Sometimes you just have to tip your hat...

One game difference between OK and horrible. For whatever reason, Odalis Perez got our number. Well, him and Kent. (Ugh, I hated seeing his ugly puss on TV, another "I've been dreaming of playing for the Dodgers..."; that explains his lack of impact during the playoffs...) It would have been OK if the Giants had cashed in their 8 runs to start against Weaver but it was not to be and we get swept in a 2 game series.

But we are still .500 and not that far back of the "leaders". Whether the Giants or whomever, I expect the leadership to rotate among the four teams currently at top, at least until Alou and Bonds return. Then I expect things to pick up nicely from there for the Giants.

As could be expected, in retrospect, Jerome Williams turn in the rotation was skipped to keep everyone (i.e. Schmidt) on their regular day to pitch. Alou's talk about no 5th starter was probably to "aye mein" (Chinese Cantonese for "give face" or in today's lingo, giving it up for his homeboy, some r-e-s-p-e-c-t) to Williams to try to reduce the sting of being skipped plus make it look like the decision was not made automatically but was given some days to ferment and congeal. In addition, when this affects your ace, Schmidt, I think everyone has to ready to bend over backward to make sure Schmidt is OK and pitching well.

But it also made sense from another aspect: we're playing 3 games in Colorado over the weekend. Odds are, one of the starters will get shelled early and probably Williams will be utilized as long relief to give the bullpen some rest (especially since Rueter is now slated to start Sunday against them). That will save the bullpen for the more important duties of (hopefully) keeping the lead.

Off days are the worse after a losing streak...