by
Greek Giant
Nothing beats Spring Training for a sense of optimism among fans. Imagine being a ballplayer on the cusp of making the roster for an MLB team. Spring Training is no simple joyride to get in shape. It can determine the future of your life. Just ask Andres Torres, Gregor Blanco and Guillermo Mota. These three players made the big league club as non-roster invitees. A non-roster invitee is basically being given a long shot to make the team but is guaranteed nothing. In this year’s version, players who have already experienced glory in their careers are being granted another chance by the Giants. They include Jimmy Rollins, Justin Ruggiano, Matt Reynolds, and Michael Morse.
We read the names and think of their greatness, their moments of baseball brilliance, and hope they have something else left in their aging bodies and minds. The Giants sure would love to find a diamond in Michael Morse, for example. Is he capable of staying healthy and hitting homers on a consistent basis against Major League pitching? The Pirates and the Marlins didn’t think so. They both cut him. We shall see.
Another interesting invitee to Spring Training, Jae-gyun Hwang, will attempt to display the same long-ball potential he showed in South Korea. The third baseman represents a fascinating signing by the Giants considering they have Christian Arroyo waiting in the wings and are already rich in reserve infielders with the likes of Conor Gillaspie, Orlando Calixte and Kelby Tomlinson already on the 40 man roster. Throw in the possibility of Jimmy Rollins making the team and the infield gets competitive.
I love Spring Training as much for discovering young players as for watching stars like Buster and Madbum. This year the Giants invited young pitchers Tyler Beede, San Coonrod and Joan Gregorio. I look forward to imagining them winning future World Series.
Pitchers and Catchers report in 8 days, on Tuesday, February 14, 2017!
Breckeroni says, “Play Ball!”
Let’s win an odd one.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/52bbc7ca6138ff379296cf62870dc2f6267cb2338886a0264d1e1e670be19fe1.png
The first weeks of spring training are that magic time when every glass appears to be brimming full, …wait for it…, of beer!
The smell of fresh cut grass, the sound when the ball pops in the mitt for the first time, the crack of the bat. I could watch that all day sippin’ a beer or two…
If Bochy carries 13 pitchers, none of the non-roster position players have any chance of making the team. If he goes with 12, 1 OFer might squeeze in. Best bet would be Ruggiano.
I had ought that Rollins might have a shot but Gillaspie and KT have the infield reserve spots locked up. Obviously trades or injuries would change things.
IMO.
To Bapah- I really thought that you-or anybody- would figure out the Kellyanne reference. You know, “alternative facts”. Maybe you were all shit-faced.
The wise man “de minimis non curat”. Kellyanne Conway WHO ???
No. I just don’t give a shit about football anymore and that team, in particular. I still have no idea who Kellyanne is. Stone sober.
Kellyanne is a synonym of “liar”.
In my vocabulary “alternative facts” stll remain “LIES”.
I was just using her phrase. BTW, I didn’t lose my house.
Those are good news.
I’m busy learning my Cyrillic alphabet.
Lefty better get ready for RSL classes.
браво!
Clutch, what’s your bean this morning? Haak?
Honduran Caturra from 4,500 feet has settled in as my go-to coffee. I am trying out more of that Lulu Carpenter’s roasts in my decaf category.
Related to GG’s article:
Of the seven of us that have submitted guesses on the 25-Man, the non-roster winners are:
Rollins 3, Ruggiano 3 and Hwang 1
Lefty wouldn’t it be fun to have Morse in Sac hitting his weekly 500′ shot? He could hold down 1B until Shaw comes knocking in June.
It could happen (Morse in Sactown). I’m not sure who the River Cats’ 1B would be at this point.
It’s sort of funny how much roster holes in Sac will determine who is available to fill needs on the Giants, and not the holes in the Giants LU.
SAC L/U?
C- Brown
1B – Shaw
2B – Slater
3B – Arroyo
SS – ?
LF – Cole
CF – Duggar
RF – Jones
I just want to say that these non-roster players are the greatest that the world has ever known. Great retreads. Really terrific .
Atlanta Falcons fan are mourning and venting today. Down here, it’s less Brady’s great comeback and more Falcons coughing it up. After Julio’s great catch in the fourth quarter, three runs and a subsequent FG of appx 40 yards would have given them a two-score lead and a probable Lombardi trophy.
Alas, it was not to be. Such is the life of the Atlanta sports fan. They’ll be better next year–time now to move on to the Braves and their new stadium here in Cobb County.
Rumor in the ATL is that Shanahan will bring Matt Schaub (Falcons back-up QB, former Pro Bowler) with him to the 49ers. I can live with that for a year or three–first two drafts need to focus on both lines and the entire defense. Get younger and faster.
I know months ago a few of us thought it might be former or current players in retro uniforms, but this is the bobblehead for the retro giveaway on 6/24.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/adbd54f482d821644be6422b735775746b5803106aac829c6ecd77ce6cab20aa.jpg
Great article on pitchers who need to add another pitch. It’s based on the results their ‘stuff’ yields vs. turns through the order. Amazing how many Mets pitchers are on the list, as well as ignoring the issue of how well a pitcher hits his spots. Vogelsong is on the list, but I’d argue that his problem is a loss control more than pitch variety.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/who-needs-a-new-pitch-the-most/
Vogey will be 40 when July rolls around. The clock doesn’t stop its tick/tock for anyone. I’m kind of scheming to have both Vogey and Timmy on the expanded roster in September, to face one last batter at Willie Mays Field, and get their justly deserved good byes.
That would be great, IMO. Up or down, Vogelsong was a bulldog. I don’t remember him ever not giving his best, win or lose.
And of course he had some good success, but just on effort and grit and fitness, he’s way above the Panda on my fondly remembered list.
Has Timmy actually given up yet? I wish he had listened to my advice.
I haven’t heard of Tim having any invitations to anyone’s camp, but think I saw something about his still throwing. He might have been better off not trying to pitch in 2016, in hopes that a full recovery in 2017 could happen.
At this point, who has more left, Romo who’s managed to found a job or Timmy?
I think Timmeh has an indestructible arm. He just can’t pitch for a lot of batters. I think he could throw in short spurts nearly everyday.
I hope that he is more realistic than many fans are. Last year’s embarrassment should have put an end to any talk of a comeback.
I’m afraid you are right, Chef.
To be clear, I love Timmy. But it would not be doing him a favor to give him a chance for more embarrassment . A grand ceremony honoring one of the greatest Giants ever, would be a fantastic way to announce his retirement.If they had it at City Hall, the crowd be larger than…. well, you know..
If that ….you know who, were to announce tomorrow that he withdraws from the presidency, I think the crowd would beat every galactic record.
He pitched 9 first innings last season and gave up 14 earned runs. In those first innings, batters hit .422/.491/.711/1.202 against him. So when he was most fresh, he was absolutely awful. It’s over.
I know you like to play stupid now and then to make an argument, but perhaps you aren’t playing anymore. If you believe that starting a game as a pitcher and pacing yourself to face as many batters as possible is the same as coming into a game in later innings to handle anywhere from just a handful hitters to a single hitter, then you’re too hopelessly ignorant and retarded to discuss baseball with the well-informed people on this blog. I’m sick of your condescension and your phony authoritative nonsense. I can’t be the only one to see through your bluster. Tone it down and step back behind the line, Sonny.
My condescension? I think you’re the condescending one. You’re the one that presents themselves as a baseball expert. Just the other day, you were talking about having to coach coaches, because they weren’t up to your level. This discussion began with you lamenting that Lincecum hadn’t followed your advice, because obviously you know better than he or his father do. But I’m not complaining. I actually enjoy your pomposity and condescension.
You’re a smart guy, and I’m sure you do know baseball, but when it comes to Lincecum, your heart is overwhelming your brain. He’s done, and it’s obvious.
Good reply. I’m guilty of wishful thinking regarding Tim. Unfortunately, I never talked to Tim regarding his future. I wish someone had because he had potential to morph into something more than what he became.
My comment about my grandson’s coaches came from their inexperience in teaching kids how to play the game and not their knowledge of the game or their skills.
I enjoy your comments, as well, when they aren’t snarky and I hate it when I get snarky too. I prefer your comments when they’re thoughtful and not knee-jerk. Have a good day.
The fact Lincecum has not even earned an invitation to a camp, with so many team hungry for pitching, should tell you its time for him and his fans to give it up. That date actually came about 3 years ago.
Btw – Romo had a 2.64 ERA last year, so of course he was going to get another job even if the the Giants decided to move on.
Yeah. What was he thinking? With nothing left on his fastball and poor command, he would’ve been great as a reliever.
Same-o, Same-o.
Willie Mays Field?
@ATT Park, what else?
Nothing else
We’re just waiting for the idiots at HQ to make it official.
Let’s hope not
Why not?
First of all, no one has to convince me of the greatness of Wilie Mays and his place in Giants’ history. To me, he’s the greatest baseball player of all time.
That being said, why dont I think AT&T should be named with Willie Mays Field attached to it? I dont know of any other baseball stadium that does that. It’s not a basketball arena. He didnt play one inning of baseball there. If anyone, it should be Barry Bond field. And, there are 24 palm trees, a wall 24 feet high, the address with his name – and number, which is of course retired- on it. Have i missed anything? And of course, he has a statue on the most prime real estate outside the stadium. How much more do we need to do to honor the man?
That’s great but he was, and is, a jerk for whom I have little respect. I don’t think anyone feels that way about Willie.
BTW, I used to play ball at Stengel Field.
But it wasn’t Stengel Field at Shea Stadium
I’m not sure I understand…I think we agree. Kinda. Don’t we?
I don’t want to have anything to do with a Bonds, unless it’s Bobby.
Oh Barry, not Willie…got it
It will never be Willie Mays field because the Giants are a corporation that knows how to make a lot of $$$. As long as the rights to the stadium are up for sale (and will most likely ALWAYS be so) the stadium will be known as ATT or whomever coughs up the most funds.
It’s a nice dream, but nothing more than that.
I was hoping for ‘Papa John’s Big Slice Ball Yard”
Peeps report a week from Wed.:
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/eb986ef09484416ed111e71088098fd5aae678487c23def8db9e37e978e78fba.jpg
That is interesting. I noticed that no Giants starters were in this chart. Since all of them went over 200 innings this year (Moore was close at 198 and did go over in the playoffs), that makes sense: You don’t go deep into games and get to 200+ innings if you regularly disintegrate the third time you face a lineup.
The Giants were third in the majors in innings pitched by starters, which is pretty good considering that the 4-5 spots in the rotation were pretty shaky until Moore’s arrival on Aug. 1.
The Giants also led the majors in complete games (Cueto and Bumgarner went 1-2 in the NL), and same argument on that stat.
The Fjords in Norway https://tinyurl.com/hkgaccx
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b42d80e89ea9703d6095add5fe02a9e42741763484fd35b92abb0e2acdf7e05b.jpg
I’d swear that looks like where I live.
Not.
They’re a family of note. LOL.
I’m getting darn sick and tired of your links to beautiful places.
Trying to hook up with Alvice eventually to live out the double header called life :))))
Who is this AL-vice?
Hollywood Liberties with ones name. Edit Alvise
Huh oh !
All vice, no redeeming qualities.
You can bet it for sure. If you ever read Dante’s “The Divine Comedy” you shoul have learned that Paradise is boring whereas Hell is much more interesting.
It’s that guy with the boat, I fear.
The verse is “Caron Dimonio dagli occhi di bragia…” = Charon the devil, with fire in his eyes…
Isn’t that something like, Walk softly, but carry a big (walking) stick.?
Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch’intrate”..
Yes Sir, A+ in Italian literature.
Sometimes I find myself singing “California dreaming in such a winter’s day”. You figure.
Well, it’s raining here today if that makes you feel any better.
i had a fjord galaxie when i was a kid
Yadie Vadie Vo
Molina?
If this is legit, add this story to the “incredibly stupid thieves” files. It could immediately shoot to number one.
https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/828676308712427520/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
First of all no one is that dumb and second, from the image do you actually think a QB that threw the ball over 60 times would have a jersey that clean? C’mon man seriously?
Efrain…chill out. I’m just re-posting what was on Twitter.
I’ve included a picture of Brady celebrating the final score (and win). Jersey looks pretty darn clean. Maybe one of these days you’ll get out of “fire…aim…ready” mode.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/92384dd8ef1178bf5ddabac991a9fdc583fe90d95bba50c2771c9a630df18617.jpg
Not likely. Efrain lives for the “thorn in your side” moment. Just remember: what goes around will eventually come around.
In my language it’s
“Chi la fa, l’aspetti”
He lives for responses to his nonsense.
Bullseye !
They played on turf, Tiger Mom
ah true. Either way, do those two guys look like they would have the access and ability to get into the locker room undetected THEN get back to the stands and unfurl the said jersey? And then tweet about it?
They are wearing press passes….and Tom may well have taken off the jersey at the bench since they all get to put on those licensed “NFL Champions!!” shirts over their pads…It’s not as far fetched as you think. “Then tweet about it?” …you got me there
Tom said he put it in a bag (probably on the sidelines, since they do the whole trophy thing) and it wasn’t there when he returned. Not sure of these guys are legit, but people do stupid stuff on social media. I never thought I’d see the day when people would be beating someone on Facebook, either. Good call on the press passes!
A little trivia to kill time. Who can tell me where I took this pic? Do not cheat googling it, plz. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3022a1aeb4e0c2a964f63e1169b0f100601c428426286b23827bbec197ed4655.jpg
O.Co?
Assisi?
Barry Bonds?
It’s Parachute Memorial in Sainte-Mère-Église, Normandy. That’s the Church bell tower with dummy parachutist. Do you remember the movie “The Longest Day” ?
Where John Steele (played by Red Buttons in the movie The Longest Day) hung around the first few hours of June 6th, 1944.
Yep. A+
Correct.
Visited Normandy nearly twenty years ago. Such a beautiful place, watered by the blood of many nations. My old man caught the tail end of the war when the PC he was on bounced across the Pacific just in time to be a part of the fleet that invested the island of Okinawa. He banged away at clouds of Kamikazes all in search of ships more capital than his to splat their young lives upon. How about you, Alvise, any Folgore paratroops or San Marco marines or Bersaglieri or even a Red partisan for that matter on your family tree? And please forgive if the question awakens any memories best forgotten, I am merely a curious history buff.
My father was a NCO of the Royal Italian Navy. After the truce signed on Sept. 8th, 1943, the italian Fleet joined the Allies in Alexandria, Egypt. My father kept on serving his country, fighting – as he told me – “finally on the right side”. Our family has never stood the Germans, and this for centuries.
My father was an officer of the Royal Italian Navy. After the truce signed on Sept. 8th, 1943, the italian Fleet joined the Allies in Alexandria, Egypt. My father kept on serving his country, fighting – as he told me – “finally on the right side”. Our family has never stood the Germans, and this for centuries.
Across the street from that building?
Yes. It’s the Airborne Museum.
Why Bum does not deign to attend the FanFest for the second year in a row?
He lives over a 1000 miles away and has a life?
Is he the only one living so far away ?
Maybe he’s not singularly devoted to being the subject of fan worship. Just a thought.
Usually but not always he is hauling a trailer with him with several horses. They rent property out in Orinda aka the East Bay, Oakland hills.
Doesn’t Buster live in Orinda too, does he?
Correct
Clutch both those guys live in Happy Valley which is mainly Lafayette. My brother in law did work for Bumgarner’s next door neighbor, saw him out back practicing his roping, definitely Lafayette. Steph Curry was in Orinda for a while but he moved over to HV as well.
Thanks for the heads up, but do they travel this far ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Valley,_El_Dorado_County,_California
Lol, HV the neighborhood, not the town.
YOU had ME worried https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu8mvbra9V4
Thanks for depressing me, apparently I live in the slums.
He’ll be buying some Orinda property with his next extension.
Well I first “voted” for George Jefferson …. And then…no no…. Pam Ewing ‘Principal’ and then no no – Red Foxx, and then Suzanne (OMG) Somers – I mean – no but I’m given it up for Erik Estrada aka Ponch and finally Bern Nadette Stanis aka Thelma
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pwLJvc5DLI
I missed ALL the back and forth on the Blog yesterday regarding the Superbowl but it is a bit disconcerting to go back and see how some people especially on other sites who (wait for it) have never played anything higher than the game of Jax https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b85443d895e98038ad17efe8faedcfa4f8203df4eca4bfdb233463bea7520a16.jpg – could hold anybody accountable for “being friends” with somebody/anybody when that friendship was probably formed and molded – YEARS and years ago. And quoting from another site my brother showed me, perhaps Facebook – somebody/she said something to the effect that she “was sick and tired of Tommy Brady because he has had everything handed to him”. I almost burped on that one because I wish they could have seen Tommy in 1989-91 at St. Gregs Catholic School in San Mateo where/when he had absolutely NO athleticism or co-ordination. There was NO Pop Warner in San Mateo. He was a chubby left-handed hitting catcher who ran to first like Bengie Molina. Thus everything he got from age 14 to now 40 – he got from working hard, especially in the off season. His personal QB coach for YEARS was Tom Martinez who was a gifted Juco Football coach at College of San Mateo. When he went out for Lloyd Carr’s U of M – he was number 6th on the depth chart with Drew Henson as number one. Regarding his NFL career, it speaks for itself.
Here is Tommy at 14 https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b8199939511d75a4f226df56bc544021ca15303a0700dceaafe9864da85a86e4.jpg
In case you want something signed by Tom Brady. No need to make that house payment 🙂
http://shop.tristarproductions.com/tom-brady-autographed-memorabilia
Swing plane is maybe, the most important ingredient in successful hitting, and recognized as the key antidote to the 2seam fastball. What outside hitting instruction has done recently to manage that metric. Byrd, Donaldson, Martinez, Turner are good examples of its effect.
“Figueroa said this idea of backspin was a myth, the swing plane he was
using was not optimal. He explained what he really wanted to do is hit
the ball as squarely as possible with a slight upper cut… He had the
science to prove it: a Dec. 2014 study by University of Illinois
professor, Dr. Alan Nathan, showed spin has little effect on batted ball
distance.”
This quote from the Pirates suggests Charlie Lau isn’t dead after all.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/can-more-mlb-hitters-get-off-the-ground/
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/hitters-quit-chopping-wood-dont-go-for-backspin/
Hunter Pence’s swing plane has turbulence…please fasten your seat belts
A parachute might be the best solution.
It would be funny if AT&T had those “fasten seatbelt” signs lit up during his ABs.
Oakland A’s 🌳 🐘 ⚾️ @Athletics 2m2 minutes ago
A’s will name the Coliseum field “Rickey Henderson Field.” Henderson will also serve as a Special Assistant to the President.
For those of you wanting Willie Mays Field at AT&T Park, please remember that the Overstock.com opted out of their naming deal with the Oakland Coliseum (damn…American Standard Toilet Company…come on down!). With this in mind, naming the field after Rickey is being done without a corporate sponsor in the picture.
The Giants may be able to negotiate with AT&T to make Willie Mays Field happen, but…unfortunately…I would bet this happens after Willie is called up to play with Wally Pipp.
Too bad Al Davis wrecked it destroyed it years ago. Try as I might it’s tough to imagine Ricky standing there in left field – with that foreboding dark mountain looming overhead.
Good for them. Rickey probably had the most distinguished career of any Oakland-era player, with the possible exceptions of Rollie Fingers and Dennis Eckersley. Reggie Jackson only played the early part of his career with the A’s, and there’s a big fat * next to McGwire and Canseco.
I have always been a Giants fan, but I admit going to A’s games when Reggie and gang were there. One of my baseball buddies was an A’s diehard…and as a little kid…seeing a dressed-up donkey and a rabbit delivering baseballs was magical.
I still believe the 3-in-a-row A’s were the best team I ever saw. Who know what they would’ve done if Charlie didn’t start selling them off in retaliation for Mike Andrews?
I was fortunate to pick up one of these via craigslist. Someone was dumping it and I got it for 75% off what they paid for it. This team is a significant part of baseball history in this area. I just wish Danbury Mint would do a Giants team… https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0976011035c8f8bbfd9bf516e8171bbded62a941263fe94daa14844c95905930.jpg
I loved the Swingin’ A’s as a kid. Did you see there’s going to be a MLBN special on them? Tomorrow night, 6 p.m.
I did. I’ll probably have to see it via repeat. There’s been another special out on that team for awhile…maybe CSN Legends series? The best is when Charlie waived Mike Andrews and the team said they weren’t going to play the World Series. The Commissioner had to mediate, because they seriously weren’t going to play unless Charlie re-instated him. Dick Williams exited the circus that year, I believe.
Reggie was with the A’s from 1967 through 1975, and played a total of 21 MLB seasons. So nine seasons in Oakland, 12 in Baltimore, NYY, California and one last return to the A’s in his last year.
Bonds got 3rd and King built but even Barry wants it to be tweaked in honor of his god-father.
Willie Mays Field at AT&T. Park
The Giants got 3rd and King built. Barry’s FA signing helped…but the team had success before he ever got here *and* the new owners were required to build a new stadium as part of their purchase agreement (and “no” vote by MLB for Tampa bay). A stadium was being built with/without Barry.
🙂
Well you will have to fight Efrain and me on this but SF has the Willie statue as a backup in case Willie doesn’t make it to too many more May 6ths but in Bonds knows he “came home” in 1992 and had oodles of success at the Stick before the Magown and Baer group got it done. Bob Lurie I think failed three times. Bonds wants the park named after Mays. It was last Feb-March where Bonds flew in early (Marlins) to speak at the Davenport memorial breakfast at ATT in April of last year – and Bonds – if one knows him privately finally “got it” as he says in his talk about Davvy.
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/173925444/barry-bonds-honors-jim-davenport-at-memorial/
NIce article (seriously).
As you know, I’d been staging a crusade against uninformed A’s fans using the “A’s gave San Jose to the Giants, so now give it back” rationale for Lew to build a ballpark in San Jose *and* their misplaced (IMO) use of the word “greedy” towards Giants ownership not doing as they wish.
What this topic has done is allow me to read lots about how San Jose was awarded to the new Giants ownership as part of their purchase from Lurie (and preventing the Giants to go to Tampa Bay). In short, regardless of Lurie’s past problems with obtaining a new ballpark in SF…a new ballpark was going to be built by the new group one way or another…in SF or San Jose. It was mandated by MLB as a condition of their purchase and there was a timetable put on it. Throw in private financing and…well…it was getting done.
Trotting Barry out as part of their marketing plan to build in SF was important. There’s no denying that. This said, the Giants would be playing in a new ballpark with/without Bonds.
That a bunch of BS, tell me which season of “success” you are speaking of? And be very descriptive of how that success was leading to a new stadium before Bonds and the the HR seasons that essentially brought fans back to stadiums nation wide. The Giants had just had a decade of flirting with Florida and Toronto as possible destinations.
You have some nerve to thing you’re on some high moral ground and shit on what Bonds helped accomplish. What you are guilty of is revisionist history to swerve your stuff argument. When most people on this blog who know the history of the franchise will at least understand how it all went down.
The money made during the Bonds HR chase was what led to the stadium they were able to build on Townsend and the rise back to respectability.
I don’t understand your timeline; Bonds hit his 73 in 2001, the second season for the ballpark. They had to have broken ground several years before 2000 and finalized the deal even before that. The HR frenzy started in 1998 and had nothing to do with the ballpark getting done.
Cool story, Efrain.
…and I’m glad Barry wants this naming done too 🙂
While I love the name being a baseball player, RH left a bad taste with me when let I saw him. I took my two young sons to see him and sat out in LF. He was in contract negotiations and some fans were giving him a little grief. He decided to respond with a hand gesture.
So know you will know what I mean when I refer to the A’s stadium as “The Finger”. So I am blending it with a tribute to Rollie … kind of.
MLB Network is showing “The Swingin’ A’s” tonight (s/b 6:00 PM PST), a story on the 1972-1974 A’s. That was a GREAT team. In 1974 Jeff Burroughs won the AL MVP because three A’s (Jackson, Rudi, Bando) made it a plurality. Loved watching them smoke the Dodgers in five in the 1974 WS.
MLB Trade Rumors @mlbtraderumors 6m6 minutes ago
Twins Claim Ehire Adrianza, Designate Pat Light
Joins former Giants Ryan Vogelsong (non-roster invite) and Adalberto Mejia. Also on the Twins is Taylor Rogers, twin brother of Tyler Rogers, who pitched for Richmond and Sacramento last year.
ok…now you’re just showing off :-))
…showing off that I know how to look up a team’s 40-man roster. 😉
It is a rare skill in some quarters.
As I posted yesterday, he does have value because he can play 3 infield positions competently. And he hit enough last year in AAA and here to justify keeping him.
Atlanta should lose their franchise for that despicable game last night. Move them to Canada. RUN THE FOOTBALL YOU IDIOT. I hope Kyle got all is stupid out of his system.
The more experienced team won the game.
…but is that why they won the game?
You’ve probably played enough ball to answer your own question but in my experiences one team stopped executing based on lack of experience and one team continued to execute based on past knowledge.
I can agree on the latter but not so much on the former. I mean neither can be quantified but in the case of the Falcons, it seems if lack of experience was a factor, it would have been particularly evidenced in the early going. But for whatever reason, they sure did stop executing. Not to mention some very questionable 4th qtr play calling by you know who.
I cannot disagree but like with Roman and Harbaugh those headsets are connected simultaneously and Quinn at any time could have intervened but did not. Their belief system maintained the status quo
Whose inexperience? The coaching staff’s for sticking with the status quo when they didnt play call to the situation in the 4th quarter or the players whose execution of said play calls failed? I also wonder why Julio Jones only had 4 targets.
For every expert fan like you and me – we have our ducks all in a row once the pro coaches plans fail but “we” don’t know if OUR way would have produced a SB victory for the ATL. We don’t know if a 3 step drop would have afforded Ryan a successful gain or – it could have been an INT. We don’t know if Belichick and the other asst. DEF coaches rolled double coverage to Julio Jones side or not.
I can clearly remember where I was when I watched the sneaky FB Romo threw past Cabrera in 2012 to end it all.
http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2017/2/6/14522222/sergio-romo-dodgers-sf-giants-sigh
I love you, Sergio. That’s what’s up.
poetic article. Ta.
Still in Andalusia, caballero Paulo?
Paree yesterday, Seattle mañana, Amico!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3e3fa11f9675303910954ac813ba9fbaa005f586c9c254bdb8eaf3802f999873.jpg
(Tarmac @ CDG)
Don’t get on board that thing.
I tried, but he said, ‘NON!’ ;o)
30K feet over Edmonton, Canada. Isn’t technology amazing.
Today’s word:
troglodyte
TROG-luh-dahyt
noun
1. a person of degraded, primitive, or brutal character.
2. a prehistoric cave dweller.
Nuthin’ to add.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Tom-Brady-High-School-Photos-Serra-San-Mateo-412455253.html?_osource=SocialFlowTwt_BAYBrand
Shanahan is getting all the grief for this but it’s just as much on the HC. If he sees something amiss with how things are going it’s his frigging job to step in. Or at least it should be his job. Otherwise we should just call him the assistant to the coordinators.
I can see this with Harbaugh and Roman for example. An offensive specialist head coach and OC. But Quinn is a defensive coach through and through and with respect to offensive play calling, I can see Quinn – though, yes, he is ultimately responsible as the HC – deferring (acquiescing, whatever you want to call it) to Shanahan.
In that same iight, wonder what Belicheck would have done with McDaniels in that same situation
Any of us would be able to figure out to run some clock off in a situation like yesterday. But at least it got the football season out of the way.
A big issue was the time of possession was 2:1 Patriots. The Atlanta defense was gassed. Another reason to call more run plays and give the D a breather.
I agree..and, people are not considering: the Pats controlled the ball for twice as long as Atlanta, which wore down those young, fast, too aggressive defenders. By the 4th quarter, they were completely gassed.
I mentioned earlier- 3 injuries to the Atlanta offense curbed their play calling ( they STILL should have run the ball…AND Ryan not reacting to an obvious blitz changed everything)
That’s the hue and cry down here in the ATL. First and 10 after’s Julio’s great catch…should have run the ball three times and then kicked the FG. Matt Bryant is money on anything 40 yards or shorter. Very good at 45-50 yards as well.
Doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t that also wear out the patriots’ offense?
Defending is always harder on players…Offense knows where it’s going, defense reacts…much, much more tiring to be in reactive mode than attack mode
Absolutely true.
On passes it’s the offensive line which is reacting.
Good night all
Don’t pull the wool over your eyes. 😉
Perchè dovrei gettarmi fumo negli occhi?
The death of backspin.
https://i.imgur.com/xvl2fdA.png
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/hitters-quit-chopping-wood-dont-go-for-backspin/
Send this to Kruk.
“More spin means more drag and less distance.”
Krukow in mourning
lebron just hit an amazing shot. wow
http://www.nba.com/video/2017/02/06/0021600769-cle-was-play6
How about 5 guys who you want to watch this Spring? Here’s my 5, 3 of whom might have a chance to make the squad ( Gregorio, Slater,Jimmy Rollins)
Reyes Moronta, Joan Gregorio,Steven Duggar, Austin Slater,Jimmy Rollins
Moronta is said to hit 99-100 on the gun, and he has pretty control. He won’t make the team but he should be at Richmond. Worth keeping an eye on.
And here’s something I dIdn’t know- Ryan Garko is the manager of the AA Tulsa Drillers, a Dodger affiliate.
Duggar, Slater, Beede, Andrew Suarez, Ruggiano.
Saw Moronta in action when I went to the SJ Giants game with HaakAway and others last June. He was very good. I was glad they added him to the 40-man.
And Rudolpho Martinez was impressive with his 100MPH FB but someone took him deep that night IIR.
What do you think happened to him after he was promoted to AA?
I go with the theory that the eastern teams really keep their top pitchers there at the AA level.
EDIT: Oops, I was thinking of Shaw. Rudolpho… no clue .
Rollins is a sort of a strange case, I think. Unless there is a trade or injury, they’d have to keep three reserve infielders for him to make the team. If Bochy keeps 13 pitchers, he has no chance, So why did they sign him? Would he go to Sacramento? I’ll be interested to see happens if he has a good Spring.
I think Rollins and Morse are in the same category. Both probably finished, but it costs practically nothing to take a look. They already know Morse is a great clubhouse guy, and I’m sure they’re intrigued with Rollins’s veteran presence as well. I see almost no chance of either making the team. I could see Morse going to Sacramento, but not Rollins.
They have a better chance of keeping 5 OFers than 7 infielders so Morse has a much better shot of sticking, IMO.
Except… it’s Bruce driving the ship. I think there will be a lot of bitching, but I suspect he (Rollins) will stay initially.
You have personalized this question well …
Duggar has just kept producing at every level; CF with speed …Hope, hope
J-Greg is one I have watched and probably has to get some MLB time this year.
Aramis Garcia get an invite? Like to see how he measures up
Shaw struggled in Richmond but is the closest Bopper for PJ
Coonrod could be a sleeper who makes his mark.
Peter deserves to have a MyGuy. If he lives to be a 100, he’ll still be pining for Long Ball Duvall 😉
I’m with PJ on that, the team blew it with Duvall, that is water under the bridge but would hate to have history repeat itself, i.e. Cain starting instead of Blach, Rollins making it instead of Tomlinson, Ruggiano making it instead of Williamson…
I think it’s wrong as seeing the team “blowing it” – first of all Duvall was never really thought of as an OF option in SF, they knew he could hit for HR but did not see him hitting for enough average to warrant a starting spot. Fast forward and good for him on the Reds, I actually think the jury i out if it’s sustainable.
– Cain starting over Blach is a money thing, they owe Cain so much the team will do what it can to roll him out there. IF Cain is deemed the 5th starter, one hopes the team is quicker than last year pulling the plug on the Cain experiment.
– I don;t understand why people are so worried about Tomlinson, who I think is part of the team no matter how well anyone else plays during ST. I don’t see it as a Tomlinson OR Rollins situations.
– Ruggiano over Williamson would only mean its deserved if he outplays him. Williamson is no guarantee nor some stud farmhand who has a right to the spot. He can just as easily, at his age be purely a journeyman. At his age and seeing his track record, he most likely is not better than a 4,5 OF on a good roster. Either way I doubt the Giants starting LF by the end of 2017 is even on the roster.
Agree on Duvall, Cain and KT.
Rugg could outplay Mac but I hope Mac gets a solid run at starting games to be tested.
Mac’s road trip centered run (Bos, NY) he started 6 of 10 games and went 8-29 [.275] with two HR. If he started for a while could he sustain that? I think there is only one way to know and I hope he gets a shot at trying it for April-June. His D will not hurt them during that time either.
Williamson showed flashes of brilliance in the field last year once he got settled in.
They absolutely did blow it on Duvall. If they didn’t think him as an OF option, why not? He played some left field in the minors–I witnessed it myself in 2015 in Sacramento before he was traded. And in 2015 they were desperate for OFs since Pence and Aoki kept getting injured. They had the likes of journeyman Justin Maxwell and career minor leaguer Ryan Lollis play OF, but Duvall never even got a call-up in 2015.
The way I see it is, if you develop a promising bat but his glove won’t play at his main position, you start finding him a new position (see Kyle Schwarber). Duvall hit for power at every level of the minors. They should have known they had something worth holding onto, not just dumped him as a throw-in on the Mike Leake (!!!) trade.
And sure, the jury’s out, but you can say that about any player who had a good full first year in the majors. Duvall was an All-Star, a Gold Glove finalist, and just was named one of the top-10 left fielders by MLB Network. He hit 33 HRs. No Giant has hit 30 since 2004. He had a good year.
The real indication is that Bobby Evans specifically referenced Duvall in explaining why they’re letting Mac and Parker have a shot at LF rather than signing a free agent–they didn’t want “another Duvall” situation. They know they blew it with him.
Duvall was the #4 rated defensive left fielder in the majors last year. If the giants didn’t realize that he has that kind of ability, it’s their fault.
The reason i’m worried about tomlinson is that somehow they managed to keep him off the major league roster most of last year.
My guy for making the Roster is Morse. He is the verteran power hitter off the bench that can play first or Left. Thus only Mac or Parker make the roster and not both. As the Giants have good balanced power from the rightside or the left, it is open season for best performance and who has options for starting the season. My guess is Parker is the leaning hitter as Crawford is not viewed for power and Mac can get his AB’s in AAA for a quick callup if Parker struggles or anyone goes down.
God that hurt.
My comment was meant to humorous, sorry you didn’t take it that way. But your comparisons are not similar situations as to what happened with Duvall.
Not pining for anything, I will follow Duvall’s career , just liked I followed, other Giants players I liked that were left for other teams, most of them happen to be power hitters, Bobby Bonds, Dave Kingman, Garry Matthews, Jack Clark, Chili Davis, Darrel Evans, Matt Nokes, Larry Herndon, Rob Deer, Matt Williams, Jeff Kent. I am a fan of players above anything, I will always be a Giants fan, but will never give up being a fan of players I like.
Try to buy a sense of humor, Peter. Or here’s a test to see if you have one
https://www.helloquizzy.com/tests/the-sense-of-humor-test5
I Come on this blog to talk Baseball, not to socialize are crack jokes, this is a Baseball blog , some people on here seem to forget that .
My comment WAS about baseball. And there’s nothing wrong with having a sense of humor about it. You don’t get that. Lighten up, it won’t kill you.
This is serious!!!!! Where’s Mateo!!!!!
But you have cracked jokes AND you’ve drank, so we know you’re human.
Garcia did indeed get an invite (they need every catcher who can walk in camp, especially with Buster taking time away for the WBC).
Shaw did not get an invite.
Shaw struggled his 1st month in Richmond, after that had about a .850 OPS the rest of the year .
Do you think he will be the 1B at Sac? That might be more accelerated than the Giants usually do.
If you still have any friends in Felton, pray for them tonight… flash flood warnings and high winds … 6 inches of rain predicted and it sounds like it right now.
You live in the Valley? 25 years in B.C. Heavy rains are nothing new. It is the winds.
No, I am in the Loma Prieta/Summit area.
Were you there in the winter of 81/82 and the 20 deaths on Love Creek? It is starting to feel like that. Packing my chain saw along today.
No, I moved to the valley in 87, I was flying in from Co. when the airplane pilot said scattered showers. I avoided the love creek area in my house hunt when I moved to the hills. For the most part, the valley can take a 7 inch dumping over night. It is the prolonged rainy season then 3 or 4 days of good rain with high winds that brings the Fir trees down. The Redwoods are generally pretty solid except for some widow maker(branches). There was 1 year around 88 or 89 in which my neighbor right on the creek had the fire department come buy and offer to cut her deck off as the river was approaching it. That was a 2 year old deck she paid 15 grand for. She said kindly, no thank you and the water stopped about 1 foot from the pylons.
You know your woods.
Plenty of widow makers around our five-acres this month of rain. That prolonged rain as you said is what has caused springs of water in unusual places.
Nothing beats the smell of septic in a wet winter….
Yeah we have that going on.
I will bottle it for you if you miss it?
GNight ,you late night scouting directors.I’m up to season 3 of The Shield, Vic is due .To kill again. It’s a strange thing to say about a corrupt cop who beats the crap out of suspects and has killed criminals and police officers- but he’s sort of likable.
Which streaming channel has The Shield? I liked that show when it was on FX.
Hulu has it.
The Italian Government sent a video-letter to your POTUS.
I strongly reccomend to watch it.
http://video.repubblica.it/dossier/trump-presidente/casa-surace-la-risposta-italiana-a-trump-america-first-italy-second/267086/267471?ref=HRESS-4
Watched most of 2012 NLDS Game 4 with my coffee this morning. 8-3 Giants; Pagan, Blanco and Pablo HRs, Timmy 4+ innings of masterful relief. Great memories.
sorry bout your falcons pal. that loss was even worse than the giants loss to the cubbies, their last game..
Not my Falcons, bro–I’m still a Niners fan first and always–but yeah, all my ATL buds are stinging big time. Still. They’ll be OK, but it’s going to take some time.
Having grown up during the amazing Niner golden era going to Candlestick, I’ve always held that Montana was the greatest QB and that the best best coach was Walsh.
Even before this Superbowl I thought Brady and Belichick were right there, and now have to say they both stand alone at the top, given their longevity, the nature of the NFL, what they have available roster wise, it’s an amazing feat.
Plus love that Brady is a local Serra kid, been following him since his days battling Drew Henson for the starting spot. What a climb that has been.
Pitchers and catchers report in 6 days. I was at this game too. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bbda7d47a2d22f2b89592ebe85142e392ca1ecbf2eff4e33bd2cbb2c022f8478.jpg
For everyone here, please, just say who it is in the photo. I don’t need a quiz this early.
JT the Vacuum Cleaner Machine
vs the Mets 2000 NLDS off of Armando Benitez
Regrettably, Sabean missed the at bat, and fell victim to the Benitez fiction novel
You and I were there Hacman. Ned Colletti left me two tickets. Son Lou played on my Summer American Legion team. We made the mistake of meeting Ned at the Willie Mays statue because about 24 thousand people were also meeting each other there. It was Pacific Bell Park and I still rate that moment as 2nd loudest in SF Giant Park History with #1 being the Stick when Brian Johnson hit his HR in B12 in 1997.The upper deck felt like Oct 17th 1989 when JT’s pinch HR curled inside the foul pole. Al Leiter was dominating earlier in the game. After watching the pinch hitting – J.T. crush a one-out, three-run, game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth, the Mets came right back and pushed across a run in the top of the 10th Thursday night to pull out a 5-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants at Pacific Bell Park and tie the National League division series at 1-1. Snow’s pinch-hit home run off Armando Benitez spoiled an otherwise dominating performance by Met starter Al Leiter, who left in the ninth with a 4-1 lead. That lasted until Snow launched a high, arching drive that pierced the fog and curled inside the foul pole and over the brick wall in right field. RIP Ex-Giant Darryl Hamilton and a single by Payton off Felix Rodriguez gave the Mets their winning run. The Giants had one more chance left, too, but John Franco struck out Barry Bonds with a runner on first to end the game.
Jeff Kent started at first base
Calvin Murray CF
Marvin Benard PH
Bill Mueller 3B
Barry Bonds LF
Jeff Kent 1B-2B
Ellis Burks RF
Ramon Martinez 2B
J.T. Snow PH-1B
Rich Aurilia SS
Bobby Estalella C
Shawn Estes P
Kirk Rueter P
Doug Henry P
Felipe Crespo PH
Felix Rodriguez P
Armando Rios PH
Shawn Estes 3Inn 3H 2R 2ER
Kirk Rueter 4.1 Inn 3H 0R 0ER
Doug Henry 0.2Inn 0H 0R 0ER
Felix Rod 2Inn 4H 3R 3ER (L)
Dude so good, he can swoop your kids out of harm’s way and still look good.
For the scientists here, here is a question for you. Both sides of this argument seem to be represented pretty well. Where do you stand?
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/48344/title/Opinion–Should-Scientists-Engage-in-Activism-/&utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TS_The-Scientist-Daily_2016&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=42112399&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-95lHlImtU_fVM4hmqjVBmVAkuO5SGTwl4oRosaP79ZzKPR3mq7IcCQ9KoWhsKMveOwxjBxpfz7W2AaYF92kFjrwU5qOw&_hsmi=42112399
I’ll take a very brief go at this one. Scientists and engineers are just citizens, with perhaps a certain skill set at technical matters. We are certainly not worth anything more than a history teacher or cop or anything else, nor are we lesser people: it takes a village. From time to time, however, a tchnological sort of person might become aware of something like the ozone layer and the global spread of atmospheric pollution, like Sherry Rowland (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._Sherwood_Rowland) and thus might have an obligation to speak out/advocate. Well, all citizens do, but I’m pretty sure GG’s baseball blog isn’t the right place for politics.
One further thing is to add that inventions or discoveries can be bad (think atomic bombs) or good (think atomic power plants not emitting CO2). It is up to the people, not just the scientists, to ensure that the balance comes in on the side of good. There is a disturbing trend to reject the advice of scientists, which I’d never claim is perfect, in some current views about evolution or climate warming. But sometimes science speaks nearly unanimously, such as on those last two topics.
What about possessing knowledge that most of a population does not have access to and some of which may contradict popular/official belief? The example being presence of Pb in the water supply.
Isn’t that exactly the same question as what would you do if you saw someone stashing a bomb and an uzi in a locker down at the bus station?
Actually, it is pretty close if you believe the fact that it was contested by public officials.
You’re right, this blog may not the best place to discuss stuff like this. (Although, I wouldn’t have come across some of the folks I have without this blog.)
I’m happy with music links, menus, advice on fence building, weather patterns and so on. You are right, the blog gives a cross section of information that would be hard to replicate in any other way. But religion and politics are a different kind of topic, it seems.
To go back to your question about Pb, of course one should report a serious health hazard. In case it doesn’t get the right attention (which my Uzi obviously would), the scientist would be obliged to keep trying, with other regulatory agencies and the press, and that’s how Flint’s problems finally got recognized.
There is an interesting theory that the decrease in national crime rates since the 1960s (let us say without looking the exact date up) is due to the removal of tetraethyllead from gasoline. Pb is insiduous stuff. I’m reasonably convinced of this, and it is a bit disconcerting to know there is still some Pb in the inside layer of the paint on my 1967-vintage house.
I love reading this kind of discourse. I don’t have any expertise but always appreciate smart people exchanging views on complex subjects.
In California, this idea being tested in Morocco seemed particularly useful here. harvesting water from fog.
http://mashable.com/2017/01/31/fog-catching-nets-turn-moisture-into-water/?utm_cid=sv-nextup-bottom#5fYhn9_5kaqp
Yeah, saw a documentary on this, probably Smithsonian channel. Good stuff.
This is the topic I can’t get out of my mind these days. Aquifer recharge.
https://water.usgs.gov/ogw/artificial_recharge.html
The original example of ‘trickle down’ hydrology, LOL.
Even better than clean water.. they’re making vodka from it now!
http://hangarone.com/fogpoint/
610nm, one growing issue i have is my cynicism about what I hear/read…just last week, i saw a report of how – supposedly – scientists at NOAA purposely fudged temperature numbers to support their view. Now, is that true? Heck if i know. But the wild, uncontrolled world of “media” we live in has me having very deep rooted trust issues…combined with the flaws of character that human beings have, and science as a concept seems under stress and attack like never before.
If it was like the great global warming conspiracy a few years ago, that data and its conclusions were examined in excruciating detail and found by ever one to be entirely appropriate and correct. The objection was to the private opinions held by some of those scientist. Opponents just assumed because many scientist knowledgeable in climate science think, in general, ‘deniers are full of horse feathers’, they must be incapable of unbiased analysis. That turned out to be nonsense.
Personally, I don’t believe NOAA fudged data. Too many serious scientists there. Sounds like fake news to support an attempt at denying a problem exists.
How about the apparently serious scientist there who’s the whistle blower for this information?
He was wrong. Look at the data from the divergent sources he commented on as to their relative reliability. The models all predict the same thing, ship or buoy, or satellite.
https://i.imgur.com/cUqdLpq.png
What was done was a simple baseline correction. Completely called for in trend data.
https://i.imgur.com/R0xo1wl.png
Having looked at the data in question by what you characterize as a whistleblower, perhaps you can avoid too much fauxrage.
Where’s TO’s rebuttal?
IMO, the point is, don’t make statements about data you don’t have, or perhaps, understand. Time series, and Fourier analysis aren’t for the timid and those casually acquainted with them. In this case, the warming pause deniers prayed was true, was instead a natural feature of the process on a short time scale. In the end, IMO, it doesn’t have any impact anyway. We’re over the tipping point and it’s just a matter of how bad our foolishness can make it. Nature doesn’t care about our silly political goofiness.
Popular Science wrote an excellent analysis of a story that first appeared in the Daily Mail.
Popular Science: “No credible evidence supports that NOAA fabricated data. Evidence still points to Climate Change.”
http://www.popsci.com/regardless-house-science-committee-claims-noaa-scientists-probably-didnt-manipulate-climate-records
It remains to be seen what Romo has left, and it certainly doesn’t matter to him how I will remember him, but going to LAD will add a “yeah, but” when I think of him. I will always appreciate his contributions to the three titles, part of the Core Four and the closer in the 2012 WS. But if he becomes a contributor for LAD, it will taint my memory of him. A heroic SFG signing with LAD is just a bad move, period. You want to play in soCal? Join the Angels or the Padres. Go to nearby AZ. Go anywhere else. It would show that you really did care about the fans that turned up every single day, that you really did appreciate and honor the club that gave you everything. Yeah, but he says no thanks — plenty of money and he gets to stay put and perform every night for all of soCal.
Since the Giants weren’t interested in signing him , he looked elsewhere. He had no reason to “appreciate and honor” the team that was no longer interested in his services,But I’m glad to see him go.
lots of folks will disagree with you, but not me. of all the things i respect about JR42, one of them is that at the end of his career, he was traded from the dodgers to the giants. instead of playing for his arch rival, he retired. that was a man with character.
They tried to trade him- why should he have had any loyalty to them?
Romo gave the Giants everything he had, while he was a Giant. Then they no longer wanted him. He doesn’t owe the team or the its fans anything else and should be free to play wherever he wants. From his perspective, the Giants turned their back on him after he contributed so much to them for nine seasons. I wouldn’t blame him at all for wanting to show them that they were wrong. What better way to do that than as a Dodger? You expect him to remain loyal to the Giants, but apparently believe that loyalty is a one way street.
I don’t get this “owe the team/fans” argument under any circumstances, even if the team DID want him back. The point of free agency is that the player gets to go WHERE HE WANTS TO GO. Curt Flood took that all the way to the Supreme Court, IIRC.
That’s why I have never understood all the sniveling about Durant going to the Warriors, or, for that matter, Pablo Sandoval leaving the Giants. Don’t get me wrong–I lost a lot of respect for Pablo for HOW he left (lying to Bobby Evans, lying at the parade) and how he comported himself AFTER he left–but not BECAUSE he left.
I love that verb comport much as I love desultory. From Latin comportāre to bear, collect, from com- together + portāre to carry.
I have to sit down, we actually agree on something and you hit the nail on the head. Romo does not owe Giants fans anything in his choice of where he plays.
Being a So-Cal kid I’m not surprised he chose the Dodgers over teams with more $ on the table. He has a great opportunity to play into October, the Yankees and Rays?? Not so much.
Imagine Crawford the kid who grew up loving the Giants had been drafted by the Dodgers out of UCLA? Then 10 years later had the opportunity to come home. Think he wouldn’t jump at that?
Didn’t he grow up in LA and his entire family are Dodgers fans? Only natural he would want to play there if the Giants don’t want him back ..
I wonder if the Padres are/were the mystery team in the running?
Rays and Yankees
Any idea what that is based on?
From a Tweet from Jesse Sanchez over in the right hand column of this page
LOL. I didn’t see that until I quenched adblock.
Brawley, CA.
That’s silly fan-crap. It’s a business and he still wants a job. So what if you were fired? Wouldn’t you look elsewhere for work?
You know, ‘silly fan-crap’ could become a term of art just as poignant as ‘rosterbation’. I like it. We need a meme with a little hand jive as a component.
“Has Left” (but not by choice)
Dumbass post, he’s from LA region and still thinks he has something left in the tank. He’s a competitor and he’s used to winning. He’s going to the team that has won the past 4 West divisions, has a nice blend of old and new talent and gives him an opportunity to play in the post season, really it’s a no brainer.
He doesn’t owe you or Giants fans crap except thanks for the years. Other than that he doesn’t need to have his actions validated by ignorant fans.
Get over it and grow up.
He’s from Brawley, that is not the LA region. It is due east, quite far east, of San Diego. But I don’t care who he signed with, he’s one of the great Giants in recent memory. Him pitching for the Dodgers will not taint that.
What he has left? The guy had a 2.64 era last year. He had ZERO blown saves on a team that had 32. He was 4 for 4 or 100% in save opportunities and he had a very respectable WHIP of 1.076.
USAToday consensus MLB win total projections.
https://i.imgur.com/Sbxwmsu.png
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2017/02/07/mlb-2017-win-totals/97586876/
Isn’t that pretty much identical to how the standings ended up last year? Way to go out on a limb!
Poor St. Louis- They’re going to win 88 games and miss the playoffs again!
And here I thought LA’s rotation was a weak spot. They can go 8-deep!!
The Giants had a “deep rotation” going into 2015: Bumgarner, Cain, Lincecum, Hudson, Peavy, Vogelsong, Heston, Petit. Two former Cy Young winners and six former All-Stars. How’d that turn out?
HINT: They traded future All-Star Adam Duvall at the trade deadline to get a rotation reinforcement. Quantity does not substitute for quality–or durability.
Obviously we should go right to playoffs and blow off all 162. We’re in at least.
These are sports writers and ‘experts’, as I recall. Let’s see what the Pythagorean estimates suggest, where there is an actual variance and error estimate.
Oh, great, we can start another round of “where’s the respect?”
LOL. October.
Cubs projected for 99 wins is quite steep, wow. I know they won 103 last year, but still that’s really high. The rest of it looks understandable. Let’s hope the Giants can crack the 90 win barrier for the first time since 2012.
I see them at 92-96 wins myself. But it depends on how tough the Cardinals and Pirates play them in their division. Personally, I don’t recall how many times the Giants see them this year, but those are likely to be some intense, tight games too.
Wow, Steve Sarkisian has already left Alabama to take a job with the Falcons. So his entire contribution as a coach for Alabama was helping them lose the national title game. LOL
Good job.
Will Saban gobble up Chip Kelly?
LOL…I knew you would be all over this. Will the next former USC “offensive mind” please come on down!
At least he’s not supervising student-athletes anymore. NFL players are grown men. If their coach goes on a bender, they can deal with it.
The Ringer @ringer 2m2 minutes ago
The Falcons are handing over their offense to Steve Sarkisian, Alabama’s only winless coach.
he left behind his instruction manual “Beer Pong : 10 Steps To Winning”
Zackly. SMH
Legacy, not contribution.
And to the Falcons!? Yikes. He better be freshly scrubbed clean and sober, stepping into this situation. Demitroff and Quinn are usually very astute, but this one puzzles me.
Interesting Falcon issue surfacing. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/only-on-ap-falcons-worried-about-handling-of-painkillers/2017/01/31/9c544192-e7b6-11e6-903d-9b11ed7d8d2a_story.html?tid=hybrid_content_2_na
Oh, wow. That’s awful. I’ve heard about both college and NFL teams pushing pain pills (and shots) to keep injured players on the field. That young man from the 49ers, Chris Borland, who quit the NFL after one year, wrote pretty eloquently about that after he retired. And you can see how a team could pressure its players to take pills and play through it. (See New York Mets’ pitchers, too.)
Just another reason (out of so many) to loathe and despise the NFL.
It’s simply a plague. SMH. This seems qualitatively different than in the past. I worked in a facility once upon a time with a methadone clinic located in it in the mid/late 70s. Coming back from Vietnam, a lot of the returning soldiers had used opium and opiates and by all rights and definitions were hooked. Some units returned with as much as 30% usage I was told. But on returning State side they simply quit,once the depression and hopelessness of living/enduring there abated. These guys on the Falcons and in the Northeast corridor just seem a horse of a different color. Unless it’s depression or something, I don’t see the persistence part of it. SMH.
I don’t subscribe to the local media, preferring to get my news from national sources, so I’ve not read or heard anything about this in the ATL market. I’ll keep an ear close to the ground for further developments.
That halftime Xanax they gave Shanahan sure backfired
Worth re-watching on a gloomy Feb 7th
Amy Adams (sigh) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-oUJSNQKGk
Home boy Bonus Baby Gentry is degrading while involved in batting practice and refers to Rigo as the peanut boy. When asked how she found Rigo, Mickey (Amy) says it was the pure sound. Rigo throws several fastballs which Gentry cant hit. Mickey next tells Rigo to throw the curve which she states is his best pitch, and Gentry still cant hit the ball even though he knows its coming.
Just scrolled thru the blog and gosh darn if I didn’t come across an extended back and forth about Adam Duvall. He’s the gift that just keeps on not giving. Mix it up, people. Let’s talk about the Warriors trading Robert Parish and the pick used for Kevin McHale in order to land Joe Barely Cares.
It’s a little more relevant, since the Duvall trade happened in 2015 and the Giants are still looking for an answer in LF, while the Warrior’s trade happened over 30 years ago and all involved have long since retired, but I’m will to talk about trading Parrish and McHale, if you really want to. I don’t think it was a very good trade.
Forget it. Let’s talk about George Foster.
Foster was pretty damn good…but Duvall was a friggin’ ALL STAR!!!!*
(* – Technically, Foster was, but not to the Duvall level)
Let’s just agree that Jack Clark was no Adam Duvall.
Charlie Williams for Willie Mays (drop thy mic)
Yes, but that was a planned move, to send Willie back to NY for his final year or two. Mrs. Joan Payson, Mets owner at the time, was a HUGE Willie Mays fan from her days as a kid watching the NY Giants. Stoneham could no longer afford to pay Willie. Those were the (bad, old) days.
@ ATL John – I knew I could count on my brother from another….
Yes Mrs P took care of Willie but since Stoneham dropped the fiscal baseball – I am still calling it literally a ‘trade’.
One of those forgotten “worst trades ever”…Giants traded this tremendous young talent because he was so quiet and rarely said anything. They thought he had some developmental problem. Yeah, right. And who did we get for the 1977 NL MVP? Frank Duffy and Vern Geishart. Ugh.
The smart-a** of Oracle.
I agree with the implication that there should be a statute of limitations on kvetching about Duvall, but I also agree with The Oracle that, until there’s a LF who’s at least as good as Duvall is, it’s fair game for discussion. I did not notice Angel Pagan making the All-Star team last year or being a Gold Glove finalist.
That’s what facts and data are for, assaulting narratives of convenience.
The facts are 33 HRS, 103 RBIs, hitting better on the road than at home, and being a Gold Glove finalist. When it comes to Duvall, you attempt ignore the facts while promoting your own preferred narrative, which has absolutely nothing to do with the facts.
And yet data and baseball scouts do say that Duvall would not have become that *EXACT* guy with 81 games at Willie Mays Field……
At Willie Mays Field he loses a few HR’s (8?) and a few hits become outs so his average drops into the .230’s. I hope he keeps being happy in his old stomping grounds but he needs to get better too of I will not miss him.
People can and will discuss whatever they want. That’s their right. Just as it’s my right to express my irritation with it. And, yeah, sure, our LF situation is still up in the air, but second guessing that trade won’t change a damn thing. Just as re-living the trade for Scutaro won’t add a fourth ring to our decade.
It’s still relevant, though, in the sense that the front office’s view that they missed on Duvall seems to be guiding, if not controlling, their decision to stick with internal options for LF this year instead of obtaining one of the many available bats via free agency or trade. This may be a great decision or it may be a terrible one–time will tell–but it absolutely was influenced by what happened with Duvall, at least according to the GM.
Here’s a link to the article (by Alex P in November) where Evans made the connection.
http://www.csnbayarea.com/giants/adam-duvall-might-have-paved-way-young-giants-outfielders
I agree completely. But I certainly question the fact that most people who come on here to re-hash and bash that trade do so in order to shed light on our current LF situation and how it’s presently affecting our decisions moving forward.
Good one. You did that just so you could type “Joe Barely Cares.”
MLB Trade Rumors
Nationals To Acquire Enny Romero From Rays
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/02/nationals-to-acquire-enny-romero-from-rays.html
Not just any Romero! Envy Romero!
Nice try. It almost worked, but this isn’t horseshoes.
This blog is the horseshoeiest place I know
Ringer!!!!
I first read that as horses**t. Glad I looked twice.
A completely off the wall question. Do men and women reason differently? I read this (http://www.salon.com/2011/10/16/why_do_men_and_women_talk_differently/ ) and I have to admit, I’d never thought about it from a social evolution, language perspective.
I’ve been interested in language and gender for a long time. It’s not my area of expertise, but I’m reasonably well read on it.
The differences between how men and women use language are well established through research (and of course those also vary cross-culturally), but I’m inclined to think it’s socialization, not evolution. Do socialization patterns derive from evolution? Maybe. But things change, too. As more and more women enter public arenas, they both (a) change the conversation through their presence and (b) adapt to be successful in male-dominated spaces.
One consequence of my own reading on the topic is that I’ve mindfully changed my own interaction patterns in groups. When I was in grad school, I remember a (female) professor telling me with some fascination that my speech was incredibly gender-marked (i.e., feminine). Of course, that was back in the late 80s. I’ve had to learn to be more assertive and sometimes even, yes, aggressive.
Anyway, interesting article; thanks for sharing it.
Again, off the wall. Do you think this pro-life/choice social discussion would be better conducted by women alone, to the exclusion of men. It’s my opinion, that’s a more high probability path to compromise than others. I have to admit the choice crew have castigated me over that far too pragmatic as opposed to doctrinaire POV.
This won’t be a very liberal/progressive response, but IMO, there is a fair amount of intellectual dishonesty on both sides of this very charged issue.
“Pro-lifers” shriek about people being “pro-abortion” and say that liberals “celebrate killing babies.” That’s a vicious lie. I don’t know anyone who’s enthusiastically “pro-abortion.” The people I know are “pro-choice,” by which they mean the decision should be left up to the person most affected, the pregnant woman.
“Pro-choice” folks conveniently overlook that there’s a second human life involved and that society (which includes men) has an interest in making sure those lives are treated with respect. It’s not only about the pregnant woman, and ignoring that reality is also dishonest.
I’ve said this before, but I have no use for “pro-lifers” who are also against affordable contraception, available health care, and other social services to support mothers and children. They’re “anti-abortion” and maybe “pro-birth,” but they are NOT “pro-life.” Nor do I have much use for “pro-choice” folks who don’t acknowledge the high human moral stakes involved and want to make it just an individual “choice,” like whether to have a burrito or sushi for lunch.
So that’s a long-winded answer to your question, and I guess my answer is “it’s more complicated than either side wants to acknowledge.”
It’s very close to the starting point for a pragmatic compromise, IMO. Ever read Laura Rockefeller Chasin, Public Conversation Project, specifically Talking With the Enemy? Similar idea as yours, rational.
https://pubpages.unh.edu/~jds/BostonGlobe.htm (terrible copy)
Women are just smarter. Sigh. It was anything but long winded, thank you for the comment.
Thank you for that exceptionally thoughtful position statement. Dr. Lefty for 2020!!
As a veteran of 34 years of marriage, I offer the following succinct response:
Wellll, duh!
After 38 years of marriage I can say: keep silent if you want to survive. I forgot…keep HER silent, as long as possible.
35. For sure!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b7beefb5ecdfe9986e432960eabd97b7e88bcaff44f8b9830d9e7250d0362fa7.jpg
..and grenade’ist.
You edited your comment.
Everyone needs at least Juan Romero.
Chris Carter will make even new Yankee Stadium look like a LL park
Yankees have one-year deal with Chris Carter
http://www.fanragsports.com/news/heyman-yankees-one-year-deal-chris-carter/
A firstclass opinion article on ideas in baseball, and how or even whether teams/organization can keep them proprietary and confidential. The big data aspect of Statcast is yielding insight on methods and skill development hard, maybe impossible to get otherwise. Those insights, some we see, some we don’t, that effect the game we see as fans. It could come to a situation where players/coaches/executives have to sign NDAs with a team to protect those ‘trade secrets’. You break an NDA protecting a trade secret, those can be criminal penalties.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-devaluation-of-new-ideas/
A foolish exercise in futility. Why would Elon Musk care about GM’s developments in better fuel injection?
Frankly, because GM probably has better science, and poorer leadership.
No, the Tesla doesn’t need fuel injection and Statcast doesn’t need old metrics. Scouting reports maybe, but likely not 4-5 year old algorithms.
GM did the electric car ~30 years ago.
And where is it now? I suspect that the Tesla or its progeny will be around for a while. Well, until the Big One, at least.
GM killed it at Big Oils behest. There’s a movie about that actually.
Here’s my real perspective about baseball knowledge. I learned many things from coaches and players, asst. coaches, outsiders about how to play baseball, how to watch baseball, how to judge baseball players, how to coach players, how to organize team, parents and league officials. Want to know what I’ve NEVER heard. You can only use that here on this team and you can’t tell anyone else the same things and you can’t use them if you leave even if you give me credit for it.
Sounds pretty silly to me. Call it intellectual property if you want, but good luck having baseball people honor it. As soon as crap like that creeps into my game, this game, our game, “Dude, you can take it and shove it.”
Why Kids Are Losing Interest in Baseball
I stored this article away a few years ago and forgot about it until I was re-organizing my bookmarks.
“In its primitive, pre-19th century forms, baseball was literally child’s play, and it had more in common with today’s kickball games than with the modern game. Rudimentary bat-and-ball games such as “town ball” were highly participatory, with no foul lines and little distinction between players and spectators. They were governed by the playful impulses of children and pleasure-seeking adults.”
It’s a shame that its popularity is waning because ” (i)n many ways, baseball doesn’t look like anything else that we do in our lives. Its languid pace makes it the least frenetic of team sports. But more importantly, its lessons about hard work, discipline, and attention to detail remain as relevant as ever.” Maybe more so.
And maybe needed now more than ever.
Ooops
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/10/why-kids-are-losing-interest-in-baseball/281017/
Good one … thanks.
I get from it that kids can learn the value of repetition in becoming skilled but it will not be their first reward. That is where coaching has to be creative in drills like your “back-of-the-glove” catching.
Just a quick note on Duvall-as we know, OPS+ is OPS adjusted to the player’s ballpark and league. At 106, Adam’s was less than 3 of our boys and tied with Mudbug . This is not to say we couldn’t have used him last year, but it does put into perspective how much ballpark factors contribute to performance.
Another quickie on a personal note-tomorrow I’m getting what we hope to be my last brain MRI. If it’s clean, Friday will mark 5 years that I have been tumor-free. So we will have a little party here If I haven’t just jinxed it. The cure has created it’s own problems, but as I’ve said before I’m still walking on the right side of the grass. I want to thank all of you for your tepid support 😉
Sending lots of good thoughts your way, Chef!
I know I’m slow, but who the heck is “Mudbug”?
A crawfish or crawdad is, among other slang terms, known as a “Mudbug”. Hence- Craw-Ford.
Ahhh, got it.
What’s your favorite food. I’ll at least think about eating it in your honor tomorrow. Good luck, my man, truly.
Well, it’s pan-fried chicken, of course. But I’m making “Poule au Pot” on Friday, Chocolate Lava Cakes for dessert.
Best wishes, Chef!
Right Side of the Dirt!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LruZMM-Xmf4
Hi Chef, I’m reading your post waiting for a specialist doc to evaluate the last TC PET I made a few days ago. I have been keeping on keeping my fingers crossed and now it hurts.
Just mind your Positrons.
Godspeed, Amico. paulito
Way to go, Pal! paul
I converted a slow cooker chicken tikka recipe to the Instant Pot today, with delicious results!
https://danatriespot.wordpress.com/2017/02/07/instant-pot-chicken-tikka-ftw/
Slow Cooker Poule-au-Pot
http://michelescicolone.com/chicken-pot/
http://www.bistrot-bacchus.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/DSC_0004-1180×783.jpg
You’re gonna love that Insta-Pot!
How jetlag effects Major League Baseball players. Published today.
http://www.pnas.org/content/114/6/1407.full
Really nice piece by Chris Haft on Tyler Beede. I’m #TeamBlach, but wouldn’t it be something if Beede leapfrogged everyone?
Considering Cueto’s status, it would not be the worst idea in the world for Beede to get some MLB experience this season.
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/215338550/san-francisco-giants-key-in-on-tyler-beede/?topicid=151437456
You know, if ‘good changeup’ is part of their description, that alone would make me interested to take a look. If nothing else to let them see how deep the pool is.
Some of us touched on that at the end of last season. If Cueto has another amazing year his people will have him test the waters. Believe you me the Yankees are hungry to win, and while they have more promise, they still have to catch the Red Sox who appear stronger with young talent to boot.
Cueto can possibly have a great deal of $$$ thrown at him.
Beede absolutely need to show something this year, specially if by many reports he is a top of the order type. The team needs to be prepared.
Good perspective on NYY. Let’s see if Cueto looks for something other than the most money.
Oh like what, some love for the Giants and the Bay area? Please spare the violin and the theatrics.
Cueto has won EVERYWHERE he has played. He has that track record which will drive up the overall cost.
He is extremely family and DR driven like his idol Pedro Martinez.
So please spare the love of team stuff that many of you imagine the Giants run on. Every team’s fan base believes the same exact crap.
I can tell you that I’ve turned down more money to stay with the people I hired and worked with and doing something I enjoyed.So, maybe others might do that too. Maybe not, it’s not out of the question.
Wow the Fangraphs and BP projections are unkind to the Giants and EXTREMELY sanguine on the Dodgers (I assume the two must correlate, the worse a projection believes the Giants to be the better it believes the Dodgers to be). But BP’s PECOTA has the Dodgers with 98 wins. NINETY EIGHT! Fangraphs has them at 95. BP I think has the Giants at 86 and Fangraphs around 88. I think the Giants have a great shot to win 90+ but my amazement is not about the “lack of respect” given to the Giants but the unbelievably high win projections for the Dodgers. I think BP has the Dodgers winning about 6 more games than the Cubs. I’m really not seeing what those projection systems are seeing.
Population center.
concisely exact.
who has won the past 4 Western Divisions? Really not difficult to see where they are getting the projections. Still have the Giants right there. Dodgers will hit better, have better young talent ready to help and STILL have a overall more talented 40 man roster. The Giants have the better starters and defense. If anything it’s a coin toss. But the overall talent on the roster and the top of the farm is the clincher.
Typical to let your personal feeling get in the way of logic.
You know what I truly don’t get about your takes:
You know as well as anyone that it’s about the rings. The Giants have them. They have them because it’s a marathon, not a sprint. The Giants make all decisions on that.
Those titles aren’t Luck. They aren’t because of random post season happenstance. They are because they build the rosters to have specific players fill specific roles at the very moment they are most needed.
The Dodgers may have better prospects, the best pitcher in baseball. But they do not have the best fundamental team top to bottom. They don’t have managers that maximize every player in every situation.
So, you continue to rave about the Dodgers superiority. But that supposed superiority continues to fall short because they are missing seemingly inconsequential pieces that bite their ass every year.
And, the media always overestimates them because they miss the same thing…they miss the understanding of the marathon, the pieces, the way a TEAM needs to be built to win. Who recently won? The Giants. The Royals. The Cards, the Cubs. Why? Those finishing pieces.
A list of players doesn’t make a team. I don’t know precisely what makes a team, I’ve coached a couple of extraordinary ones and it’s more magic than something I can put my finger on. I guess it’s the players and the magic that goes on between everyone on and around the team. I think SF goes in and out of the right mix and hopefully the people that build and forge this team are always looking for the extra magic. The numbers and stats are one thing, but not the really important thing. If there were numbers for heart and clutch, I’d be more on board. I sure do miss Matt Duffy.
I have been trying to quantify “heart and clutch” … maybe a “Club House Factor” number for how they connect as a team?
Like I think Peavy in 2014 coming back to Bochy created one of those good “numbers” …
Factor: Reuniting with your original manager or team.
Vogey also had this going for him.
The results were there.
Well, this isn’t the media, the projections are based on data, but we all about “garbage in, garbage out”. So it’s hard to see projections that have the Giants winning right about the same as last year when they have Nunez, Moore, and Smith for the full year and an elite closer. And at least they will start with a healthy crew. 95 wins.
Again you go off on a separate argument, typical……
The question is the projections of who wins the divisions / total games won, NOT who wins the Championships.
Obviously the Giants have the rings and are the proven winner when the post season starts.
That’s why they are called projections.
My comment is to you about the side you consistently take when the Giants and Dodgers are being discussed.
Specific to win potential, tell me how the Dodgers frail and undertalented starting rotation points to 95 wins. Is Kershaw pitching every 3rd day?
Again, who has won the past 4 division titles???
I know they don’t have a rotation like the Giants but they will hit better and have a good bullpen and have a decent defense.
We could break down the entire rosters, and if you look at the 25-40 they appear to be stronger top to bottom.
Even taking the OF for example, they have 6-7 guys that are interchangeable at any given time, and that’s not even taking Kike Hernandez into account.
You may be pissed that the Dodgers have won the last 4 divisions and have some good young talent ready to help now but you’re not winning this argument because you have no basis.
Of course with their pitching and style of play the Giants should be there in the end and with their post season track record have a great deal to be positive about.
But again, the question was not who wins the WS, but the projections to the division winner. Projections are projections based on stats not people emotions, which you can’t let go of.
Don’t play the four titles card too much. I looked at the 2012 roster for the Dodgers and except for a few, these are not the same guys. Are you saying it builds confidence and momentum? It is a “track record” to envy that is for sure, I just do not see it as a projection factor.
Dodgers winning 95-98?
Their #2 pitcher will start the season at age 37. [Rich Hill]
Of course it is a challenge to stay objective; we need a double-blind test or something.
No, I’m not taking momentum into account, but perhaps “confidence” can be discussed?
I look at the overall strength of the roster, the very reason they were able to win the division last year even with close to record setting number of injuries. That depth and moveable pieces allow them to wither some of the injury issue. The Giants? Not so much since the depth has been lacking the past few seasons. You have a guy like Pence out on the Gmen and the team takes quite a hit. And injuries are part of the game, so you take that factor into account.
Sure the Giants have the better pitching, a child can see that. But the team does not hit as well as it should and again, if one or two of it’s best hitters miss time due to injury, it puts a strain on the team overall. That means the starters have to be lights out day in and day out. The top 4 the Giants have are fully capable of that level of performance, but barring injury, how sustainable is it? Do they have to win 3-2, 2-1, 1-0 every single night?
Some predictions are based on getting buzz so a site gets clicks and ad revenue. Pretty simple
Follow the Money … One of the Ten Key Principles of Life. Like not spitting into the wind …
that is a very simplistic and lazy way to look at it. Even for you lol
I’m not as lazy as they are!
The Dodgers did manage to win 91 games, the division, and the NLDS last year with that rotation, even with Kershaw out for 10 weeks. But it’s a big question whether they can do it again. A lot of it rests on the ability of 37-year-old Rich Hill to stay healthy when he never really has before, and what about Kershaw himself? I haven’t heard of him having back surgery or anything–how do they know what ailed him last year won’t crop up again? Lotta miles on that guy, even if he’s still under 30.
The Dodgers’ lineup and positional depth is unquestionably better than the Giants’ is, at least on paper (you still have to play the games). And the Giants’ pitching staff is unquestionably better. So we’ll see how this all plays out.
Because it’s February and we’re allowed to be optimistic right now (as the rain pounds down), I’m feeling like the Giants may surprise us (in a good way) this year. I’m channeling 2012, when we went into the season going “meh”–the only “improvements” were Angel Pagan and Melky Cabrera?–and ended up with a parade.
Actually in terms of fangraphs war last year (including fielding), the giants lineup was better than the dodgers.
no he is not, and anyone who knows baseball can see that the Giants have the far superior 1-4, but the Dodgers weathered a great deal of injuries last year because of the very depth I keep bringing up, the type of depth that allows them to keep plugging along.
With the Giants, because of the overall lack of depth, are less able to withstand significant injuries. Even this year, a lot is being placed on Pence to play a full season and bounce back. But what if he doesn’t? He is already at an age where he has seen his best years pass him. I’ve always said going back to last season (and you can go back and research it) that the Giants have the better staff and arguably the better starting core (the infield no question + Posey), but when push comes to shove the Giants are not built to overcome numerous injuries as a season develops unlike a team like the Dodgers or the Cubs that have mutiple players that can be plugged in as needed. They just don’t and you know it.
Also, in two of their three championship years, the Giants DID win their division. So it’s not like they never do.
yes I know that, the reference was to who has won the past 4 (which I think sways people when looking into the Dodgers projections) and at the same time, the Giants have been able to win even without a division title. Of course winning the division and overall record should mean an easier path to a ring.
You really think it’s “logical” to say the Dodgers are going to win six more games than the Cubs? The defending World Series champion Cubs, who won over 100 games last year?
I agree that the Dodgers deserve to be the preseason frontrunner in the NL West this year, but TWELVE games better than the Giants? The Giants, if nothing else, should improve over last year because they’ll have Moore the whole year and Melancon as closer. Yeah, they let Angel Pagan walk, but I’m not going to be surprised if a combination of Mac/Parker/Ruggiano/Slater ends up being more valuable than 36-year-old injury-prone Pagan would have been.
Efrain pointed out the SP and the GG level defense advantage but the question is how much of an advantage is that? Looks like it does not get much from these predictions and that is hard to believe.
Pitching and defense is a BIG advantage. Whether it will be enough–well, we’ll see. It wasn’t enough in 2009 or 2011. It was enough in 2010 and 2012. Things have to come together on the offensive side, too, and they just might. The Giants are returning an entire infield of former All-Stars, plus Pence in right and Buster, of course. If Span can be a little better than he was last year and if something/someone emerges in LF, they could be OK.
I like the bench/depth options better than I have the last couple years. Hundley was a nice pickup for backup catcher. Gillaspie turned into a valuable bench player. Hopefully Tomlinson makes the team, and they can pick from Gorkys, Ruggiano, Slater, and whoever loses the LF battle for backup outfielder. Not bad, really.
no, my point again was that they have a stronger overall roster and therefore can overcome any long injury issues (as they did last year when many like you thought they would fold, and somehow get just enough hitting to overcome issues with the starting rotation.
The other this is I’m not as hung up on the “total” number of wins as other are, just that I have no issue with them being favored to win the division given the pluses I’ve listed.
Just look at the names you list as a LF solution for Pagan. I get you like these guys because they are Giants and like many fans here just assume they are good because they have a Giants jersey, but as I mentioned yesterday (comparing to the Dodgers roster, who would most baseball fans rather have as options?:
Puig, Thomnpson, Toles, Van Slyke, Ethier, Eibner and Hernandez even can play a good OF when needed
compared to:
Mac, Parker, Morse, Ruggiano, Hernandez, (Slater has never played in the pros so should not even be in the conversation)
I mean c’mon Dr, It’s not even close, even given expected fan bias.
Typical New Yorker firing off his mouth without reading. Did you READ the part where I said it’s not about “lack of respect for the Giants?” Apparently not. Like I said it’s about the insanely high win projections for the Dodgers. It is exceptionally hard to win 95 games let alone 98. My comment was meant to say the Dodgers SHOULD be favored to win the division numnuts. But projecting them as a near 100 win team seems crazy considering they essentially stood pat and their rotation is full of injury riddled wild cards.
i resemble that comment, cosmo. unless i’m an atypical NYer…
My dad is a New Yorker and Syracuse alum. Very reactionary, but at least he’ll actually read something before making asinine comments. I was more referring to the immediate tone of confrontation, bordering on anger, where if he actually *read* the post (and comprehended it) he’d realize we are much more in agreement than disagreement.
it’s all good. was just kidding. it is funny how some people go out of their way for a confrontation, and others try to avoid them. i learned the hard way that life is way too short to go through life angry, and always looking for a fight.
numnuts is a good one, I’ll give you kudos on that one.
Maybe I did overreact, but even you have to agree how tiresome the “woe is me, the national media / scouts don’t like us waaaaa” attitude that prevails on this blog is. I would expect from a backwards part of the country, but for the Bay Are very surprising.
I *completely* agree that the “woe is me/national media hates us narrative* is one of the most annoying inferiority complexes Bay Area folks have. I don’t get it. The Giants get plenty of love and they’re one of the richest teams in the sport. My point was simply that, although the Dodgers definitely should be favorites in the NL West, for a team that won 91 games last year and stood pat, to have them projected at 98 wins and 95 wins seems exceptionally high. I know Seager will improve but that rotation is filled with question marks. I think they’re closer to a 90-92 win team, but the Giants will have a lot of say in that one way or the other.
It is true that the Dodgers have won the last 4 division titles so it shouldn’t be surprising that they’d be favored to win again, but it’s also true that Fangraphs hates the Giants and their statistical methods reflect this–I would actually say that the causality started the other way around, that the Giants confounded their statistical methods by doing way better than they predicted, and this embarrassed them and made them hate the Giants, but by now both factors have become completely entrenched. The most obvious way that their statistics discount what the Giants are good at is number of strikeouts is a huge component in their evaluation of pitchers (FIP and all that) but is literally not mentioned in their evaluation of hitters. This makes absolutely no sense but that’s how they think. Their columnists have even gone so far as to suggest that it’s okay if a batter is striking out a lot because either (a) swinging so hard means that when you do hit the ball it’ll go a long way, and/or (b) if a batter strikes out a lot but is still in the major leagues, it must mean that they’re good at something else. Because the Giants are always among the lowest in terms of hitters striking out but they are not given any credit for this, this means that they get rated lower than they should be (the Royals have been the same and Fangraphs has hated them for the same reason). Another such factor is quality of contact against pitchers. This is literally not taken into consideration in their projections and this radically lowered their projections of the Giants’ relievers (Casilla, Lopez, and Affeldt in particular), so they would project the Giants’ bullpen to be mediocre at best and would be confounded when they turned out to be among the best (until 2014 at least).
They don’t hate them, they’re frustrated. Those 3 WS just don’t fit their model(s). If they have an Achilles heal, they think too much like fantasy players from time to time. But they’re changing, albeit slowly, as the impact on metrics closer to actual skill factors predominate. The articles on things like swing plane, and the irrelevance of backspin suggest that. In any case, Giants fans who love to categorize players with terms like ‘slappy’ and ‘pop’ don’t get it either. Maybe the two crews can meet in the middle, and come to some compromise.
Not just the giants ws wins, the royals also. Regarding articles they are facing reality to some extent, but that isn’t carrying over to projections yet. Specifically because they love the cubs, they’ve started taking pitchers’ quality of contact data seriously, but this hasn’t been incorporated to theor projections.
True, about the Royals. Your right, I agree. I think they know the shortcomings and inadequacies, but it’s hard to change the ship’s course too. I’d add, so many of the really poignant new elements of the game seem to be treated like trade secrets today. Clubs don’t talk about them. Unlike in the past, the best analytical talent works for the clubs now, not the media, writ large. But no matter what, IMO, Fangraph’s approach to creating a window through which to view the game beats the wet finger in the wind approach of slappy and pop.
I think that some of them are aware of some of the inadequacies. Pitchers’ quality of contact yes, their love affair with the Cubs has left them no choice, they couldn’t possibly attribute the ridiculously low BABIP against to fielding alone. They are aware that there is a problem but they don’t know what to do about it. But the situation is worse regarding batters’ Ks–they’ll grudgingly admit something when the Giants or Royals win the World Series because they can’t attribute to complete luck as much as they would like, but they forget about this as soon as the World Series is over. But the worst thing is the ‘a walk is as good as a hit’ nonsense, they just plain don’t get it at any level.
Regarding the Dodgers, their starting pitching staff is so unstable because of injuries, extreme age, or extreme youth that any projection can only be a wild guess. If all of their starters are fully healthy all year, their starting rotation will be awesome but that’s pretty much impossible.
The “Father and Son” Starting Rotation …
Hill – 37
Urias – 20
An awesome story or disaster in the making?
Or a good shot but question marks?
Giants’ SP ages have less to worry about.
Big change since two years ago, when the Giants’ whole rotation except for Bum was over 30 and their big bullpen guys were over 35.
Any projections regarding human behavior is, and can not be anything but a wild guess only, ever and forever.
Over here that’s called a WAG.
Kazmir and Hill are basically the same kind of guy–injury-wrecked careers, a couple of good recent seasons. I still can’t believe the Dodgers threw three years of money at Hill at his age, but I guess if you’ve got it, you can spend it.
Big year for Urias–if he comes through like they think he will, he could be their #2.
Urias: 15 GS / 77 IP / WHIP 1.45 … Not much proven yet
Nice Player’s Tribune piece on my boy Josh Dobbs. Great college QB for our Vols, but more important a fine young man who is certain to succeed at whatever he does.
http://www.theplayerstribune.com/josh-dobbs-university-tennessee/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feb+8+AM&utm_content=Feb+8+AM+CID_1a48e40e2ec651e58128abf8d7768a3c&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=Goodbye+Tennessee
The weirdest part of that Dodgers’ FG projection is that it says they’ll have the best BULLPEN in the major leagues. Better than the Indians, with Andrew Miller and Cody Allen. Better than the Yankees, with Betances and Chapman. Etc.
Now, I love Jansen and think he might be a better closer, day in and day out, than Chapman. He certainly held up better in the postseason. But the rest of the Dodgers’ bullpen is no-names, with the exception of Sergio Romo, who’s a “name,” but…FG is putting a lot of faith in a 29-year-old guy, Grant Dayton, who’s pitched exactly 25 innings in the majors, and in Pedro Baez. It’s odd to me that they’d project so much on unproven guys over proven ones like the Indians and the Yankees have. Both those guys had a lot of strikeouts to innings pitched, and I take it FGs likes that. But it’s projecting a lot, especially onto an unproven commodity like Dayton.
FG has the Giants’ bullpen tenth, which on the one hand is generous considering how awful they were last year, but on the other hand may be underrating them. That’s why you play the games. I think their bullpen will be good this year, IF handled correctly.
I am still looking for a “Rank the Rankers” website.
How good were the FG predictions last year? How about other predictions? It should be fairly easy numbers to collect. Another thing to do in my retirement years down the road.
I have found exactly one writer who reviewed himself on how things came out and he was admitting some big misses.
We can count it on one hand now. The Duffman says 5 days until pitchers and catchers report! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/97bd1a018cad402bf11306943ba28adf2d234700f7d9e73912620b372fcbfb9b.jpg
Miss this kid.
He’ll always look better in orange.
Indeed. However, if I were to look better in anything, it would be black.
Sigh…oh well, we’ll always have 2015.
With a little orange is perfect.
🙁
“China seems to be the main beneficiary of ‘America First.’ Indeed, one Chinese scholar told me last summer, ‘We like Trump because he’ll vacate space for us to move into.'”
-Ambassador Richard Boucher
You do any mail order coffee? I was using Camano Island.
I know you like the in person approach with a local roaster it seems.
The ‘sencha’ wing of this blog is enjoying a nice cuppa right now…
Several years ago I bought Jamaica Blue Mountain from Jamaica and more recently Wahana Estate Sumatran from roasters stateside.
Recently La Costa got some Wahana Estate and roasted it in-house. Doug is about to roast his last batch, so I’ll get some from him in the next few days. Lately, I just go for a few of the normal offerings he roasts regularly. I always ask what was roasted in the last day or two. I normally buy half pound amounts of 2 or 3 of my 6-7 favorites.
He does mail-order for a few customers, but I’m not sure how that works out. I always immediately store beans in air-tight jars. Oxygen is death to the aromatics in coffee. Beans degrade more slowly than pre-ground. If you do buy online, make sure the beans are packaged air-tight.
[Remember, no matter where you get it, every shipment of beans (large bags, > 100 lbs.) a roaster gets is different.]
Just a note on roasters. Before going to La Costa, I tried nearly every coffee roaster in San Diego County. Finding a reliable source of coffee is not a trivial exercise.
1. They must have good suppliers
2. They must understand how to roast good coffees. They’re all different.
I’m so glad I never picked up an interest in coffee, sounds like a lot of work.
Proud to be a coffee virgin.
Or, in my case, a coffee drinker with no knowledge of the high end. Costco 3lb. Cans is all I do. Mrs. TF swore off coffee two years ago. She was the aficionado.
I like the aroma, just never a fan of warm or hot drinks and never need any sort of caffeine boost. I’ve saved a lot over bucks compared to Starbucks addicts over the years.
What is her story? Acid?
Caffeine. Just decided to drop coffee as part of her overall health reboot.
Got it. If it is working I would not change a thing. But cold-brew decaf is way better than any coffee she may have had before. Wish you guys were closer so I could offer a sample. I have sampled some ColdBrew from coffee shops that are catching the wave and I am not convinced they are doing it right (as in, my way of doing it.)
I drink instant coffee. 50/50 mix caffeinated/decaffeinated in a sealed Tupperware container. Mixes well with hot tap water when I’m in a hurry. Whenever I do buy coffee at a store (sometimes, when driving long distances), I bring my own reusable cup.
Whatever floats your boat.
I’ve known people that never liked sex, either. Or chocolate cake, for that matter.
Bringing Balance To The Force by having another opinion on this. [A strange opinion but …] Thanks for keeping it real.
Take lots of breaks on your snow shoveling please.
I don’t take breaks from snow shoveling. Once you’re all dressed in layers and parka and boots and balaclava and mittens and out there in zero-to-ten degree weather, who wants to come back inside where it’s too warm with all that gear? I even keep my water bottle outside on the picnic bench.
Okay … I was picturing just stopping the shoveling and looking at the beauty of the snow and ice as you take a breather. Here I am shoveling mud and gravel in culverts and that is what I was picturing. I only spent one winter in the snow and that was in the city of Berlin where we walked or road the bus or U-Bahn every where.
Actually, having done the research, I no longer fret over coffee. I just make and drink it. Every once in a while I get a nice surprise.
I am picturing a TWG Field Trip with a SD County Coffee Tour that you could guide us on and try to improve our discernment skills level. I know what I like but to explain it is a new level that you have found.
We could combine this with ST … what is the drive time for you to Scottsdale. Mine is 11 hours if I avoid LA [and I will].
Cold-brewing captures flavor for me: roasted, ground, cold-brewed, drink. You do not have to refrigerate the concentrate but I do anyway.
Five to five and a half hours. I believe, like any perishable, it (cold-brew concentrate) should be refrigerated.
I need to do my own test. Even the manufacturer says the concentrate is fine on your countertop for 30 days. A good, sterile glass container woukd be a given. Anaerobic like honey?
Not spoiling and preserving volatile flavor components are two different things.
I got my cold-brew kit from a chemist friend. Maybe she had that in mind too. Keep it cool, clean and drink it ASAP … got it.
I get Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day in my inbox every morning. M-W’s Word of the Year for 2016: Surreal. Meanwhile, M-W has added 1000 new words to the dictionary in 2017:
“From sports we get the verb airball as well as up-fake and five-hole.”
“From medicine: supercentenarian, EpiPen, and urgent care.” And from other sciences we have “.CRISPR, phytoremediation, and microbiome. I’m quite surprised “urgent care” wasn’t in the dictionary before now.
My favorite new word: “woo-woo.” Defintion: “dubiously or outlandishly mystical, supernatural, or unscientific.”
Wow, I guess I have not looked at a dictionary in a long time. I thought they were for single words, not phrases such as “urgent care.”
MyGuy™ needs to be promoted to the M-W folks for next year.
I was an emolument guy last year.
See above deeg:
Today’s word:
troglodyte
TROG-luh-dahyt
noun
1. a person of degraded, primitive, or brutal character.
2. a prehistoric cave dweller.
Nuthin’ to add.
Giants just Signed Gordon Beckham to a minor league deal, more cheap infield depth, the Giants love cheap depth, every where but starting pitching , where they usually over pay .
Hmm, I picked that guy in Haak’s who’s gonna be signed, traded, DFA’d pool earlier in the off-season. Probably too late to collect the prize though.
I guess he fits better than Gilaspie; but then again he is minor league depth not a lock for the 25-Man. Given my non-specific guidelines I that you do get kudos. Well done; no prize.
Wow, Gilaspie was the playoff hero , but on this blog gets no respect, by the all glove no hit members of this blog !!
This is where you flip to his long term performance numbers, where being a hero in the moment is essentially irrelevant.
Gillaspie has WAY more to offer than Gordon Beckham.
Probably, but in terms of process, imo, this is a reasonable move.
He has a better track record then Beckham lately .
Beckham’s not here as a prospect, he’s here as an option. Maybe a poor one, but when you want to make a quality based choice, you need options.
Way down below, there’s chit chat about team chemistry needing to be generated after the team roster is chosen. I understand that Beckham was popular in the club house (can’t tell you why, as of course I’m not in the clubhouse). This deal, and Morse returning, is likely the Giants way to say we’re willing to give you a shot, that “our guys” get another look, so show us what you’ve got. That isn’t just a message to Beckham, but the whole org.
Could be, sort of like a duck call on a pond.
PJ… Just to be clear … my reference to Gilaspie is about how he was signed not about Beckham being better than him. I think CG will be a good bench player for this year.
I picked CG for My25ManGuy. I hope you give me your 25-man guesses.
we prefer TWS (together we’re slappy)
Slappy Trials to You …
It’s lunchtime, I haven’t had Slappy Joe’s in a long time…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgw_yprN_-w
Do your research. Gillaspie’s bad rep comes from his early insistence on being included on the 25 after one season in the minors. It was in his contract. He blew it badly. Then in Chicago he was Mr. Stoneglove as an infielder. He’s obviously changed with age and being on several teams now keeps his mouth shut, almost to a fault. History counts in ML baseball. Now he’s just Mr. Smiley since he never does.
Slappy Beckham! Ughh
Gordon “Good Luck Charm” Beckham. The Giants went 5-1 while he was on the team!
He’s not on the team. He’s in the temp pool.
The Big Purg?
In baseball there is a dugout expression – “Touch the Outfield Grass”
Many winning RBI’s have been due to “bleeders” – duck snorts” – “Flares” – “Hump Back Liners” and “Texas Leaguers”.
Tons of well struck baseballs hit by powerful MLB hitters have fallen into the gloves of the 9 guys playing defense.
If you look at wOBA, there isn’t a big difference between Gillaspea, Beckham, or Nunez. This argument, like a superstar in Gillaspea is being wronged by importing a lost cause, may be satisfying, butit’s a little silly on the face of it.
https://i.imgur.com/hr7KQVT.png
Thnx for the visual; nicely done.
So they are very close but it does support Nunez starts, CG comes off the Bench and Beckham used to be better than any of them.
Probably, but it seems to make the point that despite fans favorites, there is good reason to throw a few more options on the board. IMO, I’d go with Nunez too, but I have to admit, that’s purely subjective based on what other attributes he brings to the table. The big gottcha here is that you never get enough reps in ST to predict what’s going to be the situation in July-August, when the Duvall fade becomes an issue (sorry).
Over the years we have touched on this; 200 PA enough to see what a player probably has? I mean starting L/U for two months; like please let Mac have a shot.
With some metrics, yeah. But my guess, barring injury and a collapse, Willamson will see 200-300 PAs this year. Maybe more if he can stay out of a protracted slump.
I sure hope you are right and that 90% of those are starting the game and playing against RHP.
A good chance for me to remind everyone again as you are making part of the guess needed … I hope you give me all your ideas.
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.
”25-25Deadline™
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
Someone who understands it (not me) should delve into the option situation on these young guys and how that might figure into a merry-go-round between here and Sac for both ex-pros and rookies. Guys like Beckham, IMO, act like a spacer maybe for allowing slack for tuneups of young talent. But what do I know, not much in that arena.
Yeah, but doesn’t Beckham live on the Mendoza Line?
wOBA is a meaningful stat, that captures their worth. BA, not so much. Nobody would mistake him for a superstar, but that isn’t the reason he’s there. IMO, he’s a plug for the little Dutch boys dike that requires minimal reshaping to plug a hole.
OFF TOPIC
http://www.sacbee.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/hometown-report/article131346124.html
The Pups love the Buster
http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2017/02/08/215503636/giants-2017-roster-will-feature-buster-posey-and-these-puppies?partnerId=as_mlb_20170208_69957906&adbid=829433709832966144&adbpl=tw&adbpr=241544156
Buster!! Puppies!!!!
What could be better?!
A 4th World Series trophy in one hand/arm and a puppy in the other!
Blach and Williamson in USA Todays 100 players to watch this year.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2017/02/08/100-names-you-need-know-trea-turner-gary-sanchez/97645992/
Dr. Lefty will be watching with an Angel-level appreciation!
She is long suffering, LOL.
I don’t know if we’ll be able to watch Williamson with the possibility of Bochy benching him or sticking him Sacramento.
Javy Lopez is hangin’ them up:
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/02/javier-lopez-retires.html
Lopez: “I’m looking forward to some other things in my life. We’ll see what they are. I don’t know yet, but we’ll come up with something.”
Such a Giant. Such a great guy.
http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/javier-lopez-san-francisco-giants-retirement-world-series-champion-boston-red-sox-ken-rosenthal-020817
What do you all think the Giants will get from Matt Cain this year?
I *think* they’re going to do everything possible to give him the 5th spot. He *should* be a long reliever because Blach has earned the 5th spot IMO. Sometimes the Giants, especially when it comes to long tenured veterans, do not understand the concept of a sunk cost. It’s not like he hasn’t been given every opportunity in the world to earn a spot. He’s been bad for four years. I don’t have a problem with allowing him to compete for the 5th spot, but unless Blach has a miserable spring and falls apart it should absolutely be his spot to lose.
I like Blach more than Cain now, but I wouldn’t say he earned 5th spot just yet. He looked great in the 4+ games play he had in the majors, but it’s still a small sample size.
Rooting for him to pitch well in ST and win the 5th spot outright over Cain.
Alex Pavlovic 51min ago:
Javier Lopez as a Giant: 7 seasons, 2.47 ERA, 3 titles, probably the best “strut off the mound” in franchise history.
I’m going to miss that LOOGY.
Me too. A lot. Every time I express my wish on here for Lopez’s something next to be something with the Giants, I get criticized.
I agree but the Fan-Expert is trying to seduce Bochy into NOT having anybody in the Pen that is strictly specialty so as to add another position player on the bench brigade.
Something with the Giants in retirement.
His lower body strut: “Best of All Time”
Time to get the #49 Giants jersey.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote about the dedication and importance of lower court judges in his annual report last month. Roberts called judges “selfless, patriotic and brave,” and he said “this is no job for impulsive, timid or inattentive souls. You might be asking why any lawyer would want a job that requires long hours, exacting skill and intense devotion — while promising high stress, solitary confinement and guaranteed criticism. The answer lies in the rewards of public service.”
That sounds nice, but it’s not very accurate, at least the part about “long hours.” In my experience, which includes both state and federal courts (in two states), most judges roll in at about 9:00 or so, and are gone before 5:00. Lunch is about 90 minutes, and there are numerous breaks throughout the day. Most don’t work nights or weekends. The work isn’t very labor intensive, either. Most judges have very little work product. Appellate judges, who do issue often lengthy written opinions, have law clerks who do most of the work.
The best judges are smart and attentive, and very valuable to the system. But there will never an Upton Sinclair who writes a version of “The Jungle” detailing their terrible working conditions. There’s much more money to be made elsewhere in the law, but all things considered, being a judge is a great job and judicial positions are highly sought after.
Lifetime gig too.
For federal judges, yes.
We’re never going to get those judges to lesson those crazy pensions we give to cops; they get them too! I gotta work forever to afford you guys.
I’ll have to be retired for about 4 years before I ended up getting more than I put in, so if I die before then it will turn out to have been a good deal for the taxpayers.
Ok, despite that I’ll pull for you to make it past the four years, even if I have to pitch in a bit more.
40-60 hours a week. Look it up. A few in Districts short of judges maybe more.
I worked 55-60 hours a week. I doubt Judges work under 60 hours a week.
It depends, I suspect. There is/was this Federal Judge in Alabama who was the only Federal Judge in the state. I suspect he worked some long hours. I remember a Federal Magistrate Judge in Chicago who’s clerk I knew slightly, commenting he had a bed/couch in his chambers for the occasional all nighter. It’s like a lot of jobs in the legal/law enforcement area, it varies all over the map depending on the circumstances.
Tomorrow is the Shanahan – Lynch Presser
Thursday at 1 p.m. PT from the Levi’s® Stadium auditorium.
Fans can tune in on 49ers.com, the team’s official mobile app, Facebook Live and Periscope.
A special episode of “49ers Live” will immediately follow the presser with Ted Robinson and Tim Ryan.
Lynch will be a special in-studio guest as well.
Clutch why do you suppose the TV team consists of a play by play guy and a color guy while the radio team is two play by play guys? I was thinking of where they could slide Lopez in to the mix. Thought in place of Fleming (misses a lot of games already) but he’s a play by play guy. I guess it’s cuz on the radio they have to talk a lot more but how about Miller and Lopez?
Actually Ted R is the P x P guy on radio with T Ryan providing ‘the color of how it happened’.
Fitz is P x P guy – Barney provides the ‘color’
I think once Javy gets over the ego shock and does not wanna do Secret Service/CIA for Trump that he would be a GREAT choice on either KNBR or Comcast.
They already have: Estes – Winn – Aurilia – Flan and now YOUR add of Lopez would be awesome.
Take Five https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT9Eh8wNMkw
For $50, what is the time signature for this piece?
Not because I’m a musician, but from the title, isn’t it 5/something. 5/4?
Quintuple time, indeed.
I bought that album when I was a sophomore in high school.
The drummer was a machine.
A friend of mine put it on a real to real with Magical Mystery Tour and sent it to me in college. He was Brubeck zealot. I thought at the time it was just weird. But I came to love it, when I grew up,LOL.
I still have this somewhere. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5a98ed8b7cb35e55a1b009ae5fa575b97e9e56764db3a4868a5c676a87e1aea3.jpg
Now we’re coming full circle with the arrival of the ever popular Mr. Richard Hatch and ‘Professor’ Irwin Corey. The social atmosphere UP here – is rather electric and eclectic as of now.
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/02/08/battlestar-galactica-star-richard-hatch-dies-at-71/
http://www.legacy.com/news/celebrity-deaths/notable-deaths/article/professor-irwin-corey-1914-2017
Apollo is gone to the mountain.
The World’s Foremost Authority? Say it isn’t true.
Anyone know anything about that high school kid in the LA area that scored 92 points in a basketball game last week?
It was yesterday. Been the talk on sports radio down here. He’s Lonzo Ball’s youngest brother, LaMelo, who’s a sophomore. They have another brother, Liangelo, who’s a senior and the leading scorer but sat out to rest for the playoffs which opened the door for LaMelo to do this. They play for Chino Hills and both brothers have also committed to UCLA. But apparently their offense consistently consists of one guy not really playing defense, who cherry picks and then they try and outlet the ball to him. The buzz is it got totally ridiculous, and I believe he only had 29 at halftime so you can infer how bad it got. Also, the team they were playing wasn’t very happy about the strategy and tried to burn some time on offense in order to settle it down so Chino Hills started intentionally fouling in order to keep getting the ball back and maximize his scoring opportunities. Believe it or not, the final was 149-123. Yikes.
The radio said he put up 68 shots.
Yeah. Actually just heard an interview with him on the radio. His team intentionally fouling is what taints it, IMO.
Also heard in the 4th quarter he wasn’t even crossing half court defensively. That’s ridiculous.
T.O. thinks his UCLA playing brother is a head case. (Me: Check out his father)
TO thinks anyone is a head case, specially if they are not white. Lonzo Ball is far from being a headcase.
You’re intelligent enough to do some research on your own and not rely on TO for all your sports news and references to players issues.
And again,, if the player is not white, take the news with a grain of salt and do some of the research on your own.
You post enough nonsense video of random shit, I’m sure you know your way around google.
Nasty boy. You have NO future in diplomacy.
no but I’m right. Do some research if you do not know anything about the Ball kids, who I’ve followed since Lonzo was a Soph in HS.
And please just don’t rely on TO or some stupid comments that have no basis without facts.
I don’t knows squat about them, I just heard a radio story on NPR earlier this week. Efrain, just relax and take a deep breath. You can rely on me, LOL, not to seek a TO comment. Just a comment, maybe being right isn’t enough sometimes. Just a thought. OK, call me something, I’m ready.
I have no issue with you Channel, I was just pointing out that I’ve followed these kids for awhile.
And this blog makes many people jump on hearsay without doing any of their own thinking.
It is what it is, diverse as hell.
i guess that’s what makes it fun. Imagine a blog of just Clutch’s, shudder. 😉
LOL. I think he might even agree with you. He’s a good guy, really, just obsessed with baseball, imagine that.
You’re the only one here who has unmistakably proved themselves as a bigot.
a case of calling the kettle black eh?
No, it’s a case of me calling a fool a fool. You’ve repeatedly implied that I’m a racist. You base that on….what? My job? Because you know that’s how cops think?
What are you talking about? What I said is that, due to the fact that he’s not particularly athletic and doesn’t put forth much effort on defense, the guy is going to be in for a rude awakening in the NBA.
YOU were apprehensive that he could make the transition after one yr to the NFL. Now you say it might be to his non-athleticism – I find that hard to believe. He starred for four yrs at some Chino Hills HS and now at UCLA he is holding his own. Playing for a disciplinarian like Alford can only help him sniff the barn to his eventual dream of playing pro ball. I added that other parents say – on behalf of his brother and him – that his dad is a handful.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonzo_Ball
I don’t think he’ll ever play in the NFL. I think he’ll play in the NBA, but won’t be a star.
Curry jumps into the fray.
http://mashable.com/2017/02/08/steph-curry-trump/?utm_cid=hp-n-1#yWwvlHEyIkqo
Meanwhile, silence from Buster Posey and the MLB.
The Cubs weren’t tested, and a couple of Pats are skipping the photo-op.
I think it would be more than a couple of Pats and good for them.
And even if Kraft and a few of the leaders of the franchise are known to be “friendly” with Trump, I don’t think they are the type of organization that will make a big deal of it.
The ones that don’t want to go simply won’t.
Could be. I just saw a couple, didn’t really read the articles.
The Cubs sidestepped. Three members of the Patriots so far.
Is Buster associated with UA?
here you go:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/under-armour-blog/bal-armoury-giants-catcher-buster-posey-will-be-face-of-under-armour-baseball-at-dick-s-sporting-goods-20160615-story.html
However for all we know, Posey may have voted for Trump or is a Conservative. I would not be surprised. Plus he is not the type to talk.
Yes.
What Curry said was well put. He was asked. He answered. His further discussion with UA cleared it up for him. Mature. Perfect. What Curry did was make it clear how he sees Trump, as well as understanding where the UA CEO was coming from. He doesn’t feel any further stand or grandstand is needed.
I don’t need or expect Buster to feel obliged to jump in. Why should he? Because he has a UA contract?
Do we really want most or all athletes to make public what their private beliefs are? It might disappoint many fans, since they are a cross section much like our society, and probably split close to the same way.
I think if athletes want to speak up they should be able to, just like anyone else, and if they don’t feel like doing so, they shouldn’t have to, just like anyone else.
Perfect…
Steph Curry warned Under Armour:
“If there is a situation where I can look at myself in the mirror and say they don’t have my best intentions, they don’t have the right attitude about taking care of people. If I can say the leadership is not in line with my core values, then there is no amount of money, there is no platform I wouldn’t jump off if it wasn’t in line with who I am. So that’s a decision I will make every single day when I wake up. If something is not in line with what I’m about, then, yeah, I definitely need to take a stance in that respect.”
Steve Kerr on Steph speaking out: “Steph is one of our best assets.”
Kerr went on to say: “Our players are grown men, they have a microphone in front of them, they are welcome to say whatever they want. I’m proud of them, they’ve done an amazing job of representing themselves and our team, and this is a time when people are speaking out. This is a time when activism is coming back into the forefront all over the map, and it’s an open forum. Players can say whatever they want.”
What if Posey, or any of the Giants, actually voted for Trump? Would that mean they’re now terrible people? Or that they’ve been terrible people all along? Or is it possible that a good person might disagree with your political views? Nah, impossible.
I’d love to see him do more and he has the power as one of the biggest names in any sport to say even more.
By all accounts Plank looks like a scumbag and Curry should sound out even more against Under Armour.
He has made a great deal of money for that brand, he has the leverage.
Dick, never call me Richie, Allen (cigarette and all)
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/72415f8516a1adfb788f1b860428df9fa1eceefcd6116aff32ab364a6e5d7a33.jpg
MM really out did herself
https://twitter.com/flahertykeely/status/828109384806916096
DT needs to give out vocab lessons
https://twitter.com/MattNegrin/status/829345074400075781
Some really ‘old time baseball history’, from the Gilded Age, 1865-1900.
http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/160908
For those who like pod casts, Steve Kerr was on Bill Simmons’ podcast today. Lots of interesting stuff. Kerr is just a fascinating guy to listen to.
That was awesome, huh?! I love Kerr
The Somalis did this just to confuse and irritate customs officials. The new President of Somalia, just elected, is a US citizen.
thanks for the tip
Best of luck to Javier Lopez. Sorry Jon Miller gave you one of the worst nicknames, “Night train” on the Giants. At least it’s not THE worst in “The Professor” given to Crawford.
He will forever be ‘mudbug’ to me, ala Mike.
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/18648748/ex-reliever-brian-wilson-eyes-comeback-knuckleballer
Former reliever Brian Wilson is planning a comeback — as a knuckleballer.
Wilson hasn’t pitched professionally since 2014 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he recently has thrown for at least two teams, Yahoo Sports reports.
“It was kinda good to lay back and figure out what I wanted,” Wilson told Yahoo. “It feels like a new leaf.”
Knuckleball for a knucklehead. Mightwork for him.
Ball Four, the sequel?
BLB25 is courtside at Oracle. He looks good.
Klay’s in-game naps tend to frustrate me
Well, it’s his birthday and his grandfather died, so he gets a pass from me tonight.
for got about that…thanks fore reminder. He sure got rolling right after my comment, too. Beauty and my sis are huge Klay fans, saying he’s “such a sweet, lovable boy”.
My kid’s there and chatted with Bill Murray and Bill Simmons….these games are the place to be, for sure
Yeah, saw Bill Murray on TV, too–I assume he’s rooting for the other team.
Yup! See that resigned expression after Dray’s dunk?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/78247fd85588c66ba7836156511585e749d0316090d444c7dbfed7c25bec2203.jpg
Oh. I missed that Hank Schulman reported this about Javier Lopez’ thoughts on retirement:
Hank Schulman 8hr ago:
He told us in November he’s open to on-field or front-office work. Will talk to Bobby Evans about a role.
It should be easy for someone as sharp as Javi to get a job wherever he’d like in the org.
I sure think so, and hope so.
With his presence and sense of humor he’d be good on camera. I’m afraid that might be too shallow and superficial for him, though. We already know he’s sharp.
Smart, articulate, thoughtful, and loves doing crosswords.
Did you ever see that documentary about the NYT crossword puzzle, “Wordplay,” a few years back?
Brian Wilson was also big into crosswords–starting doing the NYT puzzle when he was 12, and finally attained his dream of being a clue in one in 2011.
http://bayarea.sbnation.com/san-francisco-giants/2011/3/31/2082523/brian-wilson-new-york-ny-times-crossword-puzzle-answer-will-shortz-san-francisco-sf-giants-closer
Oh yeah, now I remember Brian Wilson became a clue in a crossword puzzle. I didn’t see the documentary “Wordplay” but I have one of Will Shortz’s crossword puzzle books. I’ll see if I can find the documentary. Thanks, Lefty!
I agree, I never thought he would go to broadcasting but hey who knows? Perhaps this job was a way to ease out of retirement into the the organization and transition on to something bigger in the future. Plus the divided schedule means he doesn’t dive into announcing full tilt at once.
Jeff Passan claims that it’s possible that, at some point, MLB could adopt a rule that has apparently been tried in the minors: in extra innings, each team starts each inning with a runner on second base. Awful idea! Sad!
That’s beyond stupid. Bud probably likes it.
IA. gotta make them earn every baserunner, this is the big leagues!
Terrible idea.
The players might like it. I’m sure they hate playing long extra-inning games. The Giants were among MLB leaders last year with nine games that were 11 innings or longer.
I think the Giants players develop in a culture that appreciates the game the way it was meant to be played traditionally, therefore most of the team likely be opposed to it.
They were in so many extra inning games because their bullpen sucked. Solution? Get a better bullpen.
awful idea, this is not a video game
That would be Barfable. It is an international made up invention RE softball
There are a number of heartfelt tributes on Twitter to Javi Lopez by current and former Giants teammates. It’s obvious that the Willie Mac win wasn’t just a courtesy/seniority move–they loved the guy.
Saw a bunch of them as well. Very impressive. Loved the Carmen Kiew series of highlights of Javy strutting off the mound, to the sounds of Stayin’ Alive. Awesome!
http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2017/2/8/14553920/javier-lopez-sf-giants-retirement
No Romo. No Lopez. Affeldt gone too. Color me sad.
The Rules committee will continue to make all of these ridicolous changes to the game and eventually will lose fans in droves! Everything is seemingly geared toward speeding things up and imho it’ll kill our beautiful sport!
I agree but MLB is freaking i out that their fan base is getting older and less multicultural, that has to be freaking them out. They have to find a way to engage with the younger generation fast.
But this is not that answer of course. Should start with the way they market the game and players. The NFL and NBA does a better job of marketing individual stars to fans. How many people do you know that are Curry fans but really don’t care about the NBA?
Baseball is very much a team sport, I get that very well, but it is a shame more people don’t know who a Mike Trout is.
Very well stated E!
Kuiper and especially Fleming are always harping on a player for taking to long to do this or do that is getting so tiresome and i love those guys.
Per Schulman: due to his health restrictions, Krukow won’t be working any games east of Denver this season. Affeldt and Javier Lopez will be filling in for him.
Stuck in NYC– flight cancelled because of weather. To bad there’s no baseball to watch at Finnerty’s. On second thought too bad there’s no baseball to watch at all!