San Francisco Giants Link Dump, 11/10

Baseball is better than no baseball.

Plenty to ponder on whether to bring back Panda
Chris Haft takes a look at whether the Giants should re-sign Pablo Sandoval. And while there are more cons than I'd like to admit (declining offensive stats for several consecutive years and a contract that will get him into Bugs Bunny-jaw-dropping-to-the-ground-while-his-eyes-shoot-out-of-his-head territory), the sad fact is that there really aren't any other options. Haft says that Chris Dominguez and Adam Duvall deserve a shot to prove themselves, which . . . isn't really how that works. It's spectacularly unlikely either would be even a mediocre major leaguer, on either offense or defense. So it's basically Pablo or OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD. And not in the good, sex way. In the other way.

A Message to SF Giants' Pablo Sandoval - Stay Panda!
Ronnie Lott takes to Youtube to ask Pablo to stick around in San Francisco. Ronnie thinks that Pablo is a champion, which means that you can't get rid of him, which is curious coming from someone who became known for playing for Bill Walsh, who discarded aging players like non-insane scripts sent to Nicolas Cage. That must be a real disconnect between management and the players in any sport – wanting to keep a team competitive in the future vs the camaraderie that comes with being part of a group. It's always better when those two desires coincide and Sabean can, for example, release Miguel Tejada. That was a win for everybody!

Part of the Giants Dynasty
George Kontos goes on 120 Sports in Chicago and, after being asked a cursory question about being part of the Giants dynasty, mostly talks about defensive shifts. "Oh, the new Cubs manager likes defensive shifts? They're okay, I guess. You can beat them, you know. In fact, our first baseman beat one in the World Series. World Series-winning teams just know how to beat those shifts. Anyway, good luck with Joe Maddon."

Mickey Lolich on comparisons with Madison Bumgarner: “It’s not there.”
Mickey Lolich says that you can't compare him and Madison Bumgarner, and he's totally right. Bumgarner's got four World Series wins and one save, while Lolich only has three wins. Through their age 24 seasons, Bumgarner pitched 952 innings of 116 ERA+ ball, while Lolich pitched 620 innings with an ERA+ of 107. Bumgarner has three World Series rings, while Lolich only won one in his career. Plus, Lolich never even hit a single home run. I applaud Mickey Lolich for informing everyone that it is totally unfair to compare him with Madison Bumgarner, because Madison Bumgarner is better in every way. Very selfless of him.

Dodgers trying to move Kemp, Crawford, or Ethier
WOW GOOD THING I BOUGHT THAT 24-PACK OF MONOCLES AT COSTCO I'M REALLY BURNING THROUGH THOSE BABIES

Bob Dylan Almost Made An HBO Slapstick Comedy With A Seinfeld Writer
This would have been a disaster, and I'd have loved every minute of it.