This has nothing to do with the game but I just read that Dreamworks have announced a sequel to Kung Fu Panda - Kung Fu Panda and The Kaboom Of Doom. Is it just me or doesn't The Kaboom of Doom absolutely rule as an extra nickname for the Panda, especially when talking about any homers he hits.

Does ANYBODY have enough starting pitching depth? Cuban defector anybody?

I agree with O. "Enough starting pitching" is when you have 4 more guys like Lincecum and Cain and are worried about getting enough work for them. Having said that, I think the Giants have been past masters at bringing up spot starters who are good enough for long enough to get them through. Remember, the only thing to fear is panic (and Brian Sabean going off the deep end and doing something weird).

Zito looks fine to me. His peripherals are just as good as earlier in the season -- maybe better, as he's getting more strikeouts.

The unfortunate flip side of that is that he really isn't much better this year than last. His FIP is right where it always is, in the mid to high 4's.

The whole year the Giants staff has been overrated. Lincecum and Cain are pitching great but behind them we are mediocre at best. Johnson (4.70) and Zito (4.82) are 39th and 41st repectively out of 52 pitchers eligible for the ESPN stat rankings by ERA. Jonathan Sanchez hasn't even thrown enough innings to be rated but would rank 47th. That's not exactly a dominant rotation.

Sure, it is unlikely any other team in MLB has a better shot of winning in the 1st and 3rd spots of the roatation cumulatively, however that's not enough to say this is a great rotation. A lot of credit actually needs to go to the bullpen for the Giants having the second best ERA in National League.

I think we have such a good bullpen that it could overcome Randy and Zito not having great second halfs. I would still like to give Pedro Martinez an audition. If Sadowski is not the solution, I would also give Pucetas a shot. We have a lot of flexibility in the pen if the guys dont hold up, I am talking to you Bob Howry. Martinez will hopefully be throwing soon....

Zito has pitched much better than his overall stats indicate this entire season. Obviously his W-L record is deceiving since he has received no run-support. Even his ERA is inflated because he was frequently left in too long in his early season starts and either he (or the relief help) would let in a few runs at the tail end of a stellar pitching performance. He also has been victimized by poor defense on numerous occasions this season... the sort of misplays that are not "errors" in the boxscore but are errors in every other way. I think Zito has been excellent this season, not to a degree which might justify his fat contract, but still a valuable contributor who has given the Giants the opportunity to win in almost every start.

They don't have enough depth, except that with the way Sadowski is pitching, maybe they do.

Zito is going to get hit around sometimes. It's like Big Daddy once was, he would be good most times, but there will always be games you tip the hat to the other team. The more important thing to focus on is that he's striking out a lot of guys. The baseball gods will even things out later, so as long as he can keep it going, I think his 2nd half will be classic Zito dominance.

Give the Giants a break. Wellemeyer, yes, lousy pitcher most times, but even they have good games sometimes. Same team that broke out for 6 runs against Carpenter, who had been lights out good for EVERY game (or seemingly so) until now. That is more significant, I think, bodes well for the rest of the season, I think.

Excuses. Anyone that says someone is pitching better than their stats show at the half-way point of the year is just making excuses.

A few starts can qualify as a small sample size to take a pitcher off the hook for a high ERA but not half of a season. Once you're 15-18 starts deep into the year it has evened out. There are plenty of times that any pitcher has gotten plenty of breaks go his way as well by the time we're in July.

And here's Randy today, keeping up with his 5.00 ERA pace. Zito is right behind. Love the Giants but very overrated staff. We're two-deep and that's that. A killer combo for the playoffs if we make it but not a truly deep staff.