Welp, the Giants blew their chance at a sixth consecutive win, falling 3-2 to the Braves today. Madison Bumgarner pitched very well (7 IP, 8 K, 0 BB, 3 H, 2 ER), but two of the three hits he allowed left the yard — and that was the difference in the game. But who can complain about a series win on the road in Atlanta? The Giants are now 5-1 in the second half; I’ll take it.

Links:

The Hall of Nearly Great

The Hall of Nearly Great is an ebook meant to celebrate the careers of those who are not celebrated. It’s not a book meant to reopen arguments about who does and does not deserve Hall of Fame enshrinement. Rather, it remembers those who, failing entrance into Cooperstown, may unfairly be lost to history. It’s for the players we grew up rooting for, the ones whose best years led to flags and memories that will fly together forever. Players like David Cone, Will Clark, Dwight Evans, Norm Cash, Kenny Lofton, Brad Radke, and many others.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I got an early copy a week ago, and I’ve worked about halfway through it so far. It’s just a fantastic collection of essays on a fantastic group of players by a fantastic crew of writers. (At full disclosure, I’m part of the affiliate program for the Hall of Nearly Great, so the added benefit is that I’ll receive a few bucks for every purchase that comes through this link; that’ll help go toward keeping this site up and running, so any support is appreciated — I’ll have to renew domain registration/hosting within a couple weeks.)

Will Clark Saved The Giants, And I Missed It
An excerpt from the Hall of Nearly Great, and a wonderful one at that: McCovey Chronicles’ Grant Brisbee on Will Clark.

An Inner Circle for the Hall of Fame | Baseball: Past and Present
A list of the best of the best: the top 50 players in the Hall of Fame. A certain Say Hey Kid received more votes than any other player.

Game Day Six-Pack: “Buster Posey Is The Perfect Human.”
In which I answered a Phillies blogger’s questions to preview the upcoming Giants/Phillies series.

Giants’ Schierholtz not happy – SFGate

Schierholtz said neither he nor his agent, Damon Lapa, specifically asked the Giants for a trade, but when asked if he would welcome a deal, Schierholtz said, “I think whatever the best fit for the team and me is would be ideal. I can’t really make those decisions. It’s all up to them. Whether I’m here or not I’m going to give my best effort every day and bust my tail.”

Lefty Malo – In Appreciation of Barry Zito
Here’s to Barry Zito.