Ampersand, dollar sign, exclamation point, etc.

Usually a post of this kind uses language we’d politely replace with punctuation (spell “ampersand”; we dare you) so let’s just go with: “Are you freaking kidding me?”

The much delayed debut of the Giants’ projected starting outfield lasted all of one fly ball. Denard Span, who just inked a three-year contract – one year for every trip to the DL last year – had to leave Tuesday’s 9-6 Cactus League loss to the Mariners.

Well, at least this didn't hurt.

The score doesn’t matter, even though righty hurler Jeff Samardzija got lit again. The Shark tossed two perfect frames, then surrendered six runs on six hits in the third – the same third inning where Span got injured.

Span’s first chance to make a play came in that inning when he got a poor break on Robinson Cano’s drive. Span’s dive missed the mark, turning the shot toward the left-center alley into a triple and eventually sending Span to the pine with what was reported to be a right jammed shoulder. His left (throwing) shoulder was already sore, so basically he's now the Venus di Milo.

 "It was bothering him. That's why he came out," Manager Bruce Bochy told MLB.com.

Great. We all know “coach speak” but in case you cut that class freshman year, here’s how things usually translate.

·         “He’ll be fine” becomes “Yeah, he banged it pretty good.”

·         “He got dinged a little” becomes “I hope his backup is ready”

·         “He’s day to day” becomes “Who do we have in Sacramento?”

·         And “It was bothering him” means “Call the coroner”.

Span is one of the many Giants being slow played into the line-up, and he was that last among himself, Hunter Pence and Angel Pagan to make his field debut. He was scheduled to have Wednesday off even before the injury, so now the waiting game begins.

The fourth time wasn't the charm for Samardzija

The team indicated it didn’t think the matter was serious, but this is also an organization that said Matt Cain was going to miss 10 days for removal of a cyst but now is hedging on whether he’ll be ready for the season. This after last year playing a season-long “wait and see” game last year with Pence, Joe Panik, Brandon Crawford, Jake Peavy and, oh yeah, Cain. It’s easy to understand why any attempt to be reassuring just makes us nervous.

Sadly, the injury derailed what was shaping up to be a pretty good day for the outfield. Pagan was 3-for-3, including a double while Span and Pence each hit safely as the Giants built a 5-0 lead before Samardzija’s wheels came off.

Spoeaking of the $90 million man, Samardzija has now made four appearances and has an ERA of 8.31, allowing 12 runs in 13 innings of work. Allan Iverson would remind us it's just practice, but it's not supposed to be batting practice. 

Two items of note: 

- Pagan, who has been penciled in as the new left fielder, didn’t shift back to his old spot in center when Span left. Duties up the middle were dealt to Mac Williamson, who hadn’t played Center as a pro. It’s clear that barring disaster, the Giants have decreed that Pagan’s days as the outfield captain are done.

- Andrew Susac might do well to start looking over his shoulder. Trevor Brown went two-for-3, raising his spring batting average to .412. Susac was assumed to be Buster Posey’s back-up with the departure of Hector Santiago, but Brown is clearly pushing for the job. Susac is batting just .217. The kid could just make this team.