Boston not buying Sandoval excuses
Around the major leagues:
The resurrection of Pablo Sandoval has been a terrific Bay Area story, something that might continue even into next season. Nothing, however, will stop the vitriol coming his way in Boston.
In a recent Players Tribune piece, Sandoval said he was “never comfortable” in Boston, and you can see his point. He had no history there, he showed up overweight and he didn’t perform. No sports town has less tolerance for incompetence than Boston, so he was doomed from the start.
But for Sandoval to say “my heart was still back in San Francisco” — maybe not the best idea. “Have you ever read or heard such disingenuous verbiage?” wrote Nick Cafardo in the Boston Globe. “Sandoval couldn’t wait to get out of San Francisco. He spoke with disdain about the Giants. Now he feels he has to make excuses about how he never ‘fit in’ in Boston. If he felt uncomfortable, it was probably because he couldn’t fit into the jersey the Red Sox provided for him.”
Dream scenario for the American League wild-card game: Sonny Gray pitching to Mike Trout. There’s a a vibrant, eight-team race for those two spots, but no matchup carries more star power than Yankees-Angels, with the likes of Aaron Judge, Aroldis Chapman, Albert Pujols, Andrelton Simmons (playing as well as any shortstop in baseball), Trout and Gray, who unleashed a wicked slider in his last start (“best it’s been in a while”) and could wind up as the Yanks’ rotation ace.
Beyond the utter gloom of a near-empty Coliseum, the A’s are developing exceptional talent with Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Chad Pinder and some intriguing minor-leaguers. Just hope there’s room somewhere for Ryon Healy. He might be the best pure hitter in the organization.
He won’t come close to winning the award, but Yasiel Puig’s inspired play — in every phase of the game — will win him a few MVP votes. Finally a beacon of maturity and the team concept, he’s a big reason behind the Dodgers’ success. Naturally, a bit of bravado remains. After winning Wednesday night’s game against the White Sox with a walk-off hit, he told the L.A. crowd, “See you in the World Series.” Bruce Jenkins is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: bjenkins@sfchronicle.com Twitter @Bruce_Jenkins1