Thoughts about the Giants' weekend in Washington, where the nasty heat and humidity made me wonder why I would ever complain about my home turf's cool, foggy summers:
* If Barry Zito can go five innings and only give up three runs in every start, I'll take it. Sad but true. Did you see Jack Taschner's fierce quotes about Zito in today's game report? Props to The Special Agent for going all out for Zito. That's having your teammate's back. Take heed, all fans who turn on a player who falls overboard like so much bloody chum in the water:
"On the pregame show they're talking about his questionable approach. Are you serious? For a guy who's done it as long as he has and works his tail off? For a guy who's taken the abuse he's taken?"
"He comes in every day and does his work, trying to change things up. People will say he should, because he's making all that money. But it's hard when the fans, even San Francisco fans, are riding him all the time. As a teammate, when you see a guy do that (work), it feels good to leave his game intact, because when he goes out there and gets a no-decision, it doesn't help him one bit."
I don't put much stake in wins and losses, but in this case Taschner's right. A win for Zito is a big deal. It's easy to slag Zito; I try not to make it personal, and I truly want him to turn his game around, but the signs continue to be as ominous as the lightning that descended upon the new stadium right at the end of Saturday night's game.
* With the draft pick of Buster Posey, I've seen suggestions that the Giants try to trade Bengie Molina at the deadline. Right now he might be their best trading chip -- and no, Brian Sabean's stupid comment about Bengie's "clock winding down," which Bengie made clear he didn't appreciate, hasn't made him more likely to be traded. In fact, it would be a bad move. First, Posey might not sign. That would be an ugly outcome, but it's possible the sides won't agree on terms. Second, even if Posey signs, he probably won't be major-league ready til 2010 at the earliest, and who would catch in the interim? Holm, G-Rod and Notgardo? Losing Molina mid-season could blow a hole in the position for the Giants for a year and a half. Unless they're absolutely blown away by an offer, it's hard to imagine Molina leaving until at least the winter.
* Oh, by the way: Randy Winn .301 / .350 / .459 and 10 for 11 in stolen bases. Put him in center field on a team that needs an upgrade and he's suddenly quite above average. At least this year, better than Rick Ankiel, better than Reed Johnson, better than Mike Cameron, better than Chris Young. Not defensively, mind you, and I'm not suggesting the D-Backs will bench Young and trade for Winn. But a couple more weeks of this, and we can assume that several teams will start to see Winn as an attractive addition for the pennant race.
* Also sneaking up statistically is Brian Wilson, now 10th in major-league WXRL and 6th in the NL. Sixth-best reliever in the NL? You wouldn't guess it from all the heart-attack appearances he's thrown at us.
