Can the road trip be any worse for the Giants than the homestand?

“Somewhere in this favored land, the sun is shining bright.” Yes, a line from the closing of “Casey at the Bat,” a baseball tale of woe. 

Not to be confused with the story of the Giants, who, although failing as the mighty Casey, rarely play when the sun is shining. Especially this summer in San Francisco.

What seemed so glorious a month ago has turned into a disaster that seems destined to continue Friday night in New York, when the Giants face the Mets.

The last few months have been notably displeasing for sports in Northern California. The San Francisco 49ers didn’t even make it to the playoffs last season. The Golden State Warriors were eliminated from the playoffs after a single round. And now the Giants have fallen so far so fast that, like less respected franchises such as Tampa Bay or the Colorado Rockies, at the major league trading deadline, they became sellers, not buyers.

If not clearing the roster, at least dispensing with one of the better relief pitchers, Tyler Rogers.  Teams that think positively don’t do that.

After being swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates (yes, the Pittsburgh Pirates) in a three-game series that ended Wednesday under the marine layer (brrr) at Oracle Park with a 3-1 loss, the Giants had not only dropped below .500 but basically dropped out of contention as a possible wild card.

And it was only a few weeks ago, June 13th, 2025, the Giants were tied for first with the dreaded Los Angeles Dodgers. Optimism, understandably, was rampant. Hey, this time the Giants are going to catch L.A., or at least catch a spot in the postseason. They even made a trade for Rafael Devers. He was going to be the big bat that would make a big difference.

In Chicago, there is a long-held theory that people who played with the Cubs were going to struggle, no matter how good they were before coming there.

It wasn’t the players’ fault. He was trapped by history. The only way he would even succeed again was to be “de-Cubbed.”

Now you wonder whether ball players in San Francisco will have to be “de-Gianted.” Look at what’s happened. Following the All-Star break, the Giants went to Toronto and lost three straight. Then, after a loss in Atlanta, they won two. A good sign before a return home? 

Yes, until they got on the field at Oracle Park. Then it was six more defeats in a row, three to the Mets, followed by three to the Pirates. Going without a lone victory for six games at home equaled a sorrowful record set in 1896, when the Giants still were in New York. 

And, apropos of nothing, it’s where the Giants will face the Mets at the start of a road trip that can’t be worse than the last homestand. Or can it?

Not only did San Francisco prove inadequate on the mound and at the plate. Tuesday and Wednesday, they left runners on base (both times, unable to make contact).

But the Giants also botched fielding chances, misplaying fly balls or bobbling grounders.

“When you play badly, it’s contagious,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said Wednesday. “When you play well, it’s contagious.”

Unfortunately, the Giants haven’t played well for a while. And who knows when, as is the poem about Casey, the sun will shine bright for San Francisco.