Sanchez Spits the Bit (again); Giants Fall

That foul stench arising from Arlington? It's Jonathan Sanchez.

The Giants' 4-2 loss in Game Three of the World Series highlighted the problem. There is no doubt that Sanchez is part of the reason the Giants are where they are. It's equally clear that, should they fail to capitalize, it's going to be on his head.

The mental midget returned. For the second time in three post-season starts, Sanchez was low-grade dog food. And while this wasn't the implosion he suffered against Philly, the result was more horiffic. With a chance to go up 3-0, the Giants got nothing going. They rerturned to their habit of making average pitcher look indestructable while Sanchez again proved that he's a lock to disappoint in a pressure situation.

I've lobbied for this for two years. If the Giants get an offer, trade the piece of excrement. He's not trustworthy. What good does it do you to get all dressed up for the prom if your date doesn't show? That's Sanchez.

At one point the Fox cameras had a close-up of the Giants' enigmatic lefty, and I saw "the look." I told those watching the game with me that he was screwed. I'd seen that look before, the "I don't want to be here" gaze. I heard the whole Crash Davis / Nuke Laloosh speech in my head as the young hurler heard from the crafty vet about his million dollar arm and five cent head. Offer five cents for Sanchez and you should expect change back.

And here's a thought that should scare the crap out of you. If it's needed, Sanchez is slated to pitch Game Seven.

This isn't a team built to come from behind, and when your starter is serving up gopher balls he makes it pretty tough on the rest of the squad. And what I found just as disgusting as the long ball to the nine hitter was the four pitch walk that preceded it.  You can't play giveaway at this level. Sanchez does it far too often.

If course, there were other Giants who contributed to the stench. Burrell fanned four times, and has whiffed on eight of nine ABs in the series. Sandoval fianlly got some work, and managed to account for four outs in just three ABs.

The Giants had one shot at the game. After homers from Ross and Torres got the G-men on the board, they managed to get the tying run to the plate with two down in the eighth. Posey, the rookie phenom, was at the dish. Grounder to second, threat over. The Giants barely managed a foul tip in the ninth.

So now it falls to Madison Bumgarner to stem the tide, to make sure this season that held such promise just a few hours ago doesn't take an ugly turn. Game Four is crucial. It's the difference between a virtual lock and a best of three series with Texas getting the tip-off at home.

Of the 51 teams that have taken a 2-0 lead in the series, only 11 have lost it. For the Giants to collapse now?

Torture doesn't come close to covering it.



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