by By ANDREW BAGGARLY MediaNews , Monterey County Herald

But the Giants' general manager isn't the only one under the gun. After Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies wrapped up a disappointing 3-7 road trip, Sabean offered a harsh assessment of some of his less established position players and challenged his light-hitting club to perform away from AT&T Park.

"Our road abilities have to change no matter what we do with the ballclub or how it gets tweaked," Sabean said of the Giants , who are 21-31 on the road and 31-15 at home. "Now we're looking at a scenario where you have to play as well as we did at home before the break, which might be a tall order given the way we're swinging the bats."

On that score, Sabean spent Sunday in the office hoping to improve the lineup choices for Manager Bruce Bochy. Sabean said he is "juggling six to eight scenarios or names. We're trying to bring a couple to a head. And we continue to call a couple teams who are holding hope they're in it or they've been reluctant to put their names in play."

Sabean declined to discuss those names, but Pittsburgh second baseman Freddy Sanchez and Washington first baseman Nick Johnson have generated interest.

Washington also has Josh Willingham, a right-handed hitter and subpar defensive outfielder. Reports out of Cleveland indicate Indians first baseman Ryan Garko, a Stanford alumnus, could be moved soon. Seattle first baseman Russell Branyan has 24 home runs, but the Mariners aren't selling yet. Neither are the Florida Marlins, who have second baseman Dan Uggla.

Sabean is willing to add a bat at any position and adjust his current personnel as necessary. After a punchless 10-game road trip, it's clear the Giants are more beggars than choosers. They averaged 2.3 runs, hit .218 and batted .169 with runners in scoring position. They averaged 1.7 walks per game.

There's one more notable average: 0.1 home runs. Nate Schierholtz owned their only longball of the trip.

None of those figures were out of character for a team that has failed all season to hit for power, work counts and get on base. They are seeing the fewest pitches per plate appearance (3.60) among major league teams. Their .306 on-base percentage also ranks last. They swing at the first pitch 34 percent of the time ? more often than anyone else.

Rockies sinkerball artist Aaron Cook dutifully read the scouting reports. He needed just 77 pitches to complete seven innings and the Rockies threw just 103 in all.

Sabean said the offense was crippled on the trip by injuries to Aaron Rowand (forearm contusion) and Edgar Renteria (inflamed elbow), and without a veteran backbone, their younger hitters were exposed.

Asked why Triple-A infielder Kevin Frandsen hasn't received more at-bats while the Giants grope for production at second base, Sabean expressed wider dissatisfaction with his younger players.

"It's not the at-bats versus what they look like, and that teams have been successful getting him out," Sabean said of Frandsen, who hit .128 in 39 at-bats. "And we've seen the same thing from (Travis) Ishikawa and (Fred) Lewis and Schierholtz and (John) Bowker, who hasn't been nearly as comfortable as we thought he'd be. None of that has helped the situation."

Bowker's .156 average has been a disappointment after he contended for the triple crown in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. But Schierholtz has played a solid right field, has a .295 average and is tied for the major league lead in pinch hits. Does he really belong in the same category?

"I'm being factual, not critical," Sabean said. "Just look at the stats. He brings a lot more to the table than most folks, but given what we need -- run production -- it's game-to-game as to what to expect. Boch goes through it every day -- who to give at-bats to, who to go longer with or where to hit them in the lineup."

The Giants rebounded from two woeful offensive stretches in the first half, so Sabean remains hopeful the club can do it again. They'll play 13 of their next 16 games at home, but that stretch includes series against the first-place Phillies and Dodgers.

"If Rowand and Renteria can get back in there every day, maybe it'll get straightened out," Sabean said. "We'll find out soon enough."

Rockies 4, Giants 2

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