An Epic Under Water Tale of Failure and Hope…..
Ever try to hold your breath under water? I’ve tried lots of times. I’m not very good at it. Tonight’s game reminds me of what one of my Summer night’s might have looked like if I ignored the time continuum. I’m imagining that I’m trying to break the under water hold-your-breath record at Lake Lagunitas that BILLY MAYO held in the Summer of ’81. Now I’m under water, determined to finally break this epic Summer record. It seems that several minutes have now passed by. I have fucking GOT this. Except now a panic attack is setting in. A legitimate panic attack is setting in and I’m under water and I am going to fucking die! What are my friends going to tell my parents? That I died trying to break some dumbfuck under water record at the local lake? Ok, my lungs are literally about to explode. Don’t freak out, just think about 1 or 2 more things to pass the time and then the record will be secured, it will be yours. Glory. Destiny. Hmmmmm. Ummmm. Ricky Waters used to say some funny shit. “For who? For what?” Shit! New subject!!!!! My insides now feel like they are on fire. Not like some stupid ass “Building 7” fire, but a legitimate raging forest fire that’s torching the entire side of a mountain. Mountains are nice. I like Lake Tahoe. And bacon…..That’s fucking it! I’m coming up!
Oh my God!!!!!!! Air rules!!! It fucking rules!!!!! And so do I!!!!!! Under water holding breath record 1981, baby!!! Ok, give it to me, tell me what my time was. How long was I down there? I thought I was gonna die…….
“Dude, that was like a minute. You missed Billy’s record by a mile. Idiot.”
I glumy pulled myself from the lake; mud stuck between my toes, my chest still on fire. The magnitude of this great record engulfing me is only eclipsed by how incredibly stupid my attempt was in the first place. I suck…….
My best friend strolls by and offers a half assed condolence:
“Don’t sweat it dude. You can’t hold your breath for shit. But at least you have something to look forward to: August 23rd, 2011…….
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
I don’t care if Nolan fuckin Ryan or Barney Rubble pitches for the ‘Stros tomorrow. He can pitch left, right, or out of his ass, I don’t care. After this dead bird tonight, if I don’t see Belt, starting somewhere, something is fuckin’ rotten in Denmark, Yorick..
flavor, that’s maybe the post of all time. not sure how many of us remember lake lag. I didn’t swim in it but i remember the bonfires and i did swim in searsville lake.
boy was tonight frustrating. it usually doesn’t get to me but tonight it sure did.
thank god i never removed the trigger guard from the panic button.
C’mon Snarrk. The first poster has to respond at least somewhat to the thread—especially when it’s an awesome Bizarro Flav post comparing this funk we’re in to trying to break the breath-holding record at Lake Nacimiento.
Flav–I’m down with the sickness as far as this Astro series goes, but I don’ t have a peaceful-easy feeling about Aug 23rd as those pesky Padres will be in town. August 25th? I’m there all the way.
OK Dawg, I’ll bite. Laganitas, Naciemento, Como, Tahoe, whatever. I actually used to go fishing as a kid with my Dad at Naciemento for bass. Was pretty good in those days in the ’70s. Haven’t been back for decades. Anyway, yeah, this losing streak is like being under water, I guess. Or, having your mouth wired shut for 6 weeks and being able to eat nothing but Ensures through a straw. Ah, on second thought, I’ll take the losing streak over that…
atta babe snarkk! and that shows how great a post that was by the flavorful one. let me help: look, there’s haley’s comet!
So have you bailed that they’re winning the West? Or are you just going to act like it so you claim you were right either way?
Alas, poor Belt! I knew him, Boch.
A fellow of most excellent AB, he hath
Bourn the boys on his back the fewest of times,
Yet it was Best and Right, when he hath done so.
Yet, now, how abhorred in my brain his pine riding is.
Where be your vets, your Squatters now?
Your dependencies on age that set the table not?
Now get thee to the manager’s corner, and wait there, soft.
I pray thee, get to the youngsters’ chamber, and tell them, play.
To this favor they will come, and then ye shall drink of the red wine…
well at least that’s well put.
Snarkk is going nutty.He thinks he’s a poet.
Almost exactly 8 years ago Ex #2 and I took my oldest son Matt on a road trip to Phoenix to catch Giants-Snakes the next day. Ponson v Schilling. Many of you will remember Sydney didn’t do much for the Giants, but that day he was on. It was scoreless through 8 and then Barry singled in 2 runs (took one right back up the box off the lefty submariner Mike Myers). Giants won 2-0 and Ponson won his 17th game of the year (that number surprised me when I looked it up) Matt has never been a big baseball fan, but he thought the park in Phoenix was totally cool. He loved the roof, the air conditioning, the turf, and all of NBA-type hijinks that went on between innings. (At one point, the mascot came out on a motorcycle and took a few jumps off a ramp in the outfield) I remember it was the first game where I just gave him some cash and let him go to the concession stand on his own. His younger siblings have long heard his legendary tales of the huge indoor park in the desert with a swimming pool and motorcycle-riding mascot and have nagged me to take them to this hallowed ground as well.
The tickets just arrived today. September 24 the SanDawg clan (minus Matt) will be in the house for Giants-Dbacks.
Now Matt is 20. Didn’t see much of him over the summer. Came over last night for a buzz cut and to grab some stuff out of his old room before catching the train to Orange County today—making his way up for year 3 at SFSU. He kept admiring this thick glass ashtray of mine that has “Baja California” engraved on it. He was fired up when I told him he could have it. I used it to hold golf tees. Something tells me its gonna have a fistful of Humboldt green resting in it in about 3 days.
Ponson never won another game for the Giants.
And BOB will never be the same!
To progress young guys don’t just need to play hell or high water. They need to learn the right way. With each incarnation, Belt has taken the same ultimately unsuccesful course- he starts looking for walks and, as Henry put it, “spitting” on pitches he should drive.It’s not about being better than Rowand or Huff- it’s about being the best *he* can be. He also needs to lose the hang dog demeanor when he makes out.I imagine he’ll be in the LU the next couple days and he’d better make hay- right now, he’d be on the pine with Gamer when Beltran is back.
Bochy has misused him. Belt has sat more than once after a fine performance. Kid’s young. He just needs to hang in there. But yo-yoed and bounced around like he’s been, there’s little surprise he’s reverted to something other than the confident raker most of us expect. Again, he should bat high in the order until such time as he proves he can move em up.
incarnation is right, no way is today’s game about talent. Just a group of guys formed and molded.
Oh, yeah, Seabiscuit broke that mould, now he is pitching for a bunch of maybes, Cain always has.
mmmmmm, bacon.
Having lost 11 of the past 18 or something like that it has been a tough stretch for the club. Of the players not injured or on the DL Bochy runs the best LU out there that is available to him but I think Belt should be in there for more than a day at a time interupted by days off regardless of body language. What his game is missing is confidence and more time on the field would help. It’s not like Rowand is better in any way.
15 of 21…
Yeah, it has been bad of late. Personally I am enjoying the struggle this year.
I was thinking instead of blocking the Bax from getting Wandy, maybe SF should just go after the guy themselves. Last night obviously a different vibe from Atl series, ugly all around.
At least deRosa looks like he could contribute, and help provide some rest for Huff. Plus he said the things the good vets say to the press, that SPs deserve better results than they have been getting. Class act.
Rowand is hard to watch ( I think his numbers vs. lefties have taken a dive lately), but the issue is the same as Zito: unless he shows he can still play (in other words be a productive hitter), no one will be interested, even if SF pays them off. Any OF guy that hits gets to stay in there; Bochy just hasn’t gotten consistent offense from any of them.
There’s nothing wrong with leaving belt in there vs. LHP, at least until Beltran gets back. But, unlike the Pads or Stros, bochy is trying to win a pennant and repeat, so no one gets carte blanche to rack up 0-fers. Sure there’s pressure, so how it gets handled in the next 6 weeks determines a lot of fates.
Speaking of the Pads, there is only game and a half btw them, dodgers and rockies. I’d love to see them finish third (after we kick their ass, of course).
Nice story, Dawg. Here’s a b-ball story I don’t really enjoy telling. When I was at Jose st., my coach from HS got me a job helping him out at the HS where he had moved to. One of his players was a japanese kid, quiet, and just an ass buster type all coaches love. We finished second and this kid did everything. I heard next year he was even better, and team won the league
Years later, I run into him coaching his oldest son against me in an asian league game. We became friends, even tho my teams for next few years were a lot better than his, and used to talk coaching a lot (he was into the positive coaching alliance stuff, which does have its good points). Then me and his/mine old coach watched his youngest play. This one was really good, starting point for his HS and a club team player, recently graduated and on his way to college. I saw the guy at a big asian club team tourney hosted by a group I used to coach for that his son had been a part of over memorial weekend, and like me what hair was left was pretty gray.
Today his obit is in the Merc News, dead from lymphoma in his early 50s.
That’s too bad man. For my post, I meant the vibe to be a feel-good I’m going to a Giants road game deal, but it kind of evolved into a Cats-in-the-Cradle/Time goes by quickly bit. Both stories remind me to savor the moment, that’s for sure.
Willie—have you ever heard of Glenn and Terrance Chin from Redwood City? Both in their 40’s now, but were both good ballers from Redwood City who played in a lot of Asian tourneys and even played on a team that went to China in the 80’s. Real solid guys. Glenn was my roommate at SDSU.
Sorry to hear about the loss of your friend willieD.
There’s some mighty fine writing going on at the Flap this morning, and I feel I should aspire to that level. But….I’m drawing a blank. So, I’ll just mention that I’m reading a collection of stories and essays by Hampton Sides, called: “Americana,” and one of the essays is about Tony Hawk, the skateboarder legend. Skateboarding is something I know almost nothing about, but the story in the book was pretty fascinating. I have more respect for it as a sport having read that story.
Whose the POTG, Blade?
The guy jumping out of the water???? No idea . . . Maybe Flav ending his attempt at the underwater lake paddle crawl record.
I thought it was you.
Nope . . . my head is shaved. Grin.
And the Medical Center drama takes yet another absurd turn. For the time being, Pablo can only bat lefty and Beltran righty. Is there something telling here that Pablo volunteered to play vs. the LHP Wandy, while Beltran, currently on the DL, won’t even consider doing likewise vs. a right-hander? — “That’s not me. I’m a switch hitter.” Or am I reading a little too much into this?
Room Belgrade has always persisted with the stupid and unproveavble notion that unless a young hitter plays every day, he’s being misused and will ultimately fail because he atrophies or some such bullshit. It. Belt’s job is to be ready when called upon, keeps his ears open, and his mouth shut..and learn the difference between a selective hitter and a meek one..
Better meek than bleak (Rowand).
I think that’s absolutely ok to assume, Mac although that’s all it is, an assumption……
Belt can’t really be a true Giants prospect without experiencing the all encompassing aspects of Operation Dick Around. He’s just getting what he deserves.
Yeah, they dicked Posey right into ROY…hung with Panda and this year he’ll be their MVP and Willie Mac winner…
A good poll Question:
What will rowand get first in august
1) RBI
2) score a run
3) walk
4) none of these
5) Broken face from a stellar defensive play.
HBP?
Hit by pitch, or has he been hit this month already?
Squatter should just take batting lessons from Casilla.
He’d get a better OBP from the occasional walks…
A 2-yr extension.
Panda was the exception. He’s clearly the superior talent but the club was in a way different position at that time. Posey should have broke camp with the club last year. I would just prefer to see Belt get more PT because I think he’s one of the best players available on this depleted roster.
Just maybe waiting with Posey is why he was ready- it’s as likely as the alternate theory.,.
Using the uppity Beltran instead of Belt as an exasmple, has it ever occurred to many of you that Bochy doesn’t ( and shouldn’t) share everything with the media, and by extension, the blogosphere? I ‘m certain he’s not real happy with Beltran’s refusal to bat RH against a RHer. But if he addresses it, it will bebehind closed doors. Similarly, he’s not going to divulge his reasoning for every LU decision or benching. I know this runs against conventional “B” thiinking, but I trust the decisions of the manager of the World Champs more than I do his second guessers.
Probably true that there is more there than Bochy is sharing. In fact it is the most likely thing and I have no problem with it. Beltran isn’t doing shit for the club though. Maybe he’s a big puss with his eye toward next year. Maybe not. Don’t know, don’t care. It is interesting to me that last year they made no moves at the deadline and that seemed to be what gave the team confidence. Admittedly the offense is even worse this year and the FO probably feels more pressure.
Getting ready to head back out to the yard…Don’t have a $5 club level ticket today, so I hope to snag something cheap on the way in…Texans playing the Saints at the same time down the road, so I may buy a noesbleed special and sneak down near the Giants dugout.
They got Lopez and Ramirez at the deadline. Then Ross and Guillen off the waiver wire.
Should have clarified. I was referring to position players at the deadline.
I see Jerome Williams is back in the bigs with the Angels after a four year absence.
Good for him. he’s sure perservered.
any injuries to report yet?
I hurt my right middle finger finger but I refuse to flip the paperboy off left handed…
hey, i was a paperboy once! brutal job. apt buildings in menlo park so had to walk most of it. then had to go collect just to get stiffed by some adult who was flipping me off with his left hand.
I’ve been thinking about the hitting and the job of the hitting coach. it’s got to be the most frustrating thing. I can’t imagine bam (and earlier coaches) hasn’t tried to get rowand to change his ridiculous stance. but what kind of leverage does he have? it’s not like he can say, “change or you’re out of the lineup”. that’s the managers call. so why should the hitters listen to him? he could paraphrase an old willie mays commercial, “these are backfoot sliders, do not bite on them” but where does that get him? what would be the affect if muelens just went ahead and flipped a spread? bochy should give him the ok so that maybe it gets the hitters attention. I’m sure bam bam is talking to himself.
How did he ever hit if it’s the stance? Because it’s rather bizarre and everyone gets to make hilarious jokes about him shitting on the catcher’s foot, we get the stance spiel. He used to be a rather average hitter, now he’s quite less than average. Wear and tear, age…but go with the stance, the jokes are sooooooooooooooo funny…
Looks better on paper. But we know where all paper ends up…
CF Ross
2B Keppinger
3B Sandoval
1B Huff
RF Nate
LF Belt
SS Fontenot
C Stewart
P Bumgarner
And no one lays off the backfoot slider because the hitting coach told him to. They learn through repetition and and a good eye- or they don’t. This has been covered- the guy doesn’t think he’s swinging at a BF slider, he thinks he’s swinging at a fastball. If he can’t learn to pick up the diff early, he will always swing at it- and nobody can do a goddamn thing about it..
I’m not making a joke. i’m just using him as an example because it’s so extreme. he was a decent hitter when hitting in a smaller park at a younger age. you can get away with flaws when you’re hand-eye coordination is at it’s best. as you get older, the flaws start becoming exposed, as they are now for rowand. and yet he doesn’t change. my point is that it can’t be (at least i’m assuming this) that he hasn’t received advice from professional hitting instructors that point out the flaws. everyone talks about his work ethic. and yet the flaws remain, so he can’t be working on what the instructors are trying to tell him. and my question is, how much authority, if any, do hitting coaches on major league teams have? I assumed above that it must drive them nuts because they get fired at the end of the day, not the recalcitrant hitter.
so, not joking, not mocking. i have in the past but i’ve moved on because it’s not going to change. but i do wonder what the hitting coach is going through.
You do not know that the stance is a flaw..or that he isn’t just declining. Too much of a BFD is made of Rowand- best to just buy that he sucks now. There ain’t nobody getting fired over him, that’s for sure.
The shared stance on the stance is below the belt.
When it’s august 20th and you’ve had 42 at bats this month and you haven’t scored a run, dont gave an RBI or a walk and you’ve got a single extra base hit to show for your failures, you deserve every fucking joke that comes your way or is at your expense. Even bochy who is forced to have to play him, sees how pathetic his production is….
I don’t give a shit about the jokes – but thinking he’s gonna get good if they change his stance is Room Imbecile thinking. Get off it. He’s not good. Period.
Look at his splits- he always has had a hot streak or two each season. Like when he first led off. You think the stance was good then and bad when he cooled off? Or maybe the shit piles up in his pants and he can’t hit late in the season? He’s NOT GOOD. The stance has absolutely nothing to do with it…
well we’ll have to agree to disagree. it’s very difficult to hit a moving object when your head/eyes, hands, and lower body are all moving as well. if you watch barry’s swing, he was very stable, a little hand twitch while waiting but his head stayed rock solid and his hands came through with a short swing while he rotated about his lower body.
so yes, his stance is important. he may still suck but he has almost no chance of hitting consistently with that stance.
no. chance.
In a word: bullshit. Rowand’s stance is only an issue for “B” because it’s unusual and obviously so. The criticism is somewhat reminiscent of what Torres got when we were told of his heavy bat. When he slumped, that just HAD to be it. It’s simplistic, uninformed thinking.. in Rowand’s case, a commenter actually said it was safe to presume that he’d been told to change his stance and he refused..actually the only thing safe to assume is that his stance was ruled out as the problem.
They never learn from the master. I just don’t understand this.
the other thing i loved about his approach is once he got into the batter’s box, he didn’t step out. not adjusting this that or the other thing. i heard from one pitcher/ex pitcher that it was very intimidating.
doesn’t excuse the drugs though.
K and K say Rowand doesn’t leave the box either. If he’d just change that durned stance…
Thoughts on the current situation:
1) I like my ledges on the first floor. Allows me to get the reps.
2) —- Scott Cousins, in every available orifice.
3) I am willing to bet that Bochy just gave Rowand his last shot. I could be wrong. I don’t hate on the guy. I won’t whine if Bochy writes him in again. But something tells me that Rowand just moved behind Belt for the remainder.
No Dirrrty tomorrow, it’ll be Danny boy.
Clean out the stables Dennis then grab that cold 30 pack of cheap beer.
I’m having a little taste of the grape today, Nipper. It’s either a ’66 Château Lafite or it came out of a box.
I can’t remember which. Go grab me a shovel.
Scott Cousins, batting .135, is on the 60-day DL with a back strain, if anyone was curious.
Or didn’t know already.
I try not to know about him. I really should move on. I really should.
In an attempt to depersonalize, I will emend my above #2, thusly:
2) Fuck scrub PR’s who can have no accountability because they will never be seen again in any other situation where competition matters because they can’t compete except by blowing up guys who can. In every available orifice.
With the team starting to get healthier, Rowand’s stance is close to being moot.
That’s poot, not moot…
Here I stand, deeply mooted
Came to hit a homer, but only pooted
Most people think the word moot means the exact opposite of what it really means.
Look it up.
“of little or no practical value or meaning; purely academic.’
1. open to discussion or debate; debatable; doubtful: a moot point.
Yours is definition # 2, skippy. Note they use “moot point” in definition # 1 above…
You lose.
Wrongo Bongo- they merely “pointed” out that the “point”, in this case his stance, is moot or academic.
How could anyone not think it’s safe to assume a hitting instructor or two might have suggested Rowand alter his batting stance?
You said it was safe to presume he refused. That is utter bullshit.
If I presume it was suggested, then the fact that he hasn’t changed is reason to presume he refused.
You can’t assume either. You need to show proof. As with your Torres “assumptions”.
7rows behind giants dugout….belts family one row behind me during bp which just ended…either his gf or sister is smoking hot.
Too bad he isn’t…
he’s married. That’s gotta be his wife.
It is considered the most homoerotic stance in the game, maybe that explains the obsession with it.
It is?
Is that stat in Fangraphs?…
As he strokes his “bat”..,
Sometimes a homoerotic stance is just a stance. But just like Freud’s cigar and a pole, Rowand smokes ’em both.
It would be nice, for once, if the Giants could take an early lead.
Good to see Belt gets a start, with him family on site…
Belt was slated to start against the RHers this weekend.
Good thing.
He needs more ABs, since his is considered the most heteroerotic stance in the game…
Actually, I just looked up “Aaron Rowand batting stance” and that’s what you get. But you know that…
heteroerotic?
Thanks for coming and drive home safely.
Seriously. WTF was Ross doing in the outfield? Just saw the good replay, good Lefty 64 degree lob-wedge backspin. Still, who was that with the relay throw, Kepp? Just a bit outside. We suck.
Pretty funny, Dennis.
“Here I stand, deeply mooted
Came to hit a homer, but only pooted”
OK. Time for Bochy to go Bobby Knight on this team. This is ridiculous. Throw your object of choice, I don’t care, but throw something. This team needs to be bitch-slapped upside its head.
Embarrassing, sad and pathetic.
Throw in the thong baby?
Well, pretty depressing.
WAKE UP PEOPLE.
Game over.
Adios, Flappers…
Speaking of embarrassing, sad and pathetic. I’m gonna switch to the Niner game.
don’t even want to look at the splash. maybe i can sell tickets to the bridge. I’m sure they’re already lining up. good thing the niner game is on?
“Doctor, we have a cardiac emergency.”
“what are the symptoms nurse?”
“Irregular heartbeat, flushed, and he keeps muttering, ‘they scored a run. They scored a run.'”
“Clear!”
where the hell did everybody go? when you say you’re gonna stop watching, you all ain’t kidding!
Ouch.
I’m here but I doubt that’s what you had in mind.
Hey Twin, how ya been? I haven’t been checking in that much, the games have been hard enough to watch let alone read about.
And I just said to myself, don’t give back Aubrey’s homer. Wow.
Nice opener, Flav
That is some funny shit
Little Mike was 7 for 18 over five games. Given the offensive woes, did Boche need to play percentages?
Oh, man. Now Matt Downs?
my niece from ohio is staying with us while she looks for apt in city. she’s never watched much baseball but is now watching it everyday (well, i’m watching it everyday and she has little choice). she says she’s turning into a giants fan. she also say’s “hi” to the flap.
Pablo! This shit ain’t over Yogi.
When I was under the legal age( this was in the early 70s), I had an account at the local liquor store. Now the owner, Mario, was a pretty well connected guy. The place next store started selling waterbeds and Mario went there to introduce himself. The waterbed guy blew him off and Mario was still steaming when I came in. I asked what was wrong and he explained the thing to me saying, “the guy next door thinks he’s a big wheel. He doesn’t know you need the axle to turn the wheel and I’m the axle”.
Hey Bozo, what the fuck does that story have to do with the Giants? Well, everyone talks about missing the big wheel (big bat, Huff etc…) but to me I keep thinking what we’re really missing is the axle. Sanchez and Torres worked like a fucking machine, those two parts are what this team is lacking (IMO).
Oh yeah, when I told Mario I turned 21, he wasn’t pissed, he said “get your normal, on the house”. We need the axle.
I loved that story, Bozo. Thanks for sharing. Now fuck you! 😛
Fuck. we lost. 😦
Yeah. No axle on this carriage, yet. But you know what Dennis of the Del Mar? We are gonna win this whole damn thing. Aye, you thinks I’m crazy, and perhaps true, but thee can mark the word of this clown and take it to the bank. The axle will turn the wheels and September, October will be one hell of a ride.
How about more pics Dennis, you have a real flair for it.
When I was a teenager the local bookie, was also named Mario. No joke. He ran the florist shop as his front. I would run into him all the time (with my mother) up at the turf club at Golden Gate Fields. Nice fellow. Always very busy. Would buy my mom a screwdriver and me a soda. But the sumbitch never had any “hot tips,” he just kept to his business. Mario gave me a little discount on my prom flowers. Beats a kick in the head.
the good news is that there is still no sign of quit. that’s what really stood out on last year’s team and was certainly true early in this season. it seems like they need a couple of good come-from-behind wins to re-invigorate the bats.
Flappers should imbibe and release their tensions.
Imbibe?
Fuk that.
I need a drink…
Baggs intimates that Wilson is headed for the DL.
Game. Set. Match. Hey, remember last year. We’ll always have that. This ain’t our year…
Unless… someone other than myself throws a goddamn conniption fit. Hide the women and children, because this shit is not only coming, but it NEEDS to be coming. And the Giants shit needs to hit something. The Giants shit needs to hit the fan…
You played this clip last month . . . and probably the month before that, month before that, month before that, blah, blah, blah.
Come up with a new schtick.
You got something better? I don’t need a “new schtick.” I have an idea. Why don’t you take my old schtick and shove it up your ass. Better do it before the shit hits the fan.
Dennis is over on another blog with Schtick 2.
What’s the old saying about you see something new everytime you go to a baseball game? Well I got to see Panda bat left handed against a LH pitcher for the first and hopefully last time…As Mills was bringing in the LH, Panda motioned to Bochy as if to say, “which way do you want me to bat?” It really exemplifed how lost this club is right now…I have to think that if not for all the injuries, Panda would be on the DL right now…My hats off to him for fighting thru the pain and taking an AB in a manner in which he has never done as a major league player.