Whoever scheduled a Giants-Dodgers series right before the trade deadline has a real sense of humor. Sure, it was probably a computer, but whenever some mere mortal combed over the printout, he chuckled to himself when he saw that the Dodgers would be in San Francisco, the Phillies in Atlanta, the Red Sox in New York, and the Houston Astros. Definitely laughed at the Astros.
The key to the next three days is to maintain composure, no matter what happens. Recall that the last time the Dodgers came to town, the Giants were three games back and it seemed impossible that they could catch up to first place. Many of us would have been happy taking the series. Instead, the result: 27 scoreless innings. That's probably not going to happen again, but I'd take it if it did. Conversely, the Dodgers probably aren't going to sweep San Francisco, not with Matt Cain and Ryan "Won't Wear Dodger Blue" Vogelsong taking the mound.
In any case, keep your composure, as losing perspective and demanding an invincible right handed power hitter no matter the cost we've got to keep first place and flaming Hank Schulman on Twitter can only lead you to a dark place.
Especially if you're Brian Sabean, because if you follow that black tunnel you're going to wake up on July 31st and Scott Hairston's going to be standing in right field and Gary Brown is going to be teammates with Zack Wheeler. You don't want that. I don't want that. Gary Brown doesn't want that.
See the calming hand of Hanley Ramirez up there? He's saying to you: "No matter what happens, this series is not about me, and its not about the trade deadline."* Make it so at your own peril.
* In fact, it's probably going to be about Barry Zito, Matt Kemp, and Andre Ethier. Warning: do not combine with fastballs middle in.
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