. . . which needs renewing. This is a 19th century thought by Stephan Mallarme that has been renewed on the 2011 San Francisco Giants team with the emergence of their accidental fifth man in the starting rotation - Ryan Vogelsong.
After today's gem, Vogelsong is now 4-1 with an 1.68 ERA and .214 avg against. He now has the lowest ERA amongst the Giants starting five and is a breath of fresh air after Zito's injury. He is the most unexpected member of the Giants team and is now creating a major problem for management and the coaches. Zito is in the beginning of his minor league rehab assignment and according to the team he is pitching better after the injury than he was before. Zito's velocity is up but can they send the highest paid pitcher to the bullpen?
Bochy and Sabean do give veterans playing time to show that they deserve to be in the lineup and this year some have remained and others have found themselves sitting on the bench more than playing in the field. Pat Burrell started the beginning of the year as the everyday left fielder and now he has been delegated to pinch hitter status after posting poor numbers. Same situation with Huff at the beginning of the season when the Giants decided to give Belt a chance in the majors. Huff's batting average has been in the low 200's for most of the season and is not a quality middle of the lineup hitter right now.
DeRosa was given a chance and couldn't hit above the Mendoza line. Tejada is on borrowed time at this point with the success of Brandon Crawford at shortstop and Pablo Sandoval starting rehab. A healthy Giants team is a crowded Giants team. There will be many roster changes in the coming weeks but there are positives that will come out of this - healthy competition. No one is safe on the Giants team and Sabean/Bochy have proven that it doesn't matter how many zeroes are on your contract.
Back to Vogelsong. Vogel in German means bird and this bird is singing a melody that will earn him a permanent spot in the Giants stellar pitching rotation. Vogelsong's narrative is so typical Giants. He is the ultimate underdog and now after his pitching success is a fan favorite. Watching the Giants is never dull and it is such an easy team to root for with their roster of misfits. As the underdogs continue to over perform, the team is fighting for first place in the weak NL West division.
Going with the underdog theme, here's a Vogelsong for the Giants:
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