by
Greek Giant
The best thing I can say about this game is that it ended at a decent hour in the East Coast. That’s pretty much it. Johnny Cueto deserved better, pitching 7 innings and allowing only 2 runs. He was very good. The problem was the Giants bats were pathetic against the knuckleball of R.A. Dickey.
Our boys from San Francisco looked utterly despondent at the plate hitting weak fly pops, soft grounders and striking out looking on balls they thought were headed to Savannah but somehow found their way back over the strike zone. There was bad umpiring and horrible replay review officiating but picking on those phenomena would be missing the point.
Derek Law and Josh Osich allowed a 7-run 8th inning to dash any hopes of a Giants comeback in the ninth.
It was all sad. It is all so very sad. Seeing such a proud team, a proud bunch of once-excellent ballpayers and a proud franchise fall further into the abyss of hoping for the top draft pick.
I hate losing. I hate the idea of tanking a season or a game for a future draft pick that will likely not help your team in the future.
What saddens me most about this team is the culture of acceptance, of losing that seems to permeate every fiber of the corpus that was Giants baseball. Ultimately we do have to hold somebody accountable and if I am the owner I consider firing Bruce Bochy today, politely of course. Maybe I offer him an executive position in name only and thank him for all he did. I tell him he will get a plaque, maybe even a statue one day but this display of putrid baseball and successful losing, of finding every which way to squander a game, cannot continue.
When I was 14 I played in a Winter League on a team that was terrible. Our record was approximately 7-18. We knew losing well. It got to a point that we just felt we would lose every night we showed up to the field. The defeatism was omni-present like the humidity of South Florida. When a player feels this way it affects his effort. It affects every aspect of his play.
More than anything else, the Giants, and Bruce Bochy need to find a way to get this team out of this pathos.
There are so many interesting plays from the past two games that indicate how much failure, how deeply losing is ingrained within the psyche and the bodies of this team. Last night the Braves sent a runner to score from first on a double down the right field line. It was a bad decision to send him. All Crawford had to do was make a decent throw home and the runner is out be 5 feet. Instead Craw short-hopped it and it skipped away from Buster. It was a play that two gold-glovers have to make.
Something has to change immediately or the Giants risk becoming irrelevant very fast.
Right now I can think of ten things I would rather do than watch tonight’s game:
- Read a novel
- Write a novel
- Exercise
- Go for a motorcycle ride
- Clean my house
- Watch the 2010 World Series DVDs
- Watch the 2012 World Series DVDs
- Watch the 2014 World Series DVDs
- Plan my next trip to the Venice Biennale in 2019
- Watch an old movie with my mom
Yes, things are that bad. I wonder what the press is saying out west? I wonder what the vibe is in San Francisco? I wonder what Sabean and Evans are thinking?
Comment Gold
The Box
What is Surf Maui’s background? Having a background in neurology and neurobiology, I have an interest in the area, as well.
He is a medical malpractice lawyer who specializes in clients with these types of injuries. He can explain it better than I can.
Thanks. Bet he knows some of the same orthopods I know too.
He seems to also specialize in peregrinations of Major League ballparks.
and steakhouses…
Workmans Comp?
From CSN:
“The Giants did not plan to immediately make a roster move. Trevor Brown is the third catcher on the 40-man roster but he’s sidelined by an illness after starting the season on the DL with an ankle injury. Tim Federowicz is the catcher at Triple-A but he’s not on the 40-man roster, so a player would need to be removed to clear a spot.
Aaron Hill, an infielder/left fielder, is the emergency catcher.”
They’re nuts if they don’t sit Posey for 10 days. What’s the point of keeping all this ‘inventory’ if you don’t use it?
100%
Did you hear Kuip this AM say they might put Posey at 1B where it is safe from head blows for a week; Belt in LF? I bet pitchers would go inside on BP28 and he would naturally flinch a bit at that. Although I may be underestimating the grit of an MLB player.
They need to see his response to exertion and exercise first. They need to see if photophobia is present in the next couple of days. Then, think about putting him on the field.
I really like the Ultim-eyes appl. too not only as a training aid, but as a potential diagnostic one also.
scary stuff. prudence and caution are everyone’s friend.
Not to mention retaliation.
Do it!
Span CF
Belt LF
Posey 1B
Pence RF
Crawford SS
Nunez 3B
Panik 2B
Hundley C
Pitcher
Foolish, bordering on criminal.
after passing those tests you mention, of course.
OK, thought you were suggesting today.
Exertion today, to exhaustion tomorrow, Hitting and eye tracking tomorrow or next day. Then full baseball activities.
On the last page, Lefty said Hwang has been at 1B and 3B so far. I’m surprised, there’s a clear need in LF, and some practice for Hwang with the glove seems practical.
OF log jam in Sacramento. You’d think it was the fallen timber and effect of winter storms, but no.
you have two left fielders and no catcher but I do agree that Buster should bat third
Hundley!
He took a blow to the noggin too.
You don’t need a second LF with Belt in LF but the Giants need a catcher (Hundley) with Buster Posey at 1B.
I would like to see Posey spend the week on the DL and be 100% cleared before resuming play. The video clip of the beaning indicates just how much worse could have occurred. The batting helmet did a good job.
1B is safe from head blows? belt might not agree with that. they really need to rest buster for the full 10 days. it’s just plain idiotic to take a chance. have they forgotten the 2011 season, and how the team fared without him?
The Belt play was not under normal playing conditions. It was an errand throw during a practice.
i remember, E, but if buster was the 1B that day, it would have been him that got hit by scutero’s throw. i’d rather he just gets put on the DL, and make 100% sure he’s good to go.
beautiful day out there, brother E. can you enjoy it, or are you stuck inside?
I hear ya, and all good wishes go out to Buster and full quick recovery.
Inside for now but yes it is gorgeous out.
NYC is funny this time of year, I was just wearing a down parka two weeks ago and today women in summer dresses and guys in shorts and tees. I feel like it’s been over a decade since I’ve seen any semblance of spring weather, the type of weather as in SF where one can wear a pair of khakis and a denim jacket. It seems to go from one extreme to the other now overnight.
You are right; it is not only direct blows that are the danger and even that is possible at 1B. Huntley for 10 days will be fine. FedX is an excellent backup as much as I would love to have MyGuy Aramis on the bench.
p.s. Aaron-freaking-Hill behind the plate?!? Where’s Pedro Feliz nowadays?
Great question. Pedro was an original MyGuy™. One of the original hackers from the Caribbean. Nice defender at the hot corner.
i remember going to a game at shea with some friends when feliz came to bat. one of my buddies asked me who’s this guy. i told him that he’s a real good fielder, and has some pop. then, on cue, pedro hit a blast over the left field wall.
my ex guy, EA, used to be the E- catcher. i miss a-ray…
Good Pedro-Feliz-Knowledge … a true fan.
I wonder if Kenly Jansen, former catcher, is the doggers E-Catcher?
If you read Brisbee, ‘Pedro Feliz, C’ pops up regularly as a object of management ridicule. Betcha we see that again this week.
I’m terrified about potential ramifications for Posey. After what Belt and Panik went through let’s hope the Giants have learned their lesson. Do NOT rush this thing. Your franchise player just got hit in the head with a 94 mph fastball, put him on the 10 day DL automatically. It doesn’t matter who they call up, just have someone for when Hundley needs a breather. I think it would be insane not to DL him so let’s hope the Giants come to their senses.
One of my favoeite things about ATT Park… Statues !! It was an awesome day at Mays Field yesterday. The weather was far better than forecasted… Moore looked great…the little league RBI double was hilarious ( as Hank Greenwald often said, something like… any game one is likely to see something you’ve never seen before)… Crawford’s scorching double whizzed by seemingly within reach of our seats… Lou Seal was resplendent in top hat and tails… the jets fly-by shook the place to the foundation… and, of course, they raised the Victory Flag!! All in all a swell day at the yard.
(I’ve blocked out the bad Posey incident).
GIANTS! GO!!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9d08321ab4214b40d26a14710f52dcf1a00881413c16e0dfbef482a17ffacffe.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/831b7155484ecebfb6ce708705dec8b3ca38f5dd68b2620913ec67b7c8a871f8.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8e5fc93c0ac0d8bb24ceda5ae42ef1d60dbcaefcb9cb6f1e1ef06aed10913e25.jpg
Excellent Post and thanks for sharing the photos and good times Sir!
Beautiful.
Hope you waved at Foothills Goose as he flew by!
This is about the 7-day DL for concussion, started in 2011:
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/17183370/
This didn’t answer my question as to if this agreement allows for a temporary 40-man replacement such as Fed-X to step in for the 7 days.
For Trevor Brown, Baseball reference says “4/11 Injury Report: Brown has been placed on the 10-day disabled list without an official timetable for a return due to a sprained right ankle and a hip injury. (April 2, Ankle)” That sounds serious, but he could technically be activated real soon as tomorrow is the 10th day since he was placed on the DL.
So I suppose they will try to have Hundley play every game this week, and not use the 7-day list for Buster. And hope they don’t need Hill. Does superman KT have a catcher’s mitt???
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Concussion_list
Here’s the deal …
Mrs. avwh is going to the game Wednesday night and is comping two seats to me next to her and their son Pete. I checked with those who I heard attended a game with Allen. It has come down to “Brownie” who is probably going but may get knocked out by his work schedule. Does anyone want to be a “Stand By” to attend the game? Brownie said he will know sometime TODAY for sure. I am coming up from San Jose.
WARNING: It will be a Cain start and you cannot come and gripe all night when we are supposed to be enjoying something Allen enjoys with people Allen loves.
Write me at: My SF Giant Guy at Gee Mel dOtt com and we can set it up.
With My Little Smargie and Matt going in the next two, I’d be ecstatic to get a split.
Nothing says Giants baseball like sunshine and blueberry’s!
Wait! What?
(yesterday, in the center field garden)
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/264d9bff7bdf27193f89ce78272781e935442316f6abf57bb1362f42a98a8a0a.jpg
If anyone looked at Buster as he was being questioned after he was hit, it was obvious that he was NOT fine. He may not be concussed but after a blow like that, a subsequent hit, even what would seem to be minor, can result in a concussion. They played with fire with Belt- more than once.No, I’m not an “expert”, but I know about these things. Buster should not play until a neurologist clears him.
I guess the positive is it happened very early in the year so hopefully the Giants feel there is no reason to rush and Buster can still play most of the season healthy.
This is no ‘positive’ to this.
Yeah, when Panik got hit, he quickly jumped to his feet and ran to 1b. I’m fine…..And yet…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppQsmI4hRFs
Yeah, and then he was giggling in the dugout. I took that to be a sign of a possible concussion. Definitely not the usual reaction, to say the least.
You would think there’s no reason to take any chances, especially with a catcher. Why he isn’t on the DL already, I dont know (unless I’ve missed it) … perhaps it’s because they need to clear that spot on the 40 man, and they really don’t want to.
Okay, this is a different Moore. I’m not too sure exactly what’s going on but he’s varying the speed on the fast pitches much more than he did last year (there seems to be confusion about how to classify his fast pitches). He was kind of pitching like Cueto but with a cutter and curve. I don’t think the cutter is necessarily breaking better but he was throwing it anywhere between 88 and 93 mph. Some of them started like fast curves (some of the curves were 85 mph) and others looks like fastballs until the end. Few strikeouts but really great contact data.
He looked pretty darn good the end of last yr.
He did look good but he wasn’t changing speeds like yesterday. The fastball was 93-4, the cutter was 90-1.
It looked like the same Moore who pitched in the last game of last season, before Bochy took over.
Your dying last word going to be “Bochy” or “Duvall’? Maybe both?
I’m hoping to outlive Bochy’s time as Giants’ manager, so I doubt that will be it, but we’ll have to wait and see.
He was great in that game but i don’t remember him changing speeds like he did yesterday.
Great day at the yard yesterday. Collected 6 Opening Day calendars (cuz you just never know when you’ll need to know what day it is). My view of the festivities:
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/77e759331ed4976a74eba662d17e86c6401abc7a8ed33b67534a8448fdb8b834.jpg
Nice picture! I hope GG is saving all these, to repost when we are in the blackest of times again (January 2018).
Looks like about 309 or so…atta babe, Wildcat!!
Good eye! 307 actually…
These tasty beverages went down quite nicely as well: https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6a3d5402b4c5241835636ddce0094fc93387d3fb1367c3621e11fc7412a1a422.jpg
I HAD ONE, TOO! (But, at a restaurant here…..)
They’re pretty good! Last year’s Giants-themed Anchor Steam was much more bitter. Even Mrs. Sarcastic liked it and she’s not much of a beer drinker. Lucky Strike across the street from the park had them 5 for $20. Not bad considering the price gouging in that neighborhood, especially on Opening Day.
Those are all German lagers. German Biermeisters started the serious beer making in Mexico and Texas a long time ago.
Perhaps, but the Sugar Skull artwork on the can makes it taste better …
I only mentioned it because it said “Mexican Style Lager”
Thx to them, we have good beer in MX – for less than a buck.
What beer stand did you get that? I was in Club Level 232. Didn’t see any.
Not sure if they sell them inside the park yet. These were consumed at Brian Wilson’s bowling alley/bar across the street. You can find them at Safeway too ..
We needed to get Fed-Ex overnight.
Are you cutting Aaron Hill? I can see that, as a sneaky back door way to get KT up when Buster is ready to play again.
No, I think that we could get Uggla back for a discounted rate. He’s been waiting by the phone since late 2015.
I’d have no problem flying United.
lol you’d be the guy pulling someone off the plane.
Of course not. You would have buzzed the cop first thing.
Effing around on a plane like that, regardless of whether you think you’re justified, isn’t a good idea.
He was a doctor that wanted to get back to his practice. Both the cop and airline employee have been suspended.
I doubt anyone on the plane wanted to get off, including the non-doctors.
That’s pretty apparent.
I’m no fan of overselling flights, but if they tell you you have to go, then go. No one says you have to like it. It’s not like this guy was Rosa Parks.
Technically, they didn’t oversell the flight since they were making room for their own employees to fly, not the public.
My opinion still applies. Apparently, this guy was convicted of multiple felonies and barred from practicing medicine for a decade, so good judgement isn’t his greatest strength.
http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2017/04/11/david-dao-passenger-removed-united-flight-doctor-troubled-past/100318320/
Not relevant to the incident at hand. United screwed up and treated him violently. There are no excuses and he’s not the bad guy here.
Not the bad guy. Just the dumb guy.
maybe the way to end this string is “dumb guy and dumb company employee” is a bad combination?
No – now he’s the rich guy.
Yeah, maybe a split lip will turn out to have been worth it.
That was in 2004 for gods sake. Do you think United did a background check? You have no idea what your talking about, except trying to defend an indefensible action. 20% of United’s market share is in China. That video, in China alone, has had a 130 million views. United dropped 4-5% of its stock value this morning.
“That was in 2004 for gods sake. ”
But he probably doesn’t put that on his resume.
Ya think. Now he has even greater grounds for legal action
I detect that you had a rush of adrenaline through you loins as you dissected the video?
I don’t about you, but I would be fine with a doctor who was on good behavior.
“My opinion still applies”… – Only to you does it apply.
Actually, he WAS ‘Rosa Parks’ to 130 million people in China.
Good point.
Just as a point of information, they were purging paying passengers to make way for United employees flying to St Louis, a 5 hour drive from Chicago.
What was the rush? The liver transplant could wait.
“Effing around”? He was sitting in the seat he paid for, having boarded the plane with the boarding pass and seat assignment United gave him. He wasn’t drunk, he wasn’t being abusive or dangerous. He was just inconveniencing them after they planned poorly. They treated a skinny senior citizen like a violent criminal.
United screwed up in several different ways. They shouldn’t have boarded the plane if they didn’t have adequate seats for the passengers. They shouldn’t have put non-paying crew members ahead of paying customers–they had other choices to get them to Louisville before the next morning (another airline, a charter flight, even a car or van–it’s only a five-hour drive). And once they realized they had a problem caused by their own bad planning, they should have paid whatever it took to get a couple of passengers to take another flight.
Blaming the victim is ridiculous. I hope the officer and the United agents get criminally prosecuted for assault and battery, I hope they lose their jobs, and I hope a good lawyer takes everything they have.
” I hope they lose their jobs, and I hope a good lawyer takes everything they have.”
Oracle has practiced law. I think his eyes just lit up. $$$$$$$$
One might add, he was sitting next to his wife when the event happened.
She had on a T-Shirt that said “I’m not with him”
But it was inside out. They dressed in a hurry to make the plane.
****
This!
In today’s climate, big corporations probably feel they can get away with most everything. When it comes down to it, Neil and the gang will have their back.
My guess is an employee or two simply used bad management and messed up. As Lefty said, assume now that this episode will cost United million$ in lawsuits and the doctor/passenger in question, his children and their children will never have worry about money again once United settles out of court to avoid public scrutiny and bad press.
United stock was down 4% early this morning. They lost $700 million in market value overnight.
The people have spoken!
Last year when we were going to Boston to see the Giants at Fenway, I booked United seats from SFO–BOS with miles and then paid $300 to upgrade us to Economy Plus for the long flight. When I went to check us in, I was stunned to find that they’d taken away our Economy Plus seats and put us in middle seats in Economy in different rows. They’d refunded the $300 to my credit card and I hadn’t noticed.
They explained that because there’d been a “schedule change”–the flight was literally 10 minutes later than the original time–that meant they could change our seat assignments. Of course, that really meant that someone wanted to pay full price for the Economy Plus seats, so they bumped us out, using the “schedule change” excuse as justification.
So that’s how United treated someone in their loyalty program who’d spent enough money and earned enough miles to book a rewards flight. (I’ve also had a co-branded United Visa for years.) I had pretty much decided I was done with them, and this clinches it. Now I have to find something to buy with the 10K miles I still have left in my United account.
I would’ve lost my effin mind and probably gone to jail.
Well, I wasn’t happy. They did manage to finally seat us together, but not in Economy Plus. Nor did they offer us any kind of compensation or even a free drink for our troubles. Showed me exactly how much United cares about its customers, even loyal ones. (Formerly loyal, in my case.)
Yo tambien.
I had the same sort of experience and reaction to American.
Not a big fan of American, either, though I did fly them to and from Illinois a couple of weeks ago, and things went beautifully.
Perfect response. Much better than selfishly holding up a plane full of other people who want to get to their destinations.
So… the passenger who didn’t want to leave the flight he paid for was selfish and everyone else who spectated were the victims. Got it.
That’s a good point, too. Why is this guy any more selfish than the other 150 people who didn’t want to give up their seats?
Yeah. And everyone recording it on their phone just rubs me wrong. Yes, I’m glad there’s footage so we could see it and have United forced to deal with the fallout but it also seems we’re methodically moving in the direction of someone being beaten to death while twenty people film it, thinking they’re performing their civic duty.
Well, there were at least a couple of people objecting loudly–“Oh, my God, look what you did to him”–“This is wrong.” If I’d been in that situation, I’d have been afraid that if I interfered too much, I’d be injured/shot/arrested.
There are two larger problems here. One is with airlines having so much authority to just kick people off planes and have them arrested if someone even looks at them cross-eyed. Those of us who travel a lot have learned to keep our heads down and behave so that we’re not kicked off the planes and met at the gate by a marshal with handcuffs. I appreciate that airlines need rules to keep people safe, but it’s gone too far.
The second is the growing perception that if you don’t instantly follow orders (even, as in this case, completely unfair and unreasonable orders), you deserve to be assaulted/beaten/shot/killed. Even if you’re being defiant and disrespectful, when did that become a capital offense? People who argue that want to be in dictatorships, not democracies. We still have a Constitution, and it still calls for due process and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure.
Here’s the other part of this. Every time a law enforcement officer uses unnecessary violence on a citizen, it puts people like The Oracle and his colleagues in harm’s way.
For a couple of reasons, I’ve been connecting this incident in my mind to the cop who pepper-sprayed the peacefully protesting students at UCD five years ago. Maybe the kids should have been arrested and cited for trespassing and disobeying police orders. Maybe this passenger was breaking a law or FAA regulations and should have been put in cuffs when he got off the plane in Louisville. But aggressive actions by officers should be reserved only for dangerous situations. The students weren’t dangerous, and this skinny little 69-year-old doctor in an airplane seat wasn’t dangerous. They may have been annoying and causing inconvenience to others. But that’s not a justification for being violently attacked.
When people fear that they’ll be assaulted by the police for the most trivial of reasons, that’s when cops get shot. And I don’t think anyone wants that outcome.
First of all, there were no police officers involved in removing the guy from the plane. They were security guards. Secondly, he wasn’t hit, kicked or punched. He was dragged out because he refused to leave. The “force” was minimal. Nevertheless, they should’ve called the police first. They might’ve had a better chance of gaining compliance.
They were Chicago police assigned to airport duty.as indicated in many of the stories.
They were unarmed security officers, not armed police officers.
https://www.google.com/amp/chicago.suntimes.com/news/video-appears-to-show-passenger-being-removed-from-united-flight/amp/
They are Chicago City employees, who although not armed are enabled as police in terms or authority to arrest and detain.
Not police officers.
OK–“aviation security officer.” In the mind of the public, it’s still an example of police brutality. They’re not going to make those distinctions. And when you drag someone out of a tight airline seat, it’s not surprising that his head is going to bang on something and be bloodied. Bottom line: they used force in a non-dangerous situation and they injured the guy.
He was docile and passive until “Cowboy” took over and all or any weapons that Cowboy had on his waist were exposed to other passengers. Some whack job could have removed his taser/or/gun.
I’d have been pissed off, but I would’ve left the plane. I wouldn’t have sat there holding up everyone else.
He would have flipped his badge and gotten professional courtesy from the Chicago cop asking him to vacate his seat.
That’s what buzzed means.
You can drown in colloquialisms.
It’s pretty universal in US Copdom.
I’m not a cop, what can I say.
I’m not either. I am aware, though.
You really think flashing a badge could keep someone from being kicked off a plane like that?
Depends on how the selections were made.
Oh please. Don’t be obtuse. Besides it being Chicago, courtesy on a flight to police is common.
” I’m not a cop”
↑↑↑↑
You too, “…”.
Flying’s not the problem. It’s the “re-accomodating” that’ll get you …
They might have a problem with it.
That’s good.
Is this post for the sole purpose to get responses of outrage?
Mile High Club ?
they should have just kept upping their offer to entice people to give up their seat. no one bites at $1000, try $1500, then $2000. someone eventually would take the cash. that stunt is going to end up costing them millions. just plain stupid. penny wise, dollar foolish
They underestimated the irrational nature of some people. Sounds like three other customers had no problem taking the money and leaving the plane. That establishes a 25% rate of irrational behavior that should lead to exactly what you said, up the offer until you get the results.
Equally I do not respect the outrage of his fellow passengers. Any one of them could have volunteered to take his place take the money as they saw it escalate.
Baseball Connection? Yes there is.
A baseball team functions because all the “passengers” abide by the rules and occasionally sacrifice to help each other.
He said he had patients to see at the hospital the next morning. I can think of lots of reasons why people wouldn’t be able to easily reschedule their trips–a wedding, a funeral, an important client meeting, a job interview. Maybe they have kids or elderly parents at home they need to get back to.
Last week I flew from Sacramento to Baltimore on Thursday morning so that I could give an all-day workshop at the University of Delaware on Friday. It’s a once-a-year professional development event that had been scheduled for months. I couldn’t go any earlier because I teach a once-a-week class on Wednesday afternoon and it was the first week of spring quarter–I wasn’t going to miss my first class. Many of my trips–not all of them, but many of them–are under similar time constraints.
If Southwest had informed me I was being bumped off the plane, it would have made no sense for me to go the next day–I would have missed the very event I was going there for. My trip would be off and the event in Delaware would be canceled. You can bet I would have argued strenuously about getting off the plane. Is that “irrational,” or being responsible and trying to keep my commitment?
The latter. You book in order to have concrete plans. Yes, things are fluid in this life but it can’t be a one-way street. Anything could happen a day or two before a trip that would cause you to jettison the whole thing. Is the airline going to listen to your sad story and refund your money? Never.
That’s exactly right. I can’t cancel my trip and get my money back. Why should they get to cancel my plans? It’s one thing if there’s a blizzard or mechanical problems. We all know stuff like that happens (and I don’t want to fly on a plane in a blizzard or with mechanical problems, anyway). But when it’s just “Our pilots need a free ride to Louisville, so f*** you”–nope, not OK.
Is there anything that’s gone into the toilet over the last twenty years more than the airline industry? It’s laughable how non-user friendly the whole industry is. It’s gotten to the point where any positive step they take seems to be a concession. Even international flights, which used to be pretty guaranteed in terms of superior service, have eroded. When we flew back from Europe last year, it was on Norwegian and i was shocked at the service. It didn’t help that we flew Emirates over which is just amazing and makes coach seem like first class. Norwegian had you paying for every single thing, even a blanket. Again, this wouldn’t surprise me on a domestic flight but pretty unheard of otherwise. Then, when they came around with food it was for people who had pre-ordered which I wasn’t even aware of. Fine. But THEN when they came with the drink cart they only offered it to the passengers who had pre-ordered food which sent me into full aggression mode since I only wanted some water. Needless to say, I got my water. This has been your unnecessarily long Flight Story with RobDeer.
It’s worth noting when airlines treat customers better. Southwest allows two free checked bags and doesn’t charge change fees. JetBlue doesn’t oversell their flights as a policy and gives free high-speed Wifi.
Southwest rules. And again, if you can ever fly Emirates, it’s a game changer.
So I’ve heard. We’re planning a trip to Europe next year and will definitely look into it.
I lived in Prague for six years. Still a lot of friends there. If you go you should absolutely let me know.
We might, actually. We’re considering one of those riverboat cruises down the Danube or the Rhine, and Prague is one of the options. I’d really like to go there. Budapest, too. I’ll let you know.
I’m sure its dependent on many things but Prague is a must.
Ayup.
Use Viking (river cruises). Also first-class, even for the “coach” equivalent.
That’s what we’re looking at. Have the catalog at home!
We don’t like cruises, or groups – and we had a fantastic time (AMS to Basel CH, up the Rhine). Professional, in every way. Now I want to go up the Danube to Budapest.
I missed a chance to see Buda and Pest when I was in Vienna back in the 90s. A 2 hour train ride. I have always regretted that dumb decision.
Sept 13, to Milano!!! :o)
Awesome
Seats as comfortable as the electric chair too.
Would you have made them drag you off the plane?
No.
That is the difference between being irrational and “argued strenuously” on good grounds.
They CHOSE to drag him off the plane–he didn’t make them do anything. They had other options. They chose the wrong one, and it’s going to cost them, big time.
Flight attendants are human too and I have seen them get pretty anal on things but he had agreed to leave the plane if required to as we all do when we buy a ticket. If they did not explain that to him then they are at fault.
Did you see Schulmann’s tweet that it was a 5 hour drive to get to their destination?
Rent a car, drive five hours collect your $1,000. Nobody could do that?
There is plenty of blame to go around on this.
The pilots could also have rented a car and let the customers take the flight they paid for.
And the 200 people waiting for the flight crew to arrive who will now be late to their destination?
Maybe someone messed up in making the flight crews’ schedule too tight. Untied probably should hire more pilots and crew (that is happening in all businesses).
The only “option” would have been to hire a private plane to take the crew which, hindsight says, would have been a cheap solution.
The guy was still in the wrong for not leaving the plane when told he had to.
I suspect, given he paid for the ticket and hadn’t read the 50 page agreement containing the fine print you reference, he was stunned that by a coin flip United was going to expose him the the market equivalence of Sophie’s Choice.
They said the pilots needed to be in Louisville for a flight the next morning. It was late afternoon when this happened. Plenty of time for them to drive there or have United make other arrangements for them.
I just don’t agree that this guy is to blame. United mishandled its business and then (a) tried to make paying passengers suffer for their mistakes and (b) violently assaulted him when he didn’t make things easy for them. He was a paying customer, not a trespasser.
Analogy I just saw: You’ve checked into your hotel room that you booked and paid for. Suddenly hotel management is at the door, informing you that your room is needed for a company executive and you have to get out. If you don’t go, police are called to drag you out. This would never happen and no one would think it was OK if it did. Why is it OK for airlines to treat customers that way?
Bingo. Due to the current terrorist fears, airlines have been given license to go full buffoon mode even when it’s simply about them maximizing their profit.
To me the key fact pattern is that the four passengers were being bumped for stand-by United crew members. I don’t agree with overselling flights, but the law allows it. If United had oversold by four customers and four unlucky lottery losers got bumped, well that sucks, but it’s either you or other equally deserving passengers getting the short end of the stick. But in this case United decided that the convenience of their employees outweighed the good-faith transaction that these four passengers had entered into with them. No wonder the guy was outraged and didn’t want to get off the plane. I’d feel exactly the same way if I were him.
It’s not. You’re insulting someone’s narrative historical experience.
Because the customer agreed to it.
They went through a process of asking for volunteers, doubling the compensation given and then picked four random customers. The United employees probably hated it coming to this but they were being fair.
Better business minded folks could explain this. If you and I want to fly for lower fares then we accept some of these possible problems.
That’s why they should’ve dealt with this BEFORE boarding passengers. Hotels overbook, and when the count doesn’t click, find people a free room nearby, before checking them into a room. Having been behind the desk, it’s not always fun, but at least it’s rational, and generally works out. Kicking customers out of a room? Not.
LOL. I just read the poor schlub was in a window seat to boot.
I guess he hadn’t seen this United commercial before he booked his travel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y8HdeHtOJs
Or the new Southwest slogan: “We beat our competition. Not you.”
lol
There’s a cap on what they can offer, believe-it-or-not – @ 4X the ticket price. So I reckon it was $1600 – but the dumbasses didn’t even try that.
The Giants have no reason to ever cry over the payroll, they are basically printing money:
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/19133813/new-york-yankees-top-forbes-worth-rankings-37-billion
That in itself makes them hypocrites, because everyone else on the list is referred to as an “evil empire” type of organizations, which obviously comes from winning and jealousy.
And while, sure they have gone out to spend money on much needed pitchers the past two seasons, it’s inexcusable that the roster has the holes it has right now in the OF, the bench, perhaps even in the pen where they decided to only bring in Melancon and go with in house cheap alternatives.
“Makes them hypocrites” requires them to claim they don’t have money to spend, and that’s not the case.
It’s still a business in which investors expect profits. And, spending money doesn’t equal wins and titles automatically, now does it?
There can be questions about the choices on how they spend, but certainly not on whether they spend.
I don’t recall ever hearing them “crying over payroll, either.” On the contrary, they keep raising it and have gone over the luxury tax line.
They don’t spend enough on scouting or trying to sign international players, something they absolutely have the money to do. That’s one criticism that is well earned. They got Melancon as a free agent but the rest of the winter was dumpster diving which can be called cheap. Easily could have made a play for another OF and/or reliever but wanted to try the in house options which weren’t going to all pan out overnight (again being cheap and not thinking ahead).
https://s3.amazonaws.com/lowres.cartoonstock.com/films-hollywood_star-walk_of_fame-famous-celebrities-actor-gra110621_low.jpg
The risk of fame in LA.
Clutch Up clearly has the AOTD (avatar …)
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fb27a24d41229f042183dc2be2f75c2552d99bcc6617c329b7a2008da1037cc4.jpg
Ivanka has a 21% approval rate among women. I suspect that it might be a tad higher among men.
They have attributed her tears as the motivation for the Syria strike.
She threw a fit in Florida on Sunday and he sent warplanes to Jacksonville.
That’s because she’s frustrated with their football team and poor golf courses.
Lemonaid for Buster
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7e5c2da28832e09c60ae19da6a1c5d0397f1af3bf91fc5dc42885923206bff8a.jpg
Myself and Mrs. Crawnik will be at Opening Night to hopefully watch the Giants extend their winning streak to 3. Hopefully my phone doesn’t crap out (I think the battery is going), and I’ll be able to post some pics on here later tonight.
i hope you realize that as long as they keep winning, you and the mrs will have to keep going. sorry, that’s just the way it is. you can but a new battery for your phone, and send the bill to GG. it’s a write off for him. you two kids have fun..
My accountant may not agree with your claims about write offs and this blog Steve k!
you need to switch accountants pal. mine (my wife), will know what to do. she’s smart as a whip (cornell educated). yes, she married down..
I have no doubt that operating this blog costs GreekGiant money that none of us would be willing to spend.
between his own valuable time, and his out of pocket costs, there is no doubt that the greek is a very generous man. if i ever say anything that can be construed otherwise, i do not mean for it to be taken that way.
i, as well as most, if not all of us, are very appreciative that george has put this site together, and maintains it. he’s a good man..
Pretty sure only one person took it otherwise.
Fair enough Steve!
A local Pulitzer:
Staff of East Bay Times, Oakland, CA
For
relentless coverage of the “Ghost Ship” fire, which killed 36 people at
a warehouse party, and for reporting after the tragedy that exposed the
city’s failure to take actions that might have prevented it.
My dealer came through, I should be good for the day.
You still in the rare carburetor black market?
Forwarding the Mavo Gizmo https://mavobooks.com/
Got to DFA Marrero and bring up Fed Ex, right?
Hill and Parker playing for their lives in the meantime.
Giants probably going to win a few for Buster while he recovers – going to be some determined ball being played by SF. You heard it here, first, at TWG.
Here are my bold roster predictions: Melvin Upton will be up before the month is out. Marrero will be cut. Mac will be up too when healthy, Parker put on waivers, nobody will claim him, he will be re-signed and play for Sacramento.
Or the A’s think, maybe this guy just needs to hit at the Coliseum, and snap him up.
Sound predictions.
Kiss arse.
Agreeing with people is what I’m known for.
The hate for Parker on this blog runs strong, makes me root for him that much more because of that, and the thinking Williamson is much better, with no proof .
The fans at the park gave Parker a standing ovation when he got his hit yesterday. We knew and were supporting him. We also appreciated his hustle on the back end of that three-run “bunt” by Moore.
This blog, not the fans at AT&T Park .
Season starts and Parker is platooned, 1st game after 2 at bats he is replaced, I do not know if he has gotten more then 2 or 3 at bats a game, has he finished a game in the outfield this year, the pressure and the looking over his shoulder is not a way to succeed in MLB .
Peter, I agree. I am really surprised that the team is approaching him this way. They will never know if he could be an everyday player. They may be doing it right but I do not get it.
Yesterday they pinch-hit for Parker with Marrero in the 8th inning vs. a lefty reliever. Gorkys hit for Moore and finished the game in LF for defense.
Parker does have awful numbers against lefties. It is what it is.
Maybe the organization shouldn’t have fallen in love with Marrero’s meaningless ST stats and it’d be different. I could understand the organization falling for Marrero’s meaningless ST stats IF he was a good defensive outfielder. Instead, he’s one of the worst defensive OFs in the game. Yet they award him a platoon spot despite the fact that he’s 28 years old and never had a lick of success in the big leagues. I am sure the Giants doing that messed with Parker’s head quite a bit. Gorkys can’t hit but at least he can field.
Appears to be a bust, like so many AAAA sluggers. But they were so desperate for power, they had to see if he was for real.
I bet the Duvall experience weighed in on that decision.
a yupper..
Recovers from what, he says he is fine, some people get hit in the head and are fine, Doug Fister, some are not, every body is different , to generalize is wrong .
Thx for setting Ryan straight. I’ve been trying for years with no success.
What I’m taking from this is some people are Doug Fister and some are not.
Some people are Doug Fistee. Them’s the breaks
You don’t happen to know their cell number, do you?
With a small contribution to our cause, cell numbers are provided
Hill should get combat pay for his service in the OF.
and for all the hits he is taking from this blog…
For sure.
I’m guessing they’ll go a couple of days with Hundley as the C, while they wait to see if Buster is able to go soon. If they get into a long extra inning game, or more than a couple of days, then they’ll need Federowicz (I’m practicing my spelling there, just in case).
It is quite inconvenient that Trevor Brown isn’t available at the moment.
You know the Giants all to well. They will do everything they can to drag their feet.
I do think Trevor Brown would be rotating in today for somebody like Marrero or Hill if he could play, but they don’t really have an easy play to get Federowicz (more practice, good!) up.
It will astonish me if Buster plays today or tomorrow – the G’s now know all about concussions.
Losing Marrero’s defensive prowess would be a big blow to the outfield defense.
Thunder in the pasture.
Chris has already had a couple of good swings this year.
MLB standings (I know it’s early): O’s, Twins, Angels, Nationals/Mets, Cubs/Reds, and Dbacks in first.
Those Reds, who is batting 4th for them ?
I don’t know, some guy they picked up in a trade.
The Giants could really use a #4 hitter with some pop, they could play him in LF.
You aren’t wrong there, PJ!
Well, whaddya know: Now that United is down ONE BILLION DOLLARS in value, the CEO’s finally changing his tune.
https://twitter.com/MikeDelMoro/status/851873246458806272
Hilarious. And shocking in the current day and age of social media with so many people salivating for the chance to re-post or tweet about some injustice and have it trend to a ridiculous degree, that you wouldn’t immediately see how it’s going to play out and say the correct thing, even if you don’t mean it.
Another reason why this incident reminded me of the pepper-spraying: In this day and age of people pulling out their phones, making videos, and instantly posting them online, isn’t there a little voice in the back of the officer’s mind saying “Within 15 minutes, this will go viral and my life as I know it will end”? From what the aviation authority boss said, it sounds like this guy will, at minimum, lose his job.
He was voted airline communicator of the year in 2016 by his peers. Sometimes you just can’t make this stuff up.
Muñoz, you mean.
yes.
Apparently 130+ million Chinese have concluded it was a racial profiling event. In China’s intensely competitive air market where 20% of United’s market share is located, and most of their growth potential, the fertilizer has hit the fan.
This makes my day. Which is kind of sad. Maybe i should get outta bed.
There severe consequences sometimes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leH9Acrqs5A
Well, it worked. After watching that, I need a cigarette.
It’s that or solar annihilation.
I direct a large program for first-year students, of whom probably 60-70% are Chinese international students. We’re already wondering what the impact of the Trump regime will be on new enrollments. This United incident doesn’t help, either. If you’re a parent, would you want to send your kid to a country where they might get terrorized by ICE agents at the border and assaulted on the airplane?
It’s going to be really interesting to see how it all plays out. I personally have mixed feelings about the university’s heavy investment in international students, so I don’t really have a horse in the race, but I just wonder what the effects might be.
Apparently your concern is shared. Twitter has apparently been deleting Tweets about United according to some users.
https://www.dailydot.com/debug/twitter-deleting-tweets-united-airlines-video/
I saw that. That’s a little creepy, too.
Sad that the realization comes after the wallet gets hit.
Look, the guy was lucky.
https://www.scienceabc.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/man-jumping-from-an-airplane-without-parachute.jpg
Argentine political readjustment flight from the 80s.
He’s being “re-accommodated.”
Freebird in flight. Que music.
I give up. What music?
United CEO: God bless you, Sean Spicer. Please keep talking. We need as big a diversion as possible right now.
LOL. Spicer was advised to go to head nods, and shrugs during his briefings.
Hey, compared to this Assad guy, that Hitler dude was a saint..
Some things are better off not being compared.
If you are saying that I was making the comparison, you would be wrong.
The moment in the briefing that Spicer realizes he colossally effed up and attempts to backpedal is pretty great viewing.
The apology wasn’t much better.
He’s lowering benchmarks for the future.
Trying to distract from Trump?
He would have to leave his fly open to do that. Trump tweeted the Chinese this AM and in one pair of tweets threatened the Chinese and in the next told them to fix NKorea or head’d blow it up. Spicer’s intellectual reputation is quite safe in this rhetorical climate.
Not you, Spicer. I would never say bad things about you to your face.
So that was you at my window this morning.
When I heard your dealer was there, I hurried over.
You could become know by the nickname, Uncle Godfrey.
Coffee, near and dear to Bapah and Slikk1 and CU and others. How do you think?
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/10/dining/coffee-locol-restaurant-one-dollar-cup.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc1vu4sVYdA
Why do you hate us?
Why yes, that is a United Airlines 747 taxiing down the runway.
I just booked a flight on United. I’m hoping for open rows with no one but their crew on board.
Now’s the time where shrewd consumers pounce. I just booked a trip to Syria. Got one helluva deal.
I hear it’s lovely this time of year.
Was that the Tomahawk Route Special I saw on their website?
Yup. 59 free drinks.
Along with Mavo’s new Book – My brothers classmate at Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo – Bob Garratt just wrote a book called Home Team – The Turbulent History of the San Francisco Giants.
https://www.amazon.com/Home-Team-Turbulent-History-Francisco/dp/080328683X
New Post: http://fe0.84e.myftpupload.com/2017-season/game-9-preview-samardzija-seeks-first-win/
If the season is indeed now an exercise in preparation for next season, and the roster is incapable of being a winning unit, then what is the specific reason for “firing Bochy” in a polite way? To win a few more games? Sheer frustration? Because there is a better option?
If this is decided to be Bruce’s last season ( and that would be an organizational debate), I would totally understand. I agree with those that say he isn’t at a stage in life where he can or should be a “retool” or “rebuild” manager. He is who he is, and we have the glory of that to remember.
But, IF that IS decided (and that’s far from given) he has earned the right to leave after the season on his terms…NOT be fired politely in June during a losing streak with a ragtag lineup.
So, it’s us that need to come to terms with things. This season is toast. So, do we become overwrought with each lineup, each game, and call for heads to roll? To what end? This organization is not knee-jerk, and won’t be. Let Bruce call HIS shot.
You should never give up on a season, especially only 72 games into it, number 1. Number 2, What makes this year and last year’s second half unacceptable is that the Giants have one of the highest payrolls and players who have already proven they are better than this. The best conclusion I can come up with is that the manager needs to change. We are talking about the Giants headed for a 110 loss season! How is that ever acceptable with this payroll?
I don’t care what Bochy did.
Yes, we love him forever for the three rings but how can management waste a whole year of MadBum and Posey on loyalty or sentimentality and risk making the Giants forgettable, costing them untold millions??? Imagine if you owned the team Matthew? Do you really let this season play out? If I was the owner I would not.
Totally agree. No excuses with the 4th largest payroll in baseball. And CERTAINLY no excuses being the worst team in baseball. No way this team’s talent is as bad as its performance. For that reason, and perhaps others, Bochy should retire at the end of this year. He’s lost the touch needed to get the most out of his players. No more wasted years.
yes, but don’t fire him today as GG suggests
Oh no no, no way. This season is toast. But he’s got to retire at the end of this year. No more wasted years, Matthew.
The Knicks have a top 10 payroll, the Blazers 3. Does that make them a lock to have a good team? No right?
Stupid contracts does not = good talent on the the team.
Again, though, I don’t think that justifies a 100-loss season. I don’t think they’re that bad, talent-wise.
Well there is the issue. What you saw at beginning of last season was a number of players playing over their normal production, over their heads.
What has transpired sincevis not on the manager. The players are just playing closer to their norm, which is not good enough to compete in the West.
Isn’t part of Bochy’s job to get his players to play above their normal production, “over their heads?” One of the manager’s jobs is to maximize his talent and then some. Managers of the Year usually win that award because of this. Baseball isn’t simply just, “we got the most talent, we win it all.” See 2010. Bochy squeezed every last drop of production out of a less than seasoned team, certainly with talent, but not with far and away the best roster. Those championship teams were hungry. This one, albeit with the aforementioned weaknesses, just seems full. Been there, done that.
This is a business for the owners. Those owners became more filthy rich mostly because of a 5 year run that Bochy led…yes, it’s in the past.But, in an organization that prides itself on consistency and loyalty they don’t fire him mid-season.
Number 1 – unless there is a roster overhaul, it’s way beyond over. It’s over. Over. Do you give up? No, you play hard and smart. Does firing Bochy now serve any purpose other than shaking things and making some fans happy?
Number 2 – Payroll doesn’t equal performance, and payroll isn’t on Bruce.
But performance is on Bruce, and the performance is GROSSLY out of step with payroll. The performance on the field is ridiculously below par with the talent they do possess. They have way more than enough talent to not be the worst team in baseball, but this is what they continue to roll out there.
Do they really? Ask yourself that question again and be honest with yourself. A lot of your reasoning is based on assumptions.
Yes really. Do you think with the players they have, that they should be playing down to the level of worst team in baseball? Totally underachieving. This isn’t some widespread coincidence that almost every player has taken a bath on this year. The manager must be held accountable for how his team performs, and the leadership and decision-making (highly suspect since July of last year) has been way subpar since then. It’s time for a change. They’re cruising. Shakeup time at the end of the year.
You’re wrong mainly because in your mind the team is full of talent and “stars” which it is not. From the start your premise is faulty.
Haha come on, E. I’m not talking about winning the WS. I’m talking about not being the worst team in baseball! At least admit they possess enough talent, should they really bust their asses, to at least be a .500 team?
Not really man, only two guys on the pitching staff capable of going 7-8 consistently (and one is not pitching. No OF and no bench. All that nullifies any positives of a good infield.
Read my posts dating back to ST. This team has what, 10-15 players I would say are legitimate major leaguers on many squads. That’s it.
Add to that one of the worst farm systems in baseball.
That equals 100 loss season and about a 3-4 year rebuild.
I really can’t say that I disagree with that logic. Plenty of significant weaknesses. But even so, I just don’t think Boch, at this stage of his career, is the man for the job. I.e., retooling and bringing them into another winning era. Plus his health is declining. Too many signs that the writing is on the wall. I really do think they could be playing better.
Sure, 500 I’ll give them that. But not this season. Too far back.
But is 500 what is good for the franchise? Pick in the middle of draft over and over?
Best to tank and draft high for a couple of years.
Well that is TO’s contention as well, and I agree with both of you here. Need some blue chippers to get back.
Bochy will never be fired. Matthew is correct. How much money is being spent is not enough of a reason to think things should be better. And in inferring players are “better” you are also thinking of past performance level for guys that are a few years older. Instead of mid to late 20s most of them are hitting past 30. Performance levels dip. A new manager is what, gonna get you a handful of wins more. On a 100 loss team that’s means squat.
Bochy will never be fired you can bet the house on that. Now if he walks away at the end of the season that’s a different story. Right now the Giants aren’t winning for the next 5 years as built.
I’m going to print and frame this post then send it back to you next year or the year after when the Giants win the World Series…
Lol that won’t happen and deep down inside you know it.
Ditto
Please do. But the Giants as is aren’t making a series PO run for a good 2-3 years. Unless they retook and make significant changes.
I’m not sure what a change of manager would do right now. I’d prefer to leave Wotus, Raggs and Decker in their positions right now and give them the responsibility of teaching a bunch of players for next year. It is time to prepare the roster for the future and that means a few new faces and some refresher courses in how to play the game.
exactly
Exactly to the exponent
Can’t fire Bochy. After this season it needs to be a “transition” to the FO in which Bochy “retires” from managing. He’s done enough for this franchise to write his own ticket. But, that being said, he cannot be the one overseeing the retooling or full rebuild. Let Wotus see what he can do. However, the problem will not get turned around just with a new manager more amenable to playing young guys. Sure, that will help, but the key is the FO doing whatever they can to acquire young talent. That starts this year by maximizing the trade pieces on the big league roster. I’ve said all along I think there’s enough talent to do a retool, but it will take savvy moves by the FO. And, I’m not sold the FO is capable of making the difficult moves necessary to retool.
I don’t want him fired. If you’re gonna whack somebody, whack Evans.
But for his own health, Bochy should retire, asap. Announce it now, effective at the AS break, and do a victory lap. Give the team some fresh air for the rest of the season.
Duane Kuiper on KNBR just told a great story about how he went from a player to become a broadcaster. I was so glad that I just happened to hear it.
All I hear was the very beginning about how he suggested he might start drinking on air. And I would too if I had to do play by play for this horror show.
Hey, What’s the deal with posts from 2 months ago (Down Below) for a new post?
Glitch in the Disqus Matrix
Is Bochy in charge of Disqus as well?
I blame Hillary Clinton!
He keeps playing all the old posts
Surf is actually Aaron Hill. Matthew is actually Gorkys…
Lefty is Josh Osich’s girlfriend.
Lotta southpaws goin on there…
Damn, I hope they don’t get cut…we can’t lose those guys
Just gotta get em goin…
Give em a couple years and they’ll turn it around
We just gotta give em a day…
No such thing. They are gamers. They will swing their way out of it
Yes. We need “professional hitters” around here.
Professional hitters can go 7 months below the mendoza line but then break out for a .250 month. That is toughness. That’s the way Boch likes it
You can always count on a “grinder.”
Every, and I mean EVERY, player that’s ever player has had to grind sometime in their baseball career.
Yes indeed. Part of the job. Man does not live on talent alone.
I passed CarGo and I’m catching Belt’s ass next!!!!
Strive to be #1, son!
Other POTD.
Bocy’s fault
See below, I blame Hillary.
Anthony Rizzo=Scum. He clearly had a lane to the plate and deliberately crashed into Hedges, injuring him, to try to break up the play in which he was easily out.
I hope he gets severe discipline from the league. If not, I hope karma bites him, hopefully with a career-ending injury. Despicable, disgusting thug. And check out smarmy Joe Maddon, playing dumb. He’s scum, too. I hate the Cubs. They hurt people on purpose and never seem to care.
https://www.gaslampball.com/2017/6/19/15835918/anthony-rizzo-trucked-austin-hedges-andis-a-dirty-player-joe-maddon-is-either-blind-or-ignorant
The sad reality is that Rizzo and Maddon are considered “stars” to New York and Manfred. I don’t think much will happen.
I think you are being a little harsh Lefty, with all due respect and you are due much respect. I just watched that video and Rizzo’s play is what I call “hard-nosed baseball”. It’s kind of what you are taught to do when the catcher has the ball: bowl him over to dislodge it. It was standard fare for baseball eons till we arrived at this soft, politically-correct, namby-pamby era we are now witnessing….
True, but it’s now the rule. Period
Rule, schmrule… Rizzo is trying to score a run and win a baseball game. His play was not dirty. He wasn’t trying to hurt the catcher the way hockey players headhunt and football players try to kill qbs. His play was tough and right, even if outside the rules. The rule is kind of lame anyway, with all due respect to Buster.
I define “dirty” as intentionally trying to cause injury or kill someone and you see it in practically every hockey game, football game etc. Dirty is what Strick did to Bryce Harper and by the way, if I was commissioner, Strick would have received a two week suspension and Harper would not have been suspended one game.
You’re FIRED UP!!!
I don’t think it was clearly dirty either…it was illegal, however.
I just think people forget how the game used to be played, not long ago. Remember Pete Rose in the All Star game?
Ray Fosse does, and that, my friend, was BS and ruined Fosse’s career
Them’s the breaks…
in an all-star game…an exhibition. Them’s are most certainly not “the breaks”. I’m surprised you are as flippant about the unecessary ending of an all-star career. Rose was hard nosed, and that is to be greatly appreciated. On occasion, he went too far. That was one
I was joking. Ray Fosse was a casualty of Pete Rose’s hard-nosed play that I love. It was terrible luck for Fosse but nobody can say Rose wanted to end his career. It was an accident.
Rose didn’t do anything wrong. He didn’t have an exhibition speed setting. Fosse had the option of choosing not to block the plate in an exhibition game.
They just talked about it on KNBR, and said no path was given to Rizzo , so it was legal to run over catcher .
Go look at Lefty’s link…it clearly shows there was a path…It’s such a quick play that I’m not as upset as Lefty, but he did bowl over a catcher illegally
The comment is wrong. Look at the play.
Pecan guy , a Football redneck is the one that is defending Rizzo .
Look at the play. Your editorial comments are immaterial.
The still shot clearly shows that Rizzo had virtually the entire plate available to him on a normal slide. Glad he was thrown out anyway but sad for the Padres injured catcher.
Man I love how we can argue over a play in a game that has nothing to do with the Giants! What baseball passion! Amazing!
I’m not sure I agree with the hyper-emotionality of the comment, but Rizzo was definitely given a path to the plate. Even though the umpire waited to see if the catcher retained his possession of the baseball, he should have been called out immediately (given the new rule for plays at the plate) after the contact with the catcher who was definitely inside the line with a clear path to home plate.
My problem with the new rule is that home plate is INSIDE the baseline and the new rule is”fuzzy” because of it.
Exactly, again!
Anthony rizzo just plain cheats. He stands so close to the plate that pitchers are afraid to pitch him inside for fear of hitting him so he effectively only has to cover half the plate. Umpires call balls for him on pitches which catch 3 inches of the plate because they almost hit him in the arm. That’s the entire secret to his hitting success. He deserves to have his career ended by a serious beaning.
That’s a mature take
I am totally with that entire post John made. Until the last sentence.
with you…
Well then what to do about it? Nothing?
Not attempt to kill him. How about just pitch on the inside of the plate? If it hits his arm, so be it. Force the issue, not hit him in the head.
See above.
I did. And we’re on the same page.
I didn’t say hit him on the head. I suggested that he’d deserve it if it happened.
Fair enough. Believe me, I despise that F*#CKER every bit as much as you do.
The thing about the Cubs and Rizzo is that they annoy me. Damn good team, but the “Fun bunch of dudes” thing is crap.
But, Rizzo doesn’t “cheat”, he uses the box to his advantage.
And that’s why I don’t understand why pitchers don’t just bust him in 90% of the time. Command issues? Bc a guy who stands and hovers that closely over the plate can’t turn on a FB on the inside corner. Perhaps it is bc the umps don’t call strikes when they hit him?
Just look at his heatmaps. They don’t because they’re afraid of hitting him. And the umps don’t call strikes when he moves his arm out of the strike zone to avoid getting hit by pitches. It’s ridiculous.
I cannot condone throwing a baseball at the head of a human!
So a guy can make a great career out of other people being afraid of hitting him? That doesn’t seem like a solution.
There is a strategy for defeating that type of positioning at the plate.
Meaning what?
Throw strikes on the inside of the plate. If he gets hit by a strike, IT IS STILL A STRIKE and NOT a HBP.
P.S. Learn the game.
Except that the umpires often don’t call them strikes if they’re inside even if they clearly are. Plus pitchers are afraid to pitch rizzo inside because they might hit him. Just check rizzo’s heatmaps. He’s like the only hitter in the majors who has a huge weakness in his hitting (inside pitches) which pitchers *avoid* pitching to.
With you until that last part
He is a scumbag. With an annoying smirk. Almost as bad as Hosmer’s.
Actually i really like hosmer. He’s one of my favorite non-giants.
Slow start – but he’s been hitting. He, Cain, and Moose bringing those Royals back from the dead. Nobody on the Giants, save Posey, has bothered to try to bring Giants back from dead.
Mine too…especially when he decided to slide head first rather than run through into 1st base during game 7 of the 2014 WS.
I’m sure 2Hole will be along shortly to tell you it’s all Buster Posey’s fault. If he’d catch 160 games a year–like a real all-star–this never would have happened.
Or maybe it’s Cueto’s fault. So what if he put up a plus-quality start last night? It was against a sub-.500 team, so it doesn’t mean as much.
OK, seriously. It was the Padres. Cubs see them as MiLB caliber, so it’s OK to play dirty baseball against them. Slackers.
Yeah, I’m sure it will be one of those.
Yes indeed. I agree. Go back to 2015 when Arrieta clocked Aoki in the head with a fastball and didn’t even apologize or ask how he was doing after the game.
I agree he had a lane. A clever old-school toe first slide might have been safe. But that was no Scott Cousins. Rizzo tried to end his momentum at the plate.
Not a fan of Hedges going all pro soccer with the playing to the umps.
Fiery morning to you Dr.
It’s fiery alright. That mean old sun is barkin’ this week.
Remember that the cubs took out 2/3 of the giants’ outfield with beanballs and they helped themselves to a nice advantage in the wild card game by breaking kang’s leg with a dirty slide.
Absolutely. And Bochy was more to blame for not firing back on their dirty scumbag asses. The whole league is to blame for not retaliating in these instances.
This, I agree with!
Me, too.
Whoa, that’s awesome that my Koyaanisqatsi video link from 2 months ago is down below. I love that. Just so appropriate for the Giants. Hopi for life out of balance. Baseball team way out of balance.
http://dharma-documentaries.net/screenshots/Koyaanisqatsi/Koyaanisqatsi-04.jpg
I think you will like this…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWLBtMz5OuY
ahhh yeah – Brit Floyd show is tonight in HOT Fresno. Bet they are playing some Animals – what a kick ass album for those that “get it” 😉
You radiate shards of broken glass!
This song is more relevant now than it was 40 years ago, when it was first written. If you haven’t watched this yet, please do so, and you will understand why.
Trump eres un pendejo !!
Waters is coming to Pittsburgh Sept. 19. Road trip? You in?
I’m just not fun enough for wild road trips. Too much tying this old man down. But in my ute, I’d just go places. Wind up strange places. Meet strange people.
Aw dude I understand. I was never that guy. Not even in my youth. Just wanted u to come to the Waters show here lol.
shred some aeolians and phrygians while eating aeoli with some phoenicians, dude.
Substitute “yinzers” for Phoenicians and that post is A+++
cool – just learned some new vocab!
https://www.koyaanisqatsi.org/images/gallery_koy/34.jpg
I detected more Cubs hate than Dodger hate last year in the playoffs. That still seems to hold true.
You better believe it.
Not from me, although I’ll be happier when the Cubs reach the post-Madden times. Their fans are gaining humility as the season goes on, which helps.
The Dodgers, on the other hand, are my lifetime archenemy!
“Their fans are gaining humility as the season goes on….”
After 3 championships and this current season, so are Giants fans.
The dodgers are like the only team the giants have played well against this year. It’s hard to get too worked up about them.
Radio host and former Baseball players that work on tv and the radio that do no Homework drive me crazy. Yesterday on Greg Pappa show with Rich Aurellia talked about trading Belt and Pence, and said would get a lot for them, just now on Murph and Mac show caller talked about trading Crawford and Blach . Crawford and Pence full no trade clause’s, Belt partial no trade clause with a 13,2 Million dollar raise coming, Blach major league minimum .
8 months til pitchers and catchers report!
Post of the Season!
Let Bleacher Bob “write your future headlines”
Hahaha oh my that is good.
That’s cruel and unusual, Bob.
I don’t think it’s anywhere near a POTD. It’s cute and a little funny, but I’m looking to see how this team handles the rest of the year. There’s obviously a funk somewhere, but I don’t know where it is. There are a bunch of guys that just aren’t that bad. In fact, there are several really good ones. They’re playing worse than bad and hitting even worse than that.
These things just don’t happen for no reason. Therefore, we need to find out why.
I’m convinced there is a solution and it’s not blowing up the entire line-up. I agree it is time to add some players. I don’t agree it should be done with dumpster-dives.
There is STILL a really solid core. I think it’s time for some creative thinking and some DEEP analysis. This can be done with smarts, NOT luck.
It’s time to plan for next year. Time to be serious about righting wrongs and maybe some psychoanalysis. I’m done with Bruce’s bitterness about being a 2nd rate player and his trying to compensate for that. We need someone that can fix this. Sorry, it isn’t Bruce.
And I hope that is what the FO and coaching staff are working on.
How about health as the problem; coming back too soon?
Posey’s concussion.
Pence’s hamstring.
Crawford’s groin.
Cueto’s blisters.
And numerous ones where players were down for a week but did not get the DL treatment.
Is their “toughness” and desire to “get back in there” actually prolonging the slump?
Well, its pretty funny. Reading it a 2nd time, though, it’s really the players’ reporting date that is under question.
To the serious part of your post: yes, the rest of this season is like an extended spring training camp. I like sending Law out after a horrible performance to try Crick. Tell everyone on Sacramento to expect their turn in the bigs this year!
p.s. I can’t see firing Bochy, in mid season – he has meant too much to the Giants.
No argument here.
Can’t fire Bochy. But I’m sure Mrs Bochy wants to see him done with baseball. One more routine medical procedure and maybe he’ll let Wotus be interim for a few months.
Who’s not that bad?
Agree completely on POTD. I know they sucked for decades to accumulate talent, but the Astros HAVE accumulated talent. I want to poach their FO and especially scouting. Is the Maddon tree now the one to harvest for coaching talent?
Some POTD material to work with here. Let’s poach those Stros. They not only do wonders with draft, but they scout the heck out of caribbean. Giants not so much.
In all honesty, I think CO has a very good coaching staff. There are some quality guys there.
Whoa, that’s all, have a good day fam.
https://twitter.com/SFGiants/status/877204653695537152
Boom! Boo-yeah!
Meh. Robbing Peter to pay Paul.
And what say you about Mary?
There’s something about Mary.
There’s something about your hair product, what is it?
The secret’s in the protein. Healthy hair, fella.
I got down on my knees
And i began to pray
Oops, should have read your wonderful insight before being late to the party.
Robbing Peter to Mar(r)y Paul
Hmm, maybe not. We’ve been waiting a long time for this kid (sandwich pick in 2011), and it looks he finally found his niche. If nothing else it will be good to see another of our guys vs. someone else’s rejects.
It was only a matter of time. The youth movement continues.
Something had to give.
It’s a message and a good one at that.
Good a time as any to see what he has in MLB. Been killing AAA.
Speaking of players deserving a look in MLB, any noise about Hwang getting a chance or is it Aaron Hill and bust?
Yea, good point. But can they find him reg at bats
You’re right about regular at bats. Bochy doesn’t give regular at bats to rookies.
Good MyGuyNews™ for you and lisa k … the only two Believers in Crick that put their scouting reputations on the line .
BOOM! Hope he sticks. We have had so many bullpen guys that looked promising in the minors flame out in MLB
He’s been OK. 124 TBF in 29 innings isn’t killing it. He’s projected to move up with about a 4.00 ERA and 4+ FIP. Let’s hope they can limit his exposure until he gets his legs under himself.
Were the Giants projected to lose 100 games?
About 81 to 86 as I recall. But you, as usual, are mixing apples and oranges.
True.
About time – ‘Gomes’ needs to rework his mechanics so that the stretch and windup are not so different and thus become one, that and not taking his eyes off the glove the entire time.
Did you mean Gomes or Gomer? I get Gomer, I don’t get Gomes. I coached against Gomes.
I did the Gomes as a derivative of Gomer because somebody here likes him very much.
But yeah…
Let me at whomever that is.
Triple -A is not low enough.
Whose “guy” was Law? Come on, fess up, we all make mistakes.
I’m just looking at that again. It says Crick is “recalled”. I can’t remember his ever reaching the big leagues, although I suppose that September rosters are hard to remember. He has certainly earned a chance, and it is hard to disagree with the message that Law’s demotion sends to Osich and Gearrin and Kontos and Co.
Throw f’ing strikes.
If you’re on the 40-man, you’re optioned to the minors from spring training. So when you get called up, you’re recalled even if you’ve never been called. See?
Just saw the Rizzo slide at home vs. Padres. Clearly had a lane, clearly a dirty play. Mad Dog (High Heat) agrees, and Eric Byrnes (the village idiot of MLB Network) defending Rizzo. Byrnes hauls out the “you have to understand” BS often used by former players. We know the rule, doofus. And now they’re yelling at each other. Great. (mute).
I guess you need two opinions to make things lively but I just saw it several times and it is clearly exactly what the new rule addresses. Rizzo was wrong and it would be refreshing to hear him admit it. Kids need some better examples these days; screwing up and being big enough to admit it goes a long way.
GG, you forgot to list a root canal as one of the things you’d rather do than watch tonight’s game.
LOL
In case the GG gets bored, the National Enquirer is searching for headline writers.
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2010/07/national-enquirer-hits-new-low-with-cover-headline/60339/
Surf Maui’s trivia questions of the day: Who is the only baserunner in MLB history ever caught stealing 4 times in a day. Actually, that is quite an accomplishment since it requires reaching base at least 4 times in one game. Hint: It is a Giant, and no its not Reuben Rivera, whom I doubt ever reached base 4 times in a game as a Giant.
Bonus Question: Who are the only batters to hit consecutive home runs twice in one inning? (Not Giants)
Barry Bonds? Darren Lewis? Fred Lewis?
Jerry Lewis
Lewis and Clark.
Huey Lewis and the News?
Louie Louie
Huey, Dewey, and Lewie?
Roger Metzger. Just cuz.
Metzger’s cat.
Schrödinger’s cat
Matt Duffy’s Cat?
Half-alive or half-dead?
Fernando Tatis.
Fernando Tatis hit two grand slams in an inning. The question involves two teammates who homered consecutively TWICE in one inning.
aah, got it. Dang, that’s gotta be a unique event.
one time ever– Seattle 2002
My bad.
Asking for a hint: are the guys with two taters in an inning (twice) famous people, like Aaron and Mantle, or is it an impossible question.
For whatever reason, I’m going to take a stab at it with Bob Horner and Hammerin’ Hank.
Not famous people. Hint it happened in Seattle in 2002.
See my answer above. Your hint was google-able. It was Mike Cameron and Bret Boone.
Disqus is playing keep away with my replies. This hint is google-able so I found Mike Cameron and Bret Boone. I hope this reply gets through.
Edwin Encarnacion
Here’s a hint on Question 1: It happened in 1986
Going with Dale Murphy and Bob Horner.
Fun to look at that roster: Robby Thompson, Chili Davis, Hacman, Jose Uribe, Will Clark, Chris Brown. Boy I liked Robby, so I can’t pick him! Uribe?
Robby Thompson is the answer. Sorry, I liked him too.
The Joe Panik of his time! I won’t hold 4 CS against him.
Could be worse. A player named Mike Kelly for the Cleveland Indians once had 4 errors on one batted ball
it was an extra inning game
Very good questions today, thanks, I like it.
Ready for the answer on question 2?
Jay Buhner and Dave Valle, I don’t know
Answer to Question 2: Mike Cameron and Brett Boone, Seattle Mariners, 2002
Boonie was doing some serious roids about then. 50 HRs I believe
37 was his max, but definitely not an abstainer.
I gotta go back to work. Maybe give the other guys a guess or two more.
The answer is Mike Cameron and Bret Boone. I googled it. Sorry I cheated.
Threads like this are what this blog needed. Thanks.
http://media.rd.com/rd/images/rdc/slideshows/13-Pun-Cartoons/01-silent-danger-af.jpg
Here is a quote from Baggs article today about the bullpen and the demotion of Law
“Really, it’s command,” Bochy said. “You’ve got to throw strokes. When you throw a lot of pitches to a hitter, now they’re getting a reference. You’ve got to get strike one and use your pitches to get the at-bat over with.”
I don’t think it’s a typo– Giants relievers have been throwing “strokes” to the fans and their teammates all season.
He’s a stroke-thrower needs to become part of the TWG lexicon.
Stroke causer
Melancon qualifies as a “stroke thrower”
Osich must, as well.
They are all clots in the bullpen– name one having a good season.
I can’t. But Myhill will argue Strick9 til he’s blue in the face.
Strickland is the only player who is hitting this year–unfortunately it was against Harper.
Brandon Crawford has been sensational with the glove, and duly rewarded with a Golden one. His peak glove performance is likely in the past, but what about his bat? How good can he be with the bat. His peak performance came in 2015 with a 114 wRC+. Last year it was 107 and the in 2014 it was 101. He’s riding 84 right now. Can he at least be a 100, league average batsman while continuing to be above average with the leather over the duration of his contract? I think so, but it’s very possible that by end of contract the defensive range is just average.
And then there’s Joe, and frankly, we just don’t know, do we?
That’s when he moves to 3rd. I’ve seen that as a future move for over 3 years.
He currently a half way decent hitter for a shortstop, but seems to be declining. If he declines to the extent that they have to move him to 3B, he’d be a very weak hitting third baseman.
So far, this year, everyone but Buster is declining.
Bapah is all about defense , offense is not his thing .
PJ is all about blanket statements, nuance isn’t his thing.
I agree, TO. 3B is more of a hitting position, whereas you can hang onto a SS job with just a glove. And we know Crawford’s glove is a slick one.
It is interesting to have BC hitting in front of Buster Posey – that’s got to be the sweet spot in the lineup, and maybe it will help.
That’s when I noticed him getting a little thicker in the thigh.
what about Arroyo ? I think Craw stays at SS until somebody really good comes along in a few years, hopefully.
Arroyo already looks like he’s shaping up (pun intended) as a 3B.
thought he looked real good at 2B too
I’m less worried about Panik than Craw’s bat moving forward.
So now our bullpen includes Crick, Bryan Morris, and Sam Dyson as well as Mark (Blown Save) Melancon. And speaking of hitting– (Giants have scored 1 or less in 20 of 73 games this year and not surprisingly are 0-20 in those games). How the mighty have fallen quickly. This has been a true team effort of sucking.
Greatness (Steph) channels Greatness (Dell)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1411879629035576/permalink/1901480523408815/
Interesting piece of trivia: Clayton Kershaw record when the Dodgers score 4 or more runs? 93-0
His numbers are still very good, but he hasn’t been his super self this season. He gave up 4 more HRs last night.
When you’ve got Cody Bellinger banging in the lineup, you tend to get a little too relaxed figuring the offense will score 8-12 runs.
No fear we have Austin Slater.
You must hate your grand kids, sounds like you have a problem with kids .
Peter, have someone says this sentence to you in real life.
Every young player the Giants bring up, he says they suck, his veteran love makes Bochy blush, I like young players, they need a chance to succeed .
Good point. You didn’t have to be rude and offensive to make it.
I will edit it for you .
One of the funny things is that when you begin a sentence with “you make a good point”, better conversations happen.
Doesn’t count the postseason. Remember game 1 of the 2014 nlds?
I didn’t know that many aircraft aren’t certified to fly at the temperatures achieved in Phoenix this week.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-20/it-s-too-hot-for-some-planes-to-fly-in-phoenix
There is no global warming?
Nope. Just global cooking.
Giants 2017– global sucking
MLB Network High Heat, “man bites dog” segment, read my tweet! See below.
@MadDogUnleashed Fellow Giants fan here. Think you’re wrong re Samardzjia. He’s pitched much better than his record. Move Moore, keep Shark.
Of course Russo, who’s been banging on Shark for weeks, disagreed. “Too much money for too long a contract.”
19.8 Million for 3 more years for Samardzija after this year, Moore 2 more years at 19 Million total, 9 Million in 2018, 10 Million in 2020 .
Good point. Moore should go.
Can’t wait till Upton get better
barf
Those of you who wanted to see younger players are about to get your wish. Unfortunately there is not much there to see.
That’s your opinion, Slater is doing great, Arroyo won a few games for the Giants .
His opinion is all about defending his narrative that Bochy’s a genius who shouldn’t be criticized for playing washed-up veterans. If he bad-mouths all the younger players, it’s to defend Bochy.
Whose opinion?
He has the same mind set, it is not only in defense of Bochy .
How dare you question Bochy’s genius? Out of his last 144 games, he’s won 56 of them, and after managing 3,618 games, he’s a full 12 games over .500.
Oh gawd, that’s getting perilously close to break even by the day.
He’ll get there by the end of August. Maybe by the end of July. Come to think of it, do they still have 12 games to go in June?
But on the other hand, if you ask him how the giants should rebuild, he won’t consider trading any established players, he’ll insist that the giants have good prospects.
That’s not true, he doesn’t like prospects period .
Try asking him how the giants are going to rebuild and see how he answers
True, but there is zero point to seeing older players who are very close to the finish line.
And there is less than zero point to seeing older players who are ALREADY past the finish line. Wouldn’t even work in a pennant race. Why play em in what should be a rebuilding time? There’s no way this team could possibly be more mis-managed right now. Unless you want a Top 5 draft pick.
The idea that this season is the result of mis-management is just scapegoating. Decline was inevitable. There’s no move they could’ve made in the off-season that would’ve made a significant difference.
I’ve had this conversation with Efrain today. I agree with you to an extent, but I absolutely do not agree that this team’s 4th highest payroll in the league talent should play to the worst record in the league. Absolutely no way, no how. There has to be some accountability for the manager not getting the most out of his players. And game after game, we see so much lack of effort, hustle, DESIRE to win. That falls on the manager. It’s his job to get them to bust ass and perform at their highest level. Bochy did far more with similar talent levels in championship years. This team could care less about winning right now. And a slew of questionable in-game moves, lineup moves, bullpen mismanagement, all by Bochy since last year, real head scratchers, have contributed to this collapse as well.
Management has nothing to do with players under performing. I think Bochy needs to go, but he’s not preventing Crawford, Belt and Pence from hitting as they have in the past.
I don’t know, man. A clubhouse environment can affect the way a team performs. I just sense no urgency. No win at all costs mentality. Just…we’ve won 3, we earned our bones, it’s all good. These players are certainly aging and decline is inevitable. But they’re not 40 years old either. Players of the not too distant past could perform at high levels well into their 30s. These guys just seem like zombies.
Clubhouse chemistry issues. Factions probably. They need more Uribe dominos games. Still stuck on the Latin issues and like Ryans take on Astros scouting the Caribbean. Matt Cain was a fine team leader when Affeldt was keeping things loose.
Joe West ‘dishes’.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2017/06/20/legendary-umpire-joe-west-dishes-players-managers-and-replay-5-000-game/412332001/
Speaking of utes, Giants used some draft pool shell games to over-slot their third round pick. Maybe they got something here. A guy who will step into the 2022 rotation…
https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/877211829965131778
I bet they underpay Heliot Ramos figuring he definitely wants to go pro and not attend Florida International U.
Wouldn’t YOU want to go to FIU?
maybe the ladies are lights out, and kind as well.
Probably but I would guess ballplayers–even in the minors do OK. See e.g. Bull Durham
I’ve been there a couple times. It’s in Miami. Nice enough campus, I guess.
Five years for a college pitcher to make it?
Not even close unless it was a mistake pick.
HS pick. Hey, Kyle Crick drafted in 2011 is ready for his debut!
Maybe there IS something to the Duffy Curse, after all.
And he couldn’t escape its clutches either?
Everyone loses with curses.
I have been thinking about that since seeing your hypothesis a couple of weeks ago. And I can’t see any reason to disagree with it.
It might just be me, but I’d call up the Rays and offer them Moore for Duffy and Fox.
On Duffy maybe .
Don’t forget the malediction of The Great Susac.
Need a bone, Ry?
I didn’t say there’s a duffy curse. I said it looks to me like trading duffy took a huge cut out of the team psychologically.
Never said you did. I take full responsibility for suggesting a curse exists.
I thought his reply was odd as well. As Carly Simon would sing – “I bet you think this blog is about you…”
There seems to be a lot of sensitivity here lately.
Dont worry guys the Giants are leading the League– in sucking
How , they are one of the oldest teams in MLB .
Old people can’t suck? Cuz of the dentures?
They can, but he prefers old players to young players, and he is a baseball expert .
Actually, unlike many here, I realize that my baseball knowledge is quite limited compared to real baseball people, though likely superior to many if not most here. And besides my logical thinking skills are indeed superior.
I do prefer known quantiies in general to speculating on unknown prospects. Notwithstanding, at this point there is not much to lose by seeing what we have. The difference is I dont see much to be optimistic about– but lets see.
There is no reason, beyond desperate hope, to believe that the Giants will contend next season.
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ca6edbbd3c6d674762db996b3ab3d94a.jpg
The last 12 months would predict you are right. On the other hand, one nice thing about MLB is that franchises can turn things around quickly. A good trade here, a prospect hitting there, a free-agent signing, guys who’ve had bad seasons then having good ones.
Look at Arizona. They were terrible last year and they’re very good this year. Greinke had a miserable year and this year he’s back to his stud ace self. Boston went from last place in 2012 to a parade in 2013. Etc. Etc.
By the same token, a team that had the best record in baseball at the All-Star break one year can be the worst team in baseball less than a year later.
I guess my point is that while there’s certainly ample room for pessimism, it’s way too soon to tell about 2018. NBA teams take years to build into something. It can happen a lot quicker in MLB. I really like that about MLB, actually.
Arizona had more young and ascending players. I’m not sure the Giants have anything of those.
The 2013 Red Sox got it done with mid-range signings like Mike Napoli and so forth. Kind of their own version of a Band of Misfits. I’m just saying that there are a lot of interacting factors that can make a team win. Or lose.
Giants have lots of bad contracts, the Red Sox traded away bad contracts to the Dodgers so, they were able to sign lots of Free Agents in 2013 .
Will be interesting to see if they can/will dump some of those. I agree that’s a key to a turnaround.
Yes. They knew they not only had Goldie, but Jake Lamb was coming into his own as a premier run producer. Also they figured Pollock would come back and that those young players like Drury and Owings were capable of stepping up and being lineup fixtures. They made a snappy trade for Walker, they knew Robbie Ray had stud potential, that Zack could bounce back, they put Bradley in the pen, old guy Rodney saving games…
Having a bad day Bunky?
MadBum is one guy that won’t stand for all the losing. Having him back will start to turn things around.
He appears in 32 games a season, so he can only do so much, and they lost all four games he started this season.
He brings a sense of pride about wearing orange & black every time he steps up on the mound, something that the team is sorely lacking
MadBum, with all due respect, did not have a win yet this year, did he?
Not his fault though. Opening day, he hit 2 home runs and left the game with the lead, and his last game before injury, he pitched a complete game giving up only 2 runs.
Point is, he always plays hard, whether he has his best stuff or not. Things like that tend to carry over to the team.
Your desperation has always had enough capacity to fill all those SJ Reservoirs.
Nice to see the academy produced big graduation numbers for SJ this time around.
I disagree. Lefty sums it up very well below. Vegas would probably agree with you and I wouldn’t bet on the Giants being contenders next year, but much crazier things have happened. There’s so much that can happen between now and the 2018 season. If Slater can fill the LF void then the OF fortunes can change in a hurry. The Giants have more pieces than most, if not all, of the rapidly descending franchises before them. The keys for me are Samardzija and Moore. They have to be good, they can’t be mediocre and they certainly can’t be bad. If Moore pitches next year anywhere near this year then I agree they have no real shot to contend. But if those two are good they’ll have a good rotation. Again, the odds are they won’t be contenders but I’m not burying 2018 before the 2017 All Star Break.
MLB rules Rizzo violated the rule 7.13 that protects catchers.
Joe Torre is considering the penalty and his decision is due … [have fun]
MLB got it right!
Since Rizzo was called out in the game there is no change there but it looks like Torre is given discretion on if any penalty is assessed. Let’s not hold our breath, but living with the results of this type of collision aimed at our catcher I would hope several days of suspension is given.
I’m happy for Kyle Crick. It’s been a long, long road for him.
I’m disappointed about Law, but I think demoting him now makes sense. He clearly needs to get right. He’s still young and he’s obviously talented. Hopefully this is an investment in a future that includes both Law and Crick being effective in the Giants’ bullpen.
Yes, no matter what happens, Crick gets a payoff of putting on the Giants uniform after all those years working to get there. My feet would not be touching the ground!
It feels a little mean to think it, but the other guys in the bullpen must now be thinking “if I suck, I might go down”. I can’t see anything wrong with that.
Well, only Law and Osich have options. The other guys would have to get DFA’d. Obviously they’re not going to DFA anyone with Strickland suspended.
The whole damn bullpen is a tire fire. It’s amazing. Not a single one of them is doing well. So they might as well give Law a breather so he can work on things.
Crick is a nice add not only because he finally made the show but also because he can go multiple innings as a former starter, and the River Cats have used him that way this year. Being shorthanded during Strick’s time-out, having someone who can eat innings is a good idea this week. Crick hasn’t pitched since Friday, I believe.
You are wise.
Not sure there’d be much risk of anyone claiming Gearrin if he were to turn in the equivalent of last night’s Law. And maybe we wouldn’t want him back anyway.
Surely Law will be back, and will be useful again.
There is nothing in the bullpen worth keeping. My only disagreement is that the bullpen is not a tire fire. Its a putonium fite.
Fukushima?
Totally agree, I’m excited to see what Crick can do. And, I like the message it sends to Law. You haven’t “made” it yet. He still needs to work on his game and get his head right. This season is going nowhere but towards a top 2-3 pick so it makes sense to ensure Law gets right for the future. Also, the season is an abject disaster there’s no real pressure on Crick.
what does that .500 semi-contentious 2018 Giants team look like? Or what would drive that bus?
Posey with a .900+ OPS
Belt breaking out looking like hot versions of himself for prolong periods of time .280/.380/.500, 25 HRs
Joe Panik and Crawford both hitting above league average with GG def.
Arroyo figuring it out and batting close to .300 with 15 HRs
Slater being a revelation by Giants standards for a LF, .280 with 12 HRs
Span and Pence being competent.
Some prospect lands in their lap and is a sensation.
Bumgarner goes all Cy Young.
Shark is strong. Cueto is strong. Moore is strong. Blach does his job.
The pen holds together.
This might even be a real contender.
That’s a lot of ifs .
And no buts about it.
Can even throw JD Martinez or Lorenzo Cain and a bullpen arm onto that team, IF that is not too much to ask.
Some of that is implausible, eg at most one of Span and Pence might be competent. At the risk of annoying everyone, I can’t really imagine Belt contributing that much. But a lot of the rest could happen.
Moore’s situation is mysterious to me.
Brisbee’s take on MM:
“Matt Moore is cheap enough for teams to covet, even if he’s forgotten how to pitch, but I can’t see the Giants wanting a B-prospect or two more than they want a low-cost starting pitcher who could turn things around for next year.”
https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2017/6/19/15832602/sf-giants-trade-value-rumors-possibilities
At what point does the waiting for Belt’s “breakout” season end?
Uh,,, when he breaks out?
http://mlb.mlb.com/documents/0/8/6/237608086/06.20.17_at_ATL_Game_Notes_6gbd1lxd.pdf
This Date in Giants History: June 20, 2001
Barry Bonds broke the Major League mark established by Reggie Jackson
(1969) and Mark McGwire (1998) for home runs hit before the All-Star break,
hitting his 38th homer of the season in the Giants’ 8-6 win at San Diego.
Congrats to Peter. Marty read his tweet over the radio Sunday about the 2010 team outscoring the opponents on the road but a LARGE margin.
And then there is MAVO. It proves I can enjoy his ‘book’ but still disagree with him wanting to trade Bumgarner.
2012 team actually, it out scored every NL team on the road by 40 runs .
Ooops it was the 2014 team….
Who is hiding out from the heat enough to watch Giants/Braves replay?
i’m just catching up, and saw the rizzo play. i’m so incensed i can’t stand it. hedges gave rizzo the entire baseline, and still he veered left, and leveled hedges. this is not conjecture, this is fact. it’s also a fact that it’s been illegal to do what rizzo did for the last 5 years.
as i’m reading all the posts, i see that our leader, moderator, and savior of this blog feels that rizzo’s slide was just “hard-nosed baseball’. it’s what was taught to us all when we were younger, which it was, and it was “standard fare for baseball eons till we arrived at this soft, politically-correct, namby-pamby era we are now witnessing….”
well, my greek friend, lots of things were ok before this namby-pamby era we’re now in. sooner or later though, common sense, and plain decency prevail. it could be the way african and asian americans are referred to. maybe it’s making a crackback block illegal, since the defender could get hurt. there are dozens of examples of things that have changed for the better, whether it’s in sports to protect a defenseless player, or in society, because it’s the right thing to do. ever since pete rose destroyed ray fosse, and in essence ended his career, in the 1970 all star game, a rule should have been enacted to protect the catcher.
MLB had better step up and suspend rizzo, or watch how ugly it will get with bean balls from padre pitchers as pay back.
.
Here, here, stevie!
I haven’t seen it, but I take you word for it. Your word, and especially your incensed word, carries a lot of weight.
Maybe one of these days, they’ll do the right thing and make it harder for unstable people to get guns and just make the high capacity material outright illegal. Perhaps do something about the NRA lobby as a way of getting there. Anyhow, I digressed.
how about we start with automatic weapons. there in one, and only one use for them, and obviously that’s for killing as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. come on people..jeez
i too digress. as long as i’m incensed i figured i’d add that..
Illegal is not really the right word to use. It was a dirty play in that he veered out of the base path, and yes when I was young I was taught to go at the catcher to jar the ball out. Hell, I played C for years and got knocked on my ass plenty of times.
Illegal is just a bit overboard. No one is getting sued.
semantics, brother E. you know the point i was trying to convey..
True, but honestly all he did was knock the catcher on his ass. Anyone who played a lot of baseball in their lives saw that play over and over. It’s not like he went in cleats first or took and elbow to his head.
Now under the new rules he’ll get a few days, but in the end it’s much ado about a hard play, that is all.
fine..let’s agree to disagree..
Won’t this be the first time someone is suspended under this rule?
Maybe. But it’s silly to have fans crying over hard plays all the time. Growing up hard slides into 2nd and collisions at home were sound hard nosed baseball. Sure people got hurt.
Go check out some videos of the Dodgers Steve Yeager, who dished it back at runners trying to score.
It’s sports, and people get paid a lot to do it. Maybe younger players should be taught to protect themselves better and not handled with kit gloves so much.
I’m buying you a beer when I get to NYC in two weeks. Let’s meet at Finnerty’s.
Couple of fake computer tough guys getting together to remember the good old days when players were Paralyzed playing sports, Jack Tatum must have been your hero .
Wrong! You’re my hero Kuiper, I mean Peter!
Is that a dill pickle sandwich?
sounds great! An Anchor Steam!
That Scott Cousins play needed to be fixed. Trying to score meant trying to touch the plate, not going at the catcher with intent to jar the ball loose. I think baseball is better for the Cousins rule.
The 2nd base plays should be taught better. Let them go in hard but none of that Matt Holliday nonsense on Scutaro. Middle infielders need to know that hard contact is not some reviewable call. Runner intent needs to be towards the bag.
Overall, things are better in sports since Tatum/Stingley.
they are, but people forget baseball an active sports, things happen, impact plays, etc.
While I understand that the runner should try to go towards the base as opposed to the opponent, collisions will happen. It’s impossible to not have them happen as things happen so fast.
Again, I know it seems rude to some that I bring up that if you have played baseball at a high level in HS, travel team, college or beyond you understand this more than the average fan that never played ball.
These plays are bang bang plays, they develop so fast in the middle of action that it’s impossible to get rid of collision. Players have to be taught to play hard and be ready. IF not, and they play with their guard down, that is when injuries rise.
Exactly. I don’t understand all the vitriol. It’s a standard baseball play. I imagine if it was say, Crawford bowling over Grandal, this blog would be celebrating it.
Times have changed , stop living in the past, players make too much money now .
Get an avatar Kuiper! eh, I mean PJ!
Thx as always Greek. Is it my imagination, or am I seeing less reliable bandwidth? Is hacking up?
Why, it is not my priority in life I am good,
I see your point but times have changed. Players make too much money now.
Jack Clark did it to Mike Scioscia, but that was a long time ago, the world is different now .
Finnerty’s Sunday?
I think so!
Rizzo is basically a mafioso in a baseball uniform.
Do you think Don Maddon ordered the hit on Hedges? It wasn’t personal. Strictly business.
Do you mean Joe or John?
As in Don Corleone.
Layers of clever.
Then Don Maddoni (or Maddonini) would have been funnier.
Dona Madonna?
Joe Maddon sleeps with the fishes.
I think comparing what Rizzo did with racial slurs is going a bit far. And Rose didn’t tell Fosse to block the plate. I much preferred it when players went all out in all star games.
The runner should never go from outside to inside to initiate contact. There are ways to go at the catcher, RIzzo’s method was just wrong.
Actually, in order to touch home plate, a runner has to go inside the third base line
The whole back of the plate was available. The collision should never have happened if Rizzo just went straight for home plate.
I don’t dispute that one bit. I just think the rule is less than perfect because of the definition of the baseline. My point is that it is impossible to touch home plate without going inside the baseline.
No, it’s possible to touch back of home plate without going inside. My point is, the runner should never initiate contact with the catcher when he’s not even sitting on top of home plate. Hedges gave him the entire lane on that play and yet Rizzo still opted for the dirty play.
I don’t care about the play. Rizzo was wrong. I’m trying to inform you of a technicality in the wording of the rule.
It’s how Posey got injured in 2011, don’t you remember?
Huh? How on earth did you get there?
It’s the same play. Runners deviating from the basepaths to knock out the catcher.
Where the hell did I say that? I said that “it is impossible to touch home plate without going inside the baseline.” Where does that have ANYTHING to do with Buster? I’m just saying it is a physical impossibility “to touch home plate without going inside the baseline.”
I don’t know where you got that notion from, but it’s definitely possible to touch home plate without going two feet inside the foul line. I don’t care what the intent is, that’s endangering a player’s career. It’s not a normal play. Rules are already established so Rizzo should get at least 10 games minimum.
Think this over. It is a physical impossibility to touch home plate without crossing the outside edge of the 3rd baseline. You seem preoccupied with the play that was being discussed. I am not even closely discussing that.
It is a unique situation the the field is designed with home plate INSIDE both baselines. Read what I have written. I’m NOT discussing the Rizzo play at all. I’m discussing the unique design of ALL baseball fields. Read what I write, not what you presume I wrote.
You wrote “it is impossible to touch home plate without going inside the baseline” and I’m telling you it’s possible. It’s that simple
NO. IT. ISN’T.
AND I CAN PROVE IT.
I’ll walk you through it if you wish.
You can slide in outside the line and touch the base with your hand.
I can literally link you to soo many plays where runners were outside the line
And then your hand has entered the field of play and thus inside the baseline.
Wow. Understand I’m discussing a technicality in the design of the field and the wording of the rule.
It’s just silly that you haven’t watched the play and are trying to interpret what I said as “inside the line and outside the line.” All I said was, outside to inside, meaning Rizzo veered out of his basepaths in an abnormal way.
Go watch the play first before trying to lecture me on the design of the field.
Don’t be a fool. I was one of the earliest to watch the replay. So what? I am not talking about the play. I watched it several times and think Rizzo should have been ejected.
Get it through your head that it is NOT what I am talking about.
Read what I wrote! Again, please.
I know what you’re talking about fool. Read what I wrote in the beginning! Please try to understand that what you wrote in response had nothing to do with what I wrote initially! Idiot!
Yes, I changed lanes. Sorry you couldn’t keep up. Sorry.
You’re wrong.
Whatever
He’s not getting an games because the play was simply a hard slide to jar the ball away. The catcher was fine.
Did you actually see the play? *both* feet were way inside the baseline.
I don’t care. Read what I wrote. This is not about the play. Period. It is about the design of baseball fields. Sweet Jesus, use some basic reading skills.
On his last step his left foot was two feet inside the line and his right foot was one foot inside, even though he had a clear path to the plate. He was obviously going for a collision.
So what? Try again and read what I wrote.
“Actually, in order to touch home plate, a runner has to go inside the third base line”
That’s ALL I said. This shouldn’t be an ESL class.
Steve K. Very good points. First, you should know that I agree with what you are saying in terms of bias and politics but it really doesn’t apply to baseball. I was being a bit rhetorical, ironic and hyperbolic with my “namby pamby” comments but my point is people have become too soft today, in my view, when it comes to perceived slights (real, physical or emotional). Competitive sports carry a risk and I define “dirty”, as I said above, as a play designed to intend to hurt someone. I hardly think that was the case with Rizzo. All the hand-wringing over it I suspect is simply jealousy of the Cubs and Rizzo.
Replace jealousy with hatred and you’re there.
I suspect if it had been the Diggers, and Utley, you might feel differently.
Would you feel the same way about it if Hedges had gotten injured as a result of the play?
Of course not.
There you go, exactly my point.
How dare you say that society has become soft? As a member of society, I find that very hurtful. I’m going to need to retreat to my safe space for a few minutes.
Acoustic Katrina helps.
Leave the donut.
A borderline call pushed that way could be attributed to jealousy but this was blatantly wrong. Rizzo’s whole body was on the infield side of home plate.
What makes it worse is:
1) Hedges cleared the lane to make the tag and did not set himself for impact; catchers are more vulnerable now.
2) Kindergarteners can tell you: No discipline = no reason to change behavior.
3) A Padres pitcher will throw at Rizzo tonight and he will have to take it as justified payback and thank Joe Torre for it.
and Rizzo looks like a hard nosed guy and dust himself off and take his base, as thousands of players have done for generations.
Catchers were taught for ages to brace for impact and how to set up. If a major league catcher leaves himself open now, blame the training.
Rizzo is a piece of sh!t. Same as it ever was.
Unbelievable. Way to set the precedent MLB.
Seems right. Word goes out to every clubhouse that the next one will be a X game suspension.
Joe Torre is a joke in his current role. He didn’t know the game all that well when he pushed buttons for the Yanks.
excpected. As I’ve said much ado about nothing. Hard play that was questionable but nothing more.
The distortion in this discussion was that it was ever legal. It was always illegal to interfere with a defensive player and affect his ability to make a subsquent play, unless THAT player was guilty of obstruction. Illegal plays were ignored in MLB for a long time.
A Giants “moment” to share.
3 years ago, I was at a pizza establishment in Campbell…and this kid was signing his Letter of Intent to Fullerton State. His family, team members, and others were there celebrating the moment. I’ve checked in (on the web) from time to time to see how he’s pitching…and then he gets drafted by the Giants.
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/06/13/giants-select-hometown-southpaw-headed-to-omaha-for-cws/
Right on – somebody said perhaps another Clayton Richard. That works!
He was on ESPN yesterday, didn’t look so good, shaky start and had trouble locating the plate.
Big kid, hope he can pull it together in the minors.
Shaky enough to get Blog DFA’d?
Another Brandon Crawford lets hope– lifetime Giants fan plays for the Giants
Brisbee, on our amigo Rob Deer:
“Cody Bellinger is a symbol of how baseball has changed, yes. He’s not a symbol of how it’s broken. This is something to watch. It’s also something to WATCH:, in internetese. While I agree that baseball needs something more than the three true outcomes, and while I fear that the Rob Deer Fan Club has moles employed at the highest levels of the game, I’m still OK with the balance. There are more strikeouts. There are more home runs. And there are still an awful lot of baseball plays in between.”
https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2017/6/20/15840078/cody-bellinger-homers-dingers-taters-salamis-bombs-bonkos-torts-cramalams-the-ol-aerial-tortoise
Hey, we’ve got Jarrett Parker and Mac Williamson and Chris Shaw. Those guys can swing hard and find three true outcomes.
Closer to one
I have a fan club? Yesss!!! Let’s see… TO, Peter, Myhill, 2hole, Efrain… Who am I leaving out?
Rhymes with teaches?
Didn’t think I needed to mention the President.
Dude, I’m a real fan of RobDeer. I messed up by not sending you a FB friend request earlier. You’re good here, bro.
Not a fan or anti-fan.
So, basically, I don’t warrant any kind of feeling from you whatsoever. You’re above all that? You’re a giant, I’m a mite?
Don’t forget MLBSF, Runnit, the Polio Troll, etc.
An awful lot? Hard to argue with that. Not hard to argue that the number is dramatically down, and the game is diminished to whatever extent that is. We also now see players intentionally degrading fundamentals to take advantage of the new game. Meanwhile, most players can’t slide.
Yesterday I read the story on The Ringer about the increase in home runs. For basically every other team in MLB. Huge increase. In homers.
Giants just do not like those kind of players, Giants play in a park that is more than fair if you pull the ball, but most the players on the roster are opposite field are center field fly ball hitters, so get hurt by the Park .
It seems like they’ve constructed the organization to take advantage of triples alley. If that is true, they have overplayed that strategy.
The Park was for the Pitchers not the hitters, in the early 2000s they had hitters that could over come the Park, not now .
The Giants were never a speed team, so the roster never took advantage of the Park offensively, the 2012 team had speed but hit way better on the road than at home .
Read this Brisbee:
https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2017/6/20/15840078/cody-bellinger-homers-dingers-taters-salamis-bombs-bonkos-torts-cramalams-the-ol-aerial-tortoise
Yeah, says some of the same stuff, but doesn’t account for the ball being juiced. Just that HRs are up and strikeouts are up and strategy play is down while we wait for home runs and strikeouts.
It doesn’t at all. Fk this ‘uppercut’ shite – there’s more to it than that 4 sure.
Were you sold on it? Other reports makes it sound like a real issue [tighter seams on the ball].
The guy who co-wrote it was a stats guy. He looked for basically every other reason and came back to the ball being bouncier. The measurable is “coefficient of restitution” or “COR”. But also slight changes in seam height and in circumference. So, a more lively ball just ever so slightly smaller and with less resistance as it travels. Said it started after the 2015 AS break. This year, on pace for 350 more homers than in any previous MLB season. Yeah, it was pretty convincing.
I just wonder why it’s not showing up with SFG.
Sadly maybe it is otherwise their stats would be from the Dead Ball Era.
Perfect. Now the MLB cannot even make a regulation baseball. Do they need help from NASA or something? The Pitchers Union should be up in arms … oh yeah, it is the Players Union and hitters out number pitchers; never mind.
Not if the ball is smaller and the seams are higher. Pitchers should love the extra grip and air resistance of the raised threads.
I was in the army with a kid that used to sew MLB baseballs. His mom was the real talent and bread winner.
You should have seen how the guy sutured on cadavers. Looked like a damned baseball.
The seams are lower now so it adds to the Offense problem.
Was he from the DR or Puerto Rico? There might be a market for sutures like a baseball … Baby Boomers going in for knee replacements that you want to show off when you are in shorts? Give you a new place to collect a signature; next to the seam on your knee.
So many surgeries are reduced [gladly] to four puncture holes … rotator cuff and even gall bladder for me.
I think he was from the Dominican, but I’m not sure. It was wherever Spalding was making baseballs then. It could have been PR, I just don’t remember. He was really fast sewing too.
I like the idea about sports related sutures. On live people the sutures do come out so the effect is somewhat diminished.
ticking away, the moments that make up a dull day…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwYX52BP2Sk
It’s Time for Booker T
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50xx1_CbJTI
You got it – I like me some Booker T
Saw Neil Young with Booker T and the MG’s years ago at Shoreline. Good stuff, Chuck.
When he was prepping for that tour, he announced that day a show at the Concord Pavillion, GF heard it on the radio and we were there with $10 seats and a pizza from Zachary’s in Rockridge. Saw the Shoreline show too. Can’t see Neil too often.
Unfortunately, the Bridge Concert is no more
Wow. Great show!
Booker T. lived down the hall in the same dorm I was in for awhile in college
One of my favorite songs. Most of our posse liked Green Onions more, but I was always on Time is Tight.
In honor of this week’s heat wave:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhVUZif6wYk
Gs’ 2017 season.
“No one told them when to run, they missed the starting gun”.
They’re also frittering and wasting the hours in an offhand way.
Because Gardy and Rags MUST treat these Pro pitchers with kid gloves and massage their ego’s because they are now at the highest level of their sport, I thought back to an interview I read from then San Jose State Pitching coach Tom Kunis. Kunis had talented pitchers at Stanford but not so much at SJState and yet his pitchers competed each pitch – every game because of some of his own inner tenacity. Maybe Rags and Gardy cannot “go after” these PRO pitchers as much because of the etiquette and decorum of the game.
This Q and A was asked of Tom Kunis – current Pitching Coach San Jose State.
What is your philosophy on pitching?
Well that’s a pretty broad question. (Former Major League Baseball pitcher and current San Francisco Giants broadcaster) Mike Krukow asked me that, back in, I don’t know, it might have been 1997. I was down at Cal Poly (as an assistant coach), and he lives in that area. We were visiting one evening, when he popped that question on me. It prompted me to gather some insight, because I really didn’t have a great answer for him, and I was kind of embarrassed, to be honest with you. I came up with an adequate answer at the time, but then I sat down and thought to myself, you know what, what is my philosophy on pitching, because it’s so broad. There are many elements to it.
Right after that, I sat down in my office, and I created a philosophical model in paper form, that I refer to regularly and use at all of my camps and speaking engagements. The model is very broad, but it primarily focuses on the mental aspect of the game, and competing well. It provides guidelines to work to get better every day. Work on something, even just something small, but come to work to learn something new, or get better at, every day. That’s what it’s about. To say that there’s one phrase or sentence that would capture what someone’s pitching philosophy is, you can’t do it, but I do think that I have a good model, which mainly states a need to compete. I think there are a lot of mental components to it. Along with that, there are some physical attributes (to strive for), things with delivery, which are important.
If you forced me to come up with something, I’d say “attack,” “sell,” and “repeatability.” Be able to do it over and over. Be able to repeat your delivery. Be able to attack hitters. That means compete, and challenge. Those are all catch words that you hear that anybody who knows how to compete, use, because they are true. But it’s just way too broad. I did put what my model is on one sheet of paper, front and back. It’s a living, breathing document that I change every year. Something changes in it, whether I come up with a better Kunisism, so to speak, that expresses how I want somebody to conduct himself, or if I’ve learned something new about how can I make this complex skill of throwing a baseball 60 feet, six inches away, more effective, so we can be more consistent. It’s not easy. There are a lot of factors involved here. It’s a good question, because it makes you think. What is a philosophy? It’s not that easy to express.
What is your philosophy on recruiting the pitching position?
It pretty much works like this. If you’re somewhere around 93 (miles per hour) and above, you might be able to get away, in the college game, with that one pitch (fastball), as long as you can throw it down and its got some movement. If you’re somewhere between 88 and 92, you need at least one other pitch. If you’re somewhere between the low 80’s and that 87 mark, you need three pitches that you can throw for a strike at any time. I call that interchangeability. So, you have to look for that. You have to look for people who are tough. If their stuff gets better when adversity hits, you’ve got something. There are other little things that I look for, but I look for guys who meet the criteria of the model. The model is pretty complex, but there are individuals out there, that you can discernibly tell, who competes well, and who doesn’t. Who gets hitters out. I’m not necessarily looking for velocity. I’m looking for who gets hitters to miss the baseball, or mis-hit it. Scouts differ a little from recruiters. Recruiters have to take more aspects of “the person” into account, as it relates to academics. They’ve got to find out who they are getting, what’s the young man about, is he academically inclined. There are a host of factors. He must be academically inclined, and he must be able to get hitters out. I guess that’s the best way to put it. There usually is a correlation between academic success and that discipline that goes with it, and the longevity in a player’s future success in baseball.
We’ve observed some practices, and you certainly bring a lot of enthusiasm out there. Please talk a little bit about that. Is this a conscious approach?
Yes. I think (Stanford head) Coach (Mark) Marquess was instrumental in that, because he does it very well. I’ve been fortunate in my career, to have coached under some very good coaches. It comes to a point, especially as you get older, not necessarily even as a coach, but as a person, where you’ve gained enough knowledge. This game is so complex, that you’re never going to learn all of it, but when you gain enough knowledge, and you’ve done it long enough, you start to think, well, I’ve got to enjoy this. I have a nephew who has been in a coma for, it’s coming up on five years. About five years ago, I thought to myself, the kid’s 24 years old, he’s in a coma, and he’s not coming out. This happened to a 24-year-old, because of strep throat. I thought to myself, I’m going to start coaching with a little more enthusiasm, a little more fun to my game, because this time here, it’s fleeting. That was a defining moment.
The thing that’s critical is that your job as a coach is to motivate. It’s to get people to focus. It’s like being in a classroom. You’re in a classroom, you’re listening to a lecture, and you check in and you check out. It’s just that simple. You constantly have to harness yourself back into the conversation or lecture, because that’s human nature, right? We’re here, we kind of leave mentally for a little bit, and then we check back in. It’s the same thing on the practice field, and the more you check in, the more information you’re really retaining, and the more you make it important to you. The more enthusiasm that you can have in your routine or your day, the more you’re going to encourage people around you, to be at a heightened sense of awareness, so that they can take more information in, and be a better player. That’s why you do it. I do it because it’s enjoyable for me to do it that way. We could all just trudge through our day, but why? That’s not enjoyable. So make it enjoyable, and do your job better by helping to motivate people, just simply motivating people.
You made it to the College World Series in four straight years as a member of Coach Marquess’ staff at Stanford from 2000-03. Is there a moment or two from those trips that stand out in your memory?
There are so many memories. I’ll tell you what I always remember, especially now that I’m back at San Jose State, is in 2000, when Stanford was practicing right after San Jose State. I was going through Rosenblatt Stadium to come down the steps into the first base dugout, and I turned the corner, into the dugout, and guess who’s standing there? Coach Piraro. Coach Piraro’s standing right there, and I said, “Hey, how about this? A couple of guys from San Jose, playing in Omaha. How about that?” That was a lot of fun, to have Stanford and San Jose State in the same College World Series, especially with a good friend there like Coach Piraro. That one was big, and to run right into him after I came down the steps into the dugout, was very special.
I would also have to say the 2001 College World Series. We took a good but not great club, I felt, to Omaha that year. We came back on Tulane (in Stanford’s opening game there on June 8, 2001). (Current Baltimore Oriole) Jeremy Guthrie was pitching, and we were down 8-0 (after three innings). We came back (to win 13-11) and ended up going to the national championship game, against Miami (that year, a 12-1 loss). I thought that after the 2000 season (also finishing as national runners-up), losing (Joe) Borchard, (John) Gall, (Eric) Bruntlett, (Craig) Thompson, (Jason) Young, (Justin) Wayne, right on down the line, I thought, man, no chance we could repeat with this group, and then they did. It just goes to show that if you get some momentum, very much like Fresno State last year, and you have players that believe and work their tail off, you have a shot. That’s a fact.
I’ve coached in three national championship games, where you’re playing for all the marbles, and didn’t come away with a title. Unfortunately, that’s something else that stands out.
If you could have dinner with any three people in history, who would they be?
Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Reagan and JFK, for sure. Those two guys really intrigue me. They changed the landscape of the world in their tenure. And Nixon, I’d just love to know what went on.
We asked this of Coach Piraro as well. As a long-time coach at this level, please tell us what you think about the current state of college baseball.
I’m sure Coach Piraro said this, but college baseball has become the minor leagues. He probably said that, because it’s true. The caliber of play and the athleticism is unmatched, and it’s obvious from the television contracts that are going out. The college game has grown so much over the last 15 years. There is also so much parity at this level these days. Anyone can win this thing. If you’re solid enough, and can find a little momentum and confidence, anyone can win it.
How do you feel your current pitching staff performed during the fall season?
I thought we were alright. I thought we made strides in some areas. We’re not a power arm-type staff. We’re not going to throw fastballs at you routinely. We’re going to have to be a group that can pitch, hold runners, and be able to throw two or three pitches, throw at least two pitches interchangeably for a strike. That’s hugely important with this group. We have depth. We have some people that can do that.
Over the course of the fall, I thought we got better as a staff at being able to use non-fastball pitches in fastball counts. I thought our staff did a good job of throwing non-fastball pitches in fastball counts, so our hitters could not just sit on one pitch, which I feel will be instrumental in our success over the course of the season. I thought the fastball command from our top seven or eight guys was very good, and their command of another pitch was very good. When you have that, you’re going to have a chance to be successful. We did some good things. We also gave up way too many free bases, but I thought we competed well as a staff, and I think we can overcome that. I don’t think that we’re afraid to compete, and that gives you a chance. That gives you a fighting chance. I like it. I think we have good depth and we have good people.
Are you sure that was the full interview?
Clutch probably won’t think so but that was a pretty funny barb by you.
He stuck the landing.
I think he was just following GG’s suggestion #2 above.
It clearly was an OLD interview – but you ARE capable of writing that famous chapter when you didn’t play at a high level but you were channeling Angel Pagan and your SS was going out for the same pop up. Your nose ended up embedded in the SS’s knee. As a true Warrior you remained conscious but you were proud of how your broken nose now looked. You even stayed in the game until they watched you wandering around dizzy. The cold sweat and wanting to puke feeling made you feel like a man and mom drove you to the emergency. Of course now you had your battle scar to wear around school or to soccer practice…
Never played soccer. American sports only.
Soccer has been huge for those who ended up ML middle infielders and they played the non-American sport of soccer growing up. Footwork skills very obvious.
That was the War and Peace version Lieutenant (sorry Malloy)
Clutch you mentioned something about Mike Nue a few days ago, possibly changing schools where he’s coaching, etc. I know him a bit (well, it’s been a few years but he’s still in my phone), we both used to coach travel/tournament teams and back when my 23 year old was 14 his name was given to me by another coach and I was able to contact him and get some games arranged for our teams. I think we went 0-4 against them but all pretty close games and he was very cool, paid for the umpires, had his kids get the field ready and our kids were happy to have games at DVC. Glad you brought him up.
Just when UOP had recovered from the Ed Sprague era and letting Coach Donny Barbara go because Sprague did not like him, they landed Mike Neu – but now there is rumblings that he will go for the CAL job since Dave Esquer left for Stanford.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1f6864ba5efe41c84af86e36eb5bffe889ed6f92fb62270fc86e00430b16c991.jpg
Given that he is injured and indeed may never play again what do we think it would take to reacquire Matt Duffy (and his cat) to break the Duffy Curse?
The photo attached is for Orlando Cabrera and Angel Pagan
Good story about parental intervention
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/cc053ed7dd90a95b2125316a962b254a570f61383bf090d9cd8074980fdbfdfa.jpg http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-ed-baseball-parents-should-shut-up-jack-chambless-20170523-story.html
Must read for pushy parents.
This may be the strongest Line Up of the year tonight.
The MLB starters plus … NewGuys™ Tomlinson at Third; Slater back in.
Yay
Another Barry on the Warriors?
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/06/20/who-are-the-warriors-working-out-ahead-of-the-nba-draft/
Giants sign their 20/20, 2020 ROY stud, Heliot Ramos for full slot value.
3rd round Corry was over slot by a lot, I suppose this could make it hard to sign Luis Gonzalez’ kid away from college commitment, but what do I know? They probably get that done too, boom. Giants farm system is officially on a roll towards the future.
What town is the stadium in for tonight’s game?
Not sure, but probably Smyrna or Vinings, GA. The stadium is near the border of both cities. Marietta and Kennesaw largest cities close by.
So, it’s north of Atlanta? I thought it was south.
Basically northwest of Atlanta proper. If you’re on a map, it’s at the junction of I-75 and I-285 (the loop around greater Atlanta region).
Thanks
New Post: http://fe0.84e.myftpupload.com/2017-season/game-73-preview-matt-moore-auditions-for-key-spot-in-rivercats-rotation/
I came up with the Five Questions.