Did the Giants’ 4-3 week change the hearts and minds of FanPulse voters?

Every week, SB Nation releases the results of its FanPulse voting. If you haven’t already signed up to be a participant, why don’t you go do that right now? Your vote can help influence The Discourse.

The Giants actually did a fine job boosting their standing in the national conversation last week going 4-3 and raising their record to 7-10. Not a great start, but not the worst in baseball; and, with a couple of different managerial decisions, might just as easily be 9-8.

Yes, the offense is lackluster and last week was wholly dependent on Kevin Pillar, but the pitching is so strong and the offense is so bad that it has to be due for some sort of uptick that there’s at least a smidgen of optimism in the analysis. Now, have the FanPulse voters given the team due consideration or is all voting emotional?

Our sources say yes. 55% of FanPulse voters have confidence in the team’s direction after last week’s mini resurgence. To that end, and possibly because I wrote a piece that criticized his decision making, Bruce Bochy’s approval rating ticked up slightly, too.

Up to 84% after last week’s 80%. Remember, he opened the season with 95% approval.

Unrelated, but related: the Dodgers fan voters are a little uncomfortable right now. Dave Roberts’ approval dipped to 83% and confidence in the team’s direction dropped from 98% to 80%. Meanwhile, the lone Padres FanPulse voter has been 100% confident in the team’s direction through all four weeks of voting, while Andy Green’s approval stands at 89%.

I didn’t slip in a Giants-specific question this week after last week’s bullpen question (Giants fans overwhelmingly chose Will Smith as the best arm in the bullpen), but there was a new national response question. Every FanPulse voter in the network was asked if the recent trend of contract extensions favored the team or the player.

It’s hard to argue against the idea that the money-haver gets the better deal by acquiring cost certainty while the money-receiver is essentially betting against himself long-term but building in his own cost certainty.

Yes, most of these extensions are bloodline-altering deals, but the cost certainty gained by the teams just gives team ownership and shareholders more free money to use in other areas, like laws, politics, and the environment. They’ll also skip out on paying taxes on their gains, too, unlike the players, so overall, the idea that teams should be lauded for “winning deals” is counterproductive to a healthy democracy. But that’s a discussion for another time! In the meantime, sign up to become a FanPulse voter!