Giants' Angel Pagan plays leading man well

The Giants handed out 2014 calendars to some 40,000 fans on Tuesday's Opening Day, the cover shot representing last season's most significant moment: Angel Pagan sliding safely into home plate on his epic inside-the-park home run against Colorado, raising his right fist in triumph to trigger one of the wildest Giants celebrations of any season.

Amazingly, it was the best and worst moment of the year. As players danced wildly around the scene and fans thrilled to the most exciting brand of walk-off victory, the photos and video images were unforgettable. But the Giants' season effectively ended that late-May afternoon, for Pagan aggravated a hamstring injury on the slide and was lost for more than three months.

Manager Bruce Bochy often said the Giants just weren't the same without their leadoff man, and the evidence couldn't have been more clear. His absence certainly wasn't the only reason the Giants faded so badly, but everyone missed his rally-igniting energy and flair for the show.

People certainly had their doubts when Pagan signed a four-year, $40 million deal after the 2012 world-championship season. It was a nice show of faith, but was Pagan really worth that much, for that long? Just now, that deal sounds like a bargain.

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