Well this sucks.
We all thought yesterday’s lineup was too good to be true.
And low and behold, it was! With 47 games left in the season, Melky Cabrera has
been suspended for 50 games for testing positive for testosterone. If the
Giants can make it at least 4 games into the playoffs, Andrew Baggarly is
reporting that Cabrera would be eligible to return to the roster. But for the
regular season, we have spoiled Melk, which is a completely original pun.
What this all means is that the Giants basically exchanged
Melky Cabrera for Hunter Pence. It’s obviously a downgrade, nearly a 70 point
difference in OBP. But from just this point in the season, it would have been
interesting to see if Pence or Cabrera would have the better season, especially
with Cabrera’s average was bound to experience a BABIP slaughter, and Pence
starting to find his groove.
But of course, it didn’t have to be this way. We could should have had both players. Yesterday’s
lineup. That was a lineup. That was a lineup I’d bring in to share with my
kindergarten classmates for show and tell. I didn’t have to be ashamed of Jason
Ellison led lineups anymore. Those days were over. Up and down the lineup there
was a threat, with the exception of Brandon Crawford. Even in 2010, it was
pretty apparent a lot of the players were experiencing a flash in the pants.
This 2012 lineup. This was sustainable. Something close to what we had in the
early 2000’s. Yesterday’s lineup was a preview to that. It was a glimpse into
what we could have. But then Melky had to go and screw everything up.
As for replacements? Gregor Blanco is the obvious choice, who
plays excellent defense paired with a .340-.350 OBP. It’s not the worst option
in the world, he takes pitches and we saw in May he at least has the potential
of getting hot. Perhaps he’ll get some type of Cody Ross hot this September. It
could happen! I don’t really know what I’m saying right now, so I’m not liable
for anything I say.
Here I am watching Giants pre game, and Greg Papa throws out…
Xavier Nady. Excuse me while I kick things for a while.
No comments:
Post a Comment