by
Surf Maui
“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.“
-Charles Dickens
“Baseball breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall all alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.”
-A. Bartlett Giamatti
I am sitting in the United Club at SFO waiting for my flight back to Florida–and the two quotes above perfectly describe my feelings today as one of the few non media Giants fans, I suspect, who actually attended each one of the Giants post season games this season. The trip was marked by the highest highs–the Bumgarner shutout and Gillespie home run to beat the Mets and the improbable comeback and extra inning walk-off win versus the Cubs on Monday. And obviously it culminated in the lowest lows–the Baez home run to spoil a Cueto masterpiece and “Nightmare on Bullpen Street” season ending game on Tuesday.
As previously reported, I never intended to make this trip. Fortuitously as Hurricane Matthew was bearing down on my house–and even more fortuitously just missed it–I decided to evacuate at the last minute with the side benefit of going to the wildcard game in New York. I got to witness the post season Bumgarner mastery in person, as well as the beginning of Gillaspie’s post season explosion. It was euphoric.
I had intended to go Chicago win or lose to see my kids, but it was way more fun to go after a win. I really felt that we had another run in us, and it watching the Cueto gem–peering between the ubiquitous beer vendors clogging the aisles and the standing fans in front of me almost all the time. The Baez home run was a gut punch and obviously there wasn’t much to cheer about offensively except for a blown call on Hernanzdez that likely would have led to a run on Posey’s double–which, off the bat–I thought was gone.
Game two was disappointing and I really started to hate the arrogance of the Cubs fans–who despite having won nothing in 108 years (so far)– are convinced that every break goes against them– and are just waiting for an excuse to lose.
Game three of course, was the high water mark–unless you are going to count entering the ninth in game four with a three run lead. Conner Gillaspie’s go ahead triple off Chapman in the eighth lit up AT&T Park and was Ishikawaesque. Between that, his home run versus the Mets and his four hits in Game 4 and several outstanding defensive plays, I was beginning to think that either he had sold his soul to the devil or had come to us wrapped in a blue and red blanket from the planet Krypton. Then the roller coaster of Romo coughing up the home run to Bryant, followed by the catch in right field to rob Posey in the ninth and eventually the Panik double off the wall created total euphoria and the absolute conviction that we were destined to win another World Series.
And then there was Game 4, which started out with so much promise and was within our grasp until the ninth inning disaster. It was a real rollercoster ride of emotions from the beginning to the bitter end.
Still I’m glad I went, and all I can say is that I’m looking forward to Spring Training in only 4 ½ months where our starting pitching is likely to be among the best in baseball. Having Nunez for the whole season will help too. Add a big bat in the outfield and retool the bullpen and we’re good to go.
Thanks to all for the encouragement on my trip. Sorry I couldn’t root hard enough for another World Series. This trip showed me just how hard it is to win one–much less three in a few year period. So, let’s go get’em in 2017!!!
Breckeroni wonders which one of us is going to be propositioned by Greek next for content.
I nominate “Just Peachy”
Save your bobbleheads, the Giants will rise again.
’17& ’19 Then it will be odd if we don’t do it in ’21 too!
Nice Brisbee memories here:
http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2016/10/19/13331688/barry-zito-2012-nlcs
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7aa5c1c752bb7cc310f5ea733dd641cef1a5474a650ab36a99eafe5132c4a582.jpg
Hockey Players going unnoticed. Brent Burns and Joe Thornton cruising the streets of Pittsburgh.
I thought that was WHeez
You could add him and he’d be the short guy.
Ishikawaesque. Gotta love that turn of phrase.
I almost want to see the Dogs lead off the 1st at Wrigley with a 2 run bomb just to feel the grip of Cubs fans through the TV.
I thought the game had been revolutionized by the pitcher batting 8th and the Cubs would never be shut out again. What happened to that?
It seems like the Zack Britton lesson has revolutionized this postseason.
#SutterCountyUnite … I am going with you on that. Somehow I am more eager to see the cubs collapse than the dodgers disintegrate. Getting soft in my old age?
I want to see the Dogs go down ugly, and the Indians clinching in Wrigley in front of 40,000 tortured fans. I’d be happy enough if the Cubs finally won a World Series, but seeing them lose would be almost more bittersweet. Chico!
#ButteCountyRules
Close… I grew up in Yuba City
AGone may oblige in the bottom the 1st.
Jerry Jones is in on Raider’s move to Vegas. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/oct/19/jerry-jones-oakland-raiders-relaction-las-vegas-nfl
3 significant paragraphs from Kevin Durant article in Rolling Stone. Anyone calling him a wussy for not staying in OKC is an idiot. Everyone wants to work someplace where they have fun and enjoy working with people.
When a man has that sort of head-snap revival, every element of his life goes up for grabs. For Durant, it meant finally coming to grips with the verities in OKC. Try as it might with draft picks and trades, management there was never going to fix what it had broken with the Harden deal. And so Durant began eyeballing other teams, taking the temperature of the league. One team particularly drew his notice: the ball-don’t-stop, breakneck-tempo, blowout-happy Warriors. These dudes play just like I do, he thought. They see the floor the way I see it. There, he could “set picks and get hockey assists,” the small-ball things he’d likely never get to do as long as he played with Westbrook. “It’s an open secret that the fun had stopped there and it was never going to flow with Russell,” says a highly placed source in the league. “Russell’s a my-turn, your-turn kind of guy, and don’t think defenders don’t know that. When Russ had the ball, KD’s guy would leave him to go and help guard Russ.”
Late last June, then – a fortnight after the Warriors got a taste of their own medicine, blowing a 3-1 lead in the finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers – Durant and his father, Wayne, together with best friend Charlie Bell and Kleiman, rented a house near the beach in East Hampton, New York. For three days, they hosted his short-list suitors: the Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, L.A. Clippers and, of course, the Thunder. Each team got part of a day to present its case; each brought its big guns to pitch Durant. Golden State trotted out all its weapons: Curry, Thompson and Green, to be sure, but also Steve Kerr, the coach of the year in 2016, Bob Myers (executive of the year, 2015) and a mind-blowing virtual-reality tour of Oracle Arena when it’s rocking. Alas, the VR goggles malfunctioned, an epic stumble out of the gate. “We all thought, ‘There goes the deal’ – we went from the best presentation to the worst in 15 seconds,” says Kerr. But then his players piped up, particularly Curry. “He told Kevin, ‘I don’t need the ball and that many shots – I just need another title, man.’ ”
Meanwhile, Durant studied the body language of the players at his table. “They just liked each other so much and were so relaxed,” he says. “I thought, ‘These are some chill-ass dudes I wouldn’t mind hooping with.’ I wasn’t even asking, ‘How do we play together?’ I was asking, ‘Where do y’all go eat, do y’all hang out together?'” These were salient questions for Durant. As close as people presumed he and Westbrook had been, they were never much more than work friends, he says. “We had our own cliques that we hung with on the road. Russell had his guys, I had mine. It was never a bad thing. Just how it was.” For the guy who’d grown up friendless through grade school and preps, the pull of those stars and their shared affection must have felt like a welcome banner. All his life, he’d been walking alone, a party of one in the desert. Now, at last, his tribe called out to him. Who among us could have said no?
…and Green AND Klay were part of that, together…so Strauss obviously overstated to make his point.
Durant, to me, and in advance of tangible proof, is THE perfect fit on this team.
It’s gonna get nervous in Cleveland if they don’t win today. Frajeelay rotation. Gulp, if they have to rely on Kluber in G7, cause Sanchez pretty dynamite – little known fact : he was drafted 10 picks after Gary Brown in the ’10 draft – out of Barstow H.S. – so just down the highway from CSUF.
Up 3-1 isn’t toast, but it doesn’t look good for the Indians. Jays are a team that can win 3 more easily. I’m worried about Cleveland.
I wonder if everything were switched, how much Bochy would get bashed here for the NLCS as is if he were in Maddon’s place and the Giants were in the Cubs place.
Maddon and Bochy are two excellent, well respected managers. When teams slump or lose, the manger takes heat for either not predicting or not reacting. The Cubs stopped hitting in this post season. Much of that is the opponents pitching, but it sure looks like they are gripping tight.
I know certain folks say the Cubs are overrated. Well, to me, you are what your revord says. Sure, the media love affair is overdone. But, they won 103 games. They showed decent power, good overall hitting, fielding, and very good pitching.
The Dodgers have become scrappy like Roberts. Again, some on here say they are “great”. They have a closer, so that’s one up on SF. They appear to be playing loose, free. The Cubs are not.
Tonight will be very interesting. Lackey is imminently hittable. Urias is not as much. If the Dodgers go up 3-1 and have Kershaw in game 5, it seems a slam dunk…
It’s hard to understand Rizzo and Russell’s collapse. I was reading a comment by Bradley Woodrum (Fangraphs analyst) on 538 this morning talking about Rizzo.
Russell was more expected, because he seemed to hit a September wall…Rizzo is a curious case
See Fielder, Prince. The sphincter is just too tight.
Giants know how to beat the Dodgers (lefty them to death) and adjusted their roster accordingly. The Cubs staff has one lefty.
Your right of course, you could see this coming. But I don’t think anyone saw them just going dry at the well. But then, hitting droughts are something Giants fans know a little about.
There’s really too many rounds of playoffs in baseball now: I’ve heard several players say the LCS is the pits to lose, compared to the WS, because at least you can say you were in a world series. Winning over 100 games is a great accomplishment, but they have to forget all that, and forget the goat and the century thing, and just play good baseball. I hope they do, as Dodger losses make my day or night.
I’m warm to the shorter regular season, and a 7 game LDS. Ryan Spilborghs was on it. As long as the Dogs lose this year, it’s been a good baseball season.
you’ll never get a shorter season because you don’t own a team nor are on the MLB ownership committee. Baseball and the teams make too much money per game to give up any of the 162 games they have.
I mean if you’re going to propose something, have at the very least a well thought out proposition with facts to back it up.
Among the facts backing up a shorter-season proposal are the tanking postseason, and especially World Series, rankings. No one cares in November.
You’re such an ass. There’s nothing wrong with wanting something to change in sports, even if it’ll never happen due to revenue. The NBA should shorten its season. Everyone knows this. I want it to happen. Will it? Of course not, since the owners would lose money. So i just shouldn’t bring it up? And my main reason for wishing the MLB season was shorter would simply be to have the two WC teams play a best of three. One is ridiculous after playing 162. If you tie for it then fine. One game. But you can’t “make the playoffs” and then have one game decide things.
you like me, admit it.
Like i said before, drinks and yuks.
I get all that. I don’t have to propose anything because I’m just a guy at a keyboard. IMO, baseball will be healthier with a lighter season load and a longer postseason. MLBPA is a strong union. Long term it’s a smart move.
I nominate Efrain for a guest post.
…complete with photos and/or videos taken by Efrain at Finnerty’s.
He’d have to photoshop himself in.
Adding two more teams could mean 4 divisions of 8 teams, much like the days of yore. Only the winners go to an LCS and perhaps on to the WS. That would make a 103 win season really count, and you’d only have one 7-game set in the say.
I totally agree with your last sentence. Too much Dodgers over Cubs talk here for my spirits to take.
Adding two more teams could also end the travesty of Inter-League play. (I know, I know, only in my dreams)
I’d prefer a 5-game LDS and LCS – in a shorter series the pressure on winning each game is more intense.
When either manager allows Casilla to face Lamb, or demonstrates a one pitcher per hitter policy, they get bashed. Bochy was not an excellent manager in 2016.
We who like Bochy consider it a moral victory from you.
You seem focused quite a bit on that single decision…broaden the view. It will serve you well.
He can’t – He’s trying to live up to his SJ Credo of Integrity – Service – Courage -Innovation – Respect Excellence – and Diversity.
I still think Bochy is a great manager. But IMO he had a bad 2016 and his merry-go-round panic-a-thon in the 9th inning of Game 4 of the NLDS cost them the game. The two are not mutually exclusive, a great manager can have a bad year.
…which is the broader view.
Eggsactly. Well said
Single decision? As you well know, that was only the dumbest.
I think you have unrealistic expectations of everyone but yourself.
I don’t think Bochy managed to the level of his own previous standards in 2016. Do you? I don’t think it’s an unreasonable standard. I think you’ve said about the same thing. Maybe the players who weren’t happy with Bochy 2016 were also way off base.
He didn’t match his previous high level…and I’m OK with it now. I also feel that the roster was constructed in a less than optimal way.
But, I try not to be as dismissive of Bochy’s obvious talent.
Also, my problem goes beyond decision making. It includes being unwilling to accept responsibility and even going as far as deflecting blame onto his coaches.
I am sure You know of several people that could have done better. Your Rolex is stock full of knowledge due to you coaching a non baseball sport.
It’s Rolodex, but I don’t have one. I don’t have a Rolex, either.
The new Rolex watches do the job of a desk Rolodex.
Thought you had me huh?
Which model?
The Zombie Model
Riiiiiiiiiiiight!!!
I don’t think it’s necessarily Maddon doing anything wrong. The Cubs simply aren’t hitting. Not a lot a manager can do when his team gets shut out in back to back games. They didn’t even have many baserunners to try and manufacture a run. I just think the Cubs offense isn’t as good as everyone wanted to believe it is. Rizzo IS a great hitter and he’s just cold. Russell is not a great hitter yet and much of his production was a reflection of those in front of him. If you go through the Cubs lineup the only scary spot right now is Bryant. Their lineup is still solid, but it’s proving that good pitching can shut them down. In the postseason the Cubs don’t get to face 4/5 SP types, nor do they get to break games open in the 5th/6th by facing the weak part of the pen. And I know they got shutout last night but Arietta came up very small and pitched them out of the game before the 7th.
It seems the Cubs feasted on bad pitching within their division from the likes of the Cards, Brewers, and Reds…These unbalanced schedules can easily skew stats.
Exactly. And they broke open games a lot, which padded their run differential, by facing RPs who will never see the mound in the postseason. The Jansens of the world go 2+ IP to win postseason games. They’re not going to get to face the bottom of the bullpen hierarchy. I’m not saying the Cubs don’t have a good offense, but if you really look up and down their lineup they don’t have a ton of All Stars (offensively). They have two MVP candidates and one is ice cold and KILLING them. Otherwise, it’s a bunch of decent hitters that, in this postseason, have proven they can’t hit good pitching…so far.
The same thing happened to the Red Sox. They looked unbeatable in the regular season then got ice cold and faced a good Indians staff. The Indians, by the way, remind me a lot of the 2010 Giants: misfits, solid pitching, a bit of power and great enthusiasm from their young stars who seem to be playing with no pressure, as opposed to the Cubs’ young stars who are playing with clenched bottoms right now…
I think Mike Napoli is one of the most underrated players in baseball. His numbers don’t really show his worth, IMO. He’s had some huge at bats over his postseason career, and i think he’s one of those glue guys that bring and hold a team together.
A good catcher always does.
Napoli made me look smart in the first inning.
The Cleveland Indians bullpen is something else. I heard on the radio over the weekend that their bullpen took over in the first inning 4x in the regular season, with spectacular results.
I agree, and that’s why I asked.
Free Agent Name to consider if the Gs decide to have a 3rd catcher or try to improve the backup.
Geovany Soto.
IMO…the Giants backup catcher doesn’t necessarily need to rake like Buster (we’re spoiled), but I would…at a minimum…like the back-up catcher to call games like Buster *and* frame pitches like Buster.
There were times last season that I almost wanted Buster calling pitches from 1B, when Brown was catching. I think he gets shook off too much and/or isn’t demanding the pitchers use their other stuff (like Buster does).
I will freely admit I don’t have stats available to support Brown’s actions behind the plate “beyond a reasonable doubt”, but I have enough situations stored in my head to have this opinion.
Get a REAL old guy (33) who keeps himself in great shape.
Kurt Suzuki
I think they should sign Jason Castro for 2/15 or 3/18, whatever works. His framing is legit, and with another good defender (which Brown is certainly not) Bochy shouldn’t feel the need to keep Posey in as much.
Any chance the Giants hire Barry in some capacity? Similar to what Joe L. was as an assistant hitting coach? They don’t need to terminate Bam Bam to do so and I would love to see Barry tutor some of the guys.
I like the idea if BB#25 is up for it; He may have a problem being viewed as an “assistant”. I was thinking more along the lines of Decker’s old job. Roving Hitting instructor. Move him around.
Spring Training invite…at the most. Not that they would hire him full-time, but “lack of dedication” (or whatever was said) isn’t a glowing endorsement for future employment. We all had our doubts about him wanting to travel, etc.
I don’t think it was necessarily the travel rather than the frustration of going over the same things with the same people who didn’t have all of his talent. That’s why I like the roaming idea. Let him come in, work with a couple of people for a few weeks. Go visit this hot prospect, then spend a few weeks with Shaw. Come bust Crawford out of a slump, then head down to San Jose to work with Arrenado.
You get the idea.
That would work, if he’s willing to do it.
Yup, he has to be willing but he does have that hefty services contract as financial incentive. Heck, I would even let him work for 2 to 3 weeks at a time, then take a week or two off between assignments. Can you imagine getting Barry Bonds to be your hitting coach for 2 weeks if you’re Chris Shaw? His former teammates raved about #25s tips and Osuna and Yellich improved quite a bit under his guidance. Stanton, not so much, which maybe why he is unemployed.
If he could help Mac and/or Parker to become a MLB hitting monster…
Parker is the one that really intrigues me. He’s got the bat speed to be obscene.
I think Mac is pretty well sorted and was finding his own before he got hurt.
Both guys strike out waaaaay too much. Not sure if Parker could ever stop all the herky-jerky stuff at the plate. If Mac was able to become more of a contact guy, I think his strength would allow the baseball to be banging off of many walls…and yes…over them.
I don’t see Barry signing on to be an assistant of anything to anyone.
I agree. That’s why I suggested Roaming hitting instructor.
Works for me.
Cubs should hire him to fix Jason Heyward.
No chance. ST instructor, perhaps. Full time coach? Never.
Barry seemed to not particularly like being only one of several former Giants players turned ST coaches/advisors/attendees.
What about Conditioning Coach.
Oh – wait…
I suspect all he’s currently cultivating is his ego.
I’d add, it’s back to bicycle riding and racing for Barry, and waiting around for his statue.
I occasionally wonder if he regrets the PEDs use. In many ways he’s an anomaly. Had he done none of that, he would still have been among the top 10 or so players to play The Game, regardless. He was a far better ballplayer than McGwire ever was, and to lose it all because of jealousy of McGwire’s public notice just seems a sad thing. Having said that, you have to live with your choices in life.
He probably does. He’s baseball’s Lance Armstrong. History will tell.
Good comp now that you mention it. I almost saved Armstrong from ignominy by running over him and the entire US Postal team in Austin one evening near sunset. I used to like to hurry home in my little pearl sports car. LOL.
FU. Road bicycling nowadays is especially perilous. Texting has made training a real risk. Lance was a competitive jerk – like Barry, like Michael Jordan. Cyclist Lives Matter.
They were training on SW Parkway in the middle of road on a curve on the back side of a hill without the team car. That isn’t about peril, that’s about stupid. In any case my athletic reflexes and exemplary driving skills saved the day. I rolled the passenger window down, beeped the horn, and asked for an autograph. All I got in return was a chorus of middle fingers.
Stupid Lives Matter
To be fair cc, sometimes it is safest to inconvenience drivers and take the road. Also to be fair, many cyclists are jerks. It’s a wash.
He’s also one of the biggest liars in sports history.
Lance’s sin was bullying. The Lance omerta in cycling resembles the omerta in baseball.
How many games should Brandon Belt play in LF next season?
1) 0 – Bochy is on a roll. Playing Posey at first hurts the defense.
2) 50 – Posey needs to have some days “off” and his OPS is .150 pts higher as a 1B.
3) somewhere between 1 & 2. Insert #________ here.
If Mac/Parker can fill some of the void in LF (not hard to do because they’re replacing Pagan who, while having his moments, was basically terrible post 2012) then I’d like to see Posey just get more full days off. The SP should be tremendous and the pen WILL be improved so hopefully Buster can be afforded more rest. So, to answer your question I’ll opt for (3) and somewhere in the neighborhood of closer to 10.
20! Right moooooooose?
Works for me
0.
Okay, I get the detesting of the infuriating arrogance of the whole Chicago thing with their ownage of us at Wrigley and Baez pimping and Arrieta cracking Aoki’s skull and Hunter Pence’s broken forearm and Lester awarding them “the rose,” I get it. I get relishing their delicious comeuppance too. And I also get outrightly liking Dave Roberts, and I get respecting Kershaw, AGon and even Toomgis, I get all of that. But People, must I remind you? IT’S THE DUCKING FODGERS! BEAT L.A.! BEAT L.A.! BEAT L.A.!
Couldn’t have said it better. I would rather be dead that root for Doyer Bloo.
Shout it from the mountaintop….thank you
Next time. This time, screw the cubs.
I could not be rooting harder for this Indian left hander.
The Oracle for Attorney General: discuss
Only if Trump becomes President.
Hillary would be headed for Guantanamo.
As well she should. Just ask Vince Foster.
Aw jaysus. Look what you did.
Canada? Sheet, I’m headed to the arctic circle to cuddle with polar bears. They’re so cuuuute!
Maybe Red Queen? 😉
I was once a Deputy Attorney General, so you may be on to something. Nah, I’m definitely not a politician, but thanks for the thought.
I think it would be awesome theater. Go for it
Can I be in a campaign ad?
You can be a featured endorser. Just think of all the votes that would bring in.
I clean up nicely and come across very sincere!
I kiss no one’s ass, ever. That probably wouldn’t work well with politics….although Trump might be showing that there’s some appeal in that. Hey…with your marketing experience..,and the fact that we probably agree about most things that don’t involve sports…what a potential team!
I’ll be Press Secretary…lets do this
You’re going to need to come up with a strategy to deal with my ex-wife. I’ve never been able to figure that one out.
I know a guy….
No wonder the Ex Left you. She needed her bum adored.
Could Bochy be the reason for the Dodgers success in the postseason (so far)?
Andrew Baggarly on Oct 13:
Dave Roberts this spring, on Bruce Bochy: “I definitely got a few tricks up my sleeve that he taught me, whether he knows it or not.”
I’d add, Roberts probably has the inside rack on MOY as a consequence.
That’s…um…a bit of a stretch.
I guess this is encouraging news about Osich. But does it explain why he effective against LH’s and not RH’s?
Let’s go Cleveland! Send those Rush fans to their winter domain, dark and without the limelight. Cleveland has the spirit of radio and the rock and roll Hall. Isn’t Rush an inductee? These subdivisions widen…
I like Rush. Is that bad? Just wanna rock out in my car…
I was kidding. Super awesome power trio. Go for a ride in your red barcetta!
You mean my black CRV? I did swap out speakers. Stock speakers suck!
In backs of cars…
Be cool or be castouts!
You and TheSincere.
Cleveland radio guy gets fired up on strike three! Digging the vibe.
Boom!
Watching the Jays try to figure out this guy with 11 MLB innings is entertaining baseball.
Like a ty Blach perhaps?
I wonder what Lucroy is thinking right now.
Ha! Good call.
Francona is the only manager I’d consider swapping Bochy for.
But would you chew his bubble gum wrapped tobacco?
Like after he spit it out?
Like after he softened it up for you, got it just right.
Then but only then.
If we were post-Bochy, I’d like to see what Ryne Sandberg had to offer as a manager.
Post Bochy, this might be the guy.
http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20160805&content_id=193569014&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb
If he doesn’t have a managerial gig by then, it better be Wotus.
No way.
And Carlos Santana says oye como va
Sent that one to Europa!
Jingo….
Transcendance
Does Merritt remind anyone of Blach? My goodness
They said he’s been a winner at every level – but I gather he never registered on prospect lists.
Eerily similar stuff.
Crafty lefties!
Indians secret weapon?
Then he must not be any good.
Dude will probably suck any pitch now.
Not true. Can still have talents that don’t translate to prospect praise but can lead to MLB success.
Shocking. I had no idea.
Then why the stupid statement?
Why does the sun rise?
To get to the other side? Oops, that’s the chicken one.
Sullenberger was not a very good pilot either. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f99dc9ba35b46b7c9a7959f755c7d09ddc0c09249a6882ce19db1a0a70664479.jpg
Cuckoo…cuckoo
Both Officer Shawny Williams and Officer Jose Uribe said you have potential Pete.
Not watching game (at work right now), but if Jays haven’t seen this kid, reminds you of Giants having issues with pitchers they hadn’t seen this past year. Little scouting report. Advantage to the pitchers.
I can’t say until I see him take an AB against Kershaw.
Just for fun, Sumo sabermetrics.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-sumo-matchup-centuries-in-the-making/
Only the 4th but that might’ve been the AB of the game.
This kid is ice water
The look on Encarnacion’s face says it all
Boo. Let him qualify for the W!
Right? I mean 49 pitches, 33 for strikes.
I mean, it’s understandable when they have a shutdown bullpen like that.
This is true, but like you said, let him qualify for a W; especially in a possible pennant clinching game. He can put that on his resume.
It is done differently in post season but yeah
I think Tito can tell him ” let’s get a ring for you, son…better than a W in the paper by your name”
No need to risk it.
Have to feel good for Covelli Crisp. The play he made last night caused former teammate Donaldson to playfully flip him off and today CoCo goes yard.
FU
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6ecaa5a25121fddbd93d3d0b24def05f722cc2aacfb8de50216aa04c356a46da.jpg
Have you figured out Greek’s guest post procedure?
Yes, It depends on how many rounds of Red Martini’s and Hurricanes one has purchased… 🙂
I’m sure your contribution would be accepted regardless of state Clutch. Greek seems open to guest posts. I want to hear what you have to say. 6000 words or less.
I am totally screwed at 300-400 words per word doc 🙂
A guest post is still in order.
Maybe but The Oracle destroyed my rough draft
Just email it to me at gmagalios@gmail.com
I think that we probably can figure it out.
Blurting?
Michael, a guest post by you is more than appropriate.
I have the Cleveland radio guys on. I approve of their professionalism and enthusiasm.
If anybody needs access to http://m.mlb.com/gameday/indians-vs-blue-jays/2016/10/19/487621#game_tab=gameday,game=487621,game_state=live
Give me a holler @ student-athlete@hotmail.com
Agree. Who are those guys? Cleveland is rocking.
Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/team/broadcasters.jsp?c_id=cle
Funny line when one of the TOR batters griped on an O an O pitch “these guys start griping on their way up from the on deck circle”
http://m.mlb.com/video/v1207825683
Francona is managing this like it’s a must win game which i fully appreciate.
In October that’s the way you do it. Every game is a must win.
I know Evans said in his end of season presser that a Mac/Parker platoon in LF will be looked at, but he should take a look at the Jays’ Michael Saunders. He’s hitting .429 this series; the highest of any Blue Jay, and he bats LH.
hit less than .200 in 2nd half with min power…
LHanded is not a plus.
Michael Saunders would not be a good AT&T fit. Looking at his last 3 (and best) years in Seattle, .248/.320/.423; that’s a little bit of what to expect, with his defense vanishing.
I stand corrected then.
Hand a 3 run lead over to THAT bullpen? It’s a wrap.
Miller getting two outs on one pitch was huge. No question he gets the 7th and 8th now.
Might as well go all the way.
And start Game One of the World Series. :o)
Have him pitch every game. Why not? They can’t hit against him!
Probable pitchers for all seven games: Miller vs. Kershaw?
OSICH http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/17829744/josh-osich-san-francisco-giants-undergoes-procedure-left-knee
Be A Genie
Man, there are a LOT of really good young shortstops in baseball these days
“Frankie” Lindor – is amazing at TWENTY TWO years of age ……
That was a fantastic play and he made it look blasé
NO kid should consider quitting baseball due to physical stature. He is 5′ 11″ @ 188 lbs.
Wiki:
His father would hit him baseballs from on top of a hill down to half way down the slope. If the ball got passed him he would have to turn and run after it.
He signed in 2011 when he was 17.
Z best I do believe.
Thru 8 innings, Merritt, Shaw and Miller have combined to throw 87 pitches. That, is efficient.
“And NOW some IDIOT fan is out on the field”….I hope they beat the living shinola out of him”…
I heard that
“stop some of this silliness”
…speaking of Indians rust…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiZqi-cPbbo
Congrats: 2016 minus 1997 – 19 years to get back to the WS
Won the WS in 1948
Been to the WS – 6 times
LOL @ I think Gibbons will depart
Bye bye Bautista. Wonder where his douchey act will land?
LA Dodgers
OK, what makes him a douche bag?
Not a strike unless I say it is. I just flipped my bat.
I’m surethat fans of other teams see the Giants as a bunch of douches
Easy MVP call: Miller
Hon mention Lindor.
Boo yeah.
Nice job Cleveland. That was impressive.
Vamos, Indigenousees!
The Red Sox regret letting Francona get away.
I reckon he showed them why!
LOL. He was really the only keeper on that team.
And Pedroia, don’t forget Pedroia
Post of the post season. He was made the fall guy from the BoSox Brass.
“Post of the post season.”
That’s funny.
POPS
LOL. Maybe understatement of the season.
My apologies to each and every one of you who knew Miller was good and always said the Giants should get him. I was shaking my head. You were right.
Unfortunately they did not have the caliber if prospects to get that done. Frazier valued well above Arroyo. They sent a good lh pitching prospect as well. Drafted at end of first round.
We knew it but Joe Panik was the wrong piece to give up and the Yanks wanted to bring Joe12 home to the New York area.
It would have been a bad move had the Giants let Joe go.
Gotta say I had a Mirror Pablo moment…Chubby dude catching a pop up in foul territory in the clincher…
I’m very happy for Tito and the Clevelanders
Panda got absolutely trashed for that.
I thought he got hurdled….
No idea what you are talking about
Jumped over, Chef….
Fans (The Oracle) should take heed to this small audio part of the video. Baseball – since it is built on a Failure premise concept – so drop the negativity when the Homies make an out during a game. Sometimes there is NOTHING wrong – It is baseball.
https://twitter.com/troypsilva/status/788453207517257728
Miller is a beast but not worth Panik. Wonder if they would hsve taken Arroyo instead.
“Miller is a beast but not worth Panik.” I absolutely, completely agree, pac.
Re: Arroyo. I think the Giants are going to need him, and I don’t think the Yankees would have considered any trade which did not include Joe. That’s my understanding anyway.
They wouldn’t have asked for Joe if he went to school in Long Beach at Duffy in Yonkers.
He’s not a beast, he’s a young guy no one is familiar with who hides the ball well. Let’s give the lad some time and exposure to MLB scouting and film before he gets anointed with expectations he can’t meet over the long run.
Lol – no, he’s a beast and scouting and film have done what they can.
Yeah, this youngster has only been in the bigs 10 seasons now. You just wait until the book is out on him.
His length will always add to his deception in his delivery IMO
Nope.
yepper..me agree si
I don’t know if I agree with that premise especially considering short term performance. I think playing KT wouldn’t have hurt us given that even in the playoff Bochy was platooning and Miller correcting 8 of the 9 blown saves has the Giants still playing baseball…..
Mike Morse says:” Me beast, he no beast.”
Okay, I liked watching Merritt pitch. Here are Gifs for your enjoyment: “Cleveland Indians rookie Ryan Merritt baffles Toronto hitters with twitches, hitches and pitches”
http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2016/10/cleveland_indians_rookie_ryan.html
Terry Francona spoke with Merritt for a minute on Wednesday morning:
“I wanted to make sure he knew this wasn’t life or death,” Francona said.
http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2016/10/cleveland_indians_ryan_merritt_2.html
Goofy LHer. Nuthin’ like it.
Jose Bautista on Ryan Merritt, before the game: “Not having seen him is something that could go either way. But with our experience and our lineup I’m pretty sure he’s going to be shaking in his boots more than we are. So I like where we’re at.”
you can file that quote under…things a SF giant would never say. talk about bulletin board fodder..
I cannot stand Bautista’s arrogance
No way, Joe-sey. Flip off, so to speak.
Yet another example filed under: I love baseball
I too love out-of-nowhere baseball heroes:
“Surely there has been something in baseball history more improbable than Ryan Merritt appearing out of some instructional league in the desert, on a Wednesday in deep October, to smother the Toronto Blue Jays’ fearsome lineup for half a game and help pitch the Cleveland Indians into the World Series…
Yes, it would probably require the assistance of Hollywood scriptwriters to concoct something more unlikely than what took place Wednesday on the shores of Lake Ontario, when the Indians gave the ball in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series — not a must-win game, but one they did not want to contemplate losing — to a soft-tossing, 24-year-old lefty with one big league start under his belt and watched him navigate a trip and a half through the Blue Jays’ lineup without a single blemish.”
–Dave Sheinin, Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/ryan-merritt-is-improbable-hero-as-indians-beat-blue-jays-to-reach-world-series/2016/10/19/e47b6b74-962d-11e6-bc79-af1cd3d2984b_story.html
PARTY AT NAPOLI’S!!!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/989aa3fd58672977447d2be8b7aea41d1046868b633b3b4b54db95a0dfd511c4.jpg
Funny
MLB Trade Rumors Chat (not my question)
ByeByeBaby
4:45 Larry Baer said Evans/Sabean will bave money to fix teams holes. For me, the 2 best fits are Melancon and Desmond who would replace Pagan or push Span to LF. How realistic is that?
Jason Martinez
4:46 Very realistic. Giants haven’t shied away from spending $ in free agency. I think signing one of the 3 closers (Jansen, Chapman, Melancon) will be their No. 1 priority and then they’ll address LF. I wouldn’t rule out any options, including Cespedes, Carlos Gomez, Desmond.
Desmond AND Melancon would have me cream my pants…..
Loud speaker: “We have a clean up on aisle 7!”
Cespedes is fun to watch but I think Desmond is a better player.
coin flip
Now consider the contracts they are going to require. Rethink your stance given consideration to comparative value, and make a choice.
Market will determine Cespedes in the $150M+. I don’t think Desmond will see $90M.
Again ????
It happens a lot at my age
YMMV – no more myredbook.com and soon backpage.com will be gone too
I hadn’t kept up. Even the services pages on craigslist aren’t what they used to be.
The cream?
Better than the clear
Ahahahahaha oh that was precious. A good ole TWG one-two combo courtesy of Finchy and Matty.
We’ll be here all week….every day…about 159 times…driving people crazy with constant drivel. Thank you…thank you
Dude, that was far from drivel. That was high school “smoking area” genius.
Apropos.
Very happy for the Tribe. I hope they go all the way.
Meanwhile, it’s pretty much do or die for the Cubs tonight. If I had to pick a Cubs win, however, I’d rather they win tomorrow. Beating Kershaw would be nice and also make the Dodgers hear footsteps.
I want the NLCS to go seven. Seven painful exhausting games.
Damn! Almost a high-class Darwin candidate.
https://www.cnet.com/news/man-eats-hot-pepper-burns-hole-in-esophagus/#ftag=CAD590a51e
GO CUBS. Good Night Allen
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6593ec51f1bc42c68e9235e301887801dffac6fa57e3a1333e57a50e76ec671b.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4491107c5354a29692a26d3923343d7c77484cdb72062b95e20aa740e271b2c3.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d7cb5f5f50307b9947f80e993cb74da0360c3fd20d8afa1edcf90b3c20e60584.jpg
Lackey is just unreal…screaming at teammates
That was crazy! He really showed up Baez.
Russell made a nice play to prevent a possible meltdown. I don’t know how that kind of behavior is in any way acceptable but i guess he is grandfathered in with veteran status or something
Utley, you’ re no Joe Panik.
Right now the Cubs vs LA is like the election. I’ll root for who I dislike the least. Since the Giants swept the Dodgers that makes it all good. But the Giants losing to the arrogant Cubs makes me root against them. That weighs more than the dislike of a rival. At least for today. Then the Cubs trashed our visitors clubhouse. So no way I want to see them win. Then it’s only natural to pull for Cleveland all the way.
Guess the Marlins Man couldn’t get Larry King to sell his seats
I suspect/hope Miller’s role in the ALCS redefines the role of close to something of a heck of a lot more value.
I really like Andrew Toles, he is a Giants’ type of player.
Never mind, noodle arm.
That was an interesting throw
Heyward is having the first year contract jitters
wow
The good news is Adrian’s begging went for naught…
The bad news is that replay got it wrong.
Also good, the dodgers don’t have the lead. I really dont want to see them win a world series. I like holding our Titles over them
Yup…I tea bag those titles over them at every chance
Absolutely the Cubs’ favorite band. What a joke. Yet again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHYIGy1dyd8
Lol
They have gotten some spooky calls go their way in the replay process…but knowing the incompetence of mlb umpiring im not convinced its a fix
I don’t think the umps and replay are incompetent. They know exactly what they’re doing: giving absolutely every borderline call to the Cubs. Even with replay. I don’t know if you can call that a fix, but they are getting every close call, and that is a fact.
Call it a directive.
Absolutely. So brazen and obvious. Almost as brazen and obvious as the douchebaggery of The Smirks. I want them to go down hard. Total a$$holes.
Rosenthal (Pee Wee Herman) with yet another emphatically toned, yet apologist-content crapfest.
And way to reward an absolute cadillacking, air mailed, take it for granted, typical Cubs move in that Heyward throw. The guy can’t hit, now he can’t throw.
The Rizzo Smirk has evolved to the Rizzo Glare.
Frustration or revelation?
Frustration for him, a revelation for me, CC.
You certainly can’t picture Belt doing that.
Absolutely not. Belt doesn’t smirk, doesn’t glare. Sulks a little, but I am a bona fide Belt supporter. Always have been. He’s solid and underappreciated.
I missed it… Do tell
Missed what?
The Rizzo smirk?
He looks lost and I dont feel sorry for him at all. Goodness i hate both these teams. I cant even figure out which one i want to win. Keep going back and forth
Totally lovin’ it. He was practically begging for a hug near the end of the game last night. It was pathetic.
Cubs look like the Giants in the 2nd half.
Only because I’m curious, who among us is for the legalization of recreational pot. I was wondering the other evening about the effect that might have on baseball and thought I might ask you all.
Of course all pot should be legal. The only reason it hasn’t been legalized is because you can’t tax a plant.
tobacco?
True. But who grows their own tobacco? Pot is immediately ready to smoke if you grow your own. Tobacco? That takes a bit more work. I.e., cigarettes, snuff, chaw…And if you can tax a plant like tobacco, then why haven’t they legalized pot?
Its political. There are a lot of people that make a lot of money off the current system. Black markets are very lucrative…that money finds its way back to powerful people. It can be taxed pretty easily
Agree with that too.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/10/14/sheldon-adelson-donating-million-anti-pot-campaign/93B5Znm6w2jYrZR978oLbP/story.html
Legalize it
I’m for legalizing it but think the politicians would try to manipulate/manage it with their rep ties and power lunches.
I’m extremely lenient when it comes to personal choice. But I can’t decide if the crimes borne of drug dealers and gangs would reduce as much as I think… And whether government oversight would only make things worse
experiment underway in Colorado, so we’ll find out.
… And the beautiful state of Washington.
The bud shacks don’t take credit or debit cards.
There is a really good bud shop right across the street from Rochy Mtn Chocolates on 1st Street in Seattle. Traffic flows both ways
same as my dealer…um..i mean..business associate
My brother-in-law loves his bud-ista! Says the guy really knows his inventory.
Less Filling….Tastes Great! You decide.
Legal and heavily taxed, with the same rules as alcohol.
I agree with Oracle, it should be legalized and handled like alcohol. How’s it working in Washington and Colorado, anyway?
I just don’t see any pathologies with marijuana use that are any worse than those we see with alcohol.
If it was legal, I might smoke it once in awhile on weekends. I’m too busy otherwise. I don’t think I’d be getting stoned for baseball. But for my wife or for music: sure. It’s been a long time.
Yes, please. Immediately. Instant tax revenue boost, and it takes marijuana away from the drug selling gangs. If alcohol is legal, pot should be as well. Pretty simple and straightforward to me.
Wow I thought the Heyward throw was bad. “Zorilla” was dead to rights.
Denard Toles didn’t quite nail him
Hahahaha you’re on a roll, kid.
go Cubs go, BEAT LA!
…And the smirk is back. Hate both of these teams.
The only solution is the Indians must win the World Series. That is all.
Dugouts full of overgrown boys can be like that eveywhere
Did you see the amount of Cubs fans jumping up on Russell’s homer? Wow… The lower bowl looks 60/40 Cubs
MLB making sure the Cubs get to the WS. Hard to beat a team with the umps in the Cubs pocket.
Totally changed the complexion of the game.
Fix. Conspiracy. Directive. Mandate.
Kind of like this past NBA Finals…
The suspension of Green was absolutely manipulated by LeFraud. Warriors still should have brought home the bacon, but it was aided by a corrupt NBA.
Well what do you with a player who consistently takes cheap shots and goes after other guys cahones? The NBA may well be corrupt but with just a bare minimum of restraint, Green would not have been suspended.
Cleveland had to feel good about itself with the RNC comin to town. Just sayin.
I saw someone on the grassy knoll
EVERY close call.
If there is ever an inevitably horrible Hollywood remake of another classic, the lackey would be phenomenal as The Monster in “Frankenstein.” I can just hear him now….
“RUHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!”
Puttin’ on the Ritz!!!
I wonder what came first: lackey meaning lackey, or Lackey being a lackey leading to the term lackey
I think it was an occupation that became someone’s name, like Smith or Miller. Man, what a family history to be named Lackey.
Ratzo Rizzo is walkin’ here!!!!
I like the HR better! Yes!
Agreed.
I got a theory on why the Indians are going to the World Series. And they can thank our great Golden State Warriors. When the Dubs handed the Cavs the NBA championship, Cleveland was feeling good in spite of the Johnny Manziel debacle. Does anyone remember the tear the Indians went on right after the finals? They were as hot as a team could get. So with The city of Cleveland feeling good, the Indians were looking good. And when you look good, you feel good. And when you feel good, you do good. And when you do good, it’s all good. So yes, the Indians can thank the GS Warriors. Your welcome. Now just beat whoever you got to face in the WS. 95% of the Bay Area is pulling for you guys.
The Cleveland Butterflies?
I do think there’s a certain amount of synergy in local sports. For example, the 49ers went to the playoffs three years in a row and the Giants won their division in that time frame. (1970-1972)
Then the 49ers won their first Super Bowl and sure enough the next year the Giants were in a pennant race (1982). Then the 49ers won two SB’s back to back and the Giants and A’s met in the World Series.
The Giants got good in 2010 and the next year the 49ers came out of nowhere. And so on.
So I won’t be surprised if the Cavaliers win/huge endorphin release rubbed off on the Indians. And that’s fine.
Cubs bullpen isn’t as lights out as Smoltz and Buck say. It’s hittable.
I decided to watch a little baseball for the first time since that horrid ninth inning. And what I saw was Smoltz downplaying the missed review when Agon scored, saying it doesn’t hurt anything because it’s early in the game and there was no score. But everyone knows it changed the entire flow of the game, and ultimately the outcome. LA could of had lackey on the ropes for a big inning. It’s not like the chance happens every inning. The botched review totally disrupted the only chance LA had, and Roberts should of played the game under protest. For spite.
It’s blatantly obvious who the commentators are cheering for. It’s been that way since the DS. Earlier, Smoltz was saying how Gonzalez’s deep flyout was a “bit scary.” And yeah I agree, no telling how the game would have turned out if the play at home was overturned.
One problem was putting Angel Hernandez in an important game. Behind the plate. And sure enough, he came through. He was right on top of that play and still missed it.
Shocked Lackey didn’t blow a gasket when Maddon went and got him. He was relatively calm.
Not close. Read his lips.
I thought he would go a few steps further.
What a conundrum… I hate LA. I hate Lackey…
“Are you fucking kidding me?”, and “unbelievable”. Really, Lackey? Really?
That blown run is huge.
Lousy fielding for both teams tonight – 5 errors is ridiculous.
Angel Hernandez with a Darren Baker moment
that crossed my mind too
Keystone cops. Great catch by Pederson, though.
Okay, this is the kind of game that re-sets this series. What looks like a convincing win for Chicago.
We now have a three game set to decide the pennant.
If Chicago wins tomorrow, it will be awfully hard for the Dodgers to win two in a row on the road in Chicago.
On the other hand, if Chicago loses tomorrow, it will also be hard to win two in a row at home.
So this series is going to go at least six, and probably seven.
Chicago has recovered the edge for this series.
Cubs have a huge advantage in the pitching matchup tomorrow.
Also, I think the biggest difference in the Cubs from the beginning of the series to now is that Rizzo and Russell have found their swings again. And Contreras is swinging a hot bat this PS.
Those could end up being the deciding factors for the Cubs in this series.
Well, if Chicago wins tomorrow then they have a definite edge, except that Kershaw will probably win again on Saturday, so we get seven games and anything can happen in Game Seven.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want the Dodgers to win. But I also want the Smirks to get schooled by somebody. That leaves the Tribe.
I’m not completely sold on Kershaw in the postseason yet. I think the outcome of his last start was more due to the slump that a lot of the Cubs’ hitters were in. I also don’t think Kershaw has completely gotten over his playoff demons yet. Not yet
As a Giants fan, from your mouth to God’s ear.
If it’s the Cubs in six, I’m OK with that. Better than the Dodgers, by a hair.
But the Tribe better not let me down.
1 game does not make finding their swing. The swing is only as good as the next days pitchers success or failures.
Unless of course your Brandon Belt and in a bad funk again.
Well, both of them tripled their hit totals from this PS in one day. But you’re right, it’s one day. I don’t know Cubs players too well to defend them.
Cubs pitchers are beneficiaries of a tractor tire strike zone.
I hate both these teams but I’m certainly not going to cry about how po lil AGon got nailed at the plate.
He has been very disrespectful of my Giants.
Hate is a strong word
He was out by a mile!
I try not to moan about the Umps. But it’s clear from the Giants series to this that the Cubs are getting the calls and all the calls. You can’t blame MLB. They want their cash cow in the WS. Indians vs Cubs to end the drought is huge ratings.
Someone earlier was wondering about the futures of rookie lefties Ty Blach and Julio Urias. In some ways it’s not fair to compare them since Urias had many more opportunities in the regular season than Blach did, but since they both faced the same opponent in the playoffs barely a week apart, we can easily put them side by side.
Julio “Top Prospect” Urias vs Cubs: 3.2 IP, 0-1, ERA 9.82, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
Ty “Nobody” Blach vs Cubs: 3.1 IP, 1-0, ERA 0.00, 2H, 0 BB, 3K
Of course, none of that mattters. Everyone knows that someone’s ranking on a list means more than how you perform in the playoffs vs the best team in the majors.
🙂
/drops mic
To bad the Giants will bury Ty “Nobody” Blach in the minors cause Matt ‘brinks truck” Cain needs to get it going.
I don’t think it will last too long. Cain is just too bad. Blach should be in the rotation by early june at the latest.
Good points and good comparison.
But of course you think ONE game is an absolute sign of future production 😏
No, I don’t. I actually took (and got A’s in) statistics in grad school, so I know about small sample sizes and prediction models. It was a different point–that a player’s performance in the major leagues matters more than what # they were on a prospect list. Prospect lists are hypothetical. On the field performance is real.
Urias is very young and I’m sure he’s going to be very good in time. Blach has barely gotten started in the majors. Time will tell about both of them. I just think it’s silly to anoint one of them and dismiss the other based on speculation.
Were those “A’s” a result of performance or charm?
The point is higher rated players ususally have a higher probability of staying power than those that rate lower.
Last I checked not many Mike Piazzas become stars.
And if we keep the conversation with pitchers, not many come into the league as crafty Greg Maddox types, they get there. There is nothing wrong with rating a player over another because of the strength of his fastball or quality pitches.
No one here was dismissing Blach, but to prove my point Heston had fleeting success last year and barely sniffed the big show this season. Pitchers who don’t project to have a high ceiling usually stay there.
Ha ha ha. You’re hilarious, a regular Melissa McCarthy (or a regular Oracle)!
When Ty Blach was 20 he was still pitching for Creighton University.
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/206675974/dodgers-julio-urias-makes-history-in-game-4/
BTW, Happy Birthday Ty Blach, who turns 26 today !!
The biggest cause for concern regarding Draymond Green is that he seems to think he hasn’t done much wrong. The Warriors might get themselves into trouble if they start to believe that they need him, no matter what he does. Green playing the right way, without the off the court stuff causing the team problems, makes them better. But if negatives become too significant, they shouldn’t be afraid to send him somewhere else. He adds a great deal, but they can win without him.
Where there’s a problem like this, there’s an enabler. And in this case it’s the Warriors management and coaching. Maybe mostly Lacob and to a smaller extent Kerr. They could’ve nipped this in the bud last year or earlier (after the OKC game?) but by letting it go without punishment they have let the problem grow into something uncontrollable.
In fact they threw away a championship because of it. Really sad.
Yeah, seems mostly Lacob…the way I read Strauss was that Kerr rushed himself back to try to corral Green a bit, which is the last thing Kerr needed while recovering.
Green is a special talent. No doubt. But I honestly think they hope certain players can develop to a point to replace his skills as best they can collectively – Looney may be the key.
It will be interesting to see if Strauss’s article shames him a bit. It was pretty damning, I thought. And Strauss is a well regarded NBA writer, not a hack.
I thought it was interesting that Strauss began the storyline with the 2015 parade. What I remember distinctly about watching it is that Draymond appeared inebriated to the point of embarrassment–stumbling, slurring his words. I remember at one point he took Riley Curry from her mother and carried her to the podium and handed her to Steph, who was speaking. I actually felt nervous about a guy who was so clearly three sheets to the wind carrying a toddler across a raised stage.
At the time I thought, well, big accomplishment, let them have their fun, but it wasn’t a good look even then.
Seems like Saginaw put a chip on his shoulders
You can take the boy out of Saginaw, but…….
Altho can they win without him? Plays four spots on the floor? Did not without him last year?
Lester vs. Maeda tonight???
The way Maeda’s been going in the postseason and the way the Dodgers get handled by lefties, this puppy is heading back to to Chicago with the Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw facing elimination. Not sure if there’s a point watching the contest tonight, feels like the outcome has been determined.
—
Rough sleeping last night. I think I felt just totally unsettled by watching the debate. This is what it’s come to. All of the struggles for democracy, all of the innovation, all the taming of the wilderness, and advancement of the civilization. This is where we’re at. What a piece of work. They’re both puppets. One just happens to be wearing a menacing clown costume and his followers include a large cohort of idiots dressed for their version of the revolution. What a time to be a alive!
Paul Simon, were we truly “born at the right time”?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5hFMy4pTrs
Nice. Thank you, Big Steve.
I found the Cubs/Dodgers game a perfect way to avoid that other stuff. No real end in sight, either, as the damage will take years to heal. Monumentally depressing.
This doesn’t seem like a year to write the Dodgers out, eg when Kershaw goes down, or whatever. Maeda might rise to the occasion, but they might bring Kershaw on early – the Dodgers like to put it on his shoulders, on not enough rest, but Roberts is not DTT.
Chris Wallace for President?
I would vote for anyone but the two names on the Top of the ballot. I would even consider Manson.
We are effed. The system has been captured. Until that is undone no progress will be made. I wonder how bad it needs to get before people have had enough.
Did you get the new I Phone 7 ?!? :-
As long as people have reality TV and happy pills from the local drug dealer i mean doctor its probably unlikely we will get meaningful change but who knows. Clinton will probably really eff things up the next 4-8 years. She is reckless and dangerous.
Lol, as bad as she is, if she’s reckless and dangerous, what does that make Trump?
Closed minded and egotistical?
That’s a start.
It feels like one of the “sides” had enough and went outside….and chose a crazy, shameful caricature…I think much of the other side is discontent, but being shepherded differently through media cherry picked hot points
To me, regardless of the outcome next month, discontent will grow enormously. Everywhere.
We are being played the fools because we are naive to this hypocrisy.
Agreed. And that is what I mean by captured. There is no reasonable way for people to voice their frustrations. They get to choose between one of the two horrible choices and nobody else. There is no real constructive outlet for the frustration because of the system. And the media will continue to perpetuate that
EFFFF YEAHHHH
Quit whining about “the media.” There are plenty of sources for real news if you want to read them – try Democracy Now, if you can stand it.
“The media” is successful because they feed viewers what they want – if enough viewers tune them out, they won’t have the ability to trivialize public debate.
Like it or not the MSM has a great deal of pull in this country and can shape and mold public opinion. They can choose what stories become stories and which ones get forgotten which means they can manipulate what is important.
It’s not the ideal choice. But to equate them is false. There is no comparison.
Six errors were scored in last night’s game. Isn’t this supposed to be a League Championship Series?
Relevance of prospect rankings:
Precise determinations? Totally predictive? …. Absolutely not.
However, if three scouts were to evaluate 10 propsects with grades ranging from the blue Chip A prospect down to the org filler C prospect, how would the those prospects stack up a few years down the road, ranked by performance.
1-10 might be graded as A,A-,B+,B+,B,B,,B-,C+,C+,C
After evaluating down the road would they still be ranked in the same order 1-10? Highly unlikely.
Would they be flipped 10-1? That would be absurd.
Would it be totally random, as if a number generator spit out the sequence? Remotely possible, but unlikely.
The most likely outcome might look like a weighted random system, where the higher rankings are most likely in the top half and the lower rankings are most likely in the bottom half.
Something like 1-3-6-2-8-5-9-7-4-10 might occur in this hypothetical scenario.
I hope this illustration is helpful. (slowly puts down mic and gets ready to head out the door)
While one may be able to rank a player’s physical skills, even though that order will change just a little bit over time, there is more or less no way to evaluate what is going on inside a person’s skull. Compare Yasiel Puig to Ozzie Smith, for example. I always end up liking the Matt Duffy type a lot, since we humans cannot control our genetics, but can change our destiny. It is good that player evaluation is not so easy, for we can type many entries on TWG about it. One thing that bugs me is that when various people here like the other teams’ prospects over the Giants’ youngsters, seemingly just because they are in other organizations.
Here is the gigantic issue I have with evaluations like these: it’s a snapshot in time, and then they go take another of some other player…but the first guy goes and works his craft. Some get way better fast, some get way better slow, some fade away…and what lingers is a snapshot score.
I think evaluations are a crapshoot and a fraction hold true. Then, these players move to other levels and face different competition, and their brains either adjust or don’t….I like to recall the Jeffrey Leonard story. He hit 0 home runs as a 26-year-old in the bigs, then became a home run hitter.
Sorry for my cynicism, but it’s a crapshoot. It’s an educated guess.
Sure. And the better educated guess, the better.
You would always rather have more talent (more tools and skills) in your organization than not.
They are about as meaningful as if we were to rank ants that are walking on our kitchen counter. The only evaluations that mean anything are owned by the teams that make them, and those are based on the team’s philosophy and are NEVER going to be released willingly to anyone else. That leaves clowns like Keith Law who watch maybe 5 minutes of tape, maybe talk to a GM or scout who will make up a bunch of stuff, and viola! We now have a bunch of ranked prospects.
Exactly! What was going through the minds of the Marlins and the Giants baseball people when the Duffy/Moore trade was being thought about? We are never going to know!
I bet the Giants scouts and managers and coaches could wipe the floor with the rest of us in MyGuy competition.
I think Foothills is talking about the talent evaluators in the business and not neccessarily the keith laws of the world. I think he is saying that talent evaluation is real and should be given weight and in the long run is correlated with onfield success but not 100 percent
Sounds Lonny Chisenhall
As much as we hammer Angel Hernandez, his chat with Rizzo was nice. I thought Rizzo was very mature and pro in his apology and his follow up conversation.
That was pretty cool…
I dunno…I still don’t get how Dodgers fans can sit in a Northern California establishment…with Giants stuff all over the walls (and Giants fans in attendance)…and outwardly (and obnoxiously) root for their team. I’m not a wallflower by any stretch of the imagination, but I wouldn’t think if doing anything like that in the LA area. Show some mild happiness? Yes. Outwardly yell stuff? No.
As far as the game goes…
– Gonzalez may have been safe, but how many of you felt the “out” call was going to stand? After the Giants/Cubs series, I just had this feeling. I’m sure a few Dodgers’s fans were laughing at our blown replay calls last week. Karma?
– Even though the Dodgers scored 2 runs off of Montgomery (or his glove), I knew they were done because Montgomery was a lefty. It’s crazy how bad they are against lefties. The same Dodgers fan was talking crap when Seager was up and I just happened to mention the 2 “lucky” runs were going to be it…a lefty was on the mound. Boy did I look like Nostradamus. A few folks were chuckling after the inning ended with only the 2 runs. He got alot quieter.
– Now the Dodgers face another lefty today in Lester. The Cubs will be hitting off of Maeda and the Dodgers have lost his 2 post-season starts *and* he hasn’t pitched into the 5th in his last 4 starts. When they go back to Wrigley…if I’m Maddon…I’ll start the game with my righty Arrieta (and Hendricks, if necessary)…and if needed…replace with Montgomery, then Chapman (if I need to shut a door right away)…and close with Rendon. Bye, bye Dodgers.
I have seen several games at Dodger Stadium while wearing my Giants shirt/hat, but I’ve never been a loudmouth about it. I’ve taken my fair share of abuse, but it always felt playful and fun. People walking past me and booing, everybody turning around and yelling “root, root root for the DODGERS” at me during Take Me Out to the Ballgame, fun stuff. But again, I’m not the overly obnoxious loud fan.
Happy Birthday to the greatest pitcher in the history of my San Francisco Giants!!!!!!
Atlee?
I didn’t think it was Timmy’s b-day?
One good thing about the Giants being eliminated is that I don’t have to spend any more of my time watching or listening to baseball until next season.
I’m sure no one would object if you felt the same about blogging.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ek9RWGb97A
New Post: http://fe0.84e.myftpupload.com/philosophy-of-baseball/baseball-time-and-perception-are-games-lasting-longer-or-are-we-getting-more-impatient/
2016 World Series Umpires Features Retiring Hirschbeck
Here are the 2016 World Series umpires, with retiring umpire John Hirschbeck serving as Crew Chief. These postseason umpires will be listed by position as appearing in Game 1 of the World Series when the rotation is announced. Umpire crew rotation for the best-of-seven World Series is clockwise in the infield and counterclockwise in the outfield. The Replay Official joins the on-field crew for Game 3 and remains with the on-field crew for the remainder of the series. Game 1’s home plate umpire becomes the Replay Official for Games 3, and beyond.
World Series Crew (WS / National League Champion @ American League Champion)
John Hirschbeck -cc (5th World Series [1995, 2006, 10, 13])
Chris Guccione^ (1st World Series)
Sam Holbrook (2nd World Series [2010])
Marvin Hudson^ (1st World Series)
Tony Randazzo^ (1st World Series)
Larry Vanover^ (1st World Series)
Joe West (6th World Series [1992, 97, 2005, 09 12])
As for crews of origin, Hirschbeck is the only member of his regular season crew to advance to the 2016 Fall Classic. Guccione and Vanover are from the Vanover crew, Holbrook represents Gerry Davis’ crew, Hudson is from Jim Joyce’s crew, Randazzo is the #2 on Bill Miller’s crew, and West is the only member of his crew to officiate the 2016 World Series. Vanover and Hudson worked with Hirschbeck during the 2016 NLDS, while Guccione served on Jeff Kellogg’s NLDS crew, Randazzo worked under his regular season crew chief Miller in the ALDS, and Holbrook worked with West on the ALDS Wild Card crew.
Hirschbeck’s first and last World Series assignments (1995, 2016) both feature the local Cleveland Indians. He recalled that in October of ’95, trash collectors in his Ohio neighborhood left him a piece of soiled cardboard wishing him good luck: “P.S….’Lofton likes to steal third base.'” When Lofton ended up trying to steal third base in that first game, 3B Umpire Hirschbeck was in great position to make the call: “I credit my trash men for the keen advice,” Hirschbeck said.
The crew has not yet been officially announced by Major League Baseball and is presented as public source information.
CloseCallSports
This a must win for the Cubs with Kershaw on deck? I am kind of surprised Kershaw isn’t pitching tonight. HOw many times have we seen the dodgers move him up a day for a random regular season game vs the Giants? Seems like Gm5 of NLCS is the appropriate time. I know Mattingly did it more than Roberts.