Why You Should Vote for Pablo Sandoval

At a sprightly 22 years of age, Pablo Sandoval has almost singlehandedly transformed the Giants from a woeful team with unbelievable pitching to a contender. He probably won't be MVP as long as Albert Pujols is in the National League, and he can't be Rookie of the Year because he came to the big club for a short stint last season, not because he was ready, but because the Giants were so bad it was embarassing, and something obviously had to be done.

What he's done since then has been nothing short of phenomenal, (.333, 13 homers, 24 doubles, the ability to play any position on the field like he was born for it), and his achievements can be recognized in a special fan voting procedure. Five players have been declared eligible for inclusion on the NL All-Star team, with voting open through one o'clock this Thursday. If you're a Giants' fan, you've probably already been voting for him--as of last night he was leading the balloting over the likes of the Phillie's Shave Victorino and three other players.

What I'm saying is that, if you're not a Giant's fan, but just want to see the National League put the best possible team on the field, vote for Pablo. Do it now, and do it a few more times.

Before the season began, I, and most people who care about the Giants, favored making some sort of desparation move, like signing Manny Ramirez or trading one of the Giants' hot pitching prospects for some kind of help at the plate. With Pablo hitting third and Bengie Molina 4th, the Giants still lack a true cleanup hitter, but who cares? Their 45-37 record is second only to the Dodgers in the National League. It's meaningless to compare the West to other divisions, except for wild card ramifications, (yes, the Giants lead that race) but they'd be leading the Central or East divisions today.

And, with 11 shutout victories in the books, they have shown they have the pitching to do some damage in a playoff series. But without Pablo, they'd be trailing everybody.

Sandoval took the news of his nomination for this special election in stride, belting a grand-slam homer last night in Matt Cain's (10-2) victory over visiting Florida.

That's the kind of quality that should make him an All-Star. He's not intimidated by big league pitching, and he doesn't let outside factors interefere with his performance on the field. When he strained his elbow earlier this season, manager Bruce Bochy benched 1st baseman Travis Ishikawa and shifted Pablo from 3rd to 1st, a move he had to make because without Pablo's bat in the lineup this would be a pathetic team. With him swinging a bat, they are the only club in the West that has a chance at keeping the Dodgers honest.

Obviously, nothing is more important than beating LA, but they're playing out of their gourds, and with Manny back from his 50-game suspension, it doesn't look like they'll be coming back to the crowd. The Giants have been lingering between 6 and 7 games back of LA for most of the 1st half of the season, which is much more than Giants's fans hoped for, especially considering that they still have all their pitching prospects, including the unheralded Ryan "Duderino" Sabowski, who has done nothing but pitch 13 shutout innings against Milwaukee and Houston since stepping in for the struggling Jonathan Sanchez.

Sabowski has a 2-0 record and a flawless 0.00 ERA as a big leaguer, numbers put up against two good-hitting clubs with little fanfare. But with guys like All-Stars Cain and Tim Lincecum anchoring the rotation, Sabowski is just another stud.

Pablo Sandoval, of course, was a big part of both wins, including a homer and a triple in Sabowski's 14-0 whitewash of the Astros.

So exercise your rights. Vote Pablo. Do it now and do it again. You won't be sorry.