Welcome Back, Mr. Foppert

Chron reports that Foppert has been re-signed and returns back to the fold, like many a former Giants this off-season (Russ Ortiz, Damian Moss, Aurilia, Snow - well, sort of). Now the saying of Giants farmhands of a prospect doing a "Foppert" will at least have some more meaning now that Jesse is back in the fold.

This part gives me chills:

On Thursday, Evans and Giants vice president of player personnel Dick Tidrow watched Foppert throw a bullpen session.

"I think that Dick wants to work with him with our coaches," Evans said. "We're the most familiar with him anyway. He's got the arm strength, and with the adjustments maybe we can get him back to where he was."

I know it's the fanboy in me talking, but can you imagine if they were able to get him back to where he was before? He was our Lincecum of a couple of years ago, striking out an impossible number of battrs per inning, totally dominating hitters. It took Joe Nathan three years before he could pitch effectively again, he was 28 the year he pitched so well for us and Jesse is still only 26 years old. If he can return to where he was, we don't have any space in the rotation (Zito, Cain, Lincecum, Lowry, and Sanchez looks like the future rotation), but maybe he can shine in the bullpen for us like Nathan did. I will keep my fingers crossed.

I think out of the pre-Cain/Lincecum era, Foppert was the starting pitcher prospect who I fell in love the most since Montefusco, in that I like him and am rooting big time for him. Not that others weren't as nice or as good, but there was that something, something there for Foppert that I didn't have for other prospects. Maybe it is the S.F. connection, as he's from the area, having pitched for U.S.F. (not exactly sure about his home, I recall him being born or growing up in Marin County somewhere - San Rafael? - but I also recall him being called one of the few Giants in history to have come from SF, Tyler Walker being another).

Maybe in this era where you get much more media information on prospects, including verbal interviews and such, that helped as well. Whatever it is, I'm rooting for him big-time, not just because if he did, it would greatly help out the Giants, but because he seems like a nice guy. Nice guys shouldn't finish last, as Leo Durocher once famously said the opposite of, and hopefully this will give Foppert a chance to fulfill the bright potential he showed previously.

Good luck Jesse, I wish you the best of luck and health!