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Tim Lincecum is 15-3 with a 2.43 E.R.A in 2008. 

  Tim Lincecum is more than a freak. He is a very special, special kid. This kid never ceases to amaze his fans.  I am going to go on a limb and say he is the best pitcher in the major leagues.  He has the best stuff, is young and throws hard and knows how to pitch.  He dominates teams everytime he takes the mound.  He is only in his second full season and at 24, he is destined for superstardom. This kid can flat out pitch and attendance automatically goes up when he takes the mound, regardless of where his team is playing at. Everyone wants to see this kid pitch. Anyways, last night, about 31,000 something fans in attendance saw another pitching gem by Lincecum and it was an exciting night for fans overall.  I was there and this game was exciting from start to finish.  It was exciting to see every one of Lincecum’s 132 pitches and exciting to see back to back home runs by Bengie Molina and rookie sensation Pablo Sandoval to give Timmy and the Giants a 2-1 lead after trailing 1-0 for 6 innings.  Sandoval has a knack for making his team better and the players around him, and he has proven that once more by his go-ahead and what was the eventual game-winner. It was also Sandoval’s first major league homer and it couldn’t have came at a better time for him and the Giants.  The Giants then added two more insurance runs in the 8th in their 4-1 victory over the Rockies.  Brian Wilson closed it out for his NL-leading 36th save.

   Lincecum dominated with 7.2IP of one-run ball and gave up only 5 hits and had 10 strikeouts to add to his major league lead in that category.  He picked up his 15th victory to futher bolster his case for Cy Young and as Webb’s case took a fall the night before when the last-place Padres shelled Brandon Webb for 9 hits and 6 runs in only 4.2IP to increase Webb’s E.R.A to 2.96 and give him his 5th loss overall.  Now comparing Webb to Lincecum,  Webb has only 3 more innings pitched than Lincecum and has 4 more wins than him, but also has two more losses than Lincecum.  However, Lincecum’s win percentage (.833) is higher than Webb’s win pct. (.792).  So here below I breakdown the rankings and totals for both Cy Young contenders:

Tim Lincecum SF: 15-3, 2.43 E.R.A 185.1I 50ER 70 BB 210 SO .221 BAA.

-Lincecum ranks 1st in Majors and NL in Strikeouts, tied for first in Majors in E.R.A with AL Cy Young Favorite Cliff Lee and ranks first in NL in E.R.A, 2nd in NL in Wins, first in NL in Win Pct and 3rd in NL in IP.   

Brandon Webb ARI: 19-5, 2.96 E.R.A 188.2IP 62ER 47 BB 157 SO .235 BAA

- Webb ranks 7th in NL in SO, 6th in NL in E.R.A,  1st in NL in wins, 2nd in NL in Win Pct., and 2nd in NL in IP

Clearly, Webb has more wins to show, but Lincecum is the Cy Young Winner for 2008. Anything else, would be a disappointment to many fans and surprising to players, and some players who have batted against Lincecum have said, including some managers, that Tim Lincecum is the best pitcher in the major leagues and his stuff is incredible. I agree and hope Cy Young voters get it right.  However, there is still a month to go and lot can change.

Ian Stewart is hitting .424 this month. 

     The Colorado Rockies, the Cinderella Story in last year’s playoffs who pulled off 14 wins in their last15 games including a one-playoff game win against the Padres, are looking to make another run at this year’s division title and look to be the dark horse in the NL West.  With their win against the red-hot Giants last night, they have won 8 of their last 10 games and moved within 7 games of the first-place D-Backs with about 31 games to go.  Rockies have dealt with numerous of injuries to key players throughout the season and have coped with all of that and their pitching problems and our playing their best baseball yet.  They just came into San Francisco last night and beat a red-hot Giants team who had won 5 straight and 7 of their last 9 and a red hot pitcher in Matt Cain.  The key player to the Rockies resurgence is rookie third baseman Ian Stewart.  Stewart went 2-3 with two runs scored in last night’s 4-2 victory.

     Due to first baseman Todd Helton being injured for pretty much the rest of the season, Rockies moved Atkins to first base and called up Stewart to play third. Since his callup, Stewart is hitting .319 avg. on the season with 9HR and 39 RBI’s.   In the month of August, Stewart is hitting .424 (which tops all Major League players) and has 5 HR’s and 19 RBI’s alone this month. He will probably be NL Player of the Month, and he is the key player down the stretch for the Rockies as they try and contend for the division title with many divisional games coming up in September.  However, look for Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants to try and spoil their playoff hopes and other contenders’ playoff aspirations down the stretch.

Denard Span is hitting .318 since his callup for the Twins earlier in the season.

  There are six players around the major leagues that are surprises and that stand out to me. Three from the National League and three from the American League. Here is a breakdown of each player and their contributions to their ballclub, both contenders and non-contenders.

 American League:

1. Denard Span OF- Twins: This 24-year old phenom has been lights out for the Twins since his callup earlier this year. He is leading off for the Twins and has set the table for the rest of their offense with his speed, hitting, and energy all around. The Twins sit in 2nd place in the AL Central and trail the first place Chicago White Sox by 1 game. Span has been a part of their success this season as he his hitting .318 Avg. with 2HR 22 RBI and has scored 37 runs and  has 11 stolen bases to top it all off. This kid is the real deal and Torrie Hunter mentored him well when he was with the Twins and told him he would get his shot sooner or later and to make the most of it. Span is definitely making the most of it.  Yahoo Sports had Span ranked 747th overall and his actual rankings based on his statistics now is 140th overall.

2. Alexei Ramirez 2B- White Sox: This Cuban defector and 26-year old Cuban missile has been solid for the White Sox all year and has contributed well.  He is one of the many surprises on this Chicago White Sox team.  His numbers are pretty good and surprising as well. Ramirez is hitting .309 Avg. with 14HR and 55 RBI and has 9 stolen bases in the bottom of that White Sox order.

3. Marlon Byrd OF- Texas Rangers: This guy has complemented well to the Rangers powerful offense.  He can thank guys like Hamilton, Kinsler, and Bradley for helping toward the success of Byrd and the Rangers.  Marlon Byrd wasn’t looked to as a big contributor before the Rangers season began, but now he is one of their major contributors with rookie David Murphy down and all-star Kinsler now out of the lineup.  Byrd has contributed well and is one of many surprises on this Rangers squad.  Byrd is hitting .300 avg. with 8HR an 35 RBI’s and has scored 52 runs.  Look for Byrd to continue his hot bat and keep contributing for the Rangers as the season comes to a close. 

National League:

1. Fred Lewis OF-Giants: This 27-year old speedster has been a big surprise for this San Francisco Giants team. With the loss of Barry Bonds in left field and his powerful bat, Lewis has filled in nicely in left field and has also contributed offensively all season.  He is one of the few Giants that have hit well this year. Lewis is hitting .285 Avg. overall and has 9HR and 37 RBI’s and has also added 10 triples and 21 stolen bases to his stat line. He is a mixture of speed, power, and defense that a young Bonds used to feature before he developed into one of the greatest power hitters in the game. It is safe to say Lewis probably won’t have a career like Barry Bonds, but his potential to be a great player in the bigs is obviously there.  Only time will tell for Freddie.  Lewis was  ranked 151st when the season began according to Yahoo Sports, and now is currently ranked as the 125th player overall. Pretty good fantasy player for whoever has him. 

2. Fernando Tatis OF-NYM: This is one of the players that stand out to me as being a surprise player, because he has filled in nicely due to injuries to some of the Mets’ key outfielders like Ryan Church and Moises Alou.  Tatis has contributed a lot since being the everyday outfielder for the Mets and has put up a nice offensive season together.  He is hitting .297 overall and has 10HR and 38 RBI’s and has scored 29 runs for this Mets team.  He was ranked by Yahoo Sports as the 726th player overall at the beginning of this season and now is ranked 302nd overall.  Pretty good for a player who was barely going to make a major league roster and let alone have a chance to contribute on a daily basis. He was projected to be a role and bench player at best. Now he is an everyday contributor to the first place New York Mets and looks to be down in the stretch for the playoffs.

3. Willie Harris OF- Nationals: This guy is my last surprise player and is very underrated. He is not going to put up wow numbers or be the top player on the team, but he will give you speed, energy, and complement a lineup well.  He was the forgotten man on last year’s Braves squad and has emerged as one of the top contributors on the lowly and last place Washington Nationals team.  He is hitting .255 but his average has actually rose from under .200 to that since being an everyday player and has 12 HR’s (a career high) and 38 RBI’s and has scored 46 runs for this weak Nats offense.  Harris was the 727th ranked overall player by Yahoo Sports and now is the 370th ranked player. Kudos to Harris for being one of the few bright spots for this terrible Nationals team. 

Tim Lincecum is the first major league pitcher to 200 K’s in 2008. 

   Tim Lincecum never ceases to amaze us.  He is becoming and is one of the most dominant pitchers in the game today. He is a little guy that throws in the mid to upper 90’s with his moving fastball and has a pretty good hook and devastating change up to add to his arsenal.  Lincecum “The Freak” seems like he can do it all. He can dodge balls, wear them off the leg and bounce back and throw a dominant start the next time out, he can hit, run. This guy is just a freak of nature and an all around athlete. I love watching this kid play and pitch every fifth time. 

 Tim Lincecum also is currently in a Cy Young battle with one of the most effective and dominant pitchers in sinkerballer Brandon Webb, who is 19-4 by the way.  Last night, Brandon Webb threw another gem of his own against the Padres with 7 shutout innings and allowing only three hits. And tonight Tim Lincecum threw 8 dominant shutout innings and only allowing 4 hits the whole night.  Lincecum also added 8 k’s in his dominant outing and is the first major leaguer to reach 200 strikeouts on the year. He leads C.C. Sabathia another potential Cy Young candidate by 8.   Lincecum picked up his 14th victory tonight and lowered his NL leading E.R.A to 2.48.  However, he trails Webb in victories by 5, which clearly you can argue Webb is the unanimous favorite to win Cy Young. However don’t let that deceive you. Lincecum has had 5 or 6 wins blown for him when he left in the late innings with a lead.  Therefore, he should be 19 or 20-3.  One of those outings he actually outpitched Brandon Webb with 7 dominant innings of 2 run ball and 13 k’s while Webb struggled for the most part but pitched 7 innings of his own and allowed 3 runs  to a weak Giants offense team.  But the bullpen (Tyler Walker) blew his 3-2 lead in the 8th and giving Lincecum a hard-luck no decision and Brandon Webb a victory.  But that is baseball.  However, factoring in the D-Backs offense to the Giants offense and the D-Backs bullpen to the Giants bullpen, you can make a case that Lincecum is deserving of the Cy Young award as good as Webb is pitching. Hey, if Webb pitches his D-Backs into first place then he should be the MVP of the league.  Lincecum and Sabathia could also be league MVP’s, but they are pitchers and pitchers usually only contend for the Cy Young award. Well anyways, Lincecum and the Giants offense only average 3.8 runs a game while Webb and the D-Backs offense averages 4.66 runs per game and have a more effective and consistent bullpen than the Giants.  So clearly that is why Webb has more victories than Lincecum. His bullpen has preserved more wins for Webb than the bullpen has for Lincecum.  The biggest case Lincecum can make for the Cy Young is he leads the NL and Webb in E.R.A of his 2.48 to Webb’s E.R.A of 2.74 and has more strikeouts (200 K’s) than Webb (153 K’s) Basically, the only thing Webb has got on Lincecum is victories and his team is in first place, but not first place by much.  Hence, Lincecum has the better winning percentage and I feel that he should be the Cy Young winner because he is a more dominant pitcher than Webb and Lincecum is only in his second full season and Webb has already won a Cy Young award.  Well only time will tell with a month left in the season. We will see who prevails. Is it the 5 foot 11 Lincecum or the 6′2 sinkerballer Webb?

Madison Bumgarner could win the Triple Crown in the South Atlantic League.

  Madison Bumgarner has been dominating the South Atlantic League all year. He has mastered A-Ball and is destined to start next season in Double-A and possibly get promoted to the Big Leagues in September of next year.  This kid is the real deal and he is making noise around the whole minor leagues. He is going to be the 2008 SAL Pitcher of the Year and is going to win the Triple Crown in the South Atlantic League. This kid is going to be the next big thing to Tim Lincecum on the pitching side of things. He is only 19 years old and was the 10th overall pick in the first round for the Giants in 2007 like Tim Lincecum was the 10th pick overall in 2006.  Madison Bumgarner is a big left-handed pitcher who can throw in the mid 90’s with his fastball.  He has reached double-digit strikeouts for the 2nd start in a row and sixth overall on the season.  Bumgarner is currently on a minor league high 32 1/3 scoreless innings streak and is 5-0 spanning the streak.   Bumgarner is the future of the Giants and is going to form a great 1,2,3 punch with Cain and Lincecum in 2010 if not in the end of 2009.   Bumgarner in his last start dominated for 6.1IP of scoreless ball and added 10 strikeouts.  He moved to 14-3 on the year and has an E.R.A of 1.45 and has 155 strikeouts on the year.  Comparing to Lincecum’s numbers in the majors: 13-3, 2.60 E.R.A and 192 strikeouts, Bumgarner has garnered some accolades.   I really can’t wait to see this kid pitch live at AT &  T Park someday, cause you know that time could come in the near future.

Pablo Sandoval is hitting .500 with the Giants since his callup.

  I don’t know what is up with the Giants lately, but thejr lineup is starting to look like an offense, despite last night, but you kind of tip your hat to Ricky Nolasco for throwing a gem and pitching his game. But the fact is, with small changes in bringing more youth who actually can hit, has sparked the other vets still on the team.  I think the Giants scouting director said Pablo Sandoval is a special kid and he makes everyone on his team around him better and the team usually has success. Well since the Giants called Sandoval up for the finale of the Houston Series and didn’t appear in that game, the Giants have gone 4-2 and their offense has improved dramatically. They are averaging just little over 4 runs and about 10 hits a game.  They have scored 24 runs and 60 hits roughly in their last 6 games. It is a small sample size but the future looks good for these Giants. It is a step in the right direction, but clearly the other hitters have improved with the young duo of Ishikawa and Sandoval. Since their callups, Winn (who has been the hottest hitter in the month of August with a .444 avg.) is 13 for 24 with 2HR and 5RBI’s in his last 6 games.  Rowand is batting .294 (5 for 17) with a HR and 3 RBI’s in his last six games.  Fred Lewis is 7 for 21 good for a .333 batting average with a HR and 2 RBI’s in his last six games. And the young duo, Travis Ishikawa is batting .300 (6 for 20) with a HR and 3RBI’s and Pablo Sandoval has been tearing it up from both sides of the plate hitting .500 (7 for 14) with 0HR and 2 RBI’s.  This kid is a sparkplug and his versatility should keep his bat in the lineup as the season progresses. Giants need a good start from Matt Palmer in tomorrow’s afternoon affair and lead the Giants to a series win against a contender. 

    In last night’s game, Cain was his usual self and dominated the Marlins hitters for the most part.  He has a 1.88 E.R.A in his last 8 appearances.  He has been magnificent and threw 7.2 innings of two-run ball but took a hard-luck no decision because of a rare Brian Wilson blown save. The blow came off a tie three-run-homer by John Baker , a former Della Salle High product and Oakland A’s farmhand.  But the Giants came back in the ninth in surprising fashion, Roberts led off with a walk, then Randy Winn singled for his third hit of the night, Ochoa then sacrifice bunted to move the runners over. Rowand then was intentionally walked. Up came Bengie “Big Money” Molina  he laced a 97 mph fastball from Matt Lindstrom to deep center for a walk-off sacrifice fly and the game winning RBI to give the Giants a 6-5 victory.  This loss hurts for the Marlins as they are still in the playoff hunt and trying to contend for the NL East Division title.  

  OF Nate Schierholtz who’s tearing it up in Triple-A is ready to be an everyday player in the big leagues.   

  Giants have many needs going into the offseason, but  are only a few pieces away from contention. They need to continue their addition by substraction mode. They need to get rid of the contracts of OF Dave Roberts (who is 36), Tyler Walker (33) who has been inconsistent the whole year. They are not future pieces that are going to help us contend for many years.  To replace those two guys: we have 1B/OF John Bowker, who could be a good fourth outfielder and can also play first base if needed, and RP Merkin Valdez, who is coming off an arm injury but has pitched well in the Giants late-innings and could serve as a reliable setup man to closer Brian Wilson as Valdez can throw 95 plus on the fastball and has a slider and split to add to his repertoire.  Giants don’t need to sign too much in the offseason and can really fix most of their problems internally and some guys getting healthy and returning to their old form such as 2B/3B Kevin Frandsen and SP Noah Lowry.  So the question going into the offseason is what pieces do we need in the offseason that we don’t have within the organization.  The answer is we need to sign a proven reliever, such as Chad Bradford or Latroy Hawkins, to help our bullpen and young arms out. Correia should help moving to the bullpen and pitching long and middle relief for us. The other piece we need is a third baseman with some pop. Rohlinger and I hate to say Rich Aurilia are really not options going forward. We thank Aurilia for the years he has given us throughout his career but he isn’t getting younger and isn’t putting up game-changing numbers. The problem with the Giants is they have too many complementary players and no threats in the lineup. Randy Winn and Bengie Molina are both good complementary players. But both are 34 and are free agents after 2009 season. So the Giants need to trade one of them in return for a reliever or some good prospects.  Winn having a solid 2008 season and his consistency should raise some value there to teams in need of a proven outfielder.  It doesn’t hurt that Giants have a surplus of outfielders as Nate Schierholtz is ready to step in as an everyday player and field right field for the Giants in 09′.  John Bowker, Dan Ortmeir, and Brian Horwitz are other young outfielders that can serve and battle for the backup spot in the outfield.  If I was GM, I would trade Randy Winn and keep Bengie Molina atleast for the first half of the season. Pablo Sandoval is opening some eyes and could be the catcher until Buster Posey is ready. But Sandoval’s versatility should help to keep Molina for atleast one more season and allow Sandoval to have plenty of playing time next year as he can play first base and play third base if needed to get his bat in there. It doesn’t hurt to have two solid catchers, especially in a 162-game season. So basically, the Giants just need to bolster the bullpen, sign a third baseman with some pop, such as Joe Crede or Hank Blalock. Beltre has some pop but may be too expensive for our taste and he is having a terrible 2nd half and strikes out way too much.  I feel that all-star 3B Joe Crede is the best option and since he is coming off injury recently, that could drop his value and could be cheaper for us to sign and he will fit well in the clubhouse and has some pop in his bat and some good defense at the hot corner. He is also good friends with Aaron Rowand and could help in the leadership department alongside Rowand. Team chemistry is everything in baseball and I feel that Crede, Rowand, and Molina well mix well with guys like Frandsen, Burriss, and Sandoval, even Ishikawa.  And our rotation is tight and strong on and off the field.  Here is my prediction  on what the rotation and lineup will and should like in 2009:

Rotation:

SP1 Matt Cain RHP

SP2 Jonathan Sanchez LHP

SP3 Tim Lincecum RHP

SP4 Noah Lowry LHP

SP5 Barry Zito LHP

MRP/SP6 Kevin Correia RHP

MRP Billy Sadler

MRP Sergio Romo

LRP Jack Taschner

LRP Alex Hinshaw

SU Merkin Valdez

CL Brian Wilson

Out: Tyler Walker, Vinnie Chulk, Brad Hennessey

Lineup:

C- Bengie Molina- Right

1B- Travis Ishikawa- Left

2B- Kevin Frandsen- Right

3B- Joe Crede- Right

SS- Emmanuel Burriss- Switch

LF- Fred Lewis- Left

CF- Aaron Rowand- Right

RF- Nate Schierholtz- Left

Bench:

1B/OF John Bowker- Left

C/1B/3B Pablo Sandoval- Switch

3B/SS/2B Ivan Ochoa- Right

2B/OF Eugenio Velez- Switch

OF Dan Ortmeir- Switch

or OF Brian Horwitz- Right

Out: Rich Aurilia, Dave Roberts, Omar Vizquel, Randy Winn

This team is balanced with some more depth, speed, little more power, and energy in the rotation, bullpen, and lineup!

Barry Zito throws in the first during a game against the Atlanta Braves. (John Bazemore-AP)

   There are so many words and things you can say about Barry Zito this season and both could be good or bad.  With Barry Zito, you never know what your going to get.  He has been very bad at times this season and he has been very good at other times. Regardless of his win-loss record, Zito has been dealing with trying to be consistent and staying true to himself all year.  He seems aggressive at times, while lackadaisacal other times.  However, on this very day in Hotlanta (ATL) Georgia, Zito was his old self and showed the great pitcher that he can be. 

  Zito threw seven shutout innings and dominated by hitting his spots with his fastball and commanding the zone with his offspeed pitches in a 5-0 victory against the Braves.  He kept the Atlanta Braves hitters off-balance and was aggressive throughout his whole outing.  He needs to be more aggressive and show some emotion out there like he wants to win and saying “here, hit this!” The surprise of his outing was he limited All-Star hitters Brian McCann and Chipper Jones to an 0 for 6 day combined, although both got singles in the eight off reliever Keiichi Yabu.  He was vintage Zito and looks to continue his confidence and aggressiveness in his next start against his hometown team the San Diego Padres on Saturday. 

Zito also has shown that if his offense gives him at least 4 runs or more, his record is an unbelievable 97-5 and 12-1 with the Giants. Overall, Zito’s record improved to 7-15 and combined his record is 18-28 in his two seasons with the Giants. However, everybody forgets Cain was 7-16 last season due to ineffectiveness and lack of run support, and that has been Zito’s case all season, and gets criticized for his woes mainly due to his big contract. Zito hasn’t pitched well at times, but his offense hasn’t really helped him out either, let alone most of our starting pitchers. It is also not his fault that management gave him that kind of contract, but Zito continues to work hard and help the community out and donate most of his salary to charity and other programs.  Based on his track record and his agent, he received that big contract. But I think that if Zito pitches a little better and Giants get some more offensive punch in this lineup, his record will improve and Giants’ success as a team will also.   And fans will be less harder and critical of him.  He still has five years to change some fans’ attitudes and feelings toward him. I am still pulling for Zito to get better because I am a die-hard Giants fan and overall a big fan of this game. So many things factor in and everyone concentrates on results, but there are some things out of your control. So the only thing as a player, is control the things only you can control and whatever happens, happens.  There are also worse pitchers out there than Barry Zito.

Other Notes: Giants offense has improved lately since the callups of Ryan Rohlinger, Pablo Sandoval, and Travis Ishikawa. So far, Rohlinger is 2 for 18 (.111 0HR 1RBI), Sandoval is 5 for 12 (.417 0HR 2RBI), and Ishikawa is 6/17 (.353 1HR 3RBI)with a stolen base and showing some gold glove defense as of late. Since their callups, Giants offense have scored 24 runs in 6 games, an average of 4 runs per game, a slight percentage up from their previous average of 3.8 runs per game. Giants record is 3-3 in the 6 games that the young trio has been here, but the inconsistent bullpen seems to be the weakness and achilles heel of this Giants team and their lack of offense just added to the mess.  However, if the Giants continue to play strong and keep this young core with Sandoval and Ishikawa in the mix and keep their strong starting rotation, then the future seems bright for the Giants in 2009 and they may be a piece or two away from contending in the NL West. Bolstering the offense and bullpen in the offseason is key!!!

        Tim Lincecum is 13-3 with a 2.60 E.R.A in 2008.

Fab Five:

   Well with just a little over a month left in the season, it is time to take a look at five Cy Young candidates who are having great seasons and all will try to solidify their cases in these coming weeks.

1. Brandon Webb- ARI  This former Cy Young is having the best season of his career. He has thrown Webb gem after Webb gem all season. His record stands at 18-4 with a 2.85 E.R.A.  He has thrown 3 complete games and 1 shutout so far this season. His 18 wins lead the major leagues in that category. He is having an incredible year and is this year’s Cy Young favorite. However, he has some heavy competition behind him.

2. Tim Lincecum- SF    This 24 year old phenom has been as good as advertised in only his second big league season.  He is coming off another dominant outing against the Atlanta Braves lineup featuring Brian McCann and Chipper Jones, as well as Jeff Franceur. He pitched 7.2 IP and only gave up one run on three hits and added 10 strikeouts to his major league leading total of 192. Lincecum’s numbers are he is 13-3 with a 2.60 E.R.A, which ranks first in the National League in that category and second to Cliff Lee in the whole major league. Timmy as some call him is just as deserving as Webb for the Cy Young as he has been dominant almost every start and has also had 5 wins blown for him total (counting his most recent one when got injured and left with a 3-2 lead in the 5th and couldn’t qualify for a win). So if he had a consistent and dependable bullpen like some teams do, then his record could easily be 17 or 18-3.  So  factor that in when you decide who you think is the Cy Young of the National League. Also even though Webb got the win in his matchup against Lincecum. Lincecum outpitched Webb in his seven innings as he left with a 3-2 lead but his bullpen blew the game for him in the 8th inning before it could get to closer Brian Wilson. Therefore, Webb got the victory instead of the deserving Lincecum.

3. Edinson Volquez- CIN This kid has been a godsend for the Cincinatti Reds.  He not only was an All-Star in his first year with the Reds, but he has been pitching like a Cy Young all year. His numbers are he is 15-5 with a 2.73 E.R.A and has 150 strikeouts to 70 walks.

4. Ryan Dempster- CHC This former closer and All-star has pitched well all season. Dempster has been the ace of the Chicago Cubs staff and has outpitched fellow ace and staff mate Carlos Zambrano.  His record is 14-5 with a 2.92 E.R.A. and he has 149 strikeouts to 64 walks. 

5. C.C. Sabathia- MIL This southpaw has to be the dark horse in the Cy Young competition mainly due that he began the first half of the season in the American League with the Indians. He is the reigning 2007 AL Cy Young winner and since he has come to the National League in that blockbuster trade he has pitched great for the Brewers. With the Brew Crew, he is 7-0 with a 1.55 E.R.A and has thrown 4 complete games and 2 shutouts in 8 starts. Those are amazing numbers. However, his overall record is 13-8 with 3.04 E.R.A. He is second in the major leagues in strikeouts to Lincecum with 183.

NL Cy Snubs:

 Here are five pitchers who have also pitched well all season, but may or may not have the numbers to prove that they are Cy Young worthy. However, all are considered among the elite pitchers as well as a surprise or two.

1. Dan Haren- ARI This #2 has been the best at that spot in the rotation. This all-star has been pitching like an ace all year. His numbers are 13-6 with a 2.96 E.R.A. He has to be the biggest snub in this Cy Young competition, mainly due to pitching in Brandon Webb’s shadow all season.

2. Johan Santana- NYM This former Minnesota Twins and current Mets ace has pitched well all season, but has had little to show for it all year due to an inconsistent and insufficient bullpen. His numbers are he is 11-7 with a 2.75 E.R.A.

3. Carlos Zambrano- CHC This has been the Cubs’ ace for the past few seasons and has pitched like an ace all season, however Dempster has pitched a little bit better and has a better record and E.R.A than Carlos. However, Zambrano’s numbers are good. He is 12-5 with a 3.38 E.R.A with 107 strikeouts to 53 walks.

4. Kyle Lohse- STL This has been one of the surprise pitchers in the National League. His great start and first half has opened some eyes around the whole major leagues. However, his recent sruggles in the second half may have hurt his chances to win the Cy Young and also hurt his record.  He is 13-6 with a 3.94 E.R.A after a 11-2 start. 

5. Aaron Cook- COL  This sinker-baller has pitched well all season and has to do pitch in the hitter-friendly Coors Field almost all year.  So his numbers are good but his E.R.A is inflated because of the field disadvantage. He is 15-8 with a 3.86 E.R.A!!!

My Cy Young Prediction: Lincecum upsets Webb in a nail-biter and a very close competition.

Buster Posey won the Golden Spikes Award in 2008 for the best college amateur player in the country.

  It was an exciting day for the San Francisco Giants full of some great pitching performances and a glimpse of their future.  The biggest news was the Giants signing top pick Buster Posey before the deadline and locking him up to a 6.2 million deal. That is more than this year’s top overall pick Beckham and 200,000 more than last year’s top pick Matt Wieters.  Overall, Giants fans have to be excited about this kid and for our future.  He is predicted to be one of those rising stars and a player that can help a team win like a Joe Mauer for instance, with more power.  With Florida State, Posey led the NCAA in batting average (.472), on base percentage (.572) and slugging percentage (.908). He also led Florida State with six saves and did not give up an earned run in eight appearances. This kid’s playing days as a shortstop might be over, however, his catching days with the Giants are coming soon. Jokingly, he might be our setup guy too in the future. Just kidding. Why not, this kid can play all nine positions like he did in a college game last year and also hit a grand slam in that games.  The future is set and the sky is the limit for Buster Posey. 

   It was a win- Winn day for the Giants as Matt Cain put on another solid pitching performance and threw seven innings of one run ball to lead the Giants to a 5-1 victory. Winn carried the offensive side of the things for the Giants as he went 4-4 with a run scored, two RBI’s and finished a triple short of the cycle due to a ground-rule double that barely cleared the fence off the bounce. Winn has been on a tear this month and is the hottest hitter in the National League. There is speculation that Winn could be traded in the offseason with the emergence of Nate Schierholtz and said to be major league ready. However, it would have to be a sweet deal for the Giants to trade Winn and would have to receive a top or good mid-level prospect in return and a proven reliever. Otherwise, we have to keep him. Being deep in the outfield really can’t hurt us. And Winn hasn’t been underachieving as one could say for the Giants. He has quietly been the most consistent player for the Giants these past few seasons.  This season he is hitting .302 avg. 6 HR 52 RBI 31 doubles, one triple, and 22 stolen bases.  And he plays some stellar defense in right field. However, it’s a win-Winn situation whether we keep Randy Winn or trade him for some top prospect in the offseason and pass the torch to Nate Schierholtz who is tearing up minor league pitching and in the Olympics. 

     Another piece of our future is southpaw pitcher Madison Bumgarner who just threw a dominating six inning outing, where he struck out 12 guys in a 6-0 win. This guy is a flat out stud and he is left-handed. Let’s get this kid on the fast track and promote him to Double-A next season and be ready to be in the rotation in 2010.  Cause in 2009, there is no need for him in the rotation. We are kind of clogged up there. Our bullpen could use some help though. Nonetheless, Bumgarner has to be untouchable in any trades in the future as he is 13-3 with a 1.52 E.R.A, which tops in the South Atlantic League.  This kid is for real just like Tim Lincecum was. He was the 10th pick for the Giants in 2007 like Lincecum was the 10th pick in 2006. Hence, our future is set with Bumgarner and loaded with other pitching prospects. 

      To close this day out, Brad Hennessey, last year’s Giants Closer and started this year as a middle reliever and was ineffective and demoted to Triple-A and became a starter again, pitched a complete game gem against the Portland Beavers in a 5-3 win and went 1 for 4 at the plate. Overall, it was a good day for the Giants and their bright future!