Questions That Remain….
The Giants wrapped up a Spring that has to be considered a success— no major injuries, everyone got their work in, the vets did what they had to do and the kids showed some good promise. But, like all teams, we are heading into the season with some question marks:
1) When will Wilson be available? If I’m Marc Kroon I take the assignment to Fresno and give it 30-45 days. There will be a clearer picture by then–either Wilson comes back fine, Romo et al fill in admirably or Kroon gets the call up to be our closer. Either way, he pitched very well this Spring…….
2) Is Pablo ready to be “Pablo ’09” or just a skinny version of last year’s train wreck? I’m cautiously optimistic on him reverting to form…….
3) When will Belt get called up? If they wait till April 11th the Giants delay his service time a year. That’s just good business. Could it be that simple? I’m still not sure who is going to play first base with Huff heading to the OF for at least most of April……
4) Zito—the grand daddy question mark of them all. He should do what Prince did a few years back and change his name from *Zito* to *?* That would be so perfectly zen of him……
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
The one constant this off season is me being WRONG on every prediction. FA signings 100% WRONG (including F Lew to TB). Trades, including the Rowand going to Cleveland by this last weekend, WRONG. What a record, oh for the off season. I guess I really do live in a world run by Barnum and Bailey.
So let’s get this circus going, I’m ready. GO GIANTS.
I am not worried about Wilson or whoever the closer is. I think yesterdays post, Will they come out tight is the bigger thing and really it will not be that big of a deal. Now if they are still playing tight in May then it becomes a concern. What will Bochy do to relax these guys. Bill Walsh showed up at the team hotel as the door man to loosen up the Niners. So Bochy will have to address the playing too tight issue. Who will be the calming factor in the dugout?? Huff and Burrell? that would be my guess.
Cool intro to a book about Timmy’s 2010 season.
Click to access Introduction.pdf
Thanks, Kevin. I hadn’t heard of this book by Ryan. I’ll look for it.
I just finished reading Baggarly’s book. It was fun to read and bask in the ’10 season yet again.
A correction for Snarkkles and Flavor from the last thread:
Snarkkles did knock Jay Bell for how much money he made, not HOW he was paid. It’s not a BFD except denying it is a lie.
“Bell? — .265 career BA with 195 HRs, 2X All Star, One WS win with Ariz. $55+ million????!!! Sheezus…. ”
As I said then, owners are reaping record profits and the players are the product. If anything, they are underpaid. I’ll add that Bell spent much of his career with the miserly Pirates, so he was definitely underpaid…
I would not have even thought of Jay Bell in a million years had Baggs, in his email to me, addressed the issue of deferred contracts with him as an example. The huge sum I noted is mostly from the Dbacks, which apparently are still paying his poor little self, and he last played in 2003, which seemed crazy to me. If you think I have no pity for MLB players and the MLFPA, I don’t. Nor for the owners. They’re both making out like bandits. As for the “lies”, people can read and read context. They can make up their minds. For passing to the Flap what I thought was good baseball info and my comments on it, I get dissed from Xooty and the usual horse manure claptrap from your negative ass. If there is a next time, maybe I’ll keep the info to myself…
Check this picture of Timmy and Wilson
http://tinyurl.com/4drq7zt
Like the Neukom bowtie . . .
__________________________________________
Fake tits? Check.
Fake hair? Check.
Fake tan? Check.
Brains fucked out? Check . . .
fakest…bb…ever
They pretty much all are, Ted. Probably one real tit in the whole bunch.
Christ, what happens there when air bags meet fun bags?
As far as the question marks, I’d worry about Huff’s production more than Pablo’s. His up year/down year pattern is pretty consistent. And Zito a question mark? He’ll suck again.
But they’ll take the division again, with ease this time.
Monday and Tuesdays’ games are televised. Does anyone know if Wednesday’s game is televised, and what network it’s on?
The only respect Zito gets these days is for the tail he pulls.
The biggest question mark, and it’s legit, is the effect of the IP last year by the “Big 4”, especially Bumgarner.
Bochy knows this and his magic with the bullpen will get it’s toughest test. That is the biggest question mark and it’s unlikely to be answered until late in the season.
Zum, what I have seen the Wed game is not televised.
Yeah, the paper specifically says “No TV” for Wednesday
Thanks for the info, folks.
Kimberly Bell on the stand this morning. After both sides are done with her testimony, Bonds’ trial will recess for the day to allow for an overnight slimecleaning of the courtroom…
Here is Michael Urbans take on No Whitey
Eli Whiteside: Highly respected backup will get a start a week, tops.
Retarded POTD.
2 starts a month, maybe . . .
Not you, Kevin. Mychael. Or Myka. However the gay-ass fuck way he spells his name.
Stewart seemed to do a creditable job in ST defensively and appears a bit better offensively than El Presidente. But, the devil you know, I suppose. Bottom line is, if Posey goes down for any length of time, the catcher position will be a black hole on offense. That shouldn’t change for a coupla years, until Joseph and/or Sanchez emerge from the minors. Good thing, this year’s LU from the get go is better able to handle that potential weakness…
Funny thing about the trial is, and I’m sure the defense is going to exploit this to no end, is most people testifying against Bonds have major beefs (beeves?) with him.
Other than his mother, and I wouldn’t bet against that, doesn’t just about everybody who ever had more than fleeting contact with the guy have at least some beef with him?…
Obviously Anderson doesn’t.
Shit, there’s plenty of guys who will go to bat for him.
Kimberly Bell would have been the perfect BB for today
Piret Aava, the model Bonds set up in NY, would make a much better BBabe than Bell. Maybe BF’s already used her.
you have a great ‘eye’ for the wags, xoot. And that is a fine orb for your avatar. I will call it ‘the eye of the Orb’.
Peace be upon your children and loved ones.
Orbofwisdom
Bonds still faces a huge obstacle- everyone knows he’s guilty.
But, the prosecution still has to prove he lied. Plus the materiality thing (wink to Xoot). Without Anderson, the case seems to be essentially parading people (with an ax to grind, financial motives, or prior testimony that helped them get immunity) to testify what a bad mofo Bonds is — so since he’s a POS as a husband and a human — ergo, he must have lied. Unfortunately for the US attorneys, a little detail is that nobody can testify they actually saw him use anything or prove up documents indicating same. This morning, they dragged poor ol’ Murph in to testifiy for 15 minutes (MercNews’ blow by blow said Murph spoke in a “quavering” voice and visibly “out of his element”) that Bond’s cap size went up 1/8″ over the years. 1/8″? Wow, that was devastating evidence. Then, under cross he said that yes, cap size increases happened to Mays and McCovey, too. Too funny. I’m a teeny bit surprised the prosecutors didn’t bring Mays in and fuk with him since he was close to Bonds, but I guess even they won’t stoop that low, they’d get a S-storm of negative pub on that move…
I’m sure everything will resolve once Bonds takes the witness stand, as snarkk predicted he would.
snarkk said, on March 12, 2011 at 10:59 am
Xoot, I dunno about Bonds not testifying. Probably he won’t, unless something really nasty gets in that we haven’t heard about, and they need to throw out caution to the wind to save the situation. Unlikely, though…
Snarkk, here’s how it went down. As usual, you tried to have it both ways then (as now):
*******
snarkk said, on March 12, 2011 at 10:12 am . . . . The prosecution has been denied use of its best witness (Anderson) by his refusal to testify. . . . So, the prosecution is left with less probative evidence — essentially circumstantial — . . . . Direct testimony of Estellea and other players that say they saw Bonds use or that he told them he used can be contradicted by Bonds on a “he said, he said” basis, plus the defense pointing out that each witness may have some motivation to lie. . . .
xootsuit said, on March 12, 2011 at 10:54 am . . . . I would be stunned if Barry took the stand. As a defendant, he doesn’t need to.
snarkk said, on March 12, 2011 at 10:59 am Xoot, I dunno about Bonds not testifying. Probably he won’t, unless something really nasty gets in that we haven’t heard about, and they need to throw out caution to the wind to save the situation. Unlikely, though…
xootsuit said, on March 12, 2011 at 11:21 am . . . I can only guess about Bonds testifying. But what would he say? No, I didn’t know? It was flaxseed oild and arthritis balm, far as I knew? Yes, my home run totals soared as I got older, but man that flaxseed oil is something, so I never knew, never asked. Pretty weak display. . . .
snarkk said, on March 12, 2011 at 11:31 am What I’m thinking is that his usefulness to testify would best be to contradict the other players direct testimony. However, it their testimony is pretty attenuated, the defense could probably deflect it easily by casting doubt on truthfullness with the “what did the gov’t do for you in xchange” argument, and leave Barry off the stand. Bonds is a smart dude. I think he could leave his sullen nature aside, and turn on some charm on the stand, if need be. We’ve seen it B4. I think after a few years of prep now, he could probably handle himself on the stand if needed, without getting tripped up too much…
So, per you, first I “predicted” he’d take the stand, now your revised interpretation of the thread is I’m having it both ways. And, you’re not?…
You predicted, backed off, and then predicted again. Usual from you.
I said he “probably” would not testify, that it was “unlikely”. Then I said, “if need be” because of really damaging evidence we haven’t been made aware, Bonds could probably pull off testimony in an attempt to save his bacon. Together, it’s perfectly logical and consistent, nothing wrong with it, and I stand by it. No reasonable interpretation of that concludes that I “predicted” he’d testify…
snarkk: direct testimony from other players “can be contradicted by Bonds on a “he said, he said” basis.”
I questioned that prediction.
snarkk: equivocating (“probably not”) but then circling back to predict again: “What I’m thinking is that his usefulness to testify would best be to contradict the other players direct testimony.”
If you stand by that, you must think others will fall for anything.
Not to get in the middle of this but how I read it is snarkk doesn’t think he’ll testify but if does, he thinks should do all right. Personally, I don’t think that would be smart no matter what comes out in anyone else’s testimony
That’s a very charitable intepretation, ted. You’re a credit to your type.
To my type?
I was thinking about Posey’s numbers yesterday while watching the gameday version of ST. Sometimes ST does mean something; it varies from player to player, perhaps. This is from a Verducci note posted over on the splash:
“Buster Posey, C, Giants
.405/.537/.714, 42 ABs
“. . . but what may be most impressive about Posey’s red-hot spring is the fact that he has walked 11 times and struck out exactly once. In more than 50 plate appearances, Posey has struck out once. . . . .”
I was thinking about a few memories after seeing the Room B Hawaii Five – O “theme” . . . In 1968, my mom decided to move her, my brother and I there, after she had visited Hawaii the summer before. I was 13 years old. Quite frankly, both my brother and I had no interest in moving there, since it meant that we would be leaving our friends in Sunnyvale. Anyway, we rented our Sunnyvale home and moved there, along with my mom’s best girlfriend and her daughter. Anyway, these were the highlights and should serve as a warning to those of you want to move your family there . . .
1. Within a couple of months, my mom’s girl friend decided that the other roommate her and my mom had, was a drunk and left back for the mainland.
2. My mom felt the same way and although we eventually got an apartment, we lived on the beach for about 3 days. Yes, if you have to go “homeless,” this is the way to go. However, at 13 years old, the only thing I am thinking, is, “WTF are we doing here when we have a nice suburban home in Sunnyvale?”
3. The first day of school, I rode a city bus . . . Kids were in the back putting socks to their nose/mouth. I found out later that they were “huffing” paint and sniffing glue. Uhh . . . I was into sports and had no idea.
4. Same first day of school, during science period, the kids locked the teacher in a broom closet . . . and didn’t let her out all period. Again, I had my “WTF” moment, thinking this didn’t happen in Sunnyvale.
5. Every SINGLE DAY a white person got beat up and if he (sometimes her) was winning, a couple of “coconut heads” would jump in and even out the score. How about me? Well, my complexion is somewhat dark (Armenian and Spanish) and they thought I was Hawaiian because of my Armenian last name (Melikean) and equally important, my ability to speak “pidgin” english within a NY minute of figuring out things there. Ha.
6. Hawaii Five – O shot a few episodes in our neighborhood and I met Loretta Swit (guest star) and a couple of the regulars too (James MacArthur). Both were great people . . . However, Jack Lord was something else. Not certain if he was having a bad day, but he had just finished shooting a scene and he immediately headed toward his RV/dressing room. My brother, a couple of other neighborhood friends and I followed him, asking him for an autograph. He ignored us and went directly into his RV. We were yelling for him to come out and a few minutes later, he finally came out and said, “Get the fuck out of here before I call security . . . ” He went back in and a few of us got pebbles and started throwing them at his RV, that really pissed him off and get this, he bolts out of the RV and actually chases us down the block . . . Man, he was pissed. By this time, Security had arrived and we had all booked, laughing our asses off.
By the by, I never saw anyone wear a blue suit and not sweat.
Good stuff, Blade. I don’t like to judge people on looks, but I always figured Jack Lord just looked like he’d be a pain in the arse off camera, and you’ve confirmed it. I saw one episode of the new show — feh. Good background scenery, anyway. I was in downtown Honolulu years ago and happened onto a location shoot of Magnum. Watched it for a while. When it was done, Selleck hung around for a bit and talked with folks and signed a few things. Seemed like a pretty good dude, though I’m not fond of some of his political views…
Closest thing I got is Lynn Swann’s mom was my dentist’s secretary. That’s my brush with greatness, as MY mom would say . . .
WTF are Selleck’s political views? Moustache rides for everyone?
In short, he’s a muckety muck with the NRA, and that’s a problem in my book…
[non baseball] I watched the Ohio State v UK game and then Fla.St.(a favorite) came on playing a team I had never heard of. They were good, defense was excellent and they won. Yesterday I see this same team VCU take on the awesome #1 UK and it was a blowout. Everyone said UK had a bad game, offensively. I really like a good defensive team, wonder why UKs offense stalled?
Chuck, Selleck is very conservative. Like I said Snarkk, not certain if he was having a bad day. We weren’t exactly angels if you get my drift. He was supposed to be a very good artist and I think, like MacArthur, he did quite a bit of charity work for the community. I think both him and Lord lived in Hawaii full time until their deaths. MacArthur hated playing “Danno,” as well as that line, “Book ’em Danno,” but the role made him very, very rich. He finally got fed up with it though and left in the 10th or 11th season (year before it ended) and went back to doing dinner theater and plays.
Well, if Bonds did to a coupla kids in 2003 what Jack Lord did to you as a kid, the US attorney would probably put them on the stand to help prove up ‘roid rage…
Actually, MacArthur moved back to the main land, kept working off and on for awhile (usual stuff, LOVEBOAT, MURDER SHE WROTE, etc.) and passed away just late last year in Florida. But Jack Lord, yeah, he stayed on in Hawaii, passed away there as well, and only worked once after the show was cancelled
I can understand not doing another TV series. Lord probably got scripts, but they probably started out, Your character lives in Chicago and it is winter…Lets see stay in Hawaii or move to the Windy City.
By all accounts Lord was not a cuddly guy but he nailed that role like few actors do…
I liked the episodes with the Wo Fat dude. Found out later the actor playing him wasn’t even Asian. Kinda like the once-in-a-while appearance of the Smoking Man on X-files. Those episodes seemed to also ratchet things up a notch…
Actually, one drunken drugged out night in San Diego, we staggered into some non-descript bar near the beach and lo and behold Werner Klemperer was sitting at the last stool in the corner. You could feel the cringe when he realized we recognized him. We didn’t get too stupid beyond a couple “Shuuuuuuuuuuuultz”es, and “Hogaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan”s.
He said he’d been doing dinner theatre in SD for a few years. I did manage to get in that I thought he was great in Trial at Nuremberg.
JUDGEMENT AT NUREMBERG (sorry, I’m a purist)
That’s Judgment at Nuremberg. E is in judge, not in judgment… 🙂
Well, you got me there.
No worries. Being of the legal persuasion, that mistake is a pet peeve of mine. It is a very common, and understandable mistake. Not that I meant you are common. Oh, never mind…
Couple things. Hawaii Five-O lasted til 1980? Really? 13 years? Crazy. I had no idea. It dropped off my radar about 1975 I guess.
And Jack Lord died in 1998, not last year.
I said MacArthur died last year, not Lord
Macarthur was the son of Helen Hayes. No Wiki on that, I actually knew that trivia. But, I did not know he was her adopted son, Wiki gave me that. Must’ve been a little tough to be second banana on a show that long, but, the money was probably good, and nothing wrong with getting paid well to work in Honolulu…
Actually, 1979 Chuck. 🙂
Torres CF, Sanchez 2B, Huff RF, Posey C. Burrell LF, Tejada SS Belt 1B, Sandoval 3B, Cain P
Belt starting vs the lefty Anderson. Kershaw Opening Night. Hmmm. Could it be?
Nah, Bochy and Sabean are just dicking with us.
Khigh Dheigh was Wo Fat. He of The Manchurian Candidate fame.
You’re welcome . . .
I never realized he wasn’t Asian
North African . . . from Jersey . . .
Who’d a thunk?
Twin, he also nailed Felix Leitner in the James Bond movie, Dr. No. Sort of ironic, but Ian Flemming actually thought Lord captured the “tall, lanky, blond Texan” he described in his novels. Conversely, he thought Sean Connery was an oaf and would fail miserably as the suave, debonaire James Bond. He actually called him a “overgrown stunt man.” Sean Connery (my favorite actor by the way) was rough around the edges, having grown up in an Edinburgh slum. The director of Dr. No actually gave him personal tutelage, e.g., taking him out to dinner and teaching him about silverware selection, etc. (Yes, it was that bad).
Back to Lord, according to screenwriter Richard Maibaum, it was Jack Lord’s demand for co-star billing, a bigger role and more money to reprise the Felix Leiter role in Goldfinger that led the producers to recast the role. After Jack Lord, you had Cec Linder, Rik Van Nutter, Norman Burton, David Hedison (remember Voyage from the bottom of the sea?), John Terry, David Hedison and Jeffrey Wright play the role.
Almost forgot to add . . . Flemming wanted Cary Grant for the role of Bond, but fully endorsed Connery after Dr. No made mucho deniro. In fact, in future novels, I believe Ian Flemming described Bond as being part Scottish.
Blade, that’s Fleming. One M. I’m trying to piss off everybody today…
On Voyage, there were two admiral Nelsons. One in the movie, one in the TV series. Walter Pigeon, and Richard Basehart. I loved that show, as I kid I had a lunchpail of all the real USN nuclear subs. The only thing I wanted as a keepsake of my childhood. Of course, when I went looking for it as an adult one day at my mother’s house, she said, “Oh, I threw that out years ago”…
Touche’ Snarkk (got me).
Ahhh. Loved that TV show. What was the other one? The Time Tunnel?
Just like my baseball cards, Snarkk. 3 shoeboxes full. Mid 60s to mid 70s . . .
Love ya, ma, but that was a real pisser . . .
Exactly. Both brought to you by Irwin Allen, later the King of schlock disaster movies…
Snarkk, thanks for performing the persnickety role I typically play. “Judgement” with an “e” is used across the pond, as is the “e” in “acknowledgement,” but, correct, not over here.
And also, Ian Fleming wanted to cast Christopher Lee as Dr. No. Not only that it would just be good casting but a bit of nepotism as well. Fleming and Lee were cousins through marriage. It didn’t work out due to numerous things. But Lee finally got to play a Bond villian, Scarmanga, in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN.
That’s Scaramanga. 🙂
Actually, the thinking more and more seems to be that he sticks. Of course, he could go 0 for Oakland…
Uh,Belt, not Lord…
According to Wikepedia
mixed North African ancestry
I don’t care how many actors they trot out to play James Bond, in Twins words Connery nailed it!!
In my top favorite movie fight scenes of all time: From Russia with Love, Connery vs. Robert Shaw (Smersh agent) in the railway sleeper compartment of a moving train. Brutal. None of this endless smacking to the jaw that’s totally implausible. They played it like they knew only one was getting out alive — Bond, of course. Another was in Bourne II, when Bourne takes on another Treadstone agent in the agent’s cover house in Munich. If you can handle the quick edits, the hand to hand action is pretty good stuff…
To get that realism Snarkk, I read where they speeded up the film . . . They did the same thing in the opening credits of Thunderball, where Bonds attends a funeral and kicks ass on a villain disguised as the widow. Decades ahead of their time insofar as “realistic” fight scenes are concerned.
Roger Moore was too prissy. He sucked. Same with Pierce whatshisface.
Although Christopher Lee, who I mentioned was Ian Fleming’s cousin, felt Pierce Brosnon, Bronsoon, whatever, was the closest to how Fleming pictured Bond. Oddly, the first actor to play Bond on film (TV) was an American, Barry Nelson
Connery’s Bond would have taken on all the other Bonds one by one, and kicked all their arses. He might have a bit of trouble with the new one (Daniel Craig), but he’d get it done. Then, later that night, after a coupla martinis, he would have taken each of their Bond girls, slapped them around a little to help resolve their possible double agent status, and then have his way with them all. After finishing that and a cigarette or two, he’d have donned scuba gear and swum a mile out from the hotel beach to get picked up by a British sub sitting in 100 feet of water. All for Queen and Country…
G’s just announced Rowand has been waived.
SERIOUS?
No shit RT? Wow! Wonder if that means Belt stays with the big club?
Oops, my mistake. Back to your regular programming.
LMAO . . . Yeah, I did a quick “around the world” internet search of SI, ESPN, Yahoo Sports and the Giants MLB page and couldn’t find it.
Ha ha.
Snarrk’s typing and how about that Bond film…wh…? ##%$#^getthefjkdouttahere??
Rough, pleez, no false alarms on Rohand getting DFA’d.
At my age, I can’t waste any hard-ons…
Henry S. now thinks it’s 75/25 that Belts STICKS. Tonight’s lineup is very well what we’ll see vs Kershaw.
That’s great news. But NO Rowand? What am I gonna bitch about?
Let me expand…I know Rowand’s still on the time. I was just referring to Opening Night.
I relish every opportunity to bitch and moan about the Gamer. I’ll always have Tejada.
Flavor pretending he’s already right about Belt is tipping the scales toward him sticking…
Ray Ratto on Chron live. He thinks if Belt stays Ishi is gone. Ray will take your text msgs now.
I loved Estes when he played for us. He was my favorite pitcher. But Shawn’s losing me with his Belt comments. He’s adamant that he should start in Fresno. “They won the WS w/o him last year.” “They don’t need him right now.”
Shawn, STFU and learn how to slide.
Ishikawa being the guy OUT if Belt is IN has always been the plan. As I said, that will be too bad, I like Ishikawa on the team……
Besides the obvious financial reasons to send Belt down for a 10 days, there is the slight problem of his scouting report. If Baggs et al are reporting that pitchers are getting him out with high inside stuff then he’ll probably just get broken down by most of the big league pitchers. I have to say though, Huff in RF and DeRosa at first or Huff at first and Rowand/Nate in the outfield are two fairly underwhelming possibilities. Belt starting at first base sure would light up that line up from an energy stand point.
Where are you seeing Estes’s comments??
oops Ratto was on Sports Net Central not Chron live. I was flipping back and forth between the two.
I love this quote from Kroon– what an awesome story this would be if he somehow took over the closing duties for a few weeks…
“You know, I just didn’t want to embarrass myself this spring,” he said. “I don’t know the batters or anyone, really. I basically walked into this blind. The fact I’m still here and we’re even having this conversation means that I did my job. I made the decision difficult.
“I accept it’s a numbers game. Baseball always is. Guys are probably looking at me and thinking, `Go home, old man. What are you still doing here?’ Well, I’m here because my kids wanted me to give it a try. That’s the honest truth. If I don’t get any further, I’ll still feel great about what I was able to accomplish.”
With Casilla as unpredictable as ever, Kroon could nab the 7th or 8th inning gig if he shows well in Fresno. Edlefson is in the picture as well.Mota and Ramirez can’t get too comfy..
Glad to assist Snarrk in garnering a POTD.
Seems telling that Belt is starting against a tough lefty in Anderson. And now is 2nd in number of Ab’s. Sure seems they wanted him to win the job all along and with Ross going down…
Ross going down plus the terrible Springs from Rowand and Ishikawa..
Travis made what was basically a farewell statement, then went out and had an awful Spring. He didn’t help himself on any level…
well what do yuo expect? The guy’s confidence has to be shot. The Giants have tried to replace him with several different players over the last couple of years. It’s too bad, for whatever reason, he’s the kid Sabean gave zero rope too….
Twin the other day you said something about “the giants will send down enough relievers to fill an entire mLB roster”—that is so true. It’s amazing how many stud relievers we have……
oh boo fucking hoo, Latos is going on the DL. Perfect time for him to go pierce his other nipple or one of his ball sacks……Fuck you, chump.
Hoo-Woo!!! Wait, crap! I guess I still need a couple of tune up games…
Kroon :: VCU :: Giants2010.
Don’t mind me. I’m just practicing my SAT test analogies.