The 2008 season has begun... lots of slippage

Having a tough time scoring runs and not making the routine plays is what's happening on the field but having to absorb the constant criticism from fans who are beleaguerers-at best- is woe's biggest pain.

Most of us know this is going to be a long year but as with years past we are trying to find the best way to deal with these inadequacies. It's our way of giving the team the benefit of the doubt until further notice.

Who cares if Rajai Davis is making every pitcher look like Ray Milland in It Happens Every Spring? Or that Rich Aurilia may be the first of the veterans to bite the dust when it comes to being replaced. I mean, geez, he has warning track power, lost a step in his limited range, has never been known for being fleet of foot, is prone to injury and to state the obvious, his best years are behind him. He does have a great smile, but this isn't about who should do the next toothpaste commercial. It's about the San Francisco Giants and how Uncle Brian has done very little to help Bruce Bochy.

(Oh by the way, I'm hearing the feedback of someone who claims to be a Giants' fan and he pronounces the skipper's name as Botch-ey. Which as poetic justice would have it is another way of saying mismanage. As someone who grew up in the days when white out was a substance used to correct typos I had to be very creative when the white out was hardening to the point of not being able to use and would magically derive of things off of the Freudian slip. I was capable of turning the typo into a fresh approach for the topic.

Another thing, why do people like to refer to the word suck when they are expressing their utmost dislike of a team or player? The word means to devour, consume, ingest, and or swallow. These people are mistakenly referring to the antonyms of suck. Words like repel, spew, spit out, vomit, eject or discharge. When someone barks that another individual sucks he/she is really saying that the individual blows. This is not a Freudian slip, this is a sign of ignorance. Unless, of course, that person is speaking of someone in porn. Cat Stevens' lyrics to, get this, "Can't Keep it In," off the album Catch Bull at Four are quite apropos: You've got so much to say, say what you mean, mean what you're thinking and think anything. Why not? )

If Richie is the first to get the hook it may be at the expense of Brett Harper. A 6'4" first baseman who bats left and throws right who is out of the Mets organization. Last year at Double AA Binghamton he batted .296, with 24-HR and 88-RBI.

Some say Ray Durham is next on the list of replacing oldsters with youngsters. That may be and if so, Emmanuel Burriss, the Giants' 1st round pick of 2006 would probably get a good look.

I'm living in the not so bustling metropolis of Bass Lake, CA. The newspaper here is the Fresno Bee. This paper is dedicated to Fresno. Anything anyone needs to know about the current events of Fresno is in the Bee. There is access to knowledge of those up and coming stars for the Fresno Grizzlies, the San Francisco Giants' Triple AAA affiliate.

Never forget why you are a Giants' fan. Set the good example.

Kevin Marquez