What's right is wrong

Padres 5, Giants 1

The blessed Giants teams of yesteryear could get away with it.

Travis Ishikawa. Brandon Belt. Aubrey Huff.

All of them played in the outfield when needed, hundreds of feet from where they truly belonged at first base. It didn’t matter. Those Giants teams could bend, even break, conventional wisdom and it never cost them much.

The same cannot be said about these Giants. These Giants tried playing a catcher in right field on Wednesday and lost because of it.

You’re right, the Giants probably lost because they tallied only three hits and didn’t draw a walk. Their impossibly thin margin for error, though, is not helped by trying to build a utility player on the fly.

Ty France sent a ball to right field that had an expected batting average of .080. In other words, only eight times out of 100 does France’s fly ball fall for a hit. Jesus Rodriguez sprinted a long way before the ball ticked off his glove as he tumbled to the ground.

Two runs scored as France zoomed all the way to third, meaning more Padres touched third base on one play than the Giants did all game.

Sure, those Even Year teams probably took their lumps with guys playing out of position. But as I recall, their seasons never felt on the brink in May.

Podcast: Kerry and I break down what’s led the Giants to this point, and what the roster shakeup means for Buster Posey, Tony Vitello, and all those expensive, underperforming veterans. Listen on Apple or Spotify or wherever you get your pods.

Up next: The Giants are off on Thursday. Tony V said he thinks his everyday guys are exhausted, which… well… OK. Same, I guess. The Pirates come to town on Friday and thankfully Paul Skenes will remain in the dugout for the series.