The Jonathan Sanchez Experiment Needs To End In San Francisco…

Thanks to the MLB package on cable and a pretty light schedule in the Major Leagues, I got to watch Jonathan Sanchez pitch for the San Francisco Giants against the Oakland A’s Monday night.

After struggling through Sanchez's painful 5 1/3 innings, I have come to this conclusion: The Jonathan Sanchez experiment needs to come to a sudden end in San Francisco.

Sanchez has been in the Majors now for four years, and the reality is he is no good. In four years, Sanchez has a lifetime record of 15-26 with a 5.26 ERA, an absurd 172 walks and opponents have a .359 OBP against him in 316 2/3 innings pitched.

All this while playing in one of the most pitcher-friendly ballparks in baseball: AT&T Park.

Just terrible.

Sanchez started off his career in the bullpen, and he stunk there. The Giants moved him into the starting rotation last year, and he has been equally as bad.

He walks everyone, and even the guys he doesn’t walk seem to always have a 3-2 count. Watching him pitch is beyond frustrating.

So what exactly do the Giants see in Sanchez?

They see a 26-year-old left-handed pitcher who throws a fastball in the 90’s and has struck out 316 batters in 316 2/3 innings. He is a classic case of a team looking at the “what could be,” instead of the “what is.”

Note to the San Francisco Giants: The New York Mets saw the same thing in Oliver Perez.

That is who Sanchez reminds me of—Oliver Perez, a guy who has all the tools and who averages more than one strike out per inning pitched in his career (1,047 K, 1,021 IP).

The worst part about these pitchers is that every pitching coach, every manager, and every team thinks they can fix them. And just like Perez, Sanchez can’t be fixed.

He needs to be sent to the minors.

The Giants lost to the A’s 5-1 on Monday, and Sanchez’s record fell to a disappointing 2-8. But the Giants still have a legit chance to make the playoffs this year.

Right now, Jonathan Sanchez is not helping those chances.