Reasons I like Coors Field - Giants HRs In Abundance Reasons to Hate Coors Field - Mike Hampton hitting 7 HRs in 2001 I don't complain on days like today when good pitching quiets really hot bats in a hot yard, but really Timmy has it right. Also, is there a chance that Tulo ever plays anywhere else? Do you think Helton has let him in on the news that you can make a career living 5,280 feet above sea level. MontrealGfan - This talk of figuring out a rotation is like planning what you are going to do with a present before you receive it. Your 4 man rotation is nice but they need to get to the second round to even think about that. 3 man rotations in the first round. Playoffs first, then Shhhhh! (NLDS)......then hmmmm I can't even speak of it here.

Whining about the umps is probably ok. If you carefully watch most games, the umpires simply make too many mistakes. Strikezone mistakes in a close game can be totally brutal. Giants behind 2-1, Aubrey Huff leads off the ninth. The count is 3-1, and the pitch is very low around his ankles. Should be ball 4, a leadoff walk, with Ford lurking on the bench to pinch run and steal a base or two. But the ump calls the obvious ball 4, a strike and the count is 3-2. The next pitch is also low, one Huff normally would not swing at, but he swings and strikes out. Even in the AB in the 10-9 loss that Tulo had, a pitch or two called balls looked way better than the strike thrown to Huff in two separate games. Also the 4 pitch walk to Fowler was suspect. Where were those pitches? It wasn't that little imp of a second baseman on the Padres in the batter's box. Anyway, you guys hate the whining so, on the bright side. I thought in the 13-0 giants win, vs. the Cubs, we finally had the umpiring edge. Seems as if Dempster was getting royally squeezed, and the giants took full advantage of it. If the pitch wasn't essentially right down the middle, belt high, it was a ball. Giants either took the walk or waited for Dempster to come in to the ridiculously small K zone. But in my close observations this year. it has not evened out. The giants have been the distaff side of too many calls this year. The fact that each umpire seems to have his own K zone makes the calling of balls and strikes a bit suspect. One can envision a team setting up their rotation, based on the umpires strike zone idiosyncracies.

At least they won't be juicing balls like they may have been for the past few years. Saying that their integrity, in this game of baseball, would preclude them from slipping in some juiced balls is so nonsensical it's a joke.

Today was a good day. /Ice Cube

Posted this earlier, but figured i would repost it here... Question to ponder: If the pitching holds up, and the offence continues to provide just enough who do we use for a 4 man rotation in October? 1) Lincecum and Cain: No argument they will be one of the 4 2) Zito: Well he has experience on his side, something that none of our other starters have, and he wont be intimidated by the big stage. However he just hasn’t been able to win games consistently. 3) Sanchez: His arm is unquestionably electric, however I do worry that the big stage may intimidate him and instead of being effectively wild, he could just be wild. This is October and we cant throw away any games. I also would worry about damaging his confidence going forward if hes not in the rotation. 4) Bumgarner: The kid has been awesome down the stretch. As Chris pointed out a few posts ago this is the most innings that Bumgarner has pitched in his career and who knows how his arm will respond in the future. I dont want a Mark Prior or Kerry Wood on our hands. Rotation I would go with: Lincecum, Cain, Zito, Sanchez. I think we dont have much of a choice but to go with those 4. Bumgarner can still be a very important arm out of the pen. If Zito or Sanchez falter early in a game they can put Madison in to eat some important innings. Lets hope the pitching and offence hold up this last week! This problem of who to start in a 4 man rotation is indeed a luxury.