Some friends and I have been writing about the San Francisco Giants all season long on Popblerd under the column title of the SF Giants Heat Check. Every month or so, we check in on how the team’s doing and give our hardcore fan perspective on the squad.

We’ve taken that hardcore fan perspective to the next level. I present to you, the verbal SF Giants Heat Check! Last night, I called all of the Heat Check members and we brought our prose to your ears.

I first called THE Mary Walton (@themarywalton) to set the tone. We discussed the big Dodgers’ trade and how that affects the NL West race. We also talked about the Giants’ moves (Pence, Scutaro, Mijares).

Then we called Butch Husky (@butchhusky) to talk about the Melky Cabrera suspension and who took the reigns as the public Giants team leader. I also let him speak glowingly about his favorite Brandon Crawford.

Stephen Mar (@realstephenmar) joined the podcast next to talk about the struggles of Tim Lincecum. I then asked a hypothetical question about who everyone would choose to be the 4th starter if the Giants made the playoffs — Lincecum or Barry Zito. Craziness ensued.

Darrin Reyes (@drey2531) came in to hit clean-up and we discussed Brandon Belt, which was another hot topic (specifically the way he was handled earlier in the season). We finished off the show talking about how we became Giants fans and who were our favorite players growing up.

Listen below or right click to download here.

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Before he was the Panda, my kids and I were calling Pablo Sandoval, “The Blito”. We took Pablo, made it Pablito, and simply shortened it to Blito, before adding “The” in front of it, sort of how Ohio State University is The Ohio State University. So to us, he’s not The Panda, he’s The Blito.

Pablo is the kind of player you just like giving nicknames to. He’s fun loving and kids enjoy watching someone who just looks like they’re having fun out there on the field. Pablo Sandoval kind of crept up on all of us. He wasn’t a high pick or a super prospect of any kind. And he achieved success at a fast pace. People forget that he’s still just 24 years old. His playful attitude has made him a fan favorite, but the same attitude has given fans some ammunition when he doesn’t play well. I can’t remember when Giants fans previously cared how much someone weighed, but they sure cared this offseason.

They cared so much that it overshadowed a lot of his problems last year that didn’t have anything to do with his weight. Sure, his range at third base seemed so much more limited than the year before. But if you went to some games last year, you’d notice that he was cheating to the left a little bit, and playing off the line. My guess is that he knew that neither Juan Uribe or Edgar Renteria was going to cover a lot of ground to their backhand so he wanted to see if he could get to some of those balls. And of course, he might’ve been cheating left a little bit because he was having trouble getting to his left as well.

But at the plate, I’m not so sure it was all that physical. All the smart ones will say that hitting is a mental game. He may have had trouble getting through the zone on inside pitches because of his size, but Prince Fielder carries a bigger boiler than Pablo did last year and he doesn’t seem to have the same problem. I really think it was mostly mental. Most every Giants fan knows that Pablo was going through a divorce last year. He has a young daughter. Those things can affect anyone in their life. Anyone whose gone through a divorce (raising my hand) knows that it’s such a complete mind f***, you find yourself day dreaming, playing scenarios through your head, thinking about the past, the future, and the people you’ve disappointed.
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I enjoyed most of the San Francisco Giants victory over the Colorado Rockies like I enjoyed most games in my youth. Rather than watching Tim Lincecum strike out ten Rockies in 7 2/3 inning on television, I listened to Jon Miller and Dave Fleming, much like I used to listen to Hank Greenwald. Back in the mid-to-late 80s, only the away games were on TV. Giants fans couldn’t watch home games until much later when they tried and failed to sell Giants Vision on cable.

Even when they were on TV, I’d find myself listening to the game in my room while playing RBI Baseball on my NES. Tonight, I was outside playing catch with my ten year old (JJ) who wanted to get his arm ready to pitch in his little league game tomorrow. I rolled down the window in my car, turned on the car radio, and we started to play catch. About a minute later, Lincecum lost his no-hitter, so maybe we should’ve turned on the TV for old good luck’s sake.

But really, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Baseball is a better radio sport than a TV sport. There’s too much downtime in between pitches for TV to do the game justice. How often can you show the field or the crowd in between pitches? It’s why the analysts have to make things up to say during dead time. Baseball is a conversational game. You’re always talking to anyone within ear shot about what just happened or what’s going to happen. That’s why Twitter chatter is strong during baseball games. Even if you have no one to talk to, you have lots of people to talk to.
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