Dog Days

After a July of cotton candy and rainbows, it's been a very moody August so far for the Giants. They stink! They're hot! They're within striking distance! The season's over! Well, maybe not! What time are the Niners on!

My litmus test for how over I should consider the season is whether or not scoreboard watching is still fun. And it is. I still get those in-the-hunt goose bumps when, after a exciting win like tonight's over the NL Central leading Reds, I check the scores and see that the Phillies lost. It's still adventurous.

I am resigned to some realities, however. The Padres are headed for the playoffs, most likely with the division crown. We're five and a half back, and it's hard to rebound from that in a year other than 1951. So it's probably wild card time for now. The other reality is that the Padres are in their position because they're consistent. We're in ours because we've been erratic.

So we're erratic. It's charming, and character building. It's costing us the division, but does it mean the Giants won't make the playoffs? Not necessarily, because a jaunt through Downtown Wild Card City brings sightings of a lot of erratic play lately. Are the Phillies really a model of consistency? Or the Cardinals? I know they're good, and both teams just gave the Giants a lot of trouble, but take a look back at their Augusts, and they look a little Giantsish. These teams are as streaky as they come.

Out of the three NL Wild Card teams, I don't see any of them cruising into the playoffs easily. Each contender seems to look bad, then good, from one day to the next. Kind of like the Giants.

Here's a few thoughts following tonight's game:

-Panda still hot. If the Giants are going to go on that run they need, it's not going to be without Sandoval involved.

-Is the rotation getting solid again? That's three wins from the starters in the last five games after no wins from the starters in the previous 14.

-Rick Reilly should never host SportsCenter again.