This Will be a Very Interesting Series…..
Not because it will tell me something about the Giants. I’m hoping to learn more about the Braves. Simply put, I just don’t think the Braves are as good as their record is. Everyone is jizzin’ about Heyward but the dude has hit ONE home run since the end of May. They’ve got a good catcher and Prado has been a stud at the lead off spot for them this year (though we miss him during this series). They’ve got a solid bullpen and maybe 2 starting pitchers I’d want on our staff. Chipper is held together with rubber bands and Glaus (like Heyward) hasn’t done much after his hot start (no HR’s since June)….
I dunno, I just don’t get the hype about the Braves. Do they still do that dumb chop? I guess we’ll find out……
The Todd makes his glorious return to the team today with Bautista *walking* his way out of town…..
I think we win 3 of the 4…….
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Jizzin’ about Heyward. Jar of Jergens on the mound. Hopefully The Giants squeeze out a few knocks.
Excuse me while I go grab a couple of Kleenex. Good news on the Runzler front: he is expected to pitch in a simulated game Saturday and begin a rehab assignment Tuesday with Class A San Jose. Expected Heat Index of 105+ today in Hotlanta. I think we better import some fog for Timmy. He becomes Frosty the Snowman when the thermometer gets too red.
Dennis, that is so true, correct me if I am wrong (usually am) but it seems like Tim starts struggling in the 4th or 5th inning when it is hot out.
Oh dear me, poor Timmy! Lets hope for the best. Just think the Braves have to play their 81 times. Anyway they should be admired for all the good teams they have created over the years. Remember when they wore those sicko blue unis? Those years were pure crap for them. And they once were in the Western Division. 103 wins for the Giants one year and it still wasn’t enough to catch the Braves.
Fucking Crime Dog . . .
Great fucking nickname for Fred…I bet that damn McGruff was a flasher. No dog in its right mind wears a trench coat.
Braves’ rotation is middlin’, at best. Combined 16-3 vs. Pitt, Milw, KC, Hou; record in one-run games is 15-16. “This is not a worthy adversary.”
Wouldn’t be surprised at all if the G-Mo’s put a real thumpin’ on the Joker & friends.
game time the temp’s gonna drop into the 80s, but the humidity will rise because thrunderstorms will roll in. despite the storms, there will be almost no wind. fucking died and gone to hell for Lincecum. see how he deals with it (maybe he flew in yesterday, to acclimate)
Bautista *walking* his way out of town…..
——————–
Funny.
I hear he’s hanging up the glove and taking a job as a spokesman/sales manager for Kellogs, specializing in Corn Flakes. They think he can throw a real wild pitch
Well the Braves are doing something right, at least at home. Best mark in the majors. Must be the weather.
I just saw the Nats beat them last week and the Nats took the series. Not impressed. they gave up on Escobar and the new guy from Toronto is hot and Cold, but hard to expect more than a split.
In regards to the heat, maybe Tim should have pitched ysterday. The Bum would have been used to this kind of hummidity. I would like to see Tim show up with a buzz cut prepared for the swelter.
short term, we are lucky to miss Prado. Long term, Braves are really going to miss Medlen. Heyward and Glaus contributing no power, Chipper likely to hit the DL again just *cause*, it will surprise me if Atlanta makes the playoffs this year……..
cuz
Speaking of no power Flav.When the hell is Pablo ever gonna hit another HR? 4O+ games and 150 Ab’s since his last jack June 15!! Pathetic.
I predict Panda hits two out this series.
The Royals just designated Jose Guillen’s contract for assignment. They have 10 days to trade or release him.
Any takers?
Chop Talk, the Braves primary blog is basically expecting a split for the series. That tells me they are a bit concerned. They did a pretty good wrap on Giants players, rotation and what to expect from the team. Without Prado, Glaus reverting to form and Chipper feeling none too, the Giants do have a fair to middling chance of taking 3 in Hotlanta and yes, how Timmy handles the heat will be a critical component to the team’s chances.
Atlanta has the best home record in the league, perhaps in baseball. Counterbalancing that factor is the moderate edge Giants starters hold in all four games. Chop Talk, reviewing the BPs, concluded on the basis of stats and advanced stats that next to the Padres, that the Bravos have the second best BP and SF third best. So the contest may come down to the offenses.
Posey, fortunately, looks to be about as calm, cool and collected as any young player i’ve watched. So even making his first homestate appearance as an ML regular, to say nothing of being the cleanup hitter, Buster should not be all fluttery and nervous as some players in that situation would be.
An Uribe start tonight would add a bunch more pop to the LU and having Renteria on the bench greatly strengthens that shorthanded unit. None of the Latino players on the team will be bothered by the HOTlanta factor. In fact they may thrive on it. Both Torres and Sandoval could shine under the Georgia sun.
If Timmy can keep his cool for 6 or mayyybe even 7 innings, the Giants win tonight. If not, like the Chop Talk blog, i would expect a split in the series. If that does occur and if both teams appear in the postseason, my sagging memory glands tell me that SF had the edge in Atlanta’s early season appearance at China Basin; the Giants would hold home field advantage, provided the playoffs are still set up on a wins-against basis.
Critical series. A sweep by either of the fairly closely matched teams is quite unlikely. Three of four would send a huge message.
Lining up the rotation already for the playoffs? A long way to go still.
Max: Wuz ya tokkin to me? If so read it again. Though i mentioned the playoffs, the rotation analysis had to do with these 4 upcoming games, the current series. I think most of us concluded, before the Colorado series, that we would split that one, mainly because the Rox rotational pairing of Cook and Jimenez indicated we would likely cop the first game and lose the second.
Check the stats and you will likely concur that Rotation-wise, the Giants hold a modest to moderate edge in the current 4-gamer. Paired off against Atlanta’s usual HFA, it looks to be a split, with the possibility of a 3-win edge hinging primarily on which team holds the offensive edge. My $ would be on the Giants.
As long as it came up: As of now the only question for the playoff rotation is whether Sanchez or Bumgarner is the 4th starter and whether Bumgarner would even be on the roster if he wasn’t the 4th starter ( Dirty would by far be the more effective loogy).I doubt they’ll split Linceum and Cain, so the rotation, if the playoffs started today, would be Tim, Matt, Zits, Dirty…
Not sure that I get what they do with Willis. Have to think he never sees SF unless he was a September call up. They’re not releasing Lopez, and certainly Runzler and Affeldt are safe. Maybe we’d see Dontrelle for a few days if Dan doesn’t get back as soon as they now think. But D-Train pitched to just one hitter and walked him yesterday…
As to this series, I do it occcasionally for giggles but predicting an individual series is the road to bankruptcy, male prostitution, and drug addiction… I’ll say 2-2 and be happy for it…
So it’s Mental Defective down, Pie Hole Breather up. Such a deal…
I may be a doomer and I may be a polly
but all I do know is MLB SFGs are finally on ESPN here. In HD tonight @ midnight.
and I have tomorrow off.
TWO WORDS: Can watch a game like you all do: in front of my telly.
BF may be the game catcher of the year
but I am the game catcher of tonight.
And in my pure hippie vision,
GO GIANTS!
No glaus tonight. Too bad he sux. Dunn got claimed. Anyone know how that works? If he’s claimed by multiple teams how does it work if one team is trying to “block” another team from getting him?
Greetings and Felicitations Flappers!
I’ve just returned from a 10 day Nor-Cal roadie with limited internet access. I was able to catch several games on the radio though, and thoroughly enjoyed the great homestand.
A few random observations from the road:
-Granted I don’t follow MLB as closely as I used to—and I pay almost no attention to the American League, but I had never heard of Javier Lopez or Ramon Ramirez. I’m hoping for the best with these two, but I certainly wouldn’t have traded Bowker and Martinez for a journeyman lefty specialist.
-I am happy that Pitt looks like a place where Bowker can get a good shot and see if he can be a productive player. I still think the guy is going to become a legit major leaguer.
-Reno is a hoot. I hadn’t been there in years, but I was amused to see that many of the old dive motels that were there when I was a kid are still hanging on. I also had a blast rafting down the Truckee River with the kids. We rode the Ferris Wheel at Scheel’s and I picked up a sweet Jamarcus T for $2.99 in the bargain bin to taunt my Raider-fan friends with. I was also glad to see that series of signs on 80 that guide truckers down the mountain are still there. My favorite has always been the one that says something like “Take ‘er easy and let ‘em cool into Colfax.”
-I ate at Tahoe Burger twice. I thought it was solid, but not spectacular. My favorite burger spot in the greater Tahoe area (and there are a ton of ‘em) is still Izzy’s Burger Spa with honorable mention going to the Sno-Flake Drive Inn.
-The post game jerk-off session on KNBR with all of the announcers is PAINFUL for me to listen to. I can’t stand everyone trying (unsuccessfully)to be funny and there seems to be a rule that anytime Miller says anything that Kruk and Kuip laugh uproariously. I know everyone loves K & K, but for me, I’ll borrow a line from my dad and say “A little goes a long way.”
-Listening to the Burrell homer on the Dodger station (somehow I was able to get 1560 out of Bakersfield from South Lake Tahoe—but not KNBR) was a great moment. I wanted nothing to do with signing Pat. The dude has truly surprised me and the custom flap autograph is a peach. By the way, my daughter was watching “Beauty and the Beast” at our cabin the other day when it struck me that Burrell reminds me a hell of a lot of the Gaston character.
-The BB cards they gave away at the Marlins game I went to are LAME. No stats on the back (instead charity involvement is detailed) and every pack had the exact same players. My son still speaks glowingly about the fight in the bleachers whenever anyone asks him how the game was.
Go here and look under “Waivers” for the info.
http://tinyurl.com/2utpxy
Sandawg. Great call on izzys. Welcome back.
San, welcome home
Here’s a clear and succinct explanation on the Dunn claim from JP Morosi. http://tinyurl.com/25tecnl
Juan’s back: F lineup for Thursday: Torres RF, F.Sanchez 2B, Huff 1B, Posey C, Uribe SS, Burrell LF, Sandoval 3B, Rowand CF, Lincecum P
Good lineup. Glad to see Uribe in there. If he’s got a tight hammy, Hotlanta is a good place to stay loose.
thanks for the links, Twin and Denny. But I thought there was a way to “block” a WW claim and I don’t see that info in either of those links. Maybe I’m just remembering this wrong, but I thought I remember Sabean blocking a WW claim last year, but maybe not……..
As long as you people understand how it works, there should be no need for LU bashing the rest of the way. Don’t misunderstand, I know you will still do it, just want it clear now just how idiotic it will be. Barring catastrophic slump or injury, Huff, Sandoval, Torres are everyday. Virtually every day ( maybe a day off per 8 or 9 games) are Posey and Sanchez. Uribe is probably 5 of 6. The swing guys are Rowand, Burrell, Ishikawa, Renteria. These are the guys who play based on match ups, ballpark, hot hand, lefty or righty, that sort of thing. Nate and Whitey are strictly once a week or every 10 days, with Nate getting a lot of late inning work. Same for Velez when he’s activated ( if he isn’t, I think it will be Burriss, not Rohlinger, back up for the HS). Tough call now on which pitcher goes down.
“Any player can be put on waivers by his team, and the player does not need to be informed.
Other teams have the chance to make a claim on the player during a 47 hour window.
If the player is claimed, the team that placed him on waivers has the option of pulling him back. If the team pulls him back they can’t trade him for 30 days.
If his team decides not to pull him back:
Option 1: His team can work out a trade with the team that claimed him. Any player involved in the trade who is on a 40 man roster must go through waivers first.
Option 2: His team can just dump him and his salary on the team that claimed him, getting no player in return.
Option 3: No one claims him, and his team is free to trade him to any team.
If more than one team places a claim on a player, the winning claim is awarded based on worst record or the league the claiming team is in.
pretty good explanation Michael…but I don’t think Sandoval is as much a lock as Huff and Torres….I look for the IF to rotate more than you do…
Well, what I’m saying is based on informed observation: Sandoval IS an everyday player. WSW is guessing what they might do. We’ll see.
San Dog, I was at that Marlins game. Unfortunately missed the fight. but I was out there behind the left fielder and they were on that kids shit all game. It was a great time.
Baggs has confirmed we’re talking to J. Guillen. Thinks if TPIR he’ll be Giant. Also confirming we put in a claim for Dunn, but doesn’t think it even got to us as the Rocks probably went for the block.
I won’t say whether that’s good or bad but considering his age, it won’t go down quietly if the Giants sign him
I’d normally squelch the idea myself, but if getting Guillen make us go back to 12 pitchers, I’m all for it. 🙂
Heard Bochy say it, that’s why I said it…
Guillen would be a strange pick up given the recent hot hitting that we’ve gotten from burrell…. Hot and humid in Atlanta, hope Timmy keeps the fluids flowing
Denny– went with a 3 team parlay tonight: under in angels and mariners gm, over in the Rockies gm. No bet on the giants tonight— not with the weather and the fact that atl plays so well at home
Sounds like a winner. I think they pegged the O/U (7) for our game. 4-3 W for Tim w/ B-Wheezy shuttin’ the door.
That braves line up is underwhelming. You can make a case that we are better than they are at every single position tonight….
Panda’s the key down the stretch for me.His main problem besides his extra weight,is that he’s not driving the ball.When I’ve paid attention to his swing,he seems to have trouble with letting his weight drift forward through the swing instead of keeping his weight back.He’s kind of pushing his body at the ball more than it looks like he should,elongating the swing and robbing him of power.He’s not spinning on balls,he’s swaying at them.Sandoval is all over the place this year,and his shoulders also look out of whack,it’s like he’s trying to retain power while swinging like a slap hitter.
You know he actually struggled with his lower body last year and was able to compensate because he kept his hands back,this year once the shoulders and hips open up,the hands are not far behind and he’s not able to do anything with pitches he doesn’t immediately identify.Because his hands don’t stay back,the only way for him to make contact on pitches that are away or off-speed is to slow his swing down,usually accomplished by elongating the swing.
Like the early run. Appears Torres and Sanchez got to Jurrjens before he knew what hit him. He seemed to settle down after that. Would have been nice to get two, but Timmy starts with a lead.
Very interesting observations, Kat. If the team sees things the same way i’m sure he gets a lot of off-season coaching. Of course we all hope he reconnects to Panda energy totally on his own and does it soon.
Wow. Tim’s sweating bullets already
Again, what’d I miss? Whe I don’t look, they score inthe 1st inning . . .
Lincecum starts out off-key as well…and then strikes out the side. That’s Timmy. Team will need to keep hammering away at Jurrjens as Timmy may not go as deep as we would like.
Ahh, scored on a groundout . . .
Be still my heart.
Yeah!!!! Go Panda!
Way off target there . . .
Hit him early. . .
Rowand gets dead red and he lays off it . . .
Not what the 8 is supposed to do . . .
Yungo is something
Yowza. Andres is still torrid , , ,
Shit, that was a pretty goddamn good bunt by Tim. Panda needs to get a better jump and some more MPHs.
Matters not. Torres strokes one. Quick, somebody go give Timmy some Gatorade.
Just what the Giants needed, taking the lead early!!
Jurjjens already working up a nice lather himself. That shit can’t be easy.
Damn. Huff was on that . . .
Hate to see ’em leave that run out there. Fricking Panda has to get a better jump.
Oh well. Tim needs a quick one this time.
Love the way the Giants hitters have matured from the bunch they had last season. The Runt had a wonderful AB, laying off pitches the way he did and even Huff ended up costing the guy a lot of pitches. This is the way to beat a pitcher even if only one run at a time. Hope Timmy can take advantage of the lead.
The replay did not support that he didn’t get a good jump. Even K and K dropped that. It was just an excellent play.
Fuck, Tim. Replay. . . .
Fucking walk. Fucking knock . . .
Shit those 2 balls cut through the night like there was no humidity at all..
Another instance of Timmy pitching in the heat.
Might have been the WORST curve he’s ever thrown. Ugh.
The heat excuse is bullshit in the second inning. If the fuck can’t do it, don’t pitch him at all in these conditions.
Damm, all that base time took it out of Tim,he looks spent already.
And while you’re knocking the guy who started the second inning rally, how can you miss the horrid fucking AB from Posey in the first? Let’s see some balance, boys.
“Damm, all that base time took it out of Tim,he looks spent already.” See above. If he’s too frail for this, pull the cocksucker and put Wellemeyer in.
Timmy LOOKS heat-beat. Doesn’t he know the old trick of either a damp wash-cloth or a cabbage leaf under his cap? Hell, even i do that mowing the lawn under a hot sun.
You know what Mike,Panda beats that play to 3rd last year minus the 30+ pounds.
Tim also cost a run by dogging it on what should have been a Torres triple. Three guys who have cost runs: Tim, Aubrey, Posey. Guy dissed: Sandoval.
Posting from my ph: does anyone know what pandas risp ba is? I haven’t followed his underlying numbers this yr but it can’t be good
Kat, whether his weight made a difference is a different issue. Fact is, he got his jump as soon asTim made contact. Can’t go earlier or he’s doubled off on the miss.
His BA with RISP is very poor. The failures w/RISP today have been far more significant from Huff and Posey, however.
I totally agree with giving more slack to guys who have been more productive. But often the criticism of Sandoval goes over the top. He’s one of the reasons they have two runs, hardly a major reason they don’t have MORE.
one of them anyway…
Weird stat: Both pitchers have 59 pitches after three.