When Bob Melvin walked to the mound in the first inning during the San Francisco Giants 9-4 loss on Monday, you couldn’t help but get the feeling that it was the last time we’ll see Hayden Birdsong for a while.
Birdsong departed with three runs in and the bases loaded, ignominiously becoming the first Giants starter (openers notwithstanding) to fail to record an out in 33 years. Blowups happen, but this wasn’t a one-off for the talented young right-hander. In his four starts (which began with the game in which he was asked to retaliate, and then fell apart), Birdsong has made it through just 13 innings, ceding 11 hits, four home runs, 17 walks, and 16 earned runs, while throwing less than…
