35-year old righty swinging Bengie Molina has been everything the Giants expected when they signed him and much more. He has been one of the best hitters on the team all three years for the Giants. This season he has played in 131 games for the Giants and he is 129 for 487 (.265 avg, .726 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 20 homers and 79 RBIs. In his three years with the Giants, Molina has played in 410 games in which he is 421 for 1,514 (.278 avg, .742 OPS) with 135 runs scored, 55 homers and 255 RBIs. Molina has also done a really good job of handling the pitching staff of the Giants. It will likely come down to how much money Molina wants as the Giants have a bright prospect at catcher in Buster Posey.

Starting shortstop Edgar Renteria is done for the season as he will need elbow surgery shortly. He played in 124 games for the Giants this season and he was 115 for 460 (.250 avg, .635 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 5 homers, 48 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The Giants expect much more out of Renteria next season as he disappointed them in 2009.

31-year old righty swinging 2B Freddy Sanchez has been shut down by the Giants as he will have surgery on his left knee next week. Sanchez played in 25 games for the Giants and he was 29 for 102 (.284 avg, .619 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs. He played in 111 games total this season with the Pirates and Giants in which he was 134 for 457 (.293 avg, .742 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 7 homers, 41 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Giants want to re-sign Sanchez because if they don’t they will look really bad for trading Tim Alderson to the Pirates for him.

UPDATE: The Giants hold an option on Sanchez for the 2010 season worth $8 million bucks or they could buy him out for $600,000 bucks and try to re-sign him to a smaller deal.

UPDATE II: The Giants have re-signed Freddy Sanchez to a brand new 2-year deal through renegotiation rather than buying him out.

19-year old righty swinging 1B Angel Villalona has been charged with murder in a shooting death in his hometown in the Dominican Republic. If he is found guilty his career is probably over and that would be sad for the Giants. Villalona was the Giants’ #3 rated prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. He played in 74 games in A-ball this season and he was 78 for 292 (.267 avg, .703 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 9 homers and 42 RBIs. He was a hacker in the minors this season as he only walked 9 times while whiffing 73 times. What a waste of talent.

20-year old lefty starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner was the Giants’ #1 rated prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America and he has certainly showed why so far this year. Bumgarner pitched in 25 games (24 starts) in A+AA ball this season and he was 12-2 with a 1.85 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He only allowed 100 hits in 131 1/3 innings in the minors as he missed a lot of bats. When rosters expanded on September 1st the Giants promoted him to help out the pitching staff. He has pitched in 3 games (1 start) for the Giants so far and he is 0-0 with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He has only walked 1 batter while whiffing 9 of them in only 8 innings for the Giants. He could compete for a job in what could be a dominating starting rotation next spring.

Closer Brian Wilson is a big reason why the Giants are still in the Wild Card hunt. He has pitched in 64 games (0 starts) for the Giants this season and he is 5-5 with 35 saves, a 2.61 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He has only allowed 58 hits in 69 innings this season while whiffing 76 batters. The Giants play a lot of close games which makes Wilson a tad more important than most closers in the majors and he has done a great job.

The Giants signed lefty reliever Jeremy Affeldt to a nice contract in the off-season and he has proven to be worth every penny of it. Affeldt has pitched in 69 games this season out of the bullpen and he is 1-2 with a 1.75 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He has only allowed 40 hits in 56 2/3 innings this season while whiffing 50 batters which shows his stuff has been nasty. The only weakness in his game this season is his control as he has walked 30 batters….but that’s nitpicking.

Randy Johnson is back for the Giants…..as a reliever. Johnson has started 17 games this season for the Giants and he is 8-6 with a 4.81 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. The Big Unit should do a fine job as the second lefty in the bullpen behind Jeremy Affeldt. He has pitched a lot out of the bullpen in the playoffs and he’s hungry to get back there which is probably part of the reason he agreed to move to the bullpen. Get a good look at Johnson because I have a feeling he’ll be retiring after this season.

23-year old switch hitting 3B Pablo Sandoval is without a doubt the best hitter on the Giants. He has played in 136 games for the Giants this season and he is 164 for 509 (.322 avg, .915 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 21 homers, 77 RBIS and 4 stolen bases. The Giants need some of the other hitters on the team to step up and give Sandoval some help if they want to make the playoffs this season.

San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum has been battling back spasms and missed his last start.  Many have thought that Lincecum is too worn down and has nothing left in the tank this year.  Many thought his back spasms would cause him to miss at least a few starts.  Others say his mechanics are terrible and he wont last.  They point out his recent drop in velocity (only a few mph) as a reason to count this guy out.

People need to stop doubting this kid as he came back tonight as good as ever, getting the win in the Giants 9-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies Monday night.  Lincecum went seven strong innings, giving up only one run on six hits with 11 K’s.  Yeah he wasn’t throwing 98 mph, but he consistently hit 92 on the gun and topped out a few times around 94-95. Lincecum doesn’t need to be a fireballer, as he has a nasty curveball that drops off the table and a devastating change-up to complement his lively fastball.

Lincecum is now 14-5 with a 2.30 ERA and leads the NL in K’s with 244 on the season.  In other Giants news, future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson is nearing a return for the Giants.  His role will probably be a limited bullpen one, as Johnson says he is playing through a torn labrum.  “The Big Unit” could be a big asset out of the bullpen for the Giants in the playoffs.