When Pablo comes back in a few days there is going to be a delimma.

Who plays? Who deserves to go to the bench?

I can't imagine taking Crawford's defense out of the game. He adds little value off of the bench, but the guy saves runs every night!

Ryan THERIOT has turned into a leader on this team. He is consistent at the plate and in the field. Him and Crawford seem to have a good thing going up the middle.

Marco Scutaro has been solid. He has really shown he is a professional hitter and he can play some defense. I really like him in the 2 hole.

Belt FINNALLY seems to be showing SOME life. Is there more to come? If you sit him now, he may never be more than a Schierholtz...if you keep him in and he grows, he could be a very good On-Base guy down in the order...if/when his power comes around, he could be a big time threat in the 7th spot.

Then there is Pablo. There is no question that he is better and more valuable to this team (when healthy). He needs to play as much as his body will allow him to.

I think the rotation needs to be between all of them until Pablo is back. Maybe Belt sits against lefties and Pablo plays 1B, the THERIOT and Scutaro could switch off vs RH, with 1 day off a week for Pablo.

This should be interesting, but this is what the order should Be. I think it's the best Playoff run line up we got.

CF PAGAN
3B SCUTARO
LF CABRERA
C POSEY
RF PENCE
1B SANDOVAL
2B THERIOT
SS CRAWFORD

In my mind, Belt is just too much of a question mark offensively and Crawford is too important to this team defensively.

You're benching Belt for Theriot? That's insane. Scutaro is significantly better than Theriot, so I'd relegate Theriot to a backup and start Scutaro at 2B full time once Pablo comes back.

1B-Belt
2B-Scutaro
3B-Sandoval
SS-Crawford/Arias

I like that lineup but agree with Aved - Theriot should be benched in favor or Belt, as long as the kid keeps hitting. If Belt can keep it going until Pablo gets back, I think Scutaro, Theriot and Sandoval should have some sort of rotation for the first Pablo's first week back so he can keep fresh and healthy.

Jeez.. Scotaro signed to add some bench depth, ends up playing like valuable starter material..
*tips cap to Giants FO*

My guess is that it will be a Crawford/Scutaro/Theriot platoon type thingy with Scutaro floating between the 2 positions and getting the bulk of the playing time.

Crawford will definitely sit vs lefties and Theriot vs the righties is my guess and Scutaro will plug in to their respective positions on those days. He'll play pretty much everyday with the odd day off.

That's how I see it.

pretty easy for me.

cf pagan
2b scutaro
lf melky
c posey
rf pence
3b pablo
1b belt
ss crawford

Bingo

Pablo at first and everyone else stays.

*Pablo has the best bat from the bunch and also is the worst defender of the bunch. With that said, he plays full time, not even a debate.

*Scutaro and Theriot are in the same category. We seen Theriot hot. We seen him cold. We are seeing Scutaro red-hot. Both are pretty much the same player. Defense, they are both solid.

*Crawford and Belt, like both guys a lot. The way things are working out, I wouldn't mind them sharing time with Scutaro. Before we rush to any conclusions lets let this play out.

Our entire infield is one big platoon,lol.

All I know is that this is a great problem to have! The odd man out is Theriot if ya ask me! Pablo just isn't suited to be a good 1st baseman and Scutaro has an edge over Theriot.

Agreed. This makes the most sense. Theriot doesn't deserve to be benched, and Scutaro probably isn't an everyday shortstop anymore. Plus, if you do go with Scutaro and Theriot, the bench looks pretty bad again with Arias and Crawford being half the reinforcements. I say rotate the three in the middle, and let Posey and Belt be the only ones to man first.

Theriot was brought over for utility/insurance for Freddy Sanchez. So, he returns to a utility role.

Posey
Belt
Scutaro
Sandoval
Crawford
Cabrera
Pagan
Pence

With everybody else, Bochy can do some platooning and resting of the starters.

Hold on a second. Where was this when crawford was costing us games with his defense? It was only 2 weeks ago..

I am glad to see that most don't see Crawford as the man out.

He probably won the game last night. When he went 4 feet onto the LF grass to cleanly pick a shot headed threw the hole and THEN rifled a strike to Belt for the 3rd out with runners on...

I said OH YES! That is why defense at SS matters. I seriously doubt Scuturo puts a glove on that ball.

It was a stress inning for Vogelsong and if runners would have scored it's a whole different ball game.

And, with the offensive production of the team lately, who cares that he hasn't managed to hit very well...yet?

As much as I like the guy Theriot is the weak link IMO.

Sorry, you are bit behind the times. Crawford has had 1 error in his last 38 games according to K&K.

Crawford's defense has been very, very good. He made 1 great and 1 incredible play last night alone.

I'm not sure where the quote is, but they've already said that Pablo will not be playing 1B any longer (probably due to the injury he just received there).

For the season...

Belt, .731 OPS
Scutaro, .706 OPS
Pill, .633 OPS
Arias, .628 OPS
Theriot, .627 OPS
Crawford, .626 OPS

It's really a coin flip with the last three. Crawford is the best defender. He has also show the best pop.

To mean it's not about Pablo vs. Scutaro vs. Crawford vs. Theriot vs. Belt

Pablo is in. Period. Crawford is in for his defense.

You can say "Belt is too much of a question mark" all you want. He's out performing the others. Scoots has had some good games. Hopefully he can keep it up. But no way does Theriot or Arias or even Pill make it in over Belt. It's just a smoke screen and a sham. Not because Belt is that good right now. Not because what some hope Belt will become. It's basically down to Arias, Crawford and Theriot for one position...Shortstop. Because there are better offensive options at EVERY OTHER POSITION. And because Theriot can't play SS and Arias might be a late inning defensive replacement at 3B and Crawford is the best defense it's really, really simple.

You will NOT get the same production out of Theriot as you will Belt. Not even close. And that's even if Belt treads water the rest of the way.