Baily's Sports & Stuff

Oklahoma State led 24-7 in the third quarter. Both teams had missed chances, and even with the crowd on their backs, Iowa State wasn't able to get much going. Zach Guyer missed a 34-yard field goal, Jared Barnett threw an interception, and the rest of their possessions were marked by three-and-outs. So, when Oklahoma State was caught napping about Oklahoma, the Cyclones marked a comeback. And they shocked the football world. Jeff Woody's 4-yard touchdown run gave Iowa State a 37-31, double-overtime win on Friday night, giving Iowa State a crucial victory, and bowl eligibility. The Cowboys that just plowed through Texas Tech looked very different on Friday. Brandon Weeden threw three interceptions, though the last wasn't his fault. After a long touchdown run by James White, a great touchdown catch by Albert Gary, an interception by Leonard Johnson, a touchdown pass from Barnett to White, and an interception by Ter'Ran Benton, Iowa State was in position. And J

Sun Bowl: Utah vs Georgia Tech Cotton Bowl: Texas vs Wake Forest Gator Bowl: Florida vs Nebraska Liberty Bowl: Southern Miss vs Florida Capital One Bowl: Georgia vs Penn State Chick Fil-A Bowl: Virginia Tech vs Auburn Independence Bowl: Wyoming vs Tulsa Holiday Bowl: Washington vs Baylor Outback Bowl: South Carolina vs Michigan Insight Bowl: Missouri vs Wisconsin Champs Sports Bowl: Notre Dame vs Florida State Las Vegas Bowl: TCU vs UCLA Alamo Bowl: Arizona State vs Texas Potato Bowl: Louisiana Tech vs Temple Little Caesers Bowl: Northern Illinois vs Illinois Music City Bowl: Vanderbilt vs North Carolina GoDaddy.com Bowl: Ohio vs Lousiana-Lafayette Meineke Car Care Bowl: Texas A&M vs Ohio State New Mexico Bowl: San Diego State vs Northwestern New Orleans Bowl: Arkansas State vs SMU Belk Bowl: Rutgers vs Virginia Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl: California vs Miami Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii vs Iowa State Armed Forces Bowl: SMU vs BYU Poinsettia Bowl: Boise State vs Nevada

The Cardinals lost and won the same World Series. David Freese won it for them. Allen Craig won it for them. The Rangers lost it for them. After a thrilling Game 6 where the Rangers lost the World Series three times in one game, Chris Carpenter and Yadier Molina helped the Cardinals finish Texas off in the World Series. Game 7 was interesting to see, but Game 6 was what really lost this World Series for Texas. Jaime Garcia was ineffective, and the Rangers were up by 2, and they needed one more strike. All of the sudden, David Freese whacked a ball the opposite way, just over the head of Nelson Cruz, who probably should have run down the ball. Ryan Theriot and Lance Berkman tied the game again in the tenth, and... David Freese stepped up again. In Game 7, he hit a two-run double to tie the game, and made a great catch on defense. Allen Craig hit a home run and robbed another one, as well as catching David Murphy's deep fly to end the series. This World Series had every

Michigan State was losing, then winning, then tied, then going for a hail mary. Caught! Wait, just short. Overtime in East Lansing. No, hold on. Touchdown! Spartans win! Keith Nichol caught a deflected hail mary to send Michigan State to a 37-31 win over Wisconsin, which looks to set up a likely Leaders vs Legends battle in the Big 10 Championship game. The Spartans fell behind 14-0, but went on a 31-3 run to take a comfortable double-digit, final quarter lead. However, Russell Wilson couldn't be stopped in the fourth quarter, and he tied the game up. Michigan State almost fumbled the ball away in field goal range, but luckily a lineman recovered, and helped set up the big play, the instant ESPN classic, in the blink of an eye. Kirk Cousins heaved the pass into the air, and it went off the fingertips of a Wisconsin Badger, off the chest of a Spartan, and into the anxious hands of Keith Nichol. Nichol fought with every ounce of strength in his slowly tiring body, as di

Allen Craig wasn't thinking about what could be if he made a clutch hit. His eyes were locked in on the pitcher, ready to make something happen. And when Nelson Cruz's glove failed to come up with the ball, he did. Craig's slicing liner proved to be the difference in the Cardinals Game 1 win over the Rangers, where many players shined. Now, St. Louis has the momentum, and the edge. Marc Rzepczynski got two key strikeouts, Jason Motte got the save, Arthur Rhodes got a key out in his first World Series appearance, and Chris Carpenter got the win, giving up just two runs in six innings. On the batting side, David Freese got the go-ahead run, Lance Berkman hit a two-run single, and Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols had a run. With St. Louis on the board first, they now are three wins from capturing the World Series title they have craved so much since that magical '06 journey. Neutralizing some of Texas' stars was the key in this one. Ian Kinsler did nothing,

The Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants meshed together to create an interesting World Series. Now, with the St. Louis Cardinals and their functioning bats, the World Series is just going to be that much interesting. St. Louis survived Milwaukee and advanced to the World Series with the 12-6 win, in which David Freese, Albert Pujols, and Rafael Furcal homered. Marc Rzepzynski got the win for the Redbirds. St. Louis took a 4-0 lead early and never gave it up. David Freese hit a Shaun Marcum slider out, and Rafael Furcal and Albert Pujols took Chris Narveson deep. Pujols and the Cardinals have averaged 10 runs per game in Milwaukee, while Texas has averaged 9 runs per game in their last three games. So, unless Chris Carpenter or C.J. Wilson turns on the jets, no one is going to be slowed down. I'd bet you everything I own that just about no one expected these two teams to be here. Everyone liked New York, or Philadelphia, or Detroit or Milwaukee. St. Louis was ten

Milwaukee and St. Louis have been rivals for a long time, but none of their matchups have ever been this important. And none of the matchups have ever been more unexpected. The Brewers and Cardinals both held on in decisive Game 5's, as they advanced to the NLCS to fight for a berth to the Fall Classic. Nyjer Morgan and Chris Carpenter were the heroes. Morgan hit an RBI single with one out to send the Brewers on, while Carpenter dealt a three-hitter to send the Cardinals on past the heavily favored Phillies. The Comeback Cards, powered by Albert Pujols and the Rally Squirrel, were ten and a half games back with 32 games to play. The Atlanta Braves looked to easily have the division, wrapped up in a gold gift bag. But they gave that bag away to St. Louis, as the Braves lost their last five games, including the last game of the season, where Hunter Pence's opposite-field bloop ended the Braves season. That proved to be costly for the Phillies. While in the past, hea

Jose Valverde crouched down, pumped his fist, and exploded up. The Detroit Tigers poured out of the dugout, and in the blink of an eye, crowded Valverde. They had reason. The Tigers just took down the New York Yankees. After A.J. Burnett's stellar Game 4 performance, with the series coming back to Yankee Stadium, no one saw the Tigers completing the upset. But Doug Fister was great, and the Tigers did it. Don Kelly and Delmon Young hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning, Victor Martinez hit an RBI single and Valverde converted his 51st save this year. Alex Rodriguez, who had struck out with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh, had the same fate in the 9th, as a Valverde slider got him swinging to end the series. After a long, hard-fought series where Delmon Young hit three important jacks and Miguel Cabrera packed some power into, it's the Tigers moving on to Arlington, where they take on C.J. Wilson and the Rangers. Justin Verlander, who was suppo

Dallas and Philadelphia both haven't gotten where they wanted. The Cowboys wanted to beat the Jets and plow over the 49ers and Redskins. But against the Lions, they thought they had the win, and the performance, they finally needed. Boy, were they wrong. Detroit rallied from a 27-3 deficit to stun the Cowboys, and San Francisco did the same (just a 23-3 deficit) in Philly. Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson hooked up for the winning touchdown. That connection, as well as Alex Smith's improvement, have proved key elements to the comebacks. The Eagles had the momentum, and they had Michael Vick. The Cowboys had Tony Romo. But that didn't prove anything. Andy Reid tried to milk the clock, and when the Niners got the lead, Jeremy Maclin fumbled away the game. Tony Romo threw three interceptions, two that were returned for touchdowns, the other setting up the winning score. And Matthew Stafford? He weaved together two drives like magic, hitting Calvin Johnson on great

About six years ago, Wisconsin sports wasn't much to look at. The Badgers, Packers, and Brewers were average, and the Bucks were struggling. Now look at where they are, with the Badgers as their leader. Wisconsin dominated the last three quarters against new Big Ten member Nebraska, outscoring them 41-3 to end the game in a 48-17 win, where the whole country got to see Russell Wilson. Camp Randall Stadium was rocking all game long, and they had great reason. The game was close until the second half, when Wisconsin pulled away. Bret Bielema's squads have been known to develop running backs, Montee Ball included. Ball rushed for 151 yards and 4 touchdowns, while Wilson threw two deep touchdowns to turn the tide of the game. Now, the seventh-ranked Badgers have grasped the country's attention. Sure, they played in a thrilling Rose Bowl last year. But now, with a quarterback who seems to make all the right decisions and two running backs who can do everything, Wiscons

Matt Moore? Who's Matt Moore? Isn't he that quarterback for the Miami Dolphins or something? Yes, but there's another Matt Moore who will become much more heralded. Moore, a southpaw making his second career start, blanked the Rangers and keyed Tampa Bay's 9-0 win over the Rangers in the playoff opener. Moore struck out six in seven innings. The kid's dominating fastball and powerful off-speed pitches were the masterful combo he used to punch out the Rangers, who had pounded opponents with power and speed, with their bats and on the paths. He was backed by three homers, two from catcher Kelly Shoppach, who isn't known for being a heavy hitter. Johnny Damon hit a two-run jack as well to back Moore and open the scoring. Tampa Bay only got two hits, both provided by Josh Hamilton. Moore may have had adrenaline rushing throughout his body, but he didn't show it. After striking out 11 against the Yankees in a big September 22 win, he got another huge W

Last night, you didn't just see a couple good games and a walk-off or two. You saw some of the most dramatic moments in the history of the game, all in the span of two minutes. What you witnessed will not be seen by most people. You saw two games deciding the AL Wild Card go down to the wire, and the Braves lose a harsh fight in Philly. The Rays were ready to end their year having fought hard but not hard enough. However, that would soon change. Tampa Bay finally got back in the game, and Boston collapsed. The Rays scored their first three runs on a walk, HBP, and sac fly, but Evan Longoria provided the real punch with a three-run blast. In the ninth, the Rays had more to offer. At the time, Joe Maddon's move to send Dan Johnson, hitless since April 27, to the plate, seemed dumb. And you could still argue that it was risky. But it worked. Johnson took a 2-2 slider deep to right field, and the pitch left the yard. Tampa Bay had tied it, and there were more dramatics to

In the NFL, three teams currently reside undefeated. Green Bay, Buffalo, and Detroit. Now, if I had told you that before the season, you'd think I was crazy. For Green Bay, probably not. The defending champs are returning basically the exact same team with the exact same quarterback, and even though New Orleans and Chicago stood in their way, the Packers simply find ways to win. But the Lions and Bills? Nobody expected Buffalo to knock off New England. Not many expected Detroit to beat Tampa Bay, Kansas City, and Minnesota. The Bills and Lions did. This year, will the unexpected actually happen? The Bills, Lions, Raiders, and all other small-market teams to blitz the playoffs? Nobody expects it. Surprising things happen. The Eagles have been sloppy, and the so-called "Dream Team" isn't living up to expectations. Matt Ryan and Eli Manning have thrown back-to-back four touchdown games on Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The Minnesota Vikings

Every year, teams we didn't see coming surprise everyone and start winning game, and often, make the playoffs. This year, we already have two. The Detroit Lions may have had higher expectations, but no one expected them to beat Kansas City by 45. Matthew Stafford is playing like the quarterback Detroit drafted in 2009. Stafford has thrown seven touchdowns already in the first two games, and while the Lions 27-20 win over Tampa Bay wash't a real show, the Lions of the future showed themselves on Sunday. Now, all of the sudden, you have the Lions, who have been plowing through opponents, against the 0-2 Vikings, who, other than Adrian Peterson, have looked worse than bad. Right now, we're looking at an easy 3-0 start for the Lions. Their schedule is favorable. And if they continue to steamroll opponents, the Green Bay Packers might have some competition. Another team looking poised for success is the 2-0 Buffalo Bills, who won two very different games against Kansas

The Good Oklahoma: The Sooners were able to hold E.J Manuel and the Florida State Seminoles in check, and when Landry Jones needed to deliver, he did. With the score tied at 13, Jones hit Kenny Stills for a touchdown, and then Javon Harris intercepted a Florida State pass. The Sooners had three interceptions. Oklahoma's defense stopped Florida State almost every time, and while their offense wasn't perfect, it was enough. The Sooners are guaranteed to hold their number one ranking. The Bad South Carolina: Stephen Garcia and the Gamecocks struggled, and while they held off Navy (who is not a tough opponent), this will not go by in the SEC. South Carolina would've got blown out if they played this way against Georgia. Marcus Lattimore had a career day, rushing for 246 yards and 3 scores. But Stephen Garcia was missing passes, failed to throw a touchdown, and he wasn't good. The Midshipmen are not a challenging opponent, but this game may hurt South Carolina in

If you are a loyal Cal Bears fan, you can press rewind to the glory days for California. Ranked number two. A share of a Pac-10/12 championship. And the Bears can still win, but they aren't the same team. But can they be? The Bears do have talent. They started 2-0 by beating some teams that have talent, Fresno State and Colorado. Fresno State's potent offense was held in check by the Bears defense. While transfer Zach Maynard wasn't at his best in Week 1, he guided Cal to a win, and in Week 2, he was stellar. Maynard threw four touchdowns, and hit Keenan Allen for a five-yard, game-winning score. California won't get much, if any credit, for this week's game, a battle against FCS school Presbyterian, but next week, they take on 2-0 Washington, and following a bye, they take on Oregon, USC, and Utah. In California's home opener, the Blue Hose travel to AT&T Park for what looks like an easy win for the Bears. If Cal prevails, they will improve to 3-0

NFL Week 1 always brings us something we didn't expect. Maybe the Bengals grinding out a win. The Jets shocking the Cowboys. Jacksonville taking down Tennessee. Or the Ravens obliterating the Steelers. Pittsburgh came into this season with high expectations and high hopes. They still have those hopes, but picking up the W against Baltimore was crucial. The Ravens came out of the gates hungry. Ray Rice ripped a big run. Joe Flacco hit Anquan Boldin for a touchdown. Baltimore forced a fumble and got a touchdown. In all, Baltimore forced seven turnovers. It added up to a 35-7 clobbering of their bitter rivals, which will put Baltimore on everyone's "don't want to play" list. Baltimore scored 20 points off of turnovers and halted two more possible touchdown drives. In all, it added up to an easy Baltimore win. In another game featuring highly touted teams, Dallas and the New York Jets faced off. Early on, it looked like a repeat of Pittsburgh-Baltimore, as

Notre Dame had Michigan beaten. They were up 24-7 in the fourth quarter, and they had just forced a fumble. The Irish had quieted the Big House. As Lee Corso would say, "not so fast!" Michigan agreed. Denard Robinson hit Roy Roundree for a touchdown with two seconds left as the Big Blue took down Notre Dame with four fourth quarter touchdowns. Michigan dropped Notre Dame to 0-2. With the Irish up 24-7, Michigan fumbled at the Notre Dame 1, but Denard Robinson recovered and sped in for the touchdown. Notre Dame went three-and out. The Wolverines marched right down the field, and Denard Robinson and Jeremy Gallon executed a fade perfectly for a touchdown. It looked like Notre Dame would answer, but the Big Blue forced a fumble. Michigan was poised to take the lead, but Robinson threw an interception and Notre Dame had a chance to put it away. However, the Irish did nothing, and the Big Blue responded. Robinson got Michigan into Notre Dame territory, then threw a t

The Green Bay Packers relied on Brett Favre to bring them a championship for so many years. And so many times, he failed. Now, it's Aaron Rodgers. Happy? Green Bay is. And they sure have reason to be. Rodgers' led the Packers to 42 points, and the Packers defense made a huge goal-line stand as Green Bay beat New Orleans in the NFL season opener. While Rodgers and Drew Brees were spectacular, Randall Cobb stole a lot of the show. He returned a kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown, and in the process, he did a flip and somehow maintained his balance. The Packers are pretty much the same team, and while new contenders come and go, the Packers will be up there for a while. They have a good defense, although it gave up 34 points Thursday. Greg Jennings continued to make great catches and solidify his position as the core of the receivers, while Cobb, Jordy Nelson, Donald Driver, and Jermichael Finley are the secondary receivers. At running back, where the Packers are im

College football is sure to generate twists, suspense, surprises, and much, much more in the current 2011 season. If you blink, you miss it. And if you blink, you miss the rankings. That's how fast the season goes. So, without further ado, the BD Top 25 Rankings. Note: Still Pending Result of Miami Florida-Maryland game. 25. Arizona State 24. Penn State 23. USC 22. TCU 21. Auburn 20. West Virginia 19. Missouri 18. Florida 17. Michigan State 16. Mississippi State 15. Ohio State 14. Arkansas 13. South Carolina 12. Virginia Tech 11. Oklahoma State 10. Nebraska 9. Oregon 8. Texas A&M 7. Wisconsin 6. Florida State 5. Alabama 4. Stanford 3. Boise State 2. LSU 1. Oklahoma Others Notre Dame, Georgia, Northwestern, Miami (FL), Texas, Iowa, BYU, Michigan, Houston, Air Force, NC State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee College Football Pick 'Em College Football Pick 'Em is back! I'll list a few games to pick the result of and each game adds an amount of

Jeff Tedford has led the Bears to success. A near Rose Bowl apperance. Five bowl victories. A share of the 2006 Pac-10 title. But in 2010, the Bears dropped to 5-7. A talented team missed a bowl game for the first time since 2002. And talk of firing Tedford was on. Now, Tedford is on the hot seat, and the Bears need to succeed. While the defense and running game looked good, there were areas Tedford and Cal needed to fix. Badly. While success has been something Cal has enjoyed for the past decade, it is time to part ways with Tedford. Sure, more and more running backs are coming in to Cal and out in the NFL, but that is all that he has done in the past two years. Here are three reasons why Tedford needs out from Berkeley. Reason 1: Too Many Penalties If you watched the Cal-Fresno State game on Saturday, you know what I'm talking about. Cal committed eleven penalties against the Bulldogs, and while the Bears won the game easily, it wasn't pretty. California lost 86

The first week of college football brought us surprises, action, and drama, just like we expected. But who will bounce back? Who will stay hot? Who will keep winning games? Who will become a legit contender? It's hard to tell, but let's figure out. Week 1 featured many close games and offensive blowouts, especially in the Pac-12. Oregon State, a team expected to make it back to the bowls, fell to Sacramento State. Even true freshman Malcolm Agnew's rushing performance of 223 yards wasn't enough, as Jeff Fleming and the Hornets found a way in overtime. Oregon State scored 22 unanswered points after trailing 21-6. Fleming found Brandyn Reed for a touchdown on a seven-yard slant, then while going for two, he executed the fade route and hit Reed again. Although it was an ugly loss for the Beavers, freshman Sean Mannion led the Beavers to 25 points in half 2 and overtime, leaving some hope. Marshall Lobberstel led Washington State to 64 points in a clobbering of Id

This years college football season is destined for more upsets, down-to-the wire contests and action. The TCU-Baylor game just added to our firm beliefs. Last night, you saw a 24-point fourth quarter lead slip away. A rookie quarterback leading his team to 48 points. A offensive battle that ended when the clock ran out. That is what you will see all year long. Now, you might not see a ranked team go down 50-48 on a Friday night game anymore, but you will see more close games. Games like Oregon against LSU and Boise State at Georgia look to bring that demeanor to us in week one. What you saw (if you watched the game last night) was extraordinary. The TCU Horned Frogs fell to the Baylor Bears 50-48, as Aaron Jones kicked the game-winning field goal with 1:04 left. Mike Hicks intercepted a Casey Pachall pass and avoided being tackled with two seconds left, and Robert Griffin, who had thrown five touchdowns, kneeled to end the game. College football has always brought dramati

The Giants motto is torture, right? They win torturous games. But for most of August, they weren't. They hadn't won a one-run game in August since Wednesday, but they can still win them. As we all know, the Giants can pitch. From Tim Lincecum to Eric Surkamp, they can always rely on someone to get the win. But even with Pablo Sanodval, Carlos Beltran, Cody Ross, and Aubrey Huff, they can't seem to score. Last year's offense was bad. This year's offense is horrible. Sure, they are 71-62. But that's because they win close games. Their pitching is spectacular. Even Eric Surkamp was able to keep that going. The Giants have won back-to-back games for the first time since August 13 and 14. And it's all thanks to the pitching-and a little bit of offense. Surkamp went six innings and gave up just one run, striking out three and using his nasty breaking ball to get out of jams. In the tenth, Mark DeRosa flared a single to center, stole a base (barely) and

You guys know the Giants. They don't make things easy, right? Usually, they don't get many runs. Not many hits. It's all about the pitching. And that's what happened Friday night. The Giants won the same type of game they won all last year, and they scored their thirtieth one-run win on the year. They are three games back in the NL West, but they still have a great chance. San Francisco still has their next eight games and fourteen of their next seventeen games at home, and the toughest opponent they face is Arizona, by far. The Giants will have Brian Wilson, Sergio Romo, Pat Burrell, Jonathan Sanchez, and Andres Torres back before season's end. The Giants are 8-4 against their Arizona rivals this year, as a couple tortuous wins have been thrown into the mix. They have superior pitching, as Tim Lincecum is at his best, and Matt Cain, Ryan Vogelsong, and Madison Bumgarner have been stellar. With Carlos Beltran, Aubrey Huff, Pablo Sandoval, Brandon Belt, Cod

We all know the Giants score few runs and give up few runs. It's the way things work in San Francisco. And Tim Lincecum isn't happy with it. Lincecum is pitching very well for San Francisco. He has a 2.46 ERA, 189 strikeouts, and just 49 earned runs allowed in 179 innings pitched. But his record? 12-10. How can someone that good have a losing record. Lincecum has lost 1-0, 2-1, 3-0, you name it. He has pitched well in all but one start. Yet he has just twelve wins to show. On Wednesday night, Lincecum allowed just one run in eight innings, and he only got two runs of support. Yes, he got win number twelve, but hardly any support. The only time Timmy got lucky to come away with a win was after giving up three runs in seven innings and winning thanks to Brandon Crawford's grand slam. He's gotten unlucky to win many more times. Forget the win-loss record, and Tim Lincecum is among the best in baseball. He still is, as his ERA has dropped lower then Ryan Vogelso

The Chicago Bears have weapons. Weapons on both sides of the ball. As we saw last year, the Bears have a good defense. They didn't allow more than twenty points until Week 12; and they won that game. Julius Peppers' great pressure definitely helped the Bears, and while he isn't what he used to be, Brian Urlacher can still deliver hard hits. Charles Tillman is a solid cornerback. On the offensive side of the ball, you have Jay Cutler, a guy who is mobile and can make just about any throw. You have two new additions in Marion Barber (running back) and Roy Williams (wide receiver). But can the Bears really put that together, plus a terrible offensive line, a mediocre receiving core (Roy Williams doesn't help much), and a running back core without explosiveness (the offensive line)? Last year, they pieced it together. Cutler had some good options in Johnny Knox, Earl Bennett, Devin Hester, and Greg Olsen, and they got open for him. But can this offensive line gi

On Sunday, you saw an example of the San Francisco Giants. If you haven't seen them since May 24, you may have some questions. Where's Andres Torres? Where's Jonathan Sanchez? What about Sergio Romo? Buster Posey? Pat Burrell? Freddy Sanchez? Brian Wilson? The answer: they're all on the DL. Just about every Giant has hit the disabled list, or at least missed a couple games, due to injury. Right now, Buster Posey and Freddy Sanchez are out for the year (as we all know, except the guy who hasn't seen them play since May 24). But they can still win, and they showed an example Sunday. Brandon Belt, who probably would see limited playing time if Andres Torres, Carlos Beltran, and Pat Burrell weren't hurt, has been doing well. He hit a three-run homer to help the Giants. And Pablo Sandoval, who was on the DL for a month and a half, hit the game-winning two-run homer in the eleventh. If Freddy Sanchez was back, Pablo would see a few less at-bats. While th

The Giants are known for being a team of torture. This past three weeks, their fans have been given torture. But not the way they wanted it. San Francisco has won six of their last twenty games, dropped their last six one run games, and been held to one run or less seven times (four of those shutouts). Wasn't this the team that went 6-1 in one-run games last postseason? The team with 28 one-run wins? The team with all the castoffs and misfits? I can answer that question. No, it's not. Right now, the only player playing the same position as he was on Opening Day is Pablo Sandoval, who batted eighth on Opening Day, and now bats third. Pablo Sandoval was the Giants weak spot on Opening Day. Now, he's their strong spot. Sure, the Giants have Jeff Keppinger. They have Orlando Cabrera. They have Carlos Beltran. Cody Ross is back from injury. But what about Buster Posey? Injured. Freddy Sanchez? Injured. Carlos Beltran? Injured. Pat Burrell? Injured. Andres Torres?

After Brandon Belt grounded out and struck out, some Giants fans wondered why they sat Aubrey Huff. In his next two at-bats, he made Giants fans wonder why he doesn't play more. Belt hit consecutive solo homers in the sixth and eighth innings, Ryan Vogelsong got his tenth win of the year, and the Giants beat Florida 5-2 to stay two games back of Arizona. Belt, who has been on the Giants team four different times, was sent down August 5, and called up Saturday morning. He has played first base and outfield for the Giants, and Belt has come up big at times. Against the Dodgers on July 19, he was called up that morning, hit a home run and knocked in three runs as the Giants won 5-3. Although the Giants outfield is crowded, and Aubrey Huff plays first, Belt will likely find playing time as a left-handed pinch-hitter in the absence of Andres Torres, or in the outfield. In the sixth inning, Belt drove a pitch to left-center field, right next to the 434 foot marker, and it end

The Arizona Diamondbacks. The Cleveland Indians. The Pittsburgh Pirates. Last year, these three were at the cellar of the division. Now, they have become contenders. Are they still hanging around? Yes. In fact, Cleveland is just three games back in the AL Central, and the surging D-Backs are now up by one game in the NL West. While the Pirates are tied for third place and ten games back, they still have a legitimate chance. So do the Red Sox and Yankees. The Phillies? Of course. Milwaukee and St. Louis have a chance. San Francisco and Atlanta have a shot. Texas and the Angels are in the mix. Detroit isn't out of it. Here are my playoff picks. NLDS Matchups (1) Philadelphia vs (3) Arizona (2) Milwaukee vs (4) Atlanta ALDS Matchups (1) NY Yankees vs (3) Detroit (2) Texas vs (4) Boston NLDS Preview: (1) Philadelphia vs (3) Arizona The Diamondbacks will bring a challenge with Justin Upton and their bats, and Ian Kennedy and their stellar staff, but Cliff Lee, Roy H

Jonathan Sanchez came into the game with one mentality: throw strikes. Did it start well? No. Did it end well? No. Sanchez gave up five runs and didn't make it out of the fifth, Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run bomb and the Pirates beat the Giants 9-2. Pittsburgh came in to San Francisco with a 10-game losing streak, but they took game one in San Francisco, and they dominated this one. Ronny Cedeno, Brandon Wood, Matt Diaz, Ryan Ludwick, and Garrett Jones each knocked in a run for Pittsburgh. Pablo Sandoval homered for San Francisco, who's solo home run streak was extended to 19, tying a major league record. Jeff Karstens pitched for Pittsburgh, and he pitched well, using his curveball to fool hitters and his fastball as a nice compliment. Karstens got out of jams, gave up just two runs and picked up his ninth win of the season. Jonathan Sanchez fell to 4-7. In the first inning, Andrew McCutchen walked, stole second, and scored on Ryan Ludwick's bloop single. Ho

At 12 o'clock on Tuesday, Chris Stewart was signing autographs for fans. About eight and a half hours later, he hit his first big league home run. Stewart hit his first career home run, Madison Bumgarner went seven scoreless innings and the Giants took down the Pirates 6-0. Aubrey Huff homered and knocked in two runs, while Nate Schierholtz, Cody Ross, and Orlando Cabrera knocked in runs. Sergio Romo continued his 13 inning scoreless streak with a scoreless eighth. The game was scoreless until the fourth, and the Giants were hitless. Pittsburgh had chances, but Bumgarner's dominating fastball to get ahead in counts and breaking ball to finish off hitters was working. In the fourth, Jeff Keppinger lead off with a double, which probably would've been a home run in Houston. Pablo Sandoval got him to third with a groundout, and Huff plated Keppinger with an RBI double just over shortstop Ronny Cedeno's head. Pittsburgh threatened to tie the game in the fifth, as

Tim Lincecum knew what was going on. The long-haired ace knew that the Giants fans were getting mad. The ace wouldn't start a good streak. He would stop a bad one. Did San Francisco have the right guy on the mound? Yes. Lincecum pitched 7 2/3 strong innings, Brian Wilson got the save on his jersey day and the Giants stopped a three-game slide with a 3-1 win over Philadelphia. Jeff Keppinger had four hits and a sacrifice fly, and Chris Stewart had a run and an RBI. The Giants got 12 hits off Roy Oswalt and 13 in the game. Although San Francisco continued to struggle with runners in scoring position, Chris Stewart, Orlando Cabrera, and Jeff Keppinger, who were all not on the opening day roster, knocked in runs, and the Giants were able to steal a win. San Francisco received a scare when Chase Utley accidentally lost his grip on a bat and it hit Lincecum. Lincecum would be OK, however, and he wouldn't come out until Hunter Pence reached on an error. The struggling

Jeff Keppinger, Carlos Beltran, and Orlando Cabrera had hardly done anything for the Giants. Since their acquisitions, mainly to replace big bats and fill holes, the three new players have failed to make an impact. Until now. Orlando Cabrera had 3 RBI's, Carlos Beltran had two runs and 1 RBI, and Jeff Keppinger had a run as the Giants beat the D-Backs 8-1 and reclaimed the NL West lead. Ryan Vogelsong went 6+ innings and lowered his ERA to 2.19, while improving his record to 9-1. Jason Marquis took the loss in his Diamondback debut. Brad Ziegler made his Arizona debut, and he gave up a two-run double on his first pitch with his new club. Cody Ross hit that double, and he knocked in three runs. San Francisco snapped a five-game slide with the win, and they regained first place back. San Francisco now heads into a series with Philadelphia, then against Pittsburgh. In his debut, Marquis gave up eight runs in 4+ innings, not the way you want to start with your new team. Z

The MLB Trade Deadline is over. At the deadline, there are some teams coming away knowing they have what it takes to come through and become, or remain contenders. But there are others knowing they should have done this or should have done that. And those teams normally fall out of contention. Not the 2010 Giants, but every other team that won the title. Let's analyze the deadline deals, who won, and who lost. Winners: Philadelphia Phillies The Phillies only made one trade, but was it ever big? They acquired Hunter Pence, the right-handed bat they've been missing since Jayson Werth signed with the Nationals. Pence is fast, a great hitter, a great fielder, and he has a great work ethic. Pence will be a major upgrade to the right field hole that was filled by Domonic Brown. Pence hurt the National League with Houston, but only got 35 wins. Now, he's ready to help Philadelphia on their quest for a second championship in four years. Winners: San Francisco Giants Altho