San Francisco Giants Wiretap

RealGM's MLB Team Rankings Through 6/29

The Opsera is a statistic RealGM Executive Editor Chris Reina created in order to objectively rank teams by how well they hit (OPS) and pitch (ERA).

In order to determine the Opsera rating for each, we take their OPS, multiply that number by 10 to move the decimal point over one place to the right and then subtract their ERA from that number.

Below are the rankings through the Thursday, June 28th games:

The rankings from last week are in parenthesizes.

1. (1) Texas Rangers - 4.41

Long known for their offense, Texas employs a pitching staff with the tenth-lowest ERA (3.69) in baseball.

2. (2) New York Yankees - 4.24

It may not take long for the Yankees to drop in these rankings with Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia on the disabled list. Luckily, their offense has begun to show signs of life.

3. (3) Washington Nationals - 4.03

Twelve games over .500, the Nationals own the third-best record in baseball and have a three-plus game lead in the National League East.

4. (6) Los Angeles Angels - 3.99

It took some time, but the Angels are surging.

5. (5) St. Louis Cardinals - 3.90

Entering Friday, the Cardinals are third in the three-team race for the National League Central crown (behind Cincinnati and Pittsburgh). They cannot be counted out.

6. (7) Cincinnati Reds - 3.80

Speaking of the Reds, they have the third-highest run differential in the National League.

T7. (4) Los Angeles Dodgers - 3.67

Losers of five straight, the Dodgers have fallen behind the red-hot Giants in the National League West. That could change again when Matt Kemp returns.

-- (8) San Francisco Giants - 3.67

The Giants have recorded four-straight shutouts.

9. (T11) Boston Red Sox - 3.55

10. (T11) Arizona Diamondbacks - 3.54

11. (14) Chicago White Sox - 3.38

12. (T11) Detroit Tigers - 3.34

13. (10) Baltimore Orioles - 3.31

14. (17) Atlanta Braves - 3.27

15. (9) Tampa Bay Rays - 3.24

16. (T19) New York Mets - 3.23

17. (18) Pittsburgh Pirates - 3.22

18. (T15) Philadelphia Phillies - 3.18

T19. (T19) Milwaukee Brewers - 3.11

-- (21) Oakland Athletics - 3.11

21. (22) Kansas City Royals - 3.09

22. (T15) Toronto Blue Jays - 3.08

23. (24) Miami Marlins - 2.68

T24. (26) San Diego Padres - 2.66

-- (T28) Houston Astros - 2.66

26. (27) Seattle Mariners - 2.55

27. (23) Cleveland Indians - 2.48

28. (T28) Colorado Rockies - 2.42

29. (25) Chicago Cubs - 2.31

30. (30) Minnesota Twins - 2.09

Via Andrew Perna/RealGM

New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Misc Rumor, Team Achievement

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Giants Throw Franchise-Record Fourth Straight Shutout

Madison Bumgarner fired a one-hit gem as the Giants notched a franchise-record fourth straight shutout in a 5-0 win over the Reds.

Bumgarner didn't give up a hit until the sixth inning, and the Giants' starting pitchers have now gone a club-record 36 straight innings without allowing a run.

With the Dodgers' loss to the Mets, the Giants moved into sole possession of first place in the NL West.

Via MLB.com

Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Game Recap

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Giants Complete Shut Out Sweep Of Dodgers

Tim Lincecum won for the first time in nearly two months to end the worst drought of his career, and the Giants held the Dodgers scoreless for the third straight game in a 3-0 win Wednesday, according to an ESPN.com report.

Via ESPN.com

Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Game Recap

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Lincecum Working All Angles To Solve Funk

Tim Lincecum dropped 30 pounds before this season and he now believes the weight loss came too fast.

He was still effective at 190 pounds, eating whatever he wanted, but his body didn't feel quite right.

"It's kind of coming to terms with my mortality," Lincecum said.

"I always thought, 'Oh, I'm never going to be sore.' Like as a kid growing up, I was never sore. I never hurt, I could bounce back from things. I was like -- I don't even know, what kind of animal rebounds from everything? -- a dog. They bump their head and forget about it four seconds later."

He has added 10 pounds back onto his frame in hopes of curing his struggles. The right-hander is just 2-8 this season and has lost speed on his fastball.

Lincecum's fastball tops out these days at 92-93 mph but is often 90-91, a significant difference from his former 94 mph average.

"I want to feel I'm at a comfortable weight but I know I fluctuate so easily," Lincecum said. "I know I'm a picky eater, so that's even harder. When you come into a room and there's nothing but vegetables, you go, 'I'll just have a shake' or something like that.' It's just holding yourself accountable and remembering to do stuff.

"Last year I'd eat anything I wanted and I didn't even care. I was like, 'I don't care, I'm fat, I'm thicker than I'm used to being and I'm doing fine.' Then my body started feeling different. My legs started feeling the effects of the 30-plus pounds I'd put on. Anybody putting on 30-plus pounds is going to feel the effect.

"What happened is then I just completely changed it. I don't think that's a smart move either and I don't think the way I got rid of it was smart. I got rid of it way too fast, drastically. My focus became more getting back to my normal weight than pitching, throwing."

Via Associated Press

San Francisco Giants, Misc Rumor

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Jeff Kent Rumored To Compete In 'Survivor: Philippines'

Former major leaguer Jeff Kent reportedly finds himself among the competitors in "Survivor: Philippines."

CBS has not confirmed Kent's appearance in the upcoming season TV reality show.

Via hallofverygood.com

Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Misc Rumor

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