Giants built for postseason, but can they get there?

This is my Sunday column on the Giants. WARNING — this is a baseball column. 49ers’ fans, feel free to skip this. The Giants are built to dominate the postseason, but they are not built to get there this year. In the postseason, the Giants can pitch Madison Bumgarner one hundred times and the other starters only three or four innings, and the incredible bullpen can handle the rest. The…

February 14, 2015
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Giants at the break, 5 up 5 down

This is my Monday column on the Giants. WARNING: This is a baseball column. 49ers fans — feel free to skip this. It’s the All-Star break, meaning it’s time to make sense of the Giants, the best team in baseball during April and May and one of the worst teams in baseball since June. Are the Giants good or bad? Are the Giants going anywhere this season? TOP-FIVE REASONS FOR…

July 14, 2014
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The case for baseball’s best player

This is my Monday column on the best position player in Major League Baseball. In honor of Tuesday’s All Star Game and all the great players participating in it, answer this question: Who is the best position player in baseball? I don’t mean the player having the best month or season or season and a half. Lots of guys have been great for a season or two before they got…

July 15, 2013
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Giants’ ace is this season’s wild card

This is my Thursday column on Matt Cain: Matt Cain, “The Man” on the Giants’ pitching staff, their ace, has pitched terribly the first two months of this season. His 5.45 ERA is fifth-worst in the National League, and he gave up seven earned runs in the third inning of his most recent outing, on the road against the Cardinals. Cain was like a pitching a machine at the batting…

June 5, 2013
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Alex Smith and Jim Harbaugh drive Giants In World Series Parade

The Giants are parading through the streets of streets of San Francisco today, and some of them are being driven by Alex Smith and Jim Harbaugh. Spefically, Alex Smith is driving Matt Cain’s car, and Jim Harbaugh is driving Brandon Belt’s car. Here’s what Harbaugh said to CSN Bay Area about the SF Giants: “It’s very inspiring, no question about it, just how they stayed together as a team and…

October 31, 2012
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Harbaugh takes stock after the Niners minicamp

SANTA CLARA – Jim Harbaugh spoke to reporters after Thursday’s practice. He was thrilled with how his team performed in this minicamp, and he detailed what he liked so much. Here’s the transcript of his interview, courtesy of the 49ers.   Opening Statement: “Very excited. That was an A++ practice today, and that goes for the whole Mini-Camp. It was outstanding by our guys. Tremendous effort, and really over the…

June 14, 2012
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An intimate look at Jim Harbaugh with Alex Smith at Pebble Beach

A friend of my dad’s had an inside look at Jim Harbaugh and Alex Smith at the AT&T golf at Pebble Beach last month. The Niners played the Giants on a Tuesday. Duane Kuiper caddied for Mike Krukow, Alex Smith caddied for Jim Harbaugh. Jerry Rice, Matt Cain, and Brent Jones played, too, among others. According to the observer, Harbaugh and Smith acted as if “they would be together for…

March 18, 2012
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