Embarassing...Simply Embarassing

When a team plays this poorly, someone has to be held accountable.

Yet another loss to The Hated Dodgers, another setback within the division, and another contest filled with miscue after miscue as the guys dressed in Halloween colors proved to be absolutely scary. Let’s enumerate the more glaring foul-ups, and this list is by no means inclusive.

• Inning number one is extended because Renteria can’t hold the ball on a simple tag play.
• Bochy inexplicably pitches to Loney with first base empty and two out, opening the flood gates in the decisive inning.
• Pablo once again proves he can’t navigate the bases without a GPS unit strapped to his ample belly.
• Molina AGAIN goes lazy behind the plate and gives away a free 90 feet (a regular occurrence).

And although they don’t qualify for the list, how galling is it that the pitcher who beat them hadn’t won a game in a month, and that the guy earning the save is a Giants cast-off, the kind of guy cut to make room for the likes of Brandon Medders, who was replaced by Santiago Casilla?

Detect a trend here?

Right now the Giants have the same career trajectory as Lindsay Lohan. It’s becoming more evident every day that (a) this team isn’t a winner, and (b) those in charge don’t have the brainpower to recognize it.

At least Lindsay got lucky in rehab.

I’ve noted before that I’m a big fan of Andrew Baggarly and the San Jose Mercury News, so I willingly give him credit for the following:

“All the ground-ball double plays, the undisciplined first-pitch swings, heavy legs and base running mistakes have served to kill rallies and undermine pitching efforts. Giants manager Bruce Bochy sat hope-filled rookie Buster Posey and started his cadre of plodding 30-year-olds….”

And I was beginning to think no one else had noticed. It’s certain Bill Neukom hasn’t. Either that, or he’s playing us Giants fans for the suckers I always figured he pegged us for. “Don’t worry about wins and losses” they tell us. “Just buy tickets. Trust us.”

The trust is used up. The last three guys the Giants have identified as the future of the team are now being treated as a number-three catcher (Posey), a defensive replacement (Schierholtz), and I believe Frandsen was last seen working his new position with Imperial Parking.

This has gotta stop. Friends, I’m gonna say it right now. The 2010 season is gone. The team, as constructed, isn’t capable of making a serious run at anything more than the post-game buffet. It’s time for change.

On the field, some people have to go. Some might have trade value, some might bring no more than a used rosin bag. Still, it’s time to part company with Molina, Renteria and Rowand. While we’re at it, Pedro needs some time on the bench (and away from the food table). And any member of the pitching staff not named Lincecum, Cain, Romo, Wilson or Bumgarner needs to be openly shopped.

Off the field, the next two guys out of town need to be Sabean and Bochy. It’s clear that the Giants will never rebuild under these two. No matter how well Huff and Burrell produce, it won’t change the fact that for every one of those guys that does produce you can find five DeRosas, Retnerias, Tuckers and Kleskos. Either they can’t, or won’t, develop and trust young talent.

The teams that compete do so largely with 26-30 year-old studs, not 35-year-olds hoping to recapture shreds of past glory. Playing vets is Bochy's crutch, and Sabean is his enabler.

The Giants simply have too many guys whose time is done, and too many who play foolish, thoughtless baseball. It’s time to remove those who cannot be taught, and bring in proper guidance for those who can. I’d rather see the Giants go 70-92 with a bunch of kids who can get better than 85-77 with a bunch of guys who can’t.

In a nutshell, this team sucks. Its management sucks, it’s leadership sucks, and fans like me are suckers for once again daring to believe that THIS season might be different. It can never be, because those making the decisions know only one play, and it’s a loser.