The 2009 San Francisco Giants - Unexpected Success

by Raymond Mullan

With 14 games remaining for the San Francisco Giants before the All-Star break, they are in position to be the biggest surprise of 2009.

Before the season began, it would have been essentially impossible to find an analyst, expert, or common baseball fan who would predict the Giants would be a .500 team. Conversations of a playoff berth were nonexistent.

All of that has changed.

San Francisco has a record of 40 wins to 34 losses. They are in second place in the National League West and trail the Los Angeles Dodgers by seven games.

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San Francisco Giants' 2009 Season Already a Success

by Andrew Nuschler

That might sound a little premature.

Actually, it might sound a lot premature.

After all, the San Francisco Giants have only played 74 of the 162-game slate. They sit a mere six games over .500, and, while they're in a cluttered group of leaders hunting for the National League Wildcard, their company in contention features some intimidating teams.

The St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, and Chicago Cubs are all within hailing distance of Los Gigantes.

On paper, that doesn't bode well for our guys.

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San Francisco Giants' secret weapon

Jim Welte

THERE ARE DAYS when John Yee has more than 40,000 screaming fanatics outside his office, drinking beer and yelling constantly, seemingly all at once. There is loud music, an MC that seems amplified from the heavens, and nary a peaceful moment. For a guy crunching numbers and making complex financial projections for a multi-million dollar organization, an active construction site would be less disruptive.

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How San Francisco Became Contenders Again :Life After Barry

by chris falite

The San Francisco Giants, now without Barry, will need to find a new way to fill the seats and, in doing so, fast. Along with one of the league's worst offenses, San Fran hasn't played in October since 2003—not much of a selling point to fans. But with some exceptional homegrown talent and a few key veterans, now, in 2009, the San Francisco Giants are ready to contend again.

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UA closer leads off Day 2 of Giants Draft

One day after the Giants made their first three selections in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, they immediately selected another player initially expected to go on the first day, too. San Francisco made University of Arizona relief pitcher Jason Stoffel its fourth-round pick to start Wednesday's portion of the three-day Draft.

UA's all-time saves leader (29) had a down year last season, posting a 4.67 ERA in 54 innings pitched. But as a freshman and sophomore he closed out the Wildcats' games ahead of 2008 first-round picks Ryan Perry and Daniel Schlereth, going a combined 9-2 and collecting 18 saves in 60 appearances.

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Riverview's Gus Benusa drafted by San Francisco Giants

Riverview senior baseball standout Gus Benusa was drafted in the eighth round today by the San Francisco Giants. He was the 237th player taken overall in the three-day Major League Baseball First-year Player Draft. Read more

The San Francisco Giants' Draft: Day One Review

It’s hard, but I can forget about my newfound Matzekamania. Zack Wheeler isn’t a consolation prize – he was one of the top high school arms in the draft, and one who compared favorably to top-ten prep picks from previous drafts. When Tyler Matzek was asked about his new organization, the Rockies, he said something like, "Oh, they’re swell, but Oregon’s going to let me play first base, too." Oops, pow, surprise: You just got a glass full of negotiation in your face, Colorado.Read more

Recapping the 2009 MLB Draft's First Round

by Adam Bernacchio

Other than Bud Selig being the worst public speaker of all-time and the awkward Zack Wheeler interview where he admitted he knows nothing about the San Francisco Giants, I thought the MLB Network did a very good job of producing the 2009 MLB Draft.

Here is a recap of the first round of the 2009 MLB Draft...

1. Washington Nationals: Stephen Strasburg, RHP

If this guy doesn’t pan out, he will be the biggest bust of all time.

2. Seattle Mariners: Dustin Ackley, 1B

Ackley will play the OF for the Mariners, and in my opinion, he will be the best player in this draft.

3. San Diego Padres: Donavan Tate, OF

Super athletic. Has a full ride to UNC to play football.

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Giant Killers: Dr. Journeymen/Mr. All-Stars

The San Francisco Giants cannot be the only goliath that suffers such a frustrating curse.

If your favorite franchise falls victim to one, then you already know where I'm heading. If not (damn you) I'll explain: A Dr. Journeyman/Mr. All-Star is a phenomenon where an otherwise nondescript athlete sees the object of your affection coming and it changes him/her.

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San Francisco Giants' Pitching Analysis

by Simon Balin

Among the 102 pitchers with over 50 innings pitched, I ranked 19 guys who are ready to dramatically improve their stats. There is some correlation between throwing hard and having a high BABIP, but it’s not overwhelming.

Name: BABIP, Worst Defensive Efficiency, K/9 = Bust-Out Number

John Lester: .375 (1), 1st (1), 10.19 (4) = 6

Tim Lincecum: .359 (2), 4th (3), 11.43 (2) = 7

Manny Para: .356 (3), 2nd (2), 8.01 (12) = 17

Aaron Harang: .341 (8), 6th (5), 8.00 (13) = 26

Gil Meche: .344 (6), 5th (4), 6.93 (17) = 27

Javier Vasquez, .333 (13), 14th (11), 11.00 (3) = 27

Justin Verlander: .331 (15), 15th (12), 11.68 (1) = 28

Cliff Lee: .353 (5), 8th (6), 6.57 (18) = 29

Carl Pavano, .342 (7), 9th (7), 7.14 (16) = 30

Jorge De La Rosa: .336 (11), 17th (14), 9.38 (5) = 30

Kevin Slowey: .354 (4), 11th (8), 6.49 (19) = 31

John Danks: .333 (13), 12th (9), 8.28 (9) = 31

Felix Hernandez: .328 (17), 13th (10), 9.08 (7) = 34

Randy Johnson: .336 (11), 25th (19), 9.35 (6) = 36

Joe Blanton: .331 (15), 16th (13), 8.18 (11) = 39

Francisco Liriano: .341(8), 20th (16), 7.67 (15) = 39

Ubaldo Jiminez: .341 (8), 23rd (17), 7.81 (14) = 39

Josh Beckett: .322 (19), 18th (15), 8.47 (8) = 44

Wandy Rodriguez: .328 (17), 24th (18), 8.25 (10) = 45

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Tucson Toros Sell Contract of RHP Andrew Romo to the San Francisco Giants

The Golden Baseball League announced today that the Tucson Toros have sold the contract of RHP Andrew Romo to the San Francisco Giants. The hard-throwing righty from Brawley, CA had an outstanding 3 inning appearance for Tucson in his first appearance of the 2009 season after coming over from the Yuma Scorpions and was immediately acquired by the Giants.

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10-Game Road Trip Could Reveal a Lot about the San Francisco Giants

by Danny Penza

The last time the San Francisco Giants racked up some frequent flyer miles it resulted in one of the worst and most frustrating road trips in recent history.

The Giants went 1-5 along the West Coast swing that took them to San Diego and Seattle and in the process, they scored two runs or less in four of the six games.

After the dismal six-game showing, I didn't have any kind words to say, and rightfully so. Any observer of this team would have written, maybe not with the same kind of tone as yours truly, but it certainly was not a time to be optimistic.

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San Francisco Rotation to Provide a Giant Task

By Chico Harlan

In consecutive nights at Nationals Park, the visiting San Francisco Giants will deploy, as their starting pitchers, the reigning Cy Young winner, one of the most dominant left-handed power pitchers of all time, and a 24-year-old who's having a better season than either of them.

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