"The Bat" the Giants needed

GIANTS 8 - CUBS 7 

Pat Burrell is having an amazing season.

At the beginning of this season he was the Tampa Bay Rays DH, he was hitting .202, and just came off a season in which he hit .221 which was, even for a guy who doesn't hit for that high of an average anyway, a pretty low average.

A lot of people are think that he is rejuvenated because he has returned to the bay area and is playing for the team he rooted for growing up, but I think it's something more tangible than that.

He is playing the field.

In Tampa Bay he was a DH.  Which is the equivalent of pinch-hitting 4 times a night.  In his career Pat is 10 for 50 (.200) as a PH.  As a DH, he has a career average of .209.  He obviously wasn't comfortable in that role as a number of players aren't.  Especially ones who have gone through their careers as an everyday player.

It is widely accepted that the Giants were in search of a bat at the trading deadline.  What everybody was overlooking, was the fact that they already had "THE BAT" on the team.  He came over and did well in his first few weeks with the Giants but as soon as he went a little cold, Burrell was banished to the bench by the great field general who goes by the name of Bochy.

It's no coincidence that Pat's hot streak has coincided with his playing every day.  Here's to hoping that Boch doesn't try to give him a "rest" any time soon.

Burrell's 5 RBI's were definitely the big storyline of the game, well except for maybe Andres Torres' pinch hit single to win the game in the 9th, but there is another encouraging storyline that emerged from today's game.

Pablo!

Pablo had a triple and a booming homerun into McCovey Cove.  The hits extended his hitting streak to 6 games the last three of which were all multi-hit games.  It also brought his Average for the month of August to .349.  Pablo is capable of having an extended hot streak and carrying this team.

One of the biggest differences in Pablo from last season to this season has been his BABIP.  Last season it was .350, This season, .299.  I believe the explanation for the difference is the fact that he has not been hitting the ball hard at all this season.  That has changed over the last week or two.  His  career BABIP, including this season, is .332 so he has a way to go for his numbers to improve to his average and while he is doing it watch out National League!

Hopefully Pablo can make some of the more "sky is falling!" Giants fans realize that the All-Star game voting campaign was not a waste of time.