Shark Tank

I'm interested to see how historians interpret Jeff Samardzija. Because on one hand, he has 100 career losses, and 78 career wins, and he's been at the mercy of many of the hard-luck teams he's pitched for. On the other hand...even in dire seasons, he's still been one of the toughest pitchers to have to go against. He's 34 and he still throws hard as hell, finally having a good season in San Francisco after 2 disappointing years. And yes, he's still a bit wonky compared to Madison Bumgarner, but...think about who Bumgarner is for a sec.

MadBum, Shark and Tyler Beede are the only survivors of a rotation in turmoil. Now that Dereck Rodriguez is back, the Giants are really shoving anything they can into that last rotation spot to see if it works. Yes, they're still technically in the Wild Card race, but...after their big, mid-July come-up, they've come hurtling back to earth and are now...really just the same old disappointing NL West team they always were...just with a little more competence and a little less Panik (how bizarre is it that he went from one momentarily great team to another?).

Good news is that their bench of a thousand guest stars seems to be working, now that Alex Dickerson is healthy again. Scooter Gennett and Joey Rickard have made the most of recent plate appearances, Stephen Vogt is a wonderful backup catcher (hey, remember when they thought he'd never play again?), and Austin Slater is closing in on the open starting outfield spot. Plus, the veterans like Posey, Longoria, Crawford, Belt and Pillar are all doing modestly and keeping the team slightly invigorated.

I don't know if this team's gonna have any relevance in late September/early October, but...there's a lot more to this team than there initially was. At least I can say that.

Coming Tomorrow (?)- Man, even a comparatively down season from this guy is deadly as hell.