The Giants

Seems as if the process and goals set out by Brian Sabean two years ago have been reached.  The pitching continues to be awesome, the starters and even, for the most part, the bullpen.  The hitting has improved to become "JUST good enough" to deliver the starters three, four, even five runs to work with.  And so far, that's been enough.  All the pre-season worries about the defense were overblown, these are professionals who have been playing this game their entire lives, and sure, they'll kick a few and even blow a few games, but it's not enough one way or another to derail a season in the NL West.   The depth is a problem, and that's already beginning to show, but when Freddie Sanchez comes back up to solidify the middle infield, a lot of these challenges will become manageable.  Of course, if Sanchez can't stay healthy, it's a pretty serious problem, as it costs the Giants real hitters when they need Rohlinger or Downs in the infield.

But it doesn't seem like there's anybody in the west that can run with the Giants, starting pitching being the factor that it is.  And this has got to represent a real concern for the other divisions come September, because in a short series with days off (due to TV and revenue considerations), the Giants staff is pretty hard to bet against...