SF Examiner: San Francisco Giants mired in offensive slump

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By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

This isn’t a June Swoon, it’s an “Oh gawd, how do we get back to last October?”

It’s a season of Murphy’s Law baseball, with the people who aren’t getting injured unable to get out of slumps.

“It’s going to have to pick up,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “We know it.”

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

SF Examiner: Giants, A’s sharing same woes at the plate

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By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

At least A’s manager Bob Geren hasn’t felt the need to say of his team, “We’re awful,” which is specifically what Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of his team’s offense of late, even though they are not.

What they are is disappointing. So are the A’s.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

SF Examiner: Defense is Giants' No. 1 concern

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By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

So right field has turned into the Magical Mystery Tour. And as with last year, the offense seems to be a mystery of its own. Still, the season is not quite two weeks old, and if Giants fans seek a sense of perspective they are urged to check out the disaster that is the Boston Red Sox.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

SF Examiner: San Francisco Giants' Aubrey Huff: The thong is gone, but the man remains

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By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

It’s difficult to tell if Aubrey Huff is serious or serial. He comes across as two-thirds sarcasm, one-third smart-aleck, exactly the sort of ballplayer needed in any clubhouse and by any journalist.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

SF Examiner: Spring brings new challenges for champions

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By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

And so it starts again. The best season in San Francisco Giants history must be relegated to history. It is February, and baseball returns, as always bringing its pleasures and its questions.

What happens in the year after? Does Buster Posey improve, or is there such a thing as the dreaded sophomore jinx? Does Aubrey Huff take his thong and enthusiasm to another level? How does being named “one of the 25 Coolest Athletes of All Time” — ALL TIME — by GQ magazine affect Tim Lincecum?

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

RealClearSports: At Last, Giants Fans Take to the Streets

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By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- They're taking over the streets today. Classic San Francisco. Not for gay rights, however. Or to legalize marijuana - that measure on the California ballot failed to pass Tuesday night.

Or to get the troops out of Afghanistan.

It's to celebrate the Giants' first World Series triumph in San Francisco. It's to celebrate success.


© RealClearSports 2010

SF Examiner: Momentum, maybe fate, with Giants

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By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

So close now. So near the impossible dream. So hard not to believe in the possibility. So difficult to make yourself think the Giants can’t win the World Series.

No, they’re not there yet. They still need one victory. One magic victory that sits up there like a pop fly waiting to be grabbed.

“We have baseball left,” cautioned Bruce Bochy. “We still have work to do.”

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2010 SF Newspaper Company

RealClearSports: Aubrey Huff Finds Home in San Francisco

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By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

Funny how life treats us. And how we treat life. Aubrey Huff was the man nobody wanted, the man of whom it was written in one of those blogs, "he cannot perform at the dish.'' For someone whose baseball reputation was as a hitter, that's about as bad as it gets.

His career had been spent with bad teams, Tampa Bay in the early 2000s, the Orioles in the late 2000s. He had publicly called Baltimore a horsespit town, or something close to that. He was known as only an ordinary defensive player.

And in the opening days of January 2010, he was a free agent.

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2010