However unlikely, it would be just fantastic if tonight were to start the Todd Linden Era. We could tell the grandkids about the hit the Giants had against Johan Santana, and how it was the fresh-faced, surprisingly quick, future four-time MVP who legged it out. It is hard to know just how excited to be about the call-up of Linden. Again, his career path has been very atypical:
Second year: Okay, he didn't set the world on fire, but he's still young and in AAA.
Third year: Good effort, but I wonder if we could package him to get Todd Ritchie.
This winter in Venezuela: Maybe the Giants should send a letter of apology to the Venezuelan government to smooth over relations.
The credit for the makeover has gone to the tinkering of Linden's stance. There is an very substantiated rumor this stance was what he was using before the Giants got a hold of him, tinkering with his hitting mechanics. The Giants trying to change a minor league hitter's approach, eh? Yeah, with that kind of track record of success, it's hard to imagine how that went wrong.