It's amazing how rare it is for me to think, boy, Pablo Sandoval really could have helped this team a lot more today. It's not that he's immune from oh-fers and double plays -- far from it. But when he's having a bad game, usually he's surrounded by so much wretchedness that it's hard to notice. Not so today. Bad game, Pablo. But keep your head up, as it's a noticeable anomaly.
It's also amazing how rare it is for me to think, boy, I'm sure glad that Edgar Renteria and Randy Winn are in the lineup. I wish I could crawl inside Bochy's head -- I mean, there's room for me, but I'm talking metaphorically here -- and discern exactly when the last straw would be for both players. Would both hitters have to drop below .200 to be removed from the lineup?
If Winn were to hit .225 without any power, would that make it easier to remove him from the fifth spot in the order? I mean, .260 without any power obviously hints that Winn will bounce back any day now, so maybe thirty points of batting average would make all the difference.
And if Renteria were to hit .200, would that make it easier to notice that he's one of the worst everyday players in baseball? He is, of course. He's so bad that crazy solutions -- starting Eugenio Velez at second and sliding Freddy Sanchez over to short -- would be preferable. Renteria's biggest advantage (not being Brian Bocock or Omar Vizquel) is largely forgotten at this point. Start Kevin Frandsen or start Juan Uribe, but just admit that Renteria is one of the least talented players to have graced the Giants starting lineup in about a decade.
Terrible series, especially with the opportunities to catch up to the Dodgers. When a bad team comes to San Francisco to face Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, it's sad when they're only held in check by Barry Zito.