The San Francisco Giants currently have the worst record in all of Major League Baseball, and are running Pablo Sandoval, whom they dragged out of the Boston Harbor earlier this year, out to third base every day. If there’s one stat to capture just how bleak this season has been, it might be this: Sandoval is hitless in his last 37 at-bats.
The Giants have given up, yes, but it’s still hard to watch them play Sandoval every day. Christian Arroyo is hurt and Eduardo Nunez is off doing Eduardo Nunez things with the Red Sox, but wouldn’t giving youngsters like Kelby Tomlinson and Ryder Jones regular playing time be a more productive use of the third base position?
In Pablo’s defense, he’s only struck out a total of six times across the last 10 games and is making contact with pitches. They ain’t landing, but that hasn’t stopped the Giants from starting him. Even if the 0-for streak, which is now a franchise record, isn’t weighing on the front office, it does appear to be weighing on Sandoval:
The good news for Sandoval is that this hitless streak has likely escaped most people’s notice thanks to low expectations and his scrimmage-caliber baseball team. Every day for the Giants is an exercise in humiliation. Somehow, on a roster replete with guys sporting a sub-100 OPS+, Panda has managed to sink to the bottom. At least Boston’s on the hook for the bill.