| He kind of looks like an alien... Maybe he should go back to his planet. |
He can't catch the ball.
| I had some trouble finding pictures of him hitting. Because he doesn't. |
He can't hit.
He can't slide. He gave himself a concussion trying to slide. It finally kept him out of the lineup.
Wait a minute. "Why would this man be in the lineup?" you ask. He can't hit, catch, slide, throw runners out, or keep an ounce of color in his hair. So why would Bochy play him?
Because Bruce Bochy just loves washed up, untalented old farts. Sure, Whiteside is only 32 years old. But his hair and athletic ability just reek of that old-manish aura that Bochy loves. So Whiteside got playing time after Buster went down. Even though Chris Stewart's catching abilities were far superior to Whiteside's, Whiteside got the majority of the time behind the plate. Even though Chris Stewart was used to the grind of catching every day while Whiteside was used to keeping his buns warm on the bench, Whiteside got the majority of the playing time. Whiteside was so terrible, that after a while, he wasn't even allowed to catch Lincecum anymore. Whenever Lincecum would throw one of his trademark change-ups, the pitch would be beautiful. It would come in right where hitters like it, only to die at the last second as they swung helplessly for it. Then the ball would go careening to the backstop. If there were runners on base, they would advance while Whiteside ran around trying to figure out where the heck the ball went. So Whiteside was kept very far away from Timmy. There was only one time after that where Whiteside was slated to catch on the same day Linceum was starting. It was July 26th. The Giant's first game against the Philles since they clinched to go to the World Series. I was super excited about that game. I wanted to see the Giants give the Phillies what they deserved. The fact that Lincecum was starting also meant that I would get to see him and Bumgarner pitch when I would watch them in Cincinnati.
And then Andrew Baggarly posted the lineup on his blog.
Lincecum was starting, and Whiteside was catching.
Not an hour later, MLB Network was reporting that Lincecum was scratched for that night due to flu-like symptoms. And I totally believed that he was sick. Thinking about having to pitch to Whiteside would make one nauseous. I also have speculations that Obama ruined him too, but that's another story.
Back to the present now. Just last week was the non-tender deadline, and to my great relief, the Giants non-tendered Whiteside. I was so happy. I had a Whiteside-free summer stretching out before me. No more runners stealing second with the throw getting there as they're dusting their pants off. No more dropped third strikes that lead to extra innings because he decides to turn around and argue with the umpire instead of throwing the ball down to first to get the runner out.
And somehow, he gets a NEW CONTRACT?!?!?!? This makes absolutely no sense. Buster will be starting again next year with Stewart as backup. Catching prospect Hector Sanchez will be waiting in AAA if they decide they want to use him if Buster needs frequent catching breaks. So why do they sign back a fourth catcher? They say that Whiteside will be "competing for a job" in spring training. But if he doesn't get a job (which he hopefully won't) that's just money they wasted on a fourth catcher that they are just going to let go.
I've said this a million times, but sometimes I wonder about Brian Sabean. Maybe I should just change that to, "Brian Sabean, you're an idiot."
| The one good thing Whiteside did |
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