Today Bruce Bochy wrote a letter to the fans covering many topics. The general theme of the letter was gratitude. Bochy thanked the fans for coming out to games no matter what the standings are and no matter who the opponent is. Because of the Giants’ World Series title last year, fans have proven to be more dedicated and loyal than ever before. Tonight’s game marked history. The Giants set a franchise record with the highest single-season attendance in its 128-year history. A total of 3,303,000 fans came out to AT&T this season, breaking the previous record of 3,277,244 set in 2001. This attendance total is the 3rd best in the league behind the Phillies and Yankees. This is quite an impressive stat, and it’s great to see Bochy acknowledge that. Although his staff most likely prompted him to write this letter, this act of kindness does mean something to fans. As frustrating as some of Bochy’s decisions can be, he is a loyal, thankful man who really does see how special Giants fans are. It’s great to see a form of consolation on Bochy’s part, however rough this season might have been.

Read Bochy’s letter here.

Before the 2011 season started, the Giants organization and their fan base could not wait to see the young phenom, Brandon Belt, make a significant contribution towards another World Series title. Brandon Belt had soared through the minor leagues and played at all 3 levels: A, AA, and AAA. Over the course of the season with all 3 teams, he hit a .352 average, .455 OBP, .620 slugging percentage, 1.075 OPS, and had 23 home runs in 136 games. Based on these strong numbers, who wouldn’t want to see this kid in the majors? On top of that, Belt is a smart kid with a great head on his shoulders. He respects the game and everyone around him and seems very “old-school.” He even wears his socks up! He seemed like the perfect shot at the Giants having another NL Rookie of the Year.

During spring training the hype began to expand nationally. Many sports writers, broadcasters, and analysts declared that Brandon Belt could be the 2011 NL Rookie of the Year. People began to label him as the “Next Buster Posey,” not just because Posey also won the Rookie of the Year Award, but because he could provide that energy and that spark that Posey provided en route to the World Series title. Since Aubrey Huff is able to play left and right field (not particularly well, but he’s at least fairly competent in the outfield) and since he’s aging, the decision to bring up Brandon Belt for opening day became much easier for management.

Sounds like the beginning to a happy ending, right? Not so much. I believe that this decision was a little rushed, and not necessarily in the best interest of Belt himself. However, Brandon Belt burst onto the MLB scene in his second game by hitting a 3-run home run against the Dodgers. That highlight was the sole glimpse of the young phenom that all Giants fans wanted to see. For his first 49 at bats this year, Belt had 9 hits equating to a .184 average. He had only one home run, 4 RBI’s, .265 slugging, .286 OBP, and .551 OPS. With these atrocious numbers, he got sent down to AAA to figure out any mechanical issues with his swing and hopefully regain some self-confidence. Belt continued to yo-yo between AAA and the Giants, and once he began to get some regular playing time with the Giants, he injured his wrist. Watch a video clip here:

Brandon Belt was sent to the DL with a hairline fracture in his left wrist, and he didn’t return to the Giants until July 19th. He started against the Dodgers and went 2-4 with a home run and 3 RBI’s. Ever since then though, Belt has continued to showcase inconsistency. Belt had a .263 average for July, a .212 average for August, and has a .195 average for September. His stat line for the whole season (consisting of 57 games): .213 average, 8 home runs, 16 RBI’s, .300 OBP, .396 slugging, and .696 OPS. Not exactly NL Rookie of the Year numbers.

Yes, you can’t exactly count this as a true example of Belt’s abilities because of his injury and his constant shifting between AAA and the Giants. I truly want Brandon Belt to do well, because he seems like a very intelligent baseball player with many useful skills that could help the Giants significantly. Giants management simply brought him up too early. I believe that the Giants should have let Belt start the year at AAA, like Buster Posey did last year. They should have let him establish himself as an everyday player and make sure that his swing was mechanically correct. Then once he was ready, they could call him up, under one condition though: make sure that he can start almost every day. It wouldn’t matter whether they had him starting in left field, right field, or at first base. Besides, Buster Posey started at first base when he first came up and was eased into catching duties. If Belt came up knowing that he would be starting and that he was here to stay, I truly believe that he would have been more natural and comfortable at the plate. He would have a more relaxed approach and not have to think so much when hitting, which would allow him to have better at-bats and hit more consistently. This would have been the appropriate “2011 NL Rookie of the Year” approach. The beginning of his career was mishandled by Giants management, but this is just a setback. Brandon Belt will bounce back to his normal form. Don’t get me wrong, Brandon Belt is the future of the Giants. Who knows, maybe he will become the next Buster Posey. It’ll just have to happen in his second season.

Giants fans need to realize something. The Giants believe in themselves a lot more than most of their fans do right now. Although chances are still slim, the Giants are still in this playoff race. With 8 games remaining, the Giants are 3.5 games back of the Braves and 2.5 games back of the Cardinals (based on results before the game on September 20th). There is not much point looking at how the Diamondbacks are doing, because the Giants have pretty close to no chance of winning the NL West. So what does this mean for the Giants’ chances? Should Giants fans still believe in their team or just prepare themselves for next season?

Well, it’s quite simple. Giants fans need to approach this last stretch of the season with this mindset: do not get overly pessimistic or overly optimistic. This might sound very contradictory and sound almost like a cop-out answer, however, I have my reasons. Giants fans cannot be too pessimistic simply because this is September baseball. Baseball can change in an instant and nothing, I mean nothing, is certain in baseball, especially during September. Crazy things can happen when teams get on a roll, and you never know what teams will being to falter under the pressure. With this in mind, Giants fans cannot become too optimistic either. Optimism can result in false hope and excessive, unnecessary stress. I don’t mean to be a Debbie Downer, but it will literally drive a fan crazy by constantly watching the scoreboard and thinking of game-by-game situations on how the Giants can make the playoffs. It’s a waste of time, since baseball is so unpredictable.

Giants fans should just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride, aka Giants Torture. Even though Giants Torture began last year, it is very much alive this year, so expect to see much more drama these remaining 8 games. The Giants thrive on drama, whether it be a come-from-behind win, a 4-home run inning, or a Brian Wilson save. Giants baseball is dramatic and torturous, and we love it. So why not just enjoy the rest of the season, stress-free? The Giants are only going to be reigning World Series Champions for so long, so enjoy it while you can. Keep bragging about it and keep supporting the champs. Just don’t get to pessimistic or optimistic.

Brandon Belt wrote another blog post today for the Veteran and the Rook Blog. He discusses everything from how Pablo Sandoval hit for the cycle last night, how his hitting is improving, his offseason plans, how Barry Bonds has influenced him, and his second visit to see Brandon the Baby Giraffe.

Check it out here.

All Giants fans have seen this season why having a solid, reliable backup catcher is so important for any team. When Buster Posey went down, the Giants had to rely on Eli Whiteside. Whiteside knew the pitching staff well, but showed some serious flaws in other areas of his game. He wasn’t physically fit enough to catch everyday. His throwing ability and therefore his ability to control the running game, was horrible, and he can’t hit to save his life. He has the occasional home run every few months, but that’s it. Having him in the 8th spot of the lineup is almost too high for him, which is pretty disgraceful.

Eli Whitside Talking to Barry Zito

For a backup catcher, do you need them to have a strong, fast throw to 2nd base? Not necessarily. However, many teams started to see our pitchers’ and catchers’ weaknesses in controlling the run game, so they took advantage of it. For example, when the Giants played the Astros on August 25th, Whiteside started and caught for Vogelsong. Whiteside was unable to throw out 4 baserunners in 6 innings. Thankfully, only one of those baserunners was able to score because of the mistake, but regardless, this should never happen. To allow 4 baserunners to steal second easily is unacceptable even if you are just the backup catcher.

Whiteside’s offensive contributions are nothing to be proud of either. This season he is hitting .212 with 4 home runs, 17 RBI’s, and a .282 OBP in 78 games. He’s hitting .167 this September. Whiteside was supposed to be our main catcher when Posey went down. I understand that Whiteside is normally a backup catcher, so when thrust into a starting role, his game might not be suitable for that. However, even as a backup catcher, his numbers are still insufficient. David Ross, the backup catcher for the Atlanta Braves, doesn’t play a lot of games because he’s backing up NL All-Star Brian McCann. However, this year, he still has managed to hit a .255 average with 6 home runs, 23 RBI’s, and a .323 OBP and has played in only 50 games. Whiteside’s starter numbers are not even as good as a backup catcher who hasn’t played in as many games this season.

Because of Whiteside’s ineffectiveness in any part of the game, Chris Stewart has to be the backup catcher next year. He has his fair share of offensive troubles, but he knows the pitching staff as well or better and has a much more accurate throwing arm. He has become Lincecum’s primary catcher this season, because Whiteside has never been able to effectively catch him. Whiteside has played in 20 more games this season than Stewart and has allowed 21 more stolen bases. When Chris Stewart catches, the pitching staff has a collective 2.58 ERA. When Eli Whiteside catches, the pitching staff has a collective 3.36 ERA. Chris Stewart not only has a faster, more accurate throw, but he handles this pitching staff better, especially the ace of the staff, Tim Lincecum.

Chris Stewart Talking to Tim Lincecum

Hector Sanchez has been the 3rd catcher for the Giants for parts of this season, but he doesn’t have enough experience to be the backup catcher yet. If he played a full season in AAA this upcoming season, then he could compete to be the backup catcher in the 2013 season. If for some reason the Giants chose to play Posey more at first base and not have him catch anymore because of how serious his injury was, then he could added to the roster as the backup catcher behind Chris Stewart in the 2012 season.

Hector Sanchez

With some Whiteside injuries, Stewart had begun to start the bulk of the games earlier in the season. When Whiteside came back, he continued to start the bulk of the games because he was playing much better than Whiteside on offense and defense. Stewart was more physically able to be an everyday catcher, and handled the pitching staff beautifully. If anything were to happen to Buster Posey next season, I would trust that Chris Stewart could handle his newfound starting role very well. Chris Stewart needs to replace Eli Whiteside next year as the backup catcher.

Brandon, the real baby giraffe, is now available for limited public viewing at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Brandon is now about 2 weeks old and is already 6 feet 5 inches tall, the same height as Brandon Belt. Brandon, the giraffe, is expected to grow about an inch every day. Animal care director Michael Muraco said, “At this point, he is two weeks old and is strong, healthy and solid. Since we’ve been experiencing warm weather lately, he’s been venturing outside to a separate side yard with mom Makali and, in the coming weeks, he’ll be able go out to the main yard for limited hours each day.”

Brandon is residing on the southeast side of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, which is mostly open on weekends and some select dates the rest of the year. If you want to go visit Brandon, the baby giraffe, vist the Six Flags website or their Facebook page for more information.