I was going to write a long, in-depth piece that compared Kevin Frandsen's minor league career to the minor league careers of the top 15 major league second basemen, but my internet connection went down. Then it went back up. Then back down. Then up. Now, as of 11:00 a.m., it's down. So I'll have to make do with a research-free post, or as I like to call them, a "typical and ordinary weekday post." I'll summarize the point of the canceled post in a sentence: Because Brian Roberts didn't have have the numbers that Frandsen did in the upper minors, science says that Frandsen will have a better major league career.
It's probably for the best, though, as my heart wasn't really in a pseudo-research mode. Today, my heart is full of hate. The All-Star break was long, and during the entire break, I was allowed to fantasize about a playoff-bound Giants team. They would have made it if the season ended at the break, of course. I hate that I was duped, bamboozled, and possibly even hornswoggled. This team, as presently assembled, is a reaaaaal stinker.
After the jump, there's more hate.
I hate that of the three left-handed hitting corner outfielders on the roster, I'm still not sure if any of them will ever be worth a starting role. I want closure.
I hate that Jason Marquis has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this year. Seriously, that's really annoying. Let's go with Occam's Razor here. What's more likely: a) that Jason Marquis pitches well in Coors Field and the Rockies go on their second historic 40-game run in less than two years, or b) the Rockies are cheating by spraying humidor balls with freon in the top half innings of home games. Obviously, it's b. I'm just trying to figure out why they're winning on the road too, and then I'll publish my paper.
I hate that there were actually people who thought Ryan Sadowski's first two starts in the majors meant more than his entire professional career to that point.
I hate that Kevin Frandsen never got a shot after getting hot toward the end of 2007, even though his career minor league numbers are comparable to the minor league numbers of most of the top second baseman in the game. I guess he just needed to play for an organization that had more of an opening at second base.
On a related note, I hate that I even suspect that my favorite team is run by people who could look at Frandsen's 5-for-39 this year and conceivably think, man, that's obviously his true performance level now.
On another related note, I hate that someone just read that and didn't get the point. "Yeah, but what's Frandsen done in the majors, man? NOTHING. Minor league stats, AAAA players, blah blah blah, game played on the field, blah blah blah, Damon Minor and Todd Linden."
On yet another related note, I hate that I'm worrying that two bad outings + no help from the relievers who followed him + ERA over 6.00 = back-o'-the-bullpen duties for Sergio Romo.
I hate that my cat wants out and then scratches to get in so he can meow to get out once he's in, and that wakes up my daughter, which seriously impedes my effort to write about a crappy team that no one wants to read about right now. Solution: I'm going to shave the cat and mail him to Finland. You read that,cat? I swear on my life, I will shave you and mail you to another country. Pull this crap during a winning streak.
I hate that Pablo Sandoval didn't make the All-Star Game. Sorry, I'm not letting it go.
I hate that this team will probably start winning soon, making me look like an idiot. They won't go on a Rockies-type tear, of course. They'll win just enough to make the haters look stupid, and then they'll have another terrible road trip right as I start to believe again.
I hate the Dodgers. I hate that they're winning. I also hate the Dodgers.
Comment starter: THINGS YOU HATE. I hate this road trip. I think I hate every road trip now.