Major League Baseball

Cam Inman: 'Kung Fu Panda' Pablo Sandoval becoming a heavy burden to San Francisco Giants

Published Oct. 10, 2010 10:11 p.m. ET

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It is OK that Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval watches the "Kiss Cam" skit on the stadium's video board in between warm-up throws in the top of the fifth inning.

It is OK that he hams it up with the Giants' mascot when the national anthem concludes.

It is even OK that he mingles with opposing players while waiting to take pregame hacks at the batting cage.

That is Pablo Sandoval. He is a fun guy. He won over Giants fans with that love-of-the-game spirit the past couple years.

But he also is a liability thus far in his first postseason.

Is it OK if he can't grip a grounder and thus throws wide to first base, extending a pivotal eighth-inning rally?

Is it OK if he carries a .167 batting average and hasn't met a pitch he doesn't like?

Is it, hold on "... it definitely is not OK if he body slams star catcher Buster Posey on a foul pop-up, but accidents happen when neither player hears the other's "I got it" call, so give Sandoval a break on that.

The Giants are in a conundrum. They need Sandoval to play better if they are to be long for these playoffs.

But they also need to bench him now that they visit the Atlanta Braves today for Game 3 of their all-square National League Division Series.

The road is where the Panda gets caged. He got benched for three consecutive games in the Giants' final regular-season road show. He had baseball's largest batting-average differential this season: .330 at home, .208 on the road.

Sandoval again should grab some pine (but no more meat, if we may twist Mike Krukow's catchphrase).

A funny thing may have happened on Sandoval's way off the lineup. Well, not funny at all. Second baseman Freddy Sanchez has an injured right hand. If he is out today, manager Bruce Bochy may not want to sit another usual starter in Sandoval.

Otherwise, the Giants' infield might feature Juan Uribe at third base, Edgar Renteria at shortstop and Mike Fontenot at second base.

Bochy looked puzzled when asked how Sandoval played in Friday night's 5-4, Game 2 loss to the Atlanta Braves in their divisional-round series at AT&T Park.

"How Pablo played?" Bochy repeated.

Yeah. Any complaints?

"He played hard," Bochy said. "He didn't get any hits, but I don't know what else to say about that. He's out there tryin' and they pitched well against him."

Actually, Sandoval did have a hit: a three-hopper up the middle that second baseman Brooks Conrad cut off for an infield single in the seventh.

But Sandoval quickly got forced out at second base on a Cody Ross grounder. It is definitely forgettable when so many other guys are making outs.

Did you know that Sandoval's .167 average is still better than four of the six guys ahead of him in the batting order? True story, and an appalling one.

The Giants probably will not abandon him, not when others also failed to ride A-games into the ATL.

If the Giants haven't taught Sandoval how to reinvent that wheel of a swing of his during a rough regular season, they won't try in the 11th hour.

"No, we're not going to change Pablo," Bochy said before Friday's game. "Sure, at times we would like him to show a little bit more discipline, but that's who he is. He's had success, but he's also had struggles at times when he does go too far outside the strike zone."

A week ago, Sandoval made an encouraging exit to the regular season, tallying hits in 7 of 19 at-bats, including his first home run since Aug. 28.

His role in these next two games at Atlanta must be carefully managed by Bochy.

It is OK to sit him and keep his left-handed bat at the ready for pinch-hit duty.

It is OK to pull him for defensive purposes late in the game if a lead is in jeopardy.

It is OK to root for Sandoval as a pseudo-secret weapon.

Is it OK to drop $20 for a panda cap if Game 5 is necessary next Wednesday night at AT&T Park? Buyer beware.

Contact Cam Inman at cinman@bayareanewsgroup.com .

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