...And That's When Depression Set In: Mets 8, Giants 6

So many things went wrong for the Giants on Friday night -- starting pitching, bullpen, defense, clutch hitting, managing, luck -- you could write a long, detailed essay on the multi-faceted failure. But that could take years and cost millions of lives. In my opinion, this game came down to one boneheaded decision by Bruce Bochy. And now, because of it, the Giants have a 3-game losing streak, and are back to letting the Dodgers (now 6 games up) run away with the division.

It was the 6th inning, and the Giants looked to have the game well in hand. It was 5-1, and Lincecum had struck out the side the previous inning. But his fastball velocity was a bit down, and he was leaning heavily on his changeup. In the top of the 6th, as his pitch count rose over 100, he allowed 2 runs, closing the gab to 5-3. It was pretty clear he was done. Sure, if the Giants went -2-3, and his spot didn't come up, maybe you could send him out until a baserunner got on, and hope he had a quick inning. Only the Giants didn't go 1-2-3, and Lincecum's spot did come up -- with a man on 2nd base. An insurance run. An engraved invitation to pinch-hit. Somewhere deep in the recesses of Bruce Bochy's brain he thought"Pinch hit? But that's just what they're expecting me to do."

Bochy let Lincecum hit, and briefly looked smart, as Lincecum singled in the runner. That positivity didn't last long. In the top of the 7th, Lincecum allowed a hit and a walk, and was pulled from the game without recording another out. Merkin Valdez also faced two hitters, and failed to record an out -- a walk to Gary Sheffield, and a 3-run double by David Wright to tie the game, 6-6. Jeremy Affeldt came in and did a great job of holding the score right there by striking out the side after Wright stole 3rd with nobody out, but it was useless -- the Giants were going to do whatever it took to lose this game.

They proved that yet again when they stranded Randy Winn at 3rd with 1 out in the bottom of the 8th, although that had as much to do with bad luck (Winn's ball missed being a HR by a foot, and with 2 outs, Rich Aurilia scorched a liner that Alex Cora stabbed at SS) as it did poor hitting (Aaron Rowand continued his LVP-caliber season by grounding weakly to 3rd with 1 out).

The Mets eventually won by beating Brian Wilson in the 9th inning of a tie game (for the second straight night), but the dye was cast when Bochy (who would later be ejected) left a spent Lincecum in, needlessly risking an insurance run, the lead, and most importantly, Lincecum's arm, by overworking him on a night what he was clearly not his best, after a tough inning. I don't care how tired the bullpen was, especially since Affeldt, their best set-up man, went 2 innings anyway. Boo Bochy. Boo.

TOMORROW: The Big Unit takes the hill in a semi-nationally televised game, trying end the the Giants 3-game losing streak, trying to keep alive his streak of pitching well at home, and trying to help continue the Giants streak of not losing series by giving them a chance to split on Sunday. That's a lot of streaks. Unfortunately, their all going up against Johan Santana, quite possibly the best pitcher in baseball.

BREAKING NEWS: GIANTS SIGN RANDY JOHNSON

The Giants just got a whole lot uglier. They also now have three Cy Young winners in their starting rotation (the last team to boast that was the 2002 Atlanta Braves, with John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, and Greg Maddux).

That's right, the Giants have signed Bay Area native and future Hall of Famer, Randy Johnson. The five-time Cy Young Award winner has 295 victories, so if he can stay at all healthy next year, he should rack up his 300th in in a Giants uniform, and has a shot at 5,000 K's (His 4,789 strikeouts are second most in history to Nolan Ryan).

According to the San Jose Mercury News' Andrew Baggarly, it's a one-year contract worth a base salary of $8 million, with incentives with could add another $5 million. Not bad for a guy who went 11-10 with a 3.91 ERA in 30 starts last year with the D-Bags (2.41 after the All-Star break). He also had some good-looking peripheral stats -- 3.93 K/BB, 8.46 K/9 (6th in NL). So far, The McCoven generally seem pleased, with a only a few of the "OMG! He's 45! Sabean raids AARP again!" variety.

The Giants aren't exactly building their 2009 squad like they're re-building. It's more like they're trying to ad the final pieces to a championship puzzle -- a couple of experienced bullpen arms in Bob Howry and Jeremy Affeldt, An aging SS in Edgar Renteria, and an ancient SP in Randy Johnson. But none of those players are signed for more than two years, and none for as much as $10 million in any season. Sure, it would've been nice to have Teixeira, but that kind of money -- along with the growing albatross that is The Barry Zito Contract -- could've hamstrung the team for years if it didn't work out. And if they happen to over-perform, then all the better.

These lesser deals, while they may be lipstick on a pig -- or worse -- should not affect the team's long-term development. In other words: So far, so good. But Sabean did say recently that a deal for Johnson could open up the door for a trade of Jonathan Sanchez for a bat. If the bat is young, quality, plays a corner infield position, and has a reasonable contract, then so be it. If he ends up panicking that the offense may suck, and unloads Sanchez for a Jorge Cantu-like stopgap, then I will be greatly displeased.

In the meantime, though, I'll maintain my (slightly) improved opinion of Sabean. And the thought of this rotation makes me feel very excited:

Lincecum
Johnson
Cain
Sanchez
Zito

That's the NL leader in K's followed by #13, #8, and #22. < cough >Then Barry Zito< /cough > Again, my excitement is tempered by the possibility of a trade -- and because I'm afraid Bruce "Old School" Bochy will look at that list and see Zito as the #2 starter. But until then -- or another move the D-Bags or Dodgers -- the Giants have the best rotation in the NL West. And that makes me feel very much like this: