By Erick Pressman This weekend found our local baseball heroes defending their world championship in Arizona and if the temperatures at Coachella were in the high 90s to lower 100s, one could only imagine that it was at least that hot, if not hotter deep in the Valley of the Sun, home to Chase Field and one of our more annoying National League West rivals, the Diamondbacks. I’d like to take the time to explain to some of our “newer” Giants fans that games against teams such as the Diamondbacks, Rockies, Padres, and Dodgers are extra important because they our in our division and the outcome of these games directly effect our placement in the division a little more than when we play out of division teams. Now that we’ve given our new-found fans a little background, lets look at the highlights of the weekend: more ›

After yesterday's Giants 4-1 victory over Arizona, rookie D-Backs were forced to don their finest swim gear while en route to the airport. Why? Why not. But if you must know: more ›

Former A's pitcher Joe Kennedy, 28, died at his home in Florida this morning. At this time the cause of death is officially unknown, but it was "sudden" and a brain aneurysm is rumored to be at fault, according to the Chronicle. Making his major league debut in 2001 with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Kennedy went on to play for other teams such as the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Toronto Blue Jays, and of... more ›

Sorry to spread the bad news, Giants fans, but last night's 9-4 loss to the Diamondbacks mathematically eliminated them from the playoffs. We know, we know, wha? Well, statistically, the Giants could still have made the playoffs if they won every game up until the end of the season and the Padres, DBacks, Dodgers, and Rockies all came down with the Ebola Virus. Hey, it happens sometimes, sort of. In the Premiere League, Tottenham once got eliminated from qualifying for the Champions League when several key members of the team came down with a mysterious case of food poisoning. more ›

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A's 2 Red Sox 0- Before we begin our recap, we'd like to give our condolences to Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson as it appears Kawen is no more. Or was that Ote? Eh, who knows. Anyways, the A's mojo once again kept on keeping on as they have now taken two straight from the Sox of Red, shutting out one of the best lineups in baseball. And, yes, they beat Dice K who, despite everything said on ESPN, is a mere mortal. The pitcher who outdueled him was Lenny DiNardo who pitched a three hitter. Now, you might be wondering who DiNardo is. Well, he was formerly of the Red Sox as of last year and has pitched in the A's bullpen this year. He is also not from New Jersey. But with all the injuries going around, DiNardo got the call to start games and in usual A's fashion, is now pitching better than anyone ever thought possible. Also in the good news column for A's fans is Eric Chavez once again going yard and possibly saying goodbye to his season long slump. more ›

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We continue with our raging discussion on this year's upcoming baseball season. The rest of the award-winning SFist sports desk will join in as soon as their stupid day jobs let them. Oh, how we long for the days when we were merely crack monkey's chained to computers in Jackson's basement dungeon. Anyways, part I can be seen here and Part 2 here. SFist Chris

The National League West?

Let's just come right out and say it: the Giants, now 8-10, had a crappy week. They went two-and-five against teams that, even without Barry Bonds (whose return is still shrouded in steroid-enhanced mystery) and Moises Alou (who returned to action on Friday night and hit his first homerun as a Giant on Sunday), they should have won at least four games. Until this point, the Giants' offense had been the bright spot of the season, but last week they averaged just three runs-per-game. And while the pitching staff has settled down a bit from its rough start in the first two weeks of play, when they seemed to yield at least one huge inning every other game, they gave up an unacceptable five runs-per-game in the last seven contests. more ›