Kuzul

ESPN used to run a commercial featuring a young couple having cutesy time on the couch. As unsavory as that image was to a sports fan just wanting to watch game highlights, the visual turned absolutely repugnant once the camera zoomed out to reveal the guy was wearing an Ohio State sweatshirt, while the girl was sporting her Michigan threads.Just thinking about it makes you uncomfortable, right?Now imagine a Giants fan and a Dodgers fan embracing on the couch, making out and whispering sweet nothings in each other's ear. I don't know about you, but I just threw up a little in my mouth.Well, that is because the two fanbases don't get along. In fact, they downright hate each other. They hate each other's teams, their team colors, their hometowns and their regional vernacular. They even hate the air the other side breathes (with good reason, at least for Giants fans—LA ...

The San Francisco Giants have been known for their pitching for a long time. But this year, the staff has regressed a bit.All five pitchers have gone through rough patches this year, some longer than others. Even Matt Cain, he of the perfect game, 15-5 record and 2.86 ERA, has had his struggles. Madison Bumgarner has too, and Tim Lincecum has had a rough year overall.However, despite all of that, the Giants are still 10 games ahead of the second-place Dodgers in the NL West and 25 games over .500. And, their pitching rotation is still dangerous. But what would make it more dangerous?Arranging the postseason rotation the right way.Here is my blueprint for what the Giants' playoff rotation should look like.Begin Slideshow

June 13 was a perfect night for Matt Cain and the San Francisco Giants.Cain tossed the first perfect game in team history, retiring all 27 Houston Astros hitters in order and striking out 14 of them. Giants fans went ballistic when first baseman Brandon Belt caught the final out, and it marked yet another special moment in Giants history.However, there haven't been any special moments for Cain since the perfect game.When Cain threw his perfect game, he was viewed by just about everyone as the ace of the Giants' pitching staff. Tim Lincecum was struggling, and Cain, who had never received much attention, suddenly was the recipient of lots of attention.And he's still been getting lots of attention. However, it hasn't been good attention.Since throwing the 22nd perfect game in league history, Cain has struggled. He hasn't pitched into the ninth inning or shut out the opponent in his last ...

An all-star manager’s role can be described in two different ways: 1) It is the easiest job in the world—it’s impossible to make a mistake with such a surplus of talent. You can literally throw any player anywhere and things will work out.OR 2) It is the hardest job in the world—it’s impossible to squeeze so much talent into nine different spots in nine innings. While managers may want to implement a certain strategy with their starters (almost always the best players, except at third base for the NL this year), they also have to ensure that every all-star receives an ample amount of playing time. NL manager Tony La Russa was picked apart by MLB analysts before we were even able to witness John Kruk stuffing his face with Kansas City BBQ. Were Johnny Cueto and Brandon Phillips intentionally snubbed? Was R.A. Dickey the deserving starter over Matt Cain? Should a retired manager ...

Matt Cain was already armed with a wide array of pitches, but now the dude is packing a samurai sword. Things do get fairly busy when you throw a perfect game. I wouldn't know first hand, as my biggest accomplishment is the one time I didn't eat a box of thin mints, but we'll move on. Matt Cain threw a perfecto a week ago against the Houston Astros and then pitched Monday night against the L.A. Angels. Before he got started on his five innings of work and eventual 5-3 win, he needed to reap some rewards. According to Yahoo! Sports, his pitching day began by recording a spot for the night's Late Show with David Letterman, a segment entitled, "Things I Want to Achieve Now That I Have Thrown a Perfect Game."The best of the day came in the form of a samurai sword. BuzzFeed Sports tweeted this picture and assumption that a perfect game comes ...

Matt Cain, starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, will be cashing in loads of money if he hits free agency. Cain has spent his whole big league career in San Francisco and the Giants cannot let Cain hit the open market after the 2012 season. The righty could be an ace for most teams, and don't let his wins and losses fool you. After the Giants' atrocious offense in 2011, the last thing they need to do is lose pitching. If the Giants cannot sign Cain before Opening Day, they will have plenty of competition is signing the big righty. If the Giants want to be contenders for years to come, they have to sign him as soon as possible. Begin Slideshow

Picking out quality starting pitching for your fantasy baseball team can be a fickle enterprise, given how difficult it is to project how well any given MLB hurler will fare from year to year.Not to mention how few and far between aces tend to be.Now, I could easily tell you to go out and drop your auction dollars/draft picks on guys like Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Jered Weaver and James Shields, but those guys are stuck in tough divisions amidst offenses that could blast them on any given night.Instead, stick with these four guys, who should be comfortable cranking up the heat—and racking up quality starts—against weak competition this season. Justin Verlander, Detroit TigersYeah, okay, so maybe recommending that you pick up the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner and MVP isn't much of a stretch, especially since he led the majors in quality starts with 28.And sure, there's a ...

From winning the World Series in 2010 to missing the playoffs in 2011, the San Francisco Giants have experienced euphoria and crashed back to earth.The Giants are a pitching-rich, offensively depleted team. They enter 2012 with one mission in mind: to prove their championship a season ago was not a fluke. It won't be easy. Everything that seemed to go right on their path to the World Series went wrong the following season.Will Buster Posey return to form? Can Aubrey Huff find his swing? Does Tim Lincecum have another Cy Young season in the tank? Fans are eager to see if a team largely unchanged during the offseason can overcome the hardships and disappointments of 2011.Let's take a look at five major possibilities for the 2012 season.Begin Slideshow

The Winter Meetings just ended this week and as expected, Brian Cashman made zero significant moves other than bringing back their own free agents. The Yankees may be interested in Yu Darvish and Yoenis Cespedes, but as of right now, they have not made any moves.The 2011-2012 offseason was dominated by first basemen, such as Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder, but the New York Yankees already have Mark Teixeira and had no need for either of them.The Yankees need pitching to push them over the top to legitimate World Series contenders, and the 2012-2013 free agent class is full of great starting pitchers. The Yankees also have other important needs, such as right field and the left side of the infield.This class of free agents is loaded, and Brian Cashman would be smart to take advantage of this fact and go out and make at least one huge deal. Let's ...

It's like choosing which of your children is most expendable. Nobody wants to ask the question, and for sure nobody wants to answer it. However, the 2011 San Francisco Giants' offensive woes were such that many Giants fans were ready to sell their first born in exchange for a hitter. Ok, not quite, but two runs per game for long stretches will make people do crazy things.  However, management seems intent on sticking to a strict budget this winter, and the stated top priority is to lock down the pitching staff for the future. Meanwhile, the plan for improving the offense seems to be: 1) hope Buster Posey stays healthy and hits; 2) Hope Freddy Sanchez stays healthy and hits; 3) Hope Brandon Crawford learns how to hit, and 4) throw some extra pennies in the fountain at the mall. But what if there were a better solution? What if that solution ...