Kuzul

The San Francisco Giants are still in the playoff chase, even after Monday’s mind-bending loss. Really, could the gem that Jonathan Sanchez pitched have been wasted any more painfully that it was against Colorado in the series opener? Could an apparently inspiring win have been lost any more quickly? The Colorado lead-off hitter reached in the ninth before a misplayed fly ball led to a freaky bounce on an accurate throw to third. The Giants 1-0 edge became a 2-1 Rockies win in an instant. Moving forward, the Giants do have reason to give great thought to the pending September call-ups. They are in position where they should ponder dropping a player from the 40-man roster to make room for a relief pitcher, or maybe a starter, who can help in the final month. Players already on the 40-man roster who, most obviously, figure to be recalled are relief pitcher ...

The San Francisco Giants appear to be making a serious run at the playoffs, especially in the NL Wild Card race.With Sept. 1 just a few days away, here are five September call-ups who could push the Giants over the edge, securing them a spot in the postseason.  Begin Slideshow

Eugenio Velez is "doing OK," according to the San Francisco Giants medical staff after he was hit in the head by a foul line drive off the bat of Pat Burrell on Saturday night in Arizona. The 28-year-old utilityman went through tests at a Phoenix hospital where he spent the night. The Giants finish a four-game series in Arizona on Sunday. Reports indicate that Velez suffered a concussion. Manager Bruce Bochy confirmed after the game that the player did not suffer a fractured skull and that he, initially, "wasn't really responsive." The incident and attempts to follow up on the condition of the fallen player have shown exactly how ill-equipped members of the sports media in the ball park are to actually track down information not directly related to the game. When Velez was hit and knocked down by Burrell's scorching liner into the dugout, the Giants TV team of Duane Kuiper and Mike ...

The San Francisco Giants put left fielder Mark DeRosa on the 15-day disabled list on Monday, and recalled utility man Eugenio Velez from Fresno in the Pacific Coast League. Meanwhile, former National League batting champion Freddy Sanchez is continuing his injury rehabilitation assignment in the minor leagues with the Triple-A Grizzlies. Fresno played a doubleheader in Oklahoma City on Monday night. DeRosa's DL stint was made retroactive to May 9, as he has nerve inflammation in his left wrist. He underwent wrist surgery in 2009, and, apparently, the surgery failed to fix the ailment. DeRosa is hoping to bounce back sufficiently to play through this season, and have wrist surgery in the offseason.  Velez was batting .186 following an 0-for-17 slide, when he was demoted on May 7. He hit .292 in six games with Fresno. He had one extra-base hit, a double, and one RBI. The Giants did consider calling on Sanchez to ...

Enough with watching these Giants snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and having to listen to some knucklehead impersonate a first-grade teacher and say, "There's no reason to panic. It's still early in the season." Oh, we'll hang with the Giants through all 162 games. It's the folks who think anything short of accepting every loss gracefully is actually a show of pure panic. Some of us realize that the 2010 Giants could have put some distance between themselves and their NL West foes by now. We don't look at the record they have and say, "Boy, that's better than we expected!" We look at the record and think about the games the Giants gave away and we fume. We don't panic. We know it's a long season. We just know how important it is to take full advantage of Tim Lincecum's magic or the inexplicable games where Nate Schierholtz goes 5-for-5. (Or, of ...