Kuzul

There is no denying that Pablo Sandoval has had a roller-coaster career with the San Francisco Giants. We have have seen the highs of a healthy Sandoval, who can hit .330 with 25 home runs, and the lows of Kung Fu Panda, who was overweight last year and hit a mere .278. Inconsistencies aside, the Giants should lock up Sandoval on a long-term deal in the near future. 

Sandoval now enters the final season of his three-year deal, and the main question still lingers. 

Should the Giants sign Sandoval to a multi-year contract extension?

Sandoval has proved he can be one of the best hitters in the game. In 2009, Sandoval’s first full season with the Giants, he finished 5th in all of Major League Baseball with a .330 average. Just two years later, Sandoval hit .315 with 23 home runs and 70 RBIs despite missing 41 games due to a broken wrist.

While Sandoval has shown flashes of brilliance, he has been unable to maintain it year to year. 

After having so much success in 2009, Sandoval entered the 2010 season out of shape, hit just .268 and watched his team win the World Series from the bench.

Sandoval had his redemption year in 2011 but has struggled in the past two seasons to stay healthy. 

Sandoval has taken the initiative to shed some weight and it has shown.

Here is the Instagram picture Sandoval posted three weeks ago.

Here is last year’s Sandoval just for good measure. 

Obviously Sandoval understands that if he wants big money from the Giants, or any other team, he has to prove that he can keep his weight down throughout the course of a season.

If the Giants understand the future value of Sandoval, they would be smart to lock him up for the long term.

Sandoval was the 2012 World Series MVP while playing well overweight. Imagine what his ceiling could be when he’s healthy. 

Sure, the Giants would be taking a slight risk in giving the inconsistent Sandoval big money, but what would happen if they let him walk? 

The 2014-15 free agent class does not have much depth at the third base position as Chase Headley, Aramis Ramirez, Ty Wigginton and Sandoval highlight the group. 

Headley had a breakout season for the Padres in 2012 and will draw interest from a lot of teams if he becomes a free agent.

Ramirez and Wigginton will both be 37 years old come 2015 and would not serve as a long-term solution for the Giants.

Sandoval will be just 28 in 2015, and he and Headley look to be the most appealing options for teams. 

The last thing the Giants want is to lose Sandoval and not be able to find a viable replacement. 

According to Andrew Baggarly of Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, “[I]f the Giants don’t extend him this spring, and he gets to free agency, he’s probably in his last year as a Giant.”

The Giants have seen how Sandoval can perform when healthy, and this should encourage them to reach an extension. 

In the past few years, the Giants have inked Matt Cain and Buster Posey to long-term deals in the season’s early going and should continue this trend with Sandoval. 

Sandoval has become a fan favorite in San Francisco, where wearing panda hats has become the norm.

A panda hat-less AT&T Park would just be a travesty.

Should the Giants keep the Kung Fu Panda in San Francisco? Please comment below!

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Heading into the 2014 season, the San Francisco Giants will look to rebound from their disappointing 2013 campaign. Matt Cain, Pablo Sandoval and Tim Lincecum are three key players the Giants must see improvement from in 2014.

Last year, the Giants suffered from a World Series hangover and finished the season 76-86, third in the National League West.

The Giants’ starting rotation that has led them to two World Series championships underperformed and struggled to produce quality outings. Cain had a very uncharacteristically down year, finishing with a 4.00 ERA. Lincecum slightly improved from 2012 but struggled to find a rhythm for most of the season. 

Their fielding was awful, finishing 24th in all of Major League Baseball with 107 errors—18 of them came from Sandoval.

The Giants are not a team that counts on hitting home runs or scoring a lot of runs. They rely on pitching and defense to win ballgames.

Let’s take a look at why Cain, Sandoval and Lincecum must have bounce-back years in 2014.

Matt Cain

The Giants need their bulldog to return to his old form in the upcoming season.

For the first time since 2008, Cain finished with a sub-.500 record. He has been the rock of the Giants rotation and has thrown 200 innings for six consecutive seasons from 2007-12. Cain struggled to turn in quality outings and gave up a career-high 23 home runs in 2013. 

Cain is the longest-tenured member of the starting rotation and is depended on keeping his run total down and to win games. 

The starting rotation hasn’t been announced yet, but projections list Cain as the Giants’ No. 1. Madison Bumgarner had a breakout season last year and became the Giants’ most reliable pitcher. If Cain can regain his old form, he and Bumgarner could form one of the best one-two starters in the league.

Cain has to do a better job at limiting early inning runs in 2014. According to baseball-reference.com, Cain’s ERA in innings one through three in 2013 was 4.66. He struggled to keep runners off base and allowed 13 walks in early innings. 

If Cain can limit the free passes and keep runners off base, he will keep his pitch count down and be able to eat up more innings. 

How many games will Cain win in 2014?

Pablo Sandoval

Sandoval has been facing the same question almost his entire career as a Giant: Can he keep his weight down and stay healthy for an entire season?

Sandoval has proved in the past that he can lose weight, but he has struggled to maintain it from year to year.

In 2010, Sandoval was out of shape and got benched during most of the playoffs.

He spent the offseason focused on becoming healthier and lost 38 pounds, according to Jorge L. Ortiz of USAToday.com. 

The next season, the slimmer Sandoval hit for .315 and was voted to his first All-Star Game. 

Since 2011, The Kung Fu Panda has put on weight as seen in this picture timeline:

Last season, it was clear that Sandoval’s weight affected him, as he hit for just .278. 

Sandoval is a key middle-of-the-order guy for the Giants, and if he can stay healthy, he is capable of hitting 23 home runs like he did in 2011. 

Sandoval has the ability to hit for both average and power and could do some damage in a lineup surrounded by Buster Posey, Hunter Pence and Michael Morse.

Sandoval has to improve this season, because if he does not, the Giants could let him enter free agency next offseason. 

The Giants have locked up their homegrown talent, such as Posey, Cain and Bumgarner, on long-term contracts. 

If Sandoval wants big money too, he needs to maintain his new look for the entire season. 

Tim Lincecum

The Giants took a gamble this past October when they signed Lincecum to a two-year deal worth $35 million. 

The former two-time Cy Young Award winner has been nowhere close to the pitcher he was from 2008 through 2011. His ERA was 5.18 in 2012 and 4.37 in 2013, finishing with sub-.500 records in both those seasons. 

Cliff Corcoran of mlb.si.com wrote that “even as a sentimental move, it’s a failure. It’s difficult to imagine anyone wanting to continue to watch an iconic player scuffle along as an overpaid shadow of his former self. Apparently, Brian Sabean does.”

So, what does Lincecum need to do?

He needs to prove this season that he can still be a quality Major League starting pitcher again. He no longer has the 94 mph fastball he had early in his career, so he can’t rely on blowing away hitters anymore.

Lincecum proved that he can still be dominant without the high velocity as we saw in his no-hitter on July 13 against San Diego.

Command is more important now more than ever for Lincecum, and he cannot afford to give up 90 walks in a season, which he has been doing recently. 

If Lincecum can keep his walk totals down, look for him to have a turnaround season in 2014. 

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The San Francisco Giants, for the first time in a long time, are going to make splashy moves in the offseason.

San Francisco already dished out lofty amounts of money to retain Hunter Pence and Tim Lincecum, but    there is still more to do. Left field needs to be upgraded, the pitching staff needs to be filled out and the bench needs improvement.

What should the Giants do this offseason?

Begin Slideshow

All season long, through the early good times and the recent bad-to-terrible times, I’ve implored San Francisco Giants fans—loyal and capricious alike—to stay on the ship. There is no worse non-criminal life form than the bandwagon fan—but the raging, pessimistic fan ranks a close second. (I call them “Quaids.” If you’ve seen the old Charlie Sheen movie Major League, you get the reference. But I’m not here to talk about the past.)

Even ardent fans will eventually reach a point of attrition, given enough exposure to shoddy, uninspired play unworthy of fan support. I reached mine when the Giants blew three winnable home games against a lousy Chicago Cubs team two weeks ago. Not because the Giants were losing—I’d never turn my back on my teams strictly based on losses. 

It was how they were losing. Walks, baserunning blunders, repeated failures to bring home men from second base with zero out—I wasn’t watching what I felt was major league baseball. I think most fans can tolerate (not accept) losing to a degree if the team is focused, playing hard, playing smart and aware of the situations they’re presented with. For a while, the Giants came up way short in all but the effort categories.

Since that Cubs debacle, San Francisco has played better—though far from superlative—baseball (not that it could have gotten much worse, but still). 

They kicked off a six-game trip taking two-of-three from the Philadelphia Phillies. Granted, it was a Phillies team minus Domonic Brown, Ryan Howard, Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee (with Lee rumored to be held out of action as a 7/31 trade candidate, though he was officially resting a “stiff neck” as reported by CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa). One could argue the latter trio’s absence as addition by subtraction when you recall how SF schooled them in the 2010 playoffs, however.

On that trip, Brandon Belt got his swing back. All it took was a minor grip adjustment and some pressure by a rejuvenated Brett Pill to unleash the player who tore through the Pacific Coast and Arizona Fall Leagues, as well as the 2013 Cactus League.

After being benched in Philly, Belt went a hard 3-for-4 with a homer at Tampa in his return to the starting lineup. He next lit up the Brewers and Orioles in San Francisco to the tune of 11-for-25—many to the long-ignored opposite field—with two home runs, three doubles (all smoked) and five RBI. In fact, Belt has driven in five of the Giants’ past 11 runs and (excluding the two homers) scored three others.

Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum both re-discovered their ace stuff; in fact, as a whole, the entire starting staff has been dealing as of late. Since July 30 (Barry Zito‘s final start to date), The Freak and friends have thrown six or more innings in 10 of 12 starts and allowed a composite 20 runs in those 12 starts.

For their efforts, Giants starters own only a 4-2 record over that period—while they’re not being saddled with an excess of undeserved losses, they’re not being rewarded with enough wins (although the G’Men did a great job salvaging Cain’s eight strong innings with a late comeback off Philadelphia’s Jon Papelbon August 1.)

Though he’s fallen into a slump, Panda Sandoval continues to exercise better selectivity at the plate ever since his embarrassing flail at a pitch that went through his legs on July 3 at Cincy. Sandoval is never going to be Ted Williams or Barry Bonds in terms of condensing the strike zone, and no one is asking him to be. The guy can beat a “bad” ball with the best of ’em—Pablo’s productivity would suffer if his approach turned passive.

That said, not even he can do anything with a pitch headed straight for him—or a pitch thrown 58 feet. Or a pitch closer to a pitchout than a strike. Sandoval’s cold right now, but for the most part, he’s getting off good swings and not getting himself out—unlike his June cold snap coming off the injured list.

Some of Sandoval’s more impressive “takes” of late include:                

• a nasty 0-2 changeup from Phillie Antonio Bastardo on July 30 
• a tempting Wily Peralta (Brewers) 2-2 curve on August 6
• two back-foot breaking balls (from Milwaukee’s Jon Hand August 8 and Baltimore’s Bud Norris August 11, respectively) nearly identical to the July 3 leg-splitter

…among others he would usually pounce on.

Those unfamiliar with Sandoval won’t be impressed at a sixth-year major league hitter exercising dish discipline on its face, but what you must understand: Panda laying off dirt-dusters and third-eye heaters is no different than a crook returning a dropped wallet to the police station fully intact—it goes against everything that comes naturally to him. This is what makes Pablo’s batting slump so mystifying, but I’m confident he’ll wrap 2013 strong.

Zito predictably lost his rotation spot after the aforementioned loss in Philadelphia that left him with the following home/road splits (as a starter): 4-1. 2.45 ERA/0-7, 9.50 ERA (with a WHIP approaching 2.4, twice that of his home WHIP). And that doesn’t even include the eight road unearned runs.

This is the final year of Zito’s infamous seven-year contract; even with up to three rotation holes to fill at season’s end, there’s just no way a 36-year-old Zito with his 83-mph-and-dipping “fastball” returns in ’14 even on a Triple-A deal. I’ve defended and supported Zito for years, but even I have to admit that at this point…I’m not sure he’s a MLB pitcher anymore.

His curve is still filthy. His slider and changeup can be effective. But his command has never been worse, which is saying something since even in his outstanding Oakland years, Zito routinely finished among league leaders in walks and ran up high pitch counts. When going well, Zito can often escape jams and hitter’s counts with one of his off-speed pitches. When he can’t command them…you’re left with June-August 2013.

True, he’s had effective starts this year. So did Jamie Moyer in 2012. So did David Wells in 2007. So did Kirk Rueter in 2005.

Given the contempt in which Giants fans held the under-performing Zito in the first half of his tenure and how he earned their respect (if not admiration) with two clutch playoff starts in 2012, it’s fair to say Giants fans—at least the more astute ones—pulled for Barry to turn in a decent year on his way out of town, and for a while he obliged.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear he will go out strong, but Zito’s contribution to the 2012 champs along with his work ethic, stand-up attitude and exemplary representation of the Orange and Black inside and outside the lines over these last seven years should be loudly acknowledged at any future reunions.

After a much-needed off-day, the Giants take on a Nationals team that’s arguably the only one more disappointing than they in 2013. Though a combined 16 games under .500 and 29.5 games out of first place, these franchises do have something to play for. The star-studded series should be entertaining if nothing else. Thanks for reading and go, Giants!

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The world of sports is littered with sad stories of failure—failure that has come as a result of a myriad of issues.

We’ve seen athletes suffer through financial woes after their careers have ended, Antoine Walker and Allen Iverson serving as the poster boys for this particular dilemma.

We’ve seen drugs rob athletes of everything as well, no example more poignant than the premature demise of Len Bias, who was drafted with the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics but never had a chance to showcase his immense skills. A cocaine overdose took care of that.

On the other side of the spectrum, we’ve seen many promising athletes have their careers destroyed by injury. The gruesome knee injury of Shaun Livingston is a strong warning that despite the skill they might possess, athletes are not invincible.

Somewhere in the middle, between destroying their own career through a destructive lifestyle (gambling, excessive spending, drugs) and failing through no fault of their own (injury), are the athletes who, while successful, have no hope of reaching their full potential because of their own personal choices.

Pablo Sandoval, the third baseman for the San Francisco Giants, falls right into that category. Beloved by all in the Bay Area for his cheerful personality and love of the game, the man affectionately known as the “Kung Fu Panda” looks like just that: a panda—a big, out-of-shape one at that.

It’s a reality every fan knows and has sadly accepted. His prowess with the bat and nimbleness for his size have always gotten him a pass. After all, if the man is producing, who are we to say anything?

That pass he owns, however, is starting to get a bit dated. Sandoval’s weight is beginning to spiral out of control; he currently looks heftier than he ever has. Let’s just say that the 240 pounds he is listed at is becoming more and more laughable.

Again, when he’s producing, it has been forgiven. Times like this, however, when his average has slipped to .257 and his on-base percentage a paltry .300, this is when the anger at his weight emerges.

The hypocrisy among the fans is almost as disturbing as the Panda’s own disdain for his health.

The worst part about it is that even when he is his typical hitting self, it is still only a fraction of the baseball player Sandoval can be.

He has been blessed with the softest of hands; few pick it as cleanly as the Panda over in the hot corner. Anything hit at him is likely to be turned into an out. That sounds nice, sure, but the most important thing about that sentence was “hit at him.”

The range he once possessed has almost completely deteriorated; it’s a wonder teams don’t bunt their way to victory, to be honest. He has created a mirage at third base, making the routine look great. Style has overtaken substance, but not as a personal choice; his weight has created the need for that.

The evidence was painfully clear in the Giants’ 4-3, 16-inning loss to the New York Mets Monday night. His counterpart, David Wright, has managed to do the opposite of the facade Sandoval has created. Whereas the Panda makes the routine look grand, Wright manages to make the toughest of plays look routine.

Sandoval’s disregard for his weight is costing him each time he sets foot on the baseball field. His past seasons, while good, could have been great. His current season, injury-riddled as it has been, has suffered as well. And if some fans expect the future to yield bigger and better things, they are mistaken.

Out-of-shape and overweight athletes tend to fizzle in the league. Their shelf life is markedly shorter than those of players who put the work in to keep themselves in shape. Unless Sandoval makes a concerted effort to get his weight in check, he will be added to the long list of athletes whose success story was marred by one troubling failure. 

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The San Francisco Giants pitching staff is officially being put on notice—step up your game.

Pablo Sandoval has gone on the disabled list, reports Mercury News, meaning there’s a hole in the middle of the lineup.

While guys like Hunter Pence and Buster Posey are still in the middle of the lineup, it’s time for the pitchers to stop depending on the offense to score a lot of runs. It’s time for them to live up to their hype.

In 2013, they’ve been anything but what we saw in 2012.

The Stats

The starting rotation ranks 25th with 26 quality starts, with only 21 of 33 wins coming from the rotation. And that’s not the only problem. They are 24th in ERA (4.75), have no complete games or shutouts, and have walked 132 batters.

The offense has given them 4.3 runs of support per game, yet they still struggle to finish the job.

In fact, it’s been the relief corps who has gotten the job done with a 2.83 ERA, which ranks second in baseball.

The supposed ace, Matt Cain, is 4-3 with a 5.09 ERA and 75 strikeouts. Only seven of his 13 starts have been quality, and that’s the highest number for a Giants pitcher.

Then there’s Tim Lincecum, who has fallen off the map the last two years. Lincecum is currently 4-5 with a 4.75 ERA and 74 strikeouts. Only four of his 12 starts have been quality.

Should I continue?

The best of the bunch has been Madison Bumgarner with a record of 5-4, a 3.58 ERA and 79 strikeouts.

Then there’s Ryan Vogelsong, who has been good for the Giants over the last two years. He only has one quality start to his credit and has a 7.09 ERA.

It’s not pretty for the Giants rotation.

What’s Gone

With the loss of Sandoval, the Giants lose a guy who has been key in the No. 3 hole and one who has been clutch with runners in scoring position.

When runners are on second or third, Sandoval is batting .377 with three home runs and 30 RBI. With two outs, he’s destroying pitches even more with a .500 average.

Needless to say, the Giants are losing a lot with Sandoval out of the lineup.

San Francisco has lost seven of its last 12, giving up almost six runs a game in each of those losses. In the five wins, the Giants have scored 27 runs, while only giving up 12.

Seeds of Greatness

Seeds of greatness are there, but it needs to be more consistent.

The starters can’t depend on the offense to get them out of jams.

There’s a reason why the Giants gave Cain an eight-year, $139.75-million contract before the 2012 season.

He needs to start pitching like the team’s ace. He needs to pitch like he did in 2012, when he showed he was worth the money.

As far as Lincecum, he’s in a contract year. That should be enough motivation.

And if Zito wants to get even a decent contract next year, he has to improve as well.

There’s a lot in this rotation, and they’ve proven it before. But it’s just not showing this year.

Hopefully, the pitching staff gets woken up by a good bat being on the disabled list. They need to stop depending on the offense and start pitching like the all-stars they are.

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With San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval due to miss what could be a significant chunk of time, via the San Jose Mercury News, the Giants need to make a bold move to bolster their offense.

According to Giants President and CEO Larry Baer, third baseman Pablo Sandoval has a hairline fracture in his foot.  

Meanwhile, the Giants are disputing Baer’s statement, saying that the portly third baseman’s injury is just a strain.

Either way, Sandoval is on the disabled list and will miss at least the next two weeks. Forget about whether or not the conflicting reports are a sign of things to come. Forget about whether Sandoval’s injury is the result of carrying excess weight.

The most important thing at this very moment is what the Giants must do to replace the jovial slugger in the lineup.

With the team on the road for six more games against two tough opponents—the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Atlanta Braves—Joaquin Arias and Nick Noonan aren’t going to cut it. This stretch of games could possibly decide whether or not the Giants—who are 33-29, two games behind the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks—are in the playoff race come August and September.

Now is the time for the Giants to do something bold, which is not something they have been wont to do in the past. In 2011, Rookie of the Year catcher Buster Posey sustained a season-ending injury in May. The Giants decided to go with a tandem of Eli Whiteside and Chris Stewart to replace their most important hitter while the club lost precious ground in the standings. When they acquired Carlos Beltran at the trade deadline, it was too late.

That can’t happen again. Although it is still unknown how long Sandoval will be out, the Giants must not play the waiting game. If they want to stay within striking distance, they need to make a bold move.

They need to call up Adam Duvall.

Duvall was selected in the 11th round of the 2010 draft. In his first full season, the powerful third baseman launched 22 home runs for the Augusta GreenJackets. He struck out 98 times in 431 at-bats, which is not horrible for a young power hitter. His on-base percentage was a nice .385, showing his willingness to take a walk.

In 2012, Duvall played in High-A San Jose. While his power numbers increased (30 home runs), so did his strikeout rate (116 K’s in 534 at-bats). Duvall’s OBP dropped to .327 that season, suggesting that he might need a little more seasoning in the lower minors.

Still, the Giants decided to promote the 24-year-old to Double-A Richmond for the 2013 season. Through 111 at-bats, the righty is hitting an impressive .315 with an even better .382 OBP. He’s struck out far less frequently than he has in the past (14.6 K% in 2013 compared to a 19.4 K% in 2012), which is impressive considering the fact that Double-A is widely regarded as the hardest level to hit in.

Duvall has only launched six home runs thus far, but that most likely is a consequence of his new-found discipline at the plate. With a massive .662 slugging percentage—the highest it has ever been in his career—Duvall obviously hasn’t lost his ability to hit for power.

The biggest question surrounding Duvall is his ability to play third base. Over his three seasons in the minors, the Giants have tried the slugger at third, second and first base. This year, Duvall has played third base exclusively. In 27 games, he has compiled an ugly .914 fielding percentage while committing six errors. In 2012, Duvall played 117 games at third and wound up with 29 errors and a .918 fielding percentage.

He obviously has lots of work to do defensively. But the Giants need someone to fill Sandoval’s shoes in the batter’s box, and Duvall is the only player in the minor league system capable of doing that.

If the Giants were to call up Duvall, they would have to clear a space on the 40-man roster. To do so, they could waive either utility infielder Tony Abreu or minor league shortstop Ehire Adrianza. Abreu, who owns a career batting average of .250 in the major leagues, has only played two games with the Giants this season. Adrianza, known strictly as a defensive player, is currently hitting .225 in Richmond.

Both players would stand a decent chance of passing through waivers, allowing them to be optioned to the minor leagues and removing them from the 40-man roster. Still, if Abreu or Adrianza was to be claimed by another club, it would not be a major loss to the Giants.

Regardless of how they decide to make the roster alteration, the Giants need to do something to improve the club while Sandoval is on the disabled list. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle suggests that the Giants will make no such move.

But now is not the time for the Giants to make excuses. They should look around the league and realize that more and more teams are bringing up their top prospects. In many cases, those prospects are paying immediate dividends.

The Los Angeles Dodgers brought up phenom Yasiel Puig, and he has done nothing but rake. The Seattle Mariners called up Nick Franklin and Mike Zunino. The Pirates, who the Giants are facing tonight, summoned Gerrit Cole to make his big league debut.

We all know what Arias, Noonan and Abreu have to offer. They are decent backups and nothing more. But if the Giants want to stay afloat while Sandoval misses significant time, they need to do something bold.

They need to call up Adam Duvall.

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The 2002 World Series Loss Still Stings

Winning World Series titles in 2010 and 2012 should have pushed any lingering pain of the San Francisco Giants 2002 World Series loss far into the stratosphere—especially since I was among the million at the purely joyous 2010 parade.

Laying eyes upon a villain from that 2002 series, however, proved I’m not fully healed—at all. Most of those Los Angeles Angels are long retired. As the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind.

The pain quickly flooded back Wednesday when the CSN camera locked on Toronto‘s starter—Ramon Ortiz, 40 years young, back in MLB after a two-year absence. He was the winning pitcher in Game 3 of that World Series (thanks to run support, it should be noted).

Just seeing his face brought it all back. Some folks lead very successful adult lives and still withdraw upon spotting an old high school bully at a reunion. This wasn’t much different.

To have the title all but ripped out of the Giants’ grasp that fall devastated me like the death of a loved one; I then knew how it felt to be a 1997 Cleveland Indians or a 1986 Boston Red Sox fan. 2011 Texas Rangers fans: I feel your pain and just know that it may never completely subside. Mine hasn’t.

Toronto’s “New” Uniforms Make Me Feel Younger

Over the years, I’ve watched countless players enter the major leagues, enjoy 15-year careers, retire and become coaches/managers. They are living reminders of just how much older I’ve become. I was 10 when I first discovered MLB—23 years ago. There are players today who didn’t exist when I caught my first ballgame. 

So, despite being one of about six people who actually liked the 2004-11 Blue Jays “steel” logo, I’ve enjoyed their conversion to a look reminiscent of the one used during my fledgling years as a hardball fan.

The Jays were the truth in the early ’90s; watching them in their old/new uniforms allows me to pretend it’s 1992 and my biggest problem is memorizing my class schedule rather than paying rent, repairing a shattered taillight and finding a competent preschool for my kid.

Damon Minor is One Scary-Looking Dude

The Giants television broadcasts occasionally jump into the wayback machine and come out with classic Giants (or Giants-related) highlights (such as then-Diamondback Randy Johnson accidentally donning a discarded Giants cap during a 1999 brawl in an eerie bit of foreshadowing or Dave Winfield charging the mound after being plunked by Mike Krukow in 1980).

Tuesday’s flashback: a four-hit game by the otherwise-forgettable Damon Minor the last time SF played in Toronto, back in 2002. I never realized just how much fright his face could generate when in mid-swing (answer: very). Now I must be extra-cautious when watching Orioles games; his twin bro Ryan was the starter at third when Cal Ripken Jr. ended The Streak.

I Will Probably Never Forgive the “Unnamed Left Fielder”

I’m skeptical and pessimistic by nature, and I never participate in fads—especially related to athletics. Slumps occur, bottoms fall out, players come back down to earth.

Wearing Panda hats and long, stringy wigs is all well and good when Pablo Sandoval and Tim Lincecum are succeeding. That’s how it goes in sports. You’re the man when you’re producing; you’re a bum when you’re not (see: Huff Daddy).

This brings me to the “Unnamed Left Fielder,” who got the entire fanbase behind him on the strength of a scorching-hot offensive performance (and some saucy defense as well). He had hundreds of fans donning idiotic dairy costumes in tribute. He was “The Man.”

Only, he really wasn’t. He was juicing the whole time. He was a fraud. At the time of his suspension, the Giants’ season seemed to be wrecked. He, not Buster Posey, had been their best hitter to that point. He’d been the league’s best hitter to that point. He got everybody to believe in him and depend on him, and then he got busted.

I know in the end, everything worked out, so logically I should be past what happened. But a re-marriage to a wonderful person doesn’t magically erase the bitterness and pain of an ugly divorce.

As you can see, I still won’t say or type his name or his ridiculous, unimaginative nickname of ’12. It’s my right as a fan and as a person to hold grudges—and it sure didn’t help that the ULF abused the Giants’ pitching staff during the Giants/Jays series.

(Note: Don’t question why I hold a grudge against the ULF and not Barry Bonds, Marvin Benard, Benny Santiago, Willie Mota or any other Giants PED noteworthies. I just do, okay? I still dislike the NBA’s Amar’e Stoudemire for showing up Golden State’s Adonal Foyle after a dunk seven years ago—even after since learning he’s not that bad a guy.)

AstroTurf Just Isn’t Baseball And Sloppiness is Contagious

Though I’m sure Angel Pagan didn’t mind, a standard major league base hit should not bounce over an outfielder’s head unless the outfielder is on his back napping or the outfielder in question is Emmanuel Lewis. (Google him; I’m not here to talk about the past).

But that’s exactly what happened in the third inning of the second game; Pagan’s single bounced off the Toronto turf over the ULF’s head and graduated to a double. Fortunately, there are only two of these wretched surfaces remaining in the bigs (as opposed to the 11 in use when I began following MLB in 1990.)

The following Giants made defensive mistakes during their 18 innings in Canada: Pablo Sandoval, Nick Noonan, Hunter Pence, Angel Pagan, Angel Pagan, Marco Scutaro. (Furthermore, Scutaro and Brandon Belt allowed solidly struck balls to skip under them on the turf; these plays were ruled hits but may have been outs on a dirt infield.) They can’t all be blamed on the surface, but it didn’t help.

Giants Fans Should Emulate Jays Fans

Well, at least one of them.

One of the most annoying aspects of the AT&T Park experience (and most—if not all—other parks) are the fans who turn catching a foul ball into a Showcase Showdown triumph. They scream, hop up, throw their hands in the air as if at gunpoint and rotate around the park to ensure everyone in the park knows they did something any Little Leaguer can do—catch a baseball.

It’s pathetic at times. Such reactions are acceptable if the fan has caught the pennant-clinching home run ball or even made a difficult catch on a hard-hit foul. But our fans will ham it up on anything—even a popup that bounced off three pairs of kids’ hands first. The older the fan, the more drawn-out the celebration seems to be—sometimes lasting the remainder of the at-bat.

And of course, their “achievement” is instantly forgotten when the next guy snags one a couple of minutes later and repeats the cycle.

But I must give props to a Jays fan who calmly caught a bat flung from the hands of Pence in the sixth inning of Tuesday’s game. He snared it, grinned—and returned to his seat, as if he’d done it dozens of times before. To all AT&T Park visitors (and any of the other 29 parks) from now through eternity, please borrow a page from that guy’s book. Catch the ball and move on.

And of course, Go Giants.

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ESPN used to run a commercial featuring a young couple having cutesy time on the couch. As unsavory as that image was to a sports fan just wanting to watch game highlights, the visual turned absolutely repugnant once the camera zoomed out to reveal the guy was wearing an Ohio State sweatshirt, while the girl was sporting her Michigan threads.

Just thinking about it makes you uncomfortable, right?

Now imagine a Giants fan and a Dodgers fan embracing on the couch, making out and whispering sweet nothings in each other’s ear. I don’t know about you, but I just threw up a little in my mouth.

Well, that is because the two fanbases don’t get along. In fact, they downright hate each other. They hate each other’s teams, their team colors, their hometowns and their regional vernacular. They even hate the air the other side breathes (with good reason, at least for Giants fans—LA air is filthy).

And it doesn’t help that the players in opposite dugouts hate each other, too, carrying on a rivalry that extends back to the New York days for both franchises.

The list of reasons why the two sides hate each other is seemingly endless, but here we’ll just look at five of the reasons Giants fans hate Dodgers fans so much.

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According to Andrew Baggerly of CSN Bay Area, Pablo Sandoval will return to the San Francisco Giants‘ infield sometime in the middle of next week.

Bruce Bochy said trainers tell him Pablo Sandoval is a week away from activation. He’s eligible Thursday.

— Andrew Baggarly (@CSNBaggs) August 5, 2012

Make no mistake, Sandoval will play third base when he returns. Bruce Bochy doesn’t want to see a repeat of Sandoval’s hamstring pull in a stretch at first base, so the Panda will return to his familiar hot corner. That’s certainly good news for the Giants’ offense.

But it’s probably also bad news for Brandon Crawford because Marco Scutaro, who’s been manning third base since he came over from Colorado, can play his position.

Crawford has been one of baseball’s worst shortstops this season—literally. Crawford is dead last among starting shortstops in OPS. It’s been a disappointing year for Crawford, who the Giants didn’t exactly expect to be an all-star. But even with meager expectations, Crawford’s useless bat and shakier-than-anticipated defense have been a complete disaster.

To put it kindly, Crawford doesn’t deserve to see any more starts at shortstop this year.

Marco Scutaro, however, has played 666 career games at short, and his numbers are a hell of a lot better than Crawford’s—although it would be nearly impossible for them to be worse.

In 27 games at short this year, Scutaro has hit .328 with three homers. That’s a small sample size from this season, but even if we only took those numbers, Scutaro has outproduced more than a half-season’s worth of Crawford starts at the position. Of course, Scutaro’s 2012 games at short were played in the thin air of Coors Field. But if we look at his career production at shortstop, Scutaro’s OPS of .757 blows away the .613 figure Crawford has put up this year.

But what about defense?

Crawford’s UZR of 3.1 ranks him 14th among shortstops. He’s committed 13 errors so far this year, which ties him for fifth-most among shortstops. So, whether you prefer new-age or old-school, the numbers don’t show Crawford to be all that great in the field, either.

Overall, Scutaro has committed 11 errors this year while playing second base and shortstop. His .978 career fielding percentage is better than Crawford’s .970 figure.

Even if Crawford has a slight advantage defensively—although I’m being kind by honoring his statistically unsubstantiated reputation as a good defensive player—Scutaro’s enormous advantage at the plate makes him the clear choice to play shortstop for the Giants down the stretch.

The return of Pablo Sandoval means the end of Brandon Crawford this year.

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