The Giants have taken it up a level and tomorrow they open the Serious against the Texas Rangers. In the words of Aubrey Huff, they're "just crazy enough to maybe pull this off". Well so are we! It's time for the fans to take it up a level too.

It's not enough just to grow a Bullpen Beard. It's time to take that next step to follow our crazed closer. What I'm saying is...

TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO DYE!

Inspired by the mental assassin, Brian Wilson, some of the men of McCovey Chronicles - and a few intrepid women - are growing Bullpen Beards for the playoffs.

Obviously we can't all look like Brian "Wooly Willy" Wilson...

But it's eight days since the Giants' first playoff game, so you should have something to show for it by now! This is your chance to show off your Bullpen Beard.

(Dye optional. Fake beards allowable for the chromosomally challenged. Yes, I did just create a FanPost that explicitly invites howtheyscored to post yet another picture of himself.)

Hockey has the Playoff Beard. We have the Bullpen Beard. The Giants bullpen has been solid as a rock down the stretch, and hairy as a troop of colobus monkeys. Wilson and Romo have set a pretty high bar.

Here's what Wilson has to say:

"I'm just rocking a beard, keeping it fun," Wilson said. [...] "I wouldn't say the beard got us here, but I wore it here."

Romo's not too impressed with Wilson's beard, he only gives it a "pretty good".

Who's shelved their razor in shaggy solidarity with our demented late-inning strike-throwers?

FEAR THE BEARD!

Baggs mentioned in his latest notebook that Posey has basically no chance to win the NL batting title because he will fall short on PAs. I decided to do a little math and see how remote his chances really are.

The first assumption is that Votto stays at .323 and remains the man to catch.

Second assumption is that Posey continues to accumulate PAs at the same pace he has since July 1, when he took over as the starting catcher. Over those 50 team games he's had 209 PAs. The Giants have 35 games remaining on the schedule which puts him on pace for 146 more, making 457 total for the season. That would leave him 45 PAs short of qualifying for the batting title.

Apparently - and I didn't know this before reading Baggs' column - you can still win a batting title without enough PAs; they just pretend you had however many more PAs you need and went 0-for-whatever. So Posey's average would have to be high enough that an imaginary 0-for-45 only brought it down to .323.

Based on the numbers above, Posey is on pace for 420 ABs and 142 hits total for the season. Tacking on 45 hitless imaginary ABs would put his AVG at .305. 151 hits would give him a .325 adjusted AVG and a hypothetical batting title.

151 hits in 420 real ABs makes for a .359 AVG, which means all Posey needs to do is hit .403 (54-for-134) the rest of the season to win the batting title. So...pretty darn unlikely...but not completely impossible. If his bat really did get that hot, I'd have to think that he'd start seeing a lot more walks which would further reduce his chances.

Did I say in the Rowand? I meant room. Elephant in the room. Alex Pavlovic on ExtraBaggs:

I see a lot of comments about Bowker and Schierholtz being benched with this lineup, and all I can do is pass along what Bochy said. Torres has earned an everyday spot, and Bochy said Schierholtz will see the majority of the time as a late-inning defensive replacement.

Torres has earned an everyday spot. Well, I suppose that's true. He's currently the top hitter on the whole team (by OPS+), so it makes sense he should be playing every day. Second best hitter? Eli Whiteside, so okay, maybe we shouldn't put too much stock in this whole who's hot business.

But third best is a tie between Huff and Schierholtz. Schierholtz sits at .298/.365/.423 (106 OPS+) while Aaron Rowand sports a line of .235/.273/.419 (78 OPS+, lowest of anyone on the team except Bowker and small sample Sanchez).

And it's not just this season. Over his whole career as a Giant, Nate is batting .286/.325/.417 (92 OPS+) with spotty playing time. Rowand's line as a Giant: .263/.323/.415 (91 OPS+).

If Bochy is going to go by who has "earned" everyday spots, how can you not say that Schierholtz has also earned a spot - specifically Rowand's spot.

Eli Whiteside's stats as of today, April 27, 2010:

.353/.389/.882

OPS of 1.271 (first on the team), translating to a Bondsian 218 OPS+.

He'd be leading the majors in OPS and SLG if he had enough PAs. Even with his limited playing time, he's on pace for 17 HRs and 42 RBIs. If the Hall of Fame inducted backup catchers, he'd be a shoo-in.

By September this will all seem absurd, of course. Whiteside will have come back to earth. He'll probably end up with something a little better than last year's 607 OPS, but not by that much. We'll all remember why he spent 8 seasons in the minors with no more than a cup of coffee with the Orioles to show for it before Bruce Bochy took a shine to him.

But for now, let's just enjoy Small Sample Size Theater's latest blockbuster: Eli Whiteside, future Hall of Famer.

The Indians fired manager Eric Wedge today. I visited Let's Go Tribe to try to get a sense for what they thought of the firing, and discovered a shocking fact: although he's been the manager for seven years, LGT has not one single Wedge Antilles joke. Some nerds they are.

I had a vaguely positive impression of Wedge, although since I don't follow the AL much it's heavy on the "vaguely". A few years ago he was considered a good developer of young talent, though ithat reputation has tarnished some as the Indians young talent has fizzled. More recently he's been knocked for playing favorites (shades of Bochy). He's also the guy who experimented with Garko in the outfield (which should make owlcroft happy). The firing seems to be more of a by-the-book "team is losing -> fire the manager" move rather than a specific indictment of Wedge.

Poll

Would Eric Wedge be an upgrade over Bruce Bochy?

43%

Upgrade

53 votes

15%

Downgrade

19 votes

40%

Same thoughts, smaller head

49 votes

121 votes | Poll has closed

This past offseason, the Giants signed a plethora of minor league free agents. Some of them vanished quickly (Francis Beltran, we hardly knew ye). Some of them spent most of the season injured (sorry, Josh Phelps and Dallas McPherson - lucky thing we didn't need a power hitting first baseman anyway). Some of them were Ramon Ortiz, but the less said about that the better.

But several of them made the roster and contributed more than could have been expected. Juan Uribe, Andres Torres, Brandon Medders all turned out to be excellent pickups. And so did Justin Miller, whose season is now over with an injured elbow. He walked too many and struck out not enough; but he threw a lot of innings, especially in the first half when Sanchez and Johnson had a lot of 5-inning starts, and kept the Giants in most of those games. (Being the Giants, they lost most of them anyway, but that's not Miller's fault.)

In the second half, he got a lot less work (15.2 IP after the break as compared with 41 before) and was less effective, but before his last 5 games blew it up he still had a 1.83 ERA. His first half WHIP was a mere 1.098. Even with a lousy ending, he ends his season with a 1.306 WHIP and 3.18 ERA, very respectable for a back of the bullpen guy.

With the emergence of Joaquin and Runzler, it seems like a long shot for Miller to return next season. If he doesn't, I wish him well - as long as he doesn't sign with the Dodgers - and salute him for being much better than I expected.

You thought you'd seen the last of me, didn't you? When you left me dazed and battered on the streets of San Diego, you thought that was the end. But no, here we are again...you and I.

You know, it wasn't so many years ago I never even gave a second thoughts to the likes of you. .500? Please. I may have passed you a few times, but I had higher things in mind. Playoffs, Championships...all these were within my grasp.

But then, in 2005, you began to pester me. Everywhere I turned, there was .500. A mere irritant, I thought at first, a buzzing mosquito. May 26th was the last time I saw you that year; 23-23, just like today. And then, you were gone. Somehow you'd gotten the better of me, though I could never understand how.

The next year seemed to return to normal, with you forgotten, fading into my rear view mirror. But then you tracked me down in Washington. Perhaps it was the muggy July afternoon that dulled my senses, allowing you to knock me down and steal my dreams; dreams of playoff glory and of Armando Benitez being an adequate closer.

Since then, it's been me chasing you, never quite catching up, like a man on a treadmill...with a carrot...well, anyway, never catching up. Until this year.

You thought you'd get rid of me early, with that 2-7 start, didn't you? But I caught up to you. 8-8, 9-9, 10-10, 11-11, 12-12, 13-13...clearly this time we were well matched. It was an epic battle, an Iliad of mediocrity. For a time I pulled ahead, then you caught me again. 18-18...19-19...and then you took the advantage, but again, not for long.

There's still a long season ahead of us, .500. You'd better get used to seeing me.

Starting the 3rd board thread, there are still two active roster members available (Uribe and just-promoted Justin Miller) and seven more members of the 40-man roster up for grabs as well.

This is not an exhaustive list of who's available! Anyone in the organization is eligible for adoption even if they're not on the list. (If they're on the list with a name next to them, then they're NOT eligible for adoption because they're already adopted.)

Official draft order and actual selection is in WalrusMan's fencepost.

40-man roster:

• Affeldt (GiantAmongAngels)
• Aurilia (wjackalope)
• Bocock (capnk)
  
• Bowker (rightcenterfielder)
  
• Burriss (BaronVonCurrentEvents)
  
• Cain (jponry)
  
• English
  
• Frandsen (WalrusMan)
  
• Gillaspie (chilibean_3)
  
• Hinshaw (The Enchanter)
  
• Holm (UnleashTheGore)
  
• Howry (CB30)
  
• Ishikawa (kennv/Andy from DC)
  
• Joaquin (GiantFan)
  
• R. Johnson (Speedforthewin)
  
• Lewis (jcb9)
  
• Lincecum (sharksrog)
  
• Lowry (Cookyman)
  
• Martinez (cornball)
  
• Matos (neurofarm)
• Medders (SloIsLonelyForTheOrange)
• Miller (stealth snail - tentative)
• Misch
  
• B. Molina (fwoty oz)
  
• Pichardo
  
• Renteria (rxmeister)
  
• Rohlinger (Scottsdale)
  
• Romo (Lyle)
  
• Rowand (lincypoo i wuv u)
  
• Sadler
  
• Sanchez (Aadik)
  
• Sandoval (bondslegend)
  
• Schierholtz (PacBellBoozer)
  
• H. Sosa (raisingcain) 
• Torres (victor frankenstein)
• Uribe
• Valdez (rotoreuter)
  
• Velez (The Gene Hackman)
  
• Wilson (hairball)
  
• Winn (oldjacket)
  
• Zito (giantscatcher)
  

Minors:

• Adrianza (obsessivegiantscompulsive)
  
• Alderson (Natto) 
• Ambort (AngelWillSaveUs)
• Barnes (boonitez)
  
• B. Bond (greg8370)
• Boyer
• J. Bucardo
• W. Bucardo (gianator)
  
• Bumgarner (multiphasic)
  
• Casilla 
• H. Correa
• Cowart
• Crawford (Azmanz)
  
• Culberson 
• D'Alessio
• Downs (nvsfg)
• Espineli
• Fairley (WTF) 
• Foppert (AndYourBirdCanSing)
• Ford (monta101)
• Guzman (Goofus) 
• Hammond
• Horwitz
• J. Izturis
• Jarvis (j14)
• Jennings
  
• S. Jordan (Little Napoleon)
  
• Kieschnick (Takimoto)
  
• Kinney
  
• A. King (baetown415)
  
• Loree (say hey nation)
  
• Maday (rhys)
  
• K. Marte
• Martinez-Esteve (malarky)
• McBryde
• McClain (Useful_Idiot)
  
• McPherson (The Thrill - tentative)
• Mooney
• Neal (nostocksjustbonds) 
• Nicholson (gore51)
• Noonan (Giant Fan in Singapore) 
• Ortiz (giants9107)
  
• Oseguera
• Palazzolo
• J.C. Perez (marcello)
  
• Peguero (haverecords)
  
• Periera
• Phelps
  
• Pill
• Posey (GiantsFanInExile)
  
• Pucetas (Sammy Danger)
• Quinowski
• Quirate
  
• Ray 
• Richardson
• R. Rodriguez (BrianBokake)
  
• Sadowski
• H. Sanchez (tedfordfan)
  
• Schoop (Viliphied)
  
• Snyder
• C. Sosa
• Surkamp (MonkeyChow)
• Tanner (walkoff baltimore chop) 
• Timpner
• Villalona (thehavenot)
  
• Wald
  
• Whiteside
  
• J. Williams (Tchli)
• Windster (EliminateMe)
• Witter
  
• Yabu
  

Management/Ownership:

• F. Alou
  
• Baer (ResDog)
  
• Bochy (cheno)
  
• S. Burns (igotnothing)
  
• Cepeda
  
• W. Clark
  
• Flannery
  
• Gardner
  
• Hayes (delorean)
  
• Kakazu (Zetsuboushita)
  
• Kelly
  
• Lansford
  
• Mays (merkin)
  
• McCovey
  
• Neukom (Gabafnerhagen)
  
• Plack (Headhunter Rollins)
  
• Righetti
  
• Sabean
  
• Sabean's Laptop (xanthan)
  
• Snow
  
• Stanley
  
• Tidrow
  
• Wotus
  

 Broadcasters:

• Flemming  (larson2042)
• Fuentes
• Higueros
• Krukow (TimLincecumIsGod)
  
• Kuiper
  
• Miller (Norm Median)
  
• Papa (grant)
  

Other:

• E. Alfonzo (tk)
• B. Bonds (Sabertooth)
• K. Krab (timmeh)
• L. Seal (can of corn)

The thread you are reading is now obsolete. This one is so much more modern.

Since the first board has fallen off the front page, I'm posting a new one. This is not an exhaustive list of who's available! Anyone in the organization is eligible for adoption even if they're not on the list. (If they're on the list with a name next to them, then they're NOT eligible for adoption because they're already adopted.)

Official draft order and actual selection is in WalrusMan's fencepost.

Also, I've moved Aurilia, Medders, Torres and Uribe to the 40-man section since they are now official. Congratulations to all their parents, you must be so proud!

40-man roster:

• Affeldt (GiantAmongAngels)
• Aurilia (wjackalope)
• Bocock
  
• Bowker (rightcenterfielder)
  
• Burriss (BaronVonCurrentEvents)
  
• Cain (jponry)
  
• English
  
• Frandsen (WalrusMan)
  
• Gillaspie (chilibean_3)
  
• Hinshaw (The Enchanter)
  
• Holm (UnleashTheGore)
  
• Howry (CB30)
  
• Ishikawa (kennv/Andy from DC)
  
• Joaquin (GiantFan)
  
• R. Johnson (Speedforthewin)
  
• Lewis (jcb9)
  
• Lincecum (sharksrog)
  
• Lowry (Cookyman)
  
• Martinez (cornball)
  
• Matos 
• Medders (SloIsLonelyForTheOrange)
• Misch
  
• B. Molina (fwoty oz)
  
• Pichardo
  
• Renteria (rxmeister)
  
• Rohlinger
  
• Romo (Lyle)
  
• Rowand (lincypoo i wuv u)
  
• Sadler
  
• Sanchez (Aadik)
  
• Sandoval (bondslegend)
  
• Schierholtz (PacBellBoozer)
  
• H. Sosa (raisingcain) 
• Torres (victor frankenstein)
• Uribe
• Valdez (rotoreuter)
  
• Velez (The Gene Hackman)
  
• Wilson (hairball)
  
• Winn (oldjacket)
  
• Zito (giantscatcher)
  

Non-Roster Invitees:

• F. Beltran
• Perdomo
  
• Phelps
  

Minors:

• Adrianza (obsessivegiantscompulsive)
  
• Alderson (Natto) 
• Ambort
• Barnes (boonitez)
  
• B. Bond
• Boyer
• J. Bucardo
• W. Bucardo
  
• Bumgarner (multiphasic)
  
• Casilla 
• H. Correa
• Cowart
• Crawford (Azmanz)
  
• Culberson 
• D'Alessio
• Downs (nvsfg)
• Espineli
• Fairley (WTF) 
• Foppert (AndYourBirdCanSing)
• Ford
• Guzman (Goofus) 
• Hammond
• Horwitz
• J. Izturis
• Jarvis (j14)
• Jennings
  
• Kieschnick (Takimoto)
  
• Kinney
  
• A. King (baetown415)
  
• Loree
  
• Maday (rhys)
  
• K. Marte
• Martinez-Esteve
• McBryde
• McClain (Useful_Idiot)
  
• Miller
  
• Mooney
• Neal (nostocksjustbonds) 
• Nicholson
• Noonan (Giant Fan in Singapore) 
• Ortiz (giants9107)
  
• Oseguera
• Palazzolo
• J.C. Perez (marcello)
  
• Peguero (haverecords)
  
• Periera
• Pill
• Posey (GiantsFanInExile)
  
• Pucetas 
• Quinowski
• Quirate
  
• Ray 
• Richardson
• R. Rodriguez (BrianBokake)
  
• Sadowski
• H. Sanchez (tedfordfan)
  
• Schoop (Viliphied)
  
• Snyder
• C. Sosa
• Tanner (walkoff baltimore chop) 
• Timpner
• Villalona (thehavenot)
  
• Wald
  
• Whiteside
  
• J. Williams 
• Windster (EliminateMe)
• Witter
  
• Yabu
  

Management/Ownership:

• Baer (ResDog)
  
• Bochy (cheno)
  
• Flannery
  
• Gardner
  
• Hayes (delorean)
  
• Kelly
  
• Lansford
  
• Neukom
  
• Righetti
  
• Sabean
  
• Sabean's Laptop (xanthan)
  
• Wotus
  

 Broadcasters:

• Flemming  (larson2042)
• Fuentes
• Higueros
• Krukow
  
• Kuiper
  
• Miller
  
• Papa (grant)
  

Other:

• E. Alfonzo (tk)
• K. Krab (timmeh)
• L. Seal (can of corn)

NEW THREAD: For the latest board updates, see the new thread.

I thought it might be helpful to have a list showing who's on and off the board. The prospect list is just a grab bag of guys I could remember or find mentioned somewhere. I'll try to keep it updated, but WalrusMan's list remains the official list of who's taken.

40-man roster:

• Affeldt (GiantAmongAngels)
• Bocock
  
• Bowker (rightcenterfielder)
  
• Burriss (BaronVonCurrentEvents)
  
• Cain (jponry)
  
• English
  
• Frandsen (WalrusMan)
  
• Gillaspie (chilibean_3)
  
• Hinshaw
  
• Holm (UnleashTheGore)
  
• Howry (CB30)
  
• Ishikawa (kennv/Andy from DC)
  
• Joaquin
  
• R. Johnson (Speedforthewin)
  
• Lewis (jcb9)
  
• Lincecum (sharksrog)
  
• Lowry (Cookyman)
  
• Martinez
  
• Matos
  
• Misch
  
• B. Molina
  
• Perdomo
  
• Pichardo
  
• Renteria (rxmeister)
  
• Rohlinger
  
• Romo (Lyle)
  
• Rowand
  
• Sadler
  
• Sanchez (Aadik)
  
• Sandoval (bondslegend)
  
• Schierholtz (PacBellBoozer)
  
• H. Sosa (raisingcain)
  
• Valdez (rotoreuter)
  
• Velez (The Gene Hackman)
  
• Wilson (hairball)
  
• Winn (oldjacket)
  
• Zito
  

Non-Roster Invitees:

• Aurilia (wjackalope)
  
• F. Beltran
  
• McClain
  
• Medders (SloIsLonelyForTheOrange)
  
• Miller
  
• Phelps
  
• Torres (victor frankenstein)
  
• Ortiz
  
• Uribe
  
• Whiteside
  

Prospects:

• Adrianza (obsessivegiantscompulsive)
  
• Alderson (Natto) 
• Ambort
• Barnes
  
• B. Bond
• Boyer
• J. Bucardo
• W. Bucardo
  
• Bumgarner (multiphasic)
  
• Casilla 
• H. Correa
• Cowart
• Crawford (Azmanz)
  
• Culberson 
• D'Alessio
• Downs (nvsfg)
• Espineli
• Fairley (WTF) 
• Ford
• Guzman (Goofus) 
• Horwitz
• J. Izturis
• Jarvis (j14)
• Jennings
  
• Kieschnick (Takimoto)
  
• A. King (baetown415)
  
• Loree
  
• Maday (rhys)
  
• K. Marte
• Martinez-Esteve
• McBryde
• Mooney
• Neal (nostocksjustbonds) 
• Nicholson
• Noonan (Giant Fan in Singapore) 
• Oseguera
• J.C. Perez (marcello)
  
• Peguero (haverecords)
  
• Periera
• Pill
• Posey (GiantsFanInExile)
  
• Pucetas 
• Quinowski
• Quirate
  
• Ray 
• Richardson
• R. Rodriguez (BrianBokake)
  
• H. Sanchez (tedfordfan)
  
• Schoop
  
• Snyder
• C. Sosa
• Tanner (walkoff baltimore chop) 
• Timpner
• Villalona (thehavenot)
  
• Wald
  
• J. Williams 
• Windster (EliminateMe)
• Witter
  

Management/Ownership:

• Baer (ResDog)
  
• Bochy
  
• Flannery
  
• Gardner
  
• Hayes (delorean)
  
• Kelly
  
• Lansford
  
• Neukom
  
• Righetti
  
• Sabean
  
• Sabean's Laptop (xanthan)
  
• Wotus
  

 Broadcasters:

• Flemming 
• Fuentes
• Higueros
• Krukow
  
• Kuiper
  
• Miller
  
• Papa (grant)
  

Other:

• E. Alfonzo (tk)
• L. Seal (can of corn)

The other day, I questioned whether John Bowker was really as bad at first base as his reputation, because I didn't remember him being quite so awful. But I guess he was, or at least Sabean thinks so:

Sabean said the club has to respect what John Bowker did last season, but Ishikawa’s defense gives him a leg-up. "As we saw while experimenting, defense is too important at that position, and Ishikawa is one of better defensive first basemen in the minor leagues," Sabean said.

If I know my Sabean-speak, that means that he considers Bowker's play at first a complete trainwreck. Considering that Eugenio Velez is still in contention to start at second base, that's saying something.

With last night's loss, the Giants are now officially, mathematically, and logically eliminated from playoff contention. They remain 9.5 games behind the Dodgers with only 9 games left to play.

So, today is the moveable feast known as Elimination Day! The day when we are relieved of the burden of trying to believe the Giants still have a chance. It can be a stressful internal tug-of-war between the fan and the realist, trying to root your team on while knowing intellectually that they are out of it, and in fact have been since April.

Today we also celebrate the start of meaningless games, bringing the season full circle. Just as pitchers and catchers report first to spring training, we have only pitchers and catchers left with anything really to play for: Tim Lincecum competing for the Cy Young, and Pablo Sandoval trying to prove he's ready for a starting role next season.

So, eliminate a glass of your meaningless drink of choice and join me in a celebration of Elimination Day!

 

 

And the Final Jeopardy answer: "What are things that are rumored to exist, but are rarely seen?"

On Aug. 17, Bochy had this to say about Rohlinger:

"I think he'll settle in. It takes a few games. I think he'll get more and more comfortable with playing time."

Rohlinger last started on the 21st, and got his first big league triple. Since then, he's played one inning at third base on a double-switch, and had one pinch hitting appearance...and, presumably, caught up on his summer reading.

I realize he didn't exactly get off to a blazing start to his major league career. But two token appearances in a week is ridiculous. Have they lost all confidence in him already? If so, why not send him back down?

I'm reluctant to hold up the Washington Gnats as any kind of an example of a well-run franchise, but as far as rebuilding goes, they at least have some sort of clue:

Late Thursday, the Nationals gave infielder Felipe Lopez and catchers Paul Lo Duca and Johnny Estrada their unconditional releases.

They're bringing up 23-year-old 2B Emilio Bonifacio, who they got from the D-Backs for veteran Jon Rauch last week. Lo Duca was a $5M disappointment and that goes on Bowden's head also.

"We are going to turn the page. We are going to get younger the last two months of the season and we are going to continue to develop young players," general manager Jim Bowden said.

Sounds just like a Sabean statement, doesn't it? Except for the fact that they actually did something instead of just saying it.

Maybe the Giants shouldn't DFA Vizquel, out of respect for a future Hall of Famer. Maybe Aurilia can still be traded for scraps in a post-deadline trade. But there's no conceivable reason not to DFA Roberts at the very least, as he is untradeable and serves no purpose on the roster.

 

 

So it turns out that publicity seeker M*rk Eck* is not quite as free with his money as he'd like us to think:

"The owner's previous commitment to unconditionally donate the baseball has changed to a loan. As a result, the Hall of Fame will not be able to accept the baseball," the Hall said in a statement.

Eck* claimed that voters in his online poll voted to mark the ball with an asterisk and donate it to the Hall of Fame. Not surprisingly, this was the option that offered the best long-term publicity potential for Eck* himself. But he must have decided it wasn't $750K worth.

The final word on the subject belongs to Barry:

Bonds called Ecko an "idiot" when the designer announced plans to hold the vote.

There's a long way to go in the season yet, but it's very cool to see Tim Lincecum's name atop the national league leaderboard for strikeouts. Cool and at the same time, very strange. It made me wonder, who was the last Giants pitcher to lead the league in strikeouts over a whole season?

It wasn't Jason Schmidt, whose 251 Ks in 2004 were eclipsed by Randy Johnson's 290.

It wasn't John "The Count" Montefusco. He struck out 215 in 1975, won Rookie of the Year, but was well behind Tom Seaver's 243.

Gaylord Perry's best season as a Giant, in terms of strikeouts, was 1969 when he recorded 233 Ks, but the leader that year was Fergie Jenkins with 273.

It wasn't Juan Marichal either. He struck out 248 in 1963, but Sandy Koufax struck out 306 and won the MVP that season.

In fact, as it turns out, no San Francisco Giants pitcher has ever managed this feat. The last NY Giant to do it was Bill Voiselle (who?) in 1944, against a WW2-weakened league. Last one before that was Carl Hubbell in 1937. Christy Mathewson led the league five times between 1903 and 1908.

Both Hubbell and Mathewson, of course, are Hall of Famers whose numbers have been retired by the Giants. Not that I'm saying Lincecum is a hall of famer. I'll wait at least one more season before starting that drumbeat.

In a bizarre, perhaps deadline-driven MLB story , David Biderman cites Dan Giese , recently called up by the Yankees, as proof of the Giants' strong farm system.

That would be the Dan Giese who played exactly one season in the Giants organization, at age 30, after playing eight seasons in the farm systems of Boston, San Diego and Philadelphia.

The article also comments on how Giese "has continued to show the talent he did last year in the Bay Area." For those of you who may have forgotten - I had - Giese pitched 9 1/3 innings for the Giants last September, going 0-2 with a 4.82 ERA. His peripherals were better than that indicates, but we're talking about less than 10 innings - and less than 10 so far this year with the Yankees.

Good for Giese making it back to the bigs, but I don't think the Giants can stake a claim to any success he might have.