It’s 9-0 Diamondbacks in the ninth inning, and Kruk and Kuip are now covering a rock-paper-scissors match between two kids. At this point I would rather watch that than the game…but hey, I’m a masochist when it comes to this team, so I still have it on in the background.

Oh look, Bob Howry can pitch decently–when there’s no pressure on him.

Thanks Bobby.

No wait, he just gave up two doubles in a row. 11-0 Arizona. Finally. I was getting worried that Howry might suddenly become a dependable guy out of the bullpen.

Yeah, I’m bitter tonight. We’re getting absolutely whooped by a team that’s 15+ games under .500 when we had a chance to sweep them and gain ground on the Rockies in the NL Wild Card, since they lost to the Dodgers earlier today.

Can I say I’m that surprised? Not really. Joe Martinez was probably kept in too long but hey, the bullpen has been battered lately and it was evident from the get-go that we probably didn’t have another comeback in the bag tonight, especially as the runs started to pile up.

To me, this game makes it obvious that we need someone else in the five-hole of this rotation. One can argue that the Giants have more things to worry about than who the fifth guy in the starting rotation is (like their offense), but I still think it’s of concern. Sadowski and Martinez have both been feel-good stories coming onto this pitching staff and looked decent in their first couple starts, but both subsequently went downhill in their outings. Plus as I recall, both Sadowski and Martinez benefited in their first start or two from a rare outpouring of offense by the Giants that guaranteed wins for them in those starts. 

So I’m of the opinion that the Giants should find a more reliable guy to plug into the five-hole. Yes it’s the fifth spot in the rotation, but every game counts going down the stretch if the Giants have any semblance of playoff aspirations left and we can’t afford to have Joe Martinez getting blown up in any game, whether it’s against a contending team or not. Who should the Giants’ fifth starter be? Well the first name on the tips of many Giants fans’ tongues is probably Madison Bumgarner. He’s been brilliant at the Double-A level with a 9-1 record and an ERA under 2.00–but the problem is that he’s only in Double-A right now. You can’t just have Bumgarner skip Triple-A and come immediately to the big leagues, no matter how much of a phenom he looks like right now. Even if the Giants might be making a playoff push here, I wouldn’t want to see his development hurt or him rushed too much for that sake. Promote him to Fresno soon and at least give him a couple starts, then if the Giants are still in it in mid to late September, maybe consider giving him a shot at his first Major League start.  

Who else? Eh, maybe you can throw out a Kevin Pucetas at me, but he’s got an ERA over 4.00 and besides, the past two times the Giants have brought up a minor-leaguer to fill in the five-hole it hasn’t worked out too well.

The most intriguing option to me is Brad Penny, who was released by the Boston Red Sox yesterday and is garnering interest from many teams, including the San Francisco Giants. Has he struggled lately? Yes. For the year he’s gone 7-8 with a 5.61 ERA, and in August his record is 0-3 with an ERA of 8.31. But he is a veteran pitcher and would be benefited by pitching in AT&T Park. Plus as a former Dodger he’s familiar with the National League West and he would probably enjoy the opportunity to stick it to his old team since they didn’t part ways well. And hey, he’s out there for $1 million. If we’re paying Rich Aurilia one million dollars to be a benchwarmer so management doesn’t have to be the heavy and outright release him, can’t we pay Brad Penny that to quite possibly be the best #5 guy we’ve had all year?

Sounds like a good idea to me.