A Bright Spot

I have a new favorite player, who is shining as one of few bright spots on the 2008 Giants - backup second baseman Eugenio Velez. Some of his recent highlights: on April 1, his pinch hit single against the Dodgers put the Giants up 2-0; a day later, he was batting leadoff. In his first at-bat, he worked the count full, ultimately drawing a walk, and proceeded to steal second easily. This is pretty indicative of what Velez is capable of. Bruce Jenkins says, "He's a triple waiting to happen." He has two already including one yesterday in the ninth when he could have easily phoned it in. Jenkins acknowledges that Velez "has some holes in his swing. The season's first week has shown him noticeably vulnerable to the breaking pitch, particularly low." This can all be corrected in time however.

Velez is also drawing attention on a national level, from the likes of Jayson Stark, who noted the speedster as his "Super Sub of the Week":

Super Sub Award: If Giants rookie Eugenio Velez's 14 stolen bases in spring training didn't get your attention, let's just say he hasn't let up. He came off the bench to get pinch hits in each of the Giants' first two games this season, earning him a start in the leadoff hole in Game 3. If Ray Durham doesn't pick it up, Velez won't qualify for this award anymore -- because he'll be playing every day.

Sounds good - move Ray to the bench and station Velez at leadoff.

In a season where you mostly want to shield your eyes, Velez is just about as good a reason as any to keep your eyes peaking at the orange and black.