During today’s Fox baseball studio show, “>that great American man of letters, Kevin Kennedy (above, right) proclaimed that the San Francisco Giants, en route to an 8-2 defeat of Philadelphia, “have been surprising people all year long.”

This curious statement piqued the curiosity of the otherwise dense Jeanne Zelasko, who asked Kennedy, “you didn’t just mention the Giants and the top of the standings at the same time, did you?”

“Hey,” protested Kennedy, “they’re in 3rd place and not so far back.”

Yikes, who would’ve thought the return of Omar Vizquel would generate such optimism? Actually, even after today’s win — just their 3rd in the last 10 games — SF is 4th in a 5 team division with a record of 15-22. The only thing surprising about said club is that they’ve not got the worst record in baseball (though they aren’t far off).

It’s almost preferential to think Kennedy is trying to stay on Brian Sabean’s good side in the unlikely event the latter is ever again in a position to hire a manager. The only alternative is to presume Fox continues to employ an “analyst” as poorly prepared as any in the sport’s history.