by
Greek Giant
When I was a kid I was fortunate enough to live where my team, the Expos, Spring Trained in West Palm Beach. I attended many games, watched practices, harassed Andre Dawson and Gary Carter for autographs, and generally had a wonderful time dreaming of the Major Leagues and learning about the prospects on my team.
Spring Training is a special time for baseball fans because the pressure of winning is off and you can simply watch great athletes hone their skills. It is also a chance, as I mentioned, to learn more about young players and prep those memory banks. I could always claim that I watched Vladimir Guerrero and Moises Alou when they were still in A ball.
For the Giants, the prospects are looking promising. Tyler Beede will be in Scottsdale. So will Christian Arroyo, I presume.
I would love to watch Austin Slater and Christian Arroyo hit. I remember watching Mac Williamson play two years ago and being impressed with his power, thinking that he had the Major League swagger and was going to be a solid player. I felt the same way watching Brandon Crawford years ago.
The Giants recently announced their 2017 Spring Training schedule. Tickets for individual games go on sale on Thursday, January 12, 2017 at 10 AM PST. Spring Training is right around the corner Giants fans and I, for one, cannot wait till pitchers and catchers report in 34 days.
It has been a long, hard winter without baseball. The NFL is mind-numbingly boring this season. The real NHL season doesn’t get underway till the playoffs start in April. We have had to make do with talking to each other on this blog and watching College basketball and football perhaps.
This year the Giants will enter Spring Training with a few question marks about left field and perhaps an infield reserve, but not many others. The starting rotation is mostly set, with the possible exception of the number 5 starter (Ty Blach? Matt Cain?).
I highly recommend a Spring Training getaway and the Giants are offering a variety of travel promotions to Scottsdale.
There is one more lovely thing about Spring Training: your team is undefeated and its flaws are hidden. Joy and optimism reign and the anticipation of opening day makes for a sweet 6 weeks!
Breckeroni rues the loss of this tree to the Pineapple Express:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38561877
That musta been one tremendous crepitation!
crepitate
KREP-i-teyt
verb
1. to make a crackling sound; crackle.
Quotes
Kate could hardly remember now the dry rigid pallor of the heat, when the whole earth seemed to crepitate viciously with dry malevolence; like memory gone dry and sterile, hellish.
— D. H. Lawrence, The Plumed Serpent, 1926
I love Latin.
awesome word! We can now stop any would-be philospher dead in their tracks: when the tree fell in the forest, it did crepitate. (and they’ll have to shut up while they look for a dictionary).
Sadly. A tree in the forest did fall yesterday.
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/01/09/us/10xp-tree/10xp-tree-master768.jpg
http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/09/us/pioneer-cabin-tree-sequoia.html
I had a obnoxious friend who used to be “that guy” at bars. A real crepitate
Oops…doesn’t quite fit. Creepitate?
Now you’re cooking.
Expectorate is to cough as crepitate is to fart.
Having a hole in the trunk didn’t help keeping tree in ground.
Above it says “We have had to make do with talking to each other on this blog”. True, this isn’t real baseball, but TWG is the next best thing we have. Gracias, GG.
We’ve always had great, informative threads on this blog during the off-season. With TWG, we took it to an even higher level this off-season. Speaks to what a great community we have here.
You’re just upset that Shea Weber is picking off teammates!
Well, tha Habs look pretty good so far but we shall see what happens come playoff time!
Sorry GG, but my Sharks beat Les Habitants a few weeks ago. I did, howevet, watch a story on the Canadiens on NHL Network a few weeks back. Pretty impressive stuff.
Guess the league didn’t get the memo about Steph being a “weak-minded” drag on his team.
https://twitter.com/warriors/status/818571814951534593
Weak-minded…Efrain the racist troll’s latest nonsense.
Right?! What does that even mean, anyway?
This is not supporting Efrain in any way/shape/form, but I do sense some lack of killer-instinct on the Warriors. Draymond has it. Iggy did have it (still missing this season, IMO), Klay only has it when he’s “lights out”, and I think Steph is morphing into Klay in that regard. Durant is showing more of it, as he gets more comfortable on this team…and his x=crazy drives to the basket seems to be supporting this (slamming over Boogie?).
Hopefully Iggy and Steph get back to 2016 killer-instinct, because the Warriors need it and Steph is starting to get a “soft” reputation. Klay will continue being Klay…and that’s OK with me…because he gets the toughest defensive assignments almost every night.
You basically just said the same thing in your words genius
I’ll take that over you being an Ahole any day.
Hey George, Grant Brisbee is stealing your stuff! Didn’t you already cover this at least a month ago?
http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2017/1/9/14214900/sf-giants-mac-williamson-jarrett-parker-platoon?utm_campaign=mccoveychronicles&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
I was thinking the same thing when I read it today! Indeed. But it’s ok, I will take it as a compliment! Thanks for the heads up Lefty!
Brisbee got nothin’ on our Greek Giant! Much better community here as well. TWG, Baby!
The Giant Greek – (the effervescent G*d Dam* Greek)
Bochy will platoon them anyway, he loves his Lefties hit Righties, Righties hit Lefties, moves, it is by the book, so he will not get blamed , even if the splits say otherwise , and he will never change .
Damn I hope not.
You like stupid stubborn people, I guess .
…as long as they’re likeable. Or lovable!
There would be a place in my heart for you, were that true.
I could cackle if your heritage lineage had you a long lost nephew to Mr. Bochy
Speaking of spring training and left field, it could be one hot competition. Whoever breaks camp raking may get the benefit of the doubt and play mostly every day until proven otherwise. Not only would Mac and Park be going head to head, but also into the scrum would be the likes of Justin Ruggiano, Chris Marrero, Gorkys Hernandez, Austin Slater and even Mike Morse.
Damned straight they shouldn’t have a platoon … because left field/offense was their biggest need, and they chose to make a marketing decision rather than a baseball decision, and they overpaid for a closer. But … the game is a business, etc etc etc.
Interesting article, and informative graphic of brain trauma in the NFL. It points out the traumatic motion a protective aid should prevent.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/09/sports/football/what-happened-within-this-players-skull-football-concussions.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
Dolphins QB Matt Moore got hit helmet-to-helmet yesterday…and it was scary. He missed one play. One. The doctors cleared him. After a few seconds.
The NFL’s concussion protocol is a joke
He got hit in the chin from the replay I seen .
Yup…”helmet-to-chin” is probably more descriptive, Peter, huh?
In the famous words of Dilbert: “pretend to care”.
I was actually shaking my head because he clearly aimed for the chest and got part of the chin…then they called the penalty. It wasn’t a typical helmet-to-helmet (obvious) penalty IMO. I just don’t know what you can do…and not do…in an NFL game anymore. Crazy.
Last thread, the notion of backup catcher upgrade and 3rd string catcher was brought up.
Oh yeah, the Giants had signed Tim Federowicz (didn’t he play with the Detroit Red Wings?).
Isn’t he a TE for the Houston Texans? 🙂
Tim (eye chart) Federowicz
An excerpt of a letter written to Amos Tversky by Bill James in 1985 I alluded to yesterday.. Prescient of baseball today.
“Baseball men, living from day to day in the clutch of carefully
metered chance occurrences, have developed an entire bestiary of
imagined causes to tie together and thus make sense of patterns that are
in truth entirely accidental,” James wrote. “They have an entire
vocabulary of completely imaginary concepts used to tie together chance
groupings. It includes ‘momentum,’ ‘confidence,’ ‘seeing the ball well,’
‘slumps,’ ‘guts,’ ‘clutch ability,’ being ‘hot’ and ‘cold,’ ‘not being
aggressive’ and my all time favorite the ‘intangibles.’ By such
concepts, the baseball man gains a feeling of control over a universe
that swings him up and down and tosses him from side to side like a yoyo
in a high wind.” It wasn’t just baseball he was writing about, James
continued. “I think that the randomness of fate applies to all of us as
much as baseball men, though it might be exacerbated by the orderliness
of their successes and failures.”
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2011/12/michael-lewis-201112
What would the ballplayer say about the intellectual in the ivory tower?
Matt Duffy would agree for the most part. What James says doesn’t in my opinion make baseball any the less interesting. I think James saying metaphorically, the tobacco stains aren’t the game. There is a much richer more interesting set of events going on than all histories keepsakes like ‘intangibles’ suggest. If he’s right, and baseball management thinks he is, if you don’t learn to appreciate the analytics communities perspective, you have no hope of understanding The Game’s evolution. As I’ve said before, there are a lot of windows to look through to appreciate The Game, choose the one you like.
Any A’s fans in the house? 😉
The Donaldson trade still looks like a disaster, but at the very least their top prospect and top 20 overall (or **** prospect) came via that deal. They also stole a good one from the Dodgers in the Hill/Reddick trade, Jharel Cotton. Don’t laugh, they could be competitive by 2018.
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2017/1/9/14218632/oakland-athletics-top-20-prospects-for-2017
Sergio Romo commited to pitch for Team Mejico.
Which MLB team will he commit to pitch for?
Los Angelino Halos
Orale!
orale – Mexican/chicano word that not only means “hell yeah” or “roght on”, but has lots and lots of meanings. Also used to: indicate surprise (“Orale, homes, that bi*ch has a huge a$$!”). Orale, homes. Pass the J, ese.
Wow
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8574af2d21a193f59897a162a27892a29df5b00a8b8337df4315d7e8a2f107e1.jpg
Here is what we get from 100 feet of French drain along a concrete wall at our place. That is a 3 inch pipe.
So yes, your project will make a difference. It will be like handing the ball to Melancon in the 9th … highly effective and give you peace of mind. Right now you have the Castilla Version… leaky and stressful.
Nice. I’ve read that while the rest of the world was busy fighting the Nazis, the French were working on their drain technology. I guess it paid off.
Say what you will about them in other areas but Drains are in their Wheel House.
and coffee press, and laundry, and toast, and philosophy.
Awesome!
I laid out plastic sheeting and a trash can with an outlet at the bottom to redirect the roof water and keep it out of garage. It worked, but I need to do a french drain, which entails getting a big pile of gravel.
We had that in a yard once, the only issue that arose was root invasion. The guy who put it in discovered he had a small fault crevasse under the yard and vectored the drains to fill it. He had planted a veritable orchard on that hill side in EDH above the water catchment, and his French drain strategy kept it full, and his trees (apple, apricot, plum, peach) were well watered all summer. The guy did all this in th 1960-70s. I thought him a genius.
Nice ESPN summary on last nights DUBS game
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Steve Kerr pulled a Gregg Popovich. One missed defensive assignment with no backdoor help on DeMarcus Cousins, and Kerr called a timeout 18 seconds into the game. “Nobody can make a move like Pop, I’m a very cheap version of him, if at all,” the Golden State coach quipped about Popovich, the longtime San Antonio coach.”It definitely made a statement,” Draymond Green said.
Stephen Curry scored 30 points and the defense started rolling after halftime, with the Warriors taking their first lead midway through the third quarter on the way to a 117-106 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night.Once the 3-pointers began to fall, the Warriors were on their way.Kevin Durant had 28 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four blocks, and Klay Thompson added 18 points. The Warriors reached 124 regular-season games in a row without suffering back-to-back defeats. “It’s deflating for other teams when we can get stops and protect the rim, get steals, force them into tough shots and tough misses and on the other end we’re just running it right back down the paint,” Curry said. “We have to allow that part of our game to shine.”
Green had 10 assists for his 12th game with double digits assists and third in four, while Zaza Pachulia scored 10 points to reach double figures for the fourth straight game. Yet one for the highlight reel was Pachulia’s no-look, backward over-the-head pass to Curry after the big man got the ball when Durant blocked a shot by Cousins.”We scored, right? Nobody’s going to say anything. If it was a turnover, first thing on the film,” Pachulia said.Sacramento’s Rudy Gay scored 15 of his 23 points in the first quarter. Cousins had 17.Golden State had 30 assists for the 26th time this season and won its 13th straight against the Kings, seventh in a row in Sacramento.
The Warriors woke up after halftime, starting the third with a 19-7 burst and outscoring the Kings 39-22 in the period. Golden State didn’t lead until Curry’s 3-pointer with 7:34 left in the third, following Durant’s tying 3 the previous possession. Curry hit five 3-pointers and has at least 30 points in three consecutive games. Gay shot 9 for 17 in his second game back after missing four straight with a right hip flexor strain and 10 of 11. Cousins went 4 for 11.
“We always have that one quarter or one little stretch where we have bad basketball,” Cousins said. “It comes back to bite us in the end.”The Warriors went 3 for 14 from long range in the first half, then shots fell as the defense improved.Before the game, Kings coach Dave Joerger joked, “Ask `em nicely if they won’t shoot so many.”The Warriors just needed some time to warm up after choosing not to shoot-around in the morning with a 6 p.m. tip-off even with it being their first visit to the new Golden 1 Center. They didn’t relinquish this one, two days after squandering a 24-point lead in the second half of a 128-119 overtime home loss to Memphis.
BOLLYWOOD GAME The special “Bollywood Night” game marked the first regular-season NBA game to be livestreamed on Facebook, this time only to fans in India.There was Indian-themed entertainment and music and even a Henna tattoo station.
TIP-INS – Warriors: Durant notched his 700th regular-season block in the second quarter and had at least three blocks for a third straight game. That matches a career-long streak also done from Nov. 25-30, 2015. …. The team’s winning streak against the Kings is its longest active unbeaten run against any opponent and tied for third-longest in franchise history behind a 14-gamer against Dallas from 1991-94 and 15-game winning streak from 1947-49 vs. the Providence Steamrollers. … San Francisco mayor Ed Lee was in attendance, while Giants CEO Larry Baer sat courtside and got a first-quarter shout out on the enormous scoreboard. Kings: Cousins received a technical — his 12th — 4:14 before halftime after punching a chair following his third foul. … The Warriors were the last Pacific Division opponent the Kings had yet to face. Golden State returns to the Golden 1 Center on Feb. 4 before the Kings visit Oakland on Feb. 15 and March 24. … Sacramento hasn’t beaten Golden State since March 27, 2013, and last at home 131-127 on Dec. 19, 2012.
UP NEXT – Warriors: Host Miami on Tuesday looking for a fifth straight win in the series and third consecutive at Oracle Arena. Kings: Host Detroit on Tuesday in the fourth game of a seven-game home-stand.
For JStreet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XRE8FSkxQg
I have 2 albums the first with Jimmy Nocturne with Kim Nalley and the second is Million dollar secrets with Jimmy Nocturne. Love her vocals and they mixed well with a Sax
my wife bought us tickets to see sonny landreth for christmas. the show was last night, and ryan wanted to know how it was. my review:
for those of you unfamiliar with sonny landreth, and i’m guessing that is most of you, he’s a slide guitarist, in his mid 60’s from louisiana. he’s played with john hiatt, jimmy buffet, mark knopfler, eric clapton, and others. he has a distinctive style. he not only plays the slide, but he also plays chords, and notes behind the slide. he gets sounds and tones that are amazing. last night, he started out by doing an acoustic set. his drummer was playing a cajon. ryan, i’m sure you know what that is. for anyone who is not familiar, just a quick google if you’re curious. i’d seen them, but didn’t know what they were called. his bass guy was playing a bass just a little bigger than a ukulele. the only song i was familiar with was his cover of “key to the highway”, but i don’t know his library at all, so that was no surprise. the set was thoroughly enjoyable, and the 45 minutes flew by.
after a ten minute break, they came back, and played an electric set. he’s got a new cd coming out, and they did a few cuts from that, as well as some of his other songs. now landreth does all the singing, and he doesn’t make you forget about pavarotti, but for the blues, it’s fine. what the man is known for is playing guitar, and i have to tell you, i’ve never seen, or heard a guy play git like him. i find it mind boggling that people can say clapton is God, and this guy can be a virtual unknown. sorry, but i just don’t get it. granted, we had a snow storm the day before, and it was frigid out, but the venue, which only holds about 250 people, was less than half filled.
if you enjoy the blues, and want to see a man that can play the guitar as well as anyone, you will not be disappointed with sonny landreth.
thank you so much sir!
so many gifted guitar players that have been playing and playing that they too are god-like in their sounds.
I know you know Ronnie Earl too, he is a true blues virtuoso and these guys know who buttered their bread – all the Robert Johnson, Lighting Hopkins, Luther Tucker’s of the world…
Thank you Steve k for introducing me to Sonny Landreth! Just watched three videos on You Tube. This one was my favorite, since I’m also a huge Clapton fan. Again, thanks, Steve! (Autocorrect won’t let me do Steve all lower case!)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MENVyieB8rY
Rad. I’d love to go to a Crossroads Festival.
i was just looking around, and found a video of sonny and derek playing together, doing ‘congo square’. the neat thing is that clapton is on stage as well, playing bass! i never saw that. i didn’t post it because people might complain about too many musicvideos, but it’s easy to find if you want to check it out.
how many videos is too many videos, right?
the question we all struggle with each day 🙂
i guess it depends who you ask. on further review, that may have just been an eric doppelganger..
Nice review. He is great.
Before the Doors hit it big
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5ae0935cc4cb7e78d5cb55eee9ddc776bb3a356c48e08de5d43b411c03639120.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f8d55600214466de194ac51740f6cfab45ed672c66c66f3f67a8dfe9b022d720.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c0ead1097d99257a4721d2f8e17f77f090894e0139d29cae4e822ed6ccf0ccb2.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/185324acda6d133bf4d265c47d8a503886aa71c285679e51773283892185dc11.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c7c9d292abedb189eefb1566d9225466aec97a6686182b682b26dc9485ecafbe.jpg
Good Nite Allen. Best to Clemson!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c4331f364e83ee263a54d3d1eca507b3414f0e67cc152977712020ac3292ff5c.png
Baseball news!
Colby Rasmus to the Rays.
Shazam!
Alexi Amarista to the Rox! For actual money!
Every time I see that name I flash on Paul in PV telling us how “Snorkel hated all those little fleas whose names started and ended with A. Always makes me smile.
I’m with Snorkel. My two memories of him are (a) almost breaking up Timmy’s 1st no-hitter (Pence made a diving catch) and (b) ruining our Fourth of July in 2014 by hitting a homer off Cain for the only runs of the game (we’d flown to SD for the weekend series). Annoying little mosquito. I’m just surprised anyone paid him money after the Padres cut him loose. He never did anything except against the Giants.
“Annoying little mosquito” Aren’t they all?
Mosquitos, not 27 YO fly-weight Spaniards
Spaniards?
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Retrato_de_Hern%C3%A1n_Cort%C3%A9s.jpg/220px-Retrato_de_Hern%C3%A1n_Cort%C3%A9s.jpg
Yes, indeed, double redundancy. Slammed with a flu bug right now and not on my verbal game.
Don’t want to use all your sick-day excuses so early in the year. You may have to do some deficit spending next November.
Curses, nonetheless.
Ugh, tomorrow’s my first day of class for winter quarter. I’m hoping to slam down enough Thera-Flu/Dayquil, etc. to at least go meet my class. I could barely get out of bed today and I can’t stop coughing.
Have any TAs? Might not be a good idea to be patient #1 for the imminent UCD epidemic.
Not this time. It’s a small (25 students) advanced writing class for pre-law students. In a computer lab classroom, so I can spread my germs on the keyboard and mouse for the other classes, too.
I have all materials on the course website, so if I’m really too sick to go, I can contact the students and tell them to look everything over. I don’t think I’ve ever, in all my years of teaching, missed the first day of class, though.
Oh, and Round 2 of Hellastorm is heading in, AND the Teamsters (all admin/clerical personnel) are striking on all UC campuses tomorrow. This is a great week so far.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwB40qTfuvI
After firing Dykes, AD says “Cal is a place that produces champions in virtually every other sport.
Really?
Rugby?
Yep. Dominant. 26 titles. Crew has 18!
Men’s basketball though…last NCAA title 1959, same yr as their last Rose Bowl appearance. No final four appearances since 1960! Men’s baseball last WS title 1957…Women’s basketball… never won one a title…1 final four appearance.
All those Island kids in the South Bay.
1959. Darrell Imhoff. Pete Newell. Have no idea why I remember that.
Mathletes?
Women’s swimming.
they do, check the numbers, there is a thing called google to help you along….
As matter of fact, research the total NCAA championship for not only Cal, but also Standford and UCLA.
Football and Basketball are not the only sports FYI. That’s why Olympic teams are peppered with kids form those 3 school all the time.
Correct and Stanford and Cal both dominate in Women sports .
To those who need to remember, 50 years of Dr. Who’s music.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/ipok/#tabs?cpg=cj&ref=&CJURL=&AID=11555940&PID=8036307&CJID=4714048
I see the baseball connection: first base
Harrison Barnes another 30 point night, 13 for 23 from the field and 4 for 5 from the 3 point line, his team lost , but they were a +2 when Barnes was on the court .
I’m happy to see him doing so well. Great kid and a key part of four great years of Warriors basketball.
Basically Barnes will turn out to be a Monte Ellis of the league. A very good ball player who could score but played for losers.
Latest Rosenthal column on Dozier/Dodgers. The interesting part is that the Twins don’t seem as impressed by DeLeon’s potential as the Dodgers would hope; they certainly don’t think he can carry a deal all by himself. They’ve noticed that he’s never put up impressive innings in the minors; sounds like they want someone who could step right in and eat innings for them in their rotation.
If only the Giants had a polished lefty who led the PCL in innings the last two years and who, unlike DeLeon, had a stellar introduction to the majors in 2016…
EDIT: Here’s the link. http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/minnesota-twins-brian-dozier-trade-los-angeles-dodgers-rosenthal-trade-rumors-hot-stove-010917
it’s not about upside, it’s about long term potential + youth. Both carry more weight in a trade than “polish”
It’s also about durability. Doesn’t matter how flashy someone’s strikeout numbers are if he can’t take the ball regularly. Both are important.
DeLeon isn’t that much younger than Blach. He’s 24 already. Pitchers are hard to peg, too–minor league potential doesn’t seem to translate as consistently as it does for hitters.
The Dodgers have now gone nine years without producing a homegrown starter who made 20 or more starts–Kershaw was the last one. Urias could be the next (he had 15 in 2016).
The Giants aren’t much better–since Bumgarner came up to stay in 2010, the Giants have only had one other new homegrown starter make 20 or more starts–Chris Heston in 2015. (I guess you could sorta count Vogelsong, but not really.) Blach or Beede will likely be the next one(s).
Chris Who?
Chris the Mariner.
An Adalberto Mejia mention down below. He was supposed to be a better pitching prospect than Blach. I suppose they are both rated about the same now, with similar expectations.
I like results, Blach and Blackburn have gotten good results, you seem to always demean Giants prospects , and overate players from other systems .
You seem to always say “you seem to…” and never have anything nice to say.
I just did about Blach who was great at Sacramento last year , and Blackburn who was great a Sacramento in 2015, you are the one that constantly say the Giants do not have the prospects to make a trade, the other teams can !
Unfortunately, though, when it comes to trades, other teams do go by flash and pedigree. For example, the Giants were trying to get Cole Hamels in 2015 and even got as far as the Phils asking Hamels to waive his no-trade to SF, but then they liked the Rangers’ package of prospects better. Sighhhhh–it would have been nice to get Hamels, but Evans did pretty well signing Cueto and Samardzija and trading for Moore.
Generally, I’m with you, though–I think how prospects perform, especially in the upper minors and the majors, matters a lot more than where they are on a list.
I actually think the Giants hurt themselves , by not promoting players that deseve to be promoted , like Blackburn in 2015, because Sabean and Bochy prefer veterans and spent lots of money on starting pitchers , so other teams do not value Giant prospects .
I think you make a fair point.
When is a veteran worthy of having the youngsters stay down and when is the veteran not worth. What age bracket span is a veteran?
I guess that is nice, but I guess I’m still waiting for you to say something nice to another person on the blog.
How about Blach, Arroyo, and Gregorio for Dozier? Think that could work somehow?
I actually think that’s a good package and a fair package. You get a major league ready starter, some flash and sizzle with Gregorio, and a very nice prospect in Arroyo who’s still very young. If the Twins want another plug-and-play starter, they could have Stratton or Blackburn instead of Gregorio.
That screams overpay to me. I don’t think Dozier is that good, and the 40 HR is an outlier. Don’t trade Arroyo!
Twins need Innings eaters, Blackburn and Blach have proven in the minors that they can eat innings . I am not a chitty chatty person like you and Matthew , and do not play cute games, I just like to talk Sports, so not as friendly as you, I guess .
To each their own. Well, Peter, it’s been nice talking Sports with you.
That’s because he’s a cipher.
It would be cool to see Mejia make good. We were at his AAA debut in Sacramento this year, and it was great. He even hit a double!
Mejia’s always been the one with upside, but Blach’s the one who’s been (mostly) Steady Eddie through his minor league career–won the ERA title in Cal League, solid years throughout. Even 2015 in AAA, when his stock dropped, he led the PCL in innings. And it was interesting to read the Sacramento pitching coach’s comments about how teachable Blach is and about the new snap curve he was featuring in 2016.
If only a Power that Be would notice this guy’s success rate. You watch, they’ll dump him and he’ll turn into Terry Mulholland Dos.
Hey Greek Giant,
That’s awesome that you got to see Gary Carter up close in ST. He’s a My Guy all the way, as he was the record holder in many categories in baseball and football at my high school. And he was known as a great teammate, not to mention Hall of Famer.
And (temporarily) a Giant!
I remember that too (BR google…)
1990, 9 HRs in 92 games, .729 OPS, not bad for a 36 y.o. catcher.
His most Posey like season?
1982: 151 games at catcher, .293/.381/.510, 32 HRs, 106 RBIs, 146 OPS+
Okay, the games caught makes it look better than Posey’s MVP year.
Well, Posey won the batting title that year, but Bochy was understandably taking it easy on him, first year after that awful ankle injury.
Different era, and it’s not that long ago. Catchers used to get beat the @#$% up. Nowadays, the Iron Man is Molina, catching 146 games last year and JT Realmuto 2nd with 129 games; Posey at 123.
I’ve said it before, but Hector Sanchez doesn’t get enough credit for what a good job he did as backup that year. He did a nice job catching Zito and later Lincecum, and he hit a little bit, too. He made it possible for Bochy to rest Posey from catcher, leading to that MVP season.
He took a few knocks for the team – took some head ringers that could have gone to Posey otherwise.
Yep. /cough cough Lincecum
The Magnet. God he got cold-cocked a lot.
Hacktor got some bit PHs that season, if I recall correctly.
He hit .280 for the year in 227 plate appearances, 28 as a pinch-hitter (7 H, .260, 1 HR, 5 RBIs). Overall, he had 5 HRs and 34 RBIs (not bad total for a part-time player). He certainly was “Hacktor,” though–52 strikeouts and only 5 walks!
Right Buster is a FAUX catcher averaging under 112 games a year for the past 5 years at catcher.
Melkey won the batting title that year but graciously took his name out of the competition. Buster did not “win” the batting title.
You gonna argue with Baseball Almanac? (Yeah, I remember the thing with Melky, but because he withdrew, Posey is listed officially as the winner of the 2012 batting title.)
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/hitting/hibavg3.shtml
Right so Buster was “awarded” the batting title by default and did not “win” the batting title. Semantics yes, so I would argue the same way people argue that Barry is no the home run king becausse he cheated.
He, and all the players (Pete Rose, Ellis Valentine, Warren Cromartie, Tim Raines, Steve Rogers, etc.) were super gracious to me. I got them to sign baseballs every year I went and it was a thrill. They used to have the practice fields open to all fans so you could wait outside the entrance as the players would walk to the clubhouse and just go up to them and say hello. It was a great innocent time and as a kid, it was a wonderful memory for me.
Wow, Clemson, threatening the upset!
Where IS Clemson? South Carolina?
Clemson has a great QB, Alabama does not, and Alabama has not faced that many great passing games .
Dwight Clark from Clemson , always had great Football Program .
I had to Google it.
South Carolina it is.
I think that was a Joke !
Not for me…
I did Google it
South Carolina and Clemson have been state rivals forever , but I am a Sports nut, with 6 older brothers that loved Sports, so follow all Sports all my life .
Never mind. That was quick.
Clemson almost won last year, you honestly never heard of Clemson, Woody Hayes punched a Clemson player , ending his Career, have been Football power for 40 years .
I was just a little vague about North vs. South Carolina, but yes, I’ve heard of Clemson! Never been there, but I’ve been to the U of South Carolina in Columbia. Beautiful campus.
My best friend Jr. Kelly, who is battling a nasty cancer, won $900 on Clemson tonight. (He’s always got the underdog.) I know nada about football, but went to my local bowling alley (The Garage, which also sells medicine to fight off trumpstasia) at half-time to watch. I was amazed that Clemson went for the W instead of playing it safe with 6 seconds to go. What a game.
Kelly told me that when Clemson sells out there games (always), their stadium is the second- largest city in S. Carolina.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/71a4ceb03e4ada0bf2ed4ebb574cdba6b026c233e5458aac49346ef8476e0888.jpg
Godspeed to Kelly.
I need some of that barley and hops medicine, myself. Sounds like a pub lunch day is in order.
WOW. That turned into a great game! In the first half, looked like Bama was going to run away with it.
Go Clemson and Fight On
Best of the year
Final AP rankings:
1. Clemson
2. Alabama
3. USC
Not bad for a team that started 1-3 and whose coach was on the hot seat in September.
South Carolina high country near northwest corner. Used to work for a bed blanket company that had a plant appx 10 miles from Clemson.
Hee hee hee…well done, Tigers.
By, Nick.
Watson will be #2 pick
No, probably not even first round. Todd McShay mock draft just published on ESPN does not have him in first round. Furthermore, our Niners have much bigger needs than QB. Myles Garrett (Texas A&M OLB/DE) or Jonathan Allen (Alabama DE) our likely first pick. Best strategy is to trade down and get at least two additional picks in first 2-3 rounds.
They’ve been picking DE’s lately, and that ain’t working. Plus, they have 47 picks in this draft….I sure hope they don’t pull a Baalke and keep hoarding later picks.
Hue Jackson may take him with the top pick. Browns used 5-6 different QB’s this past season. They can’t afford to wait around until the 12th pick with the Bears, Bills, Jets and Niners needing QB’s.
Rare color footage of Giants last game at the Polo Grounds
http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2017/01/09/213142612/
Very cool stuff. Thanks Surf.
MyGuy™ Steven Duggar went to Clemson. He’s a pretty happy guy today (per Twitter).
Raises the question of Fourth OF with Blanco completing his time.
MacParker might combine for this? If so, Slater might be an additional fit too with his 2B abilities. But all that is a change away from the veterans only bench that you could probably document from Bochy’s past right? Duggar is very comfortable in CF; these other three not so much I think. Did you see any of them in CF at Sac?
History: Vets … Torres, Blanco … even going after Pagan four years ago. But Evans is the new dynamic and they did miss winning it all this past Even Year so change (small as it may be) is in the air. No?
Of all the unsigned free agents, Gregor Blanco is the one who might pop back onto the roster. SFG strategy is seemingly to lie in the weeds during this late off-season, in case a different OF option pops out, while knowing the White Shark could be easy to get back. I do find it a little hard to believe that the present OF list is the one they intend to go into camp with.
You are certainly right that CF is a big concern since MacParker seem to be corner fielders.
I still like Winebaroness’ idea about shifting Pence over to left field.
Blanco looked sadly washed up last year. Pagan was actually pretty good at times, i wouldn’t be opposed to signing him if it was clear williamson will be playing most of the time.
Gregor has played all 3 outfield positions, effectively. He is also a Giant at heart. But Gorkys is younger and cheaper. Not an easy choice.
He was dinged up a little, as well as getting older. He is a Giant in my heart too, and certainly worthy of the kind of spring training invite that Morse received. But it might be that Gregor can also get an offer from a different organization, and so is a bit more expensive than SFG might like. Time will tell!
I love that idea (return of Gregor).
Slater played CF in Sac for a couple weeks after Gorkys Hernandez got called up. I’ve seen Parker play there, too–not a pretty sight.
Duggar is considered to be the plus-defender who can play CF. He also has excellent speed. He’s the one to keep an eye on (along with Bryan Reynolds) as the CF of the future (in the post-Span era).
Let’s make that sooner rather than later ok?
Brisbee connects some theoretical dots regarding Torres’ making the team in 2009 S/T, and what that lead to, and what otherwise might have happened. He’s got a great imagination:
http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2017/1/10/14228366/sf-giants-pitchers-and-catchers-report-date-february-14
That is great.
If the 2014 NL Comeback Player of the Year from Soquel HS (I was there this morning dropping off a Storm Orphan) does not hit into 33 DP’s in 33 PA then Duffy does not start. If Duffy does not start he gets no chance to come in Second in ROY and Matt Moore never becomes a Giant. So MM never takes the Giants into the Ninth with a three run lead and BB proves the Giants really needed a Closer. And so the Giants invest in MM#2 (who also ends up being a great teammate) making 2017 what we all dream it will be … all because CaseyMac faded fast in 2015?
WHOA! THAT’S ASTUTE, HAAK!!
You’ve got to love a sense of narrative continuity that profound.
Brisbee pulled us right in to why Odd Important Things happen even in Eternal Spring Training. Life is full of these “But for a shoe the horse was lost…” moments only seen in Hindsight. And we think we are in control?
The Giants might make another off season move! Or… they might not! Bold predictions here by Chris Haft:
http://m.giants.mlb.com/news/article/213066572/giants-may-look-to-make-bold-offseason-move/
Mr.Evans, please, would you kindly like to bring back Gregor Blanco ? Thank you.
Hey guys! Hope you all had a good holiday season. We’re not too far off from reporting day for pitchers and catchers.
Again in me effort to bring you SF Giants news from behind the ESPN Insider wall, here is an entry from Buster Olney’s blog where he ranks the top 10 RFs in baseball. Our own Hunter Pence coming in at # 9 . Here are the rankings and the quick paragraph on Hunter who we all hope has a full year in the field this season.
1. Mookie Betts (My fantasy keeper)
2. Bryce Harper
3. George Springer
4. Giancarlo Stanton
5. Carlos Gonzalez
6. JD Martinez
7. Gregory Polanco
8. Stephen Piscotty
9. Hunter Pence: A former coach once said dismissively (and counterintuitively) of Cris
Carter that all he does is catch touchdowns. A similar mantra could be
applied to Hunter Pence, through his unconventional swing and playing
style and recent injuries: All he does is win. The 33-year-old missed
110 games in 2015 and 56 more in 2016, through hamstring trouble, but
when Pence played the past two years, the Giants were 30 games over
.500. When he didn’t play, they were eight games under .500, and manager
Bruce Bochy talks about how much of a difference Pence’s power and
energy mean to the team over the long season. Pence is about to enter
the fourth year of his five-year, $90 million contract.
10. Kole Calhoun
Great job on getting Mookie Betts on your squad. What a stud! (the both of you)
Could JD Martinez make his way to SF?
MLB Network is about to start its “Top 10 Right Now” shows for each position. Last year Joe Panik was a surprising #3 on the 2B list. It will be interesting to see if he makes the list at all this year. I think the Giants are sure to get on the following lists:
Starting pitcher (possibly Bumgarner AND Cueto, but definitely Bumgarner)
Relief pitcher (Melancon, of course)
C (Posey’s been #1 three of the last four years–will be interesting to see where he is this year)
SS
Maybe: 1B and 2B–I’ll be surprised if Pence makes the RF list this year
The Dodgers will likely get Kershaw, Jansen, Gonzalez, Turner, Seager, and Grandal on their respective top 10 lists.
Pederson could slip in the back door – finished 8th among CFers in WAR.
I thought Martinez is a LFer? Interesting that he’s rated ahead of Pence, altho it’s been stated that he’s a hack in the OF.
The Young Puppies of the Minors http://www.milb.com/news/
Who ended up #3 behind Clemson and Alabama in the AP poll (he asks)? Order in the world has been restored.
From #20 at the start of the season, to off the top-25 list for most of the season, to #3 at the end of it. First time in the history of the poll that a 3-loss team has ended up as high as #3.
Pretty impressive, I’d say.
USC 10-3. Michigan 10-3. USC 52, Penn St 49. Michigan 49, Penn St 10.
USC played a tougher Schedule, and did not lose 3 of the last 4 games they played, like Michigan did .
It’s true that they did play Alabama…but they got blasted 52-6, so I’m not sure that’s worth ant “tougher schedule” points. The teams also both played Colorado, which USC beat 21-17 and Michigan beat 45-28. USC had an excellent win against Washington. Michigan lost its three games by a total of five points.
USC lost early, with a different QB, it is all about momentum , USC ended the season with it , Michigan ended on a slide .
Well, I don’t know about “a slide”–all of Michigan’s losses were in very close games. But USC won their last nine in a row including the Rose Bowl. It would have been fun to see USC play Michigan in a bowl game.
Michigan lost to Iowa, who they were favored to win by 24 points .
Michigan was overrated. Their QB play was putrid and they couldn’t beat OSU despite outplaying them. An OSU team that by the way got skunked 31-0 against Clemson. FSU outplayed Michigan, despite nearly handing them the game on turnovers, and still won. Michigan was not in the class of the top 3 teams, not by a long shot.
Michigan’s QB play was absolutely what held them back, although the rest of the offense wasn’t great, either. There were two teams this season that were clearly better than the rest. Beyond that, it’s up for debate. Who’s your third team?
And UCLA back atop the basketball polls.
What next, Stanford atop the baseball polls?
Looks like The Cardinals are 24th, or thereabouts in preseason polling, but at least Cal State Fullerton Titans at #10.
I had a feeling there would be a Blue and Gold response. Some day, USC will revive the spirit of Rod Dedeaux.
Two words: Barry Zito.
I wonder if kiffin sent sabean a short note of condolence?
Diverted to Sark
Remember when this guy was considered the Giants’ top pitching prospect? Sayonara, Esky.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/01/indians-release-edwin-escobar-to-pursue-opportunity-in-japan.html
Sic transit gloria mundi. You, as a linguist, should understand it.
Rough days for the farm.
I remember in 2013 when Vogelsong broke his hand with a HBP, Mike Kickham was the only/best option available to replace him, and we all remember how well that went. The Giants have definitely improved their upper minors depth in starting pitching.
Damn the Giants scouts read that well. Does that mean we all highly rated Bickford and he may not be the second coming of Matt Cain?
Last night was a special night for America. A night when people of all races, religions, political orientations and views were able to come together and celebrate Alabama losing. We needed that as a country.
Anyone could explain to a football ignorant like me why this Alabama team is hated in such a way?
They are the NCAA version of the Yankees. You either love them or love to see them lose.
Thank you for the info.
Remember the Yankees in the 50s-90s Alvise? That’s why. We have to tear down our heroes. Like Tiger Woods.
I wouldn’t even be surprised to see Americans stop admiring Trump one of these days.
Thank you Paulito.
Any chance Jeff Sessions loses? Or he’s a shoe-in?
Ken Rosenthal reports that the Dodgers and Twins are “at an impasse” regarding Dozier.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/01/twins-dodgers-at-impasse-in-dozier-talks.html
De Leon must feel loved
I have to chuckle a bit. The Dodgers under Friedman have held onto all their top prospects like grim death. Now they finally deign to say they’ll trade one of them, and the Twins are saying “For our reasonably priced slugger who hit 42 HRs last year? I don’t think so.”
Works for me. The Dodgers deserve Uttley as their 2B.
Welcome back Chase, I think.
Nah, that ship has sunk.
His first name is Bugg. As in Bugg Uttley.
Very clever!
they just signed a 29 y.o. Cuban 2B to add to their depth, so absent Dozier, perhaps they are just keeping the position open for this guy:
6) Willie Calhoun, 2B, Grade B: Age
22, fourth round pick in 2015 from Yavapai Junior College; hit
.254/.318/.469 with 27 homers, 45 walks, 65 strikeouts in 503 at-bats in
Double-A; one of the most exciting hitters in the minors to watch in
person due to outstanding bat speed and great feel for the barrel; makes
hard contact on pitches other hitters can’t connect with or just hit
weakly; 60-grade power despite 5-9, 180 build; main problem is glove; he
has below-average range with mediocre reliability at second base; arm,
range, and speed all problematic and he may not even fit in the outfield
long-run; I’m very confident in the bat but at what position?. ETA
2018.
Yeah, I know they like Calhoun a lot, but they don’t expect him to be ready this year.
Perhaps 2nd half – after really working on his turns at the keystone.
Haven’t they have been at an impasse for weeks?
You know this my thing. Bring these talents to MLB…
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2017/01/10/mlb-dream-series-african-american-pitchers-catchers-hunter-greene/96393330/
Klay Thompson sitting out tonight vs. Heat for rest.
“HaHa, you funny, Funny like how”? https://twitter.com/DetroitTigersPR/status/818895348089450497
I was never too impressed with Manny Ramirez. Besides the steroid issues, he seemed an example of that overly large AL designated hitter type, after he couldn’t OF anymore. He last played in 2011, briefly, with the Rays. He was a player-coach with the Iowa Cubs (AAA level) for a while in 2014, where I didn’t think he was too engaged in it. But maybe I’m wrong, for in addition to being with the Rhinos somewhere in Taiwan in 2013, Manny has just signed to play in the Shikoku Island League, for the Kochi Fighting Dogs. I never heard of this league, but its other three teams must be in the other three capital cities of that island’s provinces. I’m impressed by this, there has to be a certain love for the game in Ramirez.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2685960-manny-ramirez-to-kochi-fighting-dogs-contract-details-comments-and-reaction
Are we starting to get some answers to what happens to the modern day high lifetime income players, who can’t shake baseball out of their system? I had thought maybe only a few could be announcers, as all the travel etc. is burdonsome if you have a bazillion bucks in the bank. Barry Bonds had a try at being a hitting coach. Are there other examples?
Now, they all get in due to Bud getting in.
Remember last year Denard Span tweeted out a video of him training and doing broad jumps, then the Giants signed him a week later, I follow Gregor Blanco on twitter, and he just tweeted out a video of him training and doing running broad jumps .
Maybe the Giants can field a 10 man defensive lineup and have Denard in Left Center and Gregor in RCF?
http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2016/3/16/11250832/denard-span-sf-giants-injury
Maybe the could see if Jeff Henderson can swing a bat. He took a gold in the long jump.
I bet Ricky can still run…..
Sending one out to ClutchUp – this is the one Joe opened at the Royal Albert Hall, wanting to lead off with something “bombastic”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5dxMv_F6Rw
Damn! THAT hit the spot!!!
I know nobody on here wants him, and an earlier post already covered it, but I think the Giants should make a play for Bautista if they can get him on a one year deal (maybe an option for a second year if he gets a certain number of plate appearances). I have been an advocate of Mac getting the LF job, but I have major concerns about his contact and BA. His D should be good and he clearly *has* power, but can he make enough contact to sustain offensively as a LF? If the Giants get Bautista on the cheap they can use him similar to Morse to minimize his defensive issues.
I just think the Giants really could use power, and RH power at that. If they can get him on the cheap it’s worth sacrificing the pick and his bat could make a serious difference. If another team is willing to guarantee him 2 years then don’t pursue. But he’s just floating in the FA wind right now along with a bunch of other high power, poor defensive guys. So, maybe he’ll agree to a 1 year “rehab” type deal to see if he can springboard that to a multi year deal next offseason once the QO is eliminated.
Greek Giants wants him and had a post all about it. Maybe Efrain too? Wanting a guy with some attitude, that could hit a late inning bomb against the Dodgers and flip his bat …
I think Giants will have to wait until July for a real hitter out in LF.
Their idea of cheap is Ruggiano or Morse.
I was thinking of if more as a relative term in context of his production. He was injured for parts of last year but still had an OPS+ of 117. Before that he didn’t have an OPS+ lower than 132 dating all the way back to 2009. I guess I’m just growing more and more tempted with proven RH power since Bautista continues to sit out there on the FA market with minimal interest.
A good 1 year deal for Bautista might be Philly. But I also wonder if the A’s are in play.
I keep hearing Philly too but it makes absolutely no sense. They will not be a contender and see no point in blocking potential players of the future. It may be a decent rehab deal for Bautista given the park, but from Philly’s perspective it makes absolutely no sense and they’d be stupid to sign him.
I guess Howie Kendrick is slated to play LF most of the time as Cesar Hernandez seems like a solid 2B.
Herrera in CF, Kendrick in LF, with young players/prospects Roman Quinn and Nick Williams battling it out in RF. I think they could still fit Bautista in there and give those later two developmental time – then trade Bautista in July.
I actually saw an article last night that brought up Bautista as a possibility for the A’s.
He’d definitely be the DH for games in AL parks.
I thought the Giants were going to sign another FA reliever in addition to Melancon. I know the remaining 3 of the Core 4 are now gone, but I’m still not comfortable with the pen as it is. Maybe that fateful October night at AT&T still haunts me.
Justin Ruggiano http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/san-francisco-giants-riding-the-pine-justin-ruggiano-010817
Jeff Sessions is good TV.
Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III…
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/1/10/aclu_naacp_jeff_sessions_unfit_for
Make America Hate Again
Turning back the clock? Like antebellum-ish?
‘I used to harass black activists with fake voter fraud claims, but I don’t anymore. I used to support water-boarding, but now it’s illegal. I used to have friends in the KKK, but I abhor them now.’
What’s the problem???
Morris Dees and Richard Spencer.
The new Quinnipiac poll is out, the honeymoon appears over for fearless leader.
https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2415
He played Bilbo Baggins right?
DYLANN ROOF = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtGxusvUT3k
Guess DT will blame Meryl and Hillary for this https://www.cnet.com/news/snow-monkey-macaque-having-sex-with-deer-primates/#ftag=CAD590a51e
Trump won’t hear of blames from others when he brings this nation to the ground. He’ll defect his flaws onto some other issue that will further divide the USA.
“Keep (trying to )Rob’ Us Dudes….”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4106236/Armed-robber-killed-camera-tries-hold-gun-store-quick-thinking-owner-64-shot-dead-accomplice-fled.html
Voodoo Donuts in Portland and Denver seem to be must stops for the Cruller Crowd.
http://voodoodoughnut.com/voodoo-doughnut-doughnuts.php
I had to stop and ask someone in Portland a couple years back what the pink voodoo boxes were that everyone was carrying. That is when I found out people are crazy over the donuts.
You can get runover by stampeding crowds from time to time, I’ve heard. People in Denver are said to have the cooking schedule for apple fritters at Voodoo set on their phone as an alarm.
I’ve had the ones in Portland. The first night I got there, I walked by the shop, and there was a line around the block–on a Saturday night, in the rain. Luckily for me, my hotel brought them in one day.
I mean, they’re good and all, but they’re still doughnuts. An hour wait in the rain? No thanks.
It’s better for me to say nothing about USA food preferences. I could seem a snob and start a riot. OMG.
Ok there’s one near our apt. here – now I’m gonna go get one. But there’s NO WAY it will compare with the home-made donuts my Vermont Grandma made. None chance.
I really like Top Pot donuts in Seattle. They have great selection of types and flavors (modern combos like maple bacon w/ a strip of bacon).
About the only thing TO and I agree on: No to doughnuts!
Shipley’s in Houston.
Can watch this several times over
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiDULxPh0hU
Just in case you were thinking about a move closer to AT&T Park…
Mike Rosenberg @ByRosenberg 27m27 minutes ago
Just 10 houses in all of San Francisco sold for under $500,000 last year. By comparison, 12 sold for more than $10M.
http://paragon-re.com/San_Francisco_District_Home_Sales_Breakdown
The lower Peninsula is not TOOOOOOOOOO bad
I think you have the SF Peninsula confused with the Kenai Peninsula!
Maybe if we all went in on a place…? Just one big happy dysfunctional family.
I’d want a couple of people to be in the room over the garage.
A bathroom lottery?
I’m not a true/dedicated baseball card collector, but I ran across this on eBay and had to spend the $3.50. Pretty cool picture of our SF Giants’ greats.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2b0a3064e5b0eb0114d36193fa1a98bfba535f5563fd5852ead99f247bf63aab.jpg
Great Grab Of the Day
(go Raiders)
Way cool!
I have that!!
Today is Willie Mac’s 79th birthday!
Mays is listed at 5′ 10″. That may have been stretching it a bit.
Good Night Allen
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d804e5a8b96cdd51a9291f77962423063c2f5057034ed468fd976c12a352f3d8.jpg
Seems like The Oracle and I were discussing the mighty Brett Pill last week, after TO posted some of his sparkling KBO stats. The Tigers have signed Pill to a minor league deal. Good luck, Brett – Cal State Fullerton Titan.
Pill, Juan Perez, and Travis Blackley, all former Giants signed to minor league deals by the Tigers.
Nate had a run through motor city as well. If they like former Giants so much, should be no problem squaring up for J-Mart.
Wonder if the Tigers will try to trade Kinsler to the Dodgers now that the Dozier thing doesn’t seem to be happening. The complication is that Kinsler’s no-trade list includes the Dodgers and he won’t waive it unless they agree to a contract extension.
I think they’re stuck with top **** prospect De Leon and the value he brings as a starter and relief option.
I thought he was on Texas. Man, I just can’t keep up.
trade for Prince Fielder, years ago
I was surprised that no team in baseball has hit .300 or more for a season since the 1950 Red Sox.
Really? What’s surprising about that. Check how many 300 hitters the Giants had last year. Get back to me.
Even the champion Cubs only hit .256 as a team.
Bad day?
Not even any Rockies team in their existence? May make sense when they play half of their games on the road.
Anew pitch measuring system. Rapsodo.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/comparing-the-rapsodo-baseball-device-to-other-pitch-trackers/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOcEmEq1-Xo
The NFL is committing suicide according to some.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/01/nfl-ratings/512624/
They’ve got it wrong. It IS failing, but it’s not just from the factors they mention. I played football in high school and college. I loved to both watch and play football. I watched different things than most of the viewers, but there were a lot like me in the country… people that knew the game and what was happening that cameras (to my dismay) seldom caught.
Nevertheless, we still watched the games and followed programs about the games, as well. Not anymore. I haven’t watched football or anything about it in two years. Maybe longer.
I’ve been knocked out 22 times in my life (that I can remember); 20 times playing football. After being rendered unconscious (I got the shit knocked out of me} in practice, the team doctor told me. “The next time you get knocked out, you might not wake up.” Whoa.
That was the end of playing (and my scholarship), but not the end of watching.
I’d heard stories for years, but with all I’d heard to that point on brain injury it had me thinking. But, when Junior Seau shot himself in the chest so a post could be done on his brain. That got me. He’d done it just to see what his suspected problem really was. That one got me taking all this TBI stuff a lot more seriously.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is serious. Ironically, I had been studying the brain for many years after leaving college football. So, I knew how to read the research and knew the results.
Well, that did it. Eventually, from a medical perspective, football will be gone in its present form. I couldn’t watch anymore. Especially, the NFL, since their denier position reminded me of Big Tobacco’s fight years ago.
The funny thing is I really don’t miss it one bit.
This testament is TWG featured post material, IMO.
Thanks, but nah. This is a baseball blog. Football isn’t that important. (Just the kids that are playing it.) I broke my neck and was in the hospital for several weeks and still played the following year. I came to my realization very late.
If football is too much violent (and I think it is), we still have rugby, a rough game but played by 30 gentlemen.
I watched some rugby once during a short stay in Australia. Non-stop action, so I liked it. Superficially, I thought it quite violent, but have come around to thinking the lack of helmets and padding may actually reduce the level of violence compared to up-armored Americal football. But I am no expert, and have no idea how the rates of injury compare. Any thoughts?
While it is true that this is a baseball blog, and your remarks are not on topic to the current post in any way, they are nontheless well thought out and presented. I greatly appreciate the sharing of thoughtful personal experience that regularly occurs here, on any number of topics. I too have almost entirely quit following football, because of the intrinsic violence (but not because I ever played, though). When I do try to watch a bit, I’m surprised at how boring it is (huddles, ads, replay reviews, player celebrations) and how nearly impossible it is to tell what is now considered ‘legal’ versus ‘not legal’ plays. It is hard to imagine how they can remove the problems with concussions and other kinds of serious injuries.
Like most televised sports, most are slowed considerably by its presence. As an ex-player, I’ve watched a sh**load of film/video of games. It’s much preferred to televised contests. Maybe soccer is done best on TV.
This needs to be at the top of the thread, Bap.
I played one game when I was 21, just out of 4 years in the Air Force. “This is crazy,” I thought. Never played again.
Wow, the Cubs are going to the White House on Monday–before President Obama leaves office.
I can’t ever remember a baseball team doing their White House visit during the offseason.
He has connections to Chicago and the Donald doesn’t.
Perhaps the Russian hockey team can pay him a visit.
Cheaper for him to go to Moscow. No doubt it’s a write-off.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the FI and the players voted / planned to do it before the change. Plus it means more with Obama representing Chicago as he does even if he is more of a Cubs fan.
Why would they want to take press images with an a hole?
The Chicago connection does give them a nice polite cover, true.
A little confused as to the term “cover”. What do they owe Trump and the new administration? If anything more groups need to make a statement.
I just meant they don’t have to say they’re anti-Trump if they don’t want to get into it…they can just say they wanted to do the visit with Obama because he’s from Chicago.
Was perfectly clear
Awesome. I had been wondering if any professional championship teams will dump their Trump visit.
As a Chicago team, albeit the wrong side of town, it’s their chance to say goodbye. Pretty nice speech last night by Obama, speaking to everyone’s better half for the most part. Going to miss him and Michelle and everything they represent.
I don’t reckon they’ll stick around for the inauguration of the orange talking yam either.
It will be interesting to see what the next NBA champion does.
If anyone is watching the Dubs, you are seeing why they WILL NOT with a ring this year. Just being out hustled and making stupid mental mistakes against an 11 win Heat team that is a shell of where that team was recently.
If anyone is watching the Dubs, you are seeing a much smarter approach to the regular season than last year. Resting your All Star 2 Guard against a weak team and thus using different combinations are money in your bank.
Exactly. Thanks, Mateo. It’s a long season and why do you want to risk injury to one of your star players. Get your depth players some minutes in case they’re called upon in a later juncture.
It’s January
Warriors rested Klay Thompson and started rookie McCaw instead, to give him some experience. As Matthew points out, it’s not necessary to win every single game in the regular season. Although they did win this game convincingly.
incorrect
Down 1 after 1
Down 2 at half
Dubs hold Heat down in 3rd Qtr
Minor league deal for Vogey with the Twins…
… And A’s to sign Trevor Plouffe, former Twin.
Brett Pill signed a minor league deal with Detroit
http://www.csnbayarea.com/giants/former-giants-1blf-pill-signs-minor-league-deal-tigers
Hope he gets a shot and rakes.
Want a wake up call? Check out PBS’s “Command and Control”
Damascus will never mean the same to me. Nor will SAC.
A New York Times Critic’s Pick
“Lots of documentaries these days will tell you to be afraid, very afraid, but few will scare you as coolly and convincingly as Command and Control.” – Los Angeles Times
“Riveting and dismaying…equal parts history lesson, cautionary tale, and nerve-rattling thriller.” – Variety
“Combines Cold War-era thriller with post-apocalyptic nightmare…this one will stay with you for days” – Rolling Stone
“Nerve-melting and riveting!” – Entertainment Weekly
“Masterfully constructed! As white-knuckle suspenseful as any movie you are likely to see this year.” – Art Forum
http://www.commandandcontrolfilm.com/
Sounds good. Documentary that wife and I recently saw was “Bright Lights” – the Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher story. It was not nerve-melting by any means, but was a very personal look inside a celebrated family. I came away really admiring Carrie Fisher – and acknowledging what a tough cookie Debbie Reynolds was.
We watched that, too. Agree with your evaluation.
the home video on the Great Wall amidst a manic episode was quite a scene, amusing and revealing. but i’m sure she’s a hero to many who struggle with bi-polar. I really liked her line about being a custodian for Princess Leia, after giving “lap-dances” via the autograph and photo sessions.
“Sounds good” Then watch it. The link is below. The two are not comparable.
All I got was a preview.
OK. Try this one.
http://www.pbs.org/video/2365927736/
New alternative to Tommy John surgery offers to cut recovery time in half. Former Cardinals reliever Seth Maness is the pioneer–had the surgery in August and expects to be ready for Opening Day.
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/maness-a-trailblazer-new-surgery-for-elbow-repair-cut-recovery/article_165ee721-5a36-58f9-8d8e-fb515ba037da.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share
Whoa. That’s huge baseball news. Thanks for finding and linking.
I read about it earlier and just heard a discussion about it on Hot Stove. Harold needs to engage brain before opening mouth.
Good one, recorded for future use.
“Assicurati di avere il cervello collegato prima di aprir bocca”.
It’s called “UCL repair with internal brace construction” and uses Arthrex tape. It’s use dates to earlier ankle and knee surgical repair. “We’re repairing the existing ligament and reinforcing it with a scaffold that provides increased strength for healing from time zero”
Wanna see how it works?
https://www.arthrex.com/resources/video/7VkTovHtMUK7PwFUDGE2Lw/ulnar-collateral-ligament-repair-using-internalbrace-ligament-augmentation
It’s pretty amazing.
Good morning America !
What’s better for breakfast than an Italian espresso with a French croissant, Long live Italian & French food! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/25f35703dc5a44aff4ebed59347b1aa0e0fb37e98576e5e1c5fc15ab6dbfc708.jpg
Looks good. Viva la Europe??? I think I may fix some french toast right now.
Viva l’Europa (and the USA, motherland of baseball, too).
the child of Asia and Europe (the Asians came first, across that long ago bridge)
Through Beringian land bridge 30,000 years ago?
AC — Here in France I’m “forced” to “suffer” a French espresso avec mon croissant. But when I visit Italy, I’ll obediently switch to Italian espresso.
Monsieur, vous êtes un vrai gourmet.
Due doppie cappuccini please. Or is it doppio
Singular, “doppio cappuccino”. Plural “due (two) doppi cappuccini”.
Then I got it mostly right. I was ordering 2 doubles for us.
I’ll send you via FedExp pronto.
I’m pretty good at it with my new la Pavoni. Old one fried.
Pavoni coffee machines are still regarded among the three best professional tools for a coffee shop in Italy.
I had an English muffin. God save the queen.
Crispix.
Fiber?
Grits and sausage.
When I worked in corporate world my boss called me this:
myrmidon noun
1. a person who executes without question or scruple a master’s commands.
2. Classical Mythology. (initial capital letter) one of the warlike people of ancient Thessaly who accompanied Achilles to the Trojan War.
In the ‘warrior,’ not lackey, meaning, of course…
Myrmidon (Greek Myrmidṓn) in Greek myth was the son of Zeus and Eurymedusa, whom Zeus seduced disguised as an ant. Her son was called Myrmidon (by an ancient, false etymology from mýrmēx, the ancient Greek word for “ant”) and was regarded as the ancestor of the Myrmidons, a tribe in Thessaly whose warriors followed Achilles to Troy. There is no hint of thuggery or blind obedience or sycophancy in the ancient sources, all of which are modern developments from the mid-17th century. Greek mýrmēx is related to the obsolete English noun mire “ant,” still present in pismire. The word entered English in the 15th century and referred to the Trojan War.
I believe the word “idiot” has a similar etiology from the Greek – referring to the masses that follow their leaders without question, or pull the levers at the polls.
It’s also a terminology (or used to be) of the Stanford-Binet IQ ranking.
Idiot < imbecile< moron < normal
{ }, empty set. We called a moron “insieme vuoto” many years ago at the University of Ca’ Foscari in Venice.
I’ve tried to get rid of the weird symbol, but can’t.
As a non-technical opinion, just from my grasp of these words in English, I’m not sure I’d have ordered these words. Or how I’d do it, even after looking at your order.
I can remember reading the IQ ranges of each. None of which I recall, but I do remember the order. I can remember being surprised that it was based on IQ.
There’s no end to the surprising things we encounter in the process of living. I did know there was an evaluation scheme for social workers to decide how independently individuals can function, and that must be IQ based. I am surprised that the scale would be associated with adjectives that are not very flattering, however. Maybe I’m just a bit too PC.
The ranges have changed terminology in the many years it was used. It’s much more PC than it was in the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s.
Levine and Marks 1928 IQ classification
IQ Range (“ratio IQ”) IQ Classification
175 and over Precocious
150–174 Very superior
125–149 Superior
115–124 Very bright
105–114 Bright
95–104 Average
85–94 Dull
75–84 Borderline
50–74 Morons
25–49 Imbeciles
0–24 Idiots
I’ve often wondered why the morons have always looked down on the imbeciles and idiots. Thanks for clearing that up. It’s going to make me treat them with more respect.
I meant to put that reply here. Guess I’m a little dull today.
Eddie Garcia ?
I’ve not used Dull to its greatest potential. I’m thinking Sharp ought to replace Bright, just for balance.
You’ve certainly named my goal in the MyGuy: “borderline” can be my aspiration.
I’m glad to hear these are early 20th century terms.
Perhaps they weren’t as sensitive as we are today.
A nice article by Buster Olney on Buster Posey… but it’s behind a paywall:
Top catchers: A Giant among backstops
http://www.espn.com/blog/buster-olney/insider/post?id=15813
It’s his top-10 list for catchers, and Posey is #1. He also speculates that Posey will retire once his current contract is up. He gives Posey plenty of love for his great defense and he compares him to Johnny Bench at this exact stage of their careers. Bench had more HRs, but Buster has more doubles and RBIs and a better OPS.
That’s quite the speculation! So Posey to retire after 2021 season, at age 34?
by then he’ll have 5 rings. no room on his hand, so he might as well hang em up.
Are you familiar with “Willie the Wimp”.
“He’s got so many rings on so many fingers, he can’t keep em out of your business”
Anyways, that’s what I learned from Stevie Ray Vaughan and Willie was ultimately buried in a Cadillac Coffin.
i was not familiar with willie the wimp, or his dad, or SRV’s homage. good stuff. the more i read on this blog, the smarter i get. thanks pal
The almost monotonic increase in number of gamess started at C puts paid to the frequent speculation we see here that Buster will be a 1B “next year” – or at least real soonish.
He’s going to take over for Bochy as manager!
I’d prefer to see what he can do @ 3B before he retires – just like Bench.
Another Giants Insider Article, once again from Buster Olney about this name brother Buster Posey.
One quick opinion, while Olney says it’s pure speculation on his part, I somewhat disagree with the notion that Posey will retire after his current contract expires in 2021. The only thing that keeps that a possibility in my mind is if Posey doesn’t want to risk his long term health due to the blows we see him take behind the plate, especially to the head year in and year out.
Anyway, here you go (verbatim, except for some formatting to fit article here)
Top catchers: A Giant among backstops – Buster Olney ESPN Senior Writer
Buster Posey’s parents tell the story about the one attempt their son made to free himself from his nickname. He was very young, in elementary school, and Gerald Dempsey Posey III informed his folks he no longer wanted to be called Buster.
The response was, in summation: Well, that’s what we call you. That’s your name.
That the boy simply moved on and never raised the issue again was probably some early insight into his tendency to keep everything in perspective, to recognize what he can or can’t control and what’s actually important. Teammates and scouts talk about his unique equilibrium in everything he does — his handling of pitchers, his interaction with umpires, and his at-bats. One evaluator summed up Posey’s textbook simplicity as a hitter: “He hits fastballs to the opposite field, and he pulls breaking balls.”
Posey turns 30 in March and is right in the middle of his career and uniformly regarded as the best catcher in baseball, entering Year 5 of his nine-year deal with the Giants. He’s a four-time All-Star, won awards for Rookie of the Year Award and the MVP, shared in three
championships. He’s probably a good enough hitter that if he wanted to, Posey could tack on three or four more seasons as a first baseman, or a DH.
Given his personality, however, my guess is that he won’t defer his life after baseball any longer than necessary. Posey isn’t the sort who needs the attention and adulation. He might be the least likely player to position himself for a year-long farewell tour.
What follows is total speculation: I suspect that when Posey’s current contract ends, he’ll retire, after the 2021 season. I’ve never asked Posey about when and how his career might end, and anyway, it would be in his nature to wait until the question is actually relevant to form an answer.
But Posey is not the sort who will embrace a late-career drift for the sake of chasing statistical benchmarks. Posey — who has 1,005 career hits — isn’t going to hang around for No. 2,000 because he thinks it’ll polish his Hall of Fame resume.
Rather, I think he’ll play until he stops enjoying it, because he knows he’ll enjoy what’s on the other side of his final game, at home.
Posey continues to be at the center of what the Giants will try to accomplish in 2017.
In our continuing positional rankings, as based on input from evaluators around baseball: the Top 10 catchers.
1. Buster Posey – Because he didn’t become a catcher until he was in college, his defense
behind the plate was long considered a secondary strength. He was a great hitting catcher who was good defensively.
That is no longer the case. His defensive work is now as respected as his offense. Posey was the best among all catchers in pitching-framing metrics last season, the tangible stuff, and evaluators respect him for the intangible stuff — for the way he prepares and works.
Mark Simon of ESPN Stats & Information sent along these notes about Posey’s more subtle defensive abilities.
• Posey blocked 414 pitches last season, preventing them from being wild pitches or passed balls. He had 21 wild pitches/passed balls. His 95.2 percent block rate was the best among everyday catchers and second-best overall (Robinson Chirinos was 96.6 percent but made only 47 starts).
• Posey led the majors (all positions) in defensive runs saved on bunts with four. Why? He had 16 putouts/assists on bunts, per Baseball Info Solutions, tied with Francisco Cervelli for most among catchers in 2016.
• Posey led catchers with 23 defensive runs saved last season (which includes pitch-framing data not noted on Baseball-Reference or Fangraphs). Posey led all catchers in total defensive runs saved since 2011, since 2012, since 2013, since 2014 and since 2015
• Baseball Info Solutions started tracking defensive runs saved in 2003.Posey has caught the 30th-most innings in that time, but ranks 4th among catchers in defensive runs saved with 95.
Posey scored 82 runs and drove in 80, the highest runs/RBI total for any catcher, with 49 extra-base hits and 64 walks. He and manager Bruce Bochy communicate about his workload, which is substantial: Between his starts at catcher and at first base, Posey has played in 146 or more games in five consecutive seasons.
Early in Posey’s career, the industry assumption was that eventually, the Giants would move Posey from behind the plate and mostly use him at first base. But with Brandon Belt now locked into a long-term deal, there are no apparent plans for Posey to reduce his catching workload. With the Giants going through a second-half collapse last season and Bochy trying to find some traction, Posey stayed in the lineup, and evaluators thought this impacted his
offense somewhat.
Posey starts at catcher, by year:
2012: 97
2013: 98
2014: 109
2015: 103
2016: 122
From Sarah Langs of ESPN Stats & Information: Posey’s first game of the 2017 season will be his 900th career game. Through 899, he has hit fewer homers than Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, but is outpacing him in doubles, RBIs, batting average and OPS.
Bench 175 HR / 156 Doubles / 600 RBI / .268 BA / .817 OPS / BBWAA Awards 3
Posey 116 HR / 190 Doubles / 527 RBI / .307 BA / .838 OPS / BBWAA Awards 2
Rest of catcher rankings:
2. Jonathan Lucroy
3. Yadier Molina
4. Yasmani Grandal
5. Salvador Perez
6. Russell Martin
7. Gray Sanchez
8. Brian McCann
9. JT Realmuto
10. Wilson Contreras
Grazi!
I don’t see what evidence there is that Posey will retire when his contract is up. He doesn’t seem like the type who’s overflowing with desire to do other things, like for example Jeremy Affeldt. He has twins, that’s it, and other than marrying his high school sweetheart and being from Georgia there doesn’t seem to be reason to believe that he’s going to say that he just has to focus on his family life. I don’t think statistical benchmarks will be so crucial to him but I think other goals might well be. For one thing, the Hall of Fame. For another thing, although he has three World Series rings he’s never turned in a postseason performance on a par with what might be hoped for on the basis of his regular season performances, and I would be pretty surprised if that doesn’t really seriously rankle him–I’ve always had the feeling that him getting thrown out at the plate on Sandoval’s double in the 9th inning of the 2nd game of the NLDS in 2014 was him trying too hard to be the hero, it was a Gregor Blanco-type move, not something you would normally expect from someone who may go to the Hall of Fame. I think that people mistake Posey’s generally laid-back attitude for not being really really competitive.
As Olney even admitted, the retirement talk was purified speculation to the point of being meaningless. No one, not even Posey, can know right now when he will retire, or how he will feel or be playing after five more seasons.
How many more years for you?
My up arrow to this is for both Busters!
Posey has a nice stable of pitchers to work with. They are stable, have good command, and generally don’t rely on pitches bouncing in the dirt to be effective.
I expect to see Buster Posey, ML Manager in a dozen years or less.
maybe in in 12 years but no less. The guy will want as much time as possible with his kids before they start college.
Player-Manager, Giants!
thank you for sharing that.
You can not read I guess MR. Olney, Bench 600 RBI, Posey 527 RBI, how is Posey outpacing Bench in RBI .
Mil gracias!!!
The Rockies have a problem with Carlos Gonzalez. He is going to make 20mm ln this, the last year of his curront contract at age 31. So, do they offer an extension? If so, for how much? Would Cargo accept a cut in pay? Should the Rockies try to trade him?
His numbers look pretty negative considering the money involved. He had 2.2 WAR last year and 6.0 WAR over the last 3 years. That’s about average performance with a superstar salary. Even worse are his career away numbers, .258 .312 .438 .750, that is for near 2,000 ABs. He is near untradable without the Rockies coughing up a lot of cash.
So that’s the Rockies problem. What would you do? Me? I’d play him out this season and then let him go.
I think Cargo is plenty tradeable, but the market is not amenable to getting an appropriate return right now. Rockies would probably be smart to follow your advice, though.
Didn’t Rasmus take about 1/2 of what his market value was projected to be. Maybe sanity is returning to GMs in baseball.
market glut of similarly profiled players. And maybe some sanity.
Will there ever be sanity for pitcher contracts? Or is high quality pitching just that valuable?
The extreme example was a Phillies team years ago. The lead the league in BA with almost a 320 team average, but were last in pitching with a staff ERA somewhere north of 6. They lost a 100+ games, and finished dead last in the standing. The Kings of Pop?
.320 avg? obp?
Why pay 5-10 for Jarrett Parker or Mac Williamson production when you can get it for 0.5 mil.
Look it up, googlemeister.
Sorry, but your statement is absurd. You just said yesterday that no team since the 1950 Red Sox had a team avg. of .300.
I’ll look into what I can though, about a high avg. Phillies team.
The Rockies should always lead the league in batting average, BTW.
Hyperbole is just fine in this case … it gets your point across well.
Explain.
good bits in the comment section, esp. the one about the Rockies hitting over .300 sans-pitchers one year.
Thanks for the link but I did not see a stat if that was your idea.
I liked your point without worrying about the exact numbers but yes, “years ago” the 1895 PHI hit .320. More recent the 1930 Giants hit .319 and finished in the middle of the pack. You made me pull out (requiring literal muscles) my prized 1969 Baseball Encyclopedia to find this.
I corrected my original recollection. The Giants hit .319 and the Phillies .315 (#2) in 1930. But you’re right as to an extreme examples as a rhetorical tool to call attention to an issue, the absolute dominance of pitching in the composition of a winning team.
Besides Vogelsong, the Twins have signed Nick Tepesch, a 28-year-old former Ranger who’s trying to make a comeback from thoracic outlet syndrome. Spring training invites for both.
Sounds to me like the Twins are now trying to backfill their rotation options since they’re not obtaining DeLeon from the Dodgers.
Grant Brisbee says the Giants should still go after Dozier, and he mentioned Tyler Beede…
Beede wouldn’t help the Twins. He’s viewed as having a top of a #3 starter. That’s called standing pat.
That is a strange statement. The Twins were a 100 loss team. Other than Ervin Santana, no starting pitcher had an ERA under 5. Any competent starting pitcher would help them.
for the left handed doctor…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbhcXxW4y2U
Could be related to http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/sf/team/frontoffice_bios/hiatt_jack.jsp
Awesome–I don’t know that song. Thanks!
Came across this on Facebook the other day and thought it was tremendous. Simon and Garfunkel, in their 70s and still bringing it–and one of the greatest songs of all time, IMHO.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B9z87viDmOo
And they still enunciate well.
The miracle of modern meds …?
How so?
Sorry; I should have added a /TIC or whatever you use to show “tongue-in-check”.
They may be all-natural products of amazing exercise, self disciple and care.
I am counting on good medical research to make me perform 20 years younger than I really am someday.
Spell check for enunciation?
Did I spell it wrong?
No – I meant maybe there is a special enunciation type feature in Simon and G’s brain that keeps them both in fine fettle. (aka they’ve never suffered a stroke)
I think they’re concerned about the lyrics and the pronunciation of such. Listen to the hard S’s in the song at the end of some lines.
It’s most likely Art.
What subtle harmonies.
My all-time favorite Simon & Garfunkel song. It’s beautiful and haunting at the same time. Great songwriters and artists. Thanks for posting, Dr. L.
Thank you Lefty. I was 17 yo when I bought this vinyl for a girl. I still have it, because I married that girl and we love to listen it together now and then. Just 53 years together.
Great, romantic story needed around here once in a while. Thanks.
I was lucky to meet that girl.
I know the feeling.
Awwwwww….
Ready for baseball ! I need it badly!
Are you ready, Freddie?
Crazy little thing called baseball love.
Me too!
Mariners with another trade! And for more fleet footed outfield defense.
https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/819266257245630464
For some reason Youtube has been featuring The Dreyfuss Afair recently. That was a huge liberal cause back in it’s day. It reminded me of a conversation I had with my lawyer, a passionate liberal, some years ago over dinner. For some reason the subject came onto Dreyfuss. I mentioned, lightheartedly, that I heard in his later years when he heard a piece of gossip, he had said, “Where there’s smoke there’s fire.”
My lawyer gave me a shocked look. He shook his head slowly and said, “He didn’t say that.”
I agree, that’s an odd thing to remember all these years, but it made me understand the mindset of people like that. They had lionized Dreyfuss. To hear that he had said such a thing went totally against their playbook. He not only couldn’t believe such a thing, he didn’t want to hear it. How he could know he didn’t say it I couldn’t guess.
Below is the story with the quote near the end.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/09/28/trial-of-the-century
Quite a read. History rhymes as usual, right?
Per CC’s inquiry, did some google-meistering and dug up the top 3 team batting averages over the last 7 seasons (2010-2016).
Starting with last season and working back…
Red Sox .282
Rockies .275
Tigers .267
Tigers .270
Blue Jays .269
Royals .269
(Giants .267) !
Tigers .277
Rockies .276
Dodgers .265 (booooo!)
Tigers .283
Red Sox .277
Rockies .270
Angels .274
Rockies .274
Rangers .273
Rangers .283
Red Sox .280
Tigers .277
Rangers .276
Royals .274
Twins .273
So yeah, I was wrong about the Rockies besting the field every year, but they are just about the only NL representative in the top 3 over this range (something to be said about pitchers coming to the plate). Those Tigers and Red Sox are always hitting for high average.
Flawed researech from you? I am surprised but it was a quick challenge on your lunch break.
AL has the Deisnated Phoney Baseball Player and cannot be compared to the NL.
Good thing that Phillies owner went for fishing trip, right?
Bandbox effect?
banging the ball off the wall – or over it!
You know my point.
IMO this is the song I liked as the best ever by Art & Paul.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOHOLaV6U4Q
This is a very interesting article by the Cardinals’ equivalent to Brisbee/McCovey Chronicles on the relationship between Mozeliak (the GM) and Matheny, especially with regard to Kolten Wong (and to a lesser extent, Randall Grichuk).
Apparently Mozeliak is afraid to give Matheny “too much depth” because when Matheny has veterans, he buries possibly valuable younger players on the bench. Imagine that!
http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/st-louis-cardinals-sabermetrics-analysis/2017/1/10/14223366/john-mozeliak-mike-matheny-tension
Matheny may have a point, particularly in the Central Division.
Matheny seems to always favor offense over defense, and the Cardinals’ infield defense has been dreadful for years. And as the article points out, Wong’s offensive numbers were comparable to those of Peralta and Gyorko, the vets getting the playing time. They gave Wong a pricey extension before last season, so this isn’t Mac Williamson we’re talking about–I get why Mozeliak thinks he should be playing.
he won’t be burying Alex Reyes ! ***** prospect
He played for Bochy right?
We resemble that remark!
New Post: http://fe0.84e.myftpupload.com/philosophy-of-baseball/baseball-unites-politics-divides/