Giants/A's Notes

We're right in the middle of the major league baseball season, and with the All-Star break and the trading deadline just a few short weeks away, there is a lot going on in the baseball world.

The Oakland A's made a move a couple of days ago, acquiring Scott Hairston from the San Diego Padres for basically nothing. All the A's had to send to San Diego in exchange for the .300 hitting center fielder was a couple of mid-level minor league pitchers and a player to be named later. Hairston isn't necessarily a game changing bat, but he's certainly a more than capable center fielder who can bring some offense. He's got the type of pop to hit 30 home runs in a year if given full-time at-bats, and he's really improved some of the holes that were in his swing. The 28 year-old outfielder was hitting .299 with 10 bombs and 20 RBI in under 200 at-bats. Definitely a positive move for the A's, as Hairston is going to be cheap for a couple of more seasons. Just ask Giants fans about what this guy can do; He's hit 11 home runs against the Orange and Black (3 more then the next closest team) in just 171 at-bats...

Speaking of the Giants, they placed their 8-game winner, and career 303 game winner, Randy Johnson on the disabled list with a strained left shoulder. Johnson was injured in his latest outing against the Houston Astros, a game in which he couldn't make it out of the fourth inning and couldn't keep the Astros in the yard. It's unclear just how long the "Big Unit" will be out of the Giants lineup, but early diagnosis have him missing anywhere from 4-8 weeks, which mean we're likely looking at first part of August in the best case scenario. Remember, the Unit is 45 years old and isn't going to heal as quickly as he would have 10-12 years ago, so the Giants are likely crossing their fingers in hope that this thing isn't too serious. Brian Sabean has said that Johnson's injury will not force the Giants to make a deal for another arm. Jonathan Sanchez will fill his spot, while Ryan Sadowski sticks in Sanchez's former slot, which leaves the Giants little room for error if Sanchez gets torched again, or if the league starts figuring out Sadowski. It should definitely be interesting to see how things play out with the Giants rotation over the next few weeks.