The Week That Was: Last week, I wrote that the goal was two series wins. Well, the Giants delivered in the first series, in no small part because of a performance to remember by Ryan Vogelsong. Considering Vogelsong's history at PNC Park as a member of the Pirates (highest ERA of any pitcher who has thrown 75+ innings there), the game proves all the more remarkable. After taking two of three from Pittsburgh, the team headed down to our nation’s capital for a four game set with the Nats and won just one of four. Mini-Soapbox #1: Replacing Pablo However, all of those results pale in comparison to the impact of losing Pablo Sandoval for approximately six weeks with a broken hamate bone in his right hand. One of the challenges with constructing a team is making sure that the team has enough MLB-capable players either in the pros or at the minor league level to handle a reasonable level of injuries. Last season, things worked out reasonably well both due to the roster itself and some luck in both who was injured and how long they were out. Unfortunately, that luck changed quickly with the loss of Pablo Sandoval. This season, a slimmer Panda stood out as one of only two Giants position players pulling their share of the role, with Buster Posey being the other. Replacing Sandoval actually stands as a two-pronged process due to his importance on the team. Defensively, the Giants run into a major problem due to the fact that none of the bench players have any particular adeptness at playing 3B. You know depth can be an issue when the only other player capable of playing a starter's position is another starter, especially when the options to replace the replacement are Mike Fontenot and Emmanuel Burris. For the time being, that is all the team can do. On the offensive end, the team possesses more flexibility even if the production has not been there thus far. In Pablo's stead, Aubrey Huff and Cody Ross in particular need to step their game up both in getting on base and producing runs. The team had enough trouble as it was getting guys across the plate- now that offensive gap creates an urgency for every single other player to bring it since the margins just got tigher. Mini-Soapbox #2: Jonathan Sanchez On an unrelated note, now is the time for the Giants brass to start thinking long-term about the future of Jonathan Sanchez with the team. As I see it, the team must have a clear idea of both where they see payroll heading on the aggregate for the next few years and where certain guys place in those ebbs and flows. Clearly, players like Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Buster Posey stand ahead of Sanchez in line. When it comes down to it, the largest factor is that a team cannot pay their 3rd best starter as much as Sanchez will be looking for with so many other players due for pay raises and very few players ready to come up from the minors for cheap, high-quality labor. Incidentally, the only place the Giants have been able to piece things together should be the starting rotation due to Madison Bumgarner and the eventual emergence of Zach Wheeler. In baseball, it can be better to trade talents like Sanchez a bit early rather than a bit late, especially when a potential recipient teams can carry a reasonable belief that they can retain value from the player for a longer duration of time. I am not advocating for the Gigantes to dump Sanchez or anything crazy like that- rather, they should be keeping their ears very open looking for a team that overvalues what he brings to the table in a way that can benefit the Giants in both the short and long terms. The Week Ahead: Strange Days Following the disaster in DC, the Giants head back north to CitiField and the Mets, a team with issues of their own. Being in last place with a fascinating and frustrating ownership situation certainly puts the Giants troubles in perspective, yet the team must use that swirling ball of confusion to take a series win in the Big Apple. From there, the team heads back home to San Francisco and a big early series with the Colorado Rockies. Despite taking two of three in Denver just two weeks ago, this series looks like a statement one for both organizations relatively early in this season. With a division lead already at 4.5 games, Colorado has more wiggle room than the Giants, though they’ll need all the space they can get since an off-their-game Giants team still stands just under .500. Marquee Game of the Week: Friday's Giants/Rockies game featuring Matt Cain vs. Ubaldo Jiminez should be a ton of fun to watch, especially with Ubaldo's history against the Giants.