by
Greek Giant
The 2016 World Series is upon us. While we watch with the bitter fascination as disappointed Giants fans, this year’s fall classic is replete with exciting narratives. No need to repeat the obvious: the Cubs and Indians represent the two longest World Series championship droughts in baseball. For the Cubs, it has been a 108 year-long wait. For Cleveland, a city that last won a championship in 1948 when Satchel Page and Larry Doby were on the team, it is an opportunity to continue a surprising postseason run largely under baseball’s radar.
The entire baseball and sporting world has been obsessed with the Cubs curse and its dominant march into the World Series. The second city story is indeed a compelling one. Last Saturday night’s pennant-winning scene in Chicago was stirring and memorable. Only the hardest of hearts could watch the joyous Chicagoans weep with joy and celebrate without being just a little bit moved by the scene.
It used to be the Cubs were an automatic joke, a guaranteed loser for most seasons. Times have changed and the baseball world, as the Giants found out, must reckon with a new National League powerhouse. It is still taking me time to process that last sentence. The Cubs? Really?
For the American League Champion Indians their story is no less compelling. Under Terry Francona, the Indians have become a powerful, athletic and dynamic team playing National League-style baseball and beating the heavily favored Red Sox and Blue Jays in their run to the World Series. To say their story has been overshadowed by the media’s obsession with the Cubs would be an understatement. This may give them a psychological edge going into tonight’s game. Few, if any experts expect an Indians championship.
Cleveland is a city that is both long-suffering and overlooked in the eyes of both the mediascape and the sports world. I have been to Cleveland many times and while I find the people kind, earnest and very friendly, I was surprised to learn of their inferiority complex and rivalry with Pittsburgh, only 3 hours away. When you have an inferiority complex with Pittsburgh… ooh boy…
For the Cubs, enough has been written and said about Joe Maddon, Theo Epstein and Tom Ricketts. I believe they will be a dominant team to beat in the National League for years. I also believe the Giants will need to craft their postseason dreams on beating the Cubs.
For this year’s World Series, I sense the Cubs are both stronger in the starting rotation and more confident. I think the Indians are not quite at the state where they believe in themselves as World Series Champion-worthy. While it may be a long Series, I think the Cubs will overtake the Indians eventually, thanks to their deep lineup, deeper bench, and exceptionally strong starting staff.
Cubs in 5.
Veniceroni says: Go Tribe. Beat those m……….rs cubbies, expecially Arrieta!
PARTY AT NAPOLI’S
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnFlx2Lnr9Q
This sounds like fun. Is there a story behind this repeated invite?
Where will free agent Napoli take his party next year?
What rock have you been hiding under
http://www.ohio.com/sports/indians/party-at-napoli-s-how-an-8-shirt-with-iron-on-letters-became-the-indians-rallying-cry-1.711965
Thank you the poem last post KIR. I don’t understand or appreciate poetry, but I enjoyed your stories.
Indians in 5. There’s a tragic beauty in Cubs fans having to watch another team celebrate at Wrigley, and having to wait ’til next year one more time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko58baUVstE
Being a sports fan is a lot of fun, but I was reminded recently that watching doesn’t compare to playing. The Oracle was a good basketball player. Certainly not great, but good, and an excellent shooter. Don’t leave me open. In school, I played all the sports. Once I was out of school, I kept playing basketball at parks, playgrounds and city leagues until I reached my mid-thirties or so, at which point fatherhood and work became more important, and I stopped playing regularly.
Once I stopped playing, I didn’t sit around. I’ve always been at the gym 5-6 days a week, and I’m in pretty good shape. The Oracle looks good. But it isn’t really competition, except maybe with yourself. It’s the competition that I miss most. Outside of sports, I don’t think you find the same thing anywhere else in life. Obviously, I could’ve continued to play at some level, but I’ve chosen not to, mainly because I have no desire to get injured. I’d feel awful if I had to miss my workouts, or my lost my ability to work overtime, because I blew out my knee or tore my Achilles. I feel great, and I don’t want to risk that feeling. I’m fully aware that my cartilage, ligaments and tendons all know how old they are. I’m fine with my choice, but I often think about how much fun it used to be, before I had responsibilities, to spend a Saturday afternoon at the park, going hard, winning, losing, arguing, competing. I still often dream about it.
So the other day, I had to take one of my daughters to an appointment and had a couple of hours to burn until she was finished. I went to a nearby gym, not my usual place, to get in my workout. This gym had a basketball court. After working out pretty hard for about 90 minutes, I decided to go shoot a little bit, something I hadn’t done in a long time. The triceps are really important in shooting a basketball, and I had just worked mine very hard. Not surprisingly, my shot was awful. I was coming up way short, nearly every time, and laughing at awfulness. Fortunately, no one was there to see me. But then other guys started rolling in. Eventually, there were enough to go full court, but only if I played. Someone asked me if I wanted to run. I thought about my knees, my Achilles, and the idea of competition. I also thought about how badly I was shooting. But I decided to play.
It had probably been a couple of years since I’d actually played basketball, but somehow, as soon as the game started, the long dormant competitive juices started flowing and my shot suddenly started dropping. I hit a couple of threes, took it to the bucket, and nailed my formerly patented turnaround jumper. I was the best player on my team. It was so much FUN. Don’t get me wrong, I really wasn’t that good. Despite having this apparently regular game, most of the rest of these guys were awful. I was just a lot less awful than they were, while being much older. When it was over, I hadn’t torn anything. My team hadn’t even won the game. But I had competed, and I’d surprised myself in the process. It reminded me that watching can’t match playing. It never will.
Guest post material?
That’s what I was thinking. Add a Go Giants! to the end and it’s ready to publish.
Guest douche, possibly.
that’s not very nice 🙁
It would kind of fun to posterize TO on a dunk though.
Aw.
lmao
Hawesome post. I’m so glad it had a happy ending – e.g., no lousy injury.
I agree – I REALLY miss playing basketball, and just dreamt about it the other night. But every time I’ve stepped onto a court (in a game) in the last 8 years I’ve gotten hurt. The last time an Achillies popped – but didn’t tear – and I was so grateful to limp off the court and wake up normal the next day.
Getting old requires more wisdom than I’ve got.
Featured Post of the Day – If I say so myself!
All this time, The Oracle had HOPS! – But – lets see, there was a three point line when you played in HS and College? My, you are a youngster!
No three pointer when I was in high school, fortunately for our opponents.
But … I bet when your outside shot was off (never was) that you obliged the guy overplaying you on your ball side and you took him to the hole with that cross-over of yours?
Extra credit for the 3rd person references to The Oracle. The Oracle can still play.
After retiring I bet the Oracle could head to Boulder and solve for sure the Jon Benet Ramsey mystery.
that’s why the word ‘vicariously’ was invented. 90 minute workouts 5-6 times a week. damn TO sir…
Ha…I’ve eliminated the time wasting drain of having a personal life. I’m sure you’re better off.
Step right up, make your MVP predictions.
Will it be a Cub? Bryant, Lester, Rizzo, Baez, Fowler, Arrieta, Hendricks, Chapman, Zobrist, Russell…?
Will it be an Indian? Lindor, Kluber, Napoli, Santana, Miller, Kipnis, Chisenhall, Ramirez…?
Coco Crisp
Anthony Rizzo
Seems like he got his stroke back.
Rajai Davis hits .556 and takes it home.
Cubs MVP if they win four before the Tribe – will be: 1) Zobrist 2) Willson Contreras
or 3) Kyle Schwarber
If the Indians win 4/7 then it might be 1) Francisco Lindor 2) Andrew Miller or 3) Jason Kipnis
Way to cover your bases, CU.
He always has ducks on the pond.
I do have a life line though with Regis and I do have two finalists, one from each team.
🙂
Miller.
My “heart” vote – Lindor
My “head” vote – Lester
What about other parts of your body?
South of the Belly Mateo votes for Arrieta. He loves his beard.
In 1992 after the Giants were sold to a Florida group I spoke with one of my neighbors who had moved to Chicago, who took pity on me when we thought we had lost the Giants. At that time my neighbor sent me the a copy of “The Association of Disgruntled Baseball Fans” Acceptance Certificate as long as I agreed to its stipulations and that I root for the Cubs whenever rooting for the Giants was not possible. I agreed. Peter Magowan’s group came to the rescue in SF and the rest is history. 4 WS visits and 3 WS WINS! So now – even though my neighbor has passed – the Cubs are my next favorite team after the Giants…So… why not
GO CUBS! (Better keep my allegiances in the NL but BOY do I like Terry Francona, whose team plays National League-type baseball.
So as a parting gift from the Dodgers, who were soundly beaten by the Cubs in this year’s NLCS I thought I would return you back to Sunday – Sept 20 1992. It is possible even TotalFan62 was there but if not I know many TWG’s were in the stands – possibly Matthew, Lefty, KIR, Croix de Candlestick and who can forget 5 year old Brandon Crawford.
This was purportedly the last home series vs the hated Dodgers for the SF Giants at Candlestick Park as they had been sold to St. Petersburg. Tommy Lasorda with whom we love to razz as he razzes us back, would customarily come into the park thru the Visitors Club House far down the right field line and would tip his hat and blow kisses to the derisive crowd! It was always fun to watch his long walk down the line and to hear the boos, catcalls and invective that rained down on him. It was also great to hear the sendoff of a player from the other team like the time Raul Mondesi of the Dodgers was ejected and had to walk the same path of shame back to the visitors’ clubhouse! It is a LONG walk.
Great moments in baseball history. On that day we were standing behind the Dodgers’ dugout and I got blocked from a clear view of Tommy as he blew his last kiss. I was momentarily bummed but I yelled out to him, “Tommy! Just one more!” I aimed my camera (no cell phones) and Tommy obliged and I got the final shots that turned out NOT to be the final shot.
PS: #21 Eric Young is in the photo but do we know if that is Orel walking along side Tommy Lasagna?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8c7f1007a5ccc8b379d0328f63278ff14010f1dbb9b7c49eedf844f4ae5b37ca.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1bbc22036cb35b7d68417cbc41a258279cc1680b302bb1383d7a688497d34bfa.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5b275c567aaff60f57b1d6b88cfabfee3994d58c705abc2ecbf0a92c8b8bbbdd.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c3775751ff361964b3ffed88577e36b70ccbdbb297ee7285908c44aa8a5dbe15.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8bb84f1c37eb1338f6b1ee7a15e5892cb81168330f802913b1ed1cf60031cc74.jpg
That’s about 5 too many pictures of Tommy Lasagna, Clutch.
It was germane to the fact that – THAT is what we use to DO to Tommy and he’d do IT back to is.
Paul … I know your eyes are burning. I will mail you some scantily clad pictures of Marilyn Monroe
Great Story Clutch but I agree with PIPV: Too many Lasorda shots. Though I always did appreciate his sense of humor. He told some good stories about how Hershiser got his “bulldog” nickname.
Paul was serious and that is fine – but you as Blog Emperor must realize that if I held back any shots from my Zapruder film file then I would be remiss and unprofessional. However I do have one of Tommy standing on the Grassy Knoll that I can not publish.
hahahaha! Excellent!
Timmy smoking out on the Grassy Knoll is a pic I would click on.
I believe it “has been done”
I am glad the Safeway was able to keep the Giants in town. They gt a sweatheart deal of a discount from MLB to keep the team in town. They are my second favorite team behind the Cubs. I was at the 2nd game against the Angels. They won that one. I was close enough to the BP that I yelled at Percival I though his shoes were cute. That caught his attention as he looked over at the loco.
Telling a ballplayer that his shoes are cute could easily backfire.
But the look on his face was priceless.
Soccer head trauma, oh boy. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/10/25/heading-a-soccer-ball-causes-instant-brain-changes-study-finds/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories-2_headers-230pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
Before his coma he spoke English; after waking up he’s fluent in Spanish
http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/24/health/teen-spanish-new-language-trnd/
Let’s just ban all sports except baseball and make things simpler and proper.
Although useful in fantasy baseball, an interesting newway of evaluating prospects by building accepted stats like ERA and 5K from basic data like GB rates and swinging strike rates.
http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/minors-to-the-majors-calculating-individual-pitch-grades/
Bah. If Bochy doesn’t pull Moore for no good reason, the Giants could be there.
LOL. If that makes you feel better.
I don’t know if it makes me feel better. Obviously it makes me feel much worse about bochy. It’s easy to deal with rooting for a team which just isn’t good enough. It’s harder to deal with rooting for a team whose manager shoots them in the foot.
Check out CU’s link to to Brandon blog. It might help. He still hurts too.
Can we stop with this nonsense? Moore threw 120 pitches. No pitcher in the postseason has thrown that many. I’m sure if we had managed to win Game Five behind Cueto, it would’ve been Moore pitching Game Two vs LA and not Marge. Hell, if Bum had been used for multiple innings in Chicago, Moore might’ve pitched Game One. We were up three runs. Moore didn’t need to be sent back out there. Enough already.
Nonsense? Bochy completely botched that ninth inning. Maybe denying reality is a coping mechanism? Moore himself had previously thrown more pitches than that. The bullpen was the team’s weakest link. The parade of pitchers, especially the choice of Javier Lopez was a joke. You saw the result. Moore didn’t need to be sent back out? It worked out perfectly, right?
Some people must live in the land of hindsight. It comes as no surprise you are one of its residents.
It isn’t hindsight. I was going ‘no! No! Why?? Why??’ as law was walking to the mound.
You are right on about Bochy botching the 9th but wrong about leaving Moore in. Plus, the fact is that the whole bullpen basically imploded in Greek tragedy fashion… there was a lot of blame to go around there but I have to agree with Rob Deer in the Headlights: No way should Moore have gone back out in the 9th in that situation.
Why not? Especially considering how many leads the bullpen had blown, especially in September? Moore can be sent out to throw more pitches when he’s working on a no-hitter, but not when the season is in the line? The biggest indictment of the decision is that no one was shocked when they coughed it up in the ninth.
Why in the world would it have been wrong to leave moore in??? As a greek you do know that the ending of a greek tragedy is totally predictable to the audience, don’t you? So if the implosion of the bullpen was predictable, you leave in moore, right?
……….Incorrect…….Botch is the wrong word. Maybe Boched
No, he botched it because the moves he made did not work out.
* Pitchers did not execute their pitches
* Had they executed their pitches there would have been a game five.
* You make the moves that one has discussed prior to the game.
Bochy to Rags/Gardy: “What do we do for 7th-8th-9th?
Rags/Gardy: “Depends on the score and Moore’s TP’s”
Bochy: What if he has 115-125 through 8?”
Rags/Gardy: “Then we go with out guys and trust the matchups”
Bochy: “I agree”
I explained this out before. Nothing Bochy could have chsen to do would have changed the outcome. It was never even year magic for the Giants. It was prime number magic 2010=3, 2012=5 2014=7. The next year for the Giants is 2018.
No, he botched it because the moves he made did not work out.
* Pitchers did not execute their pitches
* Had they executed their pitches there would have been a game five.
* You make the moves that one has discussed prior to the game.
Bochy to Rags/Gardy: “What do we do for 7th-8th-9th?
Rags/Gardy: “Depends on the score and Moore’s TP’s”
Bochy: What if he has 115-125 through 8?”
Rags/Gardy: “Then we go with out guys and trust the matchups”
Bochy: “I agree”
Note: It did not work out TO
And there’s something mystical about the postseason that you can’t throw more than 120 pitches? Moore threw 133 in a game in august. Moore would have pitched game 3 of the nlcs with 6 count em 6 days off. And with our bullpen moore didn’t need to be sent out with a 3-run lead? Kinda looks like he did. Bumgarner was sent out in the 9th with a 3 run lead in the wc game and he was only going to have 4 days off before his next start.
Except he would’ve pitched Game Two at the latest.
Who cares if no other pitcher has? (Bumgarner threw 199 in the wc game, by the way). Moore threw 133 in one game in August, why couldn’t he do that in the playoffs? And you would have pitched Moore in game 2 on 4 days rest after throwing 120 pitches instead of Samardzija on 7 days rest? Seriously? And you might have pitched Moore in game 1 on 3 days rest? Did you look at the calendar when you were thinking of this? And even if for some unknown reason you would want to pitch Moore in game 2, you have to win the NLCS first.
Obviously Samardzija was going to pitch game 2 on Sunday and then Moore or Cueto in game 3 on Tuesday (6 days rest for Moore) and the other in game 4 on Wednesday (7 days rest).
Obviously Moore DID need to be sent back out there. Did you see the game? Were you even slightly surprised when the bullpen blew the lead? Do you seriously think Moore would have?
How did you feel about Bumgarner pitching the 9th with a 3-run lead in the wild card game?
Made zero sense to pull Moore. There’s no argument for it.
You’re too stupid for words.
So let me get this straight. You forgot or didn’t know (1) Moore threw 133 innings in one game in August with no ill results, (2) Bumgarner threw 119 pitches in a playoff game 6 days, (3) Bumgarner was left in to pitch the 9th with a 3-run lead in a game 6 days before, (4) the bullpen has been totally unreliable this season in general and the last month in particular, blowing a 2-run lead in the 9th the day before, (5) Moore would have beem pitching game 2 on 4 days rest after throwing 120 pitches in a game as opposed to pitching game 3 on 6 days rest after throwing 130 or so pitches in a game.
In fact, it sounds like you may not even realize that the bullpen blew the lead, if you think that ‘Moore didn’t need to be sent back out there’. The Giants did lose the game, you do at least know that, don’t you?
But I’m the one who’s stupid?
Yes. You’re also in desperate need of a life.
You know what worked for most:
Exlax – Pepto-Bismol – one week with Pacman on his movie set and at night throwing 17 TV’s in his pool – 4 days with Jessica Alba – one day with Gloria Allred – 15 minutes with Nancy Grace – a three day convention in Texas going through the David Koresh files or lastly reading the manifesto of Ted Kaczynski narrated by Doctor Phil.
Brandon Crawford’s New Blog
http://brandon.mlblogs.com/author/mlblogssfgiants1/
Dude can self-publish with the best of them.
Ever notice that crawford is the only everyday player who no giant fan ever criticizes no matter what he does? With everyone else there’s some troll who’ll rag him when he can but it just doesn’t happen with crawford. He’s just universally likeable. I personally am grateful to him because he’s the only reason my daughter would watch the giants.
It’s because he grew up in Pleasanton as a documented Giants fan. His family has a brick near Willie Mays. This earns plenty of slack.
@ John – when did you start reading Extra Baggs – Giants Extra etc? Reason I ask is there are/were a few regulars who ragged on his fielding. Others kept telling those certain bloggers that “he gets to balls other shortstops would never get to” – but they were relentless. I personally can compare him to Jim Fregosi. When Fregosi first came up he led the majors in throwing errors. In fact alumni at his High School – aka – Serra HS in San Mateo Calif who say that Barry Bonds or Tommy Brady were Serra’s best athletes are way off by a lot. Fregosi ran track, played hoops, played football and played baseball. On home games he would go run the hurdles in a track meet in his baseball pants.
2holehitting is not a big fan of Crawford :-/
You got me all wrong.
I think Crawford has developed into a very solid shortstop. He has always made the wow plays and has cleaned up his errors. His hitting has steadily improved over the years and after 6 years, I consider him finally a good all around shortstop. The harrassing I did at his expense was not aimed at Crawford rather most of the people on this blog who pre-ordained the kid to greatness and the best in the league when he had not proven a thing.
That is also my same gripe against Belt. It is not that he is very serviceable a good glove and prone to some nice hitting streaks, it is to harass those on this board that pre-ordained him for saint hood power hitting and Gold Glove greatness while some otheres referenced him as a James Loney light which at this point would be a Compliment for BB9 and a diss on Loney
“James Loney light” Ouch. He’s from Pleasanton.
Oh .. you sounded sane unti that last line.
OK but you know I was speaking of a few years back ……….
Belt should mature just prior to his 38th birthday. Drafted by ATL and Boston as a LHP, he will take about 20 yrs to provide the consistency that I know he can.
Haven’t read there. I guess even Crawford isn’t immune. I assumed 2holehitting isn’t a Giants’ fan…
It’s because BCraw is awesome. Great attitude. Great work ethic. Great shortstop. Local Boy! What more can you ask for?
and super cute;)
Just Peachy should be by soon
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Cleveland with home field advantage further illustrates the ridiculousness of the ASG determining it. Love how you see talk bandied about concerning implementing the DH in the NL but no talk of changing this asinine rule.
Rotate each year? Best record? What is a better method?
Best record. It should be rewarded. Period.
Yup! so logical, so divinely right and simple that it’s downright genius and sophisticated!
How do you determine best record? What is it best against? You have a doormat division and you win a bunch and have the most wins? Or is it a win ratio vs your opponents win ration? Not so straight forward when you do not play the same teams
It isn’t the NFL with a 16 game season. Best record after 162 is the best record. If you wanna find chinks in the armor, fine. But it should be what dictates home field. What’s your proposal?
Just asking because the reason there is a wild card is for the similar reasoning. Sometimes teams not with the best record are more deserving than the teams that won their division.
Fine. But how do you argue against “divinely right”?
Then I call a freind and phone Trump to argue with the POPE.
Francis has the Indians in 5.
I can understand him picking Cleveland as he is a champion of the downtroden and Cleveland sports has sucked for decades and decades. Then again, the Catholic church is in need of increasing its tent as the number of catholics are dwindeling. It would be easier to recruit new catholics in Cleveland as they only have 23% of their citizens that are catholic while Chicago has 33% or nearly 2x more per 100 capita.
http://www.voanews.com/a/most-catholic-cities-in-us/2966577.html
As a recovering Catholic, I have a hard time imagining recruitment. Even with Francis, the message is still rather dark and restrictive. A modern Catholic mass is not much different from a Latin Catholic mass. I respect the champion of the downtrodden message though. Honestly, I have no favorite in this WS. I like both teams but would prefer the Giants were there. Go God!
How about playing game 5 at a neutral location? I’d like just for the screaming it would induce in fans 😉
But they play completely different teams. Who cares who had the best record. It would make just as much sense to award it to the team who gets to the WS fastest. Cleveland almost swept their way through, they get the nod.
Totally agree. It’s embarrassing as a rule. Home Field advantage should go to the team with the hottest fans. Clutch, Scout and myself would be on the judges panel of course, along with Pat the Bat Burrell…
I absolutely trust you guys to judge men’s looks. Especially Scout.
Well done!
I’ll be here all offseason.
Tequila fascist…
By fascist you mean connoisseur.
Crawford is overrated.
The poster over your bed says otherwise.
ha ha ha !
Depends for which you speak. Does he grow home grown on his South 40? NO
Did he attend UCLA? Affirmative.
Did he marry into hotness? Yes, but so did she.
Mic was dropped
Then the Giants would never have home field as hotness does not permeate through layers of sweaters, winter parkas, blankets, panda hats and thrmeal gloves. And that is a July game
Burrell is way out of your league…. don’t out kick your coverage.
How do you know?
He’s fantasizing that HE is Pat the Bat 🙂
There are very few in Pat the Bat’s league. Wilt Chamberlain, Russell Brand, John Mayer and a few others are able to compete at that level. They are all professional athletes, musicians and television/movie stars. You gunna claim that much game?
Depends which Pat the Bat we got. Vintage Pat could hold his sauce but at times in Philly he woke up in the morning with the mother of the girl he “dated” the night before. The old switch-a-roo was easy because PTB passed out many times. (photos available)
When he got to San Fran Cisco – Wilson actually took care of PTB when they went out in the Marina hunting for company. Wilson did not drink what PTB drank. Wheezy drank Grog and he could wait a couple of hours and then play catch up in 5 min with Grog.
Your the one with the assinine.
Flip a Dwight Eisenhower Eagle has Landed silver dollar. Boom!
Bah. If Evans signed Andrew Miller and Daniel Murphy, the Giants would be there.
He never had a shot at Miller, but Wendy Thurm seems to think he did at Melancon.
Yeah, Miller was the previous winter, IIRC.
As for Melancon, yes, Evans expressed some regret for not going the extra mile to get Melancon – which was well before Wendy got the scoop.
But at what cost? Tyler Beede? Derek Law plus others?
How about the World Series? Our club would have handled the Dodgers…
He did say he thought they had enough on the table to get it done.
They could well have been there with the team they have if bochy hadn’t pulled moore.
Poor brother…we all need a support group, but today looks to be very rough on you
Murphy? Every day Leftfielder???
World Series Tickets for games in Wrigley are over $6,000 in some seats. More than the past dozen or so Super Bowls! Who says baseball is boring!??!
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/25/world-series-tickets-hit-crazy-high.html
Considering my mom told my dad no at buying tickets because they would be $10K apiece, she might reconsider. Giants bleacher seats cost me $300 apiece in 14
I forwarded my friend Lefty’s advice for Cleveland fans that she posted this AM. Here is his response:
This is good advice and definitely true. I turned off espn the other night because the anchor was blatantly talking about how exciting it was for the Cubs because she is from Chicago and she wished she was there. Then they cut to Michael Wilborn in Chicago and he was WEARING a Cubs jersey.
I couldn’t believe it. This is national sports network that completely went homer. My wife was laughing at how frustrated I got.
Oh well, to be honest cleveland and this team would have it no other way.
Don’t think I will be able to go to a game – cheapest tickets are at least $700!!!
Sounds like 2010 around here to me.
Public Service … Here is Lefty’s post:
“Dear Cleveland,
Even though you’re rightfully proud, happy, and excited about your team being in the World Series, prepare to be ignored and dismissed by the media because you haven’t been designated “October darlings” this year. Been there.
Sincerely,
Giants Nation
P.S. Pro tip: Mute Fox and sync up your TV with your local radio broadcast. Trust us–you’ll enjoy the World Series a lot more that way.”
Lefty posted this? Respect.
Hilariously so spot on.
Indians in 6!
What hourly wage do you charge?
Dang .. I said, “Public Service” so I think I am stuck doing this for free.
Can you help us with a link Haak?
I’m slightly put out that Lefty speaks for Giants Nation. There should have been polling, debates, and pundits before arrogantly speaking for all of us.
I’ve been listening to Cleveland’s radio guy on my MLB audio app. All by himself, every inning. A little humorless, but good descriptions and game insights.
Steve Kerr https://www.facebook.com/warriors/videos/10154749895437526/
His rant on home field advantage was perfect…send it to Manfred.
I’m no fan of Svetlana Kuznetsova. But she cut her hair mid-match to gain a competitive advantage. She’s a gamer. Can she get left handers out?
http://www.espn.com/espnw/culture/the-buzz/article/17873597/svetlana-kuznetsova-cuts-own-hair-wta-finals-match-yes-really-happened?addata=espn:tennis:index
That’s pretty awesome.
Surf – how are the mud slides holding up in the Cruz? Heard there was some trepidation?
The only thing better is she would have set a chair down on the court and cut her hair off right there, just for the intimidation factor. Probably against some rule though 😉
She won. Breaking out a Wahl would have been intimidating. Hate her tennis. Love her competitiveness.
Oh yeah, breaking out the Wahl and then giving herself a punk haircut would have gone severely viral
Hey the Giants twitter feed seems to know what time the important game is being played tonight 🙂
https://twitter.com/SFGDugoutStore/status/790992025432621056
Shaun Livingston https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4xRuyC5nM0
These two will be in the Roracle tonight
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/23a775aacdd64f514cb5d295b49fe1e43d393f86088859da296b9f80c4e3001b.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/091fafc4a5335bf7fa60ff33ffcb372ca4a4b92f92d8f8747503d2349b897e5d.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/67c7ae579a764f0eefe747c70363b2fca619f0aef36e7b09c57010fb0169c8b1.jpg
Prediction: if Cleveland wins the World Series, they will change the Home Field Advantage rules.
Hottest fans?
Unfair SF advantage….
We better not see any shady replay calls or umpiring mistakes. I want to see a fair World Series. Let the better team win.
Dude, you should get royalties from this
http://fortune.com/2016/10/24/shaq-krispy-kreme/
No beanie for Maddon today
Something that Decker and Bam Bam MUST accomplish with their hitters NEXT season. MUST.
https://twitter.com/TroyPSilva/status/790933001077035008
as Vice President Joe Biden reveals, “I’d rather sleep with my wife.” Sports fandom is fickle.
Andrew Miller goo.gl/3tVBns
“Black People Don’t Drink Coffee……..”
Shaq is FUNNY even when he is not trying….but this takes the cake (or should I say doughnut)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlLpaD4FEKQ
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/09/14/shaq-black-people-dont-drink-coffee-passed-on-endorsement-deal-with-starbucks/
Worth taking a look back to smile https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHXW4-k94iI
And how the TEAM reacted when they watched it out to lunch one day
https://vimeo.com/143186886
Kyle Schwarber on tonight. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2016/10/25/kyle-schwarber-cubs-world-series-indians/92743874/
Any idea on how thick Harry Caray’s glasses were?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPaACIEnQMg
101 years old
http://www.npr.org/2016/10/21/498853331/101-year-old-chicago-cubs-fan-hopes-beloved-team-grants-her-birthday-wish
102
http://abc7chicago.com/sports/102-year-old-cubs-fan-still-keeps-score-of-every-game/1542887/
Excellent advice. We just don’t need Joe Buck and his questionable hair.
Kluber is on his game. Can Lester match it?
Kluber got 2 wide zone calls for K outs.
I don’t think it’s a bad strategy to do what the Dodgers did to Lester..just keep bunting and bunting. It looked like it really irritated him and he made some bad throws that was fortunate Rizzo could dig out. I would keep doing that…at the very least make him think about it.
I agree. That one time he looked into the dugout (after Rizzo saved him)…they should have continued.
I was surprised Rajai didn’t bunt
Lindor has to steal
The Taco Bell National Diaffhea Program is back on!!!!
Steal a Base, Blow Your Gasket!!!
Let’s all poop!
Indians scored first. This is going to be interesting. Cleveland pitching tough to rally against.
Holy shit, Lester.
Jon Lester – Sad Bum
Roger Dorn just took one for the team!
David Ross just saved game 1 for the Cubs. Base hit would have won it in the first. No joke.
Not 1 hard hit ball (maybe Kipnis?) and Indians up 2-0
Everytime I see Baez hit I think why didn’t Hunter stick with his slider.
Is Heyward off the WS roster? or just not starting?
Not starting i believe
Wow–think about that. $177 million free agent and he’s not starting Game 1 of the World Series against a RIGHT-handed pitcher.
Be glad Span is the man, not that broken swing glove man.
I want a plus-defender for the outfield so badly I could cry. We have none. Zero.
Trade for one?
Oh, Scout….. “the man”? Or is it “the default centerfielder that throws like he has a broken chicken wing…” ?
Ha ha. Buffalo wild wing!
That fastball has so much movement that Coghlan thought he might get hit on a pitch that tailed in for a strike.
It’s jumping, for sure.
Kluber = The Godfather
Anybody know the game time weather in Cleveland? Looks a little chilly.
50
https://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=cleveland+oh
Cloudy chance of meatballs.
Kluber…..is dealing.
It’s an mvp look.
They need to lean into that fastball it is just off the black on the tail in. A couple hits batsmen and that side is gone
Atleast he swung
I’m with Pete. Hat trick for Schwarber 2nite.
The Tribe must win tonight. A quality start from Kluber can’t be waisted at home.
So far so good, Mr. Breakfast.
When do they bring in Miller?
When it’s Time.
Kluber at this rate is at 100 pitches by the end of 6
6th
Time for the yips?
BALK!
Lester is unreal to not throw that ball
And he balked by moving his right leg before he stepped off.
Did he? I missed it
Check it out if you can.
Can’t, i am watching on chromecast
Moose has had 1 to many things are moving on him.
nope he just stepped back right foot and leg never moved
Its impossible to overturn this call vs the Cubs
Dig this Ramirez guy. Kind of Uribe like
Hoona’s post is being moderated.
I deleted.
Ok.
Hoona self moderated!!!
All things in moderation!
Wrong!
We have a moderator?
Gwen Ifell
She’s one of the best.
I guess we still are ruled by the Disqus software and blog owner can decide to override. LIke the replays from New York kind of
Film will do that to you every now and then.
Baez’s tags are special.
That play looms large. Really bad jump by Lindor. that base should be close to automatic vs Lester
Agreed.
He mightve been safe too
I don’t think the replay evidence was sufficient enough for a reversal.
Looked like the leather threads grazed him
Kinky
Would have been safe at the Folsom St. Fair.
Lester looking annoyed about Santana’s cramp issue. Dude, it’s the World Series. They’re not going to take him out of the game. Have a heart.
Lester and Lackey are both such total douches. The Beer and Fried Chicken Brothers showed their true colors in Boston. So glad Lester didn’t come to the Giants.
Amen to that. I think Gonzo was involved too.
Yep, he was part of the 2011 toxic clubhouse, too. He’s a bad guy.
Bad hambre?
Nothing that fried chicken won’t solve…
Fried chicken pretty much solves everything. Thank God we don’t have Popeye’s near us.
Ah, your correction was much more thought out than mine!
Chicken enchiladas if it’s Vogs.
hambre = hungry
You just figured that out, Trump?
Guess I missed the joke. Have been purposely not following presidential politics, for my health.
I googled:
“Spanish lesson 101: hombre=man; hambre=hunger; hombro=shoulder; ombre=Kardashian hair color,”
–Ana Navarro
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/trumps-bad-hombres-echoes-on-both-sides-of-the-border/2016/10/20/3d6fb1c8-9682-11e6-9cae-2a3574e296a6_story.html
Did you see where a young woman wearing a shirt that said “Latina Contra Trump” went to a Trump rally and Eric Trump proudly posed for photos with her? Apparently NO ONE knew that it meant “Latina Against Trump.” Hilarious.
Yeah I saw that one too.
Latina Con(tra) Trump.
much more a conversation on the height and edges. There have been some at the middle of Ross head that are being called balls. If he is giving that elevation and the corners to Kluber, he needs to give them to Lester. Especially the low corners he has been calling against the Cubs
He did not give Giants a rose.
After his choke job in the 2014 Wild Card game for the A’s, who needs him. The A’s gave up a year and a half of Cespedes for that toxic loser.
Uh oh….the Wrath of Lefty is officially unleashed
And he’s a lefty and I hate the A’s, so that’s saying something.
lol
Cersei is on the loose!
We really got the starters we were supposed to get.
Even though Smarge is kind of hot and cold.
I hear that the NBA season is opening tonight.
Wow, thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Last year I went to the Warriors’ opening night and listened to Game 1 of the World Series in the car on the way to Oakland.
Some people/ fans believe that the NBA season begins on Xmas.
June.
When the Ws won it all with Rick Barry they did in May. In 7 days.
Warriors play Cleveland on Xmas.
Again.
My TV is switching to TNT at 7:30.
Indians should have it in hand by then.
Craig Sager still battling. Inspiring.
That Shwarber double was for Mathew!
I thought it was for Joe Buck.
It was more for Spencer Tracy Maddon….
Lucky swing?
Girls softball rules, can pinch run for a player with a leg injury.
I think 4 runs wins this one.
This game is looking like every other Indians win this PS.
Uno mas
How big is Lindor? What an amazing talent.
Reminds me of Ken Lofton visually.
Good comparison. Lindor has more power I think.
Lofton schools him on the hardwood
Wildcat. Good knowledge.
Looks like another 4 hour game…
Wow.. Lester getting stronger/dialed in….
Good thing there’s a DH (if you’re a Cub fan that is)
He recovered nicely.
Looking like Vanover’s trying to even this thing up!
Hunger Games
Miller 8th?
7th & 8th probably
I trolled Cleveland’s factory of sadness during the NBA playoffs the past 2 years. They’re good people.
A couple of crowd shots tell me that , in Bleacher Bob’s new Home Field Advantage decider….Cleveland still wins
Indians went 66-1 during regular season when leading by 3 plus runs. 3-0 this postseason.
Th jello is jiggling…
Cubs have been known to pour on the runs in the 9th inning.
Of course I assume Cleveland has a closer, so maybe not 😉
Playah!
I’m going Dubs…enjoy baseball, folks!
Yep.
What’s with Barkley’s dark glasses?
Ditto that. Dubs>Cubs.
Indians have let some extra runs get away.
Schwarber may be a natural born hitter.
MIller just pulled a Javy Lopez
Seriously Tribe?
WOW, what the hell was shwarber doing
Making Maddon and Epstein look like geniuses!
Got suuuper lucky
That got exciting.
The Indians just keep on grinding. Looks familiar.
Miller is filthy. Trade of the year?
Might be.
We mighta been playing today if we landed him. Kind of exactly what we need
Apparently we weren’t on his Christmas list. I’m not sure it’s true, but I heard he vetoed a West Coast trade.
He didn’t have veto power. We didn’t offer enough/have enough
I gather he made his feeling known, and they were respected.
Doubt it. He was an asset of the Yankees to do what they wanted with. Part of the game. I think i remember him saying if he had a veto he probably wouldn’t have gone to Cleveland
You could be right about Cleveland, but do remember him wanting to stay in the East. Maybe it was an AL thing. Some guys just grow allergic to an AB in the AL.
I don’t remember him saying that
Oh, I didn’t read it locally. Somewhere back east…NY maybe(??)
or melancon, or chapman
Could be. Blast it
you know deep down that they would still be playing, right?
I don’t. But would have liked to find out. My money was on us in a gm5
Or none of them but Bochy hadn’t pulled Moore.
most definitely, the trade the Giants neither had the guts nor the talent to make.
The teams that landed the two best closers are in the world series right now.
Yes.
Update: Ginobili is still a dirty, cheap, dangerous POS.
Update : New season, same Klay…he’s like a box of chocolates
New season, still not closing quarters out well either. That was a mess
Is it too early to say this team is gonna really miss Bogut?
Probably not with his unique skill set. Kerr will figure it out
Not with Zaza, he won’t. McGee is my wild card
Not into Zaza either…too old, too slow. McGee has all the physical tools, can he put it together upstairs?
0 for 2 in close outs so far….
Sloppy
Joe Buck is still trying to make fetch happen. If the Cubs can’t score with the bases loaded and no outs, why will the next 3 guys score.
If I see a batter stepping out of the box to fuss with his damned gloves one more time I’m going to ralph on someone’s shoes. 🙂
Dang Miller living on the edge. The Cubs just could not get the hit or Sac Fly needed.
If Indians win WS. All they gave up for Miller was worth it.
The pitch count in the WS is useless. Stop talking about it. It’s the WS. All hands on deck!
Pitch count is critical for the Indians the way us there starters and pen.
sas 50 to 36, where is the shooting?
Klay is 1 for 573.
That was a humbling half.
Brutal. But 2nd half will be great.
Wow go Indians!
They just broke it open. Go Tribe!
Go Indigenous Peoples of North America!!!
Rhymes with Rubs losing tonight?
Cleveland Rocks!
Giants need to uncover guy like Allen from somewhere.
Being drafted in the 23rd round makes it sound like it shouldn’t be too hard. Get it done Evans!
Pimpin a HR down 6-0 in the 9th……………..
Such a Cubs thing to do
The indians are just playing too well (this is 8 wins in 9 games), they’re locked into playing their game, and the cubs don’t have the kind of team which can reverse the momentum, they’re like a bunch of frat kids whose parents stopped giving them money for parties. I’d be surprised to see the series go back to cleveland.
This is funny. Announcers have been forced so far off script, they are babbling.
Just flipped over to Fox to hear Buck just tell me that this game meant nothing and the Cubs got this
That was some serious spin right there. FoxNewsesque
‘Just wait and their superior ‘yabba dabba do’ will show up. LOL. What swill.
They still have the advantage according to ol’ Joe!
Just obnoxious.
Those extra hair plugs are gumming up his mouth.
Cubs are in for a tough series. Cleveland’s momentum is still picking up steam. Kluber in great position for 3 game appearance.
they may but nothing is to be taken for granted. just when it looked in the NLCS the Dodgers gained “momentun” and it looked like the Cubs forgot to hit they stormed back.
Momentum is such an overused term on this blog, it’s nauseating.
You might need to stay away…you know, for health reasons.
“If a Clevelander boner last more than four hours, consult your doctor”
-Matthew in an alternate universe.
I’m not following, Cuz…
So Cleveland has won 8 out of 9 postseason games and allowed 14 runs total. They are on quite a roll.
It isn’t the same thing. The Dodgers stank up the joint against the Nationals who were seriously injured, they were extremely lucky to get by, their ‘momentum’ against the Cubs was two games by their top two pitchers. The Indians have crushed two good teams in a row.
The Indians have players. This World Series is probably a preview of next year’s World Series.
I don’t know if it’s a good to pitch Kluber in Game 4. His only weak start in the playoffs and the only game the Indians have lost was when he pitched game 4 against the Blue Jays on 3 days’ rest.
Well, so much for “Cubs in 4.”
I think it would be fun if the Cubs scored 0 runs the whole series.
My scenario is down the drain, too!
The Cubs still have a deeper rotation, but losing the Lester start is not good for them. Arrieta hasn’t been that good, and neither has Lackey.
I really liked the balanced attack by the Indians, power from Perez and patient Small Ball in the first to grab that huge initial advantage! I expected solid pitching from Kluber and the bullpen and I wasn’t disappointed. Just an all-around great game, bringing back cherished memories! 🙂
If their #3 and #4 starters haven’t been that good, it doesn’t sound like their rotation is that deep.
Nice start for the Tribe. After Kluber the pitching matchups seem to favor the Cubs so tonight was huge.
I have a soft spot for Cleveland, not sure why. Maybe cause they’re a small market team, maybe cause they didn’t win with those great teams in the 90s, or maybe cause my favorite baseball movie is about them.
All good reasons, Vaughn.
I doubt anyone will root for the Giants after watching “The Fan”. What a stinker that was, one of the worst baseball movies I’ve seen.
Tribe be Tribin’, what fun! 🙂 I did the entire game on Cleveland radio, no Fox nonsense for me!
Cleveland has four shutouts in the postseason, tying them with the 2010 Giants, the 2012 Giants, the 1905 Giants, and the 1998 Yankees.
The 2014 Giants would also have had four if not for a meaningless HR by Salvy Perez late in Game 1 of the World Series, making it 7-1 Giants. And all four of the shutouts would have been started by ONE GUY.
Indians bullpen is a beast. Cubs better score early.
But Cleveland has 4 shutouts in only 9 games. Egads.
Yep. I wouldn’t be surprised if they got at least one more and break the record, too.
The Warriors’ biggest problemtonight is the same problem that sunk them last season: not playing smartly and not playing with enough intensity.
Spurs looked more prepared, or at least looked like they were playing more in their system.
It will be interesting to see what happens, but I continue to be struck by how they put together the best team in the history of the NBA (measured by regular season wins) and then blew it all up for Kevin Durant. Last year, they were a team, and it was beautiful to watch every member play their part. Now, the first game of the season, they face a team that plays together, and they fall by 30. Only one game, early, that team wasn’t going to stay together anyway, yeah I get it, but what they had was very rare and delicately balanced. What they have now may turn out to be better, we’ll see.
Any way to send Lefty’s post to an actual Indians’ fansite?
Cy Hendricks is going to have to rescue the Cubs from defeat tomorrow. Drone Boy may be healed and ready to pull out his own version of a great comeback story.
Arrieta tomorrow, I believe. Hendricks would only be on three days rest.
Even better. Hendricks looks to me like the only guy the Cubs have who might be able to turn this around. The Indians will run wild on Arrieta (rSB -3, one of the worst in the majors).
He will be tough at home
Indeed. Tomlin will have to pitch great in game 3, and he may well be up to it. He’s got great control, which is really the key against the Cubs, and he’s been throwing a huge number of curves, which is also good against them.
Two funny tweets from the Cleveland Police Twitter Timeline:
9hours ago:
So, Fourth Street is already nuts. 🐿 Please be mindful of parking restrictions and delays downtown. #RallyTogether #GoTribe
post-game:
Missing persons report filed for @Cubs offense. 👮🏽#RallyTogether #gooseegg 🐣 #GoTribe 😳⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️ @Indians
Lol on the second one
You’ll all be happy to hear about local government in action. The Davis City Council has a “four-pronged plan” to deal with the wild turkeys in town. It includes–gasp–“select lethal removal of overly aggressive turkeys.”
I know I’ll sleep a lot better tonight, assuming they caught that clown with the knife.
Davis council weighs ‘lethal removal’ of wild turkeys tonight http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article110480252.html
Must be election season
Tranquilize and relocate works better for me!
are they referring to Efrain?
Seriously, let’s find an Indians’ fansite and send them Lefty’s post.
So the Warriors lost and Cleveland won — just like last year!
A certain not-to-be-named tribe fan
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CvpxDsRUIAAaTHg.jpg
The all-red ’70s Indians look and the mustard-yellow ’80s Padres look gave me a headache, but I dug the ’70s-’80s Astros rainbow unis, so go figure! The Giants look is forever classic, and I love it! 🙂
I think those Astro uniforms were called the ice cream man uniforms.
The ’80s road look, all-white with stripes only along the shoulders, for sure was ice cream! Each stripe matched the seat colors of the levels of the Astrodome, so I just liked how the rainbows looked against the sad green turf that didn’t get replaced often enough! The rainbow uniforms debuted in 1975, the last year Judge Roy Hofheinz owned the team. But he was in failing health and sliding into bankruptcy, leaving the team so bereft of funds that they were forced to wear them both home and road. How GM Tal Smith was able to build a contending team by 1979 with ZERO budget (General Electric held them in receivership during those years) truly was a miracle!
I will take Lillard over Pretty Boy Steph. Lillard penetrates, scores and stays on his feet. Gets his guys involved. Demands it. Curry: Trips to China, Shoes, shoes and Shoes + an over-rated yet exhausting and unnecessary pre game ritual + Wifes cooking Show = Too Many Distractions.
Yeah, so what if Steph’s the defending two-time MVP, scoring champion, obliterated all three-point records, one of the few to ever go 50-40-90 in a season? So what if he’s the leader of a team that won a championship, won 73 games last year, and came within one good shot of a second title? So what if he’s done tremendous charitable and community work for years? So what if he took personal time away from his wife and baby daughter to Tanzania to help hang malaria nets that he paid for?
I’m sure you’re right. He’s just a pretty boy that only cares about selling shoes and his wife’s brand. Damian Lillard–remind me again what he’s accomplished?–is much better.
Is Lillard the shortstop somewhere? Who are these players you speak of?
For me, Clutch, I don’t see Steph as an issue. He, like Lillard, is not a great defender, but every other part of his game is incredible.
The Warriors had a roster that allowed him to “hide” that and play high-risk D that led to steals. But, with both Bogut and Ezeli gone, replaced by a very large cement shoe wearing statue from the Island of Zaza, team defense and rebounding is destroyed so far. It affects Green and Steph the most.
I expect Kerr to figure out the best fix ( it won’t involve Zaza, but might be a combo of West, Looney and McGee) or turn to Myers and say “find someone.
Steph was fine last night, other than his porous defense…but that isn’t a surprise. And his off the court actions aren’t the reason I see…he’s a really hard worker. But to me , the team took a huge leap up at the 4 (KD) and a monumental leap down at the 5.
Actually getting Ian Desmond solves almost all but not all of the Giants’ roster problems. The other problem is Tomlinson/3b. The team has a serious anti-lefty weakness, Tomlinson is the only player (other than Posey) with a big anti-lefty advantage (not just Span and Gillaspie, even Nunez and to some extent Williamson have reverse platoon splits), but since Panik (and for that matter Crawford) has basically no platoon split, and 2b (and maybe ss) is the only place Tomlinson has really played, there’s no way to take advantage of his anti-lefty hitting. He’s just too good to spend another year in the minors or on the bench. I wonder what they could get for him on the trade market?
a caution on Desmond, this happens to a lot of players, but he had really good numbers in the first half and pretty dismal numbers on the back half. A lot of BABIP 1st half, not so much 2nd. Offensively, his overall package may turn out to be on par with what Angel Pagan was last year – which is also on par with Adam Duvall.
Tommy is a nice MLB bench player. He really should take more balls in the outfield and be a utility bench player/pinch hitter/pinch runner. He’s got a way of poking those singles through the right side.
Desmond is 4 years younger than Pagan, hits way more homers, steals more bases, hits lefties well, can play shortstop, and is pretty decent in center. That’s a pretty big upgrade on Pagan especially if you consider Span’s limitations and how much have of a gap there is behidn Craford at shortstop.
Tomlinson looks like he can be more than a bench player. His career average is .299 and although his career BABIP is .371, his career xBABIP is .351–he hits a huge number of line drives, very few fly balls, and gets a lot of infield hits. If he can get his Ks down (career 18.5%), he can be close to a .300 hitter, and he’ll steal a lot of bases.
Gotta hand it to Pagan, though–he hit more homers this year than Josh Reddick did! For a 35-year-old injury-prone guy, he had a pretty nice walk year. Except for those last two games when he went MIA.
The key with pagan this year was getting him on the dl early and rested up instead on limping around all year.
Tommy’s sample size isn’t very big and those number are really dependent on finding holes and gaps between IF and OF as he doesn’t have much in the way of power at all. His base stealing skills leave something to be desired.
I think Desmond would be a very intriguing option- could really help. The 50 mil price tag would limit their abiliy to address the pen.
Yep, love Kelby but he has none power. He does run like the wind and he had nearly 50 SBs for Richmond one year. I also remember seeing him take control of the game from the leadoff spot/on the bases in Sacramento this year. Real sparkplug. If he has a future besides just bench guy, it’s as a top-of-the-order speedster.
Nothing wrong with bottom of order speedster either – it comes down to wOBA more than 40 yard dash time.
Yep. it’s just nice to have someone who can make something happen, early, if possible.
guy with high average, solid obp, and extra base pop is always a nice option, speed a bonus.
He had 28% line drives, that’s outrageously high, it isn’t an accident he finds so many holes. You don’t get a 351 xbabip without being able to hit. And check put his heat map, there’s like no pattern, there isn’t anywhere to pitch him. He’s got ability, he can develop if he gets a chance to play a lot.
maybe .280/.330/.350 line in an everyday role?
bust him in – fastballs away are to his swing.
That isn’t true at all. The only area in the zone he doesn’t cover is the high outside corner. http://www.fangraphs.com/zonegrid.aspx?playerid=13005&position=2B&ss=2016-04-06&se=2016-09-30&type=4&hand=all&count=all&blur=1&grid=10&view=bat&pitch=&season=all
The area of improvement for him is in fewer K’s (15% even last year). He has such a short swing he should hardly strike out at all. The problem is his O-swing % is 30.8% and his Z-contact % is only 89.9%, he can definitely improve those, and if he can get the K% down to like 11-12%, like Span or Posey, he can hit .300 or close to it.
Also playing half his games in Texas is a big deal. Its a great place to hit
If some of you will visit Italy in the next few months, be sure not to miss this exhibition at Palazzo Reale in Milan regarding Rubens’ pictures. See the link below.
http://www.mostrarubens.it/?lang=en
I did not see any reaction here but watching the MLB condensed version this AM I was surprised to see Allen out there in a 6-0 ninth. Lefty-Uber-Memory will let me know but even being All-In at WS TIme I do not think Bochy uses his Closer in the First Game with a six run lead.
Small matter? I do not like giving the Cubs batting practice against your guy that has three more games to win in the next week.
No such thing as batting practice vs. that bullpen stud. More like a taste of the fright to come and him working off rust and getting into the flow. Shaw could have used a workout too.
Yeah, the long-break factor and “rust” might be the answer.
How about pulling Kluber at 88 pitches? Is he setting him up to start on short rest? I do not see much depth in this starting rotation and that might be required.
Bum-Cueto-Moore-Smardj do not come out of a shut out at 88 pitches.
not with romo law casilla lopez strickland behind them.
Yep–I think it’s the lack of depth issue. Bochy has a bunch of workhorses and Francona does not. He’s going to need Kluber and didn’t want to overwork him in Game 1 with a nice lead.
I had to double-check my Uber Memory, and here’s what I came up with: Bochy used Wilson in Game 1 of the 2010 World Series for 2/3 of an inning when the Giants were up 11-7, so no save situation. They’d had a bigger lead and the previous two relievers had given up 3 runs, so I guess Bochy just wanted to put a stop to it.
Other than that, nope–there was no point in any of the 2010/12/14 World Series where Bochy used his then-closer in a non-save situation.
Interestingly, the only two games in the 2014 World Series in which Casilla appeared at all were the Games 2-3 losses. I wonder in hindsight if Bochy had lost a bit of faith in him after he had to be relieved by Affeldt in the final game of the NLCS, right before Ishikawa’s walk-off.
Thanks … so no parallel situations. I noticed a 5-0 game vs. the Cards in the playoffs but that was Bum going CG on them (117 Pitches).
Do you think Kluber’s early departure has anything to do with saving him for later? The next two games look to be the Cubs big, open window.
Yep–to the question on Kluber. And Francona actually has a bullpen he can trust. The Cubs did a pretty good job of making Miller work, but still–nada. That was some great pitching in that one inning with the bases loaded and none out.
So just like the 2014 Giants … Bum was the only consistent SP so after that we hoped for a fair start and knew the bullpen could carry the team after that.
Also had to do with Schwarber due up who had a good previous at bat against him. With Miller being a nasty lefty its a better matchup. If it was a RHH due up I think Kluber stays in. Schwarber could change things with one swing.
There were any save situations in the 2014 world series other than game 7 when bumgarner came in. Yet another example of why it isn’t true that ‘you can’t win the world series without an elite closer’.
I hear what you’re saying about the Cubs getting a chance to see him, but I also think that just about every player is going to have some World Series jitters, and it wasn’t the worst thing in the world for their guy to take the big stage and have success in a non-save situation.
Andrew Miller had just thrown 46 pitches, which is the most he’s thrown in a game in a long, long time. Not this season anyway.
Still on pace for the Cubs winning in 5.
Or the Indians winning in 4
Looked just a bit familiar last night, with a guy stepping up to hit multiple homers in Game 1 off premium pitching. Led to a sweep last time it happened, no? Watch out if Cleveland wins again tonight.
It certainly did look familiar, even down to the formidable starter on the Cubs’ side. Also, nobody thought the 2012 Giants’ pitching would stand up either to the Tigers’ offense or to their Fearsome Foursome of Verlander, Scherzer, Sanchez, and Fister. So the Giants’ “nobodies” (Madison Somebody who’d gotten knocked around earlier in the playoffs and Ryan Vogelsong) shut them out in Games 2-3, and Zito outpitched the terrifying Verlander. We didn’t even get that year’s ace, Cain, going until Game 4.
…or, one could say, still on pace to win the series by 2103
Man, Corey Kluber, what a stud, on his way to Series MVP, possibly his 2nd Cy Young award, and with this Bumgarnerian postseason run, he’s moving on up Bill James starting pitcher rankings ahead of that very Bumgarner.
But was he always a considered a future stud, destined for such greatness? Hardly, he’s a actually a great, from the depths prospect story, chronicled in the link below by John Sickels back in 2012. He was originally drafted in the 4th round by the San Diego Padres in 2007 and sent packing in a three team trade that involved Ryan Ludwick coming to SD. Some promise was seen and he was lumped at the back end of a long list of C+ prospects in the Cleveland system – seen as possibly a bullpen arm or 5th starter. Here’s more:
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2013/6/25/4445870/prospect-retrospective-corey-kluber-rhp-cleveland-indians
Here’s a glance at that Cleveland system in 2011 and 2012 – loaded with C+ prospects, without much apparent premium talent up top (perhaps a Giants parallel today?). But notice the run of C+ grades – who are those guys and what are they doing now? Lindor is a household name at the top of the ’12 list; Cody Allen registers in the same group as Kluber. In ’11 Lonnie Chisenhall tops the list with Jason Kipnis nearby, both representing a B+ grade; Alex White sure flamed out, but top pick. There’s Drew Pomeranz too…
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2010/11/30/1846742/cleveland-indians-top-20-prospects-for-2011
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2012/1/4/2681058/cleveland-indians-top-20-prospects-for-2012
These retrospectives are kind of fun. Hope you like them as much as I do. Here’s to former C+ prospects that become among the best pitchers in this generation! And maybe the Giants Ty Blach or Chris Stratton will emerge as an awesome success story.
BOOM
A guy that I could see developing into primo material in a couple years is a guy I have scouted a couple of times: Sam Coonrod.
He’s got plenty of stuff on the fastball and generally commands 2 seam movement well. If he comes up with a big time slide-piece/curveball and at least average tertiary pitches, look out!
BOOM!
Coonrod was MyGuy™ this year. I think I get a bonus because he was promoted! 🙂
Coonrod … Showing No Decline as he moves up
Final Stat in 2015 … A/2.28 [Augusta]
Final Stat in 2016 … 2.26/-50% [Richmond]
MyGuy™ score/ranking … +49% Improvement / #4 among Giants MiLB pitchers
Were the results published somewhere? I may have been AWOL.
No, you are right on top of things as usual.
I am just cherry-picking a few stats from the raw data I sent to SweetSwing. He has the DB to crunch all the guesses with all the stats and spit out a true MyGuy™ Standings when he can get to it.
Now this is the very interesting stuff that needs to be highlighted. Kluber was someone’s MyGuy™ and now they can say, “I told you so.” This is exactly why I hate trades; I think they backfire many times. Do the Padres want Ludwick or Kluber right now?
This MyGuy™ thing is so fun. I was falling asleep last night thinking about if I’d pick Blackburn or Stratton or Beede for my AAA pitcher and decided I’d see how they’re all looking in spring training. I think I already have my two major leaguers picked out.
after seeing him, I definitely put him on my MyGuy watch list – just as I did with Slater the year before – and all those Diamondbacks I keep touting 🙂
I had Slater last year–I think I was the only one who picked him–and I’m mad I didn’t stick with him this year. He had a great season overall. I did have Duggar, and he did pretty well for me, too.
maybe Duggar can become a Tyler Naquin level player – that would be something.
Now for bragging rights Duggar was officially MyGuy in the contest. I had a good year with Law, Beede, Slater, Coonrod, Duggar
nice list of prospects!
22’sSweetSwing is going to give us the MyGuy™ results when his actual life permits but my money is on you Mr. N … Lefty is close and last year’s champ, SkweezPlay is out of the running so he will be sending you the MyGuyAVWH Pin.
If he never gets it done it’s ok. We all have bragging rights then.
I am waiting with bated breath! I haven’t even started thinking about it, but I’m looking forward to it. Maybe you’ll give us some clues throughout the offseason?
Kluber and Kipnis are my guys. I like this Ramirez guy a lot too – also the closer Allen.
Grading is all in the eye of the beholder. The media is watching from the outside and making judgments like C+. But remember most of them get paid weather they are right or wrong. No one ever goes back to look at predictions to see how accurate.
Good info, Scout. This trend or approach makes me think we could be on the verge of seeing something meaningful from all those young arms you detailed in an earlier post. If not with the Giants, maybe some get packaged for a young OF or two stuck in another organization. I think there is a large group of players stuck in the minors that could become productive MLB players.
Hmm. Apparently, the Cleveland Police Department made fun of the Cubs on Twitter last night. While I don’t have specifics on what they said as I just read on the morning news ticker, that could come back and bite them in the butt, but hopefully not the Indians.
However, the Cleveland police took to social media with a jab on Tuesday after the Indians’ 6-0 win over the Chicago Cubs in Game One of the World Series:
Missing persons report filed for @Cubs offense. 👮🏽#RallyTogether #gooseegg 🐣 #GoTribe 😳⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️ @Indians
— Cleveland Police (@CLEpolice) October 25 2016
I noticed the Cleveland fans in the park seemed really fired up and excited about the game. Guess they didn’t get the memo that it’s the Cubs’ year.
As you mentioned a few days ago, this Indians kind of reminds you of the 2010 Giants. I have to agree with you on that part. Lights out bullpen, under the radar players who shine at the right moment, and a manager who has a midas touch when using the bullpen.
Let’s say the Indians win in five and Kluber wins both of his starts. Let’s also say that Miller has substantial roles in all four wins. Who’s WS MVP?
OK, I guess it could be the young catcher who’s Wally Pipping Yan Gomes right now. Or the young SS. Cleveland is a fun team to root for.
Young Franky will come through in a couple big spots before this thing is over. He’s their BCraw on the big stage.
Big stage, no problem. What a dynamic talent. Not just the best looking SS in the game, but among the best talents that will be garnering MVP votes this year and years to come.
“year and years to come” is a near sure-thing. I like this kid a lot.
He doesn’t seem to have the attitude issues some other infielder in this series has.
If you read the prospect reviews I linked below – the write up on Lindor said that if his bat comes around, look out.
Recall Crawford as the all glove prospect that just needed his bat to come up to snuff – well it did, more than was expected.
I didn’t see the review, but I have watched him come up with surprising power for such a skinny kid. OK, found it.
You are getting ahead of yourself Lefty! This Series has many games to go yet.
Especially with Cleveland trotting out Drone Boy, Tomlin, and maybe Merritt in the next few days.
I like Drone Boy. Know what his major was at Uptown Cookie?
Finger Slicing 101?
Physics.
I like Drone Boy, too. Go Trevor!
Pretty much over the Gs collapse earlier this month and then i had a delivery yesterday at a Winco store in Vacaville and the cute gal signing for the delivery had the last name of yep you guessed it Romo!!! We laughed and joked about it because she’s a fan of the Gs as well.
You are a magnet
Not me! Im happy with my beautiful latina who definately keeps my ass in check!
Aaron Boone is absolutely wonderful on radio doing games. Soothing voice and knows the game inside and out!!
Good radio personnel on espn radio. Sciambi guy is good, Singleton…
For the record, because I haven’t made my WS pick: my heart says Indians, my brain says Cubs in seven. I’m rooting for the Indians.
The first thing I did at the computer this morning was google Jayson Stark’s Twitter timeline to find his story about last night’s game. He’s one of the few baseball reporters in the universe who actually picked Cleveland to win (in 7 games). Jayson sent two tweets last night after the game that hinted at what the topics would be for his story:
Jayson Stark 12 hr ago:
And now a tweet that could throw Cubs nation into instant depression: The winner of Game 1 has won the last 6 World Series – & 24 of 28!
11hr ago:
Cubs wound up with 15 Ks, their most ever in a postseason game, & went 0 for 9 with men in scoring position. The Indians pitched them great.
Jayson Stark’s post-game story:
“Of course, what Kluber did to the Cubs in this game wasn’t quite what Kershaw and Hill did to them in the last round, if only because he’s right-handed and the two Dodgers aces are left-handed. But we’re starting to see signs that this team can be shut down by great pitching this time of year — when guys like Kluber and Miller show up on the mound with a lot greater frequency than they do from April through September.”
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/page/playoffs16_cubsintrouble/why-chicago-cubs-more-trouble-think
Jayson Stark picked Francisco Lindor as MVP. But I’m thinking Corey Kluber, especially if he pitches games 1, 4, 7 which seems to be the audacious plan, or the indefatigable Andrew Miller.
I like every day players for MVPs. Saying that, if it isn’t Franky, it could be Miller.
I was quite happy with Bumgarner as the MVP.
Well, he was almost “every day.”
Andrew Miller: “I’d like to be sharper than I was. I think I can be sharper; I think I will be sharper.”
yeah, get that little bit of rust off and dominate.
Well, Miller hadn’t pitched since Wednesday. This is what Andrew had to say about pitching to David Ross in that inning: “He’s a tricky hitter, because if he connects it will go a long way. You try to play into the aggression. I know it will have to be a different sequence next time, but glad he chased after that pitch. That was a big moment.”
great at-bat there. good find.
Great pitching sequence. There are good stories with terrific quotes all over the place this morning.
His homer was indeed one of the very few unflukey runs the cubs got against the giants.
Rajai Davis: “I just wanted to put my head down and crawl under some rug. I was like, man, that could have been a triple play, or at least a double play. All I had to do is run it to second and it could have been an easy out.
“Good thing we had Miller on the mound. He could take care of the rest.”
Still stunned how game ready Kyle Schwarber looked. Thought for sure he’d get schooled every at-bat. Yes, he K’d twice, but actually looked good doing so in his 2nd K.
I can see why the Cubs believe in him enough to call him up for his series in spite of the massive layoff. He could very well be a natural beast in the batter’s box – he had a surprising amount of balance vs. tough pitchers, he’s got crazy eye hand coordination, but what’s scary is what his wrists do with the bat in the middle of the hitting zone – you can see a whip of the bat in the contact zone which is geared for crazy bat speed at impact and plus-plus power.
You can see why he was drafted 4th overall in spite of lack of a true MLB caliber defensive calling card.
Having said this, he probably goes hitless in remaining at-bats and looks foolish do so. Suede Goats.
…a little rusty on the bases…he conceded that out until Rajai went all Pagan on the throw.
But, Schwarber can HIT.
Awful Baserunning 101, but not hard to see that he can swing the stick like very few.
Schwarber for Miller and the Cubs balked – can see why.
Schwarber won’t last.
Don’t bet too much money on that proposition.
Schwarber is overweight, can’t run, and can’t field. He will likely pull or tear something else running down to first base.
Bet not. My thought: the DH is less than three years away from the NL (I know, I just made you ill). I think they get him in a little better shape and teach him to be a Mike Morse-type LF in case that doesn’t happen. Zobrist to RF, Heyward to CF and phase out Fowler is another plan.
Really? You can that easily? I honestly think Schwarber is headed for a DH role
Looks like John Kruk, with power.
Schwarber sure is a big boy, and he runs poorly. He would have been picked off handily if Rajai Davis had looked and seen second base was empty.
He IS a big boy. You’d think with six months of rehab time he might have taken advantage to work on his figure (or nutrition, or something). Don’t know how much cardio he could do early on with the leg injury, but he could have done something (swimming?)
He sure could have done something. Eat less.
If you’ve ever had knee surgery – and his was major – cardio is pretty limited for a while. It’s all rehab.
A stringent diet was probably his best bet, and I don’t think most of these boys are too much interested in dieting.
That is one scary-ass looking lineup with a non-rusty Schwarber in it. And that was WITHOUT a functioning Heyward in the lineup. Mercy!
Er, uh…15Ks
Well…yeah. I guess that sunk them last year against the Mets, too, didn’t it?
On the other hand they have gotten shut out 3 times in the last 6 games.
Corey Kluber: “I’ll pitch whenever [Francona] asks me to. I think at this point in time, it’s all about doing whatever we can to get four wins before they do. If that means pitching on short rest, then I’m more than willing to do that.”
Sounds like another pitcher we all know.
MadKlu
Tyler Kepner, NYT: The Cubs’ 15 strikeouts is “the most by any team in a World Series game in 31 years.”
Joe Maddon: “Over all, I was not disappointed. I know we had 15 punchouts, I get it. But the quality of at-bats were not that bad.”
Well…he’s right. I’ve seen worse (see 2016 SF Giants in the second half). Still–shut out and 15 Ks is what it is. There are no moral victories at this point.
But the number of pitches miller threw was significant, he could be too tired to pitch much tonight. And he didn’t look great yesterday.
Reminds me of some of Matt Cain’s statements after getting shelled.
I see that as Joe Maddon staying calm and wanting to calm his team.
That’s his job. I could see Bochy saying the same thing.
Except Bochy and the Giants wouldn’t be in this position.
Jon Lester: “I know Andrew and I know his competitiveness. I know how he’s going to approach tomorrow and what he’s going to say to Tito to try to get into that game. But hopefully we were able to work him enough to where he’s down tomorrow and we can not worry about him, and maybe try to get to somebody else.”
Not to kick them when they are collectively down…or nervous….or considering the Willis View Deck…but this re-worded message sent to the team is classic:
“We’ll be meeting in the lounge at noon to celebrate the Cubs being in the World Series. Please join us then.”
Yesterday:
“Get ready to show your Chicago pride tomorrow, and GO CUBS GO!”…it was adorned by a big celebration picture, and another of Harry Caray that said “Bout to make this guy so happy”
Jon Lester hosted a late-night party at his house after the NLCS win. They all stayed up way too late, drank too much. Lester’s house was even TP’d. What was that all about?
They certainly over-celebrated, considering they have a VERY large step to go….
You would think Jon Lester would have known this.
We’re talking about the same guy who thought it appropriate to order in beer and fried chicken to the Red Sox clubhouse while his teammates were out on the field playing, right?–Even though his manager (Francona!) begged him, Lackey, and Lester to be in the dugout supporting the team.
Jerry Crasnick, ESPN: “Their 8-1 postseason record notwithstanding, the Indians have grown accustomed to the national perception that they’re the final speed bump in the Cubs’ inevitable drive to a title.”
SMH
What, nobody gave Cleveland the script? It is not like they have an unbeatable pitcher like Verlander.
Terry Francona seems to like his team being underrated and under the radar.
You have to give it to him for taking risks though. The way he’s using Miller is pretty ingenious.
Andrew Miller wouldn’t have it any other way.
But….Maddon is the genius…aren’t you paying attention?!?!?!
I’ll go with a guy nicknamed Tito any day.
After his dad. That’s pretty cool, too.
One of my earliest baseball names – like Johnny Antonelli and Hobie Landreth! :o)
Francona’s Dad, Tito, a Major League ballplayer for the Indians, took Jimmy Piersall’s place in CF in 1959 and managed to solve a murder case a couple of years later with a HR ball in Spring Training. The Francona dinner table must have been an interesting place.
Who took Jimmy’s spot on the backstop net?
An outraged ump.
There are some interesting parallels between the Warriors and the Cubs. Both had incredible regular seasons. Both barely made it out of an early round (OKC for Warriors, Giants for Cubs) to make the WS. Both were young and arrogant. Both played Cleveland in the champhionship. Could Cleveland take down two behemoths in one year?
Very interesting parallels, cynic.
Except for the “barely made it out of an early round” part – they beat us 3-outa-4 IRRC.
I was reaching to support my theory, ha!
If bochy doesn’t pull moore, giants win game 4, who do you think would’ve won game 5? The giants were outhitting the cubs by more than 50 points. They were very lucky to get out of that one.
Public service announcement in case you missed it: The World Series game starts at 4 p.m. Pacific, 7 p.m. ET tonight. MLB moved it an hour earlier due to weather coming in.
Who was it that predicted a month-long blizzard in Chicago and moving the WS to AZ? I think that would be great. At least Klubot would be able to pitch 2 more times.
That was Mooooooooooooooooose. I like his style.
Even though it’s a GREAT nickname, Kluber stated on the postgame last night that he’s not a big fan of it. Would prefer no nickname, in fact. He seemed like a very humble, down-to-earth guy. I was impressed.
I never liked my nickname that much, but it didn’t stop anybody from using it that I recall.
Gracias Dr.
As great as this Cubs team is based on what the media tells me, working counts, etc., I don’t remember the 2010, 2012, and 2014 Giants being shutout that many times in the playoffs.
No. It was the other way around. The 2010 and 2012 Giants threw four shutouts and the 2014 Giants threw three. Four is the MLB record, which Cleveland has already tied.
Did they get shut out by Roy Halladay in Game 5 of the 2010 NLCS? Other than that, I can’t think of any shutouts in any of those postseason runs. Gotta run to work and can’t look it up right now. Oh, maybe Ventura in that Game 6 blowout in 2014?
Right. The Giants lineup for it’s lack of power was always able to score runs. That’s my memory but yours is much better!
You are correct on 2014. We lost game six to that punk Ventura 10-0. The 2010 LCS Game 5 was 4-2 Phillies.
Terry Francona is flat-out funny sometimes with his droll sense of humor.
Terry Francona on Trevor Bauer: “I was confident last week when I said I didn’t think the finger was going to get in the way. I’m going to say the same thing again this week. And if it doesn’t work, I’m going to make the doctor come up here and talk to you guys.”
Terry Francona on the possibility of Andrew Miller in Game 2: “There’s a lot that can happen tomorrow. One, we might not have a lead. Two, it might rain. Three, we could have a lead and he won’t be available … when you have a lead, you try to win.”
There’s a lot of “deese, dem and dose” in Terry Francona, and I for one find it charming and salt of the earth type stuff. He’s also a very good manager. Reminds me a lot of Bochy.
If not Bochy then Tito.
I’m sure if Tito was the skipper, there’d still be folks that bring out the pitch forks.
As J Street would say – knives and forks
is it true that some moron around here picked the cubs in 4? try learning something about the game, bub…smh
That was my first comment after the game: Well, so much for “Cubs in 4.”
Pay up big boy!!!
calm down skippy..even a blind chicken…
That’s okay… this chicken won’t have to cross the road. He’ll get carried to the otherside with your money!
Chicken Uber!
This series, IMO, has 7 games written all over it.
I’m now hoping for the Indians in 4, since that’s the quickest way to get to the end. If the Cubs win, I’ll switch to anyone in 5.
I don’t get people who supposedly love baseball who aren’t interested in watching this World Series. These are two good teams with two good managers. One team will make history and bring a long-longed-for World Series Championship to their city. What’s not to like?
Agree – a really unusual W/S.
Some people must really be in a hurry to turn our conversation to football, specifically the woes of the 49ers.
Oh, we could talk about that for hours on end, but…let’s not spoil what’s left of this beautiful day. At least here in northwest GA.
🎼 We’re talkin’ baaaaseball
🎼Kipnis and Santana
🎼 Talkin’ baaaaseball
🎼 Lindor and Ramirez
🎼 Baaaaseball… Miller and Tito!
Sing it Matthew – now play the blues on your git!
don’t forget the Dubs!
Once I got over the Giants’ demise (it only took 2 weeks) – it hit me what a cool Series this is between 2 teams separated only by Indiana, esp. with one of the teams being essentially composed of no-names.
p.s. For Giants junkies, Brisbee is running daily nostalgia trips on what they were doing on this date during the past few years:
http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2016/10/26/13420346/sf-giants-2014-world-series-game-5-bumgarner
I think in TO’s case, it’s shtick…he’s at least paying attention if not watching. He had said he’ll never watch the Niners since Harbaugh was let go, and makes a ton of in-game posts that show he’s watching after all.
I’m not “invested” but I am entertained by watching…
I have to care. With the 49ers, I like watching because I’m confident they’re going to make happy by losing. If they were to start to win, and I see little danger of that happening, I wouldn’t watch. I bet it’s been decades since I watched an entire game, in any sport, where I didn’t have a strong rooting interest. If I don’t care about the outcome, it’s not worth my time.
You are The Most Interesting Curmudgeon In The World.
“I don’t watch sports often, but when I do…I complain”
I haven’t had one complaint about Michigan football.
Me first, me first…!
That’s gold right there.
What is worth your time?
All of the other things I need and like to do. I’m not criticizing anyone who chooses to watch. I’m just much more interested in finding out what moves the Giants are going to make, and that’s not going to happen until the season comes to an end.
Sort of the giggling oracle of self fulfilling prophecies.
I choose not to devote 3-4 hours to watching a game where I don’t care who wins.
Not much of a baseball fan, then.
I guess that depends on how you define being a fan.
It’s the World Series. Even though our team isn’t there, I’ll still watch some of it. Since I’m in the EDT time zone I rarely last past the fourth inning, anyway–but I do watch. It’s the two pennant winners, and it’s good baseball.
newp.
I get TO’s sentiment. It’s an investment of time to watch one a game. We all have increased options for our entertainment time. There are 500 channels on cable and that does not include streaming services. There are lots of real life options as well. For me I always have watched the World Series during my life. I remember when the teacher in the sixth grade brought in a TV so we could watch some of it.
But times have changed for me, and the Giants are still the only sports team I will invest time in. I played and love baseball but to invest 4 hours today watching another team is asking a lot. I did watch a few innings before I went back and finished some work. I think TO can still be considered a true fan and not want to invest the time watching someone else play.
To those interested, as you may know, game time today has been moved to an earlier time I think, 6 PM Eastern (3 PM here) to try and avoid rain.
I think it’s 4pm out here, cc
Thanks, I wasn’t sure. In any case, it’s earlier. 😉
Correct. 7:00 PM EDT, 4:00 PM for you left coasters 🙂
Weather Channel app shows 40% chance of rain at 8:00 PM EDT, and steadily increasing to 65-70% by 11:00 PM. Hope they get this in, but not in wet, sloppy conditions. Temperature in the high 40s, not ideal postseason baseball, to say the least.
Coast designations are one of the few times in life where “Left” actually means “Right”
Coast designations are one of the
fewmany times in life where “Left” actually means “Right”thanks for reminder guys, I was thinking it was moved the other direction.
okay gotta get work done so I can get out the door early!
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/fc/f5/3c/fcf53c8e664cb573544f95bdbff29d4c.jpg
for those that are not tom waits fans, do yourself a favor, and listen to this. no thanks necessary..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKQaSZXEK2s
It’ll be interesting to see who ends up having the best career among these young SS: Lindor, Correa, Seager, Turner (could move back to SS soon), Bogaerts, Russell. Bogaerts is the oldest having just turned 24.
Hate to say it but it could be Seager.
Who is Crawford?
CC said he’ll end up at 2B.
Well, Craw ain’t exactly “young” anymore 🙂 More “in his prime”
would you believe he turns 30 next year?
OPS+ 104 in ’14, 113 in ’15, and 106 last year. Have to think his peak performance in field and at plate are going to gradual move downslope. Hopefully a very gradual decline through his contract, remaining largely injury free.
Yeah…he was in my son’s grad year…while my guy played soccer with a bunch of Foothill High dudes for Ballistic Utd., Craw was tearing up the other football pitch as QB.
I might be brain locked, but who is Turner? All I can think of is the red headed monk
Trea Turner. Not your buddy Ginger!
Thanks…
Based on what I’m seeing this postseason – and we don’t get to see him much – Lindor looks ripe for that crown.
Seager and Correa have some amazing skills and their power gives them an advantage, but total package and destined to stay at SS beyond the next few years, it’s got to be Lindor.
Good point about Lindor staying at SS.
Wow. That’s a strong group of young, very talented players. And all at one position. And yes, I’m with Matthew below: I’m plenty happy with our guy Brandon Crawford.
My first instinct was to imagine that Francisco Lindor was an international free agent, signed out of the Dominican at age 16, but no, he is a Puerto Rican citizen that has the same birth date as I do (woo hoo! instant MyGuy), that was drafted out of a Florida H.S., 8th overall in 2011.
So there are some parallels with Carlos Correa, also from PR, but drafted out of academy H.S. in PR., #1 overall in 2012.
Angel Pagan is also Puerto Riqueno! Sabor!
at any rate, it’s a treat watching this guy.
The Windy Pagan Travelling All Stars
I thought Baez was an international guy too but was drafted in same class as Lindor a couple picks behind it hink
New Post: http://fe0.84e.myftpupload.com/giants-history/great-moments-in-giants-postseason-history-game-4-of-the-2014-world-series/
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6facb98d26a5d50b9e1c6a104709a0616a9eee1a7ed39389aa5e3ac72dd68884.jpg
Miss a season but hit a ball off the wall and become a Poster Boy?
Maybe they are aiming at my demographic of my hip MyGuy™ references.