Hunter Pence is back,Giants fans! Feels great,doesn’t it?

After tearing it up with the Sacramento RiverCats, Pence rejoined the Giants on the road in Cincinnati where he contributed greatly to both of the team’s victories over the Reds. On Saturday he went 2-3 and on Sunday went 2-5 with a homerun,his first of the year.

“It’s just nice to have him back and have his energy in the dugout and on the field,” Giants Brandon Crawford said on Saturday. “To have him flying around the bases like that, it’s fun to watch.”

Pence will without a doubt get a great ovation from the fans when he makes his home debut on Tuesday when the Giants host their archrivals,the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“I’m just happy to be back playing again and being healthy,” Pence said on Saturday.

It is very nice to see Pence back in the line-up. Not only does he bring production game in and game out,but he also has a charisma that is unmatched on any roster in all of Major League Baseball.

It may be time to make the case for Brandon Crawford’s All-Star candidacy.

The Giants’ shortstop has been having a career year at the plate, with six home runs (tied with catcher Buster Posey for the team lead) and 25 RBIs (leading the team in that category), six of those were in Saturday night’s 11-2 win over Cincinnati.

“He’s so gifted defensively, but he’s underrated as a hitter,” Bochy said on Saturday

He’s always been good with the glove,but he has very much improved with the bat. He’s hitting the ball harder, he’s drawing more walks,and his OPS has increased every season he has been in the big leagues. I think if he can improve his batting average and even get an opportunity to hit in the heart of the lineup a little bit more,he definitely has a shot of getting to Cincinnati to represent the National League in the Midseason Classic.

It’s time to address the third base situation for the Giants and how Casey McGehee isn’t the solution there.

I’ll be honest,when it was announced that McGehee was going to be the guy who would fill the void left behind by Pablo Sandoval, I shuddered. I had every reason to.

Sure,McGehee was the Comeback Player of the Year and had a lot of hits,but he only hit four home runs. Sandoval had the ability to go deep when the team needed it,something this team needs. Not to mention there are guys like Matt Duffy and Adam Duvall who could be viable options there.

After nearly two months into the season, my apprehention about McGehee was warranted and Duffy shows flashes of brilliance when he plays third base. More importantly, Duffy doesn’t hit into every double play like McGehee. Also,Duvall is tearing it up in Sacramento and should something bad happen to Duffy looks to be a guy to bring up. Hell,bring him up now so some of that juice can be used at the big league level.

McGehee just isn’t the right fit for this ballclub. Never was,never will be. The Duffman is the guy,in my opinion which is probably shared by many Giants fans like myself.

Is it just me or is it nearly impossible to have any success as the manager of the Miami Marlins?

Less than a few weeks after owner Jeffrey Loria gave Mike Redmond a vote of confidence, he fired him along with bench coach Rob Leary Sunday following the team nearly getting no-hit by Shelby Miller and the Atlanta Braves. Redmond went 155-207 in his tenure in South Florida and was given an extension until 2017. He,along with former manager Ozzie Guillen, will continue to get paid by the team. Former Marlin Jeff Conine has been rumored to be Redmond’s replacement. If hired,Coniine would be the ninth manager in place since Loria look over ownership of the team in 2002.

“We’re just looking for a new voice,” Marlins president of baseball operations Mike Hill said. “There’s still supreme belief and confidence in the men in that clubhouse.”

I have to say that going through managers faster than I go through shoes is not the way to go. I understand the team is looking for the right guy to help them win and there is some great talent on this roster, but getting rid of a manager who seemed to have this team on the right track was a bad idea. Also, many teams go through times where they get no-hit,shutout,or nearly no-hit as your team did yesterday. It’s no reason to fire a guy.

When will the Marlins ever learn?

It has been a year for the Oakland Athletics that for the moment has looked bad, and it’s safe to say that I saw it coming with the moves Billy Beane made during the offseason (and it can be argued during the middle of last season).

Ever since the Yoenis Cespedes trade, the wheels have looked like they have fallen off. Beane traded away Josh Donaldson, Derek Norris,Brandon Moss,and Jeff Samardzija among others. Sure,he got Brett Lawrie in the Donaldson trade, but the latter was more of a money player than the former ever was. Sure,he got Ben Zobrist, but he’s been hurt.

Billy Beane is just not a genius,folks. If he was, Oakland would probably have even more World Series rings than their counterparts across the Bay. They would be hanging on to their key players instead of shipping them off to other teams fora bag of beans. They would probably not be 24th in attendance at press time, and they most certainly wouldn’t be 13-26 right now and tied for baseball’s worst record.