Before we start, we should mention that this was conducted days ago, before the recent stretch of suckiness that put the Giants way behind the 8-Ball, the 8-ball being the Rockies.

SFist: Okay, question #1- is this season so far about what you expected, worse than what you expected, or better?

McCovey Chronicles: About what (was) expected. The offense had a lot of question marks, and only a few of those became exclamation points. Ryan Klesko, Bengie Molina, and Randy Winn have been fantastic, but that's where the good news ends.

El Lefty Malo: I'd say we're right on target. We knew it would be a pretty darn good rotation and a pretty darn weak offense and a mystery bullpen. The biggest surprise for me is Molina, who should be nicknamed the Spanish Inquisition. You know, because no one expected what he's doing.

The Giants lead the majors in quality starts (starts with at least six innings pitched and three or fewer runs allowed), and yet they're still hovering around the .500 mark. That's just gross. Quality starts aren't a perfect stat, but they at least give you an indication that your starting staff is giving you a chance to win.

If the Giants had the Red Sox' offense and the Padres' bullpen, they'd be 245-3 right now. Those extra wins would be implied wins, which is a new stat that I've been working on for a while. And by "a while", I mean "while drunk."