As Robbie Ray makes SF Giants debut, is the 'cavalry' arriving too late?

Earlier this month, when Farhan Zaidi appeared on KNBR, the team's flagship radio station, the Giants' typically jovial top baseball decision maker took a menacing tone. The Giants were four games under .500 at the time and three back of playoff position. With Robbie Ray set to take the mound Wednesday at Dodger Stadium for his first time in a Giants uniform and Alex Cobb right behind him, this was supposed to be the turning point in the season, the long-awaited arrival of rotation reinforcements that could reinvigorate a second-half push to the postseason. Walking into the visitors' clubhouse Monday afternoon, Ray was greeted by a team playing some of its worst baseball of the season with its playoff hopes in free fall.