Pat Burrell playing his way onto bench

Sunday will mark the anniversary of Pat Burrell's first game for his hometown Giants. They signed him for practically nothing, with Tampa Bay paying most of his salary, and he became an important source of power for a team that rode home runs and pitching to a World Series championship.

Burrell earned his second ring in 2010. His 2011 story hasn't been as happy. He has a .229 average and wasn't in the starting lineup Thursday, after going 11-for-53 (.208) in May. He had five home runs by April 18 but has none since.

When Andres Torres came off the disabled list, manager Bruce Bochy told Burrell his starts would decline. There were rumblings the 34-year old was not happy.

"That's ridiculous," he responded. "I'm here to do whatever they want me to. Do I want to play? Of course I want to play, but I realize where I fit in, and I also know if I get hot, I will be in there."

Indeed, Bochy always sides with a veteran swinging the bat over a younger player. But Burrell believes it's hard to get rolling when you bat sporadically.

"There's no excuse for not performing, but it's also a situation where we've got six guys in the outfield and we're all trying to get playing time," Burrell said. "It can be difficult to get in a groove. That being said, I personally have had plenty of opportunities that I haven't capitalized on.

"I wish I could be playing better now, but we're all going through this. We're fortunate where we are in the standings with the offensive struggles we've had. It's not too bad."

(sfgate.com)