alex Smith, he is only 25 years old, and if he can have better control of the game, and make fewer mistakes could evolve into the starting Quarterback in the future.

Big Money Lives Up To His Name

Stepping up to the plate in the bottom of the 8th inning in an 0-2 count with two runners on Bengie Molina lifted the Giants with a 3 run homerun to ensure the Giants 4-3 victory over the DBacks. Molina was originally left out of the game because of a strained quad, but was the clear choice to pinch hit with a lifetime .600 batting average against Chad Qualls. Molina limped around the bases, and immediately got the curtain call he deserved.

For the second straight game Pablo Sandoval was not in the starting line-up due to his injury. With Freddy Sanchez on the DL the Giants' already weak offense needed someone to stand-up. Bengie stood up through his pain and delivered the Giants victory.

Hopefully this victory will help the Giants playoff push as they look to try and increase their current two game winning streak.

Pablo's Injury

The Panda has been sidelined recently for a strain in his right calf. I read earlier that he only wants to be miss two games, but I do not think that is a wise decision.

It is true that Pablo is one of the bright spots in the Giants' weak offense, however, it is not worth the risk of re-aggrevaiting the injury. If he decides to play and he aggrevates the strain in his calf, he would miss more time, and that would be later in the season when the playoffs are looming.

During the game last night when Pablo came up to pinch hit, it was clear he wasn't right. He had a pretty bad limp and when jogging to first base after the intentional walk you could tell it was painful.

If he is allowed to rest until he is 100% healthy, then he can play the rest of the year and not have the risk of adding to his injury. It will be better to not have Pablo for a few days now in the long run. No need to risk injury and possible shut him down for the year. It's better to have a 100% Pablo for the last 30 games than a 80% Pablo for a few extra games.

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