The Lunatic Fringe

What I think about Jonathan Sanchez:

He’s the guy who makes people who say “You can’t teach stuff!” look bad.

There has never been any doubting Sanchez’s talent and ability, or his ceiling.  But he almost never hits it.

What’s worse, with the Giants, he came close enough often enough to keep the Giants in a bad situation.

Sure, he threw the no-hitter in 2009, which was just about his highest point.  He did it int he midst of a mediocre 4.52 ERA season.  In 2010, he came about as close to his ceiling as possible, posting a 3.44 ERA in the World Series season.  But his wildness and temper nearly cost his team a key game in the NLCS, and he was easily the weak link for the Giants in the World Series.

And that’s Jonathan Sanchez at his average: he’ll do good enough for you to see his best, so that you count on him when it’s important, and then he’ll show you his worst.  Since 2011, he hasn’t even been that.

Sanchez is still one of the Giants in that amazing 2010 season.  That no-hitter is still an indelible memory.  I was driving from Boston to Norwich to cover the then-AA farm team for the Giants (the Connecticut Defenders), and as I waited for my food at a convenient rest stop McDonalds late at night, I realized the game would still be on back home.  So, I started streaming the radio feed through the MLB app on my iPhone, and I got to listen to it live, after midnight, on the east coast.  It was amazing.

But I breathed a sigh of relief when he was traded to the Royals for Melky Cabrera.  It was a deal I couldn’t agree with Sabean more about.  And I haven’t missed him as a player.

I do wish him the best whenever he’s not a Dodger…but I’ve long since stopped expecting it, or even hoping for it.

And how in the hell did the Royals pull off sending Sanchez to the Colorado Rockies for Jeremy Guthrie?  Wow.

One other thing…

With Melky Cabrera’s latest lie, albeit such a small and meaningless one, he’s quickly shredding any possible sympathy or good feelings I had for him.  Could the Blue Jays please trade him to the Dodgers?  There are few players not named Shane Victorino or Mat Latos I am quickly developing such bad feelings for.