The Giants need to be creative

This Thursday Jonathan Sanchez pitched 8 innings, let up 3 hits and 1 run against the first place Padres.

The result?

LOSS.

The Padres came into San Francisco with a mere 1/2 game lead.

They left with a 3 1/2 game lead. The Giants scored a grand total of 4 runs in the whole series.

And Tim Lincecum was lucky to get a win out of the bullpen yesterday.

I know the Giants have climbed back to 1 1/2 games behind the Padres, but there’s still stuff that needs to be done. The Giants need to shake some things up without blowing up everything.

I already talked about how they need another bat and a bullpen arm.

But let me throw a few more specific suggestions at the Giants.

1) Give Jermaine Dye a shot.

This idea is already being kicked around and it is all reward and no risk.
It wasn’t that long ago that Dye was an All Star and an MVP contender.

Now all he has to do is outhit Mark DeRosa.

And if it doesn’t work, it didn’t cost the Giants any players.

2) And while you are at it, give Pat Burrell a shot.

Pat Burrell was dumped by Tampa and could be done. But then again, a player as talented as Burrell might be could get a jolt of incentive to show up his old employer.

Besides, he’s only a couple of years removed from being a 30 homer guy.

And if it doesn’t work, who cares? Tampa is paying the bills.

3) Just recall Buster Posey already!

It is insane that he is still in Fresno. The Giants have no offensive attack and they have a phenom batting .349 and a .999 OPS in AAA.

Look, he can hit. Why not see if he can hit big league pitching?

Oh yeah, he’s working on his catching skills. Fine, stick him in the outfield or at first and have Bengie Molina take him under his wing. I am going to go out on a limb and say Bengie knows a thing or two about catching and could teach Buster… all the while the Giants, and not the Fresno Grizzlies, benefit from his swing.

4) While you are at it, recall Eric Hacker.

The guy is putting up terrific numbers in Fresno and yet at age 27 he’s a little too old to be a prospect.

Why not throw him in the bullpen and see if he can get big leaguers out an inning at a time.

5) Make Madison Bumgarner the lefty out of the bullpen

Along with Posey, Bumgarner is the Giants top prospect. But he should be helping the parent club instead of toiling in Fresno.

Now Bumgarner is only 20 years old, so no doubt the Giants are going to baby his arm.

Well why not cut down his innings while facing lineups that don’t know him yet? Lots of pitchers were broken in during the rookie year as relievers. before making the transition back to the rotation the next year. Jim Palmer, Jimmy Key, Orel Hershiser, Mark Buehrle, Adam Wainwright and Pedro Martinez all cut their teeth as relievers.

Bumgarner would love to have any of their careers (and so would the Giants!)

6) Consider trading top prospect Zack Wheeler for offense

I know you can never have enough pitching… but I think the 2010 Giants are in a unique position.

They have tons of solid young arms and they need a bat more than anything. And teams in the trade market looking for prospects want pitching more than anything.

I think the Giants can afford to part with a top pitching prospect if it means it can bring an impact bat to AT&T Park.

The Giants could sacrifice Dan Runzler, who looked good in early call ups. 23 year old Waldis Joaquin could also get some attention. But I thought dangling young Zack Wheeler could get the most back. The #6 pick in last year’s draft was one of the top high school arms and has a big upside. And yeah, parting with a talent like that could bite the Giants in the behind a la John Smoltz with the Tigers.

But this could be one of those perfect storm years where the West AND the National League are both winnable and a pennant could be won. Sometimes a big prospect needs to be sacrificed to make the final push (think of the Red Sox parting with Hanley Ramirez and others to get Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell… they let go on a future MVP but won a World Series.)

Nothing I just wrote is outrageous and nothing involves tearing apart the rotation as it currently is set up.

Giants fans have waited 52 years for a World Series title.
This is a time to go for it.

I can’t figure out which was stupider about this loss…

The Red Sox squandered a 6-1 lead…

That was pretty stupid.

The Red Sox letting the Tigers tie the game so quickly in the 8th… That was pretty stupid.

The Red Sox wasting a 7 inning, 4 hit, 10 strikeout performance by Lester…

That was pretty stupid.

The Red Sox leaving men on base in extra innings…

That was pretty stupid.

But what in the name of Harry Frazee could be stupider than losing the game on a 2 out bases loaded walk? Seriously!

There are two outs! LOB IT DOWN THE HEART OF THE PLATE! What’s the worst thing that can happen? A walk off grand slam?
OK, fine. Those happen.

But we are talking about Ramon Santiago here! He could pop it up. He could ground out. Hell, Van Every could have made a diving catch.

There are so many ways that inning could have ended differently… provided you THROW A STRIKE!!!!

So stupid.

Let’s update the tally.

DODGED A BULLET GAMES – 14

April 4 – 9-7 win against Yankees (On Opening Night, the Red Sox overcome a 5-1 Yankee lead with a game tying HR by Pedroia and a go ahead passed ball.)
April 10 – 8-3 win against Kansas City (Beckett out pitches Zack Greinke and nearly gets decapitated by a line drive.)
April 14 – 6-3 win in Minnesota. (Okajima gets Morneau to pop up with the bases loaded in the 7th and Papelbon wiggled out of a 9th inning jam.)
April 20 – 7-6 win against Texas. (Darnell McDonald introduces himself to Boston with an 8th inning game tying homer and a walk off hit in the 9th.)
April 21 – 8-7 win against Texas. (The Red Sox were down 4-0 early only to win it on Youk’s 2 out 11th inning double.)
April 23 – 4-3 win against Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 3-0 lead but win it on Adrian Beltre’s bases loaded walk.)

April 24 – 7-6 win against Baltimore. (The Red Sox score 6 in the 7th and hold off a late Baltimore comeback attempt.)
April 26 – 13-12 win at Toronto. (The Sox blow an early 5-0 lead but hang on for dear life in a slugfest.)
April 27 – 2-1 win at Toronto. (Buchholz holds the Jays down for 8 but it takes a bases loaded walk in the 8th to go ahead.)
April 28 – 2-0 win at Toronto. (Daniel Bard wiggles out of trouble in the 8th to help Lester shut down the Blue Jays and finish the sweep.)
May 4 – 5-1 win against the Angels. (Juan Rivera misplays Jeremy Hermedia’s 2 out flyball into a 3 run game winning double)
May 5 – 3-1 win against the Angels. (Papi and Beltre homer and the Sox hang on despite squandering many potential rallies.)
May 6 – 11-6 win against the Angels. (Dice-K puts the Red Sox in a 4-0 hole before they even bat. The Sox bats respond.)
May 10 – 7-6 win against the Blue Jays. (Sox blow an early 2-0 lead, take advantage of some errors and hang on.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES – 11

April 6 – 6-4 loss against the Yankees. (Scutaro’s error leads to the winning run.)
April 7 – 3-1 loss against the Yankees. (Sox leave the winning run on in the 9th only to lose on Granderson’s 10th inning homer)
April 9 – 4-3 loss in Kansas City. (Bard coughs up the lead, denying Wakefield a win.)
April 17 – 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Sox can’t score with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 11th… lost it in the 12th.)
April 17 – 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Red Sox comeback falls a run short, leaving two on in the 8th)
April 25 – 7-6 loss to Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 4-1 lead, leave the winning run on second in the 9th, let up 3 in the 10th and could only score 2 in the bottom of the 10th)
April 30 – 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (Tejada ties the game with a 2 out 8th inning homer and wins it with a bloop in the 10th)
May 1 – 12-9 loss in Baltimore. (Dice-K and Wakes get pounded, wasting 2 homers from Ortiz and an early 4-1 lead.)
May 2 – 3-2 loss in Baltimore. (Varitek is thrown at home trying to score with 2 outs in the 8th. Sox get swept in the 10th.
May 12 – 3-2 loss against the Blue Jays. (The Sox rally in the 9th comes up a run short and Kevin Gregg gets an ugly save.)
May 15 – 7-6 loss in Detroit. (The Sox blow a 6-1 lead and lose it on a 2 out bases loaded walk in the 12th.)

+3

Let’s see a win tomorrow… I don’t want to head into the Bronx on a losing streak!