A Team in Contention you Say?

Carlos Beltran

It’s settled.  From now on any newcomer that signs with the Giants will automatically be put on the Disabled List as a precaution.  Do not stop, do not pass go ….. I have to tell you, when we got word that Carlos Beltran signed with the Giants the first thing I said ~ no really ~ the very first thing I said was ” I wonder how long it will take him to hit the DL!”  So how long has it been?   Sixteen days you say?  So okay, he isn’t officially on the DL, not yet, but take a look at of the Giants who have been;    Barry Zito, Jonathan Sanchez, Cody Ross, Zito again, Buster Posey, Freddie Sanchez, Santiago Casilla, Zito again, Brian Wilson, Mark DeRosa, Manny Burriss, Pat Burrell, DeRosa again, and now ….. Beltran?   Good grief!  How is it possible these guys have been able to be in a position to even remotely smell first place, let alone set foot in it for a few weeks. Here’s the latest post from D. L. Short, over at NBC Sports……

“Carlos Beltran  is out of the starting lineup for the fourth straight game tonight with a strained right hand/wrist and it sounds like the Giants are close to making a decision about placing him on the disabled list.

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that Beltran has only made “marginal improvement” since receiving a cortisone shot Wednesday. While he was able to pick up a bat today for the first time since the injury, he is still feeling some pain in the back of his hand when he swings.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said they plan to wait until tomorrow to see if he makes further progress, but it sounds like a roster move isn’t far away.

“It’s so vital to swinging the bat to have your hand healthy enough to take a normal swing,” Bochy said. “Once he feels strong enough to handle the bat and take a normal swing, we’ll do it. We can’t risk losing him for a long period of time. We’ve got to be smart about it. This is a sensitive area.”

I might mention  Nate Schierholtz is out of the lineup for the second straight game tonight with a sore right hip.   And this is a team of youngsters compared to the rest of the league.   Personally, I’d rather they be cursed with no-hit-itis virus ….. oh, excuse me, they are …..than this malady of crazy intangibles that have befallen them as a team.

All I can say is it’s getting to be a really long season and there doesn’t appear to be anything on the horizon that’s going to make it go any faster.   Is it postseason yet?  I’m just asking,  you know,  just asking.

Update!  Take a look at this……It shouldn’t take Beltran on the DL to bring back  Brandon Belt, but we’ll try anything at this point!