Remember what I said? Hahaha....I was joking.

I said some several days ago that it was possible that Ryan Vogelsong could be the Giants biggest trading chip, depending on which team came a-calling -- especially teams looking to make a World Series run in 2011. I also said other stuff.

Well, I'm changing one thing and saying something else: 1) there is no doubt he's the biggest trading chip to teams looking to make a World Series run in 2011, and 2) I don't think the Giants can afford to trade him.

The rotation this year has been good, but it's been a bit of a mixed bag -- Tim Lincecum's recent struggles are well-documented, Matt Cain's had a couple of stinkers, Madison Bumgarner has had his stinkers, too (and...well, a stinkBOMB the other day), and Jonathan Sanchez has been trying to redefine the term "powerwalking".

But Vogelsong? Inconsistency? Apparently that's not in his lexicon, unless you're silly enough to look at the rest of his career stats in misguided confusion when comparing it to his 2011 stats.

He's also the reason the Giants are only 1/2 a game out of first.

I was quite unconvinced he would continue to be this good until his recent game vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks. Now, he took a no-decision in that game and the Giants lost, but that's not the point -- he pitched against a good offensive team in a hitter's ballpark, and he held them to two runs over six innings.

At that point, I became convinced. I'm not sure what's changed for him, exactly, but it's quite easy to see that he passes the "eye" test. His games are inarguably well-pitched. He strikes out a decent amount of hitters, and walks very few. Opposing hitters do not square him up often whatsoever, and are running a paltry .571 OPS against.

If he qualified to be counted in league-leading stats (which he should with his next start), he'd instantly lead the NL in ERA, be tied for 6th in WHIP, and tied for 3rd in OPS against.

It's easy to say he won't keep this up, because really, each season there's only a few pitchers that put up those kinds of numbers, period, and he would stand a better chance at it if he was more of a strikeout pitcher. However, that being said, we're at a point now with it where I believe it's time to set aside things like Law of Averages, historical precedents, and other, unimportant things that are usually important, and just...

...enjoy the ride.