by
Greek Giant
I remember this game. I was listening to it on the radio. I was a recent fine arts grad who had just moved into a new house and our TV was not set up yet. I found an ESPN radio broadcast and I was riveted from the first pitch. I remember the feeling that the Giants were going to win the game and finally win their first World Series in San Francisco. Well, I was right about the first part…
Game 5 of the 2002 NLCS was exciting and a second dose of revenge (after 1989) against the Cardinals for 1987. It seems fate smiles upon the Cards and Giants to meet in the postseason…
Kenny Lofton was one of those key additions to the team that provided so much more than just defense and a top of the lineup hitter.
That Giants team was not just all Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent. Key players like David Bell and Benito Santiago gave the Giants a very athletic team. Dusty Baker juggled pitchers all year long effectively and pushed all the right buttons for most of the postseason.
The walk-off celebration is beautiful. Remember that Kenny Lofton was barking at the Cardinals dugout before his game-winner…
Lofton’s stares and gesticulations towards LaRussa as he ran down the first base line were some of the most indelible marks left from that game… Tony The Cat Man was one of those opponent managers that annoyed me to no end
It was my favorite part of the moment. It was LaRussa who had his pitchers throw at Lofton during the series. LaRussa who claimed his 89 team was as good as the 27 Yankees on a TV interview then denied it later. LaRussa who got into the HOF on the backs of PED users.
Giants signed Jimmy Rollins to a Minor league deal, so Bochy has another vet, looks like Kelby and Adrianza have no chance to play in 2017 .
Hey, I was at this game! Bought standing-room tix on the Giants’ website for my family of four. We got there early and sat in the cable car in CF to watch the game. It was far, but it was a straight-line shot to home plate, and you could actually see surprisingly well. It was also COLD (mid-October). It took a full hour even to get away from the AT & T parking lot. There was a lot of celebration going on.
I thought it was interesting that the starting battery for that game, Matt Morris and Mike Matheny, both ended up with the Giants a couple years later, and the guy who served up Lofton’s walk-off, Steve Kline, is a well-regarded pitching coach in the Giants’ organization. I’ve also thought several times about how AT & T must seem like a House of Horrors for Matheny, despite his Giants’ tenure–three different times (2002, 2012, 2014) his Cardinals teams watched the Giants celebrate winning a pennant at their expense.
That’s the most significant baseball game I’ve ever seen in person. It’s a great memory.
YESSS! I love J. Roll.
This is a fantastic minor league signing!
You da man, Bobby Evans. Now if you could only buck payroll and get JD Martinez then this thing could be made into a monster!
All we need is Utley, Howard, and Blanton (all free agents, if I’m not mistaken), and we can have a 2008 Phillies reunion!
The problem with JD Martinez most of his power is to Right Center, not Ideal for AT&T Park, the Giants need a Brian Dozier type hitter, dead pull hitter .
Todd Frazier?
Kaboom!
He pulls the ball more then JD Martinez , but not even as close to as much as Dozier, I remember he hit a lot of HRs to right when he was on the Reds.
JD Martinez’ use of right center is probably why he is a .300 hitter, and not a .260ish hitter like the dead pull Dozier.
#battingaveragecounts
His average will go way down after getting AI&T d constantly, it gets in hitters head .
No one gets excited over non-impact signings like Scout!
We all knew you would be thrilled, Ryan.
Hey, whose pipes giving the bear hug? Is that David Bell? He must have worked out.
Wait…have the Giants announced who was coaching 3rd base next year? Is that what the Grandpa Rollins signing was for?
Is this a Matthewsian zinger or are you unaware of the great Phil Nevin?
I’d prefer Nevin as the utility IF and JOld as the New Flann.
I really do not understand this signing. More “depth” at this position?
…with a non-roster invite to spring training. It’s a curious signing. He’s from the Bay. Could be for depth, as a fifth infielder, if he makes the team. Bring him in to the Giants organization for eventual coaching?
Alex reports: Rollins “will try to beat out Adrianza/Tomlinson.” I’m less than thrilled about that.
When Adrianza, Tomlinson, and Calixte are the potential backup infielders, it doesn’t hurt to bring in a vet with Rollins’ credentials.
2007 NL MVP
4 Gold Gloves
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rolliji01.shtml
But Ryan, that was then. This is now (or last year anyway):
from CSN Philly:
“Rollins, now 38, signed a minor-league deal last offseason with the White Sox and beat out his competition. He batted second and played shortstop in Chicago’s opening-day lineup and hit a game-winning home run the next day.
From there, Rollins struggled, and he was released by the White Sox on June 15 after hitting .221/.295/.329 in 166 plate appearances. He made two errors in 299 defensive chances.”
No risk. If he’s washed up, he won’t make the club out of Spring Training. If he wants to play at Sacramento, then good for him. If he tries to latch on elsewhere, cool. If it’s time to retire, then it’s time to retire.
Welcome aboard the Scottsdale squad, J. Roll.
What I don’t want to have happen is what happened with the White Sox. He makes the team out of spring training, displaces either Adrianza or Tomlinson in the process, hangs on until mid-June and then is DFA’d.
Or makes the team, partners with Tomlinson as MIF off the bench and hits .260 with some clutch hits.
Sounds like history to me, but okay, I’ll wait and see after reading A-L’s most sensible post.
Huge risk, because of The Temptation Of Bochy
Is this a Scoutian zinger, or are you serious? Dude is washed up like faded jeans…
Scout has his reasons, most are far Left, most have nothing to do with production on the field .
Alameda county kid
Stargell
DYrain
Between Adrianza, Tomlinson and Rollins, I think we know who Bochy prefers. I can already hear the “Rolly” references as excuses are being made about why he’s not playing better.
JRoll
#ourguy
Rollins is a backwards step, IMHO. Only thing that makes sense is a coach in waiting or mentor, and that isn’t Jimmy Rollins. Big Dubs fan, though.
Lets see what he has in March before we pass judgement. Switch hitter. Can steal a base. Ocassional pop. And in a late game situation I like calling JRoll for an AB over Ehire. Plus side is if Craw needs a day, JRoll can still pick it. KT isn’t a true SS. Nunez doesn’t need the distraction from 3B and EA is your backup. While EA has the skill set and some really soft hands, he has been unreliable with the glove in the bigs. We know how much Bochy loves that. Its just an invite. JRoll’s a coin flip at best to make the roster.
Strong post of the morning candidate.
J Roll being in Scottsdale is supplying Bochy with vet-thanphetamin.
Makes me more than nervous
What pills are currently in your medicine cabinet?
I’m not exactly sure, but they all have more letters than Williamvanlandingham….
You get my vote for: Most Sensible Post of the Day.
Encinal HS on the Alameda Island
JRoll played at Willie Stargell field as did Pops
Then after Jimmy left, Dontrelle Willis played there.
D Train’s mom Joyce was a welder on the Golden Gate Bridge, and doubled as his bullpen catcher during the off season in HS.
Spring Training won’t hurt. The baby Giants apparently did not listen to Jeff Kent when he was a camp visitor so maybe Jimmy can toss a few pearls of wisdom.
Are you and Ryan the same person, you both like this signing for the same reason .
Good morning Pete!
Do you like Peet’s Coffee by chance?
Not a Coffee drinker .
Oooooh pooooor boooooooy !
Taste bad, as simple as that, sipped my dad’s coffee as a kid .
I’m with you, PJ. Same reason I hate beer
I hope you DON’T hate this one https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a8b730bab048e834fe3f718fb2b34e93aa84fe38ad724f0aa649540132b61054.jpg
You makin’ it rain with the ladies in da Club?
Compared to Veuve Clicquot, Cristal is a disappointment.
De gustibus….I must confess that I prefer always a glass of plain Malvasia Istriana.
Ssssssssss, wifey can hear you…..
Should have been a very bad coffee indeed. American coffee of course, and that explains a lot.
Snob.
Realist. I had too much of your “coffee” after having played ball against amateur American teams at Aviano Air Base, Italy. Me Snob? Yes, sine nobilitate, mine was a family of merchant-adventurers. They deserved their gold trading hard and risking their skin. No exploitation of poor paesants.
Please, Venice is sinking.
Please, I can’t see the link between your “coffee” and Venice sinking, unless that sinking is metaphorical.
Glory lost to time.
Empires aren’t forever, even the American one.
No argument from me.
Maybe, but my gold is stll afloat.
Some people really don’t like coffee, which is okay. I drink coffee, but I prefer tea.
Finally, an adult with good taste.
It’s the wannabe Brit in me.
It’s sort of funny, Britain seemed a third world country to me on my visits there on business, but oh my the tea is good. Remnant of Empire maybe.
This is a ridicule post, and for that reason, I’ll ask GG to get rid of it.
??
It’s a comment ridiculing Peter. I don’t always agree with Peter, but I’m tired of this crap.
Milady, I’m afraid you are quite wrong. I had no will to ridicule anyone. Over.
Edit: I’m surprised to realize that you are able to read in my brain at a distance of 6,000 miles.
Greek Giant has other things to do besides be a blog monitor. MANY people have ridiculed Alvise before….
It is a bi-product of our society.
Sad.
Well my dear Lon, no way a yankee can ridicule a Contarini. If they think so, let them think. Caelos non penetrat oratio, quam canis orat.
Thanks for the lecture.
Wasn’t my intention but you ‘personalized’ it somehow …
The lack of civility gets tiresome, ClutchUp. Just because people have ridiculed Alvise doesn’t make it okay for him to ridicule someone else.
I agree ….
I agree
Peter can take it. There’s nothing wrong with ridicule.
You should know.
LMAO
Koolaid?
Yes
Me too, I’m fond of Strawberry-Banana.
Nesles Quik Strawberry
My reply was to the Oracle, letting him know what his nickname was …Mr. Johnson …
He posted that nick name 2 hours ago if you read all the posts
I thought his first name was Richard?!?!
‘Spotted Richard’
Rollins at 60% is more talented than Adrianza will ever be an Tomlinson of course is still young and very capable. I think Rollins will be a good fit on an other wise young bench.
…and then the Baseball Gods said “no” to Barry. You can break the records, but “no ring for you”.
Wow, your a Barry Bonds hater !
***you’re***
Greek should change the blog name to : Days Of You’re
How about Together we are the Grammar Police !
That works, to
2 .
Together were the grammar police.
spelling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua2k52n_Bvw
What a Soul Singer.
Pete, my dear friend, for me it’s only a matter regarding the aesthetics of the english language. I love elegance and beauty, even in a language. Greetings.
Glamour is better
WOW! Going to that card !!
Pete, my dear friend, a person who does not agree with you, is not necessarily a hater.
This is not the only time he has posted a mean post about Barry Bonds .
If he doesn’t like Barry doesn’t imply that he hates him.
OK, I guess I used the wrong word, hate a bit to strong of a word .
You good ole Pete.
I’m more of a loather than a hater. If only he’d broken his leg or something career ending before his PED affairs.
How awful of him it was to level the playing field by using what everyone else was using, and what baseball was intentionally ignoring.
Yes, ego can be be the master of our souls. I see Bonds has almost the ultimate sports tragedy, in a Greek sense. Being the best player in baseball, which Bonds arguably was prePeds, ought to be enough for anyone.
He deserved to be, but had been passed by the juicers. Baseball wasn’t doing anything about it. I don’t blame him a bit. You must be the guy going 65 in the fast lane.
That’s the issue isn’t it, courage and conviction and the willingness to live by those attributes. That’s what I think sports and the intersection of that sort of heroism ought to be. To draw a parallel between a speed limit and the expectations of Bonds is just a tad disproportionate and silly. Think of where he would be in the ethos of baseball had he just said no. He might be remembered as the greatest player of the modern era, a human who lived up to his humanity. He didn’t, he’s not. He sold that greatness for nothing but an asterisk as it turns out. That’s, IMO, a tragedy.
That’s dreamland. McGwire and Sosa were the biggest stars in baseball. And no one would’ve ever known for sure that Bonds didn’t use, just as many users never tested positive or were involved in a BALCO-like investigation, so their use can’t be confirmed. Also, regardless of your moralizing, Bonds IS remembered by many as the greatest player of the modern era. It’s just a fact that steroids and other PEDs have been a significant part of that era.
The HOF is dreamland. Kids watching baseball is dreamland. Bonds is loathed by many more as the golem of the diamond.
Where Are you now William Van Landingham – San Francisco Giants 1994–1997 – WVL played his final game July 27, 1997 after being affiliated with the Angels, Expos, and Brewers in the minor leagues, he moved to Athens, Georgia, to live with his family. I used to see him walking around San Mateo with one item, his backpack. He was a fan of O’Neill’s Irish Pub.
* The most interesting thing (now ) about WVL is his wife Laurie McKenna Van Landingham was involved in a famous incident at the Carolands mansion in Hillsborough – just north-west of the city of San Mateo.
She was Laurie McKenna back then. On Feb. 2, 1985, McKenna, 17, and her friend 16-year-old Jeanine Grinsell set out for a typical teenager’s day driving around the Peninsula. It was a sunny Saturday morning. Grinsell, fresh off getting her driver’s license, wanted to tour one of the old mansions of Hillsborough. McKenna, a Burlingame High School senior, was game. The two girls chose Carolands, an abandoned 100-room chateau built around 1915 by the heiress to the Pullman family’s railroad sleeping car fortune. It was a popular spot for locals.
Read More: http://www.mercurynews.com/2014/09/16/carolands-mansion-murder-survivor-laurie-mckenna-speaks-20-years-later/
Regarding Jimmy Rollins I will reserve judgement after all your predictions come true. Yes, it is true that at 38 yrs old almost 99% of professional players are done. I will hold out reservations because:
(1) he did have most of last year to “heal up”. (2) Often was a pest to SF when he was a Phillie and Dodger.
More importantly out of HS he was 5-6, weighed 155 pounds and a friend of mine, Scout Bob Poole had to fudge to his bosses on the Phillies about his real height and weight.
http://www.thegoodphight.com/2013/4/26/4268198/scouting-jimmy-rollins-as-a-high-school-player-in-1996
http://www.readingeagle.com/sports/article/scouting-rollins
I know all of the down side, all of the nego stats and the presumed “blocking of younger players …
He was released last year and nobody signed him, that says it all .
Perhaps he started on a very thorouHGH workout regimen during the off-season…
I see what you did there!
It does not say it all unless your name is Nostradamus. What if you WOKE up one ay and everything around you as you know it now – was gone completely and you wanted to start over being a friend to a soulmate or a great dad to another PJ family?
Would you give up and not try?
From everything I’ve heard, he’s a great guy.
38 years old.
The following is a very condensed list of other great guys: Francouer, Beckham, Nathan….
As this team preps for 2017, the sign outside the clubhouse seems to read: There’s no room at the Inn
Maybe you are assuming ONE employee made this discision but most likely the 45 area scouts and 65 cross checkers were on a conference call….
Let him BE/GET released AFTER spring training – after he has shared his knowledge.
I would rather have JR in camp than Brian Bocock, Brett Pill or Matt Downs …
POTD
I want a re-count. I think something was hacked :-))
Al Gore is visiting …
I like Rollins. Let’s see how he rolls.
No shits given to the fact you know him, not one bit of that determines if he can help the team OR if you are a better evaluator or fortune teller than anyone here.
Let his performance speak for itself, don’t need you unnecessary two bits.
I never knew him like “to know” in the Bible and I don’t ‘know’ him like I know my friends or enemies but he’s known to me via Bob Poole as somebody who was always told NO you cannot do such and such a thing …
FakebookNews® … Bochy said, “Rolly is slotted to fill our open Fifth Bench Spot that has never been used since 2014. So there is no risk involved here.”
Another reminder that birds will never be at the top of the food chain:
As happens very often, a bird flew right into our back window. THUNK. Luckily, Beauty was here to take the bird through her concussion protocol, which included her petting its little head, picking it up, wrapping it in a blanket, and watching it answer “four?” to her holding up two fingers. It flew away.
Just a mama being a mama
From the movie, They Used To Be Dinosaurs.
Beauty has had plenty of practice with her Matthew. I bet the bird shall be pampered and released in about four years …
was it a mourning dove?
Just in case this isn’t on your current radar…Warriors in Cleveland on Christmas Day.
For the lakeside Snow Carnival?
3rd East Coast road game in 4 days for GS, while the Cavs stay home all week. Could be a problem …
Perfectly timed for a casual lunch.
Completely meaningless though, correct? It’s not even a statement game … both sides know that only the last 7 games of the season count, and they will be ready when they get here.
Just looking forward to it and how Cleveland tries to defend this group.
Lorry drives into Christmas market in Berlin, with several people injured, media reports say. 10 minutes ago.
The Russian Ambassador to Turkey was assassinated at an art gallery this morning by a Turkish body guard.
sounds like World War I…
It does, except beyond being a FOP (friend of Putin), I’m not sure what distinguishes him. Apparently he died on film at a podium. Daily Beast has the video.
Oh dear.
““We have baseball ops that I will put with anybody as far as the
information we get. We have all this information, and [we] use it to a
point where it makes sense. You don’t get away from your strength as a
pitcher. It’s great if a hitter doesn’t hit a curveball, but if your guy
doesn’t throw a curveball, you’ve got to make adjustments.
“That’s part of preparing for a game,
to have a game plan and go into it in a smart way. The old adage is,
‘You have be strong to compete, smart to win.’ To me, we are. The best
pitching coach in baseball [Dave Righetti] has these guys prepared, and [bullpen coach] Mark Gardner helps out. It’s all about having those arms prepared when they go out there.”
A quote from Bochy during the Winter Meetings included in an interesting article about the increased popularity and use of the curveball.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/managers-view-is-increased-curveball-usage-a-thing/
I’d add that I continue to think Ron Wotus is huge for SF. It will be interesting to see what the two new base coaches do in 2017.
I think you’re right. It’ll be an interesting season through May to see how/what pieces fit together on both the team and staff. There have really been a lot of key changes in the Giants, in both personnel and style of play, IMO.
The rest of the quote was “and just because a guy has homered 3 times in 7 ABs against a particular pitcher, it doesn’t mean the hitter necessarily has the advantage. It might just be a lucky streak. I prefer to go with my gut. Mumble.”
Sooner or later you’ll drop that anvil your dragging named Bochy on your toe, or in the river.
In 2016, it was 3 for 3 with 3 HRs. SMH
I love the Mumble part.
More booing I am sure from the naysayers when Spring Training comes and Murph hands JRoll #22 – due to the fact that Jimmy’s number 11 is retired by the Giants due to Carl Hubbell but since 11 doubled is 22 and since Peavy is gone ….
http://tinyurl.com/Roll-out-the-J
BBC reports:
“One person has died and several have been injured as a lorry ploughed into a Christmas market in central Berlin, police say. Police now say they suspect it was a deliberate attack. Video footage from the scene shows stalls knocked over and people lying injured on the ground. The market is at Breitscheidplatz, close to the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church on the Kurfuerstendamm. A reporter for the Berliner Morgenpost described a “gruesome scene”.
Nine dead in Berlin, tens of wounded. It was a terrorist attack.
The only thing wrong with the Rollins signing is that Bochy is the manager. With Bochy, there is less of a chance that Rollins will be judged only by his current abilities
What if last year he healed up and has some game left in him. I mean as a COP you are not OLD at 38 years of age?
If he has game left, which is doubtful, there wouldn’t be a problem. The problem would be if he doesn’t, but vet-loving Bochy wants to believe he does.
There are move Vet loving MLB managers now and in the past than the other version.
How does a balloon pop when you blow it, a question asked by a 4 year old, leads into a discussion of how the world may come to an end.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-a-balloons-pop-tells-us-about-the-end-of-the-world/
The Oracle lives for these eschatological discussions.
It looks like Paul in PV can go ahead and cancel his subscription to the word of the day – we have that covered right here.
Yesterday I bought and downloaded Sir Roger Penrose’s “Fashion, Faith and Fantasy in the New Physics of the Universe”. The preface hints to a surprising newness about the final destiny of the Universe.
Ever look into Penrose tiling. You can find podcasts from time to time of him talking about the intersection of physics and mathematics. Interesting stuff.
Thank you for the info.
Some Blues;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCp4HK3FZDg
Rats, you keep posting these while I”m at the office and can’t really play them. Sounds like someone I should sample at home, this evening.
I’m sort of consumed by Beth Harts voice. Just wow. It’s Christmas, treat yourself. She’s sort of an odd mix of Bonney Raitt with Billie Holliday.
Name is now on a post-it to carry home. I’m afraid your post will disappear off the bottom of the screen under a further onslaught of the Rollins/vet comments!
But the Penrose tiling stuff has been cool – offseason brings out random stuff from people!
LOL. It’s that or TO’s Bochy fetish some times. If you do Pandora try a Beth Hart station. Penrose has this great audio on the math of black holes and his disagreement with Hawking about them. It’s on the National Academy of Science site somewhere.
Interesting piece on Tim Raines quest for the HOF. Playing in Montreal was a thankless job, or so Andre Dawson might put it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/17/sports/baseball/tim-rainess-hall-of-fame-candidacy-in-last-of-the-10th.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fbaseball&action=click&contentCollection=baseball®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront
Montreal was the Siberia of baseball once Bronfman sold the team after the Expos kept disappointing… Raines is a Hall of Famer in my book and one of the best leadoff hitters of all time. I was not convinced till I read the article you mentioned CC. It is actually a great piece. Thanks for posting it.
I met Tim “Rock” Raines as a kid in a baseball camp when I was in high school. He was a great guy and he brought us a bunch of gear to keep as gifts after I begged him for a cap. He autographed his game-used Expos cap for me. I still have it in my office.
What I remember most about Montreal was the almost uniform feeling of ex-players of how hard that field was, and what really negative effect had on players knees. Dawson was almost a cripple by the time he got to Chicago’s grass.
BTW, Tyler Kepner is just a firstclass baseball writer. He’d be a great interview.
And a Giants fan!
Everyone who really counts is, right? I had to explain in a conversation what an exCubs fan was the other day, being one. I used the team, and the quality and smarts of the fanbase here as my motivations for becoming a Giants fan. That’s what frustrates me about ritual Bochy bashing, it undercuts my motivational idiom. LOL.
Felipe had HIS team in first place and Matty the Marine for SF was leading the NL in HR’s at the break …
Pirates to sign Daniel Hudson to 2 year, 11 mil deal.
Ray Searage will probably have him slamming the door shut in the ninth.
Boom goes the hot stove.
A take in the Giants minor league contract to Rollins. Sounds reasonable to me. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2016/12/19/jimmy-rollins-receives-minor-league-contract-from-giants/95618788/
“While the Giants’ infield is all but set, San Francisco has learned the importance of depth at all of those spots with injuries to third baseman Eduardo Nunez down the stretch and also second baseman Joe Panik the past two seasons.”
Yeah, makes sense.
Without Bochy hysteria, what we talk about.
Remember Ramiro Pena, Ruben Tejada, and Grant Green? They all had at least 38 PAs last year, because frankly, it’s a grind.
TO’s sin, if one wants to call it that, is that he’s boring and generally his comments, beyond his almost genetic cynicism, are grotesquely uninformative. I asked myself a few weeks ago, what about baseball, have I ever learned about the game of baseball from him. I learn more from PJ or Efrain to tell the truth. That’s probably as much my fault as TO’s, but he’s a clever guy and, if he chose, has a lot to say.
That has a feel good story to it. I agree. He would be a great TV interview on the Wendy Williams show or the Ellen Show.
We got Pena back, too!
And a Vet loving manager.
Bochy reality.
Makes cents too 🙂
funny I’ve always felt Rollins would end up on the Giants being a local guy. I now he is from the East Bay but he is a National League guy and I assume he would want to go out with a winning chance as opposed to catching on with the A’s.
Me too. I think he passed through the conversation here briefly when he left the Phillies for many of those same reasons.
A look at the Tampa Bay Rays farm system. You could say that there’s some Giants flair here as Conor Gillaspie’s brother is ranked #4…
4) Casey Gillaspie, 1B, Grade B/B+: Age
23, first round pick in 2014 from Wichita State; hit .284/.388/.479
between Double-A and Triple-A, 18 homers, 80 walks, 117 strikeouts in
472 at-bats; wRC+150; not as athletic as Bauer, two years older and
strikes out more often but has more present power along with a good eye
and high walk rate; limited to first base but switch-hitting power and
patience are valuable assets; should be a productive slugger. ETA late
2017.
Also former Giants farm hands receive honorable mentions (Lucius Fox C+, Michael Santos C)
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2016/12/19/14007150/tampa-bay-rays-top-20-prospects-for-2017
And fear not, the Giants are coming up…
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2016/12/19/14012354/san-francisco-giants-preliminary-prospect-list
From discussions by scouting types that dig down into rookie ball, apparently this is a name to watch in the Giants system:
Sandro Fabian, OF
Keep that in mind for My Guy tourneys.
The NBA – their Commissioner is going to have to ‘fix’ their own problems. Right now the NBA has an 82 game “pre-season” type schedule prior to post season play which begins April 17. The playoffs would then conclude with Game 7 of the NBA Finals on June 17.
So if the Commish does not want Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose to miss XXX amount of games and does not want the Popovich’s of the world to sit three starters at a time – then fix the problem.
Sacramento Bee editorial on DeMarcus Cousins and the Kings’ constant enabling of him. IMO, they’re right on the money.
The Bee has not only the right but arguably the responsibility to hold the Kings accountable. The city of Sacramento and the whole area is on the hook, big time, for the team and the arena. When Barnes and Cousins are playing Thug 1 and Thug 2 (to paraphrase Dr. Suess) in a NY nightclub–facing possibly criminal charges and lawsuits–it’s absolutely appropriate for columnists and beat writers to call them out.
I don’t care how talented Cousins is or that he’s an All-Star and an Olympian. He’s going to end up in jail and/or dead if he doesn’t straighten out and I hope no one else goes down with him. And the city of Sacramento absolutely has the right to expect better from the team, and its newspaper has the right to call it like they see it. Good for them.
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article121872708.html
The Universe has gone crazy with bad actors in every line of work. Athletes are in the spot light but the crazyness is rampant in everyday life in every city of the planet.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3960968/Cheating-banker-accused-murdering-wife-knocking-dousing-white-spirit-setting-alight-discovered-affair.html
http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article118995863.html
Please understand that I believe Cousins has serious issues…
I still sense a growing rift between athletes and much (not all) of the media that covers them. There is such a “gotcha” mentality, sometimes selfishly so in my opinion, so that these reporters can make a name for themselves and get mentioned by major outlets.
Think of how upset you were (I was too) when Baggs kept breaking “code”.
Yep, Cousins is nuts. But I watched the video, and there was, again, my opinion, never any true threat…he was upset that his brother was brought into it…and likely is sensitive about all local reporters.
For me the issue is much bigger than the Bee reporter. That’s just Boogie’s latest thing this week. Two weeks ago he and Matt Barnes were beating people up in a club in NYC. Etc. Etc.
The real issue is that the Kings, year after year, keep coddling this bad actor. How many coaches has he run out of town? 4? 5? They’re doing him a disservice, the rest of the team a disservice, the fans/community a disservice, and yes, society a disservice by continuing to treat this huge, angry, immature guy like a special snowflake. Someone is going to pay. I just hope he doesn’t kill someone.
I agree…I don’t think the Kings know what to do.
It’s abundantly clear that the kid is tremendously talented – potentially a superstar. But that looks less likely with each passing day. He is damaging his value each day, as well. So, the Kings are painted into a corner.
They know he’s a problem. But they have to back him, for business reasons, and for current team reasons. I don’t blame Joeger for what he said….as for Vlade and Vivek? They created this mess.
The story a month ago was that the front office would trade him in a second if they could…but Vivek won’t have it. Just built the arena and isn’t going to sell off his star attraction.
But after the latest incidents, I’ve read that every NBA front office says “Hell no” when it comes to Cousins.
The Kings were the 49ers before the 49ers were. Remember when the Niners were enabling Aldon Smith and Ray McDonald? Same deal.
I think reporters, like every other profession, have bad apples and great pros. Two of my colleagues in the UCD writing program are professional journalists. One is an award-winning feature writer for the Bee. The other is a best-selling freelancer and book author. They both part-time it for us teaching undergraduate journalism classes, and we’re lucky to have them.
The Bee’s investigative reporting was a key factor in bringing down our sleazy chancellor at UCD this year, and not a moment too soon. They did a public service, IMHO. They also shone light on the corrupt former chair of the State Board of Equalization–again, much deserved. And think of Watergate and the Spotlight team for the Globe with the Catholic church in Boston–etc.
Freedom of the press is in the First Amendment and a huge part of our democracy. I agree that there are bad apples, just like there are bad professors, advertising executives, cops, etc. But I don’t want our free press to go away.
I remember not being upset at all.
Pertaining to the NY situation I think it is a much ado about nothing.
Yes the two players involved are knuckleheads and put themselves in a bad situation, but I highly doubt they were the instigators and most likely will be cleared of assault charges.
Avenue is NYC is full of idiots and out of town players get no respect, specially from a team like the Kings. Most likely some group trying to mess with them.
It’s America, they deserve to be innocent until proven guilty and last I checked it was not a crime to be just plain dumb and misguided.
Perhaps you should not jump on every story you read.
There was some awkward consternation today when Zsa Zsa Gabor was greeted by her sisters Magda Gabor and Eva at our front entrance. Some of the NBA guys that are already here confused the news thinking it was Zaza Pachulia of the Warriors but word on the street is that Pachulia returned to the court after a hand injury.
BTW, prior to arriving the other two sisters had a catty discussion as to who had the better career but the only thing others agree on was that the three were married dozens of times. One guy married Z and then Madga. The three gals met up with many of their long lost paramours.
RIP X Three Gabors.
Don’t forget Eddie Albert. Green Acres was more than a funeral home in her life.
We are gathered around watching right now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw32f4JVO1Q
If they’re watching Green Acres in Heaven, the place is obviously not all it’s cracked up to be.
New recruit hazing?
I didn’t like Eddie Albert until I found out he was a war hero. That put him in perspective. After that I liked him a lot.
Good Night Allen. You turn 63 tomorrow.
Allen V. Hirsch died unexpectedly in Lafayette, CA. He was 62. He died with a long lens in hand, happily engaged in photographing birds for the annual Christmas Bird Count for the Golden Gate Audubon Society, of which he became a recent board member. goldengateaudubon.org
July 24, 1953 ~ December 20, 2015
The Dash by Linda Ellis
I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end
He noted that first came her date of her birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years
For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.
So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/47c5027f1951106ac97e92cd71de5a6b488d39d3bbce57b8ca1f87cde2283465.jpg
Giants signed Jimmy Rollins today. That doesn’t seem like a big deal but when you have a Vet loving manager like Bochy. Look out.
Now Bobby Evans needs to find the outfield version of Rollins. Infield depth is covered. Outfield not so much.
I’d wonder first what that tells you about potential health issues among the infield starters rather than go into full Bochy-vet mode.
Outfield has some issues too. Even the young guy, Williamson, has been banged up in the early going of his pro career.
Rather than worrying about Rollins in AAA, injury is what puts the Giants down most often. Like you say, it’s an issue that’ll come up and may cripple the Giants chances.
World baseball classic protection
Good point.
Moises Alou looks to be in good shape
*Roberto Kelly
Any new movies Pac?
I didn’t realize fangraphs ran a Giants prospect report some time ago. Well here it is. It’s interesting.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/prospect-reports-san-francisco-giants/
It is, but, LOL, they, the prospects, aren’t, as I recall.
Good catch! I missed that. That Gomez at high A appears only as a footnote.
Jimmy Rollins may channel the Hairston brothers or The Riot.
#oneneverknows
In the category of not baseball but interesting and more than a little ironic. Russian hackers used a Harvard email account for their phishing trip.
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/12/19/russian-hackers-harvard-email/
Christian McCaffrey is sitting out Stanford’s bowl game so that he can prepare for the NFL draft. Translation: so getting hurt in a lesser bowl game doesn’t hurt his NFL future. A star LSU player is doing the same.
The argument is that coaches do this all the time–if they’ve accepted a new position, never mind if their old team is playing a bowl game. And coaches aren’t even risking injury in those bowl games. And college football players don’t get paid and their schools profit mightily from them, etc., etc. Why should a star player like McCaffrey risk his future?
I get the argument, but where do you draw the line? What if Juju Smith-Schuster or Adoree’ Jackson decided not to play in the Rose Bowl? What if a star player from Alabama or Clemson decided the heck with the playoffs? Why should McCaffrey or the LSU kid get to protect themselves because their team isn’t in a marquee bowl while star players on the top teams don’t?
My own take: It kind of stinks to abandon your team for their bowl game. It just does.
If Juju’s middle name doesn’t start with the letter “B”, his parents missed a tremendous opportunity.
LOL. He was just “Smith” until a year or two ago. He decided to hyphenate in honor of his stepfather (Mr. Schuster). It IS quite a mouthful.
Juju rocks. Tough as nails. Last year he fractured a finger and had surgery and PLAYED IN THE GAME five days later. He had a hip issue late this season and kept limping out of games and you thought he was done for the day and then a couple snaps later he was back. It was good that ‘SC didn’t play in the Pac 12 championship mainly because Juju really needed the time off. He should be a good pro.
Not just Smith but John Smith. As vanilla as it gets.
I don’t blame them one little bit.
I think they see College ball as more of a performance venue for a WWE tunup for the NFL.
I guess my more serious answer is this:
The NCAA and coaches make obscene money off the backs of kids, especially stars. Though I think you are right about the teammates angle, I also think these players teammates would applaud the decision to protect themselves and their future earnings.
No, I get it. I just don’t think people would be that sanguine if a star player from one of the four playoff teams and/or one of the New Years Six teams made the same decision. And that doesn’t seem fair, either.
Me first. Today’s world.
The games are supposed to be for fun. That they’ve turned into multi-million dollar paydays for the schools, the coaches, and everyone but the players kind of takes the fun out of it. Given that climate, I can’t see how we can expect players to endanger their future careers — the thing they’ll actually get paid for.
…but it’s the sun bowl. JuJu and Adoree and probably anybody else woudlnt do it for a playoff game. And I wouldnt be surprised or against it if they both declared and sat out a lesser bowl game. Not at all.
Can’t have it both ways.
Once fans wanted a playoff system to determine an outright National Champion, it made all the other bowl games moot and of no value other than glorified exhibition games.
I’m on the side of the players since the schools make millions off their names. Do you think schools like USC, Notre Dame, Alabama give two shits about their players, many of them African American, once they are done playing, specially is said players don’t earn a degree? The answer is an outright no, and you are intelligent enough to understand this.
Fournette has had an ankle injury all season. He is one of the best backs in the draft. Sitting out is a no brainer. Getting drafted in the 1st round is worth millions more than dropping in the draft.
They have no one to answer to but themselves and their families. Specially not the fans.
I agree. This is the last chance these guys have to play with the teammates that have helped them get to the point where they expect to be drafted. For most college teams, the chance to win a national or even conference championship is gone by mid-season, so all the games after that point are just as meaningless as the bowl game. Why did McCaffrey play in any of those games? Hundreds, or even thousands of players before them played in bowl games without it having any negative impact on their pro careers. As far as risk goes, life is risky. If I were an NFL executive, I’d take the player’s lack of commitment to the team into count when deciding whether I wanted to draft him.
Also, McCaffrey took a benefit in return for agreeing to play football. What does a year at Stanford cost? $50,000-$60,000, not including the future benefits of that education? That’s like a contract.
That’s a good point. With red-shirting, a lot of these players do in fact earn their degrees (I see USC players on Twitter mentioning graduating regularly) and some even stay on and earn master’s degrees so they can keep playing. And yep, a Stanford education is absolutely worth something later. If you live and want to work in SoCal, having a USC degree and having played football for the Trojans is also valuable. The Trojan Family takes care of its own, and there are a lot of well-connected alumni down there.
This sounds like an interesting cold weather drink. Red Wine Hot Chocolate.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/19/dining/red-wine-hot-chocolate.html
Funny you should mention. I already had that bookmarked on my browser!
We’ve got to stop frequenting the same rut. 😉
Even better is dessert’s answer to turducken. I’m definitely trying that one.
Nice Latin word of the day:
cordate
adjective
1. heart-shaped: a cordate shell.
2. (of leaves) heart-shaped, with the attachment at the notched end.
Cordate comes directly from the Latin adjective cordātus, a derivative of cord-, the stem of the noun cor, meaning “heart, soul, feeling.” In Classical Latin the word meant “wise, prudent.” The modern sense “heart-shaped” is due to the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus (Carl Linné, 1707–78), who wrote many of his works in Latin, the international scientific language of the time, and employed cordātus in a new, botanical sense. The word entered English in its original sense “wise, prudent” in the mid-1600s; its botanical sense, in the mid-1700s.
http://www.ibiblio.org/openkey/intkey/images/Cercis_canadensis_leaf02.jpg
Awwwww, Tim Flannery singing to his new granddaughter.
https://twitter.com/timflannery2/status/811100885560356868
That reminds me, I bought tickets for James Taylor/Bonnie Raitt at AT & T in July. Mr. Lefty has been most compared vocally to JT (Taylor, not Timberlake) over the years but has never seen him in concert. Got good seats for a decent price, too. Everyone else was busy getting tickets for “Hamilton” last week!
Are you on the East Coast or West? I was up 2 hours ago, as well, but I was sniffing out my connection to the OPM break-in.
I’m home in CA. Had a nasty oral surgery last week and still in some pain and not sleeping well. I’ll nap later! 🙂
I have no such excuse. Old sucks for many reasons. BTW, I never thanked you for the thing you gave me that I never used. Couldn’t make it work. As I said, Old sucks for many reasons.
I resemble that …
My wife and I have not been to a concert in over 20 years, save for one Tainted Love show in SF a couple of years ago. I think my lack of interest stems from all the loud music they blare between innings or time outs of Giants or A’s or Warriors games. Not that I don’t like the songs, it’s just the wrong setting to me, makes difficult to communicate with others. Am I the only kne?
Somehow I don’t think James Taylor at AT & T Park is going to blast us geezers too much…
You are right about that.
You posted video! Great song – love Flan’s guitar.
I see they signed Rollins. Wow, that fills a big need, glad they took care of that so quickly, we can sleep through the rest of winter knowing that the aging, way, way past his prime backup infielder job is secure. Or, does he beat out Crawford for the starting job? Also, which young guy gets the shaft and ends up back in the minors?
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