Results:

3-3 (76-70, 8.5 GB in NL West)

7-2 W @ SD; 6-4 W @ SD; 2-1 L vs. LAD; 3-0 L vs. LAD; 8-1 vs. LAD

Hitter of the Week:

Let’s all pause for a minute and applaud the season that Pablo Sandoval has had for the Giants. Huge offseason workout plan. Great start. Missed 6 weeks with a broken hand. Picked right back up where he left off. He has been our best hitter all year and it’s not even close (for comparison sake, and for a good-long-sad laugh, consider that Pablo’s OPS+ is what you get when add together Aaron Rowand’s and Miguel Tejada‘s). It’s beyond imagination that the Giants won a World Series without his significant involvement in the proceedings, and it’s also hard to believe he was one of the biggest, if not the biggest, question mark heading in to the season. Looking forward to watching this guy for several more years.

Pitcher of the Week:

How about Madison Bumgarner: 13.1 IP, 21 Ks!, 2 wins, 2.02 ERA, 1.05 WHIP. Nasty. On a different note, how interesting would it be if Cain, Lincecum, and MadBum all finished 12-12. That would tell you just about everything you would need to know about the 2011 Giants. Probably won’t happen but they will all be close to that. Too bad they aren’t “winners” who can figure out how “win games.” Again, I think the chance that such a thing is even possible speaks to their consistency and the utter horribleness of the offense.

Looking Ahead:

16 days left in the season. I am still looking forward to more playing time for Belt, Crawford, a couple of starts for Surkamp, and, well, that’s about it. And Pablo hitting. Most of all, I am really, really interested to see the approach this offseason. To me, this season is a fail because of the injuries, not the design. That said, there is substantial evidence that the design needs to be tweaked, and there is ample possibility for that due to all the free agents the Giants will have this winter.

Maybe the most interesting thing of all is the nearly complete benching of Torres. This leaves a huge question about the top of the order and center field (could we see jose reyes or jimmy rollins next year?). Enjoy the last days, enjoy the playoffs, but watch closely this November and December. Something interesting is on the horizon.

(-SB)