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Giant effort Baker's players perform when it counts
Sports Illustrated's Stephen Cannella checks in with his baseball thoughts every week throughout the season on CNNSI.com. Players, coaches and scouts throw around the term "eyewash" when they see hollow effort or meaningless success on the field. An outfielder diving after a ball to make a play look more dramatic, a hitter lighting it up in batting practice and then shutting it down come gametime, a batter jogging halfway down the right field line to make it look as if he'd run hard to first base -- those sorts of things. Experienced eyes know the difference between such facades and real results, and often, early-season success is nothing more than eyewash. We've all seen teams get off to blazing starts and then cool as the weather warms. As Red Sox closer Derek Lowe, who is trying to rebound from a hellish April during which he went 1-4 with a 6.75 ERA and two blown saves, says, "When the season's over, everyone remembers the last two months more than the first two months." There's no eyewash in San Francisco. Dusty Baker usually manages to get the most out of his team when it counts the most, which is why no one should be surprised by the Giants' resurgence in the NL West. San Francisco has won eight in a row and 14 of 21 since the All-Star break to climb to within a game of the division-leading Dodgers. (The Giants were 5 1/2 games out at the break.) Sound familiar? Last year San Francisco was seven games over .500 at the break, 3 1/2 games out of first place, then went an NL-best 51-26 in the second half to win the division by 11 games. "Spirits are rising in this town," Baker said Thursday, "and spirits are rising in this clubhouse." Baker spoke this week about how the Giants' activity at the trade deadline rejuvenated his team -- they acquired Andres Galarraga from the Rangers in addition to right-hander Jason Schmidt and outfielder John Vander Wal from the Pirates -- and how it was a sign that the front office was trying just as hard to win as his players were on the field. To be sure, the newcomers have already had an impact. Galarraga had 12 RBIs in his first eight games in the Giants lineup. Schmidt threw seven one-hit innings against the Pittsburgh on Wednesday to win his first start with his new club. But San Francisco is primed for a late-season run thanks to the core of veterans who have flourished under Baker in recent seasons. This is a dangerous second-half team because, as one advance scout says, "Dusty always finds a way to get those guys to play hard for him." As Baker himself said Thursday after left-hander Kirk Rueter beat the Pirates, "The girls [in school] always thought the new guys were cute. Well, the guys who were there before were cool, too." Limiting the Damage
Sports Illustrated staff writer Stephen Cannella covers the baseball beat for the magazine. Touching Base appears every week on CNNSI.com.
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