The Lunatic Fringe

Okay, they aren’t out of it.

And yet, parts of the culture around this team seem like they’re looking for someone to blame.  Sabean, Bochy, Beltran, Scott Cousins…and maybe even Neukom.

The ouster (or, cordial to-be ouster) of Bill Neukom is still surprising.  It’s a stark reminder that the idea of an owner needs to be replaced with the idea of owners…and that will be a new topic for months, maybe seasons to come.

What’s interesting is a sudden seeming media war.  This has been a controversy of inside reports.  The actual announcements are being largely ignored for the unnamed sources giving information to reporters, and then second-hand assumptions made afterwards.  First, the ouster was about money being spent, then another report says it’s how the money was spent.  Another report comes out saying that it was about Neukom not playing nice with the politics of baseball, and then a counter-report says it’s because Neukom was demanding too much money as compensation.  Huh?

If it’s unfiltered and unsourced, it has to be real, right?  The anonymous reports that started the most surprising story on the Giants season so far have now reached levels where not even a bullcrap sensor can sort out which truth is the truth.

As the Giants somehow get back into this season, Neukom’s ouster will remain on the back burner in some minds.  But it will become louder in the offseason, as questions arise about who the Giants pursue for next season, especially after Beltran’s comments.

Boy, between the sudden playoff push and the Neukom drama,  I bet you those Showtime cameras wish they hadn’t wrapped up filming weeks ago.