Post-game thread: Another blowout win

Three things for which I’m grateful:

1. Josh Collmenter doesn’t throw 97 MPH. He turns every hitter into Marvin Benard, making them flinch at fastballs they have no business even considering. He has a Chris Young (the pitcher) thing going, where he doesn’t have to throw that hard to make hitters take weird swings. Some awful Collmenter/Randy Johnson hybrid would consume us all. If I ever have a boy, I’m going to teach him to throw 97 MPH from that strange over-the-top angle. Oh, and also to be 6’3" or so.

2. Pablo Sandoval is back.

3. Pablo Sandoval is back.

If there’s one more I can tack on, too, it’s that Pablo Sandoval is back. And it’s not like he was back, hacked at a few first-pitch non-strikes, and made me feel better by just being there. He looked focused. His ten-pitch at-bat against Collmenter was one of the best I’ve ever seen him have. He was on every pitch, which usually means he’ll expand his zone as the at-bat gets longer. Pablo can get a little jittery. But he was measured, calm, and focused in the at-bat. It led to a walk and a three-run rally.

The whining about losing half of the starting lineup was partially because it’s not good for the Giants’ chances, but it’s mostly because I like watching guys like Pablo, Posey, and and Belt play baseball. For years it was Klesko or Molina or Castillo -- nothing against those guys (well, maybe Castillo), but I never said, "Oooh! It’s almost 7:15! I get to watch Bengie Molina!" Getting Pablo back is a nice consolation prize.

Bulleit points (sponsorship opportunities still available. Just send me a case of the stuff, and you get a year.)

• If Brian Wilson had that strike zone for every game, he’d have a career 1.12 ERA. It wasn’t Eric Gregg-wide, but it was certainly favorable towards the pitches that Wilson likes to make.
• Kuip: "I don’t like this." Kruk: "Come on, this is baseball at its best." Kuip: "That’s fine. I don’t." -- That’s the best broadcaster exchange I’ve ever heard. Perfectly timed. If the Giants ever lose 100 games again, I’m going to bookmark this link so I can always think of the silver linings.
• I like that Pablo Sandoval is off the disabled list.
• Remember when there was a debate as to whether Cody Ross or Jose Guillen deserved to start? That was funny. In retrospect, I mean. Not so much at the time. And it wasn’t really a debate as much as it was the odd belief of a single person, but it was funny. In retrospect. Example #11249: Ross can run the bases like he’s not caught in a bear trap. On a night like tonight’s, it makes a difference.

Now if the Giants aren’t able to score runs off Joe Saunders, Madison Bumgarner should be free to see other teams. An "it’s not you, it’s us" kind of thing. Like Beethoven once wrote: if you love somebody, set them free.