San Francisco Giants bid Happy Trails to Marco Scutaro

The San Francisco Giants announced Wednesday that they had designated Marco Scutaro for reassignment, in order to make room on the forty-man roster for Nori Aoki. The move does not necessarily mean the end of Scutaro in San Francisco, according to Jorge Ortiz of USA Today.

The San Francisco Giants “made the move to clear up a spot for recently signed outfielder Nori Aoki but have every intention of keeping Scutaro,” was the way Ortiz phrased the statement.

The nine runs had rained down on the Cardinals like a ton of bricks, and here was the real McCoy.

Well, as any Giants fan knows, they can take Marco Scutaro out of the picture, but they can’t take the picture of Scutaro gazing skyward into the pouring rain, in complete and total abandonment, out of our collective memories-ever.

So it is with a bittersweet note that we remember fondly how this member of the Venezuelan contingent on the Giants, helped the Orange and Black secure their second National League Pennant in three years, by being named Most Valuable Player in the National League Championship Series. The Giants seized the clinching seventh game, 9-0, after storming back in the series from a three-games to one deficit.

Scutaro then helped San Francisco cruise to a sweep of the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. He will always occupy a special place in Giants lore for his amazing run of clutch play down the stretch (61 G, 88 H, 362/.385/.473 16 2B, 44 RBI). Those 88 hits in 61 games stand out like a finely-tuned piano, and the 44 RBIs present a pleasing sense of harmony.

Mar 17, 2014; Tempe, AZ, USA; San Francisco Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro (19) looks on against the Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

When back issues surfaced the following season, Scutaro originally pushed aside any notion that the collision at second base with Matt Holliday had anything to do with it. He backed off from that perspective earlier this year, but regardless of the origins of the injury, Scutaro is temporarily being relocated for the betterment of the team.

Anyone who saw Scutaro play recognizes that he would not want to get in the way of the Giants moving forward, even if it means going backwards himself. On the other hand, he is not going to play ball anywhere until he gets his health issues resolved.

In that Giants fans can all unite in wishing him the most expeditious of recoveries, and the best of all possible luck.

Marco Scutaro & Around the Foghorn’s Melissa Felkins at Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Credit: Melissa Felkins