Many of my friends have no

idea how the Giants keep

winning. Some tell me

“…they are playing weak

teams…” or …”they’re a lucky

team…”

Well, recently they beat the

Cardinals 3 of 4 in St Louis.

The Cards are the only team

in baseball that have 4 guys

that could drive in 100 or more

runs this season.

By Amaury Pi-González

Click below and I’ll explain why.The most recent trip for the

San Francisco Giants. They

won 3 of 4 in St Louis and

2 of 3 in San Diego.

A 5-2 roadtrip coming home

for 2 games against those

same Cardinals and then

leaving for 2 in Denver

and 2 in Phoenix prior

to All Star break.

In my opinion here are some

of the reasons why the Giants

have the lead over Arizona

and Los Angeles.

-Barry Bonds

-Jason Schmidt

-Tim Worell

-Marquis Grisoon

Those four above have been

the glue that has kept the

Giants together in first place.

-Bonds who won his first

batting crown in 2002

when he hit .370 (and .380

against lefthanded pitchers)

is having another great season.

Recently founded the

500-500 club, he is the

“exclusive”member of that

club of power and speed

rarely found in this game.

-Jason Schimdt has been the

best pitcher in the National

League this first half. A season

when they really needed him

since this rotation is abundant

with inexperience in the likes

of Fopert,Williams and the

injured Kurt Ainsworth.

-Tim Worell. Did anybody

expected him to have over

20 saves prior to the

All Star break? Don’t think

so. Many predicted the Giants

were toast when they lost

star closer Rob Nen for the

rest of the season. Worell

is not going to the All Star

game but he has just about

the same numbers as

(original Giant and now

Athletics Keith Foulke)who

is going to the All Star Game.

-Marquis Grisson, average

wise the most consistent

hitter with the Giants during

this first half. A very good

veteran centerfielder and

very productive hitter that

can hit just about any place

in the lineup. For a while

he was the lead off hitter.

Then there is Felipe Alou,

while many fans thought that

he was going to “burn-up”

some of his young arms,

Felipe have demostrated

once again his style of

managing by giving everybody

a shot and keeping this boat

afloat.

When Felipe told me early

in the season: “…Pedro Feliz

puede jugar todos los días”

(Pedro Feliz is an everyday

player), Alou knew that the

Giants have given veteran

thirdbaseman Edgardo Alfonzo

over $25 million dollars. By-the-

way, the Padres also wanted

Edgardo, but the Giants were

able to offer him more money

and got him.

Felipe has played Pedro Feliz

in various positions and Pedro

came through, specially

in the games against the

Oakland A’S. Andrés Galarraga

provides that dangerous bat

that the Giants sorely needed

last year. I would say that

If the Giants had guys with

the experience of Galarraga

and Neify Pérez during the

World Series last year, maybe

they would have been the

Champions.

Ray Durham has been a solid

player, giving the Giants speed

and a good bat plus a very

good second baseman.

The A’S simply could not afford

him and they though that with

Mark Ellis they solved that

position plus the leadoff spot.

Until Eric Byrnes, but is Byrnes

a lead off hitter?

José Cruz had a great April

and May but has slowed down

considerably at the plate.

Defensively, he could be a

Gold glove in right field.

Brian Sabean will try to pick

up another starting pitcher.

Somebody with experience

to keep this rotation going with

Schmidt and Rueter as the two

“veterans”.

The second half schedule favors

the Giants much more than the

first half, so for those that are

optimistic (like me) there is

hope in the second half. With

another starter the Giants

could hang on and even win

this division. Yes, yes, the

Diamondbacks are going to have

Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson

back soon, but will they be as

effective as before? That is

the question.

I take my chances with this

Giants team, which I think

is a better team(deeper)than

last years, even though they

lost Russ Ortiz in the trade

with Damian Moss. Ortiz is

going to the All Star Game

and Moss is living in the

bullpen. Still, this team headed

by Felipe Alou looks like

a team that could win.

The Dodgers might have the

worse hitting team I have seen

since the 1988 team that shock

the world by beating the

Athletics in the World Series.

The Rockies rookies have done

a heck of a job, but still 3 months

left and I like the veteran lineup

of the Giants over them.

Then come the Rockies…

well they’re the Rockies and

nobody is expecting them to

win anything but the combined

batting average for a NL team.

——————————————————-

Amaury Pi-González is the Spanish

Voice for the new Spanish Mariners

Radio Network covering Washington

and Oregon State with flagship

station in Seattle-Tacoma KKMO 1360AM

and on his ninth season as the

Spanish Play by Play Announcer

for the San Francisco Giants.

Previously for 17 seasons he was

the Spanish Play by Play Announcer

for the Oakland A’S in Radio and

Television in Spanish.