Back in early August, we speculated along with the baseball world about whether Angel Pagan's return after a lengthy absence could really ignite the San Francisco Giants, which had fallen on hard times and been overtaken by the Los Angeles Dodgers for first-place in the National League West.

In Pagan's first five starts back in the Giants lineup, it didn't look like it. San Francisco dropped all five games. Over his next 27 starts, however, the Giants went 19-8, and it became clear just how important the center fielder and leadoff hitter is to this team.

But with Pagan missing the last two games due to the recurrence of his back problems, the Giants run to the playoffs could be in jeopardy.