Pay Back for the White Shoe’d Chumps
We get Gio Gonzalez again. Last time BamBam sent the hitters out there with the advice of “swing early” and it was a failure as I could have told him. You beat Gio by letting him walk you. I think in all of his wins except one he walked 2 or less. In his losses/non decisions he walked more than 2. Besides putting base runners on it rattles him, you can see it in his body language on the mound–he’s like a “pre no hitter” Dirrrrty in that regard. Anyway, I hope our hitters take a different approach this time……
Having said all that, I think we take 2 of 3 from them, maybe a sweep. Their best hitter (Suzuki) is gone all weekend at his grand father’s funeral. The A’s are going to have MASSIVE problems scoring runs this weekend…..
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
I may never see 2nd place again, so I’m posting this for posterity. Ha.
Flap Fantasy League Standings
1. Hillbilly Giants (Chi) 97
2. Bladerunners (Steve) 77.5
3. Giant Head (Peter) 75.5
4. NoTalent (Yash) 74.5
5. Unca’s Army (Chuck) 70
6. Ferretball 64
7. Flavor (Craig) 63.5
8. Clowns R Us (Bozo) 61.5
9. Tizzle 59.5
10. Wilco Joe 57.5
11. PawliesPandas (Paul) 51.5
12. IrishGiants (Kevin) 28
anyone that loses to Wilco should turn in their badge. He’s abandoned his team, half of his starting players are on the DL……
Flav, I’m not certain about this, but can’t you (as Commissioner of the league) kick him out and get someone else to actively manage his team? I say this because a Yahoo Fantasy League member asked the same thing on the Yahoo Q & A Fantasy League Forum and the answer was yes, it is possible. I have no idea how that is accomplished though.
The Giants begin a six-game homestand against Oakland and Baltimore on Friday, so I am looking for a 4-2 record against these two American League bottom feeders. Go Giants!
Anybody else still pissed about the botched squeezed attempt? The fact that Panda missed the sign isn’t the thing that irks me the most, it’s the very notion that in that situation (T7, up one, 1st and 3rd and in THAT park) we had to resort to a “gimmick” to try to score. Number three hitter up in that spot—go for the goddamn jugular and kill those bastards. No, we try and eek out one more. Pathetic. Tonight’s game can’t come fast enough to remove the bas taste that still lingers from yesterday. That one still hurts.
I don’t think the squeeze would’ve been on if he was hitting LH…RH, Pablo has been terrible…
Dennis, yeah that (what you said about Panda) and also what Bochy said about Bautista, i.e., “That’s what hurt us — Bautista struggling that first inning,” Bochy said. “Then he couldn’t field his position. They’re giving us an out there, and he misplays that ball. A seeing-eye base hit and a dribbler, and the damage was done.”
Bochy is usually very discreet about what he will say about his players in the press . . . However, you know he was sufficiently torqued about Bautista, to say anything to the press.
I don’t care if he was hitting from the seat of his pants. He’s our number three hitter. Tulo, Gonzo or Kemp wouldn’t have been asked to do the same in that situation, struggling or otherwise. We’re basically conceding the big inning with that play. I guess what I’m trying to say, if we have to ask our number three hitter, Pablo, to squeeze, he probably shouldn’t be our number three hitter.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I fucking hate bunting. I come from the Cito Gaston school on this one. I NEVER like to see position players bunt. I don’t care if Mark Freaking Belanger is at the plate. Let him swing the damn bat.
Doing shit like that with your number 3 is beyond infuriating for me.
San, your Lead off, 2nd hitter and pitcher should all know how to bunt. Agree that the 3rd guy should probably never be asked to bunt. I think I saw Bonds do it once, but that was his decision not the 3rd base coach or manager. Bret Butler was an outstanding bunter for the giants
Any World Cup fans here? I rarely if ever follow soccer, but I guess I trip the WC like the Olympics and watch it for its “event status.” Goddamn So. Africans are constantly blowing some kind of horn and it sounds like a swarm of locust has descended upon the stadium. Annoying as hell.
The world cup fever is in full swing here. Many businesses have viewing rooms so workers can peak at the england games during work.
All pubs have BBQ when England is playing and show all the other games, too.
I’ve been told if USA beats England tomorrow I may not want to show for work on Monday.
But the real game is Slovenia next Friday. USA can lose to England and still move up with a win against a young, fast European team.
“Best motor sports weekend ever: Formula 1 back to Montreal and Le Mans 24 Hours. Forget about the World Cup!”
Here is to you Ed not showing up to work Monday….or you can show up with your US flag draped around you…
I think the squeeze was on partly because Pablo was hitting RH and partly because of all the double plays.
Gammons just said on KNBR that he doesn’t expect the Dodgers’ pen to hold up down the stretch, but he’s also waiting for the Rox to surge.
Dennis is right…no 3 hitter should be asked to bunt…and since April ended, Pablo hasn’t acted like a #3 hitter. That being said, it’s pretty amazing they’ve played as well as they have.
Bochy should’ve kept Pablo in the bottom third of the order until he got his eye and swing back. Let’s see if he has the ruthlessness to do it this weekend.
I get it that Pablo is hitting .239 from the right-side, but I still didn’t like the idea of a squeeze there. And Dennis, I believe top of 7th that the G-men were up by two, not one. So, yeah…I was pissed on two notes there…first that they put the god damned squeeze on with Pablo in the box, and two that he missed the fucking sign.
Yeah…this one still hurts for me, too. They should have come home on a winning note with a 5-2 roadie. ARGH!!!
Fuck it…bring on the fuckerheads in the white shoes. They’re 4-6 in their last 10…and probably ripe for a continued beating.
Yeah, a 5-2 road trip would have been spectacular, esp 3-1 in the crackerbox that is the Reds park . . .
That being said, the G’s WERE hitting balls hard all over the place. Sanchez was robbed a couple times in RBS situations. And Cincy’s IF defense was nothing short of spectacular. minus Rolen’s whiff on the smash by Burrell. To top it all, Wellemeyer was actually dealing til he got hurt.
And, yes, if they are bunting with their #3 hitter, he shouldn’t BE their #3 hitter. Move Pablio down already. Posey, Huff, Sanchez, Burrell, and Uribe all raking the ball. Put Posey in the 3 hole. His whole time up, he’s shown a fantastic approach to hitting. He wouldn’t be under any more pressure than he already faces as a rook.
Shit, these A’s games always worry me for some reason.
Hit ’em early and hit ’em hard. This team needs like 3 laughers in a row. 8-1, and 6-2, and 6-3. What did I say? 15 wins? 29 HRs?
Duh. Musta been drinking the night before that prediction.
They should not move Panda down. He’s their best hitter, period. What they need to do is get Bam Bam out of his face.. and they also should have an acknowledgement sign from the player to show that he got the squeeze signal. Bochy calls like two of these a year, I don’t think Panda even gave Flannery a cursory glance. And why the fuck would he? Anyway, stop with the nonsense about putting Buster in the three. The six is fine, it’s a great RBI slot as well.
Not that I agree with the squeeze play, but I understand why Bochy did it with the way Pablo has been hitting from the right side. That said, he should be dropped down in the order for a little while, but I’m not ready to see Posey in the 3 hole just yet. I’d go with Huff 3, Uribe 4, Posey 5 and Panda 6.
“He’s their best hitter, period.” Mike, are you still living in 2009?
Not that Panda won’t rebound. I think he will, but until he gets it together, put the guys that are hitting better this year in the front end with Pablo 6.
A’s will be minus a few key components this series. Suzuki (bereavement leave) will miss the entire weekend. Sorry for your loss, Kurt, but you’ve been a royal pain in the Giants ass these past few years, not gonna miss you. Raj Davis is still battling a bad hammy and is questionable for tonight. Wouldn’t mind seeing his ass on the bench as well. Jack Cust will see some time in the outfield. Hope he brought his hard hat.
Timmy career vs the A’s. 3-0 1.23 ERA, 1.159 WHIP. I like our chances.
3Bag– agreed. Pablo is the best player we have right now– at beating weak ground balls into the infield. Get him out of the 3 until he gets his swing straight. He’s far from our best hitter right now and he’s had AMPLE time to his his way out of this slump. He’s failing to do so, pure and simple…..
Regardless of where anyone thinks Pablo should hit in the line-up, you’re wasting your breath. Bochy said he likes him in the 7 hole, so you’ll probably continue to see him there, and maybe in the 6.
Let’s hope the trend continues (Timmy’s dominance over the fucking A’s).
Oops…meant where anyone thinks Posey should hit…
The Flap was down yesterday for a while so I forgot to tell you folks, dennis had his post deleted off the Splash yesterday for citing the planet Uranus
Can you believe that shit? I actually used it in the planetary text along with Saturn.
Fucking Splash.
But I’m sure they’d allow “Uranus reverts to form!” or some other such crap. Fucking joke.
“‘He’s their best hitter, period.’ Mike, are you still living in 2009?”
You morons would have the 3 hitter be any guy who went 2 for 3 the day before. Ferchrissakes, there are guys like Berkman who hit .240 for half the fucking year before they crank up. You don’t jerk ’em around because the latest flavor de jour is hitting .400 in 40 at bats…
Your post made me laugh but the deletion made me laugh harder. Who’s in charge over there? Aunt Bea?
Did you tell BF, “YOUR ANUS is as big as Saturn?”
Sorry Twin, I guess Huff’s 203ABs make him the flavor de jour.
Moving guys up and down in the batting order for this team is just another facet of the Rubik’s LU puzzle Bochy has to solve every day. They don’t have to look to the last game, or the last 3 games, to figure out who to plug into the 3 until Pablo again becomes the best choice for the spot.
Sure hope Torres and Sanchez continue to get plenty of time at 1 & 2. (I don’t think Rowand taking a lead off 1B would much distract a pitcher facing Freddy. With Torres over there, however, things get interesting.)
You’re probably a nice guy but you’re not too smart 3bagger. You don’t jerk your 3 hitter around. I used Buster as the example, I guess for you I have to list everybody or you don’t get it. Most of the folks down on Panda are the same fucks who never believed in him in the first place. Flavor wanted him in Fresno when he struggled last year, now he’s talking about it again. It’s idiocy. He’s in a huge slump and he’s STILL hitting .280 plus. Take a valium.
Dick Vitale got hit in the gut by a line drive off of Freddie Lew’s bat at the Rays game.
“He needs a TO, baby!”
http://tinyurl.com/242amyr
The point being, Mike, if they are bunting with their #3 hitter, then he shouldn’t BE the #3 hitter.
As usual Mike, your take is I want Pablo banished to the 7 hole for 3 months. The point is, he’s struggling, he’s pressing, and he’s killing rallies at an alarming rate. Put him in a less pressing situation to work things out. 2-4 games.
I think you’ll continue to see Torres and Freddy at the top of the line-up for some time to come. And Pablo will stay in the three-hole. I really think you’ll see little change in the top six until Renteria comes back.
Mike, you act like mioving him down is a major epic crushing blow to him. Fuck it.
Pablo Sandoval:
April .368
May .234
June .231
Trend? Gee, maybe you’d like to fuck the numbers, Mike.
Shut up, Chuck. You fucks are all over Bochy until he does something like that with Panda then all of a sudden it’s “if they are bunting with their #3 hitter, then he shouldn’t BE the #3 hitter. ” Wrong-0, bongo. Bochy fucked up. 1st and third, I don’t give a rat’s ass if Bocock is up-there’s a better chance to score with the guy hitting away than with a squeeze. The ONLY guy you squeezee with in that situation is the pitcher..
Pablo’s batting .233 for the time between May 1 and now, with 1 HR, 8 BB, 13 RBIs and 24 SOs in 150 ABs. Nearly 6 weeks. That’s a prolonged slump for a great, .300+ hitter. And there’s no reason to keep him in the 3 spot so long as he continues at that paltry pace.
The squeeze play yesterday stunned me. wtf? Pablo shouldn’t be bunting, much less squeezing. Fucking ridiculous.
The sarcasm drips from Xoot’s lips.. yes, it is a prolonged slump, but not as long as many “great, .300+ hitters” have endured. Unless they’ve decided it’s NOT a slump, you fucking leave him where he is.
Not only has Sandoval been struggling at the plate due to his absolute lack of a strike zone,but his mental errors are unforgivable lately.You can lump a no strike zone into a mental lack of focus and missing a squeeze play is a killer! It’s time Panda stopped screwing around in the dugout with all his antics and start paying attention to baseball.It’s one thing to have fun,but he needs to start learning from veterans and while he is jerking off,it isn’t happening.Time for a few guys to get on him if Bochy doesn’t have the stones to do it.
Unless they’ve decided it’s NOT a slump
————
Perish the thought
Sure, blame Bochy for calling it, but Pablo MISSED the call. He’s the one killing rallies at a tremendous rate. Move him down for 3 games. It won’t prompt the end of the world . . .
You might as well call his missing the squeeze, and then fouling out an extended DP.
One more to his NL leading 15 DPs.
In other words, if Pablo singles in the runner from 2nd after fucking up the squeeze, it would have sat a little better. As it was, he fouled out on the next pitch. Not that he was the only one leaving guys on base, but he’s been a rally-killer lately.
I’ll take every single fucking guy on the “most DP list”. So let’s see, Pujols is the clean up hitter… Gonazales, yeah, we’ll bat him 5.. uh…. you guys are clowns. If you did the math on everybody you’d sit or move down, we’d have 5 guys hitting 8th… Molina and the “clogging the base paths” is another good ‘un. Two things: moving him doesn’t resolve that, boys. And two: the more he’s cloggin’ dem paths the BETTER… it’s when he’s NOT cloggin’ ’em that we got problems, dimwits..
” Hey, Molina is 0 for 12″..
“But he’s not cloggin’ those paths!”…
He was on base two times yesterday and hit another ball to the wall. So it’s TODAY you choose to move him down. Genius, Chucklefuck.
” Hey, Molina is 0 for 12″..
“But he’s not cloggin’ those paths!”…
———–
Now *that’s* a psychotic glass half full comment
Well when Pujols and Gonzalez are hitting into double plays they are, you know, hitting home runs, driving in runs. Pablo has been soft and weak this year, he’s hitting for no power, he twitchy and jumping at everything thrown his way. He’s obviously fucked up in the head but what is the best way to get him out of it? Does he just get to hit like shit for the rest of the year?
but what is the best way to get him out of it?
————–
Apparently by watching videos with Bam Bam
Bonds prosecution team loses another one.
http://tinyurl.com/34c59s7
This fucking case is like the Enegizer Bunny…it keeps going and going and going…
They should just throw-in the fucking towel…this case will go nowhere.
For what its worth, the K guys said Boch put on the squeeze play because Panda looked so bad against Rhodes the day before.
“Well when Pujols and Gonzalez are hitting into double plays they are, you know, hitting home runs”.. hardly. Both have had extended slumps in their careers, all good and great hitters do. Like I said, and fucking pay attention this time: unless they think it’s not a slump but “who he is”, you fucking bat him third. When do they move him down? *I* will let you know.
It’s gonna be a fucking hoot if Bochy sits him tonight.
Oh how that made me laugh.
test
If Torres is in CF Uribe can hit 3d and you can sort out Pablo Huff Burrell Posey and Benji in good order. Even with Rowand taking a low LU spot you’ve still got room for Pablo at the END of the table if Poseys catching. Only when Benji and Rowand are both in the LU can you justify batting the slumping Pablo 3d and even then its a close call (and it won’t be close there if the slump gets worse)
URU/FRA nil-nil 30 min. mark. I can’t believe I’m watching this shit.
Excuse the test. I just had 2 posts in Room B vanish into cyber space so I was just checking
Baggarly threw out a trial balloon about the Giants swinging a trade proposal with the Cubs for Derrek Lee. Yes, a RH power-threat in the middle of the lineup could be beneficial, but the question fast becomes, who the Cubbies would want in return. Baggs predicated all of this on how well the Chi team performs in the next few weeks, whether they are in or out of the race.
Interesting proposal. My thoughts are pretty split on the wisdom or likelihood of such a move.
The fucking LU order didn’t affect shit on this road trip. The best thing for all of you is to leave your LU mashing anfd bashing to doodling on your bar napkins. Here is their best LU tonight, tomorrow, the next day, and every day thereafter (with Rent out)
Torres RF
Sanchez 2B
Sandoval 3B
Huff 1B
Uribe SS
Posey C
Burrell LF
Rowand CF
And that, BTW, is the ONLY way you solve Molina clogging the base paths…
But Twin, you don’t fuck around with your overly-sensative catcher. You need to give him time to work out of his slump. Other power hitters go through extended slumps. Won’t he work it out in time?
Look at the top 5 DP guys.
Pujols has 44 RBIs.
Lee has 33,
Tulowitski has 32.
Only Pudge has less RBIs than Panda. But he’s a 37 year old catcher.
So, yes, I’d move his ass down for a few days.
Where’s Ray Ray?
Ray Ray would help this team NOW. Off the bench pinch hiting? I’l take him over Nate or Travis anyday…
Heh heh heh . . . Shit, Where’s Mark Sweeney when you need him? The point being, Bochy has already said as muich about moving Pablo down in the order.
So, it’s stupid until HE does it?
OK, fine.
With either Rowand or Benji OUT OF the lineup, there’s plenty of room at the END of the table for Pablo, until he pulls it together again. Sort out Huff Burrell Posey and Pablo as you wish, and fit in either Rowand or Benji. Uribe would be a better 3 spot hitter, right now, even though he does strike out a fair amount. His numbers overall are good for the last 6 weeks.
With Rowand and Benji both IN the LU, things get tougher and even as much as Pablo is scuffling, you can make a good case for keeping him at 3. But if his slump continues, that case weakens exponentially.
Oh, of course, best of all for some people: with Rowand and Benji BOTH OUT? Same deal as my first para., really.
I am in agreement with Twin on the lineup, but where does Renteria go when he is back. Clearly as I argued in April, that Freddie Sanchez was going to be the #2 when he got back and would stay there…
To me, when Renteria is back, you keep Posey at catcher have Rent hit 7th when he is playing and then Huff goes to left and Burrell gets the occasional start with Huff going to right and Torres in center…I think Renteria is going to be a much more important factor in the lineup than Burrell…in fact, I think our ability to stay in the race is going to be largely affected by how well Renteria does play.
I too am in agreement with Twin’s LU. You guys should really give this argument up, as there is very little chance you’ll see Pablo down in the order for any period of time. For the most part…he will be in the 3 hole.
I would bat Renteria 7th. And I don’t think you’ll see too many LUs at home that have Burrell and Huff in the OF together.
I seem to recall Bochy moving Pablo all the way down to 8th for one game last week, so it’s not too crazy for anyone here to suggest moving him down in the order until he gets his shit together. Or at least move him down vs. lefties.
Bochy did move Pablo down to 8 and tried to justify it by saying it was ok to have a free swinger in the 8 hole. Seems to be some confusion about what to do if Pablo doesn’t regain altitude soon.
Maybe this’ll all be moot because he’ll start hitting like a 3 spot hitter again.
Yes, he moved him down for one game. I don’t think you’ll see it regularly.
Rent, like Nate, was killer in the 8, albeit for a different reason. Rent is a smart hitter, and knows when he should exppand. It worked out for Nate there because there was no pressure in the bottom of the order.
As far as Mac’s point, it’s not the same, dog. He was sending a message and it worked. He has been more selective and he’s hitting nearly .300 since then. The RBIs will come. In short: what’s being suggested here IS crazy..
“So, it’s stupid until HE does it? ” Yes, ChuckleFuckle, as a rule, I’d definitely say go with Bochy.. or me.
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals just affirmed Judge Illston’s ruling in San Francisco: prosecutors can’t use the evidence of three positive steroid tests against Barry Bonds. Remember: these are the written test results the feds can’t authenticate or get past a hearsay objectionb because Greg Anderson refuses to testify.
Time to dismiss that case. Hope the new local U.S. Attorney does so as soon as she gets going.
“It worked out for Nate there because there was no pressure in the bottom of the order.” Hmmmm. Wonder if less pressure would help anyone else, at least temporarily, while he gets it together again?
With logic like that, Twin, no wonder you have 5 ex wives . . .
No pressure at the bottom of the order? Let me think. Could this help someone on the team right NOW?
xoot – I posted the link to the article you mention (in case anyone wants to check it out). Agree…time to dismiss the case.
As Twin mentions, Pablo has picked it up as of late. In the last 7 days, he’s hitting .296. He’s still hitting .283, overall. The dude will come around.
Interesting, where he really struggles is against LH starters, and (I was kind of surprised by this)…on the road.
If you want to check out his splits:
http://tinyurl.com/37zeyaf