There are a few players who just capture my imagination for whatever reason, good or bad. Brian Dallimore is just one of those names in comparison to players like Matt Downs, who still has a viable major-league career. Steves Soderstrom and Bourgeois didn't resonate with me, but Jamie Brewington did. Dan Ortmeier almost seems like a figment of my imagination at this point, but Todd Linden will always reign supreme as a symbol of ... of ... something.
Like outfield depth in 2012, perhaps? From the Kitsap Sun, which is usually my first stop for Giants news in the morning:
Linden, seen as a rising star in the Giants' organization and a possible replacement for Barry Bonds at one time in his career, signed a minor-league contract with the Giants in January.
January? People have been keeping this bombshell away from us since January? I was busy drawing the hearts on my love letter to John Bowker in January, and there was real live news about Todd Linden going back to the Giants? Everyone here and in the Giants' media empire should be absolutely ashamed of themselves, especially me.
This isn't breaking news, and it isn't huge news. There's a 12-percent chance that Linden gets a Justin Christian-like cup of coffee in September, but it's more likely that he'll go the way of Angel Berroa, Dontrelle Willis, and Shingo Takastu as a player that will make you go, "Wait, that guy was in the Giants' organization that year?"
Still: Todd Linden. There's a small chance that you can hear Duane Kuiper say "And Ryan Vogelsong to the plate ... fly ball, should be in the park. Todd Linden camps under it ... two out." Then we'll know that 2002 High Heat Baseball sucked us into the computer, TRON-style.