by
Greek Giant
All I want for Christmas is:
- The re-naming of the Giants’ Park to “Willie Mays Field”
- A new GM for the Niners
- A new owner for the Niners
- A new head coach for the Niners
- The Removal of all ads inside Willie Mays Field
- The Resurgence of Timmy’s fastball
- For MadBum to win a Cy Young
- The elimination of the DH
- The elimination of inter-league play
- For Posey to win a World Series MVP
- For Mac Williamson to hit 30 dingers playing left field
- Barry Lamar in the Hall of Fame
- Jeff Kent in the Hall of Fame
- No more jokes about Bruce Bochy’s hat size
- The end of free agent signing speculations…
- For the Giants to win 5 more World Series in my lifetime
- To witness the Giants win a World Series at home
- For Hunter Pence to play 150 games next season
- An interview with Willie Mays
- To play catch with Brandon Crawford
- Peace on Earth
Merry Christmas Everyone!
You had me at “Willie”….
Wow, that’s a long wish list, I don’t think it would fit in Bochy’s cap…whoops
22. Some Christmas plonk.
plonk plongk
noun
1. Chiefly British. inferior or cheap wine.
Plonk originated among Australian soldiers in France during World War I and now is chiefly British. As with many slang terms, its etymology is obscure: it may be an Australian pronunciation of French (vin) blanc meaning “white (wine)” or of an earlier plink-plonk or plinkety-plonk, which may also be alterations of the French phrase. The printed word entered English in the 1920s.
p.s. I would bet Craws plays a wicked game of billiards.
i like ry’s word of the day better..obviate..to remove or eliminate
thanks to TWG, the greek giant has obviated the need to read any other sf giants blog..
merry christmas to you and your family greek. the hard work you’ve put in, and the excellent product you’ve produced, is very appreciated by this giants fan, and many others, i’m sure.
NINERS GET THE FIRST PICK!!!!!!!!
Wait.
I really need #2 on the Greek’s list
#3 before #2….it is a wish list.
I think 3 is a none chance, but 2 is at least possible
Aren’t you always supposed to wish for more wishes?
Bye Bye (again) Rex Ryan
Since the wish list is not all baseball, I’ll add Warriors sweep the Cavs in the Finals with Curry dunking on LeBron.
Props to his parents for the best name on the roster: Prince Charles Iworah
You and I could party successfully Greek.
Christian Ponder – Ponder Christian …
Ponder Samantha….
Deschanel Zooey
Michael Morse (or Morris for Kuip)
http://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/Giants-give-Morse-a-shot-to-come-out-of-10817375.php
I’ll give you a reasonably good chance of 5 out of 21.
That’s a way better batting average than Rollins
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/39c6a8760eb7591b55ccaa27db737396e5dec21201d60d37395123a605b8828b.jpg
Would trade them all in for #21.
…and that the election was really just a bad dream…time to wake up, GSDubs!
All of 2016 was your bad dream. The Warriors won their second straight championship in 5 games, and Draymond was Finals MVP. The Giants–well, it was an even year, enough said!
Looking forward to the Rose Bowl to wake up for the start of a much better year.
Oh, me too. We’re actually flying into Long Beach that morning for a little post-New Year’s vacation (planned months ago), and when ‘SC made the Rose Bowl, I tried to get tickets, but $$$$. We’ll watch it at my in-laws’ house in LB (he’s also an ‘SC alum).
Of course, in the “bad dream” variation, Coach Helton gave Sam the QB job from the beginning and they didn’t lose those games to Stanford or Utah and are in the playoffs instead of Washington.
I think they’ll be ranked in the top 5 preseason next year. And if Adoree and JuJu come back (ok, still in my dream state), they’re a definite natty contender. They may be even if they don’t.
… and Parker.
Evans should just pay Ruggiano a nice stipend to NOT play against the Giants whenever MadBum is pitching.
http://www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/2016/08/watch_mets_justin_ruggiano_smokes_grand_slam_off_g.html
The Crawford baby’s first Christmas. This is so cute that I ALMOST wish we had a baby around.
https://twitter.com/jalynnec35/status/812784693590401024
..”that I ALMOST wish we had a baby around.”
Hmmm…. are there not three choices for that to happen? Better fess up.
Not me, pal. I’m on the retired list.
Are you on the same list as Affeldt’s wife?
A new Left Fielder for the Giants
A new 3rd baseman for the Giants
Posey Moved to first full time
Belt traded for some good minor league prospects
I like #11. Go Mac! Do it for the Chef–he says you were HisGuy™ first.
#1 above will need to be a hybrid as in AT&T Park at Willie Mays Field
#8 will never leave the AL. I’d be happy if it never entered the NL as way back when it was a slam dunk.
#9 – for me? NO Inter-league play ever in September
#12 and #13 will happen – 12 before 13
#14 – that will be hard because HE makes fun of his own head size in a commercial
#19 – You’d have a better chance stopping by his home than him setting something up – he’s a truly spontaneous man and does things on a whim
#20 – If you wait til 35 retires and he attends fantasy camp then done deal.
#22 For Sue Peterson, Staci Slaughter and Larry Baer to agree to “in house” or “special dealio” to retire #22 in a special NON HOF ceremony for Will the Thrill and Jack the Ripper.
And then there’s Hunter Pence…
https://twitter.com/hunterpence/status/812795271163875329
I hate it when he goes off his meds.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7548dff6eeac0e71f87a2fedd04706a210c094426934ba015a86189714441f4f.jpg
Looks like House Belt is represented.
Browns! Browns! Browns!
Niners have the tie breaker
Marcus Mariota’s broken leg looked gruesome 🙁
Derek Carr just left the game with a lower leg injury. Just when it seemed like time to enjoy some football. Hope it is something minor.
Broken fibula. Bummer!!!
Allen and the other players along with the umpires that are here have all bonded and they decided to send you earthlings this years favorite poem-story.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a504e0c96534b3ee2ce2eff367d92a0aba8ffd9f3d8a7040b716046a55330b37.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f48982030a0629579de2953c29e40b3d11c15382531346f0c31dbcf88761ae74.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/38134c9d56ab2f6f608121a6b2f9801eea008c4cae9935eb3030eb0f27a3b9c5.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/84d3d01467bdcf12e4d459eda2207c36cc0880a7e39d7f2606658fb976f9df21.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4faebe2500f2cc43d85e951c3abd81249701a669d3f6b33423d4239d867863b3.jpg
The Giants owners have every right to sell the naming rights to the stadium they financed, as well as well advertising inside. If not for them, the San Francisco Giants would no longer exist. Willie Mays has his number retired, a statue outside the park, an honored place inside the stadium every time he cares to show up, and is still on the payroll. He’s been treated extremely well by the current ownership.
Non sequitur.
Not really. It’s a response to #1.
Wrong
Willie Mays Field at AT&T Park. Keeps the sponsors happy and honors the best player in MLB history.
Mays last season as a Giant came nearly 30 years before the park opened. Nevertheless, in addition to everything else, even the street address of the park is 24 Willie Mays Plaza. Naming the field just detracts from what the sponsors paid for the naming rights. He’s been honored enough.
Boom
I gotta hand it to you, you’re always stirrin’ up the sheet.
Mele Kalikimaka.
It’s just an opinion, which shouldn’t stir up anything besides other opinions.
Great meaningless win by the 49ers, and I love Kaepernick’s black power touchdown salute. He’s the Jackie Robinson of the NFL
Any self respecting organization would be playing another QB to make sure they didn’t win.
I didn’t know the Browns had won today, so I’m glad the 49ers won as well. Perfect.
I can see you’ve Played before
Love that he keeps getting your goat
He’s not getting anyone’s goat. He’s just looking like a fool.
A marketing guys nightmare, deLogoing labelled goods.
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/why-some-consumers-want-no-logos-their-gifts-season-n699521
nothing new, it’s been happening in the core urban centers for over 1/2 a decade now
22. Michael Morse on a minor league contract. (Check!)
http://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/Giants-give-Morse-a-shot-to-come-out-of-10817375.php
#19 would be beyond awesome.
Analytics in baseball is a self limiting tool in as most teams adopt it. The decline in pitch framing’s effectiveness.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/pitch-framing-was-doomed-from-the-start/
This guy should be immediately fired. It makes me sick that he wears a uniform, and I hope he never wears one again. It also makes me sick that his actions will be used to support the false idea that his actions are in any way representative of the one million plus cops in this country, or the thousands of police interactions that take place every day.
https://www.facebook.com/Porsha.Craver.26/videos/10211610596565571/
No kidding, I couldn’t even watch it all, it was like he slept through any de-escalation training that he might have had.
It goes far beyond that. Things like special de-escalation training are implemented for primarily political reasons. They are basic principles that any decent cop already uses. This guy just has no business doing that job.
403
Mike asked you this question once about something you posted. I’m going to ask the question again: “Why are you posting this here?”
Because I felt like it, just like everyone else that posts things here. I’m not sure the point of your question. If you’re asking why I brought up something that wasn’t related to baseball, the answer is still the same. As I know you’re aware, discussion here isn’t always limited to baseball. I commented about this for the same reason people link songs. Beyond that, I’ve often defended the actions of cops that others are condemning. There is no defense for this guy.
Just because it’s Christmas doesn’t mean there’s peace on earth. But wishing you a peaceful Christmas, season, and New Year.
Same to you. Going to work later, but it could be peaceful. Christmas Eve didn’t work out too well in that regard. I hope the new year brings good news about your mom.
Thank you. She’s been doing great already.
I believe this is the start of a beautiful friendship:-)
POTD
Stay safe Sir!
I suggest you post stuff like this on your cop blog, Pete Malloy.
I know you have a lot of helpful suggestions about what people should do, say or think. I’ll file this one with the others.
Yeah, Merry Christmas and have a good day, you jerk.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
Joyous Noel, All.
Have you traveled east or did you post at 4:30 AM?
Have a good cup of coffee either way.
Was up at 3 AM and still missed him.
Hoped for Revere signing off a down, injury plagued season. Still hope the bring Gregor back on incentive laden one year deal.
merry christmas, folks. it’s an honor, as well as a pleasure, to be associated with so many quality individuals.
Thanks Greek … Your work kept us from being sold to Tampa Bay in a ’92 dejavu.
amen
Merry Everything to Croix and his son, Vegas Giant Fan, The Farnz and our Pals Mike and Merna.
Merry Christmas, Everyone!
Merry Christmas and/or Happy Hanukkah, TWGers!
Noe…Noe…Noe…
There’s no L…
Well then, give’em L.
I’d like to give a big up vote to all! Have a great day. Peace everyone.
This is the ‘best of’ season, where it seems everything gets ranked and put on a list by somebody. The best superhero comics of the year.
http://www.dailydot.com/parsec/best-superhero-sci-fi-comics-2016/
A wow story of the minor league prospect for the Braves who became a mob hitman.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/sports/baseball/maurice-lerner-prospect-turned-mob-hitman.html
Curry and Thompson are both playing like they did in the finals: dumb and with a lack of intensity. Durant came to play. The other two need to extract their heads.
they will
One did.
Durant and Klay played well, Steph is soft,
Spatchcocking a turkey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FnIbxvLBLw
Merry Christmas to all!
What are the TWG chefs tackling after the Dub’s game? The boys wanted Beef Wellington again, so that’s the plan around here.
In our Vegan household, it’s portobello pot roast, with freshly steamed asparagus and broccoli. Delicious and healthy as well.
That sounds great.
Kerr needs to give McGee more time.
He will
Everyone else does their job, but Curry barely shows up and gets thoroughly outplayed by Irving, so the Warriors lose.
Mark Jackson keeps taking over in the clutch. Call a time out and come out of it standing around.
You mean at the end?
Yep in Kyrie Irving’s mind he has Steph’s number and I can’t disagree. KD matched Lebron’s production.
I think Kerr deserves some blame. It’s clear Lue has made adjustments since Game 5 like playing more Jefferson. Kerr has done little other than play his guys. He needs to find a way to help Curry succeed.
Kerr has proven he can coach. Curry is the two-time NBA MVP. He shouldn’t need the coach to do something special to help him succeed. He just needs to show up with intensity and toughness against the Cavs. An off shooting night is one thing, but Curry had only three assists. He must drive Kerr crazy at times, like when he blew a 3 on 1 in the second half by choosing to try to make an unnecessary, behind-the-back pass. He needs to stop worrying about putting on a show. The greatness of his shooting is enough of a show. Play to win.
Just stopping in for a quick “merry Christmas, etc.” Diane and I are both well, wishing everyone here All The Best. And, LGGs! (Let’s go Giants)
Will be off line a day or so..
Feliz Navidad, Street.
Joyeux Noel Paul. Had Christmas dinner guests from southern Brittany, Nice, Oregon and Amsterdam. Quite a collective. Dishes are done. Last sip of Mumms. A joyous holiday in France, and all the best to you and all the TWGers.
Merci, beaucoup, Ami. What a nice message.
We are going to Paree on Jan. 19 for my wife’s birthday!
Feliz Navidad!! paul
Singer George Michael died this weekend.
He deliberately turned his back on the money and fame involved with being a teen idol to do the music he wanted to do, which I thought was pretty cool.
I guess both of them have now moved on to other pastures.
http://misterirrelevant.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/george-michael-sports-machine.jpg
Somewhere my brother probably has old VHS’s of the Sports Machine monthly and yearly blooper reels.
Is Wally Pipp going to be checking in now with a joke about George Michael and the men’s restroom in Heaven? I’m thinking probably not, which should let everyone know that I’m not Wally Pipp.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! Yesterday I heard the pleasant sound of bat striking ball — the high school near my house was practicing, baseball in Japan is a year round lifestyle for students.
I meant to post on the Allen memorial post, I looked through many of his pictures on his website that day, and while admiring the beautiful pictures and scenes was reminded of a quote by Dorothea Lange — “a camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera.” Looking at Allen’s photos, it struck me how beautiful this world is and how many lovely things there are in it. At the end of this year, feeling some unease about the direction of things, it was a good reminder that there are many beautiful and wonderful things, like this blog for instance! Best wishes to everyone here for the upcoming year.
God bless, doobie.
Thanks Paul, and the same to you and yours.
What a wonderful 2016 Christmas post, doobie. My vote for Featured Comment. I know I’ve told you this before, but you have one of the best avatars.
The Luthier’s Lullaby. The Strativari secret may be out. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/20/science/stradivari-violin-wood.html?contentCollection=weekendreads&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=c-column-middle-span-region®ion=c-column-middle-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-middle-span-region
Thank you. That was a nice Christmas present of a link. For a stocking stuffer, I got my wife the Mark Knopler – Emmylou Harris ‘All the Roadrunning’ CD. Listening to it now. She has good taste.
You’re welcome. With all the musicians here, I thought you guys might enjoy the read.
This is a fun read on the presents the Giants opened early, which also happens to be our tradition…
http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2016/12/24/14075736/sf-giants-michael-morse-justin-ruggiano
Thanks, Ryan. Grant Brisbee talks about Morse and Ruggiano in terms of baseball moves, and Ruggiano comes out ahead in that department: “Ruggiano is a classic Giants bench signing, and if he can stay healthy, he can hit a lot more than a team should expect from a minor-league free agent.”
Michael Morse rates higher in terms of nostalgia and intangibles. I wish one of our reporters would expound on what Hank first reported: Bobby Evans said that Morse called the Giants and asked for the contract. That sounds like an interesting backstory.
Please add resigning/extending MadBum
I dunno. How is that Cain contract working out and we would have all thought the same in 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0KqeCJxSYk
Night all you Rain Deer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ju2DjMaJ7o
A few days behind. Brisbee is right, something’s up in the giants’ middle infield. Kelby could be traded, there’s gotta be some team who’ll give him a real shot at a starting position.
MLB should have a max contract for any player of 4 years! Guys signing 5.6,7 year contracts rarely live up to the expectations of the contract!
Can I be honest? Thank God Christmas is (almost) over. I exhausted myself cooking and hosting and we’re still not done with all the dishes from yesterday, despite a major round of clean-up last night.
Lefty Jr’s boyfriend has the Parents From Hell. For the third Christmas in a row, she spent parts of the holiday in tears and/or fighting with him because they snub and exclude her and monopolize his time when the two of them would like to spend some/all of Christmas together. (They’ve been together 3 1/2 years and are now living together. She has a point.).
We spent a lot of Christmas dinner talking with our sister- and brother-in-law (and our daughter and their son, our nephew) about my mother-in-law’s alarming and rapidly increasing memory issues and what we need to do. And today Mr. L and I have to drive to Modesto to eat a Papa Murphy’s lunch with his chain-smoking, Fox-News-watching father and stepmother (who refuse to ever visit us even though we’re 90 minutes away and they’re retired and healthy enough to drive and have a nice car)–my husband feels obligated to make a duty visit a couple times a year and I grit my teeth and go along.
And the Warriors lost a frustrating game that brought back all the bad Finals memories, with our teenage nephew, a Lakers fan and Warriors hater, openly sneering at them in our house. UGH
All hail Festivus, and thank God there isn’t Christmas again for 364 days.
My food turned out well, though, if I do say so myself!
I bet it did. I served up some rare filet on the 24th, but popped it back under the broiler …
…but my scrambled eggs and sausage were pretty rockin’ in the morn.
Your grievances have been duly aired !
They watch Fox News? How awful.
Awfully fair and balanced of them. Was it a quiet night for you?
Pretty quiet.
I should have clarified. I don’t care if THEY watch it. I meant that it’s on when we’re there, so WE have to watch it. Generally speaking, I’m against the TV being on at all when relatives you barely ever see have made the effort to come see you–unless, of course, it’s a gathering that’s specifically planned around a sporting event. But the smoke is the worst part, anyway. I have literally put my purse and clothes in our backyard to air after visiting them.
I had the same problem at my twin brother’s in FL last month. The background static was intolerable. Fortunatey I had a room at the local Best Western.
The place that helped us the most with an elderly relative: USC Geriatric Studies Center at the USC Health Sciences Campus located between the Pasadena and San Bernardino Freeways in LA. We called and scheduled the evaluation, then drove down from Montana. The family is included in everything except the individual assessment.
Thanks, dgg. They live in Long Beach, so that’s accessible. I’ve also been conferring with my mom, a retired therapist who was all-but-dissertation in clinical psychology. My mother-in-law is on anti-anxiety meds, and my mom says some of those can cause memory problems. We’re going to follow up when we visit them next week. She’s already been evaluated for Alzheimer’s, and her memory issues are odd short-term ones. It keeps getting worse, though, and it’s scary and upsetting for everyone, especially her. She’s only 76, by the way.
Lefty,
If I had known earlier I would have invited you to stop some place in Stockton for a bit of cheer on your way down to Modesto. But this afternoon we are having an open house as a kind of good bye to my Father-in-law. He is not doing well and I’m not sure he will be here come the first of the year. So we are having family in for one last Christmas gathering. Stay sane and safe in your travels today.
Thanks, Noce. I’m sorry about your father-in-law. Hope you have a good family day together.
OMG yer a saint. Mr. L. too.
You STILL do dishes??? That is what inlaws and KIDS are for.
What’s that? A hidden present behind the tree, behind the sofa? Could it be a Red Rider bee-bee gun?
No, it’s minor league catching depth. The Giants sign Josmil Pinto:
“The Giants inked catcher Josmil Pinto to a minor league deal. Pinto appeared in six games with Milwaukee last season, his first MLB exposure since 2014. The backstop has 84 games and 286 plate appearances to his record with the Brewers and Twins, as well as a .274/.349/.442 slash line over 3242 minor league PA.”
Maybe he’s got an air rifle for an arm. Maybe he’s just as good with Andrew Susac. His slash line would seem to reflect that possibility.
BA’s Matt Eddy is sure keeping track of all these Minor MLB transactions.
Need some baseball reading material?
https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2016/12/24/nick-cafardo-just-time-for-holidays-rusney-castillo-was-reunited-with-his-mom-and-son/hQoIFYMjx5nNzVkk9n0v1J/story.html
New Post: http://fe0.84e.myftpupload.com/giants-offseason-news/what-do-the-justin-ruggiano-and-michael-morse-signings-mean-for-the-giants/
My $0.02 on the Warriors loss…
– Anyone that says the Cavs are in the Warriors heads are…not correct. 20+ turnovers? That’s what lost the game.
– I’m not a “cry referees” kind of guy, but yesterday was pathetic. Calls so even out in a game, but Lebron’s rim hanging incident was at least 20% more than what Draymond got called for the other night. I can’t remember if it was Jackson or Van Gundy said, “That’s the longest I’ve seen anyone hang one the rim”. One of them then followed up with “you have to be consistent in the calls (with regard to rim hanging). Heck…one of the refs (after the TV timeout) looked like he was giving Lebron props for his rim incident. Silver needs to stop with the Lebron “knee pads” and tell his referees to start being consistent when it comes to James. That “T” should have been called and we would be in OT.
– I’m sorry, but “no call” on that trip to end the game? That wasn’t 2 people fighting for a ball…it’s was an offensive player…with the ball in his hands…being tripped by the defender; regardless if it was intentional or not. It altered Durant’s ability to make a play. Van Gundy had it right, “it was a foul”. (Jackson had already drank the Cavs kool-aid, by then and said “it was the right no-call”.
– I’m OK with Steph having an “off” shooting night, but this behind-the-back pass crap needs to go! Maybe he should look at some Kyrie video and see how many times he passes behind the back. Draymond made some less-than-smart passes to. Don’t get so darn fancy…makes smart passes and don’t try and “thread the needle” every time. That game shouldn’t have been that close.
– I’m not sure what was with Iggy last night. I’m not sure if he lost a step or LeBron has him figured out (finally), but that wasn’t Iggy’s usual stellar defense against #23.
I’m sure glad I cooled down before I wrote this (wink, wink)
Yeah, on the one hand, I’m not worried about a one-point loss on the road when they’ve played three games in four days in three different road cities. On the other, they controlled the game and had a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, and the meltdown was depressingly similar to Game 7. I’m not sure what was up with Steph, and it’s alarming that you can have such a great game from Durant and STILL lose.
I was having a fit about the rim thing because of Draymond getting T-d up for the exact same thing a few days ago–and for a far less dramatic version. Seriously, they call Jefferson for a T for a little wink and they let LBJ get away with that? Ridiculous.
I actually will not be stunned if the NBA announces today that both of those calls (the non-T for LBJ and KD getting tripped) were erroneous.
Yep…it doesn’t change the game result, but acknowledge the mistakes. I was right there with you about the rim-hanging; especially after Draymond’s technical a few nights ago. Mrs. KIR heard some prime language coming from me after that game. 😮