Blake Snell just shut up the critics. Isn't it time for the Giants to put up?

You've got the facts, we're going with the vibe

As Giants’ fans know there is a narrative that has taken hold, maybe because it has been repeated so often it is starting to sound like an absolute truth.

This team, it is said — and the city — cannot attract elite, game-changing, franchise-making talent. It is, we continue, either the fault of management or — and true San Franciscans are already coming out of their chairs in defense — players have gotten the idea that rather than being cool, destination place to live, the city is a mess.

The second point is all but existential. It trends to the larger issue and question: What is San Francisco right now? And why have we (apparently) lost the mojo? The SF swagger — yeah, things are a little different here — has gone to defensive — stop bagging on our town!

This last point is a huge matter of immense importance. It sounds really complicated and hard to put into words.

So I pass.

However, there’s still the baseball part.

As we know, Giants fans have season tickets to a recurring three act play.

ACT ONE: A superstar streaks across the sky over Oracle Park like a meteor. Say them with me — just the greatest hits: Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani.

ACT TWO: The Giants make it clear this is serious, no lark. They are holding a briefcase containing (Dr. Evil voice) SEVEN HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS.

ACT THREE: Supernova superstar announces that although San Francisco seems like a wonderful place, he’s going to the Phillies or the Yankees or the Dodgers. Afterward, they all gave some version of Judge’s geez-I-really-wish-it-had-worked-out farewell.

This has become discouraging.

And you think, if only there was a way to identify a realistic target, a game-changer who would not only improve the team, but become a bit of a thing in The City. If only there was a way to spot him, so that he stood out.

Maybe he could be standing atop a small hill, a mound.

Oh let’s just say it, go all in for Blake Snell.

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Let’s be honest, we may not have known much about Snell when he arrived — Cy Young, looks like president of the chess club — but lately, shut the door.

It would be fun to stop hitters on their way back to the dugout after a six-pitch out and ask them, “which pitch did you think you could have hit solidly?” Cause right now, the answer is “none of them.”

Out of his languid windup comes big heat, 97 mph on the hands. Even in his first few starts (admittedly, not great) he had people giving up on the curveball, relaxing, only to see the little sucker dart into the strike zone at the last second.

All without Snell changing expression.

There were probably some bar stool arguments about him being overrated. First starts were mediocre. There was some whining from him about being rushed back after injury.

But it is hard to think of a better shut-up-haters moment than Friday night’s no-hitter. No-no’s are rare enough, national news. But this is a reply to the very specific knock on Snell, which was, not only had he never thrown a complete game in the majors, he’d never even thrown a pitch in the ninth.

To which we say, Friday night.

Now, even we casual fans know the Snell math. He only signed with the Giants because his hopes for a mega-contract didn’t materialize. He’s here for a year, at relatively cheap wages of $62 million, and then he’s off to browner mounds and greener pastures. We can hear the regretful farewell already.

It just makes economic sense, as well-regarded Andrew Baggarly says.

But what if it doesn’t? What if Snell is what you were looking for all along?

A couple of thoughts:

One, the Giants have been chasing a 30 home run hitter with a fervor that makes Ahab’s whale hunting look like a hobby. Surely 30 dingers cannot be that hard. Teams have players do it year after year. They’re professional hitters.

So maybe the fault is not in our stars, but in ourselves. Oracle is not a home run ballpark. It just isn’t.

Therefore, you can do one of two things: bring in the fences or celebrate the pitchers’ park.

Two: You’re going to say Snell is a risk at his age. Fair. But check this resume out from the NY Times:

Snell, 31, has been one of the best left-handed starters in baseball over the past eight seasons. He’s one of seven pitchers in MLB history with a Cy Young in both leagues. He has a 3.20 career ERA, two ERA titles and a 3.33 postseason ERA. “Snellzilla” is a monster wielding trophies and a filthy four-pitch mix. No active left-hander, minimum 30 starts, has averaged more strikeouts per nine innings than Snell’s 11.1. And the only active lefty, minimum 30 starts, with a lower career batting average against than Snell (.214) is Clayton Kershaw (.209).

Useful hurler in other words.

If you had him, you’d know (assuming this early season injury was a fluke) you had a shut-down guy coming up every five days. And guys like local favorite Logan Webb would be even more effective.

We know the Giants have the money. They mention how much they are spending every 20 minutes. Instead of saying “Snell is too expensive,” channel your Bryce Harper energy and open the vault.

This year has been interesting for the Giants. They’ve kind of sucked, to be honest, frantically paddling to get their heads above .500.

But somehow a I-dunno-I-think-they-may-turn-it-around flutter seems to have persisted. We know for sure than the ticket-buying, seat-filling fans are back and we also know that is really important to the franchise.

I think the fans are looking for hope, for a reason to believe.

And I think signing Snell might do that.

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Frankly, it seems like he likes it here. I’ve never met the man, but his pre-All Star break TV interview with Kruk and Kuip was a hoot. They asked him where he was going on break and he turned it around and asked them where they were going, which momentarily flummoxed them both.

He’s been in town long enough to (hopefully) realize that this is a cool city with a lot of attractions. (He asked Krukow and Kuiper, on air, for a good restaurant recommendation.)

He seems like a bit of character, which would fit in SF. Watching for thunderbolts from the sky when I say this, but doesn’t a quirky guy who happens to be a lights-out pitcher kinda seem . . . Lincecum-equse? (OK, sorry, withdraw the comparison. Just a thought.)

But I think more than anything, if the Giants stood up and created mild national shock waves by signing Snell to a serious, multi-year contract, it would send a message to the fans, the city and Major League Baseball.

It would be a bold move.

And when was the last time anyone used those two words to describe the Giants?

Contact C.W. Nevius at cwnevius@gmail.com. Twitter: @cwnevius