If you read my last post, you know I predicted that the Dodgers would lose last night. Madison Bumgarner just seemed better and proved it last night. The Dodgers had two chances to change it near the end, but they couldn’t come through.

I was hoping Mr. Clutch Andre Ethier would hit a grand slam…but alas, I guess that only works in the bottom of the ninth for him.

Also, again in the ninth, I knew that unless Andre Ethier hit a homerun to tie it, that Casey Blake probably wasn’t going to get it done. I like Casey a lot, but he is way streaky and he definitely isn’t in a streak right now.  Andre Ethier walked, Casey Blake struck out and the game was over.

The one bright spot I noticed last night was Matt Kemp. I have a hunch he is going to turn things around and the fact that he had 3 singles really said something. Similarly on the Giants side, Pablo Sandoval finally seems to have found his swing back. Both of those players should be fun to watch for the next 2 games.

Tonight Tim Lincecum versus Clayton Kershaw.  I’m not holding my breath for the Dodgers, but it should be a good pitchers match up.  It will most likely come down to the bullpen, so here’s hoping it doesn’t come down to George Sherrill.  I found it ironic for him that he battled at the end and got the out, but he still gave up an early walk that came around to score.  If he does pull this season out, give full credit to Joe Torre to sticking with him.  He definitely has been a different guy than last year.

Anybody seen Manny lately?  Yeah, me neither.  I wondered if he would put something together this summer since this is a contract year for him…but injuries just keep getting him.  The Dodgers definitely have lost money on him at this point.

Go Blue.

Casey Blake - Jed Jacobsohn - Getty Images

Ahh, the Dodgers. How I do love thee, especially when you beat the Giants and I drive to work hearing the local talk shows whine and cry about how bad the Giants are. It is a beautiful day, no matter what the weather, one full of hope and joy, and great bragging….

Man I love living up here when the Dodgers beat the Giants. It’s hard to sum it up in words. I listened to the Murph and Mack show today, which I have come to really enjoy because they talk good baseball. Today, they were lamenting the loss last night…lamenting a lot. Got to love Manny being involved and then my boy Casey Blake hitting the homerun. Talk about Giant killers. Those guys just seem to come alive against the Giants.

The talk radio shows had quite the comments today. There was a Dodger fan who pointed out that the Giants just can’t beat a very flawed Dodger team. The Dodgers sat four of their starters and still came away with the win.

There was another fan who pointed out that ever since Renteria came back from the DL, that the Giants haven’t played as well. There is many a Giants fan who feels that Rowand, Renteria and Molina should all sit now and let the young guys get it done. It is too bad to see Molina not doing well. I respect a longtime Dodger killer, but he just doesn’t have it these days.

Also, there is great trepidation regarding Pablo Sandoval. He was the Giant Panda killer last year, but this year, he’s just another meal at Panda Express. People are eating him for lunch and he just seems to have lost his groove.

The best part of last night was the Dodgers bouncing back from the Yankees defeat. The Dodgers are now 19 and 5 against the National League West and seem to thrive against these teams.

We’ll see tonight as Cain may stop them cold, but one up is the way to start.

I’ve decided that when watching the Dodgers/Giants that you might as well wait until the 7th inning to really park yourself and watch the game. It doesn’t matter what day, whose pitching, or even the lineup, the score is usually close or tied until the 7th, and then the game is won. As long as the Dodgers do win it after the 7th (like last night), I don’t have any problems with the strategy. Go Blue.

Juan Uribe - Frederic Larson - SF Chronicle

Did you hear the big news last week? The Giants signed Mark DeRosa and Juan Uribe!!!! Thrilling, right?

Yeah – well it’s not like the Dodgers signed any one during that time, so at least the Giants have something to talk about.

I talked to a Giants fan and the verdict is out among fans regarding Mark DeRosa. He’s a solid player, no doubt. The issue is that he definitely isn’t the bat that they need. It doesn’t seem like he would hurt them…how much he will help isn’t clear.

Then yesterday the Giants announced that they “re-hired” Juan Uribe. This is a pickup Dodger fans should note. He’s not an everyday player, but a great player off the bench who can definitely hit home runs.  He hit .340 against the Dodgers last year and generally won the hearts of fans up here because of his clutch hitting.

Early in the year the talk shows wondered if they could really chant “URRRRIIIBBBBEEE” because of his second cousin, Jose Uribe back in the late 80’s. He truly changed that by being clutch and now people love him. It was a good pickup for the Giants and he’ll be a big help to them.

Now as one fan put it…the Giants have all their positions filled…they just still need a bat and a catcher. Here’s hoping they have another Pablo Sandoval in the minors who can hit. Apparently Angel Villalona can hit…he just has to get out of jail and the Dominican Republic first. I guess he is out of jail now…but he doesn’t have a Visa yet. Yeah – issues.

A moment of silence as Randy Johnson retired this week.  He was fun to watch going after the record this last year, even though all the talk shows often talk of his prickly personality.  I’ll still never forget him getting lit up at Dodger Stadium on opening day last year.  Same day Orlando Hudson hit for the cycle.

Good article here on all the Giants moves this off-season.  Apparently they’ve spent most of their money, and now hope for a bat.  Here’s hoping they can’t really find one.

What do you think?  Good moves to pick up DeRosa and Uribe? 

Matt Cain - AP - Ben Margot

With the All-Star Game this week, there isn’t a lot to report specific to the Giants.  Tim Lincecum started the All-Star game and was roughed up.  Having said that, there was a little buzz at the end of the week as the Giants played the Pirates.  “Played” is the key word.  I should better say “lost” to the Pirates.  They lost in extra innings, and then got beat again yesterday.  The “concern” has been the sudden loss of the Giants offense against a last place team.  Before the All-Star game their offense seemed to be in high gear.  Aaron Rowand was leading off, Pablo Sandoval was hitting third and hitting jacks, and Edgar Renteria was hitting 5 or 6 and starting to get back to form.  They were doing so well that they were in the top wild card spot and their was rumors of extending the deals of Brian Sabean the GM and Bruce Bochy the manager.

Now after the All-Star game and the loss of the offense, there’s the silence of hoping it is just an anomoly, rather than a real trend.  The truth is everyone’s guess, so we’ll see.  Matt Cain goes today, to try and take one win in the series.

Most Giants fans I talk to don’t think they will make any major moves before the trade deadline.  Apparently the new owner wants to build for the future and everyone knows this team has already exceeded expectations.  Even more, they will have more money at the end of this year, so they can wait.  I still don’t think the Giants have enough to get deep into the playoffs, but maybe that isn’t the goal.  Even just to make the playoffs excites the fans.  Until next week…

Jonathan Sanchez - Ben Margot - AP

So the big news this week was the no-hitter by Jonathan Sanchez. Honestly I think Giants fans were as surprised about this one as the rest of baseball. He had a lot of promise last year, but this year, he just hasn’t had it. There was a lot of talk about trading him for a bat, but his record was so bad that no one thought there would be a taker.

He threw a no-hitter when he wasn’t even supposed to start. He had a 2-8 record with a 5.30 ERA, and had recently been demoted to the bullpen because he was throwing so bad. He only got to pitch because Randy Johnson got injured so they needed someone to jump in there.

Honestly, I’m glad for the guy. It truly has been a rough season for him, so to join the no hitter club is truly something special. Who knows how his next game will be, but he at least got this one. I thought it was interesting that his last pitch to win the game and strike out the batter, was really questionable. It looked pretty outside, but it was close enough. I wonder if as an umpire you start to pull for the pitcher too. You know it’s probably a little off, but it’s close, and you think, “This guy has pitched well enough to get the no-hitter, I’m going to give it to him.” We’ll never know, but it’s all good if that’s what happened. Baseball has always been a game of inches.

The other thing notable this week was that the Giants had the second best record in the National League, second only to the Dodgers. The Giants are exceeding all expectations and are proving that they are a real possibility for the wild card. The Dodgers better hold strong because if they slip for a few games, while the Giants win, this could be a very different race near the end. Popular opinion still thinks that the Giants need a bat (which I agree with), but their pitching has kept them in the race and they are a solid team. They’re new kid Pablo Sandoval is a real reason why they are still going strong.

This week – the All-Star game and the Homerun Derby. After seeing the Homerun Derby two years ago in San Francisco, the game will always be special to me.  I’m pulling for Albert Pujols.