by
Greek Giant
Austin Slater was selected by the Giants in the eighth round and was the 238th pick overall in the 2014 draft. The Stanford University star is originally from Jacksonville, Florida where he was considered the top high school prospect in the state before he broke his ankle during his senior year. The injury dropped his draft position to a place where he was still available for the Giants. Scouts from both the Giants and the Major Leagues consider Slater to be a quality prospect with potential to be a starter in center or left field. His power numbers increased dramatically in 2016 where he had his best season as a pro. Slater has risen quickly through the Giants Minor League ranks where he began his career as a second baseman and has become one of the top ten prospects in the San Francisco system.
Last year the organization moved him to the outfield and in 68 games as the center fielder for the Sacramento River Cats Slater batted .298, hit 13 homers and drove in 42 runs.
Together We’re Giants: Congratulations on a great season. Your homer and RBI totals were both career highs. To what do you attribute the surge in home run power?
Austin Slater: Thank you! My power numbers were definitely something I wanted to improve upon going into this last season. I think RBI’s tend to be a result of power numbers. It wasn’t until the second half of the season that I was finally able to consistently drive the ball. I would attribute the surge to a slight tweak in my stance that helped me to elevate the ball as well as a more patient approach at the plate, which consequently helped draw more walks. It is something that feel I can continue to improve upon going into next season.
TWG: What has been the most difficult adjustment you have had to make transitioning between different Minor League levels and teams?
AS: From a hitting standpoint, each level provides new challenges because the pitchers have a more refined approach and better control. For me the most difficult adjustment has always been finding a balance between what I do best and understanding how the pitchers at that level are attacking me. The transition from team to team is not as tough as it seems. The Giants do a great job during spring training of creating camaraderie among all levels. After a year or so in the organization it seems like you know just about everyone.
TWG: What was your favorite baseball team growing up?
AS: Living in the southeast and growing up in the 90’s it was hard not to be an Atlanta Braves fan as they were somewhat of a dynasty in the 90’s and early 2000’s. Not to mention Chipper Jones was my favorite player growing up
TWG: What was going through your mind when you discovered you were drafted by the Giants in the 8th round of the 2014 draft?
AS: To be honest, it took a couple days to fully sink in. At the time when I was drafted, I was still finishing up my final collegiate career. It wasn’t until the season was over that the excitement hit me and I realized I now had an opportunity to play baseball professionally.
TWG: What is your timeline for getting to the Big Leagues and making the Giants roster?
AS: Unfortunately, that decision isn’t up to me. All I can say is I am excited about the prospect of going to big league spring training next year to show the front office and the coaching staff that I am ready to move up and help the big league club win games in 2017.
TWG: Are you open to playing a different position if it means a faster path to the Big Club?
AS: For sure. I would say versatility is one of my greatest strengths. I played second base my first full season, but spent all of last season in the outfield playing all three positions. I hope to show that to the coaching staff this spring training.
TWG: What managers and coaches have had the biggest impact on you through your journey as a baseball player?
AS: That’s a tough question to answer because there are so many great coaches and inspirational figures throughout my baseball career spanning back to my days as a youth that I know I will forget to mention. Within the Giants organization Jose Alguacil has been a tremendous help to me over the last two years. He has helped me with understanding the intricacies of the game and improving my defense when I was playing the infield. Andy Skeels and Damon Minor both had a large impact on my development as a hitter this season both from an approach standpoint and a mechanical standpoint which lead to my success late in the season.
TWG: What would you say has been your greatest achievement as a player so far?
AS: I would have to say winning the player of the month award in the Pacific Coast League for August is definitely one I am most proud of thus far in my career. I had a rough first two months in Triple A and I take pride in the fact that I was able to work thru my previous struggles and bounce back in August.
Breckeroni says: “Wow, GG! You did it again. An exclusive interview with one of our guys. Good going.”
TGIF!
Happy lumpy creame O wheat
HLCOW DAY!
It’s good to be a Raiders fan, eh? Best game from them (last Sunday Night), since Gannon days. The running game reminded me of David Shaw’s offense at Stanford…and the Raiders have 3 running backs! Once Mario Edwards Jr and Aldon Smith come back…they’ll have a monster “plus” pass rush…if they play the Patriots in the playoffs. Think NY Giants pass rush against Brady…
Im super excited about Al’s Raiders. Get Smith back and Edwards like u say with Carr and those boys no tellin what might go down! OAKLAND RAIDERS
Company not included but all of a sudden, everyone has become a Raiders fan especially KNBR.
Well if it makes you/I feel better, they’re wishing they treated the Warriors better right about now…
I know! This week is about to end, and I need some good news before it does.
nicely done, greek. slater seems like a bright, young man, and i look forward to seeing him in ST. can he make the big squad, or does he need another year of seasoning on the farm? (i’m asking ry, or any other scout we have on board).
These TWG “scouts” spotted him last year:
Slater … giantc, GSDubs, Noce
He only spent half the season in AAA, but overall, he had a fantastic year across the two levels. When you consider that Duffy jumped right from AA into the majors, it wouldn’t seem ridiculous to me if Slater made the club this year. He definitely has the versatility to make himself valuable.
Slater is #4 in most improving position players according to MyGuy™.
Finished in Richmond in 2015 with wRC+ of 108; finished 2016 at Sac with 137.
He was My Exclusive Guy™ last year (pats self on back and then kicks self for not picking him again this year).
And he was a #4 for you that year too.
You spot the good ones and dump them too soon? Keep Mr. Lefty, whom you found by God’s grace. Your dating skills may be in decline.
It was less about dumping them and more about being strategic about who was likely to improve the most. I wish I’d stuck with my original intent to pick Pagan as one of my major leaguers. He had such an awful 2015 that I figured he had nowhere to go but up, but I also counted, in picking Pence, on Pence being healthy this year. Ah, well.
As for Slater, he had a good but not great year in 2015, and I wondered if he’d hit his ceiling. I am happy about picking Duggar–he was this year’s Slater for me, kind of under the radar.
As for Mr. Lefty, I met him when we were 19, we started dating when we were 21, and we’ve been married 33 years and counting. I think I’ll keep him. 🙂
My picks of Cain and Pagan were based on previous season’s WAR. Sometimes being “strategic” with one’s picks blows up in near proximity.
Good open-ended questions for TWG, GG, which generated interesting and thoughtful responses.
Great job, GG.
LF is most likely the best fit for Slater. And I like his chances to be a better hitter than Mac and Park and to take over should those two be given a platoon and struggle.
His ceiling is probably that of fellow Stanford alum, Stephen Piscotty, who happens to have played CF in a pinch as well. But Slater has the right demeanor in the batter’s box and the quickness of hands to hit the big league stuff.
Piscotty hit .273/.343/.457 with STL this season, including 22 HRs and 86 RBIs – which may be high for any projection of a C+ prospect, but you never know, sometimes these guys take off when they find their groove.
GG
I am so enjoying your blog.
I think I may like this better than the other late great one
Many thanks and much appreciation
Braves to sign “2 slices” Colon.
Couple with Dickey that’s old – that’s two Gerald Ford administration babies.
Or Jeezus, Colon is tricky Dick methinks.
ponce de leon
Is that a metaphor for ‘jump the shark’.
Wow, I’m surprised the Mets let him get away. They adored Colon and thought he was a great mentor for their young staff. With all their health issues, you’d think they’d want him back.
I can’t go on keeping a strong woman out of my feed. What’s wrong with me?
Now is not the time to distance from allies. I am sorry and welcome back 🙂
I’m sorry, too. I don’t want to fight with you. I LIKE you. I’ll do better.
Well I love you too 🙂
Enough of this you two! Pretty soon this blog is going to get a bad reputation as a place for Giants fans to write nice things about each other, where people care about each other, where bullying is not tolerated and where the commenters are all mature, fine upstanding people!
Where is TO when you really need him? That help GG?
Who is TO?
Why The Oracle, of course.
Does he know the future? WOW.
He’s a legend in his own mind. 🙂
You seem to be a rather razorsharp minded lady. I like you.
Why, thank you. What does “The 106th” mean?
Probably one of the guys that rescued Geo. Clooney
I should also say that I am a big fan of The Oracle, even though we don’t agree on everything.
LOL.
It means that it was the 106th game when I hit my first homer.
Edit: and another story happened some centuries ago.
In pro ball? College? What position did you play?
Amateur league overseas. I was 19.
Cool. Well, welcome aboard!
Thank you. My avatar has already known you.
It’s all about the bullpen right now. Got to get that figured out. Are they beginning at the closer and working backwards?
What’s interesting is the Dodgers coolness towards their big stud, Jansen.
Should that coolness translate to letting him go, they would collect a draft pick and potentially give the Giants some serious heat in the running for Mark Melancon – who seems to be to be the smartest free agent closer buy – unless Greg Holland’s rehab and strengthening program brings his act back to dominance level (which is totally possible, although not highly probable).
isn’t holland’s drop off in velo a red flag, or will he get that back?
it will come back – as to how far back, we’ll see. 92-94 very much realistic. All the way the 95-96 could happen as well once he is back to full strength in his arm.
The book on Holland.
https://i.imgur.com/Vum4B7W.png
I really hope the Giants don’t throw the dart.
i’m out. too big of a gamble.
The Dodgers are reportedly lusting (yes…I went there) over Chapman. Their apparent (and perhaps temporary) strategy over Jansen is due to the draft pick…which you mention. They get their closer of choice + a draft pick…and their FO pats themselves on the back. I have to admit Chapman’s “deal” is very Dodgers-like.
Unless Melancon grew up a Dodgers fan, I just don’t see if if all things are equal with the Giants. The Giants have 3 GGs, the best catcher in baseball (which should be important to a pitcher), arguably the best manager in baseball, and probably the best rotation (I’ve seen Bum and Cueto listed as best 1-2 combination). Then you throw in the organization and the ballpark…I just don’t see it.
Boras has already floated out there that Holland is open to a non-closing role, so they understand what’s going on. For the right price, I would love to see the Giants pick him up to bolster the BP and mentor the young guys (along with Melancon). Could you imagine the Giants with that rotation *and* other teams knowing if they’re behind going into the 7th…game over? I need to calm down… 😉
What did he blow, 6-7 saves this year. Maybe that’s the source of the coolness. As interesting a narrative as having a spectacular cutter is, it’s not enough to sustain a pitcher.
True. Mariano Rivera only lasted until he 43, and he only had 44 saves that season..
He’s not Rivera. He just wishes he was. But you know that’s a silly comp, don’t you. How’s your day going?
You made a statement about one pitch. I provided an example which refutes your claim. Jensen won’t last until he’s 43, but he’s been dominant with his one pitch for several seasons, and there’s no reason to doubt that can continue to be. Many great closers have relied primarily on one pitch.
What I’ve said in that and other posts is that survive on one pitch alone. And he can’t. If you want to make a cogent argument, try harder. Having a dominant pitch to the exclusion of all others is just exceedingly rare in a good closer.
He’s been dominant since he hit the big leagues in 2010. How do you define “survive?”
I don’t see him as dominant in the future myself. As he ages, he’ll need a wider repertoire, IMO.
He can up as a catcher did Jansen. Not sure who Jensen is?
I think their issue is the risk involved signing a closer with some coronary history and a big body to a big, big contract. The one-run lead blown saves probably had some flukiness to them.
Whether it’s a widely shared opinion here or not, no one seems to see Jansen as the second coming of Rivera. But you’re right, the heart/stroke issues are real and always lurking.
I agree. The combination of his A-Fib dx and BMI is more likely than not the primary cause of the Dodgers concerns about Jansen. If interested, the Giants should be cautious as well.
Emporer GG
Nice “get”
Saw AS play at the Sunken Diamond in Paly. The kid can get after it.
Veterans Day. I better head down to the lab to get some work done. Thinking about the men and women sacrificing, jeezuz MASH is a good show, thinking about the stinking imperialism of mankind, streams of consciousness, David Gilmour on guitar…
(out to you, Matthew)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMhDPMXWrv4
“Veterans” (did it again, Lefty)
Easy mistake to make–just gave a lecture on this and all things apostrophe last week…
Fly the flag
G, Is it possible to make the Tweets on the right scrollable? It’s hard to see ones that are missed or change while reading.
My best friend in high school was killed in Nam while I was still stateside. He eventually received a Silver Star for the circumstances surrounding his death, but it’s taken nearly all this time to make it even tolerable. I’d prefer he was not so bloody stupid for sticking his neck out so much, but that wasn’t his style. Balls out was always his modus operandi… still sucks.
I found my old mid-60s high school yearbook on line this week. It really saddened me to see how many of that class died young, presumably in Vietnam. Particularly how many died in early 1968, then I remembered, Tet. Those were some sad days. It’s hard to communicate the whirlpool of emotions people felt.
U.S. Army (1952–53)
The United States Army drafted Mays in 1952 during the Korean War (1950–53) and he subsequently missed most of that season and the entire1953 season. Mays spent much of his time in the Army playing baseball at Fort Eustis, Virginia. It was at Fort Eustis that Mays learned the basket catch from a fellow Fort Eustis outfielder, Al Fortunato. Mays missed about 266 games due to military service.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6802a9561f11a3556ffa66f7a7291f6c8992ed37b8f705244bcef8f98ac2ca9d.jpg
A baseball soap opera, in multiple acts.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/pitch-episode-7-the-body-issue/
What Pythagoras’ fanboys see in the win column for MLB in 2017.
https://i.imgur.com/rRSt1CW.png
The Divisional granular view.
https://i.imgur.com/1ZaS6G6.png
Jeez, talking about putting your neck out there early. So much for winter.
I did my Veteran’s Day spiel last year. Suffice to say that in the late ’60s and early ’70s to be a veteran was not exactly thought to be a good thing. With that said, I regret that I participated in a war waged by kids who couldn’t get out of serving. Common preliminary words from a judge before sentencing- ” You can go to jail or join the Army”..the war became an opportunity for young criminals to practice their “trade” with impunity. Fragging was a way of life- any veteran of that war would say the same thing.It was a filthy war that still haunts many in mind and body. To say nothing of the horror that we inflicted on the Vietnamese people, where even today children suffer from ghastly birth defects from what we sprayed on the forests.
Happy Veteran’s Day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mSmOcmk7uQ
You crushed it, I agree
Hope you’re doing okay today, Mike. What often gets lost in the sales and parades, is how tough Veterans Day is for combat Veterans.
I had one or two close friends who had been in Vietnam, and on Veterans Day we got together a few times and talked. For both, sometime during those talks, they’d cry. One guy was tormented by the way that war changed his view of children. For years he’d flinch and squirm when a child walked by in a coffee shop or a park. It brought back terrifying memories of small children in Saigon who would walk up to a GI in an outdoor cafe and be carrying a grenade. For a while he was John McCain’s operations officer in Florida after McCain was released. He saw that as an act of penance.
I’m OK. I feel for men like my late friend George, who lost his legs from the knees down, and yet waved the flag and thought that his sacrifice was worth it. I don’t look down on that, I just find it heartbreaking that he lost so much for a country that didn’t give a damn about him when he came home.
The list of the top 50 FA in this article has expected market price and contract expectations. It’s a good read for
what the market expects to happen. For instance Melancon’s expectation..
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2017-top-50-free-agents/
https://i.imgur.com/LxohSCf.png
I heard a Matt Holliday interview (brief piece) about how he would be willing to play some 1B, but still wants to play OF. My point is the Giants need a RH bat and he could be a short-term solution…to go along with Mac or Parker (whoever isn’t traded). Holliday is an actual LF; which wasn’t the case in previous years when Morse and Ishi were rolled out there. He’d get minimal 1B time with Posey playing there on Belt’s off-days, but he’d be a nice PH on his days off.
Here’s what they say about Holliday:
“Spoiler alert for my bargains post! I think Holliday is being wildly undersold. His downturn in offense is almost entirely BABIP-driven, and while he’s going to have to transition to 1B/DH, he’s not that much worse of a hitter than the expensive guys at the top of the list. For a team looking for a good right-handed bat on a short-term commitment, Holliday could be a steal.”
Not a long-term solution, but one to consider if a long-term one isn’t available. I’d take him over re-signing Pagan.
It seems like, when comparing Pagan and Holliday in LF, like comparing a 3 legged antelope to a foundering water buffalo.
Did you check with Scoots?
😉
Scoots got his watch and ring. If the Giants can sign former Dodgers…they can sign Holliday.
And quite possibly a back injury.
Not a bad choice at all especially if they can get him on a short term discount type deal. About his defense, it iss really bad. He doesn’t read balls well and moves very poorly out there. But I like the suggestion, i think the Giants needs another big RH bat that can drive in some runs..Holliday could be a good fit in the lineup.
Mark Melancon with the Giants’ infield expertly fielding weak-contact ground balls sounds like the perfect match to me.
I agree completely. He leverages the best infield in baseball, which makes a lot of sense in my mind.
Sorry for the interruption , but I do need to note that as a white male,I have no problem with having a little T and A on the transition team. In fact, I campaigned for it,
OK, carry on with this baseball stuff.
Marla Maples?
Ivanka
So I’m spending my holiday making a double batch of cassoulet for my mom’s big birthday party tomorrow. Feels good to think about something other than work and…you know.
Methinks I crossed about 10 times the birthplace town of that “…you know”‘s wife. A beautiful small village in the Sava valley called Sevnica.
It gets tiresome thinking of T & A all day.
I’ll have to take your word for that.
Happy Birthday to your Mom- is she a baseball fan?
Not really. She did watch the 2014 World Series. But she loves the Warriors.
So very interesting:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/11/sports/football/nfl-tv-ratings-shorter-games-fewer-commercials.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fsports&action=click&contentCollection=sports®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=sectionfront
It’s a NYTimes log-in page.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/11/sports/football/nfl-tv-ratings-shorter-games-fewer-commercials.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fsports&action=click&contentCollection=sports®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=sectionfront
Same-o, same-o. Thanks anyway.
It’s an article in today’s NY Times about declining ratings for the NFL. It’s in the sports section and free.
Thanks
Thats the bums rush behind a pay wall. Tried about 10 different ways
I just looked through that Fangraphs article on the 50 top free agents, and I was really, really happy to scroll right on past all of those desultory starting pitchers on the list. Bobby Evans, I’m sorry I ever doubted you.
He was thinking ahead more than just for the current season. That’s why he gets the big bucks and the dames and fame… Interesting to see with Austin Slater in the outfield what his future will be. The Giants asked him to switch positions last year in anticipation of 2017…
I don’t know if you saw my “report” on Alex’s podcast with Bobby Evans yesterday, but he said just that–that he was looking ahead to this year’s deadline and that’s why they dropped such big money on Cueto and Samardzija and why he grabbed Moore at the deadline when the opportunity presented itself.
He spoke highly of Slater and what a great year he had, and it sounds like he’ll get a real shot to be in the mix next season.
…also Hunter Cole, who’s been acquitting himself well in the Fall League, as has Ryder Jones…and they’ve been having Ryder play some outfield, too.
If Gillaspie really does show that he can be the everyday 3rd baseman ( highly doubtful, IMO), I think that Nunez would play LF. He would get very little playing time as a super sub with Crawford and Panik in the middle. And Nunez has to play almost everyday. LF would the only place that he could do that.
In the postseason presser, Evans said they regard Nunez as the everyday 3B. I suppose that could change, though, depending upon how the free agent/trade market pans out.
I think Conor’s an excellent infield backup and bench bat, and if Nunez or Belt needs a day or even a few days, he’d be fine starting for a bit, too.
That’s one of the issues Minnesota was confounded by.
Don’t think they were switching positions in advance of 2017, just don’t think he they saw that LF is the best position for him defensively. I think he profiles below average on the infield – this was my report from High-A seeing his feet, hands, and arm.
The SF infield has major blockage, outside 3B.
He played all three OF spots this year and even some CF for Sacramento after Gorkys was called up. That, along with his ability to play some infield in an emergency, might get him a nice long look if they think the bat will play.
“That’s why he gets the big bucks and the dames and fame…”
You sound like Raymond Chandler.
Makes that Duffy trade seem mo’ bettah now don’t it?
So the Dodgers just traded Howie Kendrick to the Phils. This raises the question of who plays 2B for them next year, with Utley a free agent, too. More moves coming, I guess.
Hot stove is heating up. Blue Jays signed Kendry Morales for DH.
In house, Keekay Hernandez can play some 2B, one of the players in the Kendrick trade is a former Dodger prospect, Darnell Sweeney, he plays 2B. Then they have one of their top prospects, Willie Calhoun, who clubbed 27 HRs in AA even though he’s only about 5’8″. He doesn’t K too much, they like his bat.
I bet they go get someone. Maybe Utley back. Neil Walker?
Neil is a solid pro bat. That would be a good get.
Utley maybe
No on Walker cause of the draft pick?
Also a guy they got from White Sox last year, Micah Johnson, plays 2B and happens to be a burner. The is the Los Angeles Rays.
What’s the thinking on Michael Saunders among the TWG elite?
Wait! There’s an elite on here?
Left handed
Faded badly in the 2nd half
And?
Aren’t the giants looking for rt hand power?
Pardon my French, but LDs and GB hits are what I’m interested in AT&T.
Pass.
Thanks GG for the piece on Slater. It sounds like he is closer to the bigs than I previously thought. It`s very cool to see the kids get a shot and grow into a big league ballplayer. That`s one reason this team has been so fun for me to follow, watching the kids come up. Hopefully he has the kind of success in spring training that gets him a shot sooner than later…make it a hard decision to send him down. Thank you again for your efforts.
Don’t forget though, the kid is an outfielder in the Giants system, the team is more likely to resign Angel than give some rookie a shot.
Sadly, you could be right.
Is this the Nate Silver forecast ?
More of a lament than a forecast.
This is at least your second Nate Silver post, Ryan.
He was DFA’d. Anybody can pick him up once he clears waivers. Want him on your team?
Hell no.
With a capital HELL and a capital NO.
I guess somehow we’d feel better if ol’ Nate said it was going to be a coin toss.
I think all these forecasters ought to just shut it down. Who knows how much damage they did, how many people stayed home out of complacency? In any case, we can all agree that they apparently don’t know s**t.
May also have to shut down Facebook and the FBI for future election cycles. Not that there is any proof that any of the hubbub affected the election. Obama-hate is real. Disenfranchised folk in rural America are very real. Electoral College math is still very real.
…and belief that manufacturing and mining jobs can be brought back is real.
You’d think economies could be built working with alternatives to oil. How do you put everyone to meaningful work with purpose in their lives? Uhhh whoa, sounds like a transcendent leap from here.
You don’t. The more we automate, the fewer jobs there will be, LOL, NAFTA or not.
A new Luddism is coming. In vain, as usual.
What better be in the wings is a new calibration between the relationship between labor and capital. Nobody buys ‘stuff’ without money…the reality Henry Ford recognized.
True that, but there are very few Fords around today, sadly. I think that Technologic breakthroughs and innovations are helping Capitalism to suicide.
Or the natural arc of an organism from birth to death?
Maybe.
Yah, who knows except the great scientist/s in the sky?
No one knows. No exceptions. Human or divine.
And I started the day with Leonard Cohen’s ‘Everybody Knows’, sheesh.
LMAO
Thanks to Elon, cars will be expensive and it won’t take much to own and assemble them if you have 7 figures in the bank and a PhD. Fortunately, we can hop a freight to Mars and start a new life AND a new economy.
This formula has been nothing but acidic. What an experiment !
There was a really interesting interview on PBS Newshour yesterday with historian Adam Tooze on Trump’s promises to bring back American manufacturing and industrial jobs.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/trumps-economic-proposals-offer-vision-past/
A variation on the ’30s WPA would be nice, to repair our crumbling infrastructure and put young men/women to work who enjoy working with their hands. But that’s a government program, so it’ll never happen now!
“…that manufacturing and mining jobs can be brought back…” Not so much.
I think it was facetious; except on the other hand Santa Claus is Nigerian. I just got my check from the estate.
I got it, I got it! And stop this nonsense about Santa being Nigerian. He’s Egyptian.
The belief…is real. It’s a misguided belief.
Yup.
IMO, it’s a mixed bag. You can’t abandon numbers as an instrument in political science, but, at least in Silvers case, he gave the GOP a 35% chance of winning…. but having only one trial you don’t get a second look. There is a reason scientist buffer their expectations at the 0.05 level before they accept a result as even marginally predictive.
The big issue is IMO, you don’t know how dependable the variance is with these small sample predictions. Using a stat in baseball like OPS is fraught with the same issue. As I said before, its why I’ve started looking at trends in stats and not absolute numbers. At least with a trendline, you can substantiate subjective optimism or pessimism in a player performance, ala Duvall.
super solid post – if this was elemental it would be Iridium.
35% chance…who else had that? That’s way more than anyone else’s. For example,see NY Times. Profuse apologies coming from over there for not straying outside Manhattan to see the truth and report it. Instead, they built a narrative and tried to support it.
Or, you can fail to see the forest because you’re focusing too closely on the nearby trees.
Except that isn’t what happened.
It’s a business and Siver 538 had done well in the past. I know he was dead on the last two presidential elections and maybe the last 3. Sometimes you get it wrong.
CC posted a link that explains how he wasn’t necessarily wrong.
I read him before the election and I he had some decent information on issues that could affect both sides.
http://simplystatistics.org/2016/11/09/not-all-forecasters-got-it-wrong/
Silver was dead on with the popular vote, but the electoral college segmentation just fell outside the boundaries of prediction.
One of his posts talks about the change of 1%. That was the difference.
I saw that. I looked at the numbers coming out of 3 states, and had Milwaukee, Detroit, and Flint voted as they had in 2012, the results flip. Smug self assurance in politics can quickly become self deception.
Now for me that is the quote of the day.
BTW, my company opened up a new store today in Fresno in the Fig Garden Center. Made the local news from what I understand. If I ever make it down there maybe we can make like Ray Cansella and have a catch.
I’d love to have a catch. Maybe some batting cage time too!
What’s funny is that my wife just came from Fig Garden shopping – her mom’s Bday is today. She picked me up some beer for me at Whole Foods, and some dairy. It’s very hoighty toighty in Fig Garden.
Sunday is Costco shopping day.
So you’re sipping on a nice Apricot lager?
while my fingernails get buffed. how you doing?
I didn’t see you holding a sign on the 5 when I passed by Hollywood Way last Monday.
Stood up once again.
Ive been better. Had my car totaled in an accident Wed nite and I’m pretty jammed up and have a totaled vehicle. So that’s nice.
You saw a doctor, right Rob?
Yes
I hope you’re okay.
I’m alright. But already had back and neck issues so now they’re just exacerbated. Hopefully i can parlay this into some treatment.
I hope so too. That would be good.
Stay away from opiate pills! Avoid them at all costs if you can. Get well soon!
That sucks. I’m sorry Bro-seph. And you already had some nagging physical things going on. Yes, I pay attention to your welfare. Will prop 64 be assisting your state?
I didn’t need a prop to be medicinally stocked.
A man ahead of his time. I just had one for your sake.
Straight from the Fig Garden?
I call it the lilac garden.
Yikes, sorry, Rob. Glad you lived to tell. So scary.
My second in three years. At least this one wasn’t my fault.
Been a rough week.
Ugghhh, acid flashbacks from my four years of living in LA. I was terrified every time I got into a car. Take care of yourself.
The drivers here are unfathomably dangerous. Like this guy who tried to make a left-hand turn through 3 lanes of traffic and hit me head on.
My God, Rob. That made me shudder.
Blade Runner with a touch of Taxi Driver mixed in. Active dystopia.
How awful and terrifying, Rob.
Take it easy and notice everything your experiencing. You never know how delayed symptoms can show themselves.
Yup. Thx.
Good advice, Noce.
Holler if you need anything PLEASE
All my beer purchases now come from Total Wine. They have an outstanding selection, always at the best prices.
Its a nice center just down from one of my suppliers office complex. Let me know and I will travel to get a few things done in one day.
http://simplystatistics.org/2016/11/09/not-all-forecasters-got-it-wrong/
Good link. Thanks. So maybe the Giants do let the Mac/Park platoon 🙂
Until something demonstrably better comes along. Do you know what I mean when I say fixing or improving the Giants will be an iterative process. IMO, there is no magic bullet.
BTW, that’s from the stats department at Johns Hopkins.
If they could somehow pick up Lorenzo Cain this winter or by late July, they would find a very effective bullet for getting in the playoffs and winning once there.
I completely agree.
Give Mac Williamson a legit shot and move Parker. Sign a proven 4th OF to replace Blanco.
My guess: Pagan is gone.
I like Pagan and appreciate his contributions to past rings. But he is done as a full time player. I hope he is gone because we can’t afford that weak of a defense effort.
Yes, he was a good Giant, but it’s time to change. We need fresh and young blood & brains in OF.
“Brains”–yes!
Young blood & brains sounds like a gruesome concoction that might be whipped up in a beaker in Dr. Frankenstein’s lab
I’m a pretty patient guy, but his tendency to get injured every season after he signed his multi-year deal after 2012 was wearing thin. I was always waiting for the day when he would get scratched from the line-up because of an injury and Bochy didn’t DL him because he thought Pagan would have just returned before the 15th day.
It seemed fitting that his contract ended with him sitting out two elimination games.
I don’t know whether to respect him for not going out there to play because he wouldn’t have been 100% to help his team or think it was selfish that he should have laid himself on the line to help his team no matter what.
Well, it depends on who’s the rookie. Madison got more than a shot when he was a rookie.
I was thinking specifically about outfielders, the youngsters don’t tend to get much run on this team.
Talent is talent. Adding talent to the roster improves the team, regardless of who gets blocked who or may get shifted out of position. The 162 game season is a war of attrition. Having talent from the farm with options is a bonus.
I hope the new CBA expands the roster to 26.
So does BB15, nine man pen here we come.
I think this will take some time, not ready for this yet, as the NL isn’t ready for the DH.
I’m in the Never-DH group.
I think the 26-man roster could be a possibility when CBA gets re-negotiated this year. I could be dreaming though.
Bochy is drooling over the thought of a 14 man pitching staff.
Per Jeff Passan, Mark Melancon is in SF today for an in-person visit.
https://twitter.com/jeffpassan/status/797169073566130176
Whoop!
As long as they’re not entertaining Chapman at this stage of the free-agency market. $100 mil? Hop yoself onto Caltrains and don’t look back.
Hey GG (or anybody). What is the latest on Crick? Is it still/only control issues? Is he headed back to/for Richmond or Sacramento? Heard his fastball is electric with hop…just doesn`t know where it`s going.
His walks went from one per inning to close to half a walk per inning, so progress.
But his arm deserves as much patience as has been afforded. That said, it’s time for AAA.
He’s spent THREE years in AA, so yeah, seems like now or never for him (to at least go to AAA). But he’ll still just be 24, and maybe he can be a high-octane reliever. They aren’t going to need any more starters in AAA next year, though.
But I also wouldn’t be stunned if he doesn’t make the cut when the Giants have to trim down their 40 to protect new guys from the Rule 5 draft.
You know, I’ve tried to start talking baseball again but it’s just not in me. Talk to you later.
10-4
Jeff Passan’s 2016 Ultimate Free Agent Tracker:
“11. Mark Melancon, RP: He’s not Chapman. He’s not Jansen. He’s just the guy over the past four years with the best ERA in baseball. And while Melancon’s arsenal isn’t dominant, he manages to do all the important things with it: strike out hitters, not issue walks, prevent home runs and induce groundballs. His lack of a qualifying offer makes him all the more tantalizing to teams worried about losing draft picks.”
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/the-2016-ultimate-mlb-free-agent-tracker-001816067.html
He’s my first choice. I wouldn’t mind Jansen, but keeping the draft pick would be a nice bonus if we got Melancon.
He’s my first choice too.
You ought to check out the new movie Arrival, it’s first and foremost about a lady linguist.
You’ve been waiting not so patiently for this ! 🙂
I sure have!
these are fun morsels of goodness…
8. Ian Desmond, CF/SS: First-half Desmond was on his way to the nine-figure deal he had turned down while with the Washington Nationals: .322/.375/.524, with shockingly good center-field defense, and not just for a converted shortstop. Second-half Desmond was the guy who had been so bad the year before he had to settle for the Rangers’ $8 million offer: .237/.283/.347, and just as bad in the playoffs. He’ll get paid, no doubt, because of the tantalizing first half. The second will linger, though, the devil trying to outshout the angel, the risk of free agency personified in one curious player.
Another first half/second half tale. I like the way Jeff Passan writes.
MLB Network just aired their Wilson Defensive Player/Team of the Year Awards (just one winner per position, not per league):
SS–Craw!
C–Buster!
Team–Giants!!!
you just beat me to it! 🙂 I had to rewind and be like, “wait, did they actually really give them credit for their awesomeness and not suck the Cubs’ teats?”
Saw that. Loved it!
IF the Giants get Melancon AND Cain comes around just to OK, not great, how good this team is going to be? Not only will they play highly competitive baseball, but it will allow them to work through issues with young guys like Williamson and Parker absent a lot of the pressure if they have to have offense as a backstop for holes in the pen and rotation. They could easily add 8-10 games to the win column.
I think Jansen will have the best remaining career of the big three.
It’s possible, but it depends on who he goes with, I think, and the contract length.
I think Jansen’s a stud and I’ve thought that for years. I couldn’t believe how the Dodgers kept trying to dis/replace him. I would LOVE it if the Giants got him, and I don’t care much about losing the draft pick.
I’d be really happy with Melancon, too, though.
You finally cleaned up his last name
News from this weeks Baseball GM meeting, the Angels are listening to offers on Trout.
The Angels just signed Jesse Chavez a week after trading for Cameron Maybin. They are doing their best to compete in the AL West with the resources they have available.
From dgg’s guy, Passan, this trio in sequence intrigues me should “all else fail”.
24. Daniel Hudson, RP: Outside of Chapman and Jansen, Hudson has the best raw stuff of any reliever: a 96-mph fastball that touches 100, a hard slider and a changeup that, when it’s on, which it was most of last season, is his best pitch. When it wasn’t on – June 23 to Aug. 2 – Hudson had one of the worst stretches in memory for a pitcher: 31 runs on 33 hits in 9 2/3 innings. In his other 50 2/3 innings, Hudson allowed just one baserunner and struck out one nearly every inning and posted a 1.60 ERA. He can’t erase that five-week swoon; teams also know he’ll cost about a quarter as much as Chapman or Jansen and are fine with that. Side note: Hudson also stars in the most compelling book since the Bible, one that makes a delightful holiday gift.
25. Jae-gyun Hwang, UT: The 29-year-old Hwang is positioning himself as a poor-man’s Ben Zobrist, with power, speed, contact skills and flexibility. While he’s most comfortable at third base, he has played shortstop and second and is taking reps this winter in the outfield. After a .335/.394/.570 season with 27 home runs and 25 stolen bases in Korea, he’s likely to choose from a number of three-year deals.
26. Brad Ziegler, RP: The mystery of Ziegler plays on. A 37-year-old who throws 84 mph has the single best ERA of a reliever with at least 500 innings since 2008. Insane groundball rates. No home runs. Pretty good formula.
Buying two major league relievers for less than the cost of one big one has a measure of prudence, but I have to say, the players coming out of Korea have some game. Why not get in on that market at some point?
Last year the Giants bought two starters instead of one Greinke…while I’d like an elite closer from the top three, a two-fer might be OK…there really is some talent already in the bullpen if it’s used effectively.
I’ve always loved Hudson’s arm, post-op and all. Passan highlights the bad stretch well. Sometime you have to caution against getting scared off by a bad stretch as you do getting over excited about a good stretch.
Ziegler just knows how to get outs. Nothing wrong with picking him up in the 6-8 mil range.
Nice conversation with Matt Moore, no doubt available on the CSN website. He wasn’t upset about being pulled in the 9th inning of game 4, he didn’t expect what happened, to happen.
It was still the worst of bochy’s many bad moved last year and may well have cost them another championship.
Bochy has to pull Moore in the 9th, and the bullpen has to be able to close it out.
Yes. 120 pitches.
Why does have ‘have to’?? And why does the bullpen ‘have to’?? The Cubs won the World Series with a closer who blew 3 saves in the postseason alone.
Total bullpen meltdown wasn’t much help either. But Moore expressing confidence in his teammates and manager isn’t a bad sign for the future.
Wilson Ball Gloves 4hr ago:
The Defensive Team of the Year Award goes to … the @SFGiants, who set a record this year for longest errorless streak in NL history (17 Gs).
Hey, Mark Melancon! Are you reading this? This is the team you need to be on. You’re a ground ball pitcher and your ground balls won’t be getting through our infield.
Bravo Gregg Popovich.
Disgusting is right!
Friend texted me last night to let me know how emboldened the idiots have become. A co-worker of his wife asked her when she’s going to get on top of a truck heading back to Mexico.
Well that’s a fireable offense but she wants to avoid this confrontation.
Idiots’s mother is always pregnant.
Grant Brisbee makes the case for Kenley Jansen. He bases his argument for Jansen on three reasons:
“1. Jansen is a converted catcher who doesn’t have a lot of wear and tear on his arm
2. Jansen mostly throws one pitch
3. It’s a magic pitch”
Grant Brisbee raves about Jansen’s cutter. What he doesn’t mention, not even once, is Jansen’s heart condition and associated risks.
Alex was asked on Twitter: “why not sign 2 closers? Jansen and Chapman?”
Alex responded: “because money”
This made me laugh. 2 relievers may be possible financially, but not those two.
I just don’t see any reason to prefer jansen to melancon. In the last 4 years, melancon has the best wpa of any reliever in the majors, way better than jansen (#9). He has the lowest era of any pitcher (1.80, jansen is 2.19). He’s a ground ball pitcher and will be even better with the giants infield. He’s 31 but that’s young for a reliever. It isn’t even close.
Saturday AM Crowd weigh in on THE Off-Season Questions:
MyHotStoveGuy™ Contest
1) Pick what position gets addressed first.
2) Pick what Giants player gets dealt first.
3) What current Giant gets extended/re-signed first and on what terms?
Give me your guesses by Replying to one of my posts/comments so I do not miss it.
If you have a question, or want to play your cards close to the vest, …
write me: My SF Giant Guy at Gee Mel dOtt com
Ten have given me entries: trending Closer and Bum … Traded player has seven different ideas.
I’ll have my go:
1) closer, ’cause of the talking to the free agents that is being reported this week
2) Denard Span, in a OF deal, eating part of his salary to get a MLB regular OF.
3) Eduardo Nunez
1 & 3 seem no-brainers, kind of, with #2 being my “tie breaker” which also amounts to dumping My2016Guy.
Real Fake GM moves; especially the Oops on Span; you are in.
Nunez on what terms? Years and $? Noce said 3/18
Three of us are going for that back-up catcher being landed first.
Ah, didn’t see that about the terms. 3 years for Nunez is very reasonable, let’s say 15 million, for his first big contract. Span seemed to be playing better late in the year, and if the Giants keep him, I hope his 2017 goes better than 2016.
Someone here already posted a list of FA catchers that shows a great set of veterans from which to pick. Brown will be back in Sac waiting to see if MyGuy Aramis shows up in July.
My Guy too. You really think Garcia has a chance, Haak?
Foots, who talks of catcher mechanics, warns that Aramis is weak in his skills. But he was a high pick and keeps hitting better each level [22% improved this year; all at San Jose]. If he starts in Richmond this year and again does well I do not think there is anyone in the system ahead of him so he comes to Sac. [Double MyGuy™ bonus]
I am sticking with him.
That’s an interesting thought about Nunez. If the next few years are like his 2016–an All-Star, 40 SBs, 16 HRs, good all-around tools–he’ll be worth far more than 3 years/$15 mil this time next year. If, however, he’s a mediocre utility guy (i.e., what he was before 2016), $15 mil would be great–take the money and run. Ehire Adrianza sure would take that.
I suspect Nunez and his agent would bank on the former, not the latter.
COTS had him on a 1 year deal for 1.5 million in 2016 – kind of surprising to me, as in some ways the Duffy trade was predicated on Nunez being solid at 3B for some time to come. I’m interested in what Footy thinks Nunez is worth.
Yes, he made slightly under $1.5 mil last year as a second-year arbitration player. There are caps on how much that can go up or down in his final year. If he makes $4 mil next year, that would be a nice raise for him. Again, it comes down to who he really is–everyday player with All-Star type credentials or utility type.
If the Giants could extend him at a modest rate, that would be a great deal for them. With his versatility and tools, he’d be a good investment, even if they want to leave a spot open for Arroyo or an outfielder in the future. But I’m not sure Nunez would do it. If he has another year like 2016, he’ll score big on the free agent market next year.
Here is my Dream Scenario:
Nunez does well but misses the AL and has family in FL; Duffy under-performs in TB so the Giants make a trade in late July.
Okay, I said it was a dream.
I agree with Lefty that Nunez is an interesting choice. I still think however that the Giants will extend Bumgarner first before any other player.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvaEJzoaYZk
The owner of the Marlins says he’s going to build a memorial to Jose Fernandez. I have problems with this, just as I did with the uniform patches and ceremonies the Cardinals did for Oscar Taveras. I appreciate and sympathize with the grief for someone they knew and cared about. But, in both cases, this individual whom they’re honoring like a hero took other people with him due to his bad choices.
It’s interesting that most of the responses to this tweet are also negative.
https://twitter.com/jonheyman/status/797460183396089856
Also: what’s the memorial FOR, exactly? Fernandez didn’t win a Cy Young or lead the Marlins to a championship. He’s not going to be in the Hall of Fame. He was a great pitcher who died when he was 24 and thus didn’t achieve what everyone thought he could have. Pretty much the only reason for the memorial is that he’s dead–through his own actions. I guess it’s Loria’s money and team and he can do what he wants, but I don’t get it.
Being ephemeral, the STL patch makes more sense, doesn’t it?
Every time I saw those players wearing it, I wondered how people who’d lost loved ones to drunk drivers felt about it–especially Cardinals fans.
Young people often lack sense about their mortality, and the consequences of their actions to others. But it is still sad when their mistakes cost lives, instead of just being dumb mistakes (like most of us made). Both of these guys seemed important to their teammates. And you make a great point about them not being heroes. Life isn’t simple, nor it seems, death.
Like it or not you have to see this within the context of the Marlins history and location. They are a franchise with a very short history and Jose Fernandez was Cuban in Miami. The symbolism of his background and achievements are worth celebrating and commemorating. Fernandez was a symbol of of many important things to Miamians and South Floridians. It is important to remember that South Florida is basically an extension of Hispanic America and Miami is the capital of Hispanic America. Jose Fernandez’s life and baseball career are worth celebrating in my opinion. The terrible tragedy and circumstances surrounding his death are not what will be commemorated or remembered for people. Surely, he was no Roberto Clemente but not many are.
I think that all makes sense in context, but for me, when I think about his life and career, I’ll lament what could have been, not celebrate it. I was a big fan of Fernandez–I loved the joy with which he played the game.
I hear you. It is a terrible waste of a life. Truly sad, especially for his family. So needless and senseless. What the Marlins should do is create a drug and alcohol abuse prevention program in their city or at least among the team and all newcomers to Miami. Miami, let’s remember, is a notorious party town with many temptations that are difficult to resist for young, newly-minted millionaire men.
The details that came out after the accident included that Fernandez was texting teammates to go out on the boat with him that night. They all said no because they had a 1 pm game the next day. Fernandez wasn’t scheduled to pitch, but they had to be ready to play. It could have been an even bigger tragedy if several Marlins players had been on that boat.
And that brings up the question: How come his two friends got in the boat with him? When I was in high school, my mother drilled into me not to get into a car with a friend driving under the influence. She said no matter where, no matter what time of night, call us and we will come pick you up. My dad wasn’t too happy when he came to pick me up at a truck stop in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night in the middle of the vast desert.
Was it sad for the families of his friends? Or just for the family of the great pitcher?
Did the investigators ever determine who was piloting the boat?
Not that I’ve heard. Don’t know how they really could, considering how brutal the accident was.
Jeffrey Loria doesn’t believe the toxicology report:
“Fernandez’s enormous legacy was dented to a degree when the coroner reported finding cocaine in his system, but Loria has told people he can’t square that with the young man he knew.”
“I don’t believe that,” Loria said. “I knew this kid.”
We don’t always know someone as well as we think we do.
The Giants may have signed the next Casilla–a young (26) pitcher out of the dumpster who sounds like he has great stuff but has never been able to harness it. He has more strikeouts than innings in his minor league career but he also has way too many walks. Sounds like a new project for Righetti.
https://twitter.com/matteddyba/status/797465902979645440
Sounds like Kyle Crick.
Yes, he does, though he’s logged some major league time with three different teams. Made his big league debut at 22.
If I can digress a moment, I’d like to insert comment I heard recently and that is…
“Critics of Donald Trump take his comments literally, but not seriously. His supporters take him seriously, but not literally.”
I think there’s a lot to that comment and how one interprets it. We have little choice but to see how it plays out.
-EOS
Back to baseball.
Or to take action. Now is not the time to “see how it plays out”. Get involved. No more standing idly by on the sidelines hoping for the better angels to make everything alright. Sign the petition to alter the way the electoral college operates. Stand by state efforts to resist changes the new unchecked administration may enact. Stand up for those being discriminated against. Stand up against racism, sexism, hatred. Stand up for the environment or what’s left of it.
Baseball will return. But this is the winter of our discontent. And hopefully positive action in the face of despair.
I used to be indecisive. Now I’m not so sure…
C’mon Bapah, collapse your wave function!
I can only do that paraprosdokianally.
I promise to support President Trump 100% as much as Republicans supported President Obama.
Hard to know yet what we’re are supposed to support. They don’t even know where they stand. Already there’s quite a bit of infighting amongst various factions. To quote one insider, it’s like the Oklahoma land grab.
Reason Christie is out is because Trump’s son in law Kushner and he didn’t get along. Not surprising since Christie, as a US attorney once prosecuted and convicted Kushner’s father for tax evasion, illegal campaign donations and witness tampering. Nice.
Can’t wait to see where Sarah Palin lands. LOL. OK, I’m not really laughing.
That’s frightening. They can’t be that foolish, can they?
Oh, yes, they can.
And you haven’t seen nothing yet. Usually realty is more fantastic than the most unrestrained human imagination. Those SOBs…
Dept of the Interior
Which really concerns me.
My sister-in-law is an environmental attorney for that department (in Sacramento). She’s worked under Clinton, 43 Bush, and Obama.
Who was that insider? That’s quite a slam on the history of the Oklahoma Land Rush. I’m starting to realize that it’s “insiders” like this who alienate rural America. I bet that insider didn’t grow up in Oklahoma or have grandparents who were homestead farmers like I did.
Man, we are both on the same wavelengh.
Yo, whatever wavelength you are on, you are not alone.
610 nm?
Yes, orange.
I just became an even bigger fan of Spurs Popovich. Quite a contrast with his, Van Gundy and Kerr’s comments and those of baseball’s Schillung and Arrieta.
He’s a smart guy and he gets it…
Some My Guy coaching material. Let the wave continue to swell.
Perhaps because I live in purple Montana, I’ve been trying to understand how this happened. This morning I read a story in the NYT with interviews and stories about people who live in Indianapolis and work for Carrier and voted for President-elect Donald Trump. The people who shared their lives and perspectives for this story are interesting and thoughtful. This story more than anything else I’ve read helped me understand. It’s worth reading all the way through.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/13/business/economy/can-trump-save-their-jobs-theyre-counting-on-it.html?_r=0
Poignant comment. ““It’s like you are getting divorced but you are still living with your wife and her new boyfriend is coming over.” About Mexican engineers coming to their factory to measure and plan for the new factory in Mexico.
My sister was laid off by Schwab last year after nearly 30 years with the company. She was required to train her replacements in India in order to receive her severance. She still didn’t vote for Trump.
We seem constructed to blame someone for the problems in our lives. It’s rare we turn to the mirror and ask the person staring back are they at fault. The data clearly show the dominant cause by far in job loss is automation rather than immigrants or even shipping jobs overseas. That’s not to say jobs don’t get lost to cheaper labor elsewhere, but it’s today not the real issue. Underlying this is an even more scary proposition…. those people left jobless, for the most part, haven’t been trainable to new jobs. Where do we go as a society when a large chunk of its citizens can’t provide productive input, regardless of ethnicity? To my mind it’s inevitable that as society gets more and more complex and technical to sustain, there will be fewer and fewer people who can find a productive niche in that society.
Agreed
So when the owners control everything, the experiment fails?
very healthy to understand and sympathize these cases. It also leads to frustration with the Democratic party.
I also heard some great journalism on This American Life in St. Cloud, Minnesota. They were frustrated with the influx of Somali migrants. Their town was no longer white any more. They were afraid of Sharia Law. They would justify racism with economic factors. They were disturbed by what happened to their vision of normal.
That’s the thing–behind these “economic factors” for many is a sense that diversity and feminism (minorities and women) have taken their opportunities and caused their struggles.
The other thing, of course, is that there’s nothing in Trump’s ideas (such as they are) that’s going to bring those jobs back.
I agree Trump cannot bring these jobs back. The primary reasons for the losses in manufacturing jobs are automation and our global economy.
If anything they should have voted for Bernie Sanders when they had the chance, but oh, well.
But when did they have that chance? The DNC deprived them and most Democrats of that. I believe Bernie would have easily beat Trump in the General Election as he appealed to many of the same voters who were disillusioned by insincere politicians
Agreed. Sighhhhh
If it makes you feel better, and lowers your blood pressure, have at it. Just realize the purpose is to sooth your nerves.
http://fair.org/home/polls-showed-sanders-had-a-better-shot-of-beating-trump-but-pundits-told-you-to-ignore-them/#
I’ve read that. It reminded me of Philly fans after the 2010 NLCS. I went back and read the source material as well, it was basically CYA foolishness, IMO.
I don’t see how anybody who calls himself a “democratic socialist” can get elected President.
Right. But if economic issues are really at the heart of their concerns and their jobs aren’t coming back, but actually IS the solution for them other than socialism? A political solution, I mean. I can think of actual practical ones, too.
They can’t, but it’s is a good way of sublimating blame and responsibility.
We need more Jason Kanders in the Democratic Party.
When they didn’t put a serious candidate with credibility in the rust belt on the ticket with Ms. Clinton who would have given her credibility the Democratic leadership blundered. They, at that point, were at risk in a turnout election. IMO, Jim Webb was the obvious choice, but it was felt no one on the Bernie side of the ledger would have accepted a conservative/moderate as a component of the coalition. Maybe they were right, but it would have brought them Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Oh well, spilled milk and so forth.
Webb didn’t even endorse Clinton. And he’s a very dull conservative military guy from Virginia. Fail to see how he was going to improve turnout or help in the rust belt.
He’s anything but a boor. Harvard thought enough of him to make him a Fellow. Maybe an article he wrote for the Wall Street Journal, “Class Struggle: American workers have a chance to be heard.”, or his book How the Scots-Irish Shaped America would suggest his perspective and it’s utility politically.. Not endorsing Clinton out of the chute isn’t such a bad thing, IMO. By the way, he’s from Missouri and is the guy most responsible for making Virginia blue when he took George Allen Jr to the mat for his ‘macaca’ slur against people of color. Democrats again made the critical mistake of mistaking ideology for politics. You should read a bit more.
Progressive
If you find that soothing.
Not really…but it’s the acceptable term, easier to swallow than “socialist” in this country. dgg is right, you can’t call yourself socialist and get elected Pres.
The other thing about how “this happened” is to also understand exactly WHAT happened. Trump got enough votes in the right places to win the Electoral College majority. Clinton won the popular vote, and when you consider the third party candidates, over 50% of voting Americans DIDN’T vote for Trump and only about 25% of Americans eligible to vote DID vote for him. And then there’s the turnout issue–if there’d been even 1% better turnout in swing states, Clinton would have won the election.
I’m not whining that the election is unfair. Trump won it under the current rules of our political system. But one could definitely overreact to why it happened or what it means about who we are as Americans.
I think the one thing this election did for many Californians, it made us all realize that this is a much bigger country than just us. We may have our water shortages, earthquakes, and high-tech downturns, but the rest of the country is dealing with their own stuff too.
My story to many people is the Giants 9th inning Game #4 (against the Cubs) collapse was the first time I can recall being in a “did that just happen?” mode…perhaps fog…for that entire evening and pretty much the entire next day. I couldn’t imagine that happening a second time…in such a short period…ever.
OK…last election post from me 🙂
LOL, we got to relearn the lesson of 2004. Short memories.
I like the way you put that. Perhaps one positive that will come out of this election will be for all of us “to realize that this is a much bigger country than just us” and really start listening to different experiences and perspectives.
Scout will like this article about “off-brand” alternatives to the big brand names on the free agent market.
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/208664710/low-cost-alternatives-to-high-cost-free-agents/
I read that piece this morning myself. Sean Rodriguez is intriguing, and wouldn’t cost us a draft pick.
97 days until pitchers and catchers report.
Oh Boy. Let’s get after it. Can’t wait.
Looks like Holliday headlines the list. I think that is KIR’s guy for left field. I think that works as well. A middle of the order hitter.
Yep, yep, yep!
You’re on it. Who’s the next name to sign anywhere?
My ouija is on the fritz 🙂
Won’t happen. OF is old enough already fercrhissakes.
Before you say “won’t happen”, let’s remember that the Giants have notoriously gone “on the cheap” to fix LF. They may not have enough confidence (short term) to rely on Mac and/or Parker, so this would make sense. Holliday would also make a “professional AB” as a PH; which is something the young OFers can provide.
If they offer him a 2 year, with a 3rd year option…they can trade him to the AL when he can’t sniff the OF any more.
Have you watched Holliday at the plate? He’s not the same guy who took Scutaro out at second base.
Yes…and I think he’d help the middle of the Giants lineup. I know he’s at the end, but he would be a better “professional AB” than anyone else they have to play in LF at the moment.
You could be right, but I think I’m with earlytimes on this one–the front office knows they need to get younger in the OF.
Its true but we could also usa a power/rbi threat in the lineup. LF is the one spot where that could fly. If Pence gets hurt again, Mac and Parker would play everyday
There are better younger alternatives out there
…and inside the Giants.
So when Pence WAS hurt and Mac/Parker played everyday, the Giants were in first place and, for awhile, had the best record in baseball. Not that I’m wishing for Pence to get hurt again, but that doesn’t sound like the worst-case scenario to me.
Those two guys combined for 11 HRs and 29 RBIs in 278 plate appearances this year. You could anticipate about triple those plate appearances over a regular season, and that would be 33 HRs and 87 RBIs. I could live with that!
Yeah, who knows how much of an impact they made but I liked having one of them in the game everyday. They gave the lineup a different dimension with power and seeing pitches.
But when I see things like Matt Holliday only looking for 1 or 2 yr deal its tempting.
Knowing and doing…well you know. I agree, but I can’t see them getting younger until Mac and/or Parker actually start playing like big leaguers on a consistent basis. A trade would help, but they aren’t giving up the guys they really want to keep (and others want). I just think they’ll band-aid and hope their farm system delivers someone in the OF that will make a Panik/Duffy impact right away at some point.
I’d bet the mortgage they will NOT replace Pagan with another over the hill guy who belongs in the AL with the DH. 2 yrs ith a 3yr option??? You already taking adv of the new weed law? 🙂
Better start looking for a new residence 🙂 No weed for me…at least for now 🙂
is it 1984 again G-Burriss?
Always has been, Atticus.
Speaking of off-brand…Was curious if Neftali Feliz is on any of the Giants front office radar. Not in the big 3 but has a big arm and experience.
…I instantly had a flashback of him coughing up Game 6 of the 2011 World Series…Nelson Cruz should have caught that ball, but still.
I remember that. He had a decent year for Pittsburgh last year…but lots of pitchers have had good years for the Pirates recently
They seem to have a great pitching coach, for sure.
Great song that Jeff Beck played at the concert. Beautiful guitar work. Jeff is ready for the revolution.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1xukJkcq1k
Stroll on
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9fZ7oydsl4
He got mad! That’s a crazy video!
From the italian movie “Blow Up” – 1966 – by Michelangelo Antonioni.
Anybody read, or intend to read, Joe Buck’s new book, Lucky Bastard?
About Joe’s addiction to hair plugs? I’ve got better things to read. Such as Jeff Passan’s The Arm.
https://i.harperapps.com/covers/9780062400369/y648.png
he made a very funny and sneaky pitch for this book in his Daniel Hudson blurb.
What Alex used to call “shameless plug” to warn us.
LOL. Two for the price of one.
“Shameless plug” sounds like a pitch for Buck’s book.
I haven’t read the book yet, but I think I remember reading that Daniel Hudson was one of the case studies in the book. I remember when Hudson went down for the 2nd TJ, while he was rehabbing from the first one. I felt bad for him.
Buck was interviewed by shameless Cubs fan Scott Simon this morning in part to help sell the fiction that Fox and Buck weren’t pushing the Cubs narrative.
I bought it 5 or 6 months ago. I haven’t made the progress I hoped.
Uh-oh. I just ordered the book.
It isn’t the book’s fault, I just have too many things going at once.
Bucks book is good …
You know how to plug!
It is a solid read, yes!
I realize I have not made a Belt trade demand in awhile! Oh no, can’t have that.
This will never happen but the Rockies have not had a real 1B since Todd Helton and have had some of the worst production at that position over the past few years except for one good season Morneau had.
Lets trade Belt for Cargo or their young stud Dahl and a some young farm talent to build up our system. God knows it needs a shot in the arm.
Will never happen but one can dream.
I see ya working E
I miss still around. Trading Belt is my side passion. First Timmy then Belt
May we trade you to a different blog?
Thanks, 106th. I was drinking a V8 when I read this.
Very healthy beverage. My wife loves it, but I persist to love a glass of Brunello di Montalcino.
Hey E
At times funny story about fake news on Facebook. http://www.dailydot.com/unclick/facebook-fake-news-election-trump/
I don’t even have a FB account, let alone read the news from there. I get all the news I need from Canada’s(?) Naked News.
LOL, I have one I’ve never used. But where you or I get our news is hardly the issue, now is it?
I resemble that …. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ca4f58d2ddcac245e1dd84b28e4b716c3ed39ec81511aad48b799a2f4e216eab.jpg
I read earlier the Dodgers have the same personnel problems in LF. They had 5-6 different guys out there, and are still looking.
President elect after Obama won in 2012
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
We can’t let this happen. We should march on Washington and stop this travesty. Our nation is totally divided!
8:29 PM – 6 Nov 2012
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Lets fight like hell and stop this great and disgusting injustice! The world is laughing at us.
8:30 PM – 6 Nov 2012
ok sorry…. baseball. All in on a closer and kids in LF.
The Braves signed back reliever Jordan Walden as a free agent. He was the “other guy” in the trade with Jason Heyward and Shelby Miller two years ago. He had serious injury problems and pitched only 10.1 innings in his two years as a Cardinal. So let’s review:
The Cardinals got:
–Jason Heyward for one year (they won 100 games and got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs)
–a compensation pick when Heyward then signed with the Cubs
–10.1 innings out of Jordan Walden
The Braves got:
–A breakout All-Star season from Shelby Miller
–An very good major league outfielder (Ender Inciarte), the #1 draft pick from 2015 (Dansby Swanson), who’s already in the majors and may be a superstar, and a good pitching prospect, all from the Dbacks for Miller
–Jordan Walden back on a minor league deal (he had two excellent seasons with Atlanta before the trade)
Didn’t Inciarte win a GG this year too??
Yes, he did.
Last time the Giants had a GG outfielder? I think it was Jose Cruz Jr. (oh, the irony!) in 2003.
No GG quality outfielders for us. This fanbase prays to the gods of ‘pop’, whatever the hell that is.
Veni, vedi, vixi
Mmmm…”Veni, vidi, vici” is better. = I came, I saw, I won.
Giants sign Jose Dominquez. ok. I guess you really can’t ever have too much AAA pitching.
National Pizza Day? Tired of these made up “holidays”, but can’t complain about giving my favorite food their own day.
Costco or Golden Boy Pizza?
Golden Boy! Awesome pizza, in North Beach, SF.
I hope Howie Kendrick enjoys Philly
Thats comparible to getting your big toenail ripped off without and numbing meds! Painful!
I think she blogs here, but most likely would deny that this is her ….
https://www.facebook.com/abc7news/videos/10154781323042079/
that’s rad!
video post of the day!
The A’s Danny Valencia moves on again.
To Seattle for RP Paul Blackburn
-Slusser-
Any relation to Clayton Blackburn?
Blackburn was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the first round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft out of Heritage High School in Brentwood, California.He made his professional debut that season with the Arizona League Cubs. He played 2013 with the Boise Hawks and 2014 with the Kane County Cougars.On July 20, 2016, the Cubs traded Blackburn and Dan Vogelbach to the Seattle Mariners for Mike Montgomery and Jordan Pries.Spending his 2016 season with both the Tennessee Smokies and the Arkansas Travelers, Blackburn ended 2016 with a 9-5 record and a 3.37 ERA.
Clayton Blackburn is from Oklahoma, so they’re probably not related.
Mr. Cohen’s (RIP) celebration will be lasting the entire weekend. He brought his scrapbook with him. We grabbed a few early photos for Mr. Foot Scouts and others enjoyment.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9a46e30bd919bf2acc49bbbd997f665aa4b39234ff829994666f3263942d4686.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f000434ed0906dec4053fc919304388a796480370c3e1f2a54c4a363b05e0f55.jpg
Mr Lefty’s bringing his guitar for my mom’s birthday party tonight. He’s been practicing “Hallelujah,” anticipating that as the first request.
We will let MR. COHEN know to hum a few bars from afar…
I did my best, it wasn’t much
I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch
I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I’ll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
“Little Darren Baker” will enjoy playing for CAL’s Head Coach Dave Esquer
http://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/Dusty-Baker-s-son-Darren-signs-letter-of-10609329.php
As far as outfield throwing arms – people in nearby Montreal speak in hush reverence about Ellis Valentine who played for them from 1975–81 before the Mets 1981–82 – the Halos in 1983 and the Rangers in 1985.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQwfvNtAFyk
There is no remedy
Only therapy.
Some nice B and C prospects in this broccoli, kale, & cabbage garden.
Get busy gardening or get busy becoming compost.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1ec81c0db0114985290f8d9827c33addf044c7308668ac5bc944fa4ac930095d.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7c19539bdba1e985d060c25094d066f5992be107f7c3adfb3e6eb404ca5a4312.jp
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7c19539bdba1e985d060c25094d066f5992be107f7c3adfb3e6eb404ca5a4312.jpg
Beautiful!
If it wasn’t for my wife trapping two gophers, the broccoli would have been a bust. Cats may have helped, but could not muster burden of proof.
….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEXQkrllGbA
Hunter has sent his drone for a few pictures
That is choice. USGA Grade A.
“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”
Gibran
the Prophet?
Whoa. Gibran was in our wedding vows. Truth in beauty.
Mine also …
Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Dude, that’s the ticket.
I love you man, and enjoy these messages in a bottle betwixt our souls.
Enjoy your next Sumatra, on me.
And if you need a good percussionist, call the Leisurnaut.
You could ask your wife to use those broccoli this way. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/69f74d6573a0afd07a88303e4839c77a15ffff029a9248bbd9176e6877eed2ba.jpg
The Ramp in ramping up is fortified
http://www.12up.com/posts/4096268-rumor-giants-likely-to-reach-deal-with-star-closer?a_aid=41089
The thing about to be 37 year old Matt Holliday, is that he’s built like a football player that can hit baseballs.
He can hit in the middle of a lineup. He knows the league. He doesn’t strike out much, below average, and he walks above average. Oh, and he’s only hit fewer than 20 HRs in a season once since his rookie year, 2015 when he only played 73 games and hit just 4 dealing with injury. Last year, he was an above average run producer (wRC+=109) that hit 20 HRs and knocked in 62 runs in 110 games.
I think I’m with Keepin It Real. Giants need another middle of the order potential bat. I would think they could sign Holliday and Melancon and make it work financially.
YMMV
MMDV
………not even from the cabin to home? 🙂
After Scutaro?
Grant Brisbee on the Giants budget:
“They’re not going to have a pile of money with which to attack the offseason, though, with raises to Brandons and other backloaded contracts negating all of the free agents they’re losing. They’ll also have to wait for the Collective Bargaining Agreement to be finalized to see how much they can spend without going over the luxury tax, but it seems like they’re at least considering shopping at Nordstrom for their closer.”
There was some speculation (from a radio broadcast posted by KIR, I believe) that the Giants may wait until the CBA is finalized to make their offseason moves. I hope they don’t wait until December 1st? By then all the top closers on the shelves could be gone.
Yeah, teams are not waiting around. There seems be a trend towards players and teams getting deals done early the last couple years. I think that trend has more gravity than waiting to see what’s what with the CBA.
I love when you discuss gravity.
Do your balls hang low?
Hope you’re feeling better today.
Not really. The problem with having my incredible muscle mass is there’s so much more to pull. Guys like you with jello bodies would probably be just fine.
LOL – that must also include TO, he who used the “pathetic” word awhile back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEXQkrllGbA
I pay no attention and give little credence to any claims that the Giants are hurting for money while they keep their books closed to the public.
If they are broke, they can prove it.
The truth of course is that they have plenty of money and all the owners are getting nice fat dividends every year.
Dedicated to coach Gregg Popovich
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vf3ZE7CLg0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM6HnDAeR8U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbZYRZpNc64
Estas Tonne, street guitarist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0B3Ltqkjgo
Choking under pressure in athletic competition. Men and women compared. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161110124555.htm
The ultimate Gamer Babe
http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/108-year-old-cubs-fan-dies-1-week-after-world-series-win/ar-AAkdgh9?li=BBnb7Kz&OCID=CALHeader
Since we’re alone, can I tell you I just hate that phrase, gamer babe.
Lefty LOVES the gamer babe phrase.
I’m not Lefty, now am I.
I’ve never seen you both at the same time.
Me either, although I’m sure I’m the ugly one.
Goes without saying!
We all are Lefty.
😡👿☠️
I can’t stand it either. No one says: gamer guy.
Feel free.
Baseball fan will do. Gamer Babe is sexist, plain and simple. Wendy Thurm said it best:
“But for those of us who saw the whole Gamer Babe thing as sexist and offensive – a sexualized nickname for women Giants fans that explicitly set them apart from the fans sitting next to them – there was no bandwagon. There was only a feeling of otherness: Women aren’t regular baseball fans; women aren’t fans the way men are fans; women baseball fans belong to a species called Babes, they bring pom poms and cute signs.”
http://theclassical.org/articles/the-gamer-babe-problem
Do you ever laugh? Doesn’t it get tiring taking everything so seriously all the time?
Nice try.
You talking to yourself?
How many policemen does it take to screw in a light bulb?
They don’t. They arrest the bulb for being broke and beat the room for being black.
(I know you’re laughing!)
In the alternative version, they mistake their taser for their gun and short out the wiring.
Ouch. LOL.
Yep.
Maybe it might have started out that way, but in Giants Nation calling a female Giants fan a Gamer Babe has become at the very least endearing and to many women a compliment. Evidence multiple women/groups of women with signs and banners proclaiming that they are indeed Gamer Babes.
I love seeing women strongly invested in baseball and our Giants. We have a great group of female Giants fans here, and I love their comments and input.
Dgg and I are both women in professions where women have had to break glass ceilings and have had to fight to earn respect. I agree that the term is intended to be affectionate (mostly), but it does somewhat reduce female fans to “aren’t you cute/sweet,” and for those of us who have always had to struggle to be taken as seriously as we deserve based on our work and abilities, it touches a nerve. For me, it’s not a huge deal, and it’s not like I’d scream at someone or throw a tantrum if I saw a Gamer Babe sign at a game. But maybe this helps you understand why some of us don’t love it.
Just for fun, though, here’s a picture of https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/07498732ebc4e43c327478bcff2d8cbf661427da053fa55399b9527afffdeaa7.jpg me with a dear friend at AT & T Park for her 60th birthday. (I’m the one holding the “Timmy Love” sign.”) She made both signs, and she has a Ph.D from Virginia Tech and spent her career as a research chemist at UC Davis. So obviously the term didn’t bother her.
That was a 2013 end-of-season game vs. the Dodgers. Tim was about to be a free agent, and this could have been his last start for the Giants, thus the sign she made for me. It was also the game where Brian Wilson angrily confronted Larry Baer in front of all of us right after the last out.
Have you ever greated your hubby by saying Hey Babe hows it going? or Hey Babe have a nice trip?
Sure. But that’s between me and my husband. A total stranger calling someone else “Babe” is different (notice I stayed gender neutral there).
Also notice the irony of men trying to mansplain to women what they should or shouldn’t feel offended about. You’re not us, so you don’t experience things as we do. Our opinions are equally valid.
Just asking, it is interprative as to how it is used, when and where.
Agreed
Actually Babe is an endearing term used by both sexes generally. I have heard many women refer to their honey as babe. In that term it is not sexist rather a term of endearment.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=babe
It is all in the tone in which you use it, a sleazy sounding slow drawl hey babe is sexist. An upbeat rising tone during greeting of say Hey Babe reflects endearment
The way Krukow uses it interprative as describing a good looking. The way he says it implies to him all female Gaints fans are good looking old or young alike. To me that is not sexist rather endearing to have women Giant fans.
To much PC in this world.
We actually have very few women Giants baseball fans who comment here regularly anymore.
p.s. See Lefty’s response below. She said it very well and I don’t need to repeat what she wrote.
I believe sbbssfg and Aksisterfan are sisters (of each other, not just in the sisterhood!), IIRC. And German Giant Fan (who was just on a day or two ago) is definitely a woman. Appalled7 is still around, but she doesn’t comment much when it’s not baseball season.
Also “Midwest Giants Fan” is a woman.
Sgbssfg, really? I had no idea. She’s one of my favorite commenters. I’ll watch out for AKsisterfan. I can’t remember any of her comments. German Giant Fan of course. I didn’t know about Midwest Giants Fan. This is all very good to know.
Down arrows. Dozens. Poor man.
Yes.
Gamer guy.
Gamer guy doesn’t really equate. I think it would have to be something like gamer gigolo.
But I don’t like phrase gamer babe either. Especially since it was Krukow who started it and you know his intentions are more smutty than pure.
My hope is that when Krukow retires, all references to “Gamer Babes” in the broadcast booth will quietly be retired with him.
They do say “ball dudes” and that started when all those people were older men though Krukow refers to any age guys doing that job the same way. I think he calls women who do that “ball dudettes.” Is that offensive as well? Now that I think about it I have no idea what that job is really called, it’s fairly new that they started putting fans out on the field like that to fetch balls. Young guys who fetch bats and balls from the dugout are of course referred to as “bat boys” but they don’t get any mention on Giants broadcasts. If a young women were doing it I assume they would be called “bat girls”. I don’t think Mike would call them “bat babes” but you never know.
I can’t remember my wife commenting on it, she does agree with my opinion that the constant crowd shots shown on Giants telecasts are annoying (and I know that I am in the minority here on that topic). I do have a friend (former coworker) who is an avid fan of the team, practically Lefty squared, she has great season tickets near the press box, knows Baggarly, Shulman, etc and will definitely be one of those little old ladies that you see at the games decked out in Giants gear, a hundred Croix de Candlestick type pins in her cap, and a score book in hand. She loves the expression and refers to herself as a Gamer Babe. I did read Wendy Thurm’s article that you posted, her wrath seems a bit manufactured to me but I can see why some find it demeaning. Krukow must have received generally positive feedback when he started using the expression since he certainly has run with it.
Well, dgg votes no, Lefty apparently is a yes so that leaves Just Peachy here to break the tie. That’s all we have here, right, just three gamer babes, I mean female fans here on TWG?
Rob was kidding. Lefty is definitely a “no.” I’m with dgg on this one. I wouldn’t say I’m outraged or anything, but the term not only reduces female fans to how they look (“babe” is most typically a term for an attractive woman) but metaphorically pats them on the head (“aren’t you cute”) rather than accepting them as equals. Just my take, anyway.
So, I’m guessing Gamer Chick won’t cut it either?
“Gamer Prof” has a ring to it. 🙂
I knew you were definitely a “no” on Gamer Babes, Lefty. It’s amusing how people misread Rob Deer’s comment. “LOVES” in capital letters was his total giveaway. It was quite funny.
…as were the purple and red glum faces you posted in response.
It wasn’t THAT obvious, I didn’t remember that she was not in to the Gamer Babe expression, didn’t catch that Rob was joking. Hard to tell tone online.
It is hard sometimes to decipher nuance and tone in text messages, emails, and comments.
Andres the Giant is a woman. But we used to have more women Giants baseball fans who commented here regularly. JD4SF, Nate’sFanMom, PrimeTimeDonna, Appalled7. There were more, but that’s all I can remember right now.
winebaroness, sgbgffs, goodsam.
I didn’t realize there were so many, this place is crawling with ’em!
Thanks, 610nm.
Protests advancing to new level!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d986710348fa58418f95df94d4cf28946bd679c5172510b62d979335f0293564.jpg
lmaoshmsfoaidmt
http://poorlydrawnlines.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/political-cartoon.png
To me, an interesting look at fanbases.
https://i.imgur.com/m4CvVJ1.png
not really homie,
you are not telling us what it is based on and when this was taken?
If no background details given, it doesn’t mean squat and you know it.
Next time you post something like this provide all the background details if not, don’t bother.
Tell him, E!! Don’t tolerate this kind of crap!!
Yeh, we don’t won’t anyone talking out their as$.
Do you perhaps see the Fangraphs insert. Be a man, use Google, I fresh out of spoons, numbnuts.
I like u E !
Slik why would you support a garbage post like that one?
E is E, can’t change the alphabet.
e is pretty knowledgeable and tells it like it is, im cool with that .
I wasn’t interested in CC’s chart either so I just moved on, but it didn’t seem like there was any need to dish out the negative little lecture. But like Scout says, E is E.
Apparently the deeper a team goes into the postseason, the better the fan experience. Who’da thunk it? Except for SFG fans who are a bunch of spoiled weirdos. 😉 Yankee fans must really like their park.
What I thought most interesting was that some teams level of interest stayed the same, almost irrelevant to their year to year fortunes. It wasn’t so much the absolute level of the rating, but how similar it was year on year.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x16q6b9_george-harrison-billy-preston-that-s-the-way-god-planned-it-live-1971_music
Uh oh. Trouble in River City. Iowa City, actually. The Oracle is going to be crushed.
I don’t get crushed by sports.
A decision no doubt made by one of the morally superior:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/11/13/college-disinvites-reinvites-murdered-cops-daughter-to-event-after-diversity-worry.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw9MyhzOnPw
A nice acoustic cover of a, The Cure, tune.
I’m wishing Neil Young and Darryl Hannah well. But if things go south I’m hoping for a really great break up song from Neil. This was J. Browne’s break up song with D. Hannah. It’s not on par with a Taylor Swift break up song but it works for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPwIq3rRab0
Am partial to this JB track…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO9rjBxI1gc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9IfHDi-2EA
Amen.
Efff Yeah, Dave Chapelle and Tribe Called Quest last night on SNL (and amazing performance from Kate McKinnon – we don’t expect less from her talents). But great show last night. Great tribute to Phife.
Yo Slikk, can I kick it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3pyCGnZzYA
Saw that dude. Chappelle is the best ever. Effing good stuff.
Eff Yeah. Love Dave.
Good stuff right there but some here might get offended because its rap and not country music or rock and roll which was actually invented by black and white men but mainly black musicians in the 50s.
Don’t I know it – there’s no Led Zeppelin with out Mr. Robert Johnson and that Delta Blues which rose out of the cotton pickin’ South.
The best of both…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7omTUQUTFvo
thanks, cc. This song is so catchy it’ll be playing in my head all day.
Rolling Stone thinks so too. Great lyrics.
I’m not offended and I like all musical genres.
Our outstanding commenter, dgg, expressed some concerns about how the expiring CBA may affect winter signings. Here’s some info/speculation on that front with the usual across baseball notes from Nick Cafardo:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2016/11/12/cba-stalemate-could-hinder-big-ticket-free-agents/tA5KDnDW4GAyRWwPol0pCK/story.html?p1=Team_LeadArticle
So how would the Giants be affected since they are a team whose payroll resides near that tax threshold?
I imagine they could sign Mark Melancon today and then would wait until things are settled before signing a free agent with the resume of Matt Holliday who may be looking at something in the 2/20+ mil range.
It looks like the Giants won’t have to compete with Melancon’s current team, the Nats (at least not much). I wish they’d go ahead and make him a nice offer and let the other teams fight over Chapman and Jansen.
Apparently they will have to compete with Colorado, where Melancon grew up.
“One potential road block is the division-rival San Francisco Giants; Melancon is reportedly in the Bay Area meeting with their front office, and it might be difficult for the Rockies to match or exceed a potential offer given the large disparity in payroll between the two clubs.”
If he goes to the Rockies, he’s not worthy to wear the Giants uniform. One team is a legit contender and the other isn’t, so then it would be about location and/or money…and it shouldn’t be about money if the Giants actually offer him a legit contract.
Can’t imagine a top flight closer going to the Rockies even if he is from that area. How often would he work, once a week?
LOL…exactly.
Money goes a lot farther out there.
I’m just saying it’s been reported their is mutual interest there. And with some additions to their pen and getting Black, Rockies might not be that far from contending.
Thanks for bringing it up, because I hadn’t seen that until you mentioned it. This said, it’s still the Rockies and they’re not going to win the West or get in the playoffs…with/without Black. Starting pitching is key and that altitude kills ERAs.
If he goes there, it’ll be the “home cooking deal” and the Giants can’t compete with that. It is, however, not a long flight form SF->CO and the Giants should be able to exceed any $$ the Rockies would offer him.
Yuck…Evans…just get this done already.
If they have a dominant season at home, they could totally compete. They could get silly hot with all of their hitters.
I like Bud Black, but let’s face it–he won exactly nothing in SD. They never even made the playoffs in all his years there. That Game 162 loss to the Giants in 2010 was the closest they came (after having a pretty big lead in late August). This is to say that a manager can’t change everything (like the altitude in Denver, for example).
If he goes to the Rockies, more for sentimental and personal reasons (to be closer to family and friends), I can understand that. I wouldn’t say he’s not worthy to wear the Giants uni based on those reasons, but he’d still be my first choice over Chapman and Jensen.
I would understand too, but how disappointing it would be.
Not worthy? Would there be something wrong with wanting to play near where you grew up? I think that’s understandable, admirable, and what free agency is all about: making a choice for the reasons that are most important to you.
Yes…not worthy. If you have a chance to go to a contending team that has so many “best in baseball” or near that level…and they need a closer at your level to get back to the WS…and you sign with the Rockies…he isn’t worthy to be a Giant.
Most athletes do this to win a ring. Going to the Rockies would only be doing one thing…going home. The Rockies aren’t going to win a WS and in many cases…going home doesn’t work out for the sentimental players that do that. Once again, SF isn’t very far away from CO (via plane) and it’s infinitely closer than Pittsburgh or Washington DC.
You don’t have to agree with me. It’s my opinion.
TO sometimes, I think, feels he’s Socrates ancestor.
you’re all over this one, KIR. any athlete worth their salt, would want to play with a contender, even if the lesser team is offering a few more dollars. especially if they haven’t won a ring yet. their are a few though, that just wants as much green as they can get. i wouldn’t want a guy like that on my team any way.
Home run derby vs pitcher’s park? Hmmmm.
Yikes.
There’s a blocker (to subscribe), so I can’t read it. Bummer
Should be able to close that. I think you get 5 freebies per month
Why in the #@&% would the Giants give up prospects for the White Sox David Robertson (as Cafardo mentions), instead of signing Mark Melancon??? I have to admit I haven’t seen Robertson pitch, but his WHIP is higher than Casilla’s (1.36 v 1.19)…he had 7 blown saves (Casilla 9)…and his ERA was 3.47 (Casilla 3.57).
Yep…that’ll get you back to the WS.
Option #6?
If that ends up being the solution…I’ll get in the rioting mood 🙂
I knew the 49ers had the worst run defense in the NFL. Every NFL fan knows it. But I decided to look at team stats to see just how bad. 49ers are 32nd (last) in opposition rushing yards per game, allowing 193 yards per game. That is 50 yards per game more than the 31st ranked team. The difference between #1 and #31 is 70 yards per game.
Remember when the 49ers wouldn’t allow a 100 yd rusher the whole season?
You have been eating some member berries lately
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndI9vkgw_1Y
They’re true contenders for that #1 overall pick. If TB is still around to operate this coming draft I’ll be sore about it.
Baalke will draft another D lineman out of Oregon. He’s on a hot streak.
I’m thinking he is skating on thin ice that is getting thinner after every loss.
If a new GM is brought it then he most likely will want a new coach or give Kelly one more year. The team does have about 2/3 of a real NFL roster. Not much to work with, and many oeices that were brought in for running type offense, not Kelly’s style.
damn, another great is gone..RIP leon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICr9lfWq3yY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2Z9qN8R9Bg&list=PLqlGyliLAE-vKwu6z_E01CYmfVZ3a_yy3
Gonna need some concerts…
My favorite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR_eDJ7IIJE
nice choice, beautiful
Me too. Absolutely beautiful song.
Time for a Paul Gauguin moment.
http://www.artble.com/imgs/1/0/d/39426/tahitian_landscape.jpg
Did you guys read this interview? I’m in the middle, but it’s just great reading.
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/09/barack-obama-doris-kearns-goodwin-interview
Terrific. Thanks!
Just showed wife this for first time. She digs it. Summer is not my president. And Hunter Pence is cool, as is his bride to be.
http://mlb.mlb.com/assets/images/1/8/6/207751186/cuts/Vote_for_Pence_1x1kuged_bxf9qp9p.jpg
that nerdy guy would kick your ass look at those arms
Kinda outdated and I saw a lot of people doing these costumes approximately 10 years ago.
He’s not dressed as who you think. It’s Buster.
thinking of going to sling tv does anyone have it now and if so how is it?
I’m liking Seattle in NE today.
I think I am taking the 7.5
That’s a huge spread for NE to cover. Seattle must be banged up good.
Should I start Christine Michael or James White in the game? Both not looking too hot going in.
I’m not up on the FF numbers.
hey slikk, why would anyone get offended because a rap song was posted?..granted, the music i post is r&r, and country, as well as r&b, and the blues, but i sure as hell don’t get offended by someone posting rap i have the option of listening to it, or not, just like everyone else has the same options to the music i post.
this was meant to be a reply to slikks comment below. sorry bout the f/u
It offends me that you posted it in the wrong place. Very offended.
Not to mention he abbreviated some foul language.
you guys
I’ve found replying to slik to be of dubious utility.
Dont worry about BHS1
Slikk trying to be Slick 😉
Some do believe me ive heard it here b4 ! Looks like youre ok with it but not all are. Some here act like this is their very own blog that they’ve put together and it isnt GG started it.
cmon slikk. you know i’m not like that. it’s like if i posted a song by the whitest singer you could think of, like rickey nelson, or pat boone, i can’t imagine you or E, or any person of color would complain about it. they just pass it by, and go to the next post. i kind of think this group knows that. unfortunately, there are still too many ignorant people out there, with their minds closed. white ones, black ones, and every other color you could think of. that’s what has to change.
Good post btw i enjoy all genres of music myself so i dont care what folks post here music wise.
I don’t listen to 99% of the music posts that I don’t post myself!
My prediction: The unsettled CBA situation isn’t going to stop the Giants from signing a big-name closer if they can come to terms with one. They know what they need and want. They’ll worry about the luxury tax later.
I suppose the CBA could affect their second signing (if there is one), but the first one is so critical that I don’t believe they’ll play wait-and-see games with it.
I think you’re right. One might say they don’t have the luxury of waiting. I suspect the rumors of Melancon being courted will become fact sooner rather than later, or you’ll start to see the bloom coming off signaled by lessened demand for season tickets. Evans is definitely behind the eight ball right now.
For the Sunday After Church TWG Crowd; one last reminder:
MyHotStoveGuy™ Contest
1) Pick what position gets addressed first. [8 say Closer; 3 say Catcher]
2) Pick what Giants player gets dealt first. [8 different answers out of 11 total]
3) What current Giant gets extended/re-signed first and on what terms?
Give me your guesses by Replying to one of my posts/comments so I do not miss it.
If you have a question, or want to play your cards close to the vest…
write me: My SF Giant Guy at Gee Mel dOtt com
Hello Haak hope all is well, I’m going to take a stab at this:
1) Closer gets addressed first, but I don’t think the team will go for a HR type signing. I think they will drop a notch and and sign a mid tier reliever and add more pen arms via small trades and wire pick ups.
2) The first to be dealt could be one of the 4: Stratton, Blach, Heston or Blackburn, with my money on either Stratton or Blackburn, only because they liked what they saw from Blach this season and Heston was hurt. These guys have nothing to prove in the monors anymore but they are stuck in a numbers game. While not front end rotation types, perhaps a team out there with young OF or INF farm depth that is hungry for starters may take a leap of faith. The Giants can perhaps gain a young OF or bench guy in return or possibly a veteran reliever to compete for a pen spot.
3) I think there is an outside chance Romo gets brought back but the guy they may look to sign for a couple more years is Will Smith.
Thanks for the details on your thinking too. You are the first on Stratton but you joined me on Blackburn for all the reasons you gave; I agree. You are the first on Smith … What terms does he get?
ahhhh not my forte, that’s Evan’s job!
How about 3 years / 9-10MM?
Only because Bochy/Rags love their veteran lefties. Smith can fit that vill unless they bring in another vet this spring.
Got it: 3/9.5 … good luck.
I just read Keith Law’s ($) top-50 free agents list, and he has a different take than some others. I copied this part about Scout’s guy, Daniel Hudson, whom he has in the top 20 and much higher than Melancon:
Hudson came back from two Tommy John surgeries to pitch well in 2015, but his ERA ballooned to 5.22 in 2016 largely because the Diamondbacks were such a bad defensive outfit, both in players and in lack of defensive positioning. His stuff remains intact — a mid-90s fastball, a plus changeup, an average slider — and his command is more than good enough for him to be a league-average reliever, with some upside if he’s in a better environment. If a team is looking for a closer but doesn’t want to pay retail for Kenley Jansen or deal with the character questions of Aroldis Chapman, Hudson’s a very appealing alternative who should see immediate improvement just by getting out of the desert.
Law also has Angel Pagan at a surprisingly high #22. None of the other Giants free agents cracked his top 50, not even Casilla with his 30 saves. Law doesn’t like Melancon because of his “injury history before 2013” and says he wouldn’t give him more than one year.
How does he reconcile Hudson given his viewpoint about Melancon? Seems just a tad inconsistent. Does he still have Chris Sales as a journeyman bullpen talent?
KLaw’s response to TWG:
Rough crowd.
Not really inconsistent. His point was that Hudson’s a buy-low guy and Melancon may get overpaid. Not saying I agree, but I get the argument.
I tend to look at performance expectation. Who has a clue bout player value, not me.
How does he feel about Joe Panik these days?
Probably the same as Brandon Crawford
NO vs Denver is looking good for a dramatic finish. It’s 17 all with less than 10 minutes remaining.
We made the DC news in the Bay Area.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/11/13/ive-never-seen-anything-like-that-confederate-flags-at-california-veterans-day-parade/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_pn-flags-743am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
That ugliness has always been around, specially outside of the urban centers.
The concern is that those who were very open about it were ignored because the majority appeared anti-establishment types, outsiders, bikers, people on the fringes etc. Society as a whole either would ignore it. Most of us figured it was concentrated in the South and not the feeling across the nation.
Now I’m afraid there are going to be individuals who once were afraid to voice those opinions for fear of retribution, are now gong to be emboldened to be more open with their hate. Sad times are coming I’m afraid.
As I voice this week to a group of younger people (mid 20-30s) this week post the election, many expressed “how the hell this can happen?” It happened because the left got complacent. If change is to come, it needs to get uglier before it gets better. All these marches taking place around the country are great, but will mean nothing if they don’t impact the entire nation. The public outcry will need to reach Vietnam era proportions for the entire country to take notice.
I’ve been outside working on our 1940s basement windows: cleaning, removing caulk, and recaulking. I was applying Windex to the divided pane windows when I noticed these branches behind me in the reflection of the clean window. I thought: “There isn’t a tree there.” I turned around and there was this huge buck standing on the sidewalk, and next to him, two big does and a smaller doe, all staring at me like, “Well?” I knew what they wanted. The uneaten berries on the Virginia Creeper climbing up the patio trellis. My nearby presence was in their way. You have to be careful with urban bucks because they will suddenly charge. I carefully placed all my supplies in the window well, then stood up slowly and said, “It’s okay guys, I’ll go inside and you can have it.”
I just checked through the back door window. They’re all still there, nibbling away. Blast. I’ve really got to get the recaulking done while the temps are above 40 degrees.
where in NY city was that? seriously though, that is just so cool.
Moooooooooose should approve this message.
Deers are all right. Not like moooooooses, but. . .
Not offense to Rob Deer, of course!
This is one of the best post fight press conferences I’ve seen in quite a while. In such a brutal and toll taking sport like MMA I hope he can extract as much capital out of the UFC as he possibly can.
http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2016/11/13/13613068/conor-mcgregor-asks-for-ownership-and-equity-ufc-205-mma-news
Saints being Saints; they lose 25-23 in heart breaking Saints style.
Finally getting a chance to unpack my Giants memorabilia collection and set it up in the “man cave” of my new house.
I never had all this stuff together before in one one place and I just realized that I have way too much stuff!. It goes back to my 1962 WS game 5 scorecard–and before if you count Bobby Thomson and Ralph Branca signed stuff.
Greek Giant on the way over to try to help me put in order. When I eventually get it together I’ll give an update to some of the more unique pieces.
nice! take a photo gallery and post it, perhaps do a guest posts highlighting the best pieces.
Pictures, please!
Will do. Will take multiple posts–still working on it.
No rush! Looking forward to it!
Good to see Keap have a nice game with basically an offensive unit with little talent, and still he almost pulled off a win against a decent team.
He should have been the starter weeks before he got the job back. If this team had a decent RB and better receiver they could actually win a couple more games.
Would be interesting to see if Ballke is canned if the successor give Kelly one more year.
Not glad to see that Kaepernick had a decent game. I’m hopeful he will return to being horrible next week against the Patriots.
Why? He ruffles your old white patriotic ex-cop feathers? GOOD! I hope he keeps it up.
Gee genius, really going out there on a limb. CK looking bad against one of the top 2 teams in the league? Way to stick your nose out there buddy!
And when the Pats crsuh the Niners you’re going to stick out your chest and pat yourself in the back right? Tell is “I told you so” and feel real good about yourself. Nice one!
Yes. I’ll continue to root hard against Kaepernick until he’s taking a knee in his living room on Sundays, which will probably be some time in the near future. And does white really have something to do with it?
of course it does, it part of your essence, why you think the way you do.
Case in point, our new POTUS is Trump.
The irony of that statement probably escapes you. If someone else made the same statement, but substituted “white” with any other race, you’d immediately brand the person who made the statement a racist. You’d be right. Look in the mirror.
Oh look, another player to get under your skin!!! (with many more to come I’m sure):
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/18041743/tampa-bay-buccaneers-receiver-mike-evans-protests-president-elect-donald-trump-sitting-national-anthem
no irony there dumbass, it doesn’t work both way, just does not.
I really don’t need to say anything else. You don’t need any more help identifying yourself as a hypocritical fool.
Keep telling yourself that. I’m sure you are quite pleased with yourself.
It’s evident you are part of the bigger problem and not the solution.
Don’t call for a vote.
Current COP and Trumpfan
You must be talking about someone else. I didn’t vote for Trump.
Where did I say you voted for Trump? I said you were a fan (of what he stands for )…
I think they should give Kelly another year, don’t you? He’s a legitimate coach, and it won’t be that easy to find another one who’s better with the shape this franchise is in. He can’t help what talent he’s (not) given.
Oregon has sure gone in the tank in the post-Kelly era. Was it just two years ago they were a playoff team? Now they’re getting their butts kicked by everyone.
I agree, they won’t find a better coach and with some more talent who knows. With some better players at the skilled positions, they may score enough to may games more interesting. Get a RB that fits the Kelly offense better than Hyde and a couple speedy receivers and it may be fun to watch the O next year (now the D is a whole other story).
They will
Kelly’s going back to Oregon. He’s seen the mess from the inside now and knows it will he easier to fix Oregon with Phil Knights money.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Oregon (aka Nike U) gives him a boatload to come back. They were upset at him leaving but at the same time they must know he could easily come in a recruit top players once again.
LSU is also rumored to to be interested.
I find it hard to think LSU will move part the intern guy if he beats A&M….. quite a turnaround. He deserves a shot.
Popcorn?
Yup. BIG box….
Tub?
55 gallon….
Baalkes replacement is Chips best friend.
Where are you getting that? Just making a post to make a post and instigate?
Why would the team hire a friend of a guy who most likely will not be around in a year?
Tom Gamble and Chip are best ftiends. Sf hired TG when Philly let him go. Gamble will replace Baalke.
Here’s a rumor you might have heard or will hear during the winter:
That the Tigers are going to shop JD Martinez and that the Giants are going to be an interested party.
Martinez has one year left on his contract and is owed about 11 million dollars. He’s in a similar boat as Lorenzo Cain, who hits with less power but has a great advantage defensively. But Martinez’ bat may be sufficient to make up the gap and then some. Martinez has the 8th highest slugging percentage in MLB over the last three seasons. Overall, his run creation rate puts him at 13th best in MLB over same time span. He hits with average, he hits with power, and his walk rate has increased steadily the last three seasons. He’s become a hitting machine in Detroit and represents the prototypical middle of the lineup hitter that the Giants would benefit from.
The price tag would obviously be steep, but perhaps not prohibitively steep for the Giants to be major players in a hypothetical bidding.
old news. If in the lineup he would be a plus.
One has to be concerned about a 29 yr old with injuries.
Sounds like you’ve heard ! d:^)
Thanks. Interesting.
The internet went berserk over this claim about Trumps birth. It was like a convulsion. http://www.timesofisrael.com/in-bizarre-birther-twist-claims-trump-is-pakistani/
The nation wide mood ring tuneup for all baseball fans.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/how-you-felt-about-2016/
“Signed” the abolish the electoral college petition. Can’t imagine anything substantive will come of this in the near future, but you never know. The other petition asking to Electoral College to choose Clinton is out there in dreamland. But why not sign this one. Every election year its the west coast, Illinois, NY and the northeast in blue, the heartland in red, and several swing states where it seems only meaningful ballots exist here.
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/abolish-the-electoral-6
It isn’t so great to live in a ‘battleground’ state either: all the money for TV ads is targeted at you, and more or less none of these ads are edifying.
my wife already bought her train ticket to get to DC for the million women march 1-21-17
Awesome! I wish it was a day earlier so it could run over a certain parade.
New Post: http://fe0.84e.myftpupload.com/guest-posts/total-fan-62-guest-post-the-brenly-game/