Bullpen Must Deliver or Else

Bruce Bochy has the players he wants, on the current Giant roster, give or take an injury or two. The front office has been working diligently to keep tabs on how players are doing in the minor leagues and seem to be picking the right players to come aboard the big league club.

At some point the responsibility is on the players themselves. Either they can or cannot perform at a big league level more times than not.

Bullpen duty is tough work. But then again so is every roster spot. A part-time player has to know his roll and be ready to contribute in a pinch. Starters don't have any more pressure than anyone else because they are thought, in the eyes of many (or at least those whose opinions matter most) to be the best of the bunch. But if their contributions begin to falter then the necessary adjustments will be made to find someone else who can. Of course, if you have several players struggling to make it happen it's inevitable that it will be a long, frustrating season.

Right now, Charles Vincent Chulk, a.k.a. Vinnie, is struggling to pitch innings without serving up tasty meatballs for opponents to feast on. In fact, judging by the way the batters are drooling in the batter's-box, I'm thinking the more apropos nickname is Vinnie Choke. Based not only on his inconsistent performance but by the way opposing batters seem to be gobbling up his assorted entrees as if they're choking down all they can of Vinnie's offerings.

Word to Vinnie Choke, leave the inconsistencies to the: discordant, pin-the-tail on the strike zone, attitudes-in-need-of-adjustment, umpires.

Kevin Marquez