When the Giants Come to Town, It's Bye-Bye Baby

09.17.2008
D-Backs 2, Giants 0: Channeling Our Inner Yogi

With the obligatory sympathy to Matt Cain, who once again last night got the now-trademarked Matt Cain Treatment, I prefer to note Pablo Sandoval’s performance.

Of the Giants’ four measly singles against the dominant Dan Haren, Sandoval had two and would have had two more if his line drives hadn’t found Chad Tracy’s glove. This, on a night when Haren had no problem deciphering the weaknesses of other Giants’ rookies. Travis Ishikawa complained after the game that Haren seemed to know what he was thinking.

As Hank Schulman points out in today’s blog note, the D-Backs thought they’d found a hole in Sandoval’s swing after he had problems with pitches down and in Monday. Last night, Haren pounded him in and Sandoval adjusted.

We know now Sandoval swings at everything, which means National League pitchers know it, too. Most guys who swing at everything eventually get their comeuppance, even if it takes a while. Ask Jeff Francoeur. We could hope that the young feller, all of 22 years old, will learn to be more selective, that his hackaliciousness is a product of rookie nerves, but his track record doesn’t hold much promise on that front.

That leaves us to hope he’s different in the way Vlad Guerrero, the poster boy for best-case free-swingin’ scenarios, is different. Given Sandoval’s shape and defensive position, I think this guy, another notorious bad-ball hitter, seems more apt. Having heard Pablo on a post-game interview, I might add that the two also share an enthusiasm and lack of mastery of the English language. (I couldn’t find Yogi’s minor league numbers, but his major league stats show he didn’t take many walks until he was in his mid-20s.)

Hey, how’s that for a nickname? Yogi Sandoval. Young Ivan Rodriguez earned the nickname of a Hall of Fame catcher, so why not pass the torch again? To get him used to it, next time Pablo suggests a restaurant, tell him no one goes there anymore, it’s too crowded.

With all due respect to Andy Baggarly, Yogi is better than Meatwad. I know it’s a cartoon character, but there’s something about it not quite suitable for dinner conversation. Though if Jonathan Sanchez can be “Dirty,” I guess Sandoval can have a nickname with a nauseating tinge, too.



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[September 17, 2008 2:46 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Chris said

Fun fact: If you ranked all the hitters in baseball with 100 PA's by Swing% (the total amount of pitches swung at by a hitter) Pablo is number #1.

Bengie is #10.

Vlad has always been a free swinger with amazing plate coverage, but he's tended to walk at league average or even better for most of his career. His career BB% is 9.1% which is right around the league average percentage of 8-9 (AL walks slightly more because of the DH)

[September 17, 2008 3:20 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Boof said

I think that Pablo is more similar to this guy:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/sanguma01.shtml

[September 17, 2008 3:22 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Chris replied to Boof

Boof,

I like that comp, a hacker with modest pop. I've seen maybe 10-15 games over the past few years at PNC Park in Pittsburgh and Manny has his own BBQ stand. He's always sitting outside of it in this big comfy chair signing autographs.

[September 18, 2008 12:08 PM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM replied to Boof

Sanguillen was better than I remember. But top-10 MVP? Must have been slim pickins in 1971.

[September 17, 2008 3:20 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Tom Clifton said

Pablo has a nickname already. "El Torro" was coined by uber fans Stacey and Fernando in San Jose last year.

[September 17, 2008 3:43 PM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM replied to Tom Clifton

Sorry, but the kid needs a major-league nickname.

[September 17, 2008 4:05 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Bunt&Burn said

Pablo's a switchhitter and pretty even from either side, so that elevates him. Really pounds the ball, too. If he can be more selective, I think he can hit 25-30 bombs. If Albert Pujos and Jorge Posada had a baby and that baby was raised by a vending machine, you'd have Pablo.

[September 18, 2008 1:36 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Zo said

I like the Yogi reference! It is just what I was thinking: bad ball hitting catcher. How about the nickname that they used on the radio (from the clubhouse, I think), "The Round Mound of Pound?"