The G-Men did almost nothing over the All-Star break. Ohtani is still an Angel and Judge is still a Yankee.  Frankly, not much happened in terms of major trades this year.  The Giants are standing pat with the talent they have, which isn’t too shabby. There were no big bats available and the pitchers that were available (such as Justin Verlander) weren’t as attractive as the talent the Giants have stocked at Sacramento, especially Kyle Harrison, currently tearing it up for the River Cats with 94 K’s to date and due up in September for sure, and maybe in August depending on what happens in the next two series against the Rangers and the Rays. 

The All-Star break (where Camilo got the MVP – well deserved) was needed. The G-Men are playing the Nationals today at the end of an 11-game road trip (including a next Monday Road game make-up against Detroit) that started with a sweep of the Pirates and a 4-game series split (2 and 2) against the Reds.  Today we are 2 games behind the LA Team (you know who they are) for the lead in the NL West and tied with the Snakes.  If the Playoffs started today, the G-Men would be in.  Now the challenge is to continue the pace and play at the level they are playing at now for the month of August. The Giants are for real, and this feels like 2010 all over again. 

The G-Men have been on a roll for the last month and, at 10 games over .500, are 2 games out of the lead in the NL West (behind the Snakes).  This is a far cry from where the boys were 6 weeks ago.  The reasons are many but the most obvious has been the infusion of youth from the farm system. Casey Schmitt, Patrick Bailey, and Luis Matos have been especially impressive both offensively and defensively.  They are doing an excellent job supplementing (and pushing) existing talent (Yaz, Conforto, JD Davis, Pederson, Crawford, Wade, Estrada, and Slater are all having great years) and that bodes well for the rest of the season.

This post is coming to you from Oklahoma City where the Czar is finishing a meeting with the nation’s alcohol regulators and chomping at the bit to come home and see the G-Men.  The conference organizers forced us all to go to an OKC Dodgers game (the AAA team for the dreaded team from LA). That was painful but I hope the pain will be alleviated by a successful sojourn later this week in LA before the Giants come home to face the Padres and the Snakes.  There is nothing boring about the new look Giants kids.

The G-Men are now in 3rd Place in the NL West, one game below .500 and climbing fast in the NL West standings. The road trip included taking series on the road from the Phillies, Marlins, and Twins before coming home next week for series against the Pirates and the Orioles. Today the Giants face the first-place Brewers at home in what looks like a bullpen game.  This weekend is another test against a really good team that will be here in late June.