A belated appreciation of Sergio Romo, All-Star

You know what's not hip? Hipster jokes. They're totally un-hip. Which is ironic. But not ironic in the strictest sense of the word! Just kind of funny. Unlike jokes about hipsters.

Great, now I'm dizzy. But the joke used to be that hipsters only like something until it gets popular. Once the rest of the world catches on, they lose a little interest. This comes up now because I haven't mentioned that Sergio Romo is an All-Star. Two years ago, that would have been the site's tagline. There probably would have been a six-post series. Now he's all successful, and it's like he's an afterthought.

I blame you, you awful Giants hipster.

/adjusts Milt May-signed, black-rimmed glasses

Another way that we know things are different is that there've been Sergio Romo trade rumors, and there hasn't even been a mini-riot. People in the comments said things like, "Hey, I could see that" or "Yeah, that makes sense," and they weren't verbally assaulted. A Romo-for-prospects trade might actually help the Giants. Would probably help the Giants. And no one really disputes that.

Things that might have contributed to the shift in perception:

1. He's chirpier and dancier since becoming a closer
He got the keys, and now he gets to do a little sky-pointin' and screamin'. It apparently rubs Puigs the wrong way.

2. He's getting into media spats
I don't really care about whom he talks to or doesn't, but some people get super-irritated about it. That hurts him in the Gallup polls, so to speak. And the shift is noticeable. He's not like chocolate, where only broken freaks don't like it. Now people can point to this, that, and the other to give reasons why they're tired of the guy.

3. He appeared in nine games in June
So while that other stuff was going on, we didn't get a chance to watch him embarrass hitters with a slider. The slider is like a well-crafted political ad, if we're going to stick with that metaphor. An absence of them colors our opinions.

4. Romo, like every closer, blows some games every now and again
And when they do, it's a big deal. It's less obvious when an eighth-inning guy does poorly.

Those are reasons why Romo might not be the cult hero he once was. And I'm here to share an important message: Cut it out. Take a moment and a deep breath, and let's all appreciate him again for the first time.

Sergio Romo has a magic slider that can strike out the side, then reverse the Earth's orbit, and take you back in time to the first hitter of the inning.:

Sergio Romo is still a goofy bastard, in the best sense of the word.

A goofy, possibly malevolent bastard.

But Sergio Romo will sign your baby.

Sergio Romo doesn't even care if cameras are flying RIGHT INTO HIS FACE.

He seems like a nice young man.

He won a, uh … you know, that tournament with the prize at the end … you know what I'm talking about … that tournament …

And that allowed him to pick up on leggy cans of shaving cream.

In short, if you're not appreciating Sergio Romo, you're not paying attention or you're awful. Or a Dodgers fan. You ain't no Dodgers fan, is you? /spits

Sergio Romo is now an All-Star, too. It's a little anti-climactic, seeing as he's having his least dominant season in a few years. But that doesn't mean he still isn't one of the best relievers in baseball and a deserving All-Star. He was a 28th-round pick before he was a non-prospect. He was a non-prospect before he was 24 and doing amazing things in the Cal League, which he was too old for. And he was a back-of-the-bullpen option before he was a setup man. And he was the best setup man in baseball before he became one of the better closers in baseball.

He allowed a run last October, you know. For the entire month. He's pitching extremely well this year, too, but we're used to it. It's easy to take for granted.

So congratulations, Sergio Romo. And apologies for not mentioning it before. I've probably been overdoing it with the rah-rah stuff and the All-Star Game and the Giants, considering the team is pretty bad so far. But there probably isn't a way to overdo this one.