Just What the Doctor Ordered

It's amazing what a series against the Arizona Diamondbacks can do for a ball club's morale. The Giants swept the D-Backs over the weekend behind 3 solid starts by Cain, Sanchez, and Wellemeyer.

It's also amazing what bringing up your #1 prospect from the minors can do for a ball club. The Giants brought up Buster Posey on Saturday in an attempt to add some much needed fire power to a line-up that lacks sexiness.

Coming into this weekend, the talk was about how in trouble the Giants were that they could not hit after enduring a road trip that just about sent Giants fans over the edge, where runs came at a minimum and good pitching took the road trip off.

But everyone and their mother knew what was coming next. It was the Giants' organization's only move, and that was to call up Posey in an attempt to hype the line-up as well as their fans.

He's captivating, I'll give him that. Not since Bonds have I taken time out of my day to watch his at-bat and his at-bat only. And his start to the 2010 season didn't let anyone down. Honestly, if he hadn't had success in these first two games, I'm not sure what the fans would have done. But no disappointment from Posey, he's not like others. Raw ability and good contact with the baseball is what the Giants' line-up has been needing their players to do all year, they just left it up to a 23 year old kid in AAA to show them how to do it.

Posey has seemed to psyche up the rest of this line-up as well. I haven't seen the Giants make so much contact with the baseball in days. It's not like them. In that D-Backs series they played like a real line-up. Granted, it was against the D-Backs, but as a Giants fan you have to take 'em where you can get 'em. And we got 'em this last weekend.

After a road trip that spelled disaster, it's amazing what a couple good starts and a stud prospect can do to make a fan base forget how awful you played against the Oakland A's...

No matter, the Giants are playing well right now and I will accept that. Posey is a Major League ball player who can spark a frachise in two starts, at 1st base mind you. And for the Giants, Posey is just what the doctor ordered.

Treading Water

Is it just me or is a sense of panic come over the city of San Francisco? May has not been kind to the San Francisco Giants. Last night's loss at the hands of the Washington Nationals put their record at 10-13 for the month and 1 game over .500 for the season. Not to mention 4th place in the NL West.

But last night's game may have sent Giants fans over the edge, because even though the Giants were slumping after a terrible road trip, there was still the thought of Tim Lincecum pitching and all being right with the world once again. Except this time, things couldn't get more worse. Lincecum struggled with 5 walks and 6 runs allowed, and Giants fans went home thinking disaster for this team that was so promising.

Even this early in the season, the Giants have experienced more ups-and-downs than any team in baseball. Sure, they need a bat, but that won't solve all their problems. Freddy Sanchez came back from injury, but he hasn't produced to the extent that everyone wants him to, let alone your #3 hitter.

It seems like all the hopes that the Giants had may be running out. There was the pick-ups of Aubrey Huff and Mark DeRosa, but DeRosa is hurt and Aubrey Huff has done his job, even moved to the outfield, but the most you're going to get out of him is what you're getting already, a .270 average with moderate RBI numbers.

Then Freddy Sanchez came back and hope sprang again. But if you thought a contact hitting 2nd baseman batting 3rd was going to change this team around, you were sorely mistaken. He may have even hurt the Giants more because now they must find a place to put him while cutting time from someone else.

Then there was Lincecum, the go-to guy, the guy you can count on when things just aren't going right. The Freak. But not last night. For the 2nd straight start, Lincecum did not have a good outing, and he received the loss last night. Is he just in a bit of a 2-time Cy Young slump? Or have teams slowly began to figure him out? We'll find out in his next several starts.

So Giants fans are holding on to the 2 hopes they got left, Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner.

Bumgarner may not be needed right now, plus there may be a few AAA pitchers that are in line ahead of him. But let's talk Buster.

Posey is the jolt they need right now, maybe to save their fan-base at the moment. The team is struggling, they need changes. Posey isn't tearing up AAA, but it seems like he is ready enough for the big leagues, and now is the time because they couldn't need him more.

The Giants will find a place for him, they must. But Posey is the kick in the pants the Giants need right now, for morale purposes.

The Giants need a bat and Posey is probably the 2nd or 3rd best bat the Giants have, then why is he stuck in AAA?

You are going to see several more ups-and-downs coming from this team during the rest of this season, so get used to it and just go with it. Sure, they're going to tug at your heart strings but hopefully it will all pay-off in the end. But for now, changes need to be made, and quick.

That's It And That's All

The San Jose Sharks' season is over after a disappointing series against the Chicago Blackhawks resulting in the Sharks being swept 4-0.

A long season for the Sharks came down to this dream series featuring the Western Conference's top 2 teams. After this series, we found out who truly was the #1 team.

The Sharks could not have had more momentum coming into this series after previously defeating the Red Wings in 5 games. Yet, the Blackhawks seemed to be the wrong team for the Sharks. This series simply came down to match-ups, and the Blackhawks were a horrible match-up for the Sharks. It's the only way to describe it.

The Blackhawks were too quick, too prepared and too good for the Sharks. It felt that way from the drop of the puck in Game 1.

What impressed me about the Blackhawks was several things, but one stands out. Each game of this series, the Sharks came out with intensity, wanting to get on the Blackhawks quick. Every game, the Blackhawks answered and made the adjustments needed to turn the pace of play around, as well as momentum, in their favor.

Even in the games where the Sharks had chances to win, like Games 1, 3, and 4, the tempo for the game was still controlled by the Blackhawks, it sure seemed that way, and you were just waiting for Chicago to score, and they did.

Antti Niemi, what can you say, hot goaltender, wrong time for the Sharks. The Sharks could simply not figure him out, the 40+ shots on net in Game 1 shows that, as do clutch save after clutch save at the end of every game.

All around, the Sharks were outplayed and it is extremely disappointing to see as talented a team as the Sharks look so befuddled as to how they were going to solve the Blackhawks. No answer.

Where do the Sharks go from here? Patrick Marleau has been rumored to leave the Sharks for the last couple seasons, but that was because he was who everyone put the blame on for losing in the playoffs the past several seasons. Now, he is the only bright spot, and there are several other players who you can blamed for this one. Yet, he is a free agent. The Sharks would be wise to sign him, but maybe he rather not.

Evgeni Nabokov has played his last game as a Shark, that's my opinion. The free agent will depart San Jose in disappointing fashion, as he was never able to get the Sharks over that hump to greatness or the Stanley Cup Finals. Some would say it was because of him. Duh.

Lucky for the Sharks, the free agent goalie class of 2010 is impressive. With guys like Ray Emery, former Shark Vesa Toskala, and Marty Turco headlining, as well as several other starting goalies for other teams, the Sharks should have no problem replacing Nabokov. There's not much to replace.

In my opinion, the Sharks should sign Marleau and let Nabby walk. This is too good of a team to split up, and for the Sharks to go out and let Marleau leave along with others would set this franchise back even farther than a series sweep at the hands of the Blackhawks would.

With possible free agent pick-ups and the best top-line in all of hockey hopefully staying together, expect the Sharks to be back contending again next season, but the Stanley Cup Finals still looming.

All Uphill From Here

The Sharks are in trouble, plain and simple. They were defeated for the 2nd straight game on their home ice last night by the Chicago Blackhawks, who have a commanding 2-0 lead in this best-of-7 series heading to Chicago.

The Sharks seemed to have no chance in this one. They were outplayed by the young and quick Blackhawks, who behind their red-hot goalie Antti Niemi looked like a team that could take the Cup.

From a Sharks angle, something has to change. After a game in which the Sharks were able to get the puck to the net at will, the complete opposite happened on Tuesday night as the Sharks couldn't get anything started, let alone anything to the net.

Evgeni Nabokov wasn't much help either. After letting a goal up in the 1st period, he let his guard down for a whole 3 minutes in the 2nd period, and the Blackhawks took full advantage netting 2 goals in that time span.

Nabokov would finish with 18 saves on 22 chances, definitely his worst effort that we have seen in awhile.

It's all uphill from here. The Sharks are down 2-0 headed on the road, a position nobody wants to be in. The good thing is that they will have an extra day off, with their next game being on Friday. It will give them an extra day to find out what in the world they can do to stop this Blackhawks team from rolling completely over them.

In Chicago, Niemi will continue standing on his head. But if the Sharks' goal coming into Game 2 was to put bodies in front of the net to get in the way of Niemi's vision, that didn't happen, at least from what I saw. Something needs to change because the Hawks look quicker, more skilled, and more prepared for this series than the Sharks do.

Do the Sharks have it in them to make a comeback in this series? We'll find that out on Friday, won't we? It won't be enough just to come out of the gates firing like the Sharks have done in these first 2 games. They will need to carry it throughout the entire game if they are going to defeat a Blackhawks team that seems ready for a Stanley Cup birth.

The only upside for the Sharks, the Blackhawks are 3-3 at home in these playoffs, which isn't saying much because they are 7-0 on the road, but we'll take it. The Sharks will take it. But they will take whatever they can right now in a series that is in their hands to keep alive.

Niemi Hot As the Sharks Fall in Game 1

If we found out one thing in Game 1, it was that this is going to be as exciting and gut-renching a series as we have seen in a long time. Another, a hot goalie is going to beat one that has been solid the whole playoffs 9 out of 10 times. It's just the way it is. Unfair if you're a Sharks fan, at least in this Game 1, but these NHL Playoffs have been unfair to many teams this year.

The final four teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs are lopsided for each conference. In the West, you have the top 2 seeded teams, while in the East, you have the lowest-seeded teams. A little unorthodox but you cannot deny that these are the best 4 teams going. And in a series that boasts the top 2 teams for the West, we expected nothing different than a thrilling game to the final buzzer, and we got that in Game 1.

Disappointing is a good word to describe this game from a Sharks angle. 5 power plays and one result. That is 5 PP's more than Chicago had, which you can also take as a plus because that would mean the Sharks did not commit a penalty.

Still, the hotter goalie came out on top. If there was one lesson to be learned from this Game 1, play the full 60 minutes because if you are out of position for a second, as the Sharks found out on Dustin Byfuglien's game-winning goal, it will hurt you.

Respect Blackhawks' goalie Antti Niemi, though. The Sharks have run into another hot goalie, and that's all you can say. He out-dueled Evgeni Nabokov who was having himself a very nice game as well. But at the end of the game, the 1st star went to Niemi and the 2nd star went to Nabokov.

The Blackhawks are no joke, and neither are the Sharks, but Game 1 showed who was more prepared for this series, and it wasn't the team who had 5 PP's and didn't convert on any of them. Rusty.

2 things to take from this game for the Sharks, though. They managed to draw the 5 penalties while committing 0. Also, Nabokov is playing very well between the pipes, and 38 saves shows that. The only problem, Niemi had 44 saves. That remains the only difference in Game 1.

Sharks/Blackhawks Series Preview

It's on. This is the way it was supposed to be, right? The two top teams in the Western Conference will face off in a 7-game series to decide who will go to the Stanley Cup Finals and be the overwhelming favorite.

That is true. No matter who comes out of the Eastern Conference, whether it's the Bruins/Flyers or Canadians, the team that wins the Sharks/Blackhawks series will be without a doubt the clear favorite to win the Cup.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The Sharks are the best team going, the only thing knocking this team is the fact they have been at a stand still since they defeated the Red wings in 5 games in what feels to be a month ago. They want to get out on the ice while they're hot.

Honestly, the Blackhawks are the favorite in this series. They have recent momentum since beating the Canucks, plus they went 3-1 against the Sharks during the regular season.

But the Sharks have several things going their way that have not been talked about. How about the fact that Blackhawks' goalie Antti Niemi has never played against the Sharks? Or how about the Sharks are playing a much better form of hockey than they were in the regular season?

The tipping point in this series may be that one point that separated the Sharks as the #1 seed in the West and the Blackhawks as the #2 seed. The Sharks have home-ice advantage, and we all saw what that team and those fans can do once in their home arena. The "Nabby" chants start going, the Jaws music start playing. Everything is better at The Sharks Tank. Unless you're the opposing team, then that stuff just gets annoying.

Bottom line is this is going to be a series for the ages. Two teams who have similar styles of play, and just as much equal talent on the ice. The last time we saw this sort of match-up was, well, last series when the Sharks played the Red Wings.

One thing bothers me, though. I cannot help but think back to the game on November 25th when the Sharks and Blackhawks met up. The final score was 7-2 in favor of the Blackhawks in a game where the Blackhawks made the superior Sharks look ridiculous. They outhustled and outperformed the Sharks. Will there be a difference in how the Sharks prepare for this team in this series? There better be, they would have had 8 days between series to do so.

If the Sharks are to knock off the Blackhawks, they will need more contribution from their 1st line than ever. We saw this in the last couple of games in the Red Wings series. The Red Wings' primary focus was on Joe Pavelski since he was tearing them up in the previous games. In response, the Sharks' 1st line showed up and was the reason why the series didnt go to a Game 6 or 7.

Fasten your seatbelts for this one, folks. This is a series made for it to go the distance, and I don't doubt we will see anything but that.

My prediction: Home-ice will play a huge role in this series and the Sharks will be fortunate that they got that last point to get the #1 seed in the West and home-ice advantage in the playoffs. Sharks in 7.

"Stick It, A-Rod"

Here you go A's fans. Despite the injuries that have plagued this team over the last several weeks after a strong start to the season, the A's still managed to hit the headlines yesterday in the form of A's pitcher Dallas Braden's perfect game.

There are several stories wrapped up in this one, which is why it is so intriguing. First, he threw the gem against arguably the best team going right now, the Tampa Bay Rays. Second, he threw it on Mother's Day in honor of his mother who had died when he was in high school. How about the fact that he was drafted in the 24th round, or that he has never pitched longer than the 7th inning in any big league start? How about that he is a native of nearby Stockton? How about that his grandmother told A-Rod to "stick it."

All these stories pail in comparison to the one that the national media has seemed to hook onto. The Braden/A-Rod Saga.

The dispute between the two was still hot going into Braden's start yesterday. His perfecto just fueled the fire a little more. Now it's out of control.

Was Braden right in calling out A-Rod? Eh, it's an unwritten rule that every ballplayer knows, and don't let them tell you differently, as Alex Rodriguez did. A-Rod knew exactly what he was doing. Don't forget, this is the same player who yelled at the 3rd baseman while trying to catch a pop-up, ans also the same guy who tried to swat the ball out of the 1st baseman's glove so he wouldn't be called out, thinking no one could see him. Ya know, the things kids who know him as the best player in the game should look up to.

The only problem I have with the whole Braden/A-Rod feud is who is Dallas Braden? Sure, the Bay Area knows him and now the nation is familiar with him. But before this, he was just some no name who wanted seemed to want some recognition for calling out A-Rod. Finally somebody did it, but it probably shouldn't have been Braden, or at least not made so public by Braden. It just made him out to look cocky by going after one of the best players on the planet, while Braden boasts 17 (make that 18) wins in his career.

Now, he is recognized, but for a much better reason, which is why this A-Rod feud carries so much punch now. And it will continue to carry punch until someone gets knocked out, or at least until the two players meet again. In which Braden will go head hunting for A-Rod's dome.

I honestly doubt the two will square off in the distant future. A-Rod will probably come down with the flu that day or something along those lines. He just seems like the kind of guy who would do that. And I wouldn't blame him. Hell, if a guy heaving 90 MPH wanted to decapitate me for breaking an unwritten rule that I clearly had knowledge of, I wouldn't want to be in that batter's box either.

But Braden will have to wait until the July 5th series in New York for that to happen, given it is his turn in the rotation. Maybe Braden will still be fuming on this matter, or maybe he won't, but he doesn't seem like a guy who lets things go easily.

All we know is this story suddenly has legs. Before the perfecto, Braden was just some looney trying to make a name, now he is the guy with the 19th perfect game in MLB history trying to right a wrong. It's crazy how a perfect game can instantly do that to someone.

Sharks' Curse Not Over Just Yet

They're not supposed to be here. There is too much choking in this team's history to have any legitimate success in the NHL Playoffs. But the Sharks finally did it by beating the Detroit Red Wings last night and moving on to the Western Conference Finals.

When Barry Melrose of ESPN finally admits that the Sharks are a "really good team," you know they've done something right. Melrose was the man who was calling a possible Red Wing comeback in this series when they were down 3-0, and he went crazy when the Wings beat the Sharks in Game 4. But who wasn't? That Game 4 was so one-sided that why not give Detroit a legitimate chance of coming back and winning this series? You sound brilliant if they do. After all, the Sharks have always choked. Scratch that, at least for now.

Now that the Sharks have defeated the Almighty Red Wings in a playoffs series, can we finally put this whole choking matter about the Sharks behind us?

For the Sharks fans, yes, go ahead. But for the rest of the NHL world, they still know the team from San Jose as one that has fallen in their potential to win the Cup year after year despite being the favorite. Is a couple series wins in this year's playoffs going to change that? No, the Sharks are the #1 seed, they should be here. Which brings up the question, why do the critics keep picking the Sharks to lose each series? History is the answer.

For the rest of the NHL world, the Sharks' curse is still not over. It won't be over until they are hoisting the Stanley Cup over their head. They will be the underdogs in the next series and the series after, but if they are to relinquish that "choking" title from their name, they must win the Cup. Easy, right?

Sure, Sharks fans know that this a different team with a different attitude and different players, but the rest of the world does not understand that. Prove it to them. The Sharks are the best team still in the playoffs and anything less than a Sharks Stanley Cup victory isn't worth it, and surely won't be worth it to the rest of the NHL world.

The Sharks Answering When It Matters, Up 2-0

Mission accomplished. The San Jose Sharks did what they were supposed to do on Sunday by winning on their home ice for the second time in this series and leading the best of 7 series against the Detroit Red Wings 2-0.

This was a total team effort that saw both teams gather momentum throughout the game. For the second time in this series and 5th game in a row, the Sharks came out firing, but this time only to be let down by a Red Wing goal midway through the 1st period.

But the Sharks showed something that we have not seen in playoffs past, but have seen several times already in this year's playoffs. That is a will to answer right back. The Sharks would answer with 2 goals in just over 2 minutes to go up 2-1.

The Red Wings would tack on another goal late in the 1st period to tie the game up at 2-2.

After a stalemate 2nd period, which saw the Red Wings hit the back of the net a 3rd time, pressure was on the Sharks to maintain their home ice against the mighty Red Wings. And they answered.

It is often the saying that it doesn't matter how you start, but how you finish, and the Sharks finished this one with emphasis.

They took to the offensive early and often in the 3rd period, and it payed off with a power play goal by that man again, Joe Pavelski, at 4:40. But they weren't done.

After both teams threatened midway through the 3rd, the Sharks had a 2 on 1 breakaway at 12:37 where Dany Heatley wristed a shot at goalie Jimmy Howard which bounced off Howard's chest and in front of the net to be tapped in by Joe Thornton. 4-3.

After that, persistent and pesky defense all but sealed it up for the Sharks as they took the first two games of the series at home.

No doubt, the Sharks have surprised many with how much they have continued to improve their game throughout these playoffs, and how not affected they are by recent disappointing seasons, which many thought they would. The consensus before this series was the Red Wings are too disciplined, too experienced, and too good for these underachieving Sharks. But looking at these first two games of this series, we haven't seen any of that. The Sharks' defense is playing great, their 2nd tier players are contributing more than the 1st tier, and their goalie is hot right now. The Sharks are peaking at just the right time.

Now, we will see if this carries over to Hockeytown. But the way the Sharks are feeling about their game right now is business as usual, the perfect attitude. They understand what they are doing is large, but they also understand that they belong somewhere further in these playoffs, and that they are by no means done. With the 1st line starting to sprout legs and walk, maybe this could be the start of something that the Bay Area hasn't seen before with this team.

All the pieces are there, but can they continue. It will be a real test in Detroit, but pulling out one win over there would be huge, the question is can they get that win?

The goal I set for this team so far in this series is win at home. Check. Next goal, take at least 1 of 2 from Detroit in Detroit.