Goodbye, Jonathan Sanchez

The question of "What if?" is endemic to sports. What if Scott Cousins had slid around Buster Posey, rather than through him? What if the Germans had been penalized for a handball on the goal line in the 2002 World Cup Quarterfinal against the United States? What if spokesmen for Frank McCourt, lame duck owner of the Dodgers, had not subtly blamed Brian Stow for being beaten into a coma outside of Dodger Stadium?

What if Jonathan Sanchez had not been hurt this year? What if his control had improved, turning his mercurial flashes of brilliance into a steady glow, as his potential had always promised to produce? Would the Giants have traded him to Kansas City for Melky Cabrera yesterday?

I am sorry to see Jonathan go, because I would have loved to see the core of young talent that came up together stay in SF in perpetuity. Any time a local hero is moved on, you hear the cliche that 'it's a business,' uttered with varying degrees of bitterness. And it's true: baseball, like any business, is about managing one's resources, and diversifying one's strengths. I'm generally opposed to corporate culture, but I'm not going to launch an OccupyAT&TPark movement over this trade, for several reasons:

1) The Giants won the World Series in 2010. That is something to feed on for a while, like a bear feeds on stored fat while hibernating.

2) The Giants desperately need an injection of offense, and you can't get something without giving something in return. Well, you can, but it's called theft, and it is generally frowned upon. Plus, you can't really steal a player from one team and make him play for yours; it's called kidnapping, it would be noticed, and it is not looked on favorably.

3) Bolstering the lineup means the Giants might have a shot at re-signing Carlos Beltran, and I would love to see what he could do over a full year in San Francisco. Swapping the contract of Jonathan Sanchez for the contract of Melky Cabrera means that the Giants didn't have to spend more money to bring in a bat; they just reallocated funds from pitching to offense, and pitching is a source of strength.

4) The Giants won the World Series in 2010. Did I mention that already? We've met the goal, the young core took charge, and that can never be taken away from the players or the fans. Jonathan Sanchez had some wonderful moments; I will never forget turning on SportsCenter from a motel in Volcano, Hawaii, in June of 2009, just in time to see highlights from the first no-hitter for the Giants in more than 30 years. No matter what happens, he has been on top of the world in SF.

Of course, now that we have won the championship once in my life, we need to win it at least one more time so that my team will have won as many times as my best friend Vaughn's favorite team, the Minnesota Twins. It's called equality, and frankly, that's a goal everyone should support. Improving the offense gives us a better shot of making the playoffs next year.

So yes, there are many business reasons for making a trade like this. The better the team, the more money you can make from ticket sales, post-season revenue, merchandise, etc. But a sports team is clearly more complex than just a business. It is not just a question of the economics of exchanging resources to strengthen your team. It is a chess match, a narrative, and for many of us, a source of a sense of identity. And hey, as a source for self-identification, sports have produced fewer crusades than religion.

So good luck, Jonathan. I was so happy that your dad got to see your no-hitter, and I loved your strong pitching that got us where we needed to go. You will be missed.

And welcome, Melky. Show us what you've got.