San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants had a series sweep of the two time defending National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies all wrapped up with a bow on top.

Tim Lincecum had dominated the Phillies all day long and with one out in the ninth inning, he had 11 strikeouts and zero walks.

Without walking a single batter until giving Shane Victorino the free pass in the ninth, Lincecum had thrown just 106 pitches.

And Giants manager Bruce Bochy pulls the best pitcher in the game?

Are you kidding me?

San Francisco Giants right fielder Nate Schierholtz had a tough Spring Training and fellow Giants outfielder John Bowker had a fabulous Spring.

But why should anyone care?

Spring Training means absolutely nothing and numerous Giants are currently verifying what should be an obvious notion.

Tim Lincecum had an ERA approaching seven during the exhibition season, while Todd Wellemeyer finished with an ERA in the mid-two's.

But did Lincecum lose his No. 1 spot in the rotation? No.

Did Wellemeyer move up in the rotation? No.

I really, really like John Bowker . I admit that.

Save your sabermetrics and your OPS and OBS and all those other statistics that address a hitter's ability to produce.

The 2010 San Francisco Giants, when healthy, score a few more runs a week than the 2009 Giants did. This bunch, however, is no better than last year's club at scoring a run when they really, really, need one.

The easiest way to score a run is, naturally, to jack a ball over the fence. Pablo Sandoval is a consistent home run threat. Beyond Sandoval, the club is without a true source of power.

It is never too early to look towards the possibilities that lie ahead. 

For baseball fans, their team’s future is gently weaved into a farm system possessing a variety of players from the past several MLB amateur drafts. 

Baseball is one really weird game.

One second you're feeling like an unstoppable freight train. Everything clicks: Pitching, hitting, defense.

It just works.

Then you blink, and BAM! Everything's upside down, and images of Manny Ramirez rounding the bases or David Eckstein singlehandedly defeating the Giants cause fans to toss and turn.

One can only really describe this as "a series of unfortunate events."

After last night's seven-inning, 10-strikeout performance against the Padres, Jonathan Sanchez has caught the attention of the baseball nation once again.

Not only is Sanchez ready to break out (as I hinted this offseason), he is already on his way to doing so.

1.(↔) Minnesota Twins (9-4): The Twins continue to look impressive holding the top spot for the first two weeks of the season. If this were the MLB power rankings I would have them right behind the Yanks and Phils. These gentleman can do it all posting 123 and 125 points offensively and pitching wise respectively.

The San Francisco Giants are stranded in one of those offensive deserts where the run-scoring oases are replaced by shimmering mirages of runners in scoring position that dissolve into nothing.

Hey, it was gonna happen sooner or later—this is not a team capable of winning 100 games.

Those kinds of clubs have exceptional hitting to complement the same kind of arms.

While these Giants have the pitching part of that equation, even the improved offense is still mediocre (and that's being charitable).

I'm not quite sure what Giants GM Brian Sabean was thinking he would get when he signed pitcher Todd Wellemeyer in the off-season. If he was expecting a quality starter, then he made a big mistake.

The only time Wellemeyer was successful as a starter was in  St. Louis under the tutelage of pitching coach Dave Duncan and he barely managed a 4.31 ERA and a 23-21 record. Being away from the best pitching coach in the business has not been good for Wellemeyer in the past (never posting an ERA below 5.00 away from St. Louis) and is not working so "well" in San Fransisco.