It was like old times for me Thursday night at the Giants game. I covered it with Jeff Fletcher, my former longtime colleague at the Press Democrat and now a whiz national reporter for FanHouse. We even stayed in the city for dinner at Piazza and drank some wine.

Jeff wrote a fine story after the Giants swept the Diamondbacks — typical work for him putting everything into perspective. I have one thing to add — and Jeff alluded to this in an earlier entry. The Giants have used Madison Bumgarner a lot. He has pitched more pitches than experts consider safe for a 21-year-old rookie. I am not blaming the Giants but I am pointing this out. He may not show effects of so much work now, but could in the future.

I think the Giants should resist using him as a starter in the first round of the playoffs — I assume they’ll get there. They can use Barry Zito or Jonathan Sanchez as the third starter. I would use Sanchez. I assume Bruce Bochy will use Zito because Bochy and Brian Sabean like veterans and Zito has been there before, as they say.

To read Jeff Fletcher’s story from the Dbacks game click here.