Ryan Vogelsong Poised to Make History. Sort of.

Ready for the win column?

​For Giants fans of a certain vintage, the name Ryan Vogelsong evokes a particular kind of nostalgia. There are the hazy memories of a promising player who never amounted to much, moved along, and continued to never amount to much. Think Randy Bockus, Eric Gunderson, or Jesse Foppert.

Vogelsong also holds a place in fans' hearts for being involved in a lopsided trade -- the Giants sent him and Armando Rios to Pittsburgh for Jason Schmidt, the player San Francisco truly bought low and sold high. On a personal note, the first time I was (legally) allowed onto a Major League field, I stood behind the bullpen catcher as he caught young Vogelsong in 2001. I can still recall the atomic smack of the ball hitting the catcher's mitt.

In any event, Giants fans might be surprised to learn that Vogelsong -- who was shipped off to Pittsburgh in '01 and has been out of the Big Leagues since 2006 -- never won a game for San Francisco. That may change today, however.

Barring a bullpen collapse in Pittsburgh, Vogelsong stands to be the winner in today's early contest. The 33-year-old whiffed eight in five and two-thirds innings, surrendering two runs.

Apparently the ball was smacking into the mitt for Vogelsong today, too.

Update, 12:25 p.m.: The Giants won, 5-2. Vogelsong is now 1-0.

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