A few notes:
-- Aubrey Huff broke one of the longest homerless streaks in history with that ninth-inning home run off of Heath Bell. No, it wasn't Huff's homerless streak; it was Bell's. Bell hadn't allowed a homer in nearly fifteen months. Incredible. Huff's been a slightly better second-half hitter over his career (though that's partially BABIP-fueled). I think it's safe to say he won't continue to be as bad as he was in the first half, but here's hoping to a legitimately good second half. If he matches that career .293/.354/.497 second-half line, I'll be thrilled.
| Split | PA | tOPS+ | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Half | 3569 | .269 | .332 | .446 | .778 | .282 | 92 |
| 2nd Half | 2912 | .293 | .354 | .497 | .852 | .303 | 110 |
-- Pablo Sandoval extended his hitting streak to 22 games. He seems to have reverted to his earlier hacking tendencies, with just four walks spanning his last 101 plate appearances, and you know what? I don't care. It's working. He's not going to maintain a .350 batting average on balls in play, so he's clearly benefiting from some luck in that respect. But he's not going to maintain a sub-3% walk rate, either. Nice to see a resurgent panda, even if it's not an OBPanda.
-- If the Giants don't trade for Carlos Beltran, here's a radical idea: Designate Aaron Rowand for assignment and call up Brandon Belt. Aaron Rowand has few useful skills, namely his ability to play center, and his ability to hit left-handed pitching. With Pat Burrell and Cody Ross, the Giants have no shortage of guys that can hit LHPs; and with Andres Torres, Cody Ross and Nate Schierholtz (yes, Schierholtz, if need be), they have no shortage of guys that can play centerfield. His contract isn't a reason to keep him around. Sunk. cost. Play Pat Burrell and Cody Ross against left-handed pitchers; play Brandon Belt and Andres Torres against right-handed pitching.
-- Eli Whiteside had a nice little game, only the second three-hit game of his career. In case you haven't noticed, Eli Whiteside's had himself a little hot streak going. Since June 8 (entering tonight's game): .296/.367/.519...I'm becoming more convinced by the day that the Giants won't make a move for a catcher.
