by
Greek Giant
The Giants have just added depth to their roster and have continued their run of offseason signings to shore up their infield. It seems Bobby Evans and Bruce Bochy are determined to create a talent buffer in the inevitable event of injuries. By signing catcher Nick Hundley to a one year, $2 million contract and third baseman Jae-Gyun Hwang to a one year minor league, $1.5 million contract if he makes the big league team, they are taking seriously the push for depth and may even be considering a trade involving players like Trevor Brown, Eduardo Nunez and others.
These are very low-risk, high ceiling moves that do not cost the Giants Major League talent and pay the new players low salaries. With Hundley’s injury history, the hope is that he can provide quality at-bats when he fills in for Buster Posey on days Buster has a day off or plays first base.
Regarding Hwang, there have been many statements made about his power and his ability to produce runs the old-fashioned way in South Korea. Time will tell what kind of impact he will have on the Giants, assuming he makes the Major League roster, which is no guarantee.
I like the moves, even if they are safe ones. These are the types of acquisitions that can end up producing memorable moments when you least expect them (Travis Ishikawa, Cody Ross, Michael Morse, etc.)
The Giants are basically stock-piling talent they feel will minimize the drop-off in production when starters go down or when they need a rest. This is no small issue considering the small bench the Giants have had to work with since Bruce Bochy preferred carrying 130 pitchers on the 25 man roster….
So, the revised bench:
Hundley, Gillaspie, Tomlinson or Hwang, two backup outfielders(?).
Evans said in a conference call with the beat writers that their preference is for either Mac or Parker to be the everyday left fielder–not a platoon. So you figure one of them is the backup, and one more (Gorkys, Ruggiano, Morse…?).
I certainly hope that with a strong innings-eating rotation and a solid closer, we’re not going to have any four-man bench/eight-man bullpen nonsense this year. I can hope, right?
Maybe Trevor Brown can keep his job, with a good spring camp? It seems we can continue to type the lovely name Gorkys next season. Ruggiani has a shot at things this spring, to compete against Parker, but Morse is surely just a sentimental signing for team enthusiasm in the camp (Morse approached the Giants, not the other way around). KT now looks pretty sure to make the team as the primary backup middle IF, no? I do hope you are right about our getting to choose five (5) backup fielders this year.
Don’t forget Fedex and the other guy will be at ST looking for a spot too.
Pinto
Don’t forget J-Roll as a threat to have Tomlinson optioned to AAA. So much can happen over course of ST.
I get the feeling there could be a revolving cast of 3B/utility INF types: Nunez, Gillaspie, Hwang, KT, Rollins. Competition is good and so is depth, even if Bochy prefers having things written in ink rather than pencil. Between that and Mac/Parker duking it out for LF, should bring some energy that was lacking last year.
Bochy will be able to ride the hot bat….
Isn’t energy actually a euphemism for productivity. You do good you brought energy and a shot in the arm, you do bad well……..
It just seemed last year like everyone had their big contract and their role and no one had to fight for anything–not Cain or Peavy, not Span or Pagan, not Casilla. If they did poorly, Bochy would just keep trotting them back out there.
The best stretch of play all year by the Giants was when Pence and Pagan and Panik (and Duffy) were out at various points and young/fringe guys like Parker, Williamson, Albert Suarez, Ramiro Pena, etc. had to fill in. These were guys just clinging onto a chance, and they brought some urgency. Once Cain, Pagan, Pence, and Panik were back, those guys faded into the woodwork and the team stopped hitting or winning.
Will they move Nunez for some mysterious piece to the puzzle?
Nyet.
I don’t see how they can keep Nunez, Gillaspie, and Hwang. Too much repetition.
This does make the My25ManGuys™ Contest more interesting. I will have to look up when we cut off entries for that. I suppose you can allow picks right up until the last Oakland ST game here?
I think it should be earlier. Guys will get cut/injured during ST. It seems like cheating if you can account for that in your picks.
I will check what we did last year but I see what you mean,
Look at Moooooooose’s idea.
How about doubling up and having a February 1 deadline and after spring training deadline.
I like it but how would that work?
Easy!! Make picks on or before Feb 1 (or before Feb 14 or so) and a second set of picks at the end of spring training. Basically 2 contests. It’s gonna be great!!
And then a September 1st deadline!! I’d probably still eff it up.
We had to make the picks right at the end of spring training last year. That seemed the most practical thing, but even then, the A roster was nebulous. Until we know who makes the MLB, we don’t know who’s a River Cat, and it trickles down from there. Lefty’s right, it is way too easy if we don’t have to predict the chaos of camp. Moose is also right, if he means to make MLB picks by the oooooooooopening of camp, and the minor league picks at the end of camp?
My25-ManGuys™ … Who will make the 25-Man Roster can be picked as soon as ST starts as we know who is there. Maybe make it March 1 so you see a couple of games?
MyGuy™ for the season with MLB and minor leaguers has to wait until we see what level of the minors each player lands in as you pick two from each team/level. April 15 makes for a memorable date to have those in.
How does that sound to everyone interested?
Just saw Lefty’s mention of a DFA for Adrianza due to Hundley needing a 40-man slot. Not surprising but Arroyo’s rise gave EA only a small window of time with the Giants. That’s sad, esp. as injuries last season kept him from playing enough to attract another team’s interest. I hope he catches on with someone, or escapes a 2nd trip through waivers and stays another year with us. Breckeroni’s best wishes, in other words, to EA.
Not so fast. He’ll probably clear and make it through waivers, again. Then he’ll pick it clean for the Rivercats.
Brisbee points out that Adrianza can’t be outrighted to AAA if he clears waivers since he’s been outrighted before. They’d have to sign him to a new minor league deal. Could happen, I guess, but the Giants have already signed a ton of utility infielders to minor league deals. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ehire could latch on somewhere else.
Sadly, a player who’s ship has sailed.
Neither of the two additions will hit his weight.
Hundley goes about 210. Hwang is listed at 185.
Care to make a wager?
If I won, I wouldn’t take a poor farmers money. We’ll see.
One outta two ain’t bad. I think Hundley has proven to be above a .210 hitter
“Atta Babe” (mid season form)
I’d say today’s news is good news for Kelby Tomlinson and disappointing news for Trevor Brown. Hundley’s signed to a major league deal and is on the 40, so he’ll be the backup catcher, barring injury, and Brown will be back in AAA. This might be better for Brown’s development, though.
Adrianza being DFA’d gives Kelby a pretty clear path to the utility infielder job. Gillaspie isn’t a versatile infielder who can back up 2B/SS. The only other infielders on the 40 right now are Miguel Gomez, a 3B who hasn’t played above A-ball, and Orlando Calixte, who’s mostly played SS. But Calixte has a .247 career batting average in the minors (2500 ABs) and a .940 fielding percentage at SS. I don’t see him displacing Kelby, a .300 career hitter in 300 major league plate appearances.
The other scenario would be Hwang or Rollins making the team instead of Kelby. Could happen, I guess. But Hwang is primarily a 3B, not someone who can backup Crawford. If anything, he’d displace Gillaspie.
Nunez can backup Craw as well – with Gillaspie at 3b
Yeah but you need a backup SS that isn’t your projected everyday 3B. I’d agree with Lefty that this bodes well for Kelby making the team. Hope so, anyway.
I guess I don’t see it that way. I see Conor getting his fair share of licks and then there’s this Hwang guy. Have a hard time penciling in Nooner for 140+ games at La esquina Caliente.
I like Conor. I root for Conor. I defended Conor on here during the season when some saw him as just baggage taking up a roster spot. Having said all that, I don’t see him playing well enough to demand consistent starts at 3B.
Has to be Kelby or Rollins as the backup 2bman now, the question is who’s the backup ss.
Rollins obviously has the big league reps, but how effective is he still, at 38? In my opinion, Kelby is perfectly capable of playing SS in a pinch. I’ve seen him play there in Sacramento, and he was fine. Not Crawford, but then who is?
Until Rollins shows he is done at ST and, he quite possible maybe done, he gives the Giants a type of switch-hitting vet off the bench that they’ve never really had. They’ve had switch-hitters but nobody “‘his age” who knows both leagues and ironically Rollins now seems at peace with his roll.
Or role even… I mean unless he was fighting with his bread…..
Touché and Bravo. Good think Rollins did not throw his pats of butter across the table.
🙂
Ro>Row>Role>Roll>Role – Eeny, meeny, miny, moe
You really think vet love Bochy doesn’t find a place for J-Roll….
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/01/24/giants-acquire-new-backup-for-buster-posey-agree-to-terms-with-catcher-nick-hundley/
Grant Brisbee’s farewell to Adrianza, with some salient details about his contract and waiver status.
http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2017/1/24/14374906/ehire-adrianza-sf-giants-nick-hundley
hmmmmm…
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/24/opinion/after-the-womens-march.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region®ion=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region&_r=0
NYT links look the best if you just omit all the long extra stuff after the .html (and I have no idea why they have all that extra stuff).
EA getting designated is the last member of 2012’s Team Venezuela……
Pablo, Machi, Mijares, Petit, Adrianza, Blanco, Scutaro…. all gone…
Not from 2012, but Albert Suarez is Venezuelan. So is Gorkys Hernandez.
Neither one is assured a spot with the big club and both could easily be squeezed out in spring.
Yeah, I don’t really see how Suarez makes the cut, barring injury to someone else. Numbers just don’t add up.
You can stick pins in your Matt Cain doll, but it won’t be enough. By my reckoning there would have to be a bully injury to Gearrin, Kontos, Strickland, Melancon, Osich, Smith or Law. I would guess those are the 7 you break camp with.
Looking at that pen makes me realize the talent they have down there and how much Multi Million Dollar Melancon better stay healthy…..
Yep. Blach and Cain are battling for the fifth starter spot. If Blach wins it, what happens to Cain?–Do they DFA him or have an eight-man bullpen? In either case, no room for Suarez.
There’s also other fifth starter prospects like Stratton, Blackburn, and even Beede. A lot of depth there.
And still no one to play left field. Unless Hundley catches all the time and Belt goes to left.
Mac’s going to play left. Hopefully this will be a good thing. He did pretty well when he had a chance to play when Pence was out last year.
I think they have addressed the RH power off the bench thing now with Hunley Hwang Ruggiano and even Rollins
On a day when there was some actual baseball news, this doesn’t really count. I had to pass through that airport in enemy territory yesterday, but fortunately only had to look at two of those blue hats with the pair of letters on them. Unfortunately, it didn’t occur to me to count, but I saw any number of Cubs logo’d items at all airports, including more inside LAX than the two unmentionable ones. I guess they’ll start out the favorites with the media, just fine with me, Giants play well from the stealthy position.
Maybe it was discussed on here previously but anyone else surprised LA traded DeLeon for a 30-yr old Forsythe? Seems like their rotation is way too thin and full of question marks to be dealing away their top pitching prospect for that kind of return.
Yeah, when I saw that in the paper this morning, it seemed like a trade they’ll end up regretting, maybe even before next season’s end. In the meantime, SF looks solid in the pitching department, both starting and relief.
The buzz is that they’d cooled on DeLeon and like their other top prospects, Yadier Alvarez and Walker Buehler, better. But DeLeon was the most big league ready and had great minor league numbers. I agree that their rotation is full of question marks, especially as to health.
I like Forsythe but you’d think they would’ve gotten a little more. Unless, as you say, not only has LA cooled on DeLeon, but scouts around the league, as well.
Some starting options down south, in your neck of the woods, right down the street and up the hill, after you snag a couple of tacos on Olvera Street…
Kershaw
Maeda
Hill
Urias
Kazmir
McCarthy
Wood
Ryu?
+Stripling, Stewart, Nuno
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2017/1/24/14369872/dodgers-trade-pitching-prospect-jose-de-leon-to-rays-for-logan-forsythe
Most of em are injured much of the time.
The Giants now have 3 29-year-old 3rd baseman who can be expected to hit around .270 with reasonable power and very few strikeouts or walks. Hard to believe they’ll all be on the 25-man roster…
Nunez brings more tools with his speed, athleticism, and strong arm. I still think he’s the frontrunner.
I was implying that someone’s going to be traded.
Adrianza was DFA’d
But I see what you were talking about: Gilaspie, Nunez and Hwang. I think you could be right — they’re looking to make a trade. But if they don’t, they have enough non-guaranteed contracts so it won’t hurt them
Not baseball. Does this spook you, it does me. http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/164824
Hell yes, it spooks me. Not so much for myself–about the most controversial thing I ever say is about the future of the apostrophe in English grammar. But the idea that there’s a creepy McCarthy-esque list that people might land on is just so damn backward.
umm
OMG, McCarthyism once again ?
The Mets realize their entire approach to pitching is a mistake. They throw too hard. LOL. Maybe they’ll close the armgrinder mill after 45 years.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/rick-peterson-thinks-fix-mets-pitching-injuries-article-1.2954593
With their attention rightly focused on each other, the Giants and Dodgers best not ignore what the Rockies have going, which happens to be a lot of young talent and depth backing up their established stars. They have more arms than they’ve had in some time, and a few of these guys have learned a trick or two about pitching with Denver as the home field. Having a stout farm system is going to help their cause:
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2017/1/20/14336574/colorado-rockies-top-20-prospects-for-2017
I’m not really sure what that means. How would the Giants and Dodgers ignore the Rockies? They play 19 games each against them. And the Rox always seem to beat up on the Giants, anyway.
My bad. That doesn’t make sense. I think Rockies will be good. Have potential as a dark horse to win the division. Likely finish ahead of the Diamondbacks who aren’t that bad either. They’ve accumulate some depth that is really going to help. Possible that a mid-season trade acquires some impact rotation help.
Bottom line: tough division and 90 wins may be a feat.
Yep, I think the Snakes are going to be better this year. Could be a tough division. Not the Padres, though.
Is this guy Hundley better than Brown?
If Bochy goes with an eight man pen then we’re going to have to put on some funny hats and protest in the streets. Starting staff is too strong to need so many relievers.
Better than Brown? In totality – yes
If it’s Posey Belt Panik Crawford Nunez Parker/Williamson Span Pence Gillaspie Hundley,
they have 2 spots (if they go 12 P). I think keeping Cain around is the only reason they go 13.
So it’s Rollins, Tomlinson Hwang Ruggiano Gorky’s? anyone else?.Might want a balance of speed and power, so with Hundley Gillaspie and either Parker or Williamson, they have guys with pop (Posey would be there on off days). Maybe a combo of either Ruggiano and Tomlinson or Hwang and Gorky’s.
Don’t forget Pence’s BFF Morse.
Bam bam ass’t.
Power hitting Left Fielder….
I could see Morse going to AAA *if* Giants gave him some assurances. Seems to be the type of guy to do that to give it one last shot.
Baseball in Korea.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/keep-an-eye-on-korean-baseball/
I’m rather thrilled about the prospect of a Korean ballplayer on the Giants. I can’t wait to tell my grandson!
As long as expectations don’t outstrip his talent. Korean Ball is about AAish. I’d say wish him the best, and see how he takes to the American game, and its demands.
Where did Jung ho Kang play?
most likely in his back yard, maybe the school fields when he got a little older.
Hundley may have some secrets on how to better pitch the Rockies’ power guys…and maybe some of their pitching flaws.
Not to mention, what type of pitch guys like Jon Gray and Tyler Chatwood would throw in certain counts.
He sure will. And, just for comfort levels, Hundley caught Melancon for the Arizona Wildcats. It’s all coming together. Giants are going to be a good club this year.
No doubt.
ps- so how did you do it? how did you get the Hundley scoop?
It’s OK…everyone gets out-scouted every once in awhile :-))
Good catch, Crawfish Joe!
Anything to get Arrenado out. He owns us worse than Dale Murphy used to.
NYTimes evaluates the Warriors.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/24/sports/basketball/golden-state-warriors-kevin-durant-steph-curry.html?hpw&rref=sports&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well
Maybe Ehire Adrianza becomes the next Emmanuel Burriss and bounces around. Most likely Dusty gravitates towards EH first …
This is the rotation I hope we see:
Power Bum
Crafty Cueto
Crafty Moore
Power Smarge
Power Blach
Should Moore and Blach be switched with respect to power/crafty?
All of our pitchers need to be crafty for their power to be effective.
Blach and Bum back to back? Powerful.
Yes.
What’s the guess on Cain starts this season. You guys and your alt-facts.
20!
Million! In his bank account!
His first 10 will be free unless he is complete BP in Spring…
Tyson Michael Blach may not be confused with Powerful, but yea….
Cueto routinely threw harder than Bum last season. Jus’ Sayin’
I saw that Keith Law ranked the Giants system 20th. That feels about right as I’ve looked at some of the other systems. I think that’s pretty good considering some of the talent they’ve traded away and their absence of top picks and total absence of trading for prospects. This means that the guys they have drafted are developing well – that’s your Steve Duggar and Ty Blach and CJ Hinojosa’s of the world. If the Giants had really hit on another one of their recent picks and if Lucius Fox was too good to be traded, giving them, say, two additional B prospects, their farm system would look more 15ish than 20ish. Anywho…
This is what a bad farm system looks like. They had the worst last year and are likely still the worst this year. But they’ve added a couple talents to build upon.
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2017/1/24/14375846/los-angeles-angels-top-20-prospects-for-2017
Who is care? Ask Keith if he thinks Brandon Crawford will amount to much…
It’s actually quite shameful the way the Giants organization has treated Bonds after everything he did to pull the franchise out of the garbage. Just a few years after possibly moving this team ignited the fan base and helped the Giants become what they are now, one of the best Orgs not only in MLB but all sports. Yes, Bonds helped bring the era to fruition.
To many that hold on so hard to the PED thing, the organization made a great deal of its $$$ during those HR record seasons, money that eventually led to ATT being a reality and a success.
And to think some odiot on this blog actually insinuated on this blog that ATT was the house the Timmy built.
http://mlb.com/r/article?ymd=20170123&content_id=214207572&vkey=news_sf&c_id=sf
STOP CALLING NAMES ! I hope that ALL the decent people of this blog will block you, like I am going to do.
Ok fine, but hey if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…..
It will happen. Baer and Barry are close but more importantly Barry and Harmon and Sue Burn’s daughters are like Bread and Butter. Trina Burns Dean and Tori Burns maybe the two most important investor types concerning this subject. The litigation is completely over. He will wear his Giant Cap into the HOF and after the ill conceived year with the Marlins – he will return as a Giant coach or Rover.
Cut out that last paragraph and you have a great post.
What I tried to say.
I’m sure if the whole thing was cut out, it would be even better. What I read was excellent!
“This user is blocked”
What are you talking about? Tim Lincecum debuted in 2007–seven years after the park opened. He was 15 years old when AT & T was built. I agree with your stuff about Bonds, but why bring your irrational hatred of Lincecum into this?
Because someone once on the blog alluded to that idea, and yes of course I then pointed out the time thing.
Play Timmy For Me.
Jessica Walters ain’t got nuthin on you
I admire your tenacity at relating everything to a Clint Eastwood movie, lol
I was thinking an empty chair, but point made.
it makes my day
Because someone supposedly said it years ago is what I gather.
probably a fan who started following the team in October 2010.
I totally agree. Bear in mind, emotional name calling does nothing to convince others towards your point of view. You’d have more pull if you can keep the accusations under control; I find it a bit trumpian myself. If you insult enough folks, they just won’t read you. That said, I reiterate: we are in agreement here, on this issue.
Actuality, Timmy was operating the crane that lowered the Glove when the park was being built.
http://ww4.hdnux.com/photos/36/31/53/7969507/5/920×920.jpg
Wanna have a catch?
FoD references always are relevant.
It was cruel for Donald to call out Spicer on his wardrobe but I must say that Spicer’s suit on Monday looked he got it in a two for ten bucks close out sale.
Brilliant, Chef. Thanks for the pic.
“insinuated” is a subjective term- What did this person actually say?
the house that timmy built lmao lololol that ludicrous as hell
how you doing Slikk?
Doing great buddy how are you just getting ready for baseball season here starting to warm up this is my spring training
I’me excited about bball season, already penciled the GMen at Citifield!
Yeah I’ll be checking them out right here in the Bay Area at Johnnie Lemaster field
Out here in Sacramento delivering packages listening to The Dramatics The Four Tops Friends of Distinction Marvin Gaye and a few others it keeps me sane
nice, recently I’ve been on a 5 Stair Steps and Chi-Lites kick (and always Marvin)!
Don’t get me started on the five stairsteps I love their old hit song ooooh child and the sister of the group is fine as hell
With the season starting up, those who enjoy Fangraphs may not know you can follow a game live. Fun stuff?!
http://www.fangraphs.com/library/how-to-use-fangraphs-live-scoreboard/#more-2574
Honestly, a game with “TWG accompaniment” is the best!
Sometimes yes. Do both. I didn’t know it had real time strike zone analysis.
Finally!!!
Gee, back in early November I posted that he was the best choice of the available reserve catchers. Another user here recently accused me of lying about that. Look, it’s not a BFD about who was first but I could easily have been wrong about who they might sign. I’m not often right about these things, so I’m going brag a little when my guess came to pass…
So, bragging is done and now the creek dweller can apologize to me.
Hold on buddy. First, if you think it was me that accused you of lying, not true. Probably a bad use of words on my part and definitely not my intent. When the Giants were finished I went to the Raiders site and returned here because I had heard Hundley was on his way. Did not know you had posted that earlier. Again, antagonist and one upping are not in my make up. All in good fun. Sometimes I get some info a little early and want to say but I shouldn’t. My bad if you took it that way and certainly not my intent.
Thanks for your gracious reply. Now it’s up to Nick to make both of us look good.
I think he will. He loves the game and is smart. Definitely does his homework. Hope it works out with him for sure. I personally like Nick and feel positive about the signing.
Not lying– alternative facts
11 illegal aliens in Middletown voted for Hillary for Mayor of Middletown- and we don’t even have a Mayor!
But she’s considering it.
Tough times for those Clintons.
I know you’re just kidding around and it made me chuckle!
But it reminded me how absurd it is that people think that undocumented residents, who spend their time trying to keep their head down and not be noticed by the government, would go and register their names and addresses with the government in order to vote. Just makes no sense at all.
Going by the high estimate ( 20 million) of how many illegal immigrates are in the USA and using Trump’s claim that 5 million illegals voted, my math says that 25 percent of them voted. !!!!!!!!!
It’s your cooking.
There’s no way they go with 3 catchers, right???
No. It will be good for Brown to hit and catch everyday in AAA.
Don’t rule it out over course of 162.
Not before Sept 1st
On a random note, I received my autographed copy of Zito’s record in the mail today. And he spelled my name right 👍🏼
Damn, where do I get one?
You had to pre-order his EP by a certain date for him to sign it. They emailed me asking if I wanted him to sign it personally to me, and I said, of course!
You can order his EP on his website (www.barryzitomusic.com)
You lucky sun of a gun…
Hindsight is 20-20, what is Forsythe for the Dodgers? 17 HRs, 8 SBs?
Trevor Brown came to bat 184 times last year. Will Nick Hundley surpass 200 in 2017? 250?
You tell me if Posey gets injured this year and I’ll be able to answer the question.
The central ethos of a baseball blog.
https://i.imgur.com/3xfYNlW.png
Spot on! and that’s coming from a guy who might be the most guilty of confirmation bias.
As an aside, over the years I have been jealous of my friends and blog acquaintances who (whom?) have had the opportunity to go to spring training. Well this is my year. I have an assignment to visit the Seattle Mariners facility and check out some of their games, and, of course, a chance to visit my beloved Giants. Any tips, ideas, or recommendations for my week in AZ?
Spring training is fun! A couple of restaurants we really like in Old Town Scottsdale are The Mission and Citizen Public House. If you’re coming to a game at Scottsdale Stadium–which I recommend if you can manage it; it’s a cool park with a great vibe–leave extra time and/or scope our parking, which is limited. We usually stay somewhere that we can walk to the park.
Old Town Scottsdale has a lot of fun shops and art galleries and is nice to walk around. You will see a lot of Orange and Black representation.
A lot of people like to go to Don and Charlie’s, a famous Giants spring training bar–not in Old Town but not far from it. I found it a bit too crowded for my taste, but it’s a must-do for a lot of Giants fans.
This is great stuff Doc. Thank you.
I’ve always thought you were a closet Mariners fan. Don’t know what it was… 😉
They could be in the hunt this year.
Yeah, I`m a fan of the city. Seattle`s ball teams are okay. However, I am a closet mariner…longing for another voyage. Will Timmy hook up with them?
This is the year he should go home again. Mariners aren’t all that deep in starting pitching. Maybe bullpen works there.
I’m going this year too, finally, for the 1st time! I’m most likely going to go to the white sox, reds and cubs games at the end of ST.
I`m like a little kid…very excited. Hoping my boys can go with. Pumped to see all of the Giants` kids.
I think we might cross paths at the Whitesox (Saturday) game?
If want to try and meet, email me: My SF Giant Guy at Gee Mel dOtt com
I will be with my two, adult sons and would love for them to meet more Giants Addicts.
For sure I will contact you. Gotta compare cold brew notes…some baseball too. You going around 3/14…give or take a couple of days? I`d like to hook up with some TWGs.
Great! It would nice to make that happen. I think the White Sox game is on Sunday but I could be wrong (I’m flying in that morning and flying out Tuesday night).
I’ll be the gal most likely wearing my Duffy/Skeeter shirt, because now it’s “vintage” 😉
Oops… my last day is Saturday vs. the Padres and I decided I needed to travel back early Sunday AM… that is why I had the White Sox in my foggy brain. Maybe another time.
Post some scouting reports here and give this MyGuy Thing a try this year. It is all about finding some new guys to root for which you will see firsthand.
No stats on this but it was my impression that a number of the pitcher meltdowns last year happened when brown was catching and the pitch selection was questionable. I remember one occasion when posey was playing 1st and i asked myself if posey could help from there. Hundley will be a big help in this.
That could be perception or it could be who Trevor was catching and when. Bruce gives Buster rest days on getaway days which many times you get the D league starters. D league starters are not offensive juggernauts and most likely would have lower scoring games.
The Giants real issue last year was not the pitching or the relief pitching. It was the run scoring. You can look at the relief core, they had a lower ERA than the starters and batters hit for a lower average.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/split.cgi?t=p&team=SFG&year=2016#sprel
If you look by inning the 7-9th were middle of the road for runs allowed and basically had a lower batting average than the rest of the game.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/split.cgi?t=p&team=SFG&year=2016#innng
What the Giants really had was bad hitting late in games. How many 9th inning comebacks did they have? The team as a whole hit .209 in the ninth with a .281 OBP. The last 3 innings they averaged the lowest BA.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/split.cgi?t=b&team=SFG&year=2016#innng
Basically if you look at starting pitchers, they had 52 games in which the offense scored 0-2 runs. They went a cumulative 9-32. That is not a team that comes back from behind and is not an offesnsive juggernaut
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/split.cgi?t=p&team=SFG&year=2016#rs
When you look at playoff caliber teams in the NL, only the Mets scored less runs than the Giants.
I will re-iterate what I stated last year, the Giants had a run scoring issue and not a pitching issue. The relief pitching just looked at fault because the offense was not good and scoring runs. Add to that the requirement of holding 1 or 2 run leads for an average of 3 innings per game, you are bound to lose many if the offense goes anemic in late innings.
So the real question is what have the Giants done to improve the offense? They let go a .280 hitting left fielder. They are hoping on another solid year from Crawford. They HOPE Panik goes back to rookie year JoeP, they yet again HOPE Belt will be that power and RBI guy that he has not been, they HOPE Buster will not degrade more.
To add to what you said, the Giants never had a ninth-inning comeback the whole year. Not once. So not only did they not hold slim leads, if they ever got behind late in a game, party over. In hindsight, it’s amazing they actually made the playoffs.
I agree that the offense isn’t any better and may even be worse next year. It COULD go OK–the Giants have a lot of big league hitters with good track records, and giving Mac or Parker a shot in LF COULD pay off–but at this point, it’s looking a lot like the 2009 and 2011 Giants–great pitching and no hitting.
Very 2011….
Yeah 2011 when
Huff hit .246 12 HR
Torres dropped to .221 and 4 HR
Burrel the dumpster dive of 2010 fell to .230 with 7HR
Ross dropped to .240
Buster blown up literally
Whiteside hit under the mendoza line as the replacement.and Stewart was .204 as the backup
The team offense really was a disaster that year outside of a Bright PAblo hitting .315 with 23 HR’s.
Fixed it for you…
Yeah 2017when
Crawford hit .246 12 HR
Span dropped to .221 and 4 HR
Panik the hero of 2014 fell to .230 with 7HR
Pence dropped to .240
Buster blown up literally
Hundley hit under the mendoza line as the replacement.and Brown was .204 as the backup
The team offense really was a disaster that year outside of a Belt hitting .315 with 23 HR’s.
Yup, very easy to see…
Thanks … that was what I was trying to imagine.
Does anyone think that is where the Giants are headed?
I think the parallels are pretty limited. Huff, by his own recent admission, was heavy into substance abuse that year. Ross was always a fringe outfielder, and so was Torres other than his career year in 2010. All of them were well past 30. Sabean also added washed-up guys like Miguel Tejada, Orlando Cabrera, and Jeff Keppinger. The only regular starters that year who were under 30 were Posey (gone by late May for the season) and Sandoval (missed six weeks with hamate surgery).
By contrast, the Giants have Posey and Crawford just turning 30, Belt, Nunez, and Panik still under 30, and whoever wins the LF job will be under 30. The oldsters are Pence and Span, but unlike 2011, they’re in the minority, not the majority. Three of the five starters will be under 30 if Blach wins a spot, too, and the bullpen’s a lot younger than it used to be.
Exactly.
Pagan is a parallel (gone)
Other than that, as you have pointed out, it is not the same.
2Hole points it out in his last paragraph but his “HOPE …” sounds like he thinks there is little chance that Crawford, Panik, Belt, Pence or even Buster play their track record.
Isn’t it about health? Panik and Pence were not healthy last year and missed many games. How many times did the Giants field their First String? Not much.
Again going with the 2011 comparison: Pence, Span, Posey, Crawford, and Belt all have track records of multiple good seasons. Panik has a more limited track record, but his first full year (2014-15) was excellent, and even in a down year, he won a Gold Glove. So you have the newbie in LF and you have Nunez who’s had one career year as the real unknowns.
In contrast, going into the 2011 season, the Giants had a bunch of guys who stepped up in 2010 but otherwise had inconsistent track records. Huff was an every-other-year guy who signed for cheap in 2010 because no one else wanted him. Torres and Ross were journeymen. Sandoval had a great 2009 and was benched by the end of 2010. Posey obviously was a star, but he only had a little over a half season of big league experience. Freddy Sanchez had a history of being fragile. Miguel Tejada was old and a PEDs cheater. Burrell, with nearly 300 major league HRs, had the best track record, but he’d also been DFA’d by Tampa Bay in early 2010.
In hindsight, it wasn’t at all surprising that the 2011 team didn’t come together, even if Buster hadn’t been injured.
In hindsight, it is amazing they should have made the playoffs in 2011 if the late acquisition RF, whom shall remain Unnamed, does noi get hurt and then milk it out too long to be the help they needed.
That was a very frustrating season to watch. The pitching was SO good–FOUR starters in the top 11 in NL ERA. A great bullpen, with Wilson still mostly healthy, Romo’s best year ever…if they’d made it to the tournament that year, they would have had a great chance.
Belt should have a typical Belt year. His most productive year was in 2013 with his highest slugging OPS+ and Average. He had as many home runs that year in 100 fewer at bats than last year. The past 2 years he has been striking out even more than typical Belt poor K rates. All those K’s are a big rally killer as his tendancy to walk. batting 6th before week hitters he did not make contact 50% of the time either taking walks or K’s. Batting 5th 33% of the time he fails to make contact. Hard to drive in runs taking walks and striking out in RBI spots.
Buster last year was one of hist worst. He had his lowest full season batting average and lowest slugging % of his career. This while starting basically 133 games as a position player and only 122 at catcher. If the daily grind of catching 122 games runs him into the ground then what happens as he ages another year. If reports of a bad back was true last year, then that does not bode well for an aging catcher. Once one gets a bad back, that will continue to nag for the rest of his career. I have some HOPE Buster bounces back but if inuries from catching persist, that HOPE is diminished.
Panik – lets see he has a short track record and like Buster a bad back that will likely nag him through his career. I do like his smooth swing and HOPE he rebounds to his rookie form.
Crawford – I would not hang my hat on him carrying the team. Though he has steadily improved through his career and has become consistent at the plate and in the field.
Pence – He has had 2 years of injuries limiting himself. He will be 34 years old and has had a steady decline in his OPS+. I would tend to think if he stays healthy and avoids the sliders off the plate, he could have a bounce back year and the most impact on the team vs 2016.
LOL, and OUCH. But WTG Belt!!
What parallels do you see then?
Huff = ? … Belt?
Torres = ? …
Burrel = ? …
Ross = ? …
Whiteside = Hundley?
Pablo? …
I miss REAL ball so much, my dear friend. In winter time flows at a slower pace and I realize that we have to invent something to kill it.
And even Pablo missed six weeks with his first hamate surgery.
Nate Schierholtz had a decent season until he went down with a broken foot in August. Freddy Sanchez was headed for an All-Star selection when he had his shoulder injury in June that turned out to be career-ending.
That was a baaaaaad year.
To me it’s all about Pence. If he’s healthy I think their hitting will be better.
Agree–he could give them a big boost.
The offense wasn’t great but the truth is that in terms of runs scored it was comparable to the years they won the World Series. They actually scored more runs than in 2010 and 2012 and basically as many as 2012, although their place in the league dropped (5 places on the average) because the scoring went up in general (2010 697 (#17), 2012 718 (#12), 2014 665 (#12), 2016 715 (#19)). The real problem was hitting in the clutch–they were #1 in the majors in Clutch in 2012 and 2014 (though only #15 in 2010) but only #19 in 2016. A significant part of this was they focused much too much on ‘working the count’ (I’ve made some posts here showing that a high walk total is strongly statistically correlated with a bad Clutch score). Essentially the whole team posted higher walk percentages than their career totals (Belt (15.9 vs. 11.3), Crawford (9.1 vs 8.5), Posey (10.4 vs. 9.3), Panik (9.5 vs. 8.4), Pagan (7.7 vs. 7.1), Pence (9.7 vs. 7.5)). They went from being #21 in the majors in walks in 2014 to #4 last year. They changed from a team in which everyone was going up to the plate looking to get the big hit to a team in which everyone was going up to the plate looking for the big walk, and that just doesn’t cut it in the clutch. Unfortunately they seem to have gotten it into their head that this is a good idea so I don’t see much likelihood of improvement (although the addition of Nunez is a good sign and I like Hwang in this respect also).
It’s also true that they generally had lousy BABIP luck last year. In terms of xBABIP (the last calculations I did were after the Sept. 7 game), Gillaspie was hitting 55 points lower than he would have been with normal luck, Nunez was -48, Panik was -35, WIlliamson was -34, Posey was -26, Span was -19, Pagan was -13. The only ones who were lucky were Brown (+31) and Pence (+44). We can expect that that will get better because they just won’t be as unlucky.
In general, though, you really can’t evaluate the relative effectively of the Giants hitters and pitchers unless you use statistics which take their park into consideration. Their hitters’ statistics suffer greatly from the park and the pitchers’ statistics benefit greatly from it.
This is a Hall of Fame post for a Cub Fan. Mr Banks says “lets play two”.
Manfred Mans Earth band would have to part the seas and change the direction of the Bud mans legacy for that to happen. In the mean time, I expect the Roaring Silence until Quin the Eskimo gets drafted.
There was a game in September vs. the Padres where the bullpen melted down in the ninth and Steven Okert gave up the game-winning HR on a hanging curveball. I remember reading/hearing at the time that Brown’s pitch call was a problem there–I forget who, but it was either the announcers or the beat writers who thought so.
Yes, that was one which the announcers noticed but there were others which I just noticed myself. Another was Moore’s disaster against Colorado on Sept. 5 where Brown just forgot to call for the cutter which Moore had recently started throwing.
IIRC, Brown caught Moore for his first several starts as a Giant–just the way the schedule shook out–and it didn’t go that well. Once Moore started working regularly with Posey, things improved pretty quickly.
I remember Posey caught the near no-hitter so I didn’t think of that possibility. I’ll check…
Brown did catch Moore the first 3 starts, you’re right, but Posey caught every game after that except for the Colorado disaster. I had the feeling that maybe he didn’t even realize that Moore had added a new pitch.
You aren’t wrong. There were a number of times when Bochy could have put Posey in at catcher to finish the game and he didn’t and it may have cost them. Are there risks associated with this move? probably, but they seem worth it when a team is trying to win the division with not quiet enough talent. Let’s hope BB learned from this.
I have to say that last year convinced me that although Bochy is brilliant in many respects, his learning curve is basically horizontal.
Keith Law is rolling out his top-100 prospect list, 20 per day. He has Beede at #62, crediting his “huge bounceback year” in 2016. While he thinks Beede’s command is still an issue, Law overall likes Beede and thinks he could profile as high as a #2 starter by his late 20s. (Beede is currently 24.)
Jose DeLeon, whom the Dodgers just traded, only ended up #73 on Law’s list. Maybe a clue there as to why the Dodgers were happy to shop him. He was much higher on lists last year.
I haven’t seen any other Giants on Law’s list, not even Arroyo, so I assume Beede will be the only one. (Law’s released 100 through 40 so far.)
Sounds about right to have Beede close to #50, as a B/B+ or *** pitching prospect and Arroyo somewhere near 100 as a B or *** positional prospect. Quite a surprise about DeLeon, a B+, *** prospect.
…Arroyo was named the 4th best 3B prospect in the minors by MLB.com, so he’s getting some love elsewhere.
Darn it! I just posted the same story. Oh well, twice is nice.
I didn’t post the link, so you win!
I’ve always wondered where you go to look for the remaining options players have. This chock full of 411 site has it.
Mac has 2 options, Kelby has 2, Gorkys has 0, Osich has 3, Okert has 2, Joan Gregorio only has 1 even though he hasn’t had a cup of Joe…
http://www.rosterresource.com/mlb-san-francisco-giants/
bookmarked. Ta!
Awesome. Good catch. I’ve always wondered about that, too.
Speaking of prospect rankings, which can be so fluid and subjective, of the current G’s, which player had the highest prospect ranking among Baseball America or Baseball Prospectus?
You can eliminate Span, Parker Williamson Crawford Panik Nunez Blach, Will Smith, Law Osich Strickland and Melancon who never made BA, BP or MLB top 100. Neither for that matter did Matt Duffy or Adam Duvall.
I want to say Bumgarner? I think he was ranked even higher than Posey as a prospect.
nope
I guess it depends which list and which year we’re talking about. Bumgarner was #3 on Baseball Pro before the 2009 season.
Bum is the 2nd highest.
Calvin Murray 🙂
Wheeler was up there.
When they broke him is when I knew they were at fault and, so far, they’ve proven that it’s true, they break pitchers.
The Mets
They admitted it this week. Something is wrong about the way they develop young arms.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/rick-peterson-thinks-fix-mets-pitching-injuries-article-1.2954593
Brandon Belt
Belt was low-20s on both lists prior to 2011.
I was kidding on the guess. I’m aware he wasn’t ranked high before 2011.
surely you gest…..
As in gestation?
Matt Moore !!
That’s right. He was a top prospect.
BoEv did really well to peel him off the Rays when his stock was a bit down.
Or EvBo
Bobby Evans discussed Giants:
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/01/giants-left-field-williamson-parker-competition.html
There are only 16 3rd basemen in the Hall of Fame. That is the least of any position.
Here is why:
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/scott-rolen-ron-santo-and-the-third-base-myth/
I used to root for Fransden as a player, but not so much as a radio show host. Comes off as arrogant, a Mr. Know-It-All, and always referring back to his playing days as a mediocre player. How is this podcast on KNBR any different from times he likes to “subtlety” mention his MLB career?
http://www.knbr.com/all-knbr-podcasts/
Marco says 19 days until pitchers and catchers report. We’re in the teens people! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3ec698ee1a807d831d29de99e140ec093e2c5d197c36e009fcd79ca156608510.jpg
Arroyo news…
http://aroundthefoghorn.com/2017/01/24/san-francisco-giants-christian-arroyo-named-3b-prospect/
KIR, are you our man in Amsterdam?
https://s3.amazonaws.com/lowres.cartoonstock.com/children-mom-motherhood-mothers-baseball_player-baseball_match-rde7785_low.jpg
helicopter parenting is the worst
Helicopter Parenting helped create the MM
http://bgparks.org/pdf/youth-sports/soccer/Matheny%20Manifesto.pdf
President Trump is considering lifting bans on the torture of suspected terrorists and funny looking Latinos, and he will allow employers in the private sector to follow his lead. Beginning with the first Cactus league game, Sabean will instruct Bochy to allow short-sheeting and hot foots for misdemeanor mental errors such as failing to hit the cut-off man or swinging at back foot sliders. Felony errors such as getting picked off 3rd base with Posey at the plate or failing to expand the strike zone with the pitcher on deck will draw harsher penalties- waterboarding in the whirlpool or being thrown under the bus.
John McCain will hold the line.
Big Country Mike’s comment was obviously about baseball and not politics. I’m not sure about yours, even though I’m sure it was baseball inspired.
Big Country Mike is a genius. Kudos !
I got your recent email and while writing a reply, accidentally deleted the whole thing. I was multi-tasking at the time.
See? I knew it was about baseball.
Of course!
I wonder how Gabby Giffords is doing these days?
Dear Mr. Scott, I’m very lucky to shout out, loud & clear, not my president !
Need your Gnocchi recipe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UmagzVJ5BI
Many Thanks AC!
That would be, “Gneed your Gnocchi recipe”
How does a run down work now?
Intravenous salt drips when the temperature is over 90…..
As it should be…. But where does failing to tag up on a flyout rate?
Here’s a photo of Hwang Jae-gyun:
https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ziZUC8BPiwXyi3VoQRbPNsKiE1s=/0x0:3000×2005/920×613/filters:focal(1467×119:1947×599)/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/52883721/456255284.0.jpg
Looks athletic. I posted three you tubes on last blog of him hitting and fielding. His fielding was better than his hitting.
We’ll see what happens. His over-the-top bat flips will have to be jettisoned.
He already has done so according to an interview.
“You completed Me” 🙂
He did not flip his bat once last season http://tinyurl.com/hqpr9a5
Jet lag has an effect on baseball player performance. It also seems true that the effect is greater traveling West to East than the contrary. It remains to be seen whether teams will react to that or more importantly, whether MLB will give that some consideration in scheduling options. A new study makes that point.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/new-study-finds-link-between-jet-lag-performance/
Jon Heyman of course piped up and said jet lag doesn’t seem to adversely affect the Giants.
How does he know? Does he play?
LOL
It was a rather stupid tweet by Jon Heyman.
Wrong. It was sarcasm. #ThreeInFive
I’m not the only one who read Heyman’s tweet as uninformed. Andrew Baggarly responded to Heyman: “Oh, it has. Too many times they’ve played flat when it was predictable, given the schedule.”
CC had some post about confirmation bias yesterday…
I’m not sure exactly what you mean in this context, Ryan. I’m afraid you’re going to have to explain this to me.
Wasn’t jet lag and sleep deprivation for West Coast teams taken seriously and addressed in the new CBA? Not this year, but starting in 2018? My understanding is that in 2018, the baseball season will start 5 days earlier to allow for more off days, and there will be earlier start times for games on travel days.
Yes. Jet leg and sleep deprivation for west coast teams is acknowledged and Heyman is aware of this. I’m sure he’s aware that the Seattle Mariners suffer the worst traveling schedule. I think he was making light of the potential impact of “jet lag” as the Giants have won three titles in spite of their unfavorable traveling schedule. You don’t see the Padres, Angels, Dodgers, A’s, or Mariners winning 3 in 5 🙂
As for confirmation bias, I think that if you don’t like someone in the media like Heyman, you will tend to interpret something he write negatively.
As Peter might say : “you seem like someone who doesn’t like Jon Heyman…”
The three-in-five history doesn’t really apply. The Giants are an older team now than they were then. Sleep deprivation when we’re older takes a greater toll and adversely affects performance mentally and physically.
Nice that this is being addressed and Giants have those custom seat/beds on their plane for cross country flights.
…and a sleep doctor/specialist.
Of all people Heyman ought to know he’s not funny, and sarcasm falls flat on the web. Christ Scout, read your tattoo, surly you have one describing your attempts at humor here, just as a handy reminder.
That settles that. Thank you for the edification.
Lay that 8-ball down lad.
Good thing Honolulu doesn’t host an MLB squad. But you know they used to host a minor league affiliate? – and the Pirates were one of them, you can see it on early Barry Bonds baseball cards. Not sure how they worked that out or how many other teams were affiliated there. By golly, there should be a book on this subject. I imagine quite a bit of ball was played at Schofield back in the day as well.
You know, I recall people on a baseball field playing in film of that day.
From Here to Eternity….
Can’t say I’ve seen the movie, but it’s a very fine novel.
I suspect it will require schedule modification. This year about 3 days has been added into the season by shortening Spring Training. What they need to do is go back to 154 games, and make all travel day games, day games.
Most Likely a re-post, otherwise enjoy http://tinyurl.com/hqpr9a5
Mary Tyler Moore dead at 80.
Too bad. I liked her show.
Even her show(s)
One, not all.
Butch Trucks, Allman Brothers drummer died today as well (69).
bummer, just read that.
https://www.yahoo.com/music/butch-trucks-allman-brothers-band-drummer-and-co-founder-dead-at-69-161437426.html
Where’s my man in Amsterdam, Keepin’ It Real??
Rockies go Dutch.
https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/824348771517681673
RIP MTM, the cutest actress on TV in the 60’s and 70’s.
2016 killed a lot of good ones, looks like 2017 might want to compete.
Ugh – 16 was horrible and you’re right about 2017
https://twitter.com/BraddJaffy/status/824342410650144769
Billy Beane has fallen in love with re-signing ex A’s
Billy Bean has fallen in love with making A’s ex-A’s ???
“That’s Right Lon”
Do you speak of Adam Rosales by chance?
Correctamundo
Dodgers traded for a guy the A’s DFA’d, who was in the Royals system before: Brett Eibner.
I wonder what George Herman Ruth could pull off the $ pile of FA – if he were alive and in his prime?
With modern and year-round conditioning? Good question. Mr. Mays would be a 200+ million dollar man.
at this point 25% of all MLB players seem to be ex A’s lol
So Mike Gallego has a chance?
Usain Bolt loses an Olympic Gold in the relay (4×100), because his team mate was discovered to be doping.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/25/sport/usain-bolt-triple-triple-nesta-carter-doping-gold-medal-beijing-2008-relay-4x100m/
215-ish in CAL and 515-ish in Canuck Land
Am listening to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bUP7BVn5JY
Baggs must be exercising his Jeopardy awards – cuz I don’t see any wrinkle….
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/01/24/giants-notes-gm-evans-adds-new-wrinkle-to-left-field-competition/
Whatever Lefty had/has and thousands of others – kind of sacked the Logo. #getbettermrwest
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/01/25/warriors-executive-board-member-jerry-west-hospitalized-but-doing-fine-team-says/
Good Story and Great Photos https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/21/sports/basketball/golden-state-warriors-james-michael-mcadoo-nba.html?_r=1
DOW closes at 20K !
America is great again. Our work is done. Mission accomplished. Let’s all go home. Hash tags.
Dow Jones the day Obama took office: 7,949. On his last day: 19,743.
…and now the Dow over 20,000. All credit to Trump.
The irony is that it’s driven by the Tech stocks primarily. A lot of folks are shorting the market now. Tech bubble?
Boom?
One hopes not.
Check out who was at the SF March on Saturday!
https://twitter.com/daphatroan/status/824370786571988992
Got to make certain this isn’t that Brazilian cab driver. But right on. Does Tim still live in SF?
I know he had a teacher girlfriend in SF. Maybe he was joining her.
I understand Timmy’s pretty good at operating a crane!
Are they sure it’s not the Brazilian guy who was pretending to be Timmy?
Five teams who a judged to have had a poor upgrade off season.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2017/01/25/mlb-trade-rumors-offseason-hot-stove-bad-moves/97044428/
Checked the WBC roster for Korea and no Hwang Jae-Gyun 🙁
It would have been cool to watch him play, but he’s getting as ready as he can for SF big league camp.
Kang Jung Ho also not on the roster.
Fun article, that teaches about confirmation bias…you get to take a quiz, click click. It has cool graphs at the end as a party favor. You have to read at least the last paragraph. Here that Efrain and others.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/baseball-is-amazing-and-stupid-a-quiz/
should be titled the “Adam Rosales Quiz” lolz
I wonder how many TWG’s would ride this Alpine Slide in Kandersteg, Switzerland?
https://www.facebook.com/TravelPicsPage/videos/456667771195245/
Nice video. I rode one of those slides after visiting a section of The Great Wall called Mutianyu just outside Beijing.
The Dodgers rotation has produced 34.1 WAR over the last two years. Kershaw has 15.1 of them. Folks, that’s exposure.
And he only made 21 starts last year.
What do you expect from Maeda, Hill, Urias, Kazmir, McCarthy plus others this year?
If he hiccups they’re toast, and any other POV, IMO, is whistling by the graveyard. They’ve had the most total different starters over the last 2 years by far. All that’s allowed that to happen is Kershaw’s dependability. They are on a bubble.
Not sure how they survived without him last year but somehow they did. Giants epic collapse sure helped.
Yeah, we had our issues. IMO, they survived because they threw so many different arms with so little film and scouting on them available.
Hmmmm.
Beyond Kershaw and Greinke, the only starter over a total WAR of 3 over the past two years is Maeda at 3.3.
Injuries. Or, put another way..
https://youtu.be/nXibq_9Q8gI
De Leon traded away. Might not be that smart. But this discussion is why Dave Roberts got manager of the year, w/o having so very much behind that danged Kershaw.
Dadgummit.
Steamer projections:
Maeda: 157 IP. 2.7 WAR
Urias: 114 IP. 2.1 WAR
Hill: 145 IP, 3.2 WAR
Kazmir: 55 IP, 0.9 WAR
McCarthy: 60 IP, 1.0 WAR
Ryu: 18 IP, 0.3 WAR
Kazmir, McCarthy, and Ryu, LOL.
Ryu was looking really good for a run, and then kaplooey!
Giants’ rotation WAR 2015-16 is a total of 22.7–10.1 is Bumgarner. Of course, the Dodgers had Greinke in 2015, and he had an amazing year. The Giants had a bad rotation in 2015. Most of the positive WAR from the last two years, besides Bum, came from Cueto, Samardzija, and Moore, plus a bit from Jake Peavy and Chris Heston.
The lowest pitcher WAR over the last two years is Cain, -0.5. Even Blach is a positive 0.2, just in 17 innings.
Another book that might intrigue you, The Dictator’s Handbook. In part it was drawn from the work of a UCD historian, Spenser, I think, although he isn’t an author.
Surely you must have read this:
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-dodgers-rotation-is-risky-expensive-and-fantastic/
Love it when you take something apart (a small pump within a machine in this instance), and without finding anything to replace or repair, put it back together and reinstall it and the machine somehow works better and is “fixed”. This is almost on par with turning your computer off and back on to “fix” a problem.
“Is it you and I who are crazy, or is it everyone else?” “There’s little in the world I can change, and of that, little wants to be changed.”
— Ashleigh Brilliant
We had this one on our refridge for years – “Scientists say we use 10% of our brain. That’s way too much. By doing just a little every day, I can gradually let the task completely overwhelm me.” – Ashleigh Brilliant
Introducing The Netherlands to Donald Trump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjqxiX5OeuY
Good stuff.
Don’t tase me, bros, or bro-ettes. I’m a public educator, this is NOT politics.
Father and father in law. Spooky.
https://metrouk2.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/image-271.png
You sir = on a roll. And I don’t mean a Dinner Roll.
More proof that I am a lady’s man- I can’t remember your first name, but I remember Diane’s.
Hope that she’s doing well.
She’s doing real well, and thanks for asking. She’s working again, part time, playing music with me at wineries and ciderhouses. And tonight, she just cooked a terrific meal featuring fresh caught Morro Bay sole and black cod, with roasted root vegetables. Your encouragement and shared experience and ongoing cheer are noted and cherished. Thank you. Keep those cards and letters coming in.
OK, I’ve been doom and glooming it lately, but here is really really great news for sports fans. Maybe the most terrific news EVER in the whole wide world of sports television- Brent Musburger is retiring in 6 days.
I used to hate him a lot more than I do now. Of course I haven’t heard him in over ten years so that may have had some impact on that. I’ve detested him for at least 40 years, anyway.
One report said that he is a sports television icon. Yeah, Civil Rights icon John Lewis, Medical research icon Jonas Salk, literary icon Leo Tolstoy, Olympics games icon Jesse Owens, Sports television icon Brent Musburger, Humanitarian icon Mother Teresa…..
ok, let’s play ‘which doesn’t belong, and why’
Easy question, Steve. Mother Teresa was not all that.
I thought he was over at Wally Pipp’s.
SMH. The sports memorabilia industry at its best in cashing on the recent player deaths in the DR.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/memorabilia-company-promoted-sale-of-autographed-baseballs-from-two-players-who-just-died-in-car-accidents/
Classy.
Can you imagine when those two old gentlemen Mays and McCovey pass.
Trump is angry that he lost the zombie vote.
That’s because he has doesn’t have a brain for the zombies to feast on.
~25% of Kershaw’s innings last year were against the Giants.
Yikes. I can remember Ron Santo griping that Albert Pujols came up to bat against his Cubs about every 6th AB. Kershaw feels like 50% of his innings.
I swear to Gouda that Nolan Arenado is up EVERY INNING when the Giants play the Rox.
I think we ought to have Jonah coach third and use every dirty trick and childhood secret to harass and annoy him on every pitch.
No wonder he has such a low ERA and high K rate.
NFL attendance this year is off 8%.
clutch posted a real nice article down below, (there are some nice pictures too if reading isn’t your thing) and, right on time, he had a great game tonight. he seems like a very nice kid (mcadoo… ok clutch too), and a very hard worker.
Any relation to Bob? I barely remember him as a Laker.
Nephew or second cousin or something. Not a close relative.
his father is bob mcadoo’s 2nd cousin..nice call doc…and foots, you don’t remember him? i keep forgetting how young everybody is..
Lefty is slipping!
I’m old enough to remember 1973, the Buffalo Braves (who became the San Diego/Los Angeles Clippers) had Bob McAdoo and Ernie (no) DiGregorio. They scored like 125 points every game…and won by a basket or two. They could really fill it up. I think Randy Smith was on that team as well.
i can always count on you, my friend. ernie no di…lol. yep, randy smith (a long island kid), was the point guard, and he could fly up court. with him they had a fast break on every possession!
It’s a like a faint memory. He was with the Lakers from 81-85. I think I remember liking his name and would shoot shots on my backboard that was attached to the roof pretending I was him with the winning shot. Yep, the Lake Show was my team: Magic, Kareem, Worthy, Showtime, Chick and Stu…
it must have been fun rooting for that bunch. they had a great rivalry with bird’s celtics. my team was the ’68-’73 knicks. reed, frazier, bradley, red holtzman coaching. they were a fun team to watch. they moved the ball around like the dubs do today. totally selfless bunch.
We’ll miss you, MTM. RIP.
https://youtu.be/92I04DkMEps
MTM Productions (with Mary Tyler Moore and Grant Tinker) also brought us “The Bob Newhart Show,” ”Hill Street Blues,” ”St. Elsewhere” and “WKRP in Cincinnati”
A great woman of comedy and her role of Mary Richards (and Moore herself) served as a great role model for women.
Barry Zito’s playing at the Sweetwater tonight, and the Bay Area writers are having a girls’ night out. Susan Slusser tweeted this–she’s with Ann Killion and Amy G. I’m sure they’re just appreciating the person and the music. Nothing about the eye candy.
https://twitter.com/susanslusser/status/824475295226880003
You’d think he’d spend some of that $126 mil on a back-up band.
This is one of the greatest documentaries I have ever seen. It rivals the best movies for plotting, intrigue and action. I was in Cam Ranh Bay when this took place. During the build-up my American-Jewish friends came to me for reassurance. “The Jews will take them easily”, I told them. I had no idea what the outcome would be or why they came to me but it seemed to make them feel better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSCryr_WkeY
My25ManGuys™ 2017
Pick who will be on the 25-Man roster at season’s open.
Here are the obvious “Core 18”:
Starters: Posey, Belt, Panik, Crawford, Nunez, Pence, Span
Bench: Hundley, Conor
Starting Pitchers: Bum, Cueto, Moore, Samardzija
Bullpen: Melancon, Kontos, Smith, Law, Strickland
Post the seven others you think will make it here in response to any HaakAway post.
To save time do not list all 25 unless you think one of these 18 will not make the 25-Man.
”25-25″ Deadline™
By request here from some: You get two shots…
February 25 is the deadline for your first picks … Spring Training is wide open then.
March 25 is the deadline for your final picks … Spring Training is about to end then.
*Questions? Write me at: My SF Giant Guy at g Mel d Ott com
Example:
My 2/25 picks – Cain, Blach, Osich, Gearrin, Mac, Hernandez, Rollins
Optional Commentary: Cain’s contract; Osich is the New LH specialist,; Hernandez is the only CF in camp; Rollins is a Vet w/o Options
The 2nd deadline is for choosing the minor league My Guys? (I need to get my thinking cap on).
Good Question …
No, March 25 is simply to have a chance to update your guesses as it gets down to probably three guys that are clearly “o0n the bubble”.
Minor League picks is the @RealMyGuy™ and cannot happen until those minor league rosters are settled … April 15 is that deadline.
To leave Okert out of the discussion is very short-sighted.
Okert vs. Osich. A battle of two lefties with good stuff, not too far from each other in the phone book, and with options available (dramatic sound effect).
Plus they kind of even look alike. It’s confusing.
Yes. Reminds me of the Mejia-Mijares flap of a couple years ago, except one was righty, one lefty. Mirror images, I recall. And one of them really stunk the place up. That one time.
I think he has as good a chance to make the team as Osich but t hey both will not. Lefty reminds me that Osich tanked last year so I may be a year behjind in my image of him when he was sub-2 ERA entering the last week of the season.
Rollins, Ruggiano, Parker, Cain, Hernandez, Gearrin, Osich
no mac? poppycock and balderdash
No Tommy, No Mac. Optioned. This is my bold, spicy prediction.
No Blach either.
you’re mad i say. mad.
I hope you’re wrong about all of those. I would be deeply disappointed in the Giants if they screwed those three guys over. They’ve come up through the system, they’ve waited their turn, and they’ve produced when they’ve been given the opportunity.
I remember how Mac was pretty much the only bright spot on the team in July as they started into a tailspin. I remember how Kelby filled in capably for Panik for nearly two months in 2015 and was the only guy on the team in September 2016 who could get a clutch hit. And I certainly remember Blach outdueling Kershaw in a must-win game and getting the win after two scoreless innings in an elimination playoff game.
All of those guys deserve to be on the team this year. Those spots should be theirs to lose. If they get injured or are awful in spring training, maybe it’s a different story, but as of today, they should be written in ink on the 25-man roster.
Recall, I won this contest last year. I know my Giants front office and the kind of veteran inclined decisions they make 🙂
Those players with options will get their chance. They’ll get everyday time early in AAA and be ready to contribute later and get their AB’s and IP. 162 is a long haul. Opening day is just a blip on a calendar.
I see Ruggiano before Rollins. His splits vs lefties are good and he has some pop. The Giants have a lot of infielder alternatives besides Rollins and he’s old and probably washed up. If he looks fabulous in AZ, maybe, but I’d say the odds are pretty strongly against him at this point.
I also believe Mac is going to beat out Parker for the starting LF job. It just makes more sense because of the all-around tools and especially because Mac is another RH power hitter.
The prospect of Cain being in the rotation at all, ever, this season is very troubling. I hope they don’t go there.
There’s a little blurb about the possibility of the Dodgers taking measure to preserve Urias and limit his innings by not starting the season with him on the roster – meanwhile checking to see what they have with their previously injured dudes. He deserves to make their OD roster, but may have to wait.
Well, Urias is 20 years old. It makes sense. Blach is a 26-year-old innings eater who led the PCL in innings the last two seasons and pitched over 180 innings last year when you combine AAA and the Giants. There is no need to preserve his innings.
Good ol’ Matt Cain and his 20+ mil is Blach’s only impediment at this point. So I guess he has to hope Cainer blows up in ST.
I’d say the fact that Matt Cain has been flat-out dreadful for the last four years should be the biggest impediment. If I were in charge, I’d be actively promoting a competition for that spot–Blach, Suarez (the RH one), Stratton, Blackburn, Beede–because even if Blach weren’t already deserving, Cain clearly is NOT deserving. They need an upgrade. Cain’s combined WAR over the last three years is -0.6, and the only reason it’s not worse is how much time he missed.
So he’s got that going for him. Which is nice.
I’d have to consult the Dali Lama before I decide on my final list.
I’m with her. Political or not, that is where I stand.
Ruggiano has not gotten my notice … good to be nudged to look him over.
Is Osich the new Lopez/LOOGY?
And Blach mowing them down in Sac until Cain playes out?
My friend in South Korea used to tell me everyone there was an LA fan (large Korea-town in LA, mainly). I’ve pretty much got my friend convinced that LA isn’t the right CA team! Maybe Hwang Jae-Gyun can finish off that conversion with the whole country, as my friend says “Hwang is pretty good and hope that he can have a good time in US.”
Just reading that Hyun Jin Ryu is feeling good. He’s a big part of that Korean fanhood. They had another guy several years ago: Hee Sop Choi ? And of course they also had Chan Ho Park. Plus, Korea Town covers a pretty big piece of urban pie in downtown LA. It’s a pretty cool place – there’s a great Oaxacan restaurant and there’s the La Brea Tarpits Museum down the road where mammoth, saber tooth tigers, and direwolves would get bound for eternity.
But maybe Hwang can swing the pendulum up north.
I do like bibimbap! It will be cool if Hwang does well. I should pick him over Gillaspie in Haak’s game, at least in round #1, just to be a bit contrarian. This feels like a good pickup for the Giants.
I love bibimbap too!! My wife is half Korean and she makes a pretty good bibimbap with the egg on top. And I love Korean style BBQ ribs. This time around, the butcher sliced those extra thin Korean style ribs from the steer we sent. So good. When we go to Southern California, we stop at a Korean supermarket to get some goodies and eat at the deli there. I believe dgg has Korea connections as well.
You can also count me in for the Hwang bandwagon.
Hwang over Conor or Rollins/KT?
Eventually. Not right away.
JR may be a lock unless he runs a 8.0 home to second.
Vet with no options?
Will get a chance but packs it up at the ASB if he is at .220?
I believe it will come down to:
Runner on sec with no outs – did JR get ’em’ over?
Runner on third with IF back – did JR get ’em’ in?
Runner in third with IF IN – did JR crank a Warning Track SF to get ’em’ in?
Won’t be all batting average IMO
Non-tangibles … Yes, I think Bochy and Co. would look foer those too.
So you are saying he has a chance…
Unfortunately for 85% of TWG’s – I think he has a huge chance.
mmm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jjamppong
I once had a chance to visit South Korea but my host seemed to think I was kidding about wanting to see a game there, so he didn’t arrange a ticket. My friend has promised to take me, if I ever get back there.
These days, you will find a decent # of ex-major leaguers.
Worked with Korean contractor in Nam. They taught me to like kimchi made with cabbage. I’ll have to look around here for some. Tried to make it myself but without success.
MMMMMmmmmm. Kimchi is so good. I grow my own napa cabbage and either my wife or her mom will convert to delicious spicy, tangy chimchi.
Ryu=Flabby
Too much bibimbap!!
Is that a type of jazz? Offshoot of bebop maybe.
Ah, see your explanation below. As you can see I’m a little insulated when it comes to food choices here.
Clam chowder and more clam chowder, with a bread bowl?
Gangnam style?
Surprising to read the rumor/note that the Giants are among teams “most aggressively” pursuing left handed relievers. This coming from Buster Olney. I have a feeling if Javy comes back on a guaranteed deal, there might be some protests in the street – “Not my LOOGY” ?? Other than him, Craig Breslow? Boone Logan? Jerry Blevins? JP Howell?
That IS surprising. You’d think Smith, Osich, and Okert would be plenty. They signed Matt Reynolds back, too, and if Cain gets the rotation spot, there’s Blach. This sounds like Bochy to me–he was used to having Affeldt and Lopez for so many years, so he wants another creaky veteran.
I think it shows, at least for the time being, what the organization thinks of Osich and Okert. Osich was wildly inconsistent and pitched downright poorly last year and Okert has minimal experience (although looked great in his September stint at LA). Nonetheless it’s interesting. And, Javier Lopez was a GREAT Giant but they better not dare bring him back. He is completely finished as an effective RP.
Yep. Osich was bad with a capital BAD last year, and I’m very dubious about him at this point. He also seems a bit emo and high-maintenance to me.
I guess I can see why the Giants would want some depth there, with Osich having crashed and burned pretty spectacularly and Okert so very unproven, but…sheesh. I’m so tired of them relying on old relievers. They’ve finally cleaned out the old guard and have a chance to build a young core for years to come.
Sphincter issues
Are you saying the new LHPs need to pass some sort of smell test? That’s how dogs evaluate.
Yes Lon, but in this case they measure a quivering factor in the bull pen prior to being called to the mound.
A lot of folks said that in ’08-09 as well. We got there. I’d be satisfied with effective relievers, age is sort of irrelevant.
It’s “sort of” irrelevant, IMO. The Giants shot themselves in the foot by riding the aging “Core Four” for a year or two too long. The bullpen began to implode in the second half of 2015, and we all know about 2016. Besides those guys, who I’ll admit had earned some loyalty, they kept filling in with cheap journeymen like Machi and Mijares and David Huff and the like, rather than developing their own younger guys into reliable relievers. Kontos got bounced back and forth for years until he finally ran out of options and they had to commit to him. I think they frankly wasted an opportunity to have their Core Four guys mentor younger guys so that the next generation would be ready to go when the time came.
I’m of the opinion that the Giants have more-than-adequate bullpen talent ready to go. The addition of Melancon is important, Smith was a solid pick-up, and Law and Strickland both had excellent seasons. Kontos and Gearrin are also valuable. Just pick your second lefty and let it ride.
What you’re describing is the natural course of events, IMO. They thought, I presume, they had ‘reloaded’ with the current crew, but when they tried to intercalate them in, they lacked the talent to carry the load. Kontos was bounced around how.. he got pulled for being a slider happy batting tee from time to time. You can complain about the quality of the kids, but not that a transition wasn’t tried. Smith is as yet, untested, IMO, in a situation where hos spots aren’t carefully managed, not a popular opinion. Younger is not a synonym for better.
A lot of the problem is with Management (on- and off- field) not letting one or two ride out the rough weather without being shuttled up and down. I put a lot of the 2nd half issues on Boch and the FO running a circular escalator. That and the quick hooks in many cases.
I’m certainly not arguing the facts, but, rather, the motivation behind them. You don’t use ‘the hook’ except when you think it’s necessary. I don’t think anyone can say, including Bochy, that he doesn’t bare any responsibility, but I contend his useful options are more imagined than real. No one in his right mind should believe that was much of a bullpen last year, young or old. What people seem upset about is that Bochy didn’t successfully make a sow’s ear into a silk purse.
By quick hooks, I mean silly match-up switches in games that were lost by poor offense.
Poor offense usually implies a superior opposition pitching performance. When you’re a fan, and cheering, context is the last thing on your mind, LOL. If you hit your spots, pretty much all pitching performances lead to ‘poor offense’. Pretty much everything we know about baseball away from the excitement of a game says hitters for the most part thrive off hitting mistakes.
Again, we’ll never agree on this. I think Law and Strickland are plenty talented. Osich was very good in 2015; time will tell if that or 2016 was the real him. Okert is talented. Kontos is very useful if used correctly and not overworked.
Older is also not a synonym for better, especially in sports. There’s a sweet spot between youth and experience. Experience can’t compensate for physical decline–look at the latter days of Tim Hudson and Jake Peavy, two formerly excellent pitchers with great experience but without the physical stuff to keep getting it done.
i agree w/every point you made.
I like Smith.
Me too. They traded a lot to get him. I hope Evans doesn’t give Bochy more excuses not to use him.
Maybe Haak can start a CreakyVeteranGuy™ Contest for us.
To be effective, you have to find the strike zone and hit your spots. Our current crew haven’t, IMO, mastered that skill.
I’d say that’s a fair comment about Osich, who really was terrible last year. Okert has barely gotten started, and Smith was rock-solid for the last six weeks of the season after a couple of bumpy outings right after the trade.
Smith was rock solid is, IMO, an urban myth.
He gave up 0 runs and 2 hits in 13 appearances in Sept./Oct. Batting average against was .074. He struck out 14 batters in 27 ABs.
If that’s not rock-solid, I don’t know what was. Are you just down on Smith because you want to defend Bochy’s underuse of him?
Look at his usage and drop in innings load when he got here. That, IMO, is what changed between Milwaukee and here. His ‘rock solidness’ is a consequence of the situations he was used in. I defend Bochy because of his track record. In any case, this isn’t a matter of defending anyone, just trying to sort through events and the motivation for events. I respect Bochy and think it a bit disingenuous to be critical of the same management style that brought 3 WS in a fit of pique because of a disappointing season. That smacks of sophistry, IMO. There are some interesting ‘whys’ to be discovered I think without vilifying a manager because the tribe thinks eating that manager will give it a better outcome.
Well, we’ll never agree on this, but I think the “disappointing season” was about 80% Bochy’s fault, and I think he’s the single biggest limiting factor as to whether they’ll have a good season this year. It’s not simply “villifying.” I truly believe he failed at his job last year in pretty spectacular fashion. It’s not personal. I just think he did poor work.
It’s not only about last season, either. I fundamentally disagree with Bochy’s leadership style. I hate the way he treats young players and I strongly believe in merit over seniority–whoever is playing the best should play, regardless of contract/veteran status. I really appreciate Joe Girardi’s approach to this and wish that Bochy was more like him, or like Terry Francona or Joe Maddon or even, dare I say it, Dave Roberts.
Fault isn’t a very useful perspective to evaluate from. As to your alternative cast of characters, be careful what you wish for. All of them, one time or another, have been painted with the same brush people want to use on Bochy. The hard truth is last year we didn’t have enough soldiers who could shoot straight. That’s an organization issue, and Bochy is part of that organization. Girardi is catching hell in NY for much the same reasons Bochy is here. You know what happened to Francona in Boston. IMO, we’d all be better suited to discover reasons and quit assigning blame.
As it stands right now, I’d put my Monopoly money on Okert.
Howell can be very good.
Surprised if it’s anything more than a Hwang type deal.
Pitchers and catchers report in 18 days! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/cd6142ff4be0de8ae844ecdcd864536066fe66d87c94e7e2b562bae782b46f86.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3SjCzA71eM
“Officials at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) informed staff at both agencies that they were not permitted to speak with reporters or discuss research projects as of Monday, Scientific American reported. Employees at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) received similar instructions, according to Science.”
Scientists are organizing a march on Washington, DC, according to The Washington Post.
“There are certain things that we accept as facts with no alternatives.
-The Earth is becoming warmer due to human action.
-The diversity of life arose by evolution.
Politicians who devalue expertise risk making decisions that do not reflect reality and must be held accountable. An American government that ignores science to pursue ideological agendas endangers the world.”
Amen. And dear God, helps us all.
Are T-shirts in order? “I’m NOT with stupid”
T-Shirts:
“Be Calm … Do Your Job”?
“Be Calm … Reporters Not Required”?
“My Boss is Under the Bus”?
I am a CoreIssuesGuy™ . Protect the environment fully using the statutes you have and keep making your case without showing disrespect. Like a baseball team with a New Manager, more In House conversations help, all else hurts. [See GG, this is about baseball…]
In some areas of science there is no need to “keep making your case”. Some things are no longer refutable.
And who keeps on refuting is a dirty SOB.
Scientists of the American Universities are free to inform the world. Tuck that Frump.
Is Mac the new Chris Dominguez?
Indians sign Austin Jackson to minor league deal. Dodgers sign Brandon Morrow to similar. Reds sign Scott Feldman. Nats re-sign Stephen Drew. Nats still don’t really have a closer, they didn’t sign Holland, that would be the Rockies that did that. There’s an arms race in Denver – they’re stockpiling weapons…
Saw Huell Howser visiting a Nike missile system at the Marin Headlands on PBS last night…
http://alpha.fdu.edu/~bender/N-view.html
I miss Huell. Interesting tidbit, those Nike anti aircraft missiles had nuclear warheads.
That’s one way to deter a nuke, nuke it out of the sky.
That was the theory then.
Speaking of nukes and scientists, scientists usually don’t make silly, symbolic gestures. Some may think of this as silly, but…
‘an attention-catching signal that was meant to acknowledge “what a
dangerous moment we’re in, and how important it is for people to take
note.”
“We’re so concerned about the rhetoric, and the lack of respect for expertise,
that we moved it 30 seconds,” she said. “Rather than create panic,
we’re hoping that this drives action.”’
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/science/doomsday-clock-countdown-2017.html
just found out that one of my favorites, greg trooper, passed away last week. he was a singer songwriter that very few people were aware of. i hope foots, j st, diane, cc, c/u, and the other music lovers give him a listen. the guy was really under rated i thought..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnhAXD5R1M4&index=23&list=PLHhptGmWJn7dn3W489W6AwNV71yL3ioyx
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSQ40jisn9A&list=PLHhptGmWJn7dn3W489W6AwNV71yL3ioyx&index=48
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHhI0PqaKD8&list=PLHhptGmWJn7dn3W489W6AwNV71yL3ioyx&index=17
From first song, reminded me that my grandfather used to hobo with Jimmy Rodgers when my grandfather was a teen. He ‘hit the rails’ when he was 14 or so. Road for 2-3 years.
I sent this to my friend back home in Half Moon Bay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zye7IPXojSc#t=16
They live on property on the Cabrillo Coast Highway 1. She said since there are many “Cowboys” around they invested in one similar however the one she had installed is a gun/shotgun/rifle being locked and loaded upon hearing outside noise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6xY32abt4U
Apparently, there’s a new worst farm system in baseball, the Marlins. They appear even thinner than the Angels. Other bottom feeders include the Diamondbacks and perhaps systems from Detroit, Baltimore, and Seattle. The Giants are a cut above and closer to the middle than the bottom.
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2017/1/26/14400624/miami-marlins-top-20-prospects-for-2017
The Yankees develop a community view of baseball. It’ll sound familiar.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/sports/baseball/new-york-yankees.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fbaseball&action=click&contentCollection=baseball®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=sectionfront
New Post: http://fe0.84e.myftpupload.com/philosophy-of-baseball/the-world-baseball-classic-and-the-future-of-baseball/