Not everyone has a great hitting 3B or even an average hitting 3B.  People seem to think that a $90M payroll entitles them to power-hitting corner infielders and outfielders.  But Bonds, Schmidt, Finley, Durham, Alou, and Winn take up more than half the payroll.  That don't leave much for power hitting corner infielders as well as all the other players on the team.  And while Pedro has a much below average OBP (though he is only about 20 points away from the league average), he is however average to above average in SLG, and there are not that many 3B who hit more homers than he did the past two seasons.  

Every team except for the Yankees have to accept position players who do not hit well relative to similar position players.  So while our corner IF are average to below, their corner OF are average to below.  Or they have Neifi starting at 2B while we have Durham.

Between the two, I want a high SLG from my 6-7 hitters than a high OBP.  You don't drive in runs with a walk or even a single when the 8th place hitter and pitcher are coming up.  That's why when Bill James constructed his runs created formula there were initially two key components:  OBP and SLG, with SLG the component related to driving in the runs.  That's what we want our 6-7 hitters doing, not starting a rally with the 9th spot's black hole automatic out coming up.

It's easy to dump on players when they get off to a slow start.  That happens all the time in fantasy leagues (and I'm guilty of it too, forgive me Edwin Encarnacion!), the fan gets upset over the player not doing well and just dumps him.  It's the knee-jerk reaction, no one can accept failure of any type when your team is struggling to stay around .500.  If only we had David Wright/Miguel Cabrera/Scott Rolen!  Then we would win all those games!

Feliz has actually been hitting like normal for him at home overall, it was just the "perfect storm" situation for Feliz that the road games we have played have been at parks he historically have done poorly at.  His numbers should not be Mendoza Line bad as the season goes on, it will be his normal Feliz-tastic numbers: mediocre with plus power, as he gets to visit the parks he normally hit well in as well as get into baseball shape, since the WBC and the rainouts probably interfered with his preparations for this season.  His recent success hitting appears to signal that he's finally getting into proper shape (for him) for playing his best baseball.

If someone can get me a better 3B (Mueller is not better, just different) who hits 30 homers with a .300+ average at the same salary as Feliz, sign me up, but for his salary and abilities, we could do a lot worse, like Corey Koskie, Jeff Cirillo, Eric Hinske, and Vinnie Castillo.  I would even throw Aurilia in with that group, he makes a lot less but his hitting the past two years is all Great American Park's doing, his road numbers stink.

I don't want to defend Feliz, he is what he is, a nice complementary part who, if he can hit like he did in 2003-2004, would be a pleasant surprise (and advantage) in the 6-7 slot, and if he did what he did in 2005, would be average among 7th place hitters in the majors for OPS.  As I noted elsewhere, the teams who went to the playoffs in 2005 actually all had below NL average 7th place hitters, so clearly having a good 7th place hitter is the whip cream on the sundae, complementary to the good top half of the lineup, but not a required ingredient to a winning team.

Thats the beginning, middle and end -- short version-- of why the Giants have bitten, since Kent's departure. That and the non-reoccurrence of Aurilia's career year by another Giant Hitter.  This has been a team of one and one/half offensive impact players since. Bonds/Alou

The real problem this year is a very ordinary pitching staff.

As much as I despise Feliz' offensive play, he is not the cause of the Giants ordinariness. He is merely a sympton of Management Disease.  Chronic Unwillingness to do anything other than the minimum required to fill up Peter Magowan's four-story phone booth on a daily basis.