It seemed like the San Francisco Giants, who haven't been completely healthy at any point this season, were finally about to replace all the bad news with good news, as Pablo Sandoval is poised to come off the Disabled List early next week. Buster Posey's out for the duration, but otherwise the Giants might finally expect to have their ideal lineup in place.
Until Friday night. In the fifth inning of a game against the Cincinnati Reds, Giants second baseman Freddy Sanchez went diving for a groundball up the middle. He did stop the ball but couldn't make the play; worse, Sanchez had to be led off the field with his right arm immobilized.
As he came off the field, Sanchez could be seen mouthing the words, "It's my shoulder."
And after the game, the news was both expected and lousy: Sanchez suffered a dislocated right shoulder, and while we don't yet know the severity of the injury -- tendons, ligaments, electronic circuitry, that sort of thing -- he's certain to land on the DL and perhaps for quite a while.
In Sanchez's absence -- and with third baseman Sandoval coming back soon -- the Giants' obvious options at second base include light-hitting Emmanuel Burriss and veteran light-hitter Miguel Tejada, who's played exactly zero innings at second base in his 17 professional seasons.
Considering Tejada's inexperience at second base and that he's actually hit worse than Burriss this season, the latter would seem the safe(r) choice until Mike Fontenot comes off the DL. Which, for the Giants, can't happen soon enough.
For much more about the Giants and the impact of Sanchez's injury, please visit McCovey Chronicles.