The Giants were approached by a lot of teams over the winter about trading for lefty starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez. But, the Giants resisted which has proven to be a very smart decision. He has started 4 games for the Giants so far this season and he is 2-1 with a 1.85 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. He only has allowed 14 hits in 24 1/3 innings this season while whiffing 33 batters as his stuff has been absolutely electric so far this season. Sanchez still has some control issues as he has walked 13 batters already this season but the 27-year old still appears to be coming into his own this year. If Sanchez keeps up the good work the Giants will probably have the best starting rotation in the N.L.

The Giants have signed 30-year old righty swinging shortstop Angel Berroa to a minor league deal. Berroa played in 35 games for the Yankees & Mets last season in which he was 7 of 49 (.143 avg, .391 OPS) with 10 runs scored and 3 RBIs. Berroa has now played in 746 games in his major league career and he is 665 of 2,575 (.258 avg, .677 OPS) with 329 runs scored, 46 homers, 254 RBIs and 50 stolen bases. It never hurts to have guys with positive major league experience stashed in AAA so I like this signing for the Giants.

The Giants have been platooning Nate Schierholtz and John Bowker in RF so far this season. The problem is that Schierholtz is clearly outplaying him right now. He has played in 17 games this season for the Giants and he is 11 of 32 (.344 avg, .917 OPS) with 5 runs scored and 2 RBIs. The Giants should just finally give him a chance to play every day to give him a chance to show what he can do. John Bowker has played in 16 games for the Giants this season and he is 7 of 40 (.175 avg, .489 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. Bowker has more power than Schierholtz but it doesn’t matter if you don’t hit the ball.

The Giants are 8-4 on the season which has them in first place in the N.L. West, 2 games ahead of the Rockies, Dodgers and Padres. The Giants have outscored the opposition 69-41 this season as they are scoring more than enough runs this year to make the good pitching stand up. The Giants travel to San Diego for three games against the Padres this week before coming home to play three against N.L. Central leading St. Louis. They are going to be tested this week.

It appears as if 32-year old lefty starting pitcher Barry Zito has his groove back. He has started 3 games for the Giants this season and he is 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP. He has only allowed 12 hits and walked 5 batters in 19 1/3 innings this season. Zito is being really aggressive and batters are missing his curveball once again as it has a very sharp break right now. That is because he is using his fastball more than he has in the last couple of years making batters pay for sitting on his curve.

The Giants have placed starting CF Aaron Rowand on the 15-day disabled list with a mild concussion and two small fractures in his left cheekbone as the result of a Vicente Padilla fastball upside the head. Rowand has played in 10 games for the Giants this season and he is 14 for 46 (.304 avg, .790 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 6 RBIs. Eugenio Velez will replace Rowand in CF and he should do a good job while he is out of action. This is a bad break for Rowand though as he was off to a good start this year. The Giants have recalled 26-year old righty swinging infielder Matt Downs to replace Rowand on the active roster. Downs played in 9 games in AAA-ball this year and he was 10 for 35 (.286 avg, .876 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. Don’t look for Downs to get much playing time while he is up with the Giants.

The Giants have traded 29-year old lefty swinging outfielder Fred Lewis to the Blue Jays for either a player to be named later or cash. Lewis played in 122 games for the Giants last season and he was 76 for 295 (.258 avg, .738 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 4 homers, 20 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Lewis played in 326 games in his four years with the Giants and he was 258 for 931 (.277 avg, .775 OPS) with 169 runs scored, 16 homers, 81 RBIs and 34 stolen bases. The Giants have been trying to get rid of Lewis for a while and he might do well with the Blue Jays. Only time will tell.

Tim Lincecum is looking to win his third consecutive Cy Young Award this season and he is off to a fast start. In his first two starts for the Giants this season he is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA and a 0.71 WHIP. He has only allowed 9 hits and walked 1 batter in 14 innings so far this season and he has a N.L. leading 17 strikeouts already. His chief competition for the Cy Young Award this season will likely come from Philadelphia in the form of Roy Halladay.

The Giants are off to a 5-1 start this season as they have outscored the competition 31-20 so far this season. The Giants are combining solid offensive output with great pitching as they have a 2.79 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP as a team! The Giants open a 3 game series with the Pirates during the week and they hook up with the Dodgers in L.A. over the weekend. The Giants want to start getting separation from the rest of the division starting this weekend against the Dodgers.

Starting shortstop Edgar Renteria is on fire with the bat this year. In his first 4 games this year, Renteria is 11 for 16 (.688 avg, 1.737 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 5 RBIs. Renteria did not have a good year for the Giants and there were whispers in the off season that he was starting the downside of his career. But he is showing no evidence so far this season that he is anywhere near done.