Can someone in the know answer this - why do Kruk and Kuip never criticize players and Bochy's/Sabean's decisions? I know they both got WS rings so is it that they are technically employees of the Giants and therefore can't be too opinionated? As much as I like their commentary it makes me cringe when they say another good AB by Rowand etc when he strikeouts/fails yet again. Also I realise I am posting this in-game but why would Bochy ever put Fontenot behind Stewart in the line-up? It is not even for a righty-lefty balance as Tejada is in front of Stewart. The more this season goes on the more I believe last season was a miracle with Sabean and Bochy in charge.

And as far as being proud... Sabean can be proud all he wants, I'm just saying, give Billy Beane or Andrew Friedman Barry Bonds in his prime and 100 million+ to spend, they'll most likely get to the playoffs more than 4 times in 14 years.

So, w/the Cubs saying good-bye to their longest tenured GM ever (who is old school like Sabean), does it encourage Giants brass to "sack up"? Or, at the very least, pause and give it some serious thought?

I'm pretty confident that most GMs would have had the same success, if not better than Sabean over the last 17,18 years. After all, he inherited the best player of all time. The Pirates dominated and made the playoffs every year Bonds was good, and they had half the budget of the Giants, in a pre wild card era. Here are the top 8 highest payroll teams: Yanks, Boston, Cubs, Mets, Angels, White Sox, Phillies & Giants. 6 of those 8 have won a ring in just the last 10 years. It's more of a failure not to, than an accomplishment to have. I wouldn't be too proud of my resume if I were Sabean. 1 title in 17 years with Babe Ruth 2.0 and one of the highest budgets year in and year out... meh. I guess we can be happy we're not the Cubs or Mets.

Just playing a little devil's advocate here, not that I truly believe this. But lets step back for a second and remember that Sabean and Bochy were instrumental in the Giants winning the whole thing last year. As informative and useful as numbers are, baseball instincts still have a place in the game and if Bochy for instance doesn't want to sacrifice, then you know what, I'll stand behind that since he's clearly forgotten more baseball than any of us will ever know. Seems silly in hindsight for sure, but we can't all just forget how masterful Bochy has been in his handling of that team. As for Sabean, again, it is frustrating that he seems so closed-minded in his approach. But you can't deny the results overall, bad contracts aside. I guess I just find it hard to criticize less than a year after the greatest moment of my sports-watching life ;)

Wait... Are you saying there is a first baseman out there who hits worse than Huff?

Orlando Cabrera batting second in last nights line up.... that left me stunned. Surely Belt is better than Rowland at lest belt can work the count and get more walks.

One more thing, from Baggs' post-game wrap on his blog, a Bochy quote on Cabrera and if he should have sacrificed Ross over to 3B a couple of times: “Well, you give me a situation and I’ll tell you whether I like to (sacrifice) or not,” Bochy said. “In that situation, no, because I’ve got a professional hitter up there.” Orlando Cabrera, Professional Hitter.

I keep wanting to write things about this offense because it's just-so-bad, but I think I'm running out of things to say. I will say this: I think last night's lineup was one of the worst Giants' lineups that I've seen in awhile.

As far as offense, I know Sabean prides himself by not believing in saber-metrics, youth or logic, and is so stubborn he'll never change? But how low do you have to sink before you get the boot? Even my 10 year old nephew scratched his head when they acquired Cabrera and saw his age/stats. In the Sabean era, is Pablo Sandoval the only hitter to come through our farm system and make an all star team? I'm pretty sure Matt Williams was the last home grown product before him. So 25 years, and the SF scouts and Sabean have only produced 1 good hitter? I admit, that's hard to do. I'm not even mad, I'm impressed. You have to be super extra horrible, and even a bit unlucky, to accomplish that. Oh, and don't try to tell me that Marvin Bernard and Pedro Feliz were good.