Thursday Linkin'

Matt Cain, Ace - Bay Area Sports Guy
Bay Area Sports Guy does great recaps of Giants games, and where I pound something out from my couch so I can get back to playing Final Fantasy VI, he goes into the locker room and records interviews with his video-interview-recording machine recorder. It's always worth checking out.

Phillies lose to San Francisco Giants, 1-0, in 11 innings - Philadelphia Inquirer

He did not win, and neither did Lee. But Cain could smile.

Matt Gelb is one of my favorite non-Giants beat writers. Here's his take on the best game in a long, long time. Spoiler: Matt Cain triumphs in the end.

Matt Cain: From 2005 to 2012 - Baseball-Reference.com
If you don't know what Game Score is, it's a handy-if-imperfect way to slap a single number on a start and give you an idea of how good it was. According to the metric, last night was Cain's fourth-best start of his career. His best? The one before that, of course. Thinking it's a good time to sign him to an extension that takes him beyond the six years he's signed for already. You can never be too proactive.

Brandon Belt Singles Past Straw Men - FanGraphs Baseball
Friend of the program Eno Sarris makes too much about a single at-bat in the best way possible. Brandon Belt being a cause célèbre must drive Bochy mad, especially because everyone's just guessing if he's Chris Davis or Freddie Freeman at this point.

Also of note: Chris Davis is hitting .351/.368/.541, and Freddie Freeman is hitting .222/.250/.356. I'm sure that's where they'll both be in July.

I'll just leave this here.

Brandon Belt meets Brandon Baby Giraffe at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom - YouTube
It's old, but it's worth watching once every six months. D'awwwwwww.

Interview: Andy Skeels - Bay City Ball
The Baron sits down with the manager of the San Jose Giants. Or maybe they were sitting. Or maybe it was a phone interview, and she was pacing nervously while he was on the toilet. Look, I don't know, people. I'm not on trial, here

Lefty Malo - The Future of Brian Wilson As A Giant

Here's a suggestion: Brian Wilson loves San Francisco. San Francisco loves Brian Wilson. Why not release him, technically make him a free agent, but re-sign him to a low base salary (say, $1 or 2 million) larded with tons of incentives, including a lucrative second-year option triggered by reachable milestones. If he refuses and thinks he can get a Papelbonian contract from someone, more power to him.

When Lefty first posted this, I was like "TOO SOON!", but that passed quickly. It's a pragmatic solution, alright. It's gross to think about, but Wilson's elbow might have donated $8 million or so to the Get a Hitter Fund.

Field Guide To The Magical Powers Please Bestowed On You By Come Way Of Rhapsodic MLB Authentic Jerseys - Baseball Nation
Hilarious piece by a handsome chap on a totally different blog. Isn't it weird how people in different countries speak different languages? lol