I know what the numbers mean: a 3.6 fWAR before the All Star break; a .308 batting average, an .520 slugging; an OPS hovering around .900; a 152 wRC+. I know that Carlos Correa might be 22 years old again, hammering these offensive numbers to Oracle Park’s door like a Martin Luther thesis: My. Ankle. Is. Not. A. House. For. Termites.
But Carlos Correa is not our shortstop. And that’s fine—it’s an aesthetic position anyway, he never had the right style! Yes, it’s fine as long as we stay in the bubble of the Present and don’t let our minds wander back over the recent past murkiness and impending future of the San Francisco Giants shortstop predicament: Brandon Crawford’s departure, Marco Luciano’s frustratingly slow development, the botched ground balls in the 9th, Tyler Fitzgerald’s throwing errors, Nick Ahmed’s bat eventually undermining his glove to such a degree that it lost him his job, meaning it was Brett Wisely’s turn…
Carlos Correa taking the field at Oracle Park… What a concept.