With the upcoming series between the Giants and Dodgers about to get underway in about two hours, i cant help but think of the line; “the nail in the coffin”.   Fans of the classic video game NBA Jams will know what i mean; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LU4bFFde3k.

If the giants can deliver another sweep to the “smurfs” or even win two out of three it will be more then a death sentence to the Dodgers and they’re big spending ego.  The fact that the Dodgers went and acquired big name players in Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford (though out for the season), Hanley Ramirez, Joe Blanton (not so big name) and Shane Victorino, it only adds to insult that they are stumbling at the finish line.  I struggle to remember another team trying so hard to win in one year and taking on so much payroll.  It doesn’t hurt to mention that losing Chad Billingsly to season-ending Tommy John surgery is a big blow.  He was having a fine season and was technically their #2 arm.

After this series, the Giants really are in the clear.  They’re remaining games are all against divisional opponents and the last two weeks of September include a 10 game homestand.  After that, its just a 3 game with San Diego and a 3 at Chavez Ravine.

Though the Giants pitching has struggled as of late, we know this is the bread and butter of this team and it would be a shock if they didn’t bounce back and finish the season strong.  Plus, it doesn’t hurt that The Freak is back in line since the All-Star break; 5-4, 60.2 innings 58 k’s, 3.26 era and 1.27 whip.  We expect better of Timmy but those are still above average numbers.

You see, for all true Giant fans or baseball fans for that matter there was never really a true threat accompanying the acquisitions made by the Dodgers.  Good pitching always beats good hitting and just like in 2010, the Giants’ big arms will show up again.

In the wake of being swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Francisco Giants can no longer afford to wait around.  In a dead lock for first place, the race to the finish line has begun.  The Dodgers have been enjoying Shortstop Hanley Ramirez for about a week now but apparently that is not enough for the big spenders.

Now in, not only have the Dodgers recently acquired All-Star Center fielder Shane Victorino from Philadelphia but they also reached an agreement with Seattle and picked up veteran reliever Brandon League.  The Dodgers are also rumored to be on the verge of acquiring Ryan Dempster from Chicago.  With losing Pablo Sandoval recently due to a hamstring issue, this only adds more pressure on the Giants to go acquire a marquee bat to help this struggling offense.  Well wait no more, it looks like the deal is all but finished for the Giants to welcome another Philly All-Star; Outfielder Hunter Pence.  As of now, it looks that Nate Schierholtz and young Catcher Tommy Joseph have been included in the deal.  A pitcher may be added to Philadelphia’s haul as well.

Pence is hitting .271 on the year to go with 17 homers and 59 RBI.  Respectable but not great numbers i would say being that he has played in a hitter’s park all year.  In his defense, he had to hold down the middle of that lineup mostly by himself for some time being without Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.  As the Giant’s ballpark plays big and has been known to be a pitcher’s park, we can’t expect home runs galore with the acquisition of Pence, but nonetheless Giants fans should all be estatic.  This is a guy who is still in his prime and can 100% help the Giants down the stretch.  Anyone who has seen Pence play will have no problem liking the guy as he is a max-effort player who gives his all every play, every at-bat.

As to what will happen after this year, who knows.  The Giants could decide to try and make a push to lock him up if they like what they see the rest of this year.  Personally, i have always liked Pence and would love to see this guy stay in Orange and Black, unfortunately i said the same thing with Slugger Carlos Beltran and we all know how that worked out.  With all that being said, Brian Sabean still has All-Star Melky Cabrera to figure out.  Cabrera, now with two back to back solid years, is more then deserving of a 3-4 year contract.  So this will be something to monitor going forward and into the offseason.  For now, Giants fans kick your feet up, stay tuned and enjoy the race for the playoffs.