Do you believe?
Off day today but still a HUGE day for the Giants. If Z and the Cubs can beat the Padres we go 1 game up, lose and we’re obviously tied. Yesterday got us to 88 games, a watershed number over the last 4 years. 88! 74! 88! 74! Ha, those were fun exchanges back then, weren’t they?
And then as we all know, last year I nailed the win total cold with that golden number of…88. It’s been a while since I brought that up.
With 6 games to go I am dead-confident that I will miss my season win total prediction of 90 that I posted on Opening Day. No problem with that at all.
This team has developed and proven to have a resiliency that winning teams have to have beyond a bunch of stats and fantasy numbers. That resiliency is why I believe in this team. I believe in the GM. I believe in the manager. I believe in Raggs and Bam Bam. I believe in Torres and Huff and Uribe and Burrell—-4 players that no other team wanted last Winter. And if I don’t believe in jinxes I don’t believe in made-up laws so yes, I believe in Barry Zito. And I don’t *believe* we are going to win the West. I’m certain of it……
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
We could not have drawn up this weekend any better than the way it turned out. We almost hhad the sweep, but the Rockies are practically dead after Matt Cain literally ripped the heaart out of that team for 9 innings after their win Saturday.
We start this week close to as best it could have been. We just need to take care of business! Two at home against AZ is likely. With the way Zambrano is pitching, that is a hell of a good matchuip for us, but I expect Padres to pull this out tonight and move to a tie with us.
Hopefully the Cubs can snake at least one win for us and the teams will be dead even heading into Friday. We will win Friday and Saturday!
But I think they should give thought to sitting Bum or Zito against AZ and set up Cain in Game 1 Friday, Sanchez in Game 2 and if need be Lincecum on Sunday for a clincher!
Can anyone clarify the tie-break scenarios. I read one thing from Schulman about the Padres woudl own the tie-break if we finished tied and would win the division, but then heard on the Mad Dog Sirius XM show that there would be a potential play in game (but maybe if that was with a 3-way tie with the Braves, Padres and Giants all tied for tyhe two playoffs spots)?
Any clues?
Is Ishi going to make the post-season roster? Inquiring minds would like to know.
Also, The Nuggets have contacted the Warriors to gauge interest in acquiring Carmelo Anthony for a deal centered around Stephen Curry.
Also, the 49er coaching stillsucks.
Carmelo for Monta and Biedrins…done deal!
Curry aint going anywhere….
What a battle in fantasy! The Rockeis have fallen by the wayside, but we still have a three way blitzkrieg with Blade, you and me all losing points yesterday.
I was tied for first yesterday for the first time since April I think…for those in the league, this is going to come down to about 5 statistical categories to see who wins!
Well the Giants are winning and the Niners are quite possible the worst team in the NFL. So one cancels out the other so I am on an even keel today. While the Niners were losing, I was like just shoot me now. But with the Giants win I took a step away from the ledge
Jimmy Raye just got shit-canned, Kevin, so I just stepped away from my ledge as well.
Dennis, there is a reason that I basically turned off the Niners oh about 1999!
What an utter frickin embarrassment yesterday…that is all the Niner talk I will engage in for the rest of the year…
I cant wait to give all my friends and Giant detractors here in DC the big Fuck You when we clinch!
My kid catches so much shit for the Giants and they are in first place! Especially from doinkey Red Sox fans in middle school!
GH, make sure your son wears his Giants hat to School once they clinch
ABSOLUTELY! He has the special Sunday cap with the orange brim that he wears game day every Sunday! He is a trooper!
Jimmy Raye got shit canned? Excellent. But he was Sing’s hire, how does Sing get away from this? And who is making the call here since Sing said yesterday that Raye would remain as the OC? Kawakami wrote an excellent blog post about Sing– the dude isa trying to win with nothing more than bluster and passion. That doesn’t work in today’s NFL– you have to have smart people who have detailed, complex offensive and defensive plans…..
Dennis, to make the money work, Monta and Biedrins for Carmelo and Chris Anderson…
We can then give Melo him a max out contract $20 mill a year for 5 year-6 years. We would still be at about $48 mill for the 2011 contract and then can even add a big man for $15 mil a year…
Starters:
PG – Curry
SG – Reggie Williams/Dorrell Wright
SF – Melo
PF – David Lee
C – Gadzuric/Wright for now maybe Udo if he recovers
Second string:
PG – Aaron Miles/Charlie Bell
SG – Wright/Williams/Lin
SF – Radmanovich
PF – Chris Anderson
C – Wright/Gadzuric/Udoh/Amundson
Not a great bench but not a team built yet for the playoffs. Get out of the Biedrins and Monta contracts, you could even bring back Azubuike and Turiaf in 2011.
The team could also go out and get Jamal Crawford now that Nellie has been shown the door and he would be the perfect 6-man or starter at two-guard…
Crawford is making $10 mill this year, so that is not going to work, but maybe as a free agent at less money next year…
No more Warriors talk from me for the rest of the day…
Giants have the edge. Pads get four shots hosting the Cubs and are unlikely to sweep. Who knows? Maybe Chicago could split em. With Sanchez, Bumgarner and Lincecum going against the Snakes Giants should do no worse than win the series. But its not unlikely the Pads will take 3 of 4 from the Cubbies and Giants go 2-1 vs Aridazona. That would leave both teams with a 90-69 record going into the China Basin finale.
So let’s say the slight probability factoring is that SF and the Dagos are knotted up going into the Big Enchilada at McCovey Cove. Zito gets the first start and the Pads will do all they can to capitalize on the fact. Matt the Horse gets game two and i love those odds. Maybe it comes down to game 162 before the West is won. Don’t expect a high-scoring game. Giants advantages: Home game and Sanchez is on the mound.
Right now, the NL West is the most exciting contest in MLB. Rays and Yanks is interesting, but both will be in the P.S. Merely a matter of home-field advantage. With the Braves also in the mix for the NL WC, one team is gonna miss out. Braves face the Marlins (who have been lousy lately but who hate the Bravos) and then the Phillies (who are already in and may lack motivation beyond pride).
Most likely scenario as i see it. Giants win the West and face the Reds in the NLDS. Padres edge Atlanta and start off against Philadelphia. Because of the incredible starting pitching going into such a contest, that NLCS with Philadelphia and San Francisco as the most likely antagonists could well be more exciting, dramatic and tense than the WS itself.
You’re right about the Yanks/Rays, but that sure as hell hasn’t stopped the NY Yankees Broadcasting Network (ESPN) from focusing solely on that race, while almost completely ignoring what you correctly described as the best race in baseball, the NL West.
Dumbasses.
…don’t rule out the possibility of the Cubs take 3/4 from the Pads. They have an interim manager who’s on record as saying he wants the job full time… and the team is winning close to a .600 clip since he took over. Should be an interesting series, or maybe just wishful thinking on my part.
Flav – The bobblehead story is funny as hell. No offense to GH and Blade, but I’m really hoping you win the Flap Fantasy broken down Richie bobblehead prize. Too bad I didn’t have a Franchez one, I think it came broken.
None taken..Flav is fighting the good fight, but my starting frickin pitchers have been atroicous down the stretch…I had Jered Weaver and Cole Hamels on fire of late and they both lay big frickin eggs yesterday…
The Oct. 2 game vs the Padres has been moved to a 1:10 start for the FOX game of the week.
GH, I was just relaying the story hot off the press. If you think I even bothered to look at the salary cap ramifications you’re nuttier than am I. Working out the Warriors and Nuggets cap figures on September 27 when our Giants are in 1st place is just not 8)
Well, FOX just messed up one fine Saturday. Would’ve been possible to catch Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in GGate Park (Kinky Friedman, Gillian Welch, plus a bunch of the bigger stars who always show up) before zipping across town to sit in the late summer warmth of a 6 pm game between the Giants and the puds. But no, because FOX suddenly sees money to be made in the NL West.
Dennis, with the off day, I could divert some attention away!!!
Why anyone would care as I do about the Warriors is even beyond me…
IMO, a playoff type game played in the warm, autumn afternoon sun is infinitely better than one starting at dusk…
Raye is merely the tip of a gigantic iceberg. He’s like the canary in a mineshaft. Be wary of future moves my friends. (that’s for Dennis)
He makes wearing a Jimmy Raye fishing hat look 8)
Stay thirsty, my friend.
Anyone going to be there this Sunday?
Cain’s ERA? 2.95. ‘Nuff said.
This was funny. Posey was quoted somewhat uncharacteristically after the game. It was obviously meant as a compliment to Cain but it came off a wee bit cocky:
“It makes my job pretty easy when he has the type of command he had. When I wanted the ball down, it was down. When I wanted the ball up, it was up”
Easy there, big guy
All he’s doing is setting the target, Ted . . .
I know Chuck. It’s just the way he said it. It came off funny to me, that’s all
To answer the tie break question from earlier, the team that owns the head to head hosts the tie break one game playoff, if head to head is tied, then home field is determined by other tiebreakers. Win and in, lose and go home.
What is really interesting is the tie break if there is a 3 way. It is really weird. The league slots the three teams by head to heads and other tiebreaks, the top slot team gets a bye, the other two fight it out in a one game playoff, with the winner then having to visit the team that got a bye in another one game playoff. If the Giants don’t win the division outright, I find myself secretly hoping that the Rocks can climb back in and force a 3 way. It would suck for the Giants, because the Pads would probably be the team that gets the bye, but the drama would be cool.
I would dig me some 3 way drama.
thanks
Go hire some hookers.
Now that he has some time on his hands maybe Jimmy will go fishing with me. I wanna steal one of his hats…
Good luck with that shit. By the time Jimmy calls out what bait to use, all the fish will have been caught.
How good is the Giants Rotation? Easily the hardest to hit in MLB. Leading the league and all of baseball in Batting Average Against is Jonathan Sanchez with an immaculate 2.06. Only ten points up the line and in 5th place in the NL is Matt Cain. Sixteenth hardest to hit is Timmy. 23rd out of the 80 starters in the league is none other than Barry Zito. Though opposing batters are hitting a comparatively robust .269 against him, rookie Madison Bumgarner does not give up many walks and is tough with men on base and consequently sports an ERA of 3.06.
Few 5-man rotations in the history of the game could match this one, which just set a post dead-ball era record of 18 consecutive games where the opposition scored 3 runs or less. Wonder if any team feels confident facing this bunch in October. Again, because of their big 3, the Phils will make for exciting competition. None of the A.L. contenders boast a staff that would match the best in the N.L. If it comes down to the Bullpen, Giants have a definite edge over the Phillies.
I am a bit bummed out by Mr. Glass, Freddy Sanchez. Just like last year, when he is most needed, he turns all delicate. I don’t mind anything about his game and I don’t buy the “fake hustle” thing (a guy like him wtih significant physical deficits only becomes a big leaguer by hard work and very real hustle). But the dude is just too frigging fragile, and too eager and willing to sit down on the bench.
I thought it was too funny that Bochy sent him out against Colo there even though he claimed he could only “lob” the ball. It reminded me of earlier in the year, when Bochy told the malingering glass man that nap time was over, and it was time to bust his ass with the rest of the team.
I don’t get it why Franchez gets ripped when he’s injured. This is the same crap earlier in the year when he was still recovering from the surgeries, and people accused him of malingering. Baggarly reported he was still hurt and recovering as he played. I saw replays of that throw he made from second yesterday. Did he throw that lollipop just for the helluvit? If his shoulder was/is hurt, then it’s hurt. That’s for the MRI to show. Rent has been hurt and played in only 70 or so games so far this year — so is he malingering? No, he’s just friggin’ can’t throw with that elbow. For a guy that’s been around this long why would Franchez take a dive in his first pennant race? He’s been doing well at the plate in recent weeks, hit some key dingers, too, like yesterday in the first…
I am not bagging on him for being hurt. I am bitching about how fragile he is.
I like how he plays the game, and I like his bat. But he is Mr. Glass. I find it interesting that Bochy put his ass out there anyway. Almost like he was saying, “I’m tired of hearing what you CAN’T do, Sanchez, just give us what you CAN.”
Best pitching and now one of the feared HR hitting teams in the NL ( 72 HR in 68 games since the break, 3rd in the NL, tied with the Reds with most among potential NL playoff teams.) Right now the there are 5 great teams: Yanks, Rays, Twins, Phils, Giants. The other key stat I’ve pointed out: they are now one of the best road teams, and they have the power to slug with the band box teams. ( they finish with 87 road HRs). Now they have to get in, I just pray to God that me being the 32,764th person to talk about their postseason roster doesn’t jinx ’em..
…ya jinxed ’em, Twin!! Just get those feet better so you can dance a jig when they win the World Series!
for a “student” of the game, I would think you would know, that baseball players are usually supersticious….slump busters, etc…Aubrey Huff wears a red thong…’nuff said.
How’d you know it’s red?
I gave it to him…
Hey Michael,
Thanks for putting out the positive. I have been reading this blog and the other for a while, and the main thing that keeps me reading is that you always have a reality-based take on being a fan and enjoying the game. I appreciate that. In my job and life I have to put up with whiners and armchair qbs who think they know shit that they don’t know. Reading your posts is a real pleasure, and helps me make it through some pretty shitty days.
I’ll stop bitching about Freddy Sanchez and the Rockies now, and enjoy the rest of the ride.
NFL legend George Blanda dies at 83
Dude was kicking in pro football when he was 48. He did some miraculous things for the Raiduhs as step in QB back in those glory days of the early 70s when Lamonica got hurt or had a bad day. Plus, pretty good QB in his earlier years with Bears, Oilers, etc. HOFer and class act, too. RIP…
Giants are only 8-1 to ws. F-that those are terrible odds
Bautista just banged another bomb. O/u on his 2011 hr total? 27.5
O/U on the date he’s found to have used PEDs Oct. 4.
Maybe it’s adderal….
I’d love to see a list of all the guys who have adderrall prescriptions and when they started taking it.
Bautista hit a sac fly not a bomb. I turned on the tv and he was high fiving guys in dugout, I just assumed he hit another bomb
But where are you going with that,Flavor? According to the story, Torres started taking adderall in 2007- and it was then his numbers went up. But it can certainly just be proof that the ADD was affecting him negatively. Proving that the medication helped is hardly damning.
Wilson is little kooky but he gives some good quotes. Here is one I like from his Haft interview:
“The only thing I’m doing is trying to let you know that you’re not going to beat me,” Wilson said recently. “That’s it. [When I’m] stepping on that mound, you’d better take it seriously. You can say whatever you want about the hair, the beard, the shoes — you can have your opinion. But you’ll know the truth when the ball’s coming at you. It’s for real.”
Kruk said on the Zamabrano vs Giants broadcast that the interim Cubs manager was going to skip Z’s next start so he would be fresh against the Pads.Basically the Pads are facing the same rotation as the Giants did.Pretty classy move.Go Cubbies!
I’m not targeting torres, as I said, I’d like to see the list (that MLB has) that lists off all the guys taking it. I think I read there’s been a 30% increase in the prescription since 2005: would like to see if those guys all exploded (with numbers) after they hit the list
Reality-based thinking centers on the fact that all six of their remaining games are on home turf. A second focus of getting down and serious is that they have the best Rotation in baseball and arguably the best bullpen. Michael pointed out to boot that with Water Buffalos and all, the Giants now can slug it out with any team out there. Their defense, though limited in range in the infield and a mixed bag in the pasture, is sure-handed and steady-minded. Their manager is finally getting some respect. He has a hole or two (like much of the team on the field) but is generally regarded as a master in handling a pitching staff, particularly the bullpen. Weaknesses include a general lack of speed, at least if Torres is not up to snuff and a fairly high proportion of hackers in the LU.
Each one of the major playoff teams (Twin named five, i believe: ) The Twins; Rays; Yanks; Phils and Giants) have some holes. All three of the A.L. teams have spotty pitching. Yanks have a bullpen with many holes and a couple of gems. Twins have a Jekyll and Hyde Rotation and are missing their #1 slugger, Justin Morneau. Rays can be had, and had badly by a dominant starter. Philadelphia has a BP with maybe three reliables and the rest of it resembles swiss cheese more often than it ought to. Giants echo the Twins on the other side of the spectrum with a Jekyll and Hyde offense, sometimes even against mediocre pitchers.
It may come down to which team is the more hungry and has the most internal cohesion as well as having overcome adversity time and again. I choose not to mention the name of the team which strikes me as filling the bill more than any other.
Now that I think about it, it wasn’t a 30% increase, it was like 22 guys to 122 guys or something like that. I just don’t remember where I read it and don’t feel like digging around for it
So it went from 28 players to 103 in 2006. I’m sure it’s way way over 103 now
And I’m not saying torres is using adderall illegitimately. But it is absolutley performance enhancing, especially for people who don’t have ADD. I experimented with it for a few months, it’s quite a drug.
Speed is king….
Dirt: Great quote from Wilson. Brings up another factor regarding the Giants. There are a lot of characters. A lot of stories: Timmy and his hair, looking like a high school junior but easily one of the most feared pitchers in the game with consecutive Cys to prove it. Matt the Horse: Alabama countryboy. Unflappable (except maybe on this site) and reliable. Sanchez: Drrrrrty has a certain cachet. Zito: Zen and zaniness combined with a rock-star income. Wilson: Coming into his own as one nasty closer. He’s got the look. He’s got the attitude.
Position players: Huff the Magic Dragon ~ nuff said; Buster Open: Posey is anything but a Poseur. The real deal. Mr. Natural; Franchez: the Runt. A bit of a poor man’s Pete Rose: All guts, grit and hustle; Pablo: Does it get any better than Kung Fu Panda and all those hats? Well maybe not this season, but he’ll be back; Pat the Bat Burrell (thanks be to Tampax Bay for thunder in the troposphere). High, wide and handsome. That’s how he hits em. Selective hitter, though. Can draw a BB too; Torrid Torres: Is there anything this skinny sparkplug can’t do? Juan Uribe: Giants legacy via his uncle Jose, at shortstop: May be the compleat Hacker ala the original One Flap Down, Jeffrey Leonard. The swing is the thing.
Okay, that’s a basic rundown. Flappers know them well by now ~ even some Baggers and Splashers. Bout time for baseball fans all over America to tune in on a team with plenty of character ~ and characters.
Your awesome, Stix…
Stix, no doubt. I like those last two sentences best. That quote could just as easily apply to The Freak.
I stopped taking adderall because it elevated my blood pressure. Mostly I would take it when i would play 10-12 hours of poker and it helped me stay focused and there aren’t any obviously physical side effects. It was great. I used it when I worked out sometimes and here’s an example of how it effected my performance. Normally, when I run the DISH at Stanford I run it in about 47 minutes. On Adderall I would run it in 39 minutes. How does that translate to the performance of an MLB player? Who knows.
Shoot, BF, maybe I’ll get some Adderall and I can keep up with those broads hanging around Uribe in those photos you post…
My point is simple though: while it’s performance enhancing if taken illegally, it’s also a treatment and therefore performance enhancing by definition when taken LEGALLY. I understand what you’re saying but, in fact, there are probably hundreds of PEDs if taken for unintended uses. Hell, even legal ones: if you need a cortisone shot to play, that’s a PED.
Now cortisone is something NOBODY talks about. Without it you don’t have the bloody sock, the Red Sox don’t have their first WS.
i know that. But cortisone shots are legal, anyone can have one. Adderall isn’t available to everyone. That’s why it’s an issue. Hey, I loved Adderall but it’s a schedule 2 drug for a reason. Hard as hell to get, too (unless you’re an mlb player)…..
Can’t say that I have tried Adderall but I wouldn’t classify it the same as HGH or riods. That whole “it wasn’t against the rules of baseball” used to bug the shit out of me though.
It is a legit question to ask about Torres. It can also be attributed to everything coming together at the right time and place. D. Baker once made a statement about players in their early to mid 30s having the mental and physical all come together and they are just better than they have ever been for that window. Of course he was saying it in regards to Barry Lamar but Torres is in great shape and it could just as easily apply to him.
Stix: love your summary. Character. Characters. Magic.
Marlenes are stirring in the 8th…
Releasing a list would be just wrong. We are in no position to judge who has phony diagnoses.
I realize that this is in no way a novel idea, but I just want to say that I really can’t freaking stand that Eckstein puke.
Major deja vu (1993) rooting against the Braves.
RIP Bob Shaw. One by one they go…
http://tinyurl.com/27v3h23
If any of you jokers are going to the Sunday game let me know and I’ll buy you a beer.
Heyward fails with bases loaded!
Dirt–not going to game on Sunday, but I should be in Reno in a few weeks. I’ll let you know when and hopefully we get a beer during a playoff game!
i’m not spending a second worrying about the WC, we are winning the division, end of story…….
Flav, if you put stix’s POTD on the Splash, it would burst into flames
Good call
Ted, put it up there for him.
Why not. It will have to be in two parts, though. Lotta words
…and it didn’t burst into flames!
The splash “regs” wouldn’t understand it. They’ve got enough to try to sort through what with the fake-a’s fan and the dude pretending to be a chick in college. Shouldn’t he be fake- graduating this year????
I thought he was a junior, but apparently he said he’s a sophomore this year.
…some of us understood it, Flavor ~ not everyone “over there” is a troll.
Z is bringing it too bad the Cubs offense isn’t…….
Well that felt like ’93…
Should have walked Infante and gone after Heyward.
Alright Cubs break through 1-0.Double Soriano single for Dewitt.Top of 7th.
Braves will be going with both Hudson & Lowe on 3 days rest…
Gloria Stuart passed away today at the young age of 100.
Fuck.
I’m aware most of ya’ll just know her from “Near, or far, wherever you are, I believe, my heart goes on”…
But she was also in THE OLD DARK HOUSE and THE INVISIBLE MAN.
So..she rocked. R.I.P.
I posted stix’s POTD.
So far, SFGate hasn’t crashed
They had Z on the ropes but Gwynn and Salazar bailed him out after getting ahead.
AG just had as bad an AB as you will ever see. 1-0 Cubbies, going to the 9th.
At the stick, Giants have scored 3 in the 9th to cut the Dodger’s lead to 7-6.
Anyone else watching the classic giants game on CSN? watching the Cubs beat the Padres and watching the Giants beat the Dodgers back in like 1988… a beautiful thing.
DeWitt is thrilled these days that he got out of Dodgertown.
I thought Kelly Downs had great stuff back then. Seemed like he was never healthy.
Classic seeing Lasorda all pissed off.
MLBN is live in SD….
Like the Cubs to some serious damage to the Pads these series.New guy Quadie has them playing good ball.7straight road wins after tonight. Yeah i’m calling it,no fucking jinx.Veteran Dempster will bounce back strong after what the Giants did to him,he’ll be extra motivated.