“We Came Within One Strike”…
That’s what some of these fringe Ranger players will be telling someone at a bar in their hometown years from now. They’ll shake their head sideways and tell that story a million times hoping the ending somehow changes. “Bartender, one more round….”
Did you see how hard Nelson Cruz went for that Craig HR? Now THAT, dude, is how you’re supposed to go back on a ball. If he did that in Game 6 the Rangers would be Champions right now instead of the insufferable LaRussa’s. What is it about these goddamn Cruz’ in right field that fail so horribly at the worst possible times??????
And how about David Freese? While other Cards have WS MVP bonuses written into their 8 figure contracts, this dude just went out there and banged out more RBI’s than ANYONE in post season history. Amazing. His agent, the crafty and well known “Nez Balelo” scored him a $6,000 bonus after he was drafted by the Padres in 2006……..
The only guy as happy as a Cardinal this morning? Adam Meyer, the Vegas gambler who bet $100,000 on the Cardinals to win at 15-1 . http://www.covers.com/articles/articles.aspx?theArt=251367 . He ends up making more off that bet than every single one of the league minimum guys on the Cardinal’s roster……
He hedged his bets all the way through so the profit isn’t what it looks like. But still, well done on him. He runs a website called adamwins.com and he charges his VIP clients 10K a month for all his sports bets. 10K? I wouldn’t be *VIP* if I paid for that I’d be *DUI*…..
The bottom line for the Rangers is, they just couldn’t close the door. Each pitcher failed when given the chance to step up. Overall, their pitching was shady. Their staff collectively issued the most walks for any world series ever. Can’t win when you’re handing out free passes all the time. I still think Washington should own a lot of this. He seems like a great guy, roots and cheers like a fan every time they score a run, but the tactical side of managing is not his strength. Around the 7th inning or so I felt a genuine sorrow for him as he knelt on the dugout steps watching the inevitable unfold….
I read some of your posts last night about game 7 giving us “one more day to bask” and all that. To me, it’s never been about being the reigning champions. Maybe when the season first started it did, for a bit, but that quickly faded away. We have a spot in history that will live forever. “Supernova’s” usually last for about a month, but the one that set off inside my soul on 11/1/10 hasn’t come close to extinguishing. And it never will….
Alright, so who the Hell is Sabean gonna go get to fix his goddamn offense? 🙂 We now have about 4 full months of down time. I’ll turn my focus to finding the best bikini babes the internet has to offer. I’ll set up polls that, after Sabean reads the outcome, will likely determine the make up of the 2012 club. During a dark month we’ll probably all turn to Haiku for solace…..I don’t think I’m gonna do a retro-Giant thing again but I’ll find something, I always do. The Flap doesn’t take a break like the other slacker blogs, we go 24/7/365……
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
I like LaRussa. I’m glad he won.
At no point after the Giants left STL after kicking their butts vs. the highest scoring team in the NL in their yard (remember Huff blasting 3 HRs?) did I think they were the better team. But, unlike the Philly wackos who have cried fluke at SF the last 365, I’m not gonna bash them now. Just like SF they won when they had to and are the WS champs 2011.
Wash neither. I didn’t see enough to fairly comment on the Series; I did watch end of game 6 when his pitchers twice had Cards down to last strike, but couldn’t finish them off when they had the ball in their hands.
As for Sabes, during the season he himself commented publicly on how bad his O was…he went out and got Kepp and Beltran. It wasn’t enough for SF to beat the Cubs and Astros, nor handle the DBax straight up, either at home or on the road in the late going.
I didn’t use to feel this way, but I think it’s time for Sabes to do more than add Coco Crisp to the mix. Make a statement to your SPs, esp Lincecum (who will be getting short term large bucks) that you are not going to sit idly by and watch him lose all these 1-0/2-1 games. Like Scoop Nisker used to say, “If you don’t like the news, go out and make some of your own.”
Insofar as getting a big bat (not named Coco . . . LOL), it’s not likely to happen willieD via the free agent route . . . Nevertheless, it can happen with a trade. Not certain where you stand, but it seems the majority of the Flappers are unequivocally AGAINST trading one of our starting pitchers for an elite hitter. Moreover, Sabean seems to agree:
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/san_francisco_giants/index.html
However, Per the same aforementioned article:
“The Giants project to have at least one more year of elite pitching, so it’s up to the game’s longest-tenured GM to assemble a passable offense. Sabean appears to be up against budget limitations, though he has mentioned the possibility of asking ownership for additional money toward adding a specific player. That request makes sense, with the window on Cain and Lincecum potentially closing.”
I don’t trust Vogs shelf life, and outside of JS (whom I’d rather keep), SP depth seems like an issue. But, I’d start bymaking an offer to Beltran that would make him seriously consider returning. Yes he had an awful August, but look at Sept: .700 slugging in 90 ABs, and an OPS over 1.100. He hit 6 HRs to go along with a great month from Pablo. You are not going to get that type of production out of Nate, who hit 8 bombs all year.
Interesting also is how well Betran hit at home all s, which was better than his road numbers despite playing in two non-hitters yards.
If you aren’t going to bring him back, imo you need to find someone who will give you .900 plus OPS to add to Pablo and Posey. As an aside, there was a bleacher report slideshow on who Mets might target to replace Reyes if he signs elsewhere, and one of the names mentioned is R Tejada. If the Mets do sign Reyes, maybe this is a guy we can look at as a SS option. He did hit well this year and had a high OB of .360.
Proof once again you just never know in this game. You think you have the talent, the right mix, character, history on your side…and in the end, it’s not enough. Instead, you get guys like Freese and Craig, Ross and Renteria.
On paper, Texas Boston Phiilly NYY and Milaukee all looked superior during the reg season. Pitching is supposed to carry the day and St Louis looked especially vulnerable. But they were on a roll coming into the postseason. Timing is everything.
You have to give LaRussa and his staff a ton of credit, just as we did with Bochy et al last year. They kept them believing.
ST– I was just thinking the same thing about all those stud 7 and 8 figure players. And then when it comes down to “glory-time” It’s the “David Freeseeseses’s” who step up and shine. His agent scored him a $6,000 bonus when he was drafted by the Padres in ’06. I bet at the time he was pretty stoked about that…..
They did well, no denying that . . . but the Pujols, Carpenters, and Berkmans had their moments and did well too.
Okay. The 2011 Season is history. 2012 season begins today. Blade, i’m with you on the Giants going out and getting some bigstick medicine without sacrificing the pitching which likely would have once again won it all with even last year’s level of offensive support. Giants franchise is not the richest, but is rich enough to get it done. All that’s needed is for the wealthy investors to cough up a bit of the $ they don’t really need to maintain their gilded lifestyles. Do it for the team. Do it for the community. “Money can’t buy you love”, the Beatles said. But it can buy a bat.
Napoli could have been MVP if ….
Just food for thought when contemplating off season moves.
Grab some hitters, meat!
Easier said than done, but POTD material…
Freese ……you gotta like that guy……he just keeps plugging away and a hometown guy in a baseball city. Nice ending.
A tale of two seasons: last we we won because we had the best pitching among all playoff teams, and tied with NY Yankees for best fielding percentage. This year St. Louis was the top scoring NL team but bottom of the barrell defensively and middle of the pack pitching. Two more different teams couldn’t have won. Like most of us, I’m loathe to give Mumblin’ Tony any credit, but winning it all with that starting pitching was masterful work, even if he didn’t know who they were.
Opening odds to win 2012 WS:
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES 5/1
TEXAS RANGERS 6/1
NEW YORK YANKEES 6/1
TAMPA BAY RAYS 7/1
BOSTON RED SOX 8/1
DETROIT TIGERS 8/1
ST LOUIS CARDINALS 8/1
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS 15/1
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS 15/1
Going to the WS two years in a row is good stuff, But, losing it both times, especially this second time with tons of second guessing on Wash and his staff’s moves, is very uncool. Against the Giants, TX was clearly outclassed, but they could/should have won this series, where LaRussa managed like he was still in a Florida drunk tank. I don’t know if Wash is totally safe in his job, but if they falter through the first half next year, I wouldn’t be surprised at a firing. Nolan Ryan has got to be on massive blood pressure meds right now…
Dr. Snarkk……stat, stat!
You’re not going to see any heartfelt congratulations come my way. LaRussa and his Cards can go fuck themselves for all I care. All I care about is Sabean acquiring this team some legitimate Big League hitters. Did you hear me, Brian? Go get me some goddamn bats.
Strong emphasis on “goddamn bats!”
Where were you when your comment was appropriate- no one “deserved to win”..
We have several legitimate big league hitters. Unfortuantely, none of them play the SS position. IMO SS is the most pressing need. I don’t think many people think Rollins will get 5 years, I’d make the push for him over Beltran, if it’s one or the other.
I have little interest in Beltran either, especially if it will cost the proverbial “arm and leg” via Boras hard ball negotiations. However, (and I am hoping against this) Sabean might feel some obligation to “double down,” whereby he limits the damage of the July trade for top prospect Zack Wheeler . . . any reasonable person would say that this trade did NOT work out, regardless of Beltran’s September heroics, since the Giants ended up playing golf vs. playing in the playoffs – which was the primary purpose of the trade.
I would like to see Crawford succeed, but what I like rarely happens (i.e., “I plan and God laughs” deal). Sabean would at least seem to need a back-up infield utility player if he goes that route with Crawford. I like Rollins too, but only for a 2 year deal, with a club option for 3. Not likely to happen, if Rollins gets at least half of what he wants. I think minimally, he will get a 3 year guaranteed deal, possibly with a club option for another year, with the Phils. Are we willing to sweeten the pot beyond that? I hope not.
Per MLBRumors, “Sabean comments imply a greater focus on a lead-off hitter/center fielder.” Crisp is not a perfect answer at lead off since he only has a .314 on base percentage. Couple that with his injury propensity . . . OH OH. Same thing with Sizemore . . . Please God no. What about David DeJesus? Again, another injury risk. Also, he has no pop and doesn’t steal like Crisp.
I really, really doubt that ownership will provide more scratch beyond the $125 million set aside for next year. But they have surprised before . . . I recall as recently as late 2009 going into the Hot Stove league, how most of us thought they would be in the high $90 million payroll range . . . who’d of thunk we would be at $125 smackeroos? Stranger things have happened.
Preference? Is it scratch or smackeroos?
Stanford at USC in a few minutes, on ABC.
AMC is having their horror fest. Last night night it was 7 top notch college football games with Mussberger announcing all of them..
Doesn’t it seem that way? The dude is EVERYWHERE.
Your choice Nip. 😉
That “no slacker” policy by BF is commendable. 24/7 365 days beats any blog I know.
totally agree, dude
I’m hardly anti-Beltran if the years are reasonable but I’d think that someone will give him 4 or 5. And he’s said he’d be interested in returning here if we add more bats, not just his. I don’t see that happening. Can he play CF? As much as I’ve criticized Nate, if we got Carlos, the best OF will be Huff, Nate, and Beltran. Either Beltran or Schierholtz will have to play CF. IMHO.
USC has some big wide receivers, but they’re dropping some passes.
Schulman summed it up well:
“Come Thursday, wide-open free-agency begins, and so does the Giants’ annual tiptoe around the big-name players.”
USC has a lot of speed. Very explosive offense. Stanford trying to hang onto a 24-20 lead.
Stanford’s defense is getting exposed a bit in this game. USC now leads 27-24.
The Stanford coaching and playing calling in particular have been atrocious. That last 3rd and 9 from the Trojan 13 yd line where they put Luck out at WR and went into their Wildcat formation was completely asinine.
Shaw is getting his ass out-coached by Lane Kiffin. Al Davis is setting up his projector from his grave.
That was a strange 3rd down call. Trying to stay undefeated, in the last part of the game, and instead of allowing the #1 pick in the draft to throw a pass, they give the snap to a running back in the Wild Cat. It almost makes me wonder if Stanford got confused what down it was.
Ooops.
Brent Musburger needs to retire post-haste. He can’t see what’s happening on the field, and when he looks at the monitor, he has nary a clue of what’s going on.
Great drive at the end by Luck and team. Now- overtime!
Now- double overtime!
FOUR missed tackles on that USC TD to take the lead in 2OT.
Whatever the final result, both teams have played with a lot of heart. Great effort by all those guys.
And- triple overtime!
. Terrific game.
Hello third OT. Great game. But as the game wears on, Musburger gets worse. After the Cardinal kicker just slid that PAT through the left upright, he said that would be the last kick of the night. I guess Brent forgot about FGs.
Retire you senile old fart. He probably calls Herbstreit “The Greek” when we’re not looking.
This is now become a game of attrition. Both teams are gassed. The players could use Brent’s O2 tank.
That ball shot out of there like a champagne cork!
That’s the best game, college or pro that I’ve witness in awhile. And to top it off, Stanford won by 8 and extended their streak of pt spread covers to eleven.
Charlie Sheen said it best, WINNING!!!
Ha! Doesn’t hurt to have a little Luck.
And sorry, but college OT is ridiculous.
My goodness, didn’t expect it to end like that. Agree with Mac, though. Surpised they don’t decide it on a penalty kick, first guy to keeck a tushdown wins…
Great game nonetheless..
Buster returning…
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/29/SP541LNMIJ.DTL
Snarkk: I get the feeling from reading between the lines in that article that a very focussed and determined young man who sparked SF to the World Championship in 2010 will come back with a vengeance. Whether he starts out hot, or simply builds up a head of steam as the season progresses; mark it down that Buster is gonna be a man on a mission. You will see some fire in those eyes as well as that focus and determination. Posey will be a weapon.
“Helped” spark.
Unbelievable. Two weeks in a row, the CBS affiliate in Denver gives us a game with Miami (made sense last week when Denver played them, but not this time . . . especially with Fox not showing a morning game.).
Pfffffffffffffffft!
I’ve got that, too, but Fox has Minnesota/Carolina here.
Paid programming here. Something about Laser Hair Removal. LOL.
They should call this game, “The Andrew Luck Sweep Stakes.”
Bowl
No one has figured out a good way to play OT in football. The college one is dumb and lets out special teams almost entirely, but leaving it up to coin flip and a FG kicker seems dumb too. Dunno how you solve it, but the pro one nowadays isn’t perfect either.
Redskins fan buddy of mine was really impressed with Cam Newton last week, as he watched him burn their D repeatedly, on the ground and in the air. I think young QBs are coming into the league way more ready to contribute, and the smarter ones with good coaching and cheme to fit their talents pick things up quicker. Tebow, I dunno if he belongs in that group yet.
IMHO . . . No way Tebow belongs in that group. He wasn’t just bad willieD – prior to his miracle 5 minutes – which required unbelievable catches by the way – he was absolutely terrible. Defenses will adjust to his running. Which by the way is no great shakes when you consider that his “college fast” is “NFL quick.” His size does give him an advantage, coupled with his unbelievable will to succeed. However, I guarantee you that he will be out of the league in 2-3 years due to injury or mediocrity due to his skill set and the way he plays the game.
No new thread today, dudes, just roll with this one. Go Niners!
Character seems to be the question about Newton. Yeah, yeah, Daddy did it..
I’m watching him now- he’s about 500 percent better than I thought he’d be. Long term, of the kids starting now, I still like Dalton the best- he’s who I wanted here instead of Kappy. Newton will get in some kind of trouble…
Trouble in River City……trouble!
Newton had overhyped bust written all over him, but he’s been VERY impressive so far. If Carol had a defense, they’d be real tough. As it is, Minnesota’s finally figuring out that Carolina can be run on all day. 6 guys just missed tackles on AP on his 8 yard TD run.
Course, as I say that, he goes 3-and-out 3 times in a row.
Just as I was about to say the kid from the Vikes might lead his team to a W, Newton hits a long one on 4th and long. Ponder wasn’t that good in college as I remember, but he has made some nice throws today.
Twin, how well did your dad know Bob Fouts and what did he think of him?
Bob Fouts was solid. Much less talking back then. Much in the vein of Mike’s dad. Like they got that they could trust the watchers to see what was happening in front of them.
That’s just my opinion. Mike I’m sure has something to add.
I really dlon’t recall much about Fouts, but I do remember that when the Niners were looking for a new broadcast team back in the 80’s, I believe, one of the local writers recommended Bob and my father. I think the writer was Shelley Smith, now with ESPN; one of the better woman announcers. Don’t remember who they went with. Might have been Starkey
Giants re-sign “Gomez”. Good move, seems a bit expensive, though, which is SOP for Sabes…
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/10/30/sports/s131027D05.DTL&tsp=1
dumb idea to re-sign Lopez. When you have an offense that needs improvement the way ours does, you can’t have the luxury of the most expensive lefty specialists in the game. THe Yankees needed him desperately, I’m surprised he didn’t bolt to them for another 1-2 mil more……..
Any money spent on Lopez is NOT spent on a hitter, remember that……..
I dunno; maybe. I like him for a bunch of reasons. He’s smart, low-key, rather unheralded, except in these quarters. But yeah, true, not money spent on a hitter.
I’ve never been very perspicacious here [may I use that in mixed company; I would not be shocked to hear I am using it wrongly] about player moves. Just not a good speculator, in baseball or stocks.
But I suppose this coming year is a real test of the Sabean philosophy: build on pitching and defense [which faltered] vs. strategic hitting. Does that sum it up fairly?
There’s a noble sense of insider loyalty that is noble but may hurt the organization. How else to explain sticking with, say, Whiteside and Stewart?
Maybe something for a new thread, to come: browsing bookstore shelves yesterday for some, ahem, personal reasons that may some day be divulged if all goes well, and I noticed these baseball books of potential interest to many here:
A Moment in Time, by Ralph Branca with David Ritz. Looks very good. NY Times had a story about it because Branca discovered unknown Jewish roots. Comes off as a smart dude [by my quick look], maybe (understandably) a bit of chip on his shoulder. Bobby Valentine is his son-in-law.
Cuban Star by Adrian Burgos, Jr. About Alex Pompez who figured in the signing of Mays and many others. In HOF.
The Greatest Game Ever Pitched: Juan Marichal vs. Warren Spahn. July 2, 1963. By Jim Kaplan. It is almost certain to be on my Christmas list.
The Best Game Ever. Pirates vs. Yankees. October 13, 1960. [Subtitled: A Drink Is Spilled Near Young Twin. Yay, Mom!]. By Jim Reisler.
I read the Kaplan book. It’s a must-read for Giants fans, IMO.
Thanks. It looked terrific. I like the concept of dissecting that one game.
He does a great job of dissecting the game, and blending in biographies of both pitchers.
Is Spahn alive? He and Mays eventually became teammates.
Spahn passed away in the early 2000s. He was a crusty ‘old-school’ guy. He got several Purple Hearts in WWII. When asked if he ever got nervous pitching, he said something like “No. There’s nobody shooting at you when you’re pitching.”
Whiteside is up for arb. Who thinks they’ll offer it ? I don’t see it.
Agree . . . He’ll be non-tendered.
Lopez at $4.25 million a season for two years is not all that much. I was surprised they took the $5 million option on Affeldt.
Sabes said he would, or something akin to it. I like both those moves. Affeldt [game 6, NLCS] can go long if needed. A steady hand. Except when separating frozen burgers. Oh, I know, he’s had his ups and downs.
Who has not?
Exactly Zumie. Sabes was smart to lock him up early. Lopez is a rare commodity – a quality “match up” lefty that would have had many teams bidding for him. We’re lucky to have him. Sabes will also re-negotiate Affeldt’s contract (as alluded to by Pawlie).
I don’t think there’s any Affeldt negotiations. Option is picked up. Full stop.
If they want bad blood then they will pick up his option . . . However, I think Sabean has said that they will probably re-negotiate his contract and give him an extended deal. If he was a free agent, he could easily get a 3 year deal.
Ah, the broadcast is cruel. Focusing the camera on Rob Ryan, as his team is systematically carved apart like a Thanksgiving turkey.
It will be a BOYZ GONE WILD free agent market. Little noted: Aaron Harang, Brad Lidge, Roy Oswalt, F-Rod are FAs because options not picked up. And that’s just pitchers. And it’s not even the FA deadline yet.
Magnus, you’ve made me a barely-out-of-the-closet Stanford football fan. My daughter, on vac in SoCal, starts talking trash w/ me today on the phone an hour ago — and even threw out the name Andrew Luck! This is like the name of Alexei Ratmansky being tossed around here! (She was in his North American premiere last weekend in Philly.) Of course, not being a huge football fan, I only just now discovered the news of the 3-OT win by The Cardinal. (The NYT story focused on Condi Rice, which threw some cold water on it for moi.)
I just went through the entire Free Agent list. How depressing. Take short stop for instance . . . First off, let’s eliminate Rollins and Reyes from your delusional wish list. Not going to happen, unless the “suits” sweeten the $125 million payroll.
There is absolutely no one I would trust in a utility role, except two . . .
Ramon Santiago (Twin has mentioned him) or Omar Vizquel (my somewhat sentimental choice).
The rest . . .
Clint Barmes
Yuniesky Betancourt
Orlando Cabrera
Jamey Carroll
Ronny Cedeno
Alex Cora
Craig Counsell
Rafael Furcal
Jerry Hairston
Cesar Izturis
John McDonald
Nick Punto
Edgar Renteria
Drew Sutton
C.J. Wilson
Who do you guys like?
C. J. could at least clip his ear hair..
Wild hair/hare, I wouldn’t mind kicking tires on Oswalt. 2 year deal for a fair price. WTF not? Sign Dirrty, see what you can get for him. Oswalt probably wouldn’t mind moving to a pticher’s park…
I thought immediaately of Oswalt on this staff when he was non-tendered.
I just mean that I agree
Flavor, I’m gonna completely disagree with your take on the Lopez signing.
The main lesson of the last two world series are almost identical. In 2010, bullpen excellence was the key to cashing in on the great starting pitching and the timely hitting. In 2011, it was bullpen failure which cost the Rangers the Series.
My take is that it would make no sense to upgrade team hitting without locking down the bullpen. The extra runs generated would get wasted. You give a perfect example of how losers make decisions: “Any money spent on Lopez is NOT spent on a hitter”. Bullshit. By that line of reasoning, you would think that not buying insurance would be a smart way to help yourself afford a more expensive car. Smart budgeting is about making sure the money you spend isn’t wasted.
Spending money to give Bochy good options out of the pen is the best way to maximize value on whatever dollars get spent on hitting. Now if the Giants don’t make moves to improve the hitting, then your point is taken. As the Giants found out during the stretch slump, a great bullpen can’t protect a lead that doesn’t exist. Spending on a bullpen when your hitting sucks is like paying heavy coin for full replacement insurance on a car that isn’t even worth what the premiums are costing.