The Padres Suck and Another POTW Vote
I am seeing bad things for the Padres this year. Their pitching staff, so dominant for most of last year, is going to fail them this year. I’ll take Bumgarner/Lincecum VS Harang/Stauffer all day long. And their hitting will be as bad as usual. I’ll be surprised if we don’t sweep them in this little 2-game series……
The right side of the blog, once the home of my glorious bikini babes, you will find a boring wasteland of words. Please review the page that says “This week’s posts of the day!” There are 9 of them. Please vote for your favorite for *post of the week*. The winner will take one step closer to securing the Safeway(!) gift card at the end of the year……
The Flap Fantasy Baseball Standings
| 1. | NO Whitey | 119.5 | -2.5 | 12 | 7 | |
| 2. | PawliesPandas | 99.5 | 3 | 2 | 6 | |
| 3. | Unca’s Army | 94 | 2 | 8 | 6 | |
| 4. | Clowns R Us | 84.5 | -6 | 7 | 6 | |
| 5. | Flavor | 81.5 | 17.5 | 6 | 7 | |
| 6. | Bladerunners | 81 | -2 | 10 | 8 | |
| 7. | IrishGiants | 75 | -4 | 4 | 4 | |
| 8. | Giant Head | 74 | 1 | 5 | 10 | |
| 9. | Ferretball | 67.5 | -3 | 14 | 3 | |
| 10. | Tizzle | 66.5 | -2 | 11 | 5 | |
| 11. | CrazyDiamonds | 62.5 | 0.5 | 1 | – | |
| 12. | NoTalent | 61 | -3 | 9 | 5 | |
| 13. | Berra’s Bombers | 46 | -3 | 13 | 7 | |
| 14. | Dirt Bags | 37.5 | 1.5 | 3 | 6 |
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Where are the babes you puritan bastards????
Flav, this is how I felt about the Padres the last two years….we seem in the post-Bonds era to play poorly down there and after the series in LA, I will take a split…
And if the above is not post of the week for this week,it will be another year if my brilliant golden nuggets not receiving the proper glorification they deserve!!!
Zito gave up 3 runs in 6 innings. Should have been 2, except for our abysmal right fielder. He had 5 2/3rds of no hit ball. If I was to rank to goats of game 4 it would be Huff, Runzler,Tejada, Zito…
And a side note..just as I thought (or hoped), the most civilized Dodger Giants game in the 20 years I have been going there….
No, it would not have been 2. Huff could have let the ball bounce in front of him for a single instead of diving, but you can’t take away Kemp’s bomb. so bottom line is 3 earned in 6 innings, 4.50 ERA, and if you are in love with that stat a “quality start.” And of course, putting his team in an immediate 3-0 hole.
The others sure, and I’d add Mota, but Posey has to be right up there with Zito for knocking in guys when he had the chance. You can’t drop all this on Huff…he had plenty of company.
I had a similar game 2 experience in LA.
Instead of mourning the BB’s and fretting over grey space how bout a daily diet of Giants minor leaguer photos, so we can get acquainted with the pipeline. Maybe a few stats to go with the pics. Outside of Twin and myself, seems few of the bloggers were aware of Belt early on last season and of Panda three years back. Perhaps the feature could start with the most likely suspects/prospects at Fresno.
Great idea Stix
What if…you look at SF offensive numbers without taking into account the blowout W. Here’s what the regulars did in the 3 losses:
Torres 2-13 1 BB 1 bunt hit
FS 4-11 1 run scored
Huff 2-11 0 rbi
burrell 2-10 2 solo HR
Sando 3-11 1 HR
Posey 3-12 0 XBH
Belt 2-10 2 BBs 4rbi
Tejada 2-12 0 BB
Total of 20-90 .222 avg
Not much going on, huh? But I would make the point that Belt wasn’t as bad as others, most of whom aren’t getting on base much (about 5 BBs total) or getting extra base hits besides a few solo shots. And yeah, lighting up the Pads in their place hasn’t happened much last couple. But they are way weaker without the big guy in the middle, who could take pitches away and whack them out opposite field.
One thing about coaching in general…sometimes the best job is done by a guy who finishes middle of the pack or worse, because he gets the most out of the talent he has. Any guy can win with the best players, imo. So let’s see how black does with this group; I thought he did a damn good job with what he had last year, as opposed to Torre and Tracy.
Very good post Willied.
Yes, i like that 2-game pitching matchup: Harang and Stauffer should be no match for the Undertaker and the Freak, even in their own yard. Harang has the occasional ‘quality start’, but gets bitch-slapped about as frequently. Stauffer has some upside, but not compared with Timmy at present. If those two maintain focus and the hitters do anything, Giants could sweep. Coming home at 3-3 instead of, say, 2-4, would be huge.
So let’s get that momentum rolling. Break out the bats. Have a ball.
Willie: We’re looking at a development, there, probably not a trend. Remember, Kershaw and Billingsley are MEAN, particularly against the Giants, at home. They are not average ML pitchers ~ couple notches above. Team will not face a huge number of them, though disproportionately so in the NLW. We’ll still stuff the Division series when it’s all over, though.
The great thing about being a fan is the ease of second-guessing. Oh, in hindsight, Bochy shouldn’t have started the waterbuffalo outfield alignment, some are saying. You know, I can’t remember a single time that hurt us last year. So, the odds caught up with Bochy on that one. ICHIRO dropped a flyball for an error last night. It happens.
Valentine was a complete jack-ass during that last game. And it’s inexcusable that he didn’t know Huff played a lot of outfield last year. According to Valentine, Bochy was doing something wacky by putting Huff out there. I can’t fathom that Valentine used to get managerial jobs. No wonder his teams stunk.
“I can’t remember a single time that hurt us last year. So, the odds caught up with Bochy on that one.” Yep, although obviously the narrower range can hurt in less flagrant ways.
I am enjoying the return of the Huff is killing us mantra.
Huff hasn’t played any RF for what, 4 years? No, the Giants didn’t have much choice, but Huff is obviously rusty out there. There are differences between LF and RF. The way the ball comes off he bat, how the ball hooks, blah blah blah.
Readily apparent on the ball Huff crashed and burned on.
Well, it all comes back to the defense. Despite the struggles against Kershaw and Barbara, the Giants would have won with tighter defense. Make the plays you should.
Don’t give anyone extra outs.
I mean, the fucking dogs hit bleeders and flares all over the place. Follow that win an error or 2, and runs score . . .
Some stark numbers there, Willied. Pads are what, 2-1? Giants are 1-3. In the end, that’s all that matters. Just win. And these 2 games are a great place to start that winning feeling. This team CAN do it. They just haven’t yet. MadBum and Timmy do their jobs and the offense actually starts doing what they are capable of doing for a couple of days and everything’s fine. Statistically, being this early in the season, even if they don’t, it’s still fine… but it would feel a lot better if they do. And let’s face it: none of us here really want to start singing “We’ve lost that basking feeling…”… Wind it up, baby.
Stix, good call on the minor leaguers. last night I was thinking BF could put up past Giants players, not just the most popular but guys whose names you would recognize but couldn’t remember. BF, I don’t know how hard this would be but maybe you could post both, and if nothing else, change the pictures every series.
cool. being an old school/old fart that saw a lot of games from mid-60s, I love seeing guys from the past. Even from the down years, lot of interesting players over last 50 years.
I’m wouldn’t underestimate Stauffer, who was very tough on the G’s last yr. (3-1 1.35 era.) And the Padres find a way. They lost AG, but added a few players who could surprise people. I’m not expecting this to be easy.
OK, unless I’m hallucinating, I could swear Huff played some games in rightfield last year.
If it was any, it was like 5 . . .
Uh, I stand corrected.
100 at 1st
46 in LF
34 in RF
Unless my glasses are really dirty, he started 33 games in RF.
Somehow I don’t think Flavor will have nearly the same enthusiasm doing an early morning search for ML player stats as he did for the elusive BB of the day.
agreed.
Not to mention, it deprives Snarrk the opportunity to show off his wily detective skills.
Good idea about highlighting the minor leaguers, maybe Flavor can find pics with their shirts off. Grizzlies open Thursday, BTW, as does Richmond. Obviously you’ll want to keep an eye on first round pick Gary Brown, Wheeler, power prospect Tommy Joseph…and of course Neal, Ford, Crawford, Edlefson, Kroon. See, lots to keep you busy. I’ve left out about a dozen more, you should add the minor league affiliates to your bookmarks and keep track, it’s fun..
best…bb…ever
Agree about the minor league reports instead of bb of the day. Then we can all look forward to Ted saying ‘best… minor league report…. ever…’ I’ve long admired those of you who have spoken knowledgeably about who’s possibly hot in the minors. Michael’s call on Pablo was awesome (at least in ’09) and it’s great to read everyone’s thoughts about ‘who’s next’.
It’s one thing I really like about this current situation with the team: In the early Sabean years, the team seemed to make the right moves in bringing key people in, and the team succeeded. Then they brainfarted planning for the post-Bond years and the bottom fell out and it didn’t feel hopeful until a couple years ago, when they seemed to be back on track with having a pipeline of possibly good young players. I’m not seein’ a dynasty brewing here, but I do see a bunch of years of good, fun baseball.
Why the mad search for excuses for Huff, Chucklet? He was fucking awful the other night. No excuses. He’s played as many games in RF as Pablo has at third base…
I ain’t making excuses, Mike. I didn’t think he played as much RF last year as he did. Yeah, he should be better than the turds he laid n the OF that 1st series.
He fucked up. He’s the worst of the bunch, yes. But Tejada, Pablo, Posey, Burrell, and Drrrty did as well . . . The whole team fucked up defensively.
That was my point.
Yeah, just post the pictures, forgett about the stats, we all can go look at them at our own leisure!!
Kids who will be just down the road in San Jose include Brown, Wheeler, Joseph, and Chris Dominguez.
Twin, I am looking at Baseball Reference, if Chris were to make it to the pros, where would he play. Shows he is playing 3rd base right now. Insurance in case Pablo does not pan out??
What’s the deadline for the Wilson off the DL move? Is it a game time decision or prior?
Fortunately (or not) there hasn’t been a need for a closer yet
Ha, true. I am more interested in the move it causes.
Well, according to Schulman in today’s paper he can be activated either tomorrow or Friday with Mota being the most at risk followed by Runzler
Well, I dunno. It’s a nice problem. They also have Gillaspie, who I think Haft called the most improved prospect in the system. Plus Buster, who could move there if Tommy Joseph pans out.
Posey can play 1st, we know that. I would guess he could play 3rd, too. If Joseph is even close to an average catcher, i.e., better hitter than Eli, maybe Posey will eventually go to one of those positions, maybe 3rd, since Belt is now in the mix. Though Belt could be a future OFer, they tried him there in ST. Once Huff is gone in 2 seasons, there will be some position shuffling. I say again that Posey may prove too valuable a bat to wear him down with a decade of catching duty…
In regard to POTD and POTW, I am all for being funny and all (Dennis’s Mastercard take on the Dodgers was classic), but personally, I think the POTD/POTW should be about baseball. If you can do it with humor, fine. However, I have to agree with a couple of people who have taken exception to the POTD/POTW selections. I believe the criteria should be two-fold:
1. About baseball; and,
2. Does not denigrate another Flapper . . . disagreeing is fine, but being disagreable is not. Conflicting ideas, dissenting viewpoints, differing opinions are healthy and a really good thing. They stretch our minds, broaden our perspectives, help us understand people and their motivations just a little bit more. They make us all better in the long run, right?
Similarly, I think the BBs should be scrapped for the reason that a few people mentioned about being at work and the possibility that some “busy body” might mis-interpret them.
Flav does a good job and this is in no way a criticism of him. The blog he has put together is numero uno in my opinion bar none. Anyway, that is my two cents on POTD, POTW, and BB.
Regarding Huff in RF, I wasn’t trying to downplay some misplays he made. I was responding more to some of the criticism that was directed toward Bochy, on the ESPN broadcast and at some of the blogsites, as if putting Huff in RF was some wacky idea out of the blue. Yeah, Huff in RF has its limitations, but it’s not like putting someone out there who’s never been out there before. He might go another two weeks without getting a difficult linedrive hit at him. It’s the chance and fortunate of baseball. Obviously, a manager has to take into account things like probability, so in that sense the waterbuffalo outfield alignment is always a “gamble.” This past weekend, Bochy got burned by the gamble that worked out OK last season. It just becomes so easy to second-guess.
I think POTD stays totally in the purview of BF. It’s his blog. Flappers choose POTW. If he wants to choose a POTD that cites a baseball state, a Pawlie haiku, or a post where somebody quotes Stengel, Shakespeare, JFK, Sinatra or Ho Chi Minh, fine by me…
“stat”, not state, although I suppose there are some that may be more baseball “states” than others…
It being both a blog and America, some may disagree with his choices and that’s “fine” too. These nothing one liners getting nominated every week are a fucking joke.
Timmy Lupus is playing RF again.
Torres CF, Sanchez 2B, Huff RF, Posey C, Sandoval 3B, Burrell LF, Belt 1B, Tejada SS, Bumgarner P
WHere the hell is Kelly Leak??
Bleacher report cited an LA Times article about Brandon Belt that is quite complimentary toward the Giants and of course, Brandon.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgers/2011/04/brandon-belts-first-four-games-are-a-sign-of-great-things-to-come.html?track=-slug&utm_source=bleacherreport.com&utm_medium=referral
3:30 start today? What’s with all these screwy start times?
Somebody correct me, but I think I read or heard last year somewhere that the Pads have researched and concluded that such times are more attractive to more people — hence more butts in seats. Lunch time games midweek were getting terrible walk up, so they figure a start time more towards 5 pm quitting time will get more people — it’s easier to leave a little early before EOB rather than leave at lunch and blow an entire work afternoon…
it’s their opening day, everything starts a little later in SD. Del Mar first race post is 2pm…..
Those with weak stomachs or the faint of heart should avoid Room B today at all costs
Whole Lotta Rosie . . .
“42-39-56. You could say she’s got it all!!!”
Wow. Putting the BB on a different page makes a HUGE improvement…
test
pop quiz
oral exam
while reading the article I cited above, I decided to take a look at LA Times writer, Steve Dilbeck’s Dodger blog post, titled, “Four days later, where is the Dodgers’ response to Giants fan being attacked?”
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgers/2011/04/four-days-later-where-is-the-dodgers-response-to-fan-being-mugged.html?cid=6a00d8341c630a53ef014e87422cb2970d#comment-6a00d8341c630a53ef014e87422cb2970d
I came away impressed with Mr. Dilbeck’s column, especially his harsh criticism of the Dodgers, particularly, Frank McCourt. Part of it reads,
“That this was a despicable, senseless act is pretty much a universal reaction.
Beyond that, though, the Dodgers have struggled mightily in their response. They’ve said little to nothing. Taken no action. Probably are misguidedly listening to some lawyer worried about an inevitable lawsuit.
Which is incredibly stupid. This is a time when Frank McCourt needs to step forward and not hide in the shadow of words and carefully written statements. Needs to be at the forefront. Needs to demonstrate he’s concerned, not just talk about it.
And you just don’t express concern and then proclaim how satisfied you are with Dodger Stadium security in the same breath.”
I was equally impressed with the response of most Dodger fans, many of whom are boycotting Dodger games until McCourt does something about security, lighting, and has a significantly better response to what happened to the victim of this brutal unwarranted attack.
I never knew it would be so hard to find a BB that smiles. But winter is over and it was time to begin with the newness of spring.
If you worked on one of my networks, all blogs would be blocked even during lunch break. Although I would make an exception for this blog if you asked. 🙂
Shit. I’ll likely drop out of 3rd place, as I didn’t get Longoria off my team fast enough to be able to replace him til tomorrow.
The criteria for POTD is vague. It’s whatever makes me either nod my head or lol. It’s not often baseball related. Maybe that’s cause I prefer loling to nodding my head….
LQTM
From the Bonds circus today: the judge denied admission into evidence of the suddenly “found” audio tape made by Hoskins of an alleged phone conversation with Dr. Ting re: ‘roids. Not surprising the judge smelled a rat. Plus, it was apparently barely audible, and what could be heard, was deemed irrelevant. Prosecution is not only bungling, but playing dirty pool…
Yeah, I saw that this morning.
Amazing the stunks the prosecution is trying to pull . . .
Staring Huff again in RF is classic Bochy- the “I believe in you” message being sent by Bochy.
So far they’ve got good evidence Bonds received an injection of something from Anderson. So Bonds was wrong when he testified before the GJ that only his doctor gave him injections. Is that fact material to anything? That misstatement supports a mult-million dollar perjury prosecution? I’ve known people who loved vitamin injections. Otherwise, the feds are relying on twice-removed circumstantial expert evidence (“his head grew measurably larger” & Bonds had to know why) and on two of the sleaziest most unreliable witnesses imaginable — that guy Hoskins and Kim Bell.
If he goes free, let’s have a pic of Barry up in the corner for a while, maybe one of those that captured his bat just meeting a pitch he then sent waterward.
Let me rephrase that: If he goes free, I suggest a pic . . . .
Good catch. I didn’t want to have to object you were leading the Big Flavor.
In a bikini, of course
not a vision i needed to imagine.
I’d rather see Bonds in a bikini over what’s on the new BB page today…
Prosecution has rested in Bonds trial. Defense may call a witness or two tomorrow, after it motions to dismiss the case. Jury could get it by Thursday, could even be a verdict on Opening Day at ATT. Nightmare scenario for Baer on that one…
I think it would be more appropriate to post a picture of Greg Anderson being set free. Regardless of the outcome, Bonds won’t do any time.
This year Pads opening day looks less full than last year…. I guess thats what happens when you trade away your best player
Small ball at its finest right there. Always nice to give the kid an early advantage. Buster hit that one on the screws. I think he sees Harang pretty well. Hit his first ML homer off him in Cincy last year.
Anybody listening to the broadcast with Jon Miller? My building is the one with the exercise equipment he is talking about…. I swear there is a porn studio nearby based on the talent I see in that place on a regular basis….
Wow. 2 of those looked good . . .
He been squeezing like this all day?
Your 2011 San Francisco Bunglers.
Buster just left the bases loaded again. Cue the “one year wonder” hysteria from the short bussers.
Man, the G’s have had more than their share of bleeders and doinks go against them . . .
And this strike zone is ludicrous.
2-1 pitch on the outside is a strike. On 1-2, it’s a ball.
What the fuck is the ump coming out for?
Bummie has to settle here.
Deja vu all over again at Petco.
Wow. Now I’ve seen it all.
It’s early, but we’re a fucking joke in the field. I’m not laughing.
Greg Maddux has thrown complete games in less pitches than Bummie threw in that 3rd . . .
Someone better tell these guys take take take . . .
How the fuck did they credit Denorfia with a single on that ball back to Bumgarner?
The B-A-S-K-I-N-G period is officially O-V-E-R.
This is in San Diego, Dennis . . .
We had our chances to open this bad boy up a bit. But Ks but Torres and Fruckie and Buster not coming up with the big 2-out hit — again are killers. Though to Buster’s defense, he did get squeezed and should have walked. Still, I’m not one to blame the umpires. Hit the goddamn ball. We stink.
And now we just botched the fucking rundown. Correction: We stink on ice!
On it goes . . . . . .
At least Panda didn’t throw the ball into the stands.
Hey, got to find the good somewhere.
Buster wanted batter’s inferference.
Trying to follow this game on mlb gameday is bizarre. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pitcher throw as many foul balls as Bumgarner did.
He unraveled a bit but Madison was squeezed big time. He did’t get any of the calls that Harang did..
Belt 0-11 since homering in LA. Maybe he should borrow Rowand’s bat.
I wouldn’t throw Belt to the wolves just yet. Didn’t Mays go 0-20 or something when he first started out?…
Well, it’s The Bat or Belt, take your pick..
The bat or the belt. Those were the choices I got when I got whupped by the old man . . .
Nice one Chuck!
In junior high, they actually busted out the paddle on us when we were insolent. (That’s the way we rolled in Woodland in the 70’s) The cool part was that they actually had you sign the paddle after they whacked your ass. One time, they literally broke the paddle on the guy before me while I watched. It freaked me out, but I was honored to be the first to sign the new paddle. I remember playing in a basketball game that night and still feeling my ass stinging while shooting free throws.
Tor to the chure . . .
Petfood park is a land of lost rallies for the G’s.
4 times with 2 or more runners on?
Well, on the good side, the Pen was nails…
ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…………………………………………
Whoever gave the ball to that guy was pretty cool . .
Well, at least my barbecued burgers turned out great.
Mota did fine. Good to see.
I need to look up what Bochy’s record is during week one.
1-4 isn’t the end of the world to start off.
Pitching has been fine.
Offense is pressing.
Defense has just plain been a killer so far, but it can’t continue to be that bad….
Timmy on the hill tomorrow time to stop the streak
OK, I’m not crazy . . .
2007 (Bochy’s 1st year): 2-9
2008: 1-7
2009: 3-8
2010 8-7 (woo hoo!)
2011 1-4
Apropos of nothing, but Christ, wake up and smell the pine tar…