by
Greek Giant
This is not a post about Madison Bumgarner.
The question of fan loyalty is an interesting one, as it pertains to Giants fans in particular. Dr. Lefty raised this issue in a recent wonderful piece and I think it is a topic worth repeating and rumination on. Do Giants fans, after tasting championship champagne three times this past decade, owe Farhan Zaidi and the organization patience and calm in light of recent events (the teardown, the Bumgarner parting, etc.)?
Here is my short take: The Giants should never be in a complete rebuild. They should never, with all their wealth and other resources, resort to burning down the whole team and system and starting over. By this I mean, I do not think you let your best assets just walk away (Bumgarner and Smith, to name two) for draft picks. We are in the era of the over-valuation of draft picks.
The Astros’ssss Jeff Luhnow and A.J. Hinch got suspended for one year by Rob Manfred. Kudos to the Commish for showing some cojones in this very heavy punishment. What I found most interesting is this caveat: If either Hinch or Luhnow violates their suspension by engaging in any baseball activities they are permanently banned by MLB. Stealing signs on the bases is one thing. Resorting to using electronic tools is quite another. I applaud MLB for doing the right thing.
Happy New Year to everyone.
Talk amongst yourselves.