SFGiantsGuy

The Giants began the 2nd half with plenty of question marks as to what they needed to get better and after the opening series with the Marlins, the needs are still muddled. The Giants are horrific against left handed pitching.  In the final game of the Marlins series, they got shut down by Brad Hand, a guy who had 2 career wins in 39 career games and a lifetime ERA and WHIP of 4.73 and 1.54 respectively.  Tomorrow they get some dude named Cliff Lee.  The Giants have a lot of lefties in their line-up.  Surprisingly, Giants lefty hitters actually have been holding their own against lefty pitchers this season.   But that doesn't mean Bochy trusts those match-ups so that means more Hector Sanchez and more Joaquin Arias (or if we're lucky Ehire Adrianza).  That's bad news for whomever is the starting pitcher that day for the Giants. So does Sabean improve the bench to limit that exposure?  Does he get an everyday 2B he can trust and Bochy can plug in to the line-up daily?  D

Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel are both now Oakland Athletics.  I guess it's better than them both being Dodgers or Cardinals or any other competitor of the Giants for a playoff spot.  However, it does basically price out David Price (a pun!) from the Giants shopping cart. Did you see the names that went to the Cubbies for Samardzija and Hammel?  Legitimate, top tier prospects.  The Rays, if they even choose to move Price, will look for a similar package.  Do you know what top tier prospects the Giants have to offer?  None.  Zilch.  Zero. Hence the problem with our Gigantes and the trade deadline at the end of the month. Last season the Giants prospect cupboard was a quasi barren wasteland.  All our "real" talent was in the low minors we were told.  It was relatively accurate.  Kyle Crick, our top prospect, was in Single-A ball.  So was Clayton Blackburn.  And Ty Blach.  Edwin Escobar was making a name for himself first in Single-A and then later Double-A.  Joe Pani