Pablo Sandoval: 2011 All Star?
How great will it be when the Panda makes the all star game later today? Supposedly, if Polanco doesn’t play today then he won’t play in the all star game. He shouldn’t play regardless. He’s got a bulging disc, why wouldn’t he take the all star break and use it to rest? If I’m a Philly fan I wouldn’t want it any other way.
And how great will it be to see Timmy and Pablo side by side, two of the great characters in all of baseball, representing us at the all star game? And Pablo would be the perfect pick to stir up the national uproar you get every year about someone *undeserving* making the team. Screw that. The all star game is all about entertainment. If it were only about stats then just let a computer pick the team. But that’s not how it’s done, the fans pick the majority of the players. they don’t want to see a stat sheet they want to see an entertaining game.
Who’s more entertaining? The Panda or Polanco? There’s no question about it: Panda should be at the 2011 all star game…….
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
I’d think the karma gods are involved if Pablo replaces the Phillie’s Polanco. I agree The Panda should be there and if he is I’ll actually watch the game.
I’m good with it as it would kiiiiind of make up for the 2009 snub.
The other day Bochy mumbled something to the effect that he is totally committed to winning the ASG and feels no obligation to get as many players in as possible.
Polanco not in the Phillies starting lineup. Looking better for the Panda…
I’m sure he’ll feel honored and happy to be selected, but also looks forward to being recognized by his peers. That should happen soon enough and then Pablo can stand with complete satisfaction among the game’s best.
I hope Loo is right. There’s what, 34 guys on each squad? Man, the intros alone are going to make it a 4 hour broadcast, just perfect for the ad guys, the only people bud cares about. Really sad that he has ruined what used to be the best of all sports AS events by far.
Looking forward to seeing Giants outfield prospect Gary Brown alongside Nats phenom Bryce Harper in this afternoon’s Futures All-Star game…Comes on ESPN2 a couple hours before the Giants make yet another appearance on Sunday Night Baseball.
Had the NL not ended their losing streak in last years AS game, whose to say the Giants would be WS champs? Playing at home, in that atmosphere was paramount…No way they would have started off 2 games up in Texas.
Philly had home field advantage. I don’t think it would have mattered considering the way the G’s played on the road in the postseason–6-2, and winning the decisive games on the road in all 3 series.
I think home field advantage really helped the Giants vs. the Rangers. Don’t ever forget Vlad trying to play RF at China Basin, or how much the Rangers missed his bat the next game, when they didn’t want to see any more of his fielding. After the first two games, the Rangers knew the best they could was force a return to SF. That specter PREYED upon them.
It certainly didn’t hurt the G’s. Obviously, we’ll never know. My point was the G’s clearly demonstrated in the PS they could win on the road in a decisive game.
Vlad’s bat? He went 1-14 in the series and still would have had to play RF when the series returned to SF for games 3-5.
On the road in the NL is different than on the road vs. the AL. At a minimum Texas would’ve had a chance to put up a better fight with home field advantage.
Though I must say, the Giants fans in Arlington were off the charts…I made it in to Game 4, where Bum shut em down…Sat in the upper deck behind home plate…Two sections full of Giants fans in orange, waving those rally rags…Whoever had the idea of flying nearly the entire office, from execs to ticket takers, to Arlington and taking up that much space in the OTHER teams yard was priceless…You should have seen the looks on the faces of those Rangers fans…THAT was priceless.
Wilco, I know a couple of those SF fans who got flown in. They had a blast.
Looks like Bochy is going to go with Aramis Ramirez, based on what he Olney a little bit ago.
Ramirez said he isn’t going. Already has plans to head home to the D.R. I think Pablo’s gonna make it…
Per the Denver Post, Rockies GM, Dan O’Dowd continues to look for a starter, and Minnesota could be a match if it falls out of the race (Kevin Slowey , Scott Baker or Francisco Liriano). Florida’s Anibal Sanchez would be perfect, but there are no indications he’s available.
Personally, as I have stated here a number of times, the Rockies are kaput. It would take a monumental collapse by the Giants, coupled with an equal resurgence on the part of the Rockies for them to make any type of run. Jimenez pitched good the other day, but now Chacin (who is pitching today) is scuffling. As I wrote a few minutes ago on our FL league site, “Chacin has had a phenomenal year, except his last two starts, where he walked a boatload of players and had 10 earned runs allowed in 10 innings — after spending most of the first half of the season as the team’s ace. The bottom line on Chacin: When he commands his fastball early in the count, he’s an elite pitcher. His .203 opponents’ batting average ranks No. 2
in the National League. Concerning their hitters, Tulo is returning today from a leg injury and Cargo aggravated a hurt wrist with a diving catch attempt two days ago . . . He’s done until after the All Star break at least, maybe longer. Second base and third base is an abyss, as is center field. When you have to play Seth Smith against left handers and give Giambi starts, you know you are hurting. Their once vaunted/impressive minor league system ONLY has a couple of studs – all in Single A league, so there is no help there.
Consequently, the Giants will win the division title fairly easily and will cakewalk to it, if they are able to shore up their hitting with a trade.
The Rox aren’t our main threat, it’s still Arizona — if at ll. Bear in mind, Arizona ends the year with a 9-game home stand. Giants play 10 of their final 13 on the road. But this year has never been about the reg. season, it’s all about the postseason and trying to repeat. And if Sabean doesn’t add a bat or two, they won’t be repeating.
Bochy said he thought he’d go with Ramirez but Panda’s brother tweeted him congrats on being an All-Star..
GOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAL!!!!!!! USA Girls!
Imbibing so early?
Per schulman, panda may even start.
That would be great if Panda, Timmy AND Weezy were all there. Turn the whole thing into a freak show.
Yeah, that was kinda cool Dennis. I turned on the TV just in time to see the tying goal, and then the shootout.
That’s how I like my soccer. 10 minutes of excitement, game over.
As far as the homefield advantage goes, I think the G’s take Texas either way. No contest. Texas squeaked out one win in their yard, G’s took 2 of 3 there, and shut them down at home.
Some random thoughts from being at the game yesterday….
The long socks that were given out are pretty cool. Thanks for the generous offer, Sarge, but I’m going to hang onto them. I like having the give-aways around as nice reminders of being at the games.
The weather was pretty nice, even for a night game.
The fans are INTO it at these games. Yeah, some of them are bandwagon jumpers, but there is an intensity this season to these regular season games that is usually only seen later in the season during the crunch time of the playoff chase. Even during the pre-game stuff there was intensity from the crowd.
Just a really nice time, overall, being there.
On the BART ride back, a drunk woman with a small group of women got on the BART and she proceeded to make a complete fool of herself, totally embarrassing her friends in the process. She was just totally obnoxious and thought that she was just really the life of the party. When they got off the BART, just about everyone in the car applauded that they were gone. One of the most annoying things about drunk people is how they think everyone is really digging their schtick.
Ah, I forgot to mention that we had stayed in the stadium quite a while after the game, to let it all clear out first, and avoid dealing with the big crowd on the way out. As we were walking outside in front of the stadium, past that corner that has the Orlando Cepeda statue, a policeman momentarily cleared the crosswalk so that a car from the player’s parking lot could get through. The car pulled up to the corner, and the player inside waved to the fans, and then turned right, and went on his way. The driver? Aubrey Huff.
They didn’t need to clear the crosswalk for Huff; he wasn’t going to hit anybody.
nice one Dennis!
!lol
Congrats to the Panda for making the All-Star team, and more importantly for getting his baseball career back on track. He’s hitting well, but also fielding his position very well at third. The leftside of the Giants infield with Crawford and the Panda is now a tough place for hitters to find hits.
Polanco and Rolen were both unworthy selections.Glad that Bochy offered the spot to Ramirez-he should have been the selection to begin with. And Panda is 1st in BA, 1st in slugging pct., and 2nd in OPS among NL 3rd baseman. No question he deserves a spot.
Our best outfielder is now batting cleanup. I guess that’s the way it should be…
Torres CF, Fontenot 2B, Sandoval 1B, Schierholtz RF, Tejada 3B, Rowand LF, Crawford SS, Whiteside C, Cain P
They’re making sure Panda looks comfortable at 1B before they deal for Aramis..
if they are going to do that, i’d rather have david wright. maybe wright would shift over to 1b.
Actually, Ross is the best offensively, although Nate has almost drawn even with Cody.I’ll still need to see the Ape Man do it a little longer before I sign over my accounts.
If you’re going by OPS alone. Ross has an .008 advantage over Nate. Whoopee! Nate has scored more runs, driven in more and hit more homers. Not to mention he’s better defensively. Nate’s our best outfielder. You just can’t say it.
Agree on Ramirez. He should have been the overwhelming choice from the players at least. Rolen has done little this yr.
STL over Db’s 4-2
Ross also has the higher OBP. And defense has no bearing on where a guy bats in the order, Nirmod, Again -when Nate has had more than 6 good weeks, I’ll revisit the question..
b-day today of my fav jazz trumpeter of all time, lee morgan. He died onstage, shot to death by a woman in 1972 while playing at Slug’s of NYC, in a case that was never resolved, supposedly a case of mistaken identity.
Wrong trumpet player? Was she aiming for Miles Davis?
I’m well aware of Freddie Hubbard and Wayne Shorter and some of the others from Morgan’s generation, but I don’t know anything about him. For what it’s worth, wikipedia has a different version of the killing. Of course, being wikipedia — who knows? The wikip article also contains this gem: “According to Tom Perchard, a Morgan biographer, it was Blakey who introduced the trumpeter to heroin, an addictive drug that impeded his career trajectory.” Huh! You don’t say?
xoot, he was on some great recordings with art blakey, and made a bunch himself for blue note. from what I’ve read, police got conflicting stories from whomever was supposed to have shot him and never figured out why it ever happened. Not that what happened to jazzmen with addiction problems were a high priority.
From what I recall (and that ain’t saying much) his ex shot him by accident (with his own gun, that he had her bring to the club because of a bad coke deal). And apparently Lee had his new fling there and it kind of set things off. The ironic thing was he and the new fling were in a car crash before the show AND that should have killed him.
xoot – I think he was playing with Hubbard’s band at the time or Freddie was there (not sure but I think McCoy Tyner was also playing, or there when it happened).
It’s amazing that so many of the starting position players these days were not starters much at the end of last season, and yet the Giants are hanging onto firstplace. Anyone that goes in the game is expected to find a way to compete, and find some way to help the team win. The pitching will keep the Giants in games, and the other guys got to keep grinding.
One of the most annoying things about drunk people is how they think everyone is really digging their schtick.
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That’s why I always bring along a designated…forget it. Sorry. I got nothing
Sandoval would have gone if it were based the fan voting.also. He was third to Polanco and Chipper. No room for bitching.
Our best outfielder is having himself some July thus far. 36 ABs: .361 .400 .639 1.039
Fred and Barney would be proud.
Were Fred and Barney friends with Otzi?
The Iceman Cometh.
Ice Station Zebra . . .
One of Ernie’s better flicks.
The beauty of homegrown.
Nate $433k
Pablo $500k
Buster $575k
Hey, a little strange is always good now and then . . .
It can be costly though . . .
Says Aunt Chuck.
Speaking of homegrown, I saw the first episode of Weeds today.
Does Bochy still have to replace Cain, or has he already done so?
If not, how about Lopez or Romo?
He might have good use for an experienced 8th inning guy…l
I think he already has. Anyone pitching Sunday is exempt from the game, and he;s been scheduled there for a while, so . . .
I heard it’s going to be Kimbrel from the Braves who replaces the Horse. And what’s this about hiring Riggleman as a scout? I thought we already had Lou Piniella doing the phony-baloney job as our Walmart greeter.
Your next Dennis! “Oh how may I help you?”
Make sure you keep those tires on your bicycle properly inflated. Makes for a smoother ride. And be sure to lock it up when you make your run to the liquor store for your cheap cold ones. Kids nowadays will swipe it in a nano-second. Little bastards. I blame the parents. Instead of teaching them right from wrong, they’re too busy sitting on their fat ass drinking beer and watching the Giants game. The nerve of some people.
Flav – surprised and honored to see my post on the right. must have been a remarkably slow day at the flap.
Nice to hear gary thorne’s voice on the Future’s Game.
and since espn and wendy nix are back in town, we get another home game without amy g. Nice gal, and if this is what you want as a career, fine. But the idea that she (or any other sideline babe) adds anything meaningful to the experience of enjoying a baseball game, or any other sport, is ludicrous.
I love Gary Thorne.
Very happy for Pablo.
And I teared up at the gorgeous ESPN tribute to the Giants. It’s 30 seconds, maybe a minute, and it is poetry. They’ve shown it before. 1951 to now, with an accent on Mays. One drawback: could’ve included Stretch, Marichal, others, but it is very brief. Compellingly done.
Excellent first half of first inning.
Go, you basking World Champs.
I have my WS hat on.
I was at Mike Pelfry’s debut, at Shea, July 8, 2006. Mets 17, Marlins 3. DJLoo, were you there?
hope we cash in these runners.
I’m guessing this game is 2-1, 1-0, something like that. Half these guys are probably checked out right now with the break coming up…….
did I read that right? Jason Bay has an OPS of .667? And how much are they paying that guy, for how long?
The guy hitting after him, Duda, was at .598. Man, Loo was right, mets aren’t exactly murderer’s row either.
So far, Bay has turned into an infinitely WORSE signing than Rowand ever was, even at his worst…….
Enough already! I propose federal legislation banning the ESPN announcers from talking about the shadows. Every. Single. Sunday. Night. AT&T. Game. C’mon! Get a new script.
But you have to admit it’s really considerate of these announcers to spend so much time bringing us up to speed on what they think of Derek Jeeter and ARod.
Christ, I know this game is boring, but have they mentioned anything about it yet?
Polanco and Rolen both have sub-.700 OPS, no BA, no power numbers.
I’ve never understood the general animosity towards the Yankees. I could understand being envious, but acrimony is ill-placed. Baseball needs the Yankees. And whether you like it or not, the Yankees are good for baseball. Yes, you heard me right. The Yankees are good for baseball.
Oh, not nearly as good as the Dodgers.I
It is easily understood. Their fans are typically arrogant front -runners and their owners (viz. Steinbrenners) have helped to monetize the game greedily, which is now standard. But, yeah, a team you love to hate is good for the game — for attendance, ratings, etc. Look: I get your point. But living in a sea of contemptous fans is no fun — not that other fans are not similar — and not that we would necessarily be different w/ 27 rings. Which would take me 15.4478 lifetimes.
21 games! All Star, indeed.
There’s our latest All-Star! Make that a 21-game hit streak. I love the kid, but he needs to clean his helmet.
It looks like it was conceived from the La Brea Tar Pits.
Our best outfielder keeps on getting better. Maybe he can be another late addition to the ASG.
Tejada? Not an All-Star.
Serious question: is Nate enjoying a hot streak and he’ll come back to Earth, or has he come into his own? He’s always had the tools, has he put it together?
it’s a hot streak. He looks better than he really is compared to our shitty outfielders. He’s probably our 2nd best offensive player and the number of games he’s won by himself speaks for itself.
I don’t know twin, but I’m about ready to put on that robe and light some candles.
that’s a very good question. you’ve been critical of nate supporters before but obviously they’ve seen something. it was there to see. the question has always been, can he do this every day. is he finally doing that? it sure looks good. but the question remains. however i love seeing him making it happen. finally?
Nate’s playing all out all the time, that’s for sure.
That was a moment to remember: Nate gets an ovation for his throw — and Whiteside made a fine play on his end. That was pretty cool.
Who’s to say? It does feel like Nate is coming into his own. Hope so.
I just noticed Pablo is playing firstbase with his regular glove. I don’t ever remember seeing someone in MLB playing firstbase without the usual firstbaseman glove.
Come to think of it, I can’t recall that either. Get somebody on this. I have seen catchers use special gloves, say, for knuckleballers.
they’re giving valentine a ration over how many HRs burrell hit…was bobby v the mgr. when JT hit the bomb off benitez?
Burrell could have been a tad more aggressive on that AB.
did the bat ever move at all? oh the ol’ Statue of Liberty Strategy
I wouldn’t use Burrell off the bench the day before the all star break. In his head, he’s already sorting out all the pussy he’s going to enjoy.
Nate with 4 hits? Nate isn’t going to do anything extraordinary. He might hit .280 for the year (if he’s lucky). He might hit 12 HR’s, steal 8-10 bags. Play great defense. There’s always a starting spot on a team for a guy like that. For sure, a 4th OF……
Are those fans ever having a great game. Love watching this.
Can’t think of anyone specific, but I know I’ve seen players keeping their regular glove when filling in at first.
Congratulations to the Panda. Huff already resting and talk about anticipating the break? Miguel Cabrera is 315 for the season and 160 BA this last week.
Ballgame! It wouldn’t bother me one bit if Bochy decided not to use BW in the ASG. I think the little break will do him, and the team more good in the long haul than getting the save in an exhibition game. Who needs it? Save ’em for the 2nd half, skipper.
Orel was saying hes all good since he was throwing 94-95 but that just cause Orel never threw that hard. Bee-weeezy needs a break, he’s tired. When he’s 97-98mph then u know he’s back
Happy Break Flap Nation. I don’t know how, I don’t know why, but I’m lovin’ this first place action.
Cheers all.
You too, Bozo! Firstplace rules!
Since losing Posey: 24W 19L .558 — 90 season wins based on percentage
Before losing Posey: 28W 21L .571 — 93 season wins based on percentage
Great first half- great enough to show that they shouldn’t make any deal that involves giving up more than a non-blue chip prospect.Again, a pleasure to hear from Joe again-night, fellas.
night twin. gentlemen, first place!
BTW_ a kid who has been absolutely lights out at SJ and Richmond is Hector Correa, the pitcher they got for Paulino.
http://tinyurl.com/6bsjb33
They should trade him to the Mets………………..for Paulino.