-The Warriors get a big lead, lose a big lead, then regain a big lead as they beat the NY Knicks. Tim Kawakami thinks the Warriors need to tank the season by giving Patrick O’Bryant some playing time. more ›

Okay everyone, let's do the Tighten Up. Twins 7 A's 5- Joe Kennedy picked the wrong time to snap his scoreless inning streak as he blew a two run lead late to the Twins, a team long-buried and now looking like your possible Central Division Champs. The A's were up 5-3 in the eighth when Kennedy, pitching his second inning, started giving up hit after hit. This wasn't any sort of Benitez job, however-- Kennedy had a 15 1/3 scoreless streak going and took his first loss since last year. That's the thing about being a relief pitcher, no matter how well you do, at some point you're going to blow a game. The game also marked the end of Frank Thomas's home-run streak, as he was unable to do the deed this time around. The big thing, however, is that the Angels, a team that has just pretty much hung around and around and around all season, also won. What was once a fairly comfortable lead is now not so much as the Halos are now 4 1/2 back. We had thought the A's were pretty much in cruising mode but we guess not. Welcome to Pennant Race Hell, A's fans. more ›

If, like us, you were driving around the city last night hearing weird sort of booms in the air it was because it was Fireworks Night at the Phonebooth. Now fireworks night at the ballpark can occasionally be sort of a weird thing, an obvious marketing ploy that can on the wrong night and with the wrong team be all that more disconnected from reality. Hey, our team is going nowhere, our front office is run by a bunch of cheapskates, and we'll never come close to the playoffs, but look at the shiny rockets exploding in the air! But not last night. more ›

We were all set to do a follow-up on Barry's Big Nothing but OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL HAS GOTTTEN INTO THE GIANTS? First they rallied from 6-1 to win yesterday and tonight...tonight, well, tonight they put together what Statheads refer to as an "ass whumping," beating the Padres, 9-3. We're talking striking for a rare and always-impressive back-to-back-to-back (and almost another -back) home run barrage, started off by the Barry himself, who hit 722. He was followed in quick succession by the so hot right now Ray Durham and Pedro Feliz. But wait, there's more! Omar Vizquel pulled off a suicide squeeze (scoring Wynn) and the New Kid on the Block, Chad Santos, hit his very first home-run, a two run shot. He also made a few nice plays in the field. more ›

And you know what? We just don't really care about this. The whole Bonds chasing Ruth thing? So over it. You know how you're at a party and there's this guy who says they know this great trick and so they gather everyone around and try it, only to fail. And then they try it again and fail. And then again and again until after like the fifth or sixth time, they finally do it, but at that point, everyone has already moved on to something else? That's what this thing has been like. Yeah, call it a function of our general attention deficit disorder and wanting to be entertained here and now, not have it dragged on week after week after week (unless it involves polar bears on tropical islands and strange buttons in strange hatches and even that grates), but waiting game after game after game for these big hits just finally bored us to it all. And we know we're not the only ones. more ›

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?

baseball-related mathematiasis, SFist comes to you this fine Monday afternoon from sunny Denver bearing a first-hand report of yesterday's Giants/Rockies finale at Coors Field, along with a look back at the Giants' performance in past week and a peek ahead at the week to come. more ›

We spent the past few months obsessing over the Giants' offseason moves and the past few weeks wondering if all of our worst fears about the team's collective age were coming true. We spent Tuesday afternoon at opening day at the ballpark and, looking down on the diamond as the Giants soundly beat the hated Dodgers 4-2, we came to this simple conclusion: the 2005 Giants are a really good team and we're really looking forward to watching them play for the next six or, hopefully, seven months. Sure, they're going to miss Barry Bonds, BALCO scandal and all, while he's out recuperating from his third minor knee surgery of the past three months (and if he's out for much more than the fifteen days he's slated to be on the disabled list, they're going to struggle mightily stay in the NL West race), but Brian Sabean has built a team that's so solid on the mound, at the plate, and in the field that they can withstand the absence of even the best player in the game, at least for a while. And yesterday's game displayed that perfectly. With the perfect weather, beautiful park, and great baseball, Giants fans couldn't have asked for too much more from the team (and they had a lovely time booing Jeff Kent all day long). more ›

First thing is, you gotta understand that at least one SFist writer obsesses over the Giants to a damned near unhealthy point and scours the internet on a fairly regular (constant?) basis looking for Giants orts. So it's pretty rare when significant San Francisco baseball news reaches him through the papers first. Today, though, the Chron had a pretty sweet scoop when it reported that the Giants have all but signed Florida closer Armando Benitez to a three-year $21 million deal. Once he passes a physical, which could happen as soon as today, Thunderbirds are Go and the Giants look like the team to beat in the NL West, especially if they sign a legit bat to hit behind Barry Bonds. more ›

SFist brings you yesterday's baseball madness in a nutshell or two: with only three games left this weekend to finish the season, the Giants, Dodgers and Athletics all won, the Angels lost, and the Astros didn't play, leaving the Giants, who are playing the dreaded Dodgers this weekend, three games back of Los Angeles in the NL West and tied with the Astros in the Wild Card race, and the A's, who are playing the abominable Angels this weekend, tied with Anaheim in the AL West. Can you imagine a more sickeningly exciting scenario for a Bay Area baseball fan? And about yesterday's games: young Jerome Williams was huge for the Giants and young Bobby Crosby was huge for the A's. more ›

Five games left, three back of the Dodgers, tied with the Cubs, a half game up on the Astros, and Milton Bradley losing his mind in LA. Does that say it all? Not if you're an A's fan. Then it's five games left, tied with the Angels, three distant games ahead of the Rangers, and Ichiro getting ready set a major record on the home turf. more ›