For the entirety of the San Francisco Giants 2010 season, there has been an air of inconsistency that can only be described as Duane Kuiper has: torture. 

The team itself had a real good April (.591) followed by a .500 May, a sub-par June (.481), a torrid July (.714), and a dismal August (.464). 

This is the team that scored one run in three games against Oakland in May and then scored 11 runs in three straight games against the Reds in August. 

After having one of the top defensive teams in the country over the first portion of the season, San Francisco has made 23 errors in their last 30 games. 

They have had stellar starting pitching. In their best two months (April and July), the starters had ERAs of 2.64 and 3.29, respectively. The starters pitched 80% of the innings, keeping the bullpen fresh and sharp. 

But in their worst two months, it was a different story. In May they maintained a respectable ERA of 3.80, but in August it ballooned to 4.55, and it showed in other places as well. In August, the runs allowed jumped 20 runs from July, and the batting average against leapt up 40 points.

The starters only pitched 67% of the innings, meaning a lot of long relief and bullpen games, which can be both physically and emotionally draining for the team and the fans. 

But if you’re going to have a bad month followed by a good month, there’s no better time to have a spike in performance than September. We’re seeing that from the Padres right now: if you perform well all season and drop off in the last month of the season, nobody cares about the first five. 

On Wednesday Tim Lincecum followed up an abysmal August (0-5, 7.82 ERA) with a dominant start to September, hurling eight innings of one-run, five-hit ball and striking out nine batters for the first time since July 30. 

Hopefully Barry Zito can emulate that against the Dodgers. Usually a strong second half pitcher, Zeets had an equally rough August (0-4, 7.76 ERA) that included three losses in one week (one in emergency relief). But his career line in September (27-14, 3.65) is encouraging, to say the least.

Many were ready to write off Pablo Sandoval as a one-season wonder. His first-half line was unimpressive (.267/.322/.382) compared to 2009’s production. But then August came around, and even though the Giants didn’t have a great month on the pitching side, Sandoval suddenly rediscovered his stroke.

After hitting a low point on August 1 of .263, the Panda’s August average of .321 has raised his average significantly and is certainly encouraging to this Giants team. He also pounded six homers in August, matching the amount of dingers he hit in the entire season up to that point. 

In the middle of August, Freddy Sanchez had significantly cooled off from his torrid return from the disabled list, hitting a low point of .255 on August 11. Since then, he’s raised his average 40 points in 17 games, including back-to-back 4-hit games against Cincinnati. This comes at a good time for San Francisco, as Juan Uribe’s stats have dropped every month so far this year.

Baseball is a streaky game, and the Giants have been playing well lately. If not for the “Broken Bat Heard ‘Round the West” on Monday, they could have swept the Rockies (how often does that happen?). 

And even though there’s been our fair share of fan heartbreak in 2010, there have been just as many games that the Giants have proved worthy of praise. This 2010 team can come back from the dead (10-1 against the Reds to 12-11), can make things exciting (any time Brian Wilson comes in), and can win when they need to most (Darren Ford flying home against Ubaldo Jimenez). 

Now they’re entering the final month of the season in the heat of a pennant race. There are still four head-to-head games with San Diego, and six games against the Dodgers. 

And if we base this final month on the season as a whole, I can promise you that the rest of the way will be about as far from boring as possible. 

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Tim Lincecum got his act together. Now it’s Barry Zito’s turn.

Both had awful Augusts, but Lincecum suddenly turned it around on the first day of September, tossing eight innings of one-run ball in the Giants’ 2-1 victory over the Rockies.

Zito is second in the San Francisco rotation, and he pitches Friday’s series opener at Dodger Stadium, where the Dodgers are trying to be relevant down the stretch and perhaps harm the Giants’ postseason chances along the way.

Zito hopes to do what Lincecum did and forget about his August and get an early September win. Last month, Zito was 0-4 with a 7.76 ERA. In what started as a promising season, Zito is back to his old tricks, posting an 8-10 record and 4.07 ERA.

The New York Giants were established in 1883. In 1958 the club moved out west, becoming who they are today – the San Francisco Giants.

Along the way, there have been many fun players, many great players. Some players we hated, and loved to boo and heckle. Many players stuck around for a season or two at best, while others played their entire career for the Giants.

Who is your favorite Giants player?

Giants’ fans everywhere have their own opinion about how they would rank their favorite players.

Who is number one? What about number 2? 3? This list can go on. How do you rank these players?

When you think of the all time great Giants, are you including the New York Giants?

In the pages to come we will discuss my list of The Top 100 Giants of All Time.

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The San Francisco Giants will rely on strong starting pitching, a struggling Padres team, and an easy September schedule to overtake the San Diego Padres and win the 2010 National League West.

The Schedule:

The Giants are currently three games back of the Padres with 28 games to play. 12 of the remaining games are against teams with sub .500 records, and another seven of those games are against the division leading Padres. The other games are against the struggling Cubs and the hated Dodgers.

The Padres have lost seven straight games and seem to be trying to hand the Giants the division title. The Giants next 10 games are on the road, but they are all favorable matchups for the Giants. San Francisco will go to L.A for three games, Arizona for three, and San Diego for four.

The Pitching:

Although he had been struggling recently, Tim Lincecum pitched eight strong innings last night and looked to have regained his Cy Young winning form. Lincecum’s one run performance was his first win since July 30th, but it could go a long way towards rebuilding Lincecum’s confidence.

There is no doubt Lincecum has the talent to be one of the best pitchers in the MLB and if last night was any indication of how Lincecum is going to pitch down the stretch, Giants fans should be full of optimism.

Along with Lincecum, the Giants have Matt Cain whose 10-10 record reflects his lack of run support more than his lack of ability. Cain is a dominant pitcher who has recorded nine straight quality starts and is more than capable of leading the Giants into October.

The San Francisco rotation also features Madison Bumgarner who is possibly the best fifth starter in the league. Bumgarner is 5-4, but has won four of his last five starts.

When the West will be Won:

The Giants are averaging six runs per game over the past 10 games and seem to be heating up at the right time of the year. They have won three of their last four and could take over the National League West lead as early as Tuesday in Arizona.

Expect the Giants to win the 2010 NL West and return to the playoffs for the first time since 2003.

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The San Diego Padres lost their seventh straight game Wednesday night and, even though they still lead the NL…

The Giants won 2-1 on Wednesday and after a disastrous month of August, Tim Lincecum has rebounded. It took several starts to rediscover his rhythm, but he did his job on Wednesday night. His line: 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 9 K. The nine strikeouts are certainly a promising sign, as well as the one walk. The lone run came on an opposite-field solo shot by Carlos Gonzalez. With a Cy Young Lincecum on the mound, the Giants are a force to be reckoned with. Their offense hasn’t been scoring a lot of runs lately (just 2 on Wednesday), but they did face Ubaldo Jimenez. Mike Fontenot knocked in a run with a 5th inning RBI single, and were able to score another run off of a combination of luck and small-ball: in the 8th inning, Mike Fontenot drew a walk. September call-up Darren Ford pinch ran for him, and Lincecum laid down a bunt to get him over to second. Ford attempted to steal third on a wild pitch, and the throw to third was high and flew into left field, giving Ford ample time to score. Darren Ford is going to be an asset to the Giants: previously, the best speed on their bench was Nate Schierholtz. Ford is quite a bit faster.

Meanwhile, the Giants’ foes are falling rapidly. The Padres have lost seven in a row now, and they haven’t been cheap losses. Five of the seven games they’ve lost have been by three runs or more. The Cardinals, too, are struggling, having lost 13 of their last 17. The Giants are just three games back in the NL West. They still have seven games left against the Padres, so an NL West division title is not out of the question.

Notes:

• The Giants’ starting pitching is back to doing what it does best: win games. The Giants’ starters have had four consecutive quality starts, giving up just 6 ER in 28.1 IP (ERA: 1.92); Tomorrow Barry Zito will try to continue the quality start streak. 
• Freddy Sanchez refuses to cool down: he was 2 for 4, and is now riding a nine game hit streak. During that span, he’s 20 for his last 36 (.555 average). 

Tomorrow: Giants get to rest. And maybe enjoy a Phillies loss (Joe Blanton pitching at Coors Field).

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The San Francisco Giants did everything most fans insist that they never do and came away with an important win on Thursday night, beating the Colorado Rockies 2-1, to gain a game on the NL West-leading San Diego Padres.

The Giants dipped all the way down to Double-A Richmond to recall 24-year-old outfielder Darren Ford when rosters expanded Wednesday. Ford only batted .256 with a .680 OPS for the Flying Squirrels, but he stole 37 bases and the club remembered his sparkling effort in spring training.

(For an explanation of OPS visit: http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/4-18-2001-3026.asp)

General manager Brian Sabean OK’d the call to a kid without a single day of big league experience, then field manager Bruce Bochy utilized Ford’s wheels the minute the kid showed up in the dugout.

Sabean thought outside the box. Bochy did the same, and most importantly, put a completely unproven kid in a pressure spot. (Bochy doesn’t typically use young players, remember?)

With the game tied 1-1 in the eighth, Mike Fontenot drew a walk. Fontenot runs fine. Ford, however, might be one of the fastest guys on any big league roster. Ford ran for Fontenot and broke for second, and was standing on the bag, when Colorado’s Ubaldo Jimenez fielded Tim Lincecum’s quite average sacrifice bunt.

Bochy wouldn’t bunt-and-run with many Giants, but he was confident that Ford could steal the bag if LIncecum failed and bunted through the ball.

Guys who run like Ford are bold and, boy, can they read pitches in the dirt.

With Andres Torres at bat, Jimenez threw a pitch that bounced six or eight feet to the left of catcher Miguel Olivo and Ford was off for third as soon as he saw the pitch headed for the dirt. Then, he was streaking to the plate when he saw Olivo’s desperate throw to third base sail into left field.

It’s hard to imagine many Giants who’d have even broken for third on that pitch. Torres, sure, and maybe Nate Schierholtz. but neither would’ve reached third as quickly as Ford did.

Giants 2, Rockies 1. And, the Giants are three games behind the struggling San Diego Padres in the West and just one and a half games back of the Philadelphia Phillies in the wild-card race.

How stunning was the move to call up Ford, then watch him steal a victory? Well, it overshadowed a sterling, eight-inning outing by Tim Lincecum.

While Giants fans and the media were trying to figure out how Lincecum had slumped so terribly, he quietly struck out nine, walked one and yielded just five hits against a strong Rockies lineup. Only streaking Carlos Gonzalez hit a home run off him to account for the only Colorado run.

Lincecum might be back in the groove, but the story in Wednesday’s game was Darren Ford and the fact that the generally conservative, by-the-book Giants used his incredible speed in a way they’ve never used a player like him before.

Sabean’s worst critics must give him credit for going along with recalling Ford when, really, most expected his infusion of speed to be the recall of Eugenio Velez. Even those who want Bochy to be fired have to admit  he called on an utterly unproven speed-burner to bunt-and-run and is celebrating a victory as a result.

Sabean and Bochy just did something that makes incredibly good sense, though, and that’s what they are supposed to do.

Ford spent all day in the air and in airports, arrived in the middle of the game—and delivered the victory.

Let’s not forget Lincecum either. If he pitches like that down the stretch, Ford might have more opportunities to steal wins with his wheels.

Ted Sillanpaa is a Northern California sports writer and columnist. Reach Ted at tsillanpaa1956@gmail.com

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Shortstop Edgar Renteria and lefty reliever Dan Runzler have come off the disabled list for the San Francisco Giants. Renteria just completed his third stint on the DL this season. He wasn't in the starting lineup for the series finale with the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night, and manager Bruce Bochy said Juan Uribe would get most of the work at that spot the rest of the way.

If the San Francisco Giants do make the 2010 postseason, it will be the result of an honest-to-baseball good team effort.

There have been (and will be) major and minor players in the drama, but the days of Barry Bonds clubbing the opposition into retreat with only minimal contribution from his lilliputian mates have been dead so long, there’s almost nothing left to decompose. We’re well into a new era of ball at AT&T Park and smacks of classical Marxism on cleats.

Of course, a pair of the Commies are probably too young to have any idea what that means.

The 23-year-old Buster Posey did go to college, so he might be familiar with Karl and his buddy Friedrich. But Madison Bumgarner is only 21 and his 22nd year of life still has that new-car smell so he’d probably be left scratching his head.

Hopefully, he’d use his right arm because the million-dollar left one needs all the rest it can get.  

Bumgarner Keeps Going and Going

A couple weeks ago, a buddy of mine offered me “MadBum” for Tampa Bay Ray rockstar and fellow first-year player, Jeremy Hellickson, in our fantasy league. I didn’t even hesitate before rejecting the suggestion for one simple reason—innings pitched.

In 2008, the smooth southpaw tossed 141 2/3 innings at Single-A. In 2009, he twirled 141 1/3 frames between High-A, Double-A (the vast majority), and the major-league squad (only 10).

So far in ‘10, Bumgarner has thrown 161 2/3 innings with 79 coming in the big leagues (including the six against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday).

Now, perhaps I should have paused despite these details since a little research might’ve revealed that Hellickson was destined to return to the minor leagues for a transition to the bullpen, but I digress.

The point is that I wanted no part of the San Francisco prospect-turned-reality because the Bay Area has been awaiting the inevitable operation: Shutdown Madison for some time now. Failing a removal to the bullpen, then certainly a sixth-inning cap on the youngster’s starts or some similar cautionary gesture.

Well, we’re still waiting.

Conservation Has Been Key

The native North Carolinian keeps taking the ball every fifth day and he’s showing no signs of relenting. His starts aren’t always gems, but his body of work is pretty fantastic when you remember the backdrop is your MLB-average No. 5 starter.

Madison’s authored the following line—5-4, a 3.76 ERA, a 1.39 WHIP, a .282 BAA, and a 2.45 K:BB in those 79 IP—all while toiling for a contender and too young to rent a car.

It’s no wonder the Giants‘ brass wants him out there, yet the brain-trust isn’t being reckless.

The lefty hasn’t thrown over 100 pitches since July 24th against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He hit the 100 mark on August 9th and got close (97) about 10 days later, but he’s been hooked before No. 95 in the five other starts since his “epic” in the desert.

“MadBum” has simply been able to be effective with those limited bullets. If he keeps it up, he’ll be contributing straight through September, which is dumbfounding. In normal years, he’d be the talk of the city as well as baseball.

But not this year.

Posey’s Hogging the Stage

If the pitching phenom is bummed out (I did) by the absence of limelight, he can blame Gerald Demp the Third.

It’s almost impossible to overstate how much of a revelation the young catcher has been.

Los Gigantes and their faithful are familiar with blue-chip pitching prospects being the Real McCoy, but the sensation is totally foreign when it’s a homegrown hitter. So you can forgive the region if it was a little skeptical in the face of Buster’s legendary prowess with the lumber.

And you can forget that skepticism because the city is full of true-believers now.

A slash line of .330/.372/.505 with 10 HR, 52 RBI, and 40 R in 303 AB tends to have that persuasive effect on diamond diehards. All the more so when the statistical goodness comes wrapped in a clutch-hitting bow (that sentence was brought to you by his eighth-inning double on Tuesday that plated two much-needed insurance runs).

Yeah, it’s safe to say Posey’s offense is the genuine article.

But Wait, There’s More

However, the biggest shocks have come while the former Florida State Seminole has been wearing the Tools of Ignorance.

Posey’s hitting has been incredible, but it’s also been a relief because it’s come as a partial realization of expectation. Insane expectation, but still within contemplation.

Contrarily, nobody told us he was this good behind the dish. Or maybe someone did, but the comparable whisper was lost in the chorus of voices going wackadoo over Buster’s bat.

Either way, the kid has done a good job with a brutal assignment in the Giants’ starting rotation. There’s nothing easy about handling guys like Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez, and Bumgarner. Even Matt Cain and Barry Zito are no picnic given the heat the former brings and the different breaks the latter can put on that big Uncle Charlie.

As an added little treat, the catcher of the present and future has given the Giant faithful a new favorite thing—the perfect laser from behind the dish that snipes a would-be thief who’s convinced the bag is already stolen.

I’m talking about Eric Young, Jr. on Monday at third base and Carlos Gonzalez on Tuesday at second.

You’ll notice that both men can fly and trust me when I tell you each had an obscene jump on the attempt in question (or watch Young’s for yourself). On both occasions, only an absolute cannon aimed with the aid of crosshairs would record an out and, on both occasions, that’s precisely what Buster did.

A lot of attention has been thrown Jaime Garcia’s way regarding the National League Rookie of the Year and for good reason; he’s been excellent.

But Gerald Demp has been the best rookie and there’s still time for the “experts” to realize it.

The Fat Lady Ain’t Singin’ Yet

With about 30 games left on the schedule, there’s plenty of baseball left to be played.

The lads haven’t won anything yet, but neither has anyone else. With the San Diego Padres suddenly throwing rods and belching smoke, it’s possible even the NL West is still up for grabs.

In other words, the race for the postseason should be a burner.

That means—one way or another—Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey will continue their baptisms by fire; they’ll continue to mature in the heat of the pennant race.

And that can only mean good things for the San Francisco Giants’ horizon.

**Click here to learn more about the Paralyzed Veterans of America**

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It was only a matter of time.

We knew it was coming.

How could a team being led by Juan Uribe, Andres Torres, and Aubrey Huff be in the thick of a playoff race?

The team is made up of streaky hitters, inconsistent pitchers, and Major League scraps ready to be hauled to the dumpster.

Freddy Sanchez is either red hot or ice cold.

Barry Zito is either unhittable or like hitting off a batting tee.

Uribe, Huff, Torres, Pat Burrell, Jose Guillen, Cody Ross, Santiago Casilla, Guillermo Mota.

Each name is a story of how their former team or teams gave up on them. Teams said, “we’ve had enough of you.”

“Waste of our time.”

Yes, Torres and Huff are having career years, but the rest have been inconsistent at best.

When one is hitting well, everybody is hitting well. When one is in a slump, they all hit their slump.

What does this team lack?

The Giants lack a star. Playoff teams have a star. The star pulls the team from the brink of oblivion to rescue his team.

The star doesn’t go into two-week slumps. He is the slump breaker.

Don’t start screaming Tim Lincecum because he has been anything but a star the past two seasons in the second half.

Pablo Sandoval should have been a star but for a multitude of reasons, those plans have been set back.

Buster Posey isn’t at that stage yet.

The streaky nature of the Giants season is evidence of why the season is lost.

After the Cincinnati and Arizona series, it looked like the pitching was a lost cause.

The past two nights against the Rockies, the Giants haven’t been able to hit themselves out of a wet paper bag.

They have had the perfect opportunity to gain ground on both the Padres and the Phillies. What did they do?

They failed to capitalize.

The Padres have lost a season-high six games in a row. How many games have the Giants gained?

Two.

This was illustrated perfectly on Monday night.

The Giants had a 1-0 lead against the Rockies going into the ninth. Wait, the Rockies haven’t scored? That can’t be right.

Sure enough, the baseball gods brought the Rockies back for the win.

That night, you saw the difference between a good team and a mediocre team. If you didn’t know the records of the teams that night, who would you have said was the better team?

The Rockies.

They play with purpose and believe they will win every night. This is a team that has put together incredible runs in September each of the past three years.

The Giants play like they are afraid to lose. The fans expect something to go wrong.

“No, no. We can’t lose. Please, don’t let us lose.”

So, goes the life of a Giants fan.

The only good thing I can say is at least we are not Cubs fans, wherein apathy has taken hold.

Are they fun to watch? Yes.

Is baseball nothing but entertainment? Of course.

That does not change the agony many Giants fans go through each day after watching this befuddled group of players.

The Giants are a good team, just not a playoff team. Until they find “that guy,” the Giants will stumble around the 80-90 win total and watch as the playoffs go on without them.

As Mike Krukow says, “Giants baseball. Torture.”

Truer words were never spoken.

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