Tim Lincecum

The San Francisco Giants are 16 games under .500 and have only 39 victories entering today's game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. But the Giants do have ace starting pitcher Tim Lincecum, who has been steady money for gamblers in putting together a 10-2 record with a 2.66 earned-run average. Yet, San Francisco Manager Bruce Bochy may have made the wrong move when he shuffled the Giants' pitching rotation to get Lincecum two starts this week before Tuesday's All-Star game.

The San Francisco Giants threw $126 million at Barry Zito to be the face of their franchise. Barry Bonds was on his way out, so Zito would be the star to lead the Giants back to the promised postseason land. As the Giants open their first playoff series in seven years, Zito is not even on the roster. He has completed four seasons in San Francisco, all undistinguished, and the decision to leave him off the playoff roster suggests the signing has been regrettable, at best. "We're not regretting it," Giants President Larry Baer said before Game 1 of the National League division series against the Atlanta Braves on Thursday.

Clayton Kershaw , Manager Joe Torre and bench coach Bob Schaefer drew suspensions for the parts they played in the brushback war between the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night. Kershaw was suspended for five games and fined an undisclosed amount, as the officiating crew and commissioner's office believed he deliberately threw at Aaron Rowand in the seventh inning. Kershaw is appealing the punishment and his suspension will be put on hold until the appeals process is complete.

When the booze and tears flowed Saturday night in the visitors' locker room at Citizens Bank Park, someone was missing. Someone the San Francisco Giants cited as a reason why they were celebrating their coronation as the champions of the National League. Someone they described as a mentor. But not one player or coach lamented that Bengie Molina wasn't there with them. There was no reason for anyone to feel guilty that they traded the veteran catcher in late July. That's because Molina is also headed to the World Series ?

Clayton Kershaw said he understands why the Dodgers are monitoring how many pitches he throws, that he even appreciates how Manager Joe Torre limits him to more or less 100 pitches every time he starts. But he doesn't necessarily like it. "It's nice to know that they're trying to take care of my arm," the 21-year-old Kershaw said. "At the same time, you never want to be taken out of a game." Kershaw, who starts today in the opening game of a three-game series against San Diego, said he's given a lot of thought to the subject of pitch counts.

DETROIT - The chant started loud and got louder, grown men hopping up and down in a pack, chanting a single syllable, over and over. HOO! HOO! HOO! It was 20 days ago that the San Francisco Giants first faced extinction, 20 days ago that Hunter Pence spoke up for the first time. His inspirational speeches turned into dugout pep rallies, with the players gathering before the game and chanting themselves into a frenzy. HOO! HOO! HOO! The Giants chanted one last time this season, this time with a prop.

Tim Lincecum won the National League Cy Young Award by a comfortable margin Tuesday, taking home pitching's highest honor in his second major league season. The slender kid with the whirling windup joined Mike McCormick (1967) as the only San Francisco Giants pitchers to win a Cy Young. Lincecum, 24, received 23 of 32 first-place votes and 137 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Assn. of America.

No longer does Scott Spiezio haunt the San Francisco Giants. In 2002, San Francisco was eight outs from its first World Series title when Spiezio's home run triggered an unlikely Angels comeback. The Giants had to wait eight years rather than eight outs, but the sting is gone. "This takes everything away," said J.T. Snow . Snow, the first baseman on that 2002 team, shared in the clubhouse champagne celebration Monday, smiling broadly as the current San Francisco players hoisted the World Series trophy aloft.