Care & feeding of teammates; Ishikawa’s flip-flop

Monday, July 26

Eugenio Velez sat in the visitors’ clubhouse at Chase Field after the Giants’ 3-2, 10-inning victory Sunday, dressed in street clothes and wearing a serene look. He probably felt lucky to be alive after surviving the concussion he sustained Saturday when Pat Burrell’s foul line drive struck him on the left side of the head.

The rest of the Giants were minding their own business, engaging in the hustle and bustle of preparing for a getaway day flight back to San Francisco. Since the Giants had won, the clubhouse stereo was happily blaring some dreadful-sounding music.

Suddenly Matt Cain approached Velez and asked him a question. “Is that too loud?” Cain asked, referring to the music’s volume. Velez shook his head, acknowledging things were fine.

But it certainly was nice of Cain to ask, since everybody knew Velez’s head was still pounding from the concussion. And it was another of the often unseen demonstrations of the bond that teammates share.

*****

This might be the season’s most hilarious statistic so far. Travis Ishikawa, who hit .349 at home and .162 on the road last year, has undergone a complete reversal. Ishikawa’s currently hitting .368 on the road and .267 at home.

“Well, now they’re going to ask me why can’t I hit at home,” Ishikawa jokingly said.

He added, “You have a lot better chance to hit on the road. AT&T Park, no matter how you look at it, is not a hitter’s park.”

– Chris Haft