Since Melky's Been Gone ...

A collection of curious figures and facts from the post-Melky world. Since Melky Cabrera was suspended:

• The Giants have gone 25-11
• Angel Pagan has hit .331/.373/.543, with eight triples and nine steals in 151 at-bats
• Buster Posey has hit .336/.400/.531, with 13 doubles and four homers in 128 at-bats
• Marco Scutaro has hit .378/.392/.469, with 21 multiple-hit games in 33 starts
• The Giants have scored 186 runs, an average of 5.16 per game.
• Brad Penny has allowed just one earned run in five appearances
• Seriously
• Don't get any ideas, Giants
• He's still Brad Penny
• Hunter Pence, Gregor Blanco, Brandon Belt, and Brandon Crawford have hit close to their season lines or better, which means that Pablo Sandoval was the only player in the starting lineup hitting below expectations. Even then, his .739 OPS since Melky's suspension isn't that bad
• Ryan Theriot has made three starts and received 24 at-bats
• Aubrey Huff is 5-for-11 with a double and two walks
• The Dodgers have gone 14-21, scoring 120 runs for an average of 3.42 runs per game
• lol dodgers

You'll read a few things that chalk the turnaround and good play to some sort of improved focus. Better clubhouse chemistry. Newfound determination. If you've read this site long enough, you're likely to believe that's all hokum. I sure do. But whatever's behind the offensive improvement, it sure was well-timed, no?

Marco Scutaro isn't peak-level Rod Carew. Angel Pagan isn't a 27-year-old Carlos Beltran. Buster Posey isn't ... well, wait, yeah, he is that good.

Think back to this day. The Giants lost 6-4 to the Nationals two days after Sandoval came back, and just a day after the Giants had every one of their best hitters in the same stupid lineup for the first time. Their best hitter to that point of the season was out for the season. They moved a half-game back of the Dodgers. There was woe. Oh, lo, how there was woe.

I've watched a lot of Giants baseball over the last two decades. But I think this team surprised me more than any of the other teams I've followed. I was not expecting this at all.

Here, just pick one of these. I like the goat. Feels good, man.