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Aaron Rowand hits game-winning single in the bottom of the 12th inning and goes 2-for-3 in Giants' 5-4 win. Looks like things have not changed much since last year. The San Francisco Giants continued their victorious but torturous ways, as a sellout crowd at AT&T Park witnessed one of the greatest, yet weirdest games baseball fans will ever see. The game featured two dramatic ninth-inning rallies with two outs and nobody on, a strike zone the size of a golf ball at one time and an SUV at another, an unlikely hero two home openers in a row, and an extra-inning dogfight where the Giants stranded a runner at third with nobody out in the bottom of the 11th inning. If you thought that was weird, the St. Louis Cardinals moved their left fielder and put five men in the infield in that ...

The Giants did not expect to start their trek to a repeat title like this. The Giants hit a road block on Thursday's opening day at Dodger Stadium, kicking the ball around in the sixth inning. Miguel Tejada botched a throw to second with a runner at first with one out, followed by a rare Posey throwing error with the bases loaded. Just nanoseconds before, Posey made a great save on a pitch by Lincecum in the dirt. The Dodgers drew first blood in the game on the error. As Posey threw the ball, the runner at third, Matt Kemp, appeared to already be back on the base. "I thought he was off the base," Posey said after the game. "I would not have thrown it if I thought he wasn't." To complicate matters further for the Giants, Clayton Kershaw was dominant for the Dodgers. In seven shutout innings of ...

The San Francisco Giants may become just a little less crowded in the outfield on Opening Day. The Giants suffered a big blow during Wednesday's spring training contest against the Los Angeles Angels, who won the game 8-0. The score and Matt Cain's atrocious start were the least of the Giants' concerns, as Cody Ross pulled up lame coming in on a line drive to right field. Ross left the game in the first inning with a strained right calf muscle. According to MLB.com, his immediate playing status remains uncertain, pending the results of an MRI Thursday, but playing on Opening Day against the Los Angeles Dodgers may be questionable. Bochy has some interesting options in filling Ross' spot. Will rookie Brandon Belt or the maligned veteran Aaron Rowand benefit from Ross' injury? Assuming Ross is unable to start the season, here is the current state of the Giants' outfield as the Giants break ...

According to Chris Haft of MLB.com, San Francisco Giants All-Star closer Brian Wilson was diagnosed with a mildly strained left oblique yesterday. Wilson believes he will be ready for Opening Day, but Martie Lurie of KNBR said on the Giants' postgame show that March 31's opener is in jeopardy for the bearded right-hander. Wilson will not throw the ball until Monday, when he will be re-evaluated. Wilson earned a major league best 48 saves last season. He reported the discomfort last Friday, the day after pitching a shutout inning against the Angels in an exhibition game. Coming into Saturday's game, Wilson pitched five innings in the preseason and gave up just one run (1.80 ERA).  My Thoughts This is a bit of a concern for me. Brian Wilson is one of the best closers in the National League, perhaps the game, and ...

The RBI (runs batted in) is a major stat in baseball, but fans and experts debate whether it is meaningful in determining a player’s offensive worth. James Loney of the Los Angeles Dodgers is a good example of the debate. In 2010, Loney batted just .261 with 10 home runs, but had 88 RBI. Were Loney’s 88 RBI an indication of a solid contribution with the stick, or were they just a product of him hitting with many ducks on the pond? Baseball experts seem to disagree, and no right or wrong answer seems to exist. Mike Petriello, a prominent Dodger blogger and creator of the blog “Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness,” says that RBI have no connection to how well a player can swing the bat, as they are too dependent on whether the batters before him reach base. “The whole point of stats is that they're supposed to show what a player did, ...

The San Francisco Giants struck out in developing major league talent for most of the 2000s, but that trend has turned around recently.Born and bred within the Giants organization, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Buster Posey are emerging as perennial superstars in the major leagues. They have demonstrated leadership and poise during baseball's biggest stage, the World Series.Many formidable predecessors donned the orange and black on day one of their professional careers. Will "The Thrill" Clark was one of them, along with many others.Posey has lived up to the hype so far, but who else in Giants history has preceded Posey? Here are the last 10 Giants' prospects who lived up to the hype. This article was featured on the blog Talking Giants Baseball.Follow me on twitter @vintalkingiantsShould the Giants have let these prospects go? Click here to vote.Questions? Comments? Feedback? E-mail my blog mailbag at vc4re@yahoo.com. Your question may be ...

Revert back to July 10, 2009. After struggling earlier in that season, Jonathan Sanchez, after being banished to the bullpen, spot started for the injured Randy Johnson.The result on that fateful night was a dazzling performance against the San Diego Padres, as he no-hit them in an 8-0 rout. Not a single walk tainted Sanchez's line.Fast forward to Oct. 23, 2010. The Giants are battling the Phillies in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series in Philadelphia, needing a big start from their left-handed hurler.Although the Giants ended up winning the clinching NLCS game, Jonathan Sanchez had a night to forget, lasting just two innings, while walking two and surrendering two runs. His night came to a close after he drilled Chase Utley on the back, leading to a Sanchez/Utley confrontation where Utley flipped the baseball back to the mound after he was hit.Such is the inconsistency of the ...

The Mannywood era of Dodger baseball came to a close in 2010. Now that the slugger has moved on from the City of Angels, the hunt is on to replace him. Dipping below 700 total runs scored in 2010 for the first time since 2005, the Dodgers need to improve their offense if they plan on climbing to the top of the National League West once again. Even with Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, they were a team that was 27th in baseball in home runs at 120 and 24th in RBI at 621. For the Dodgers to succeed in 2011, they will need some help from Ned Colletti to improve the offense. Can he lure Princewood to Los Angeles? Here are 10 potential sluggers who can make Mannywood a thing of the past at Chavez Ravine in 2011.Begin Slideshow

Spring training is nearly two months away, and the Giants have been relatively inactive on the hot stove during the offseason.With the exception of the Miguel Tejada signing, their other signings have involved bringing back components from the 2010 World Series championship season, such as Pat Burrell and Aubrey Huff.Although the free agent market has thinned now that Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth have joined other clubs, the Giants still have some viable options on available players, both in the free agent and trade markets.Here are 10 potentially available players who could guarantee October baseball on the shores of McCovey Cove again in 2011. This article was featured on the blog Talking Giants Baseball.How many games will the Giants win in 2011? Vote here.Follow me on Twitter @vintalkingiants.Begin Slideshow

Nearly two months ago, the San Francisco Giants took care of some unfinished business, their first world championship in San Francisco. Now, with spring training just two months away, the Giants have little time to prepare for next season's campaign. They brought back most of their 2010 championship team, including their pitching staff, and added Miguel Tejada to replace Juan Uribe, but is it enough?The rest of the National League has appeared to become stronger, especially with the Phillies' "Fantastic Four" starting pitching staff, but the Giants still have the tools to take home the Major League Baseball championship crown again in 2011.Here are 10 reasons why the Giants just might bring home another World Series title to the city by the bay.     This article was featured on the blog Talking Giants Baseball.How many games do you think the Giants will win next year? Click here to vote.Begin Slideshow