Opening Day, 2012……
I tried to muster up the interest in a *prediction* thread but it just isn’t happening. I think everyone thinks this team looks good on paper. With the recent roster decisions as well as being only a year removed from the World Series, I would *predict* that this is the happiest and most positive the Giants fan base has EVER BEEN going into a baseball season. And it’s not much fun to *predict* something if everyone is slapping each other on the back predicting the same thing……..
So I’ll say they win 91 and move on to a more interesting topic: What to do with Nate.
I think this one is a slam dunk decision. You trade Nate for a #5 starter. I realize at this point in the season there aren’t a lot of teams looking to trade any of their starting pitching. But it couldn’t hurt to try and there are a few teams out there who could use a 4th outfielder and might even find Nate interesting enough to start. Baltimore and Pittsburgh are two nice targets. Both fan bases are used to losing and probably wouldn’t protest too much about an early season trade. Never too early to wave the white flag in either of those cities…..
Now remember, Number 5’s aren’t too appealing, we’ve been spoiled in SF over the last few years. But if you subscribe to the “ABZ” approach to rooting for the Giants then you have to lower your expectations on who you can stomach as our Number 5. I’ll pause for a moment while you make that adjustment……..
Keep going………
Lower.
Ok, that’s probably low enough. If I had more time this morning I could get more creative than this, but here are 2 pitchers who I would try to trade Nate for.
Jason Hammel–He’s a ground ball pitcher who has spent the last few years in Colorado not throwing too many ground balls. Now in Baltimore, a change of scenery will probably do him some good. He’s making about 4 million this year, he rolls with an ERA in the high 4’s and I’ve got a restraining order against him that specifically states he’s not allowed within 500 feet of any of my fantasy league staffs. But again, if I flip the ABZ switch to “on” I can tolerate me some Hammel in the nether regions of my Giants pitching staff…….
AJ Burnett: AJ is making a lot of dough and is currently out for another couple of weeks healing his broken eye socket that he suffered on the first day of spring training when he bunted a ball into his eye. Steady Flavor, “serenity now, serenity now…” Deep break, ok….But I actually could see AJ having a decent year in 2012. Getting out of the AL East will do wonders to your pitching stats. And this guy DOES have good stuff, he just never really, as Krukow would say, *learned how to pitch*. If you’re looking for hidden silver lining, his xERA last year was like 3.83 (I left the Forecaster at work, but it was in that ballpark). That’s a lot better than his non-hidden 5.19 ERA. Anyway, Burnett is owed 16 mil a year over the next 2 seasons and while I think the Yankees are eating a lot of that I would be surprised if the Giants went this direction…….
But there are other #5’s out there who Nate could be traded for, I believe…….
There are a few changes to The Flap as we enter our final season. The BB’s of the day will be spending the spring on the bench. I might bring them back in the Summer, we’ll see. I’m leaving the BBOTD-POTD’s because I think it’s a funny list. And let me just say again, I had a blast this winter coming up with BB’s for you guys to *caption* (Tom Petty, if you’re reading this, just think “closet-ed” and you’re good to go 🙂 ). Your creativity was incredible. The core group of BB *caption* bloggers were (in no order and I might forget a few): Bozo, Snarkk, WILLIE-D,Chuck, Dennis, AllyKat, Ewisco, Kevin, ST, TED, MacDog, a little of Blade, EDD, Pawlie and (not enough of) Loo. And I appreciate your great tolerance on the *dark days* when I would post a BB who you likely greatly regretted clicking on. That was all about me LQTM, baby……..
There’s also an ex-Giants page to follow to the right. If you want me to add anyone let me know. I’ll see if Matt Downs made the Astros squad, and add him if he did. That *watch list* is from the Flap Fantasy League so it will list who owns the player (or it will say *FA* if no one in the Flap league owns him) and it will also list what percentage of fantasy players own him in all of the espn leagues.
Of course, there will also be a Flap Fantasy Baseball Standings page and you can check on that one at your leisure…….
And I will continue to list a link to purchase Pawlie’s book, *Baseball’s Starry Night”. I’m 80 pages into it, and I’m enjoying it immensely. He was on the clock to get the book out on time and there are some minor indications of this in the book. But the stories from *that night* that he re-counts from baseball fans in St Louis and Tampa Bay (at only 80 pages in I haven’t yet gotten to the fans in the other cities) are riveting and the *way* he presents it makes it very difficult to stop turning the pages. It’s obvious that he did a TON of research when writing the book. Plus, there is an underlying love of the Giants that weaves throughout, which we all appreciate. I encourage anyone who loves the game of baseball to purchase it…….
Start the freaking season already…….
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
3 Bagger nails it!
Milky, Pablo, Posey
who gets it done?
if the ump is gonna call those strikes, I gotta go get one
who’s our first baseman for life?
2am and my team is battling
whoo
hooo
Nice to see the tie, but sad that the bunt by Theriot was probably the right call.
Earlier post, 8 innings to go, now it is 3-3 excellent!!
If the Golden Child doesn’t bobble the ball in the first place, the close call at first is moot.
True, but Belt made no stretch towards Posey at all. I’m not sure what the fundamentals are in that situation for firstbasemen, but I would think he could stretch towards Posey on that.
I’m not convinced Buster should have even thrown it; what was Bochy arguing, that it was foul?
Good point. That play wasn’t executed well on all accounts to say the least.
At what point do either of the Golden Boys get any criticism? Nothing is on Belt there.
yee ouch!
great shovel by Timmy to first, then the defense falls apart in the next inning…sigh. We can still win this if we hold them here.
Out offense ties up the game in the top of the frame and our “Ace” abruptly coughs it up in the bottom half.
I swear if I had a pair of shears in my hands…
those are all outs in phone park
and it is great, for me, to see the eyes of my team (coaches) ESPN may suck, but they do have a lot of cameras
Never mind the loss of velocity. I’m distressed that the shut down inning % is so low.
You don’t see The Horse doing that. Without looking it up, I believe Matt had one of the best shut down inning % last year and for his entire career in general. You hear Kruk talk about it all the time…
It’s nonsense, Dennis.
Hairy, timmey, and the wonder of 162 games.
good to see Craw can catch?
Mota looks like he gained 25 lbs. Crawford’s a little chunky, too…
Bochy let’s the pitcher hit and then pulls him in the next half-inning…hmmmmm. Posey fucked up, no question, criticism deserved.
Huff looks weak on this AB so far; but he can still redeem himself.
All of Pagan’s HRs (7) last yr were from the LH side. Just missed that one…
I’ll tell ya what . . . Pagan is going to beat out a lot of those. Fucker is quick.
Gibson walks to the mound like he’s 83 years old.
is this where the team makes a statement?
Now batting G Blanco for A Huff
Don’t you use Pill here?
No, Huff gets his chance. For how long? We’ll see.
If that same situation arises in 3-4 weeks, maybe so. But Bochy is going to give Huff the benefit of doubt early on. And really, if you’re PHing for your 5 hitter in any situation. What does that say about your 5 hitter and lineup in general?
The D-Backs have found themselves a pretty nasty LOOGY.
That guy was tough, I don’t Huff had one decent swing.
and Huff sees a pitch,
OK
ST is over
Huff had a good AB against a tough lefty. And you don’t use a PH there, with 7/8/9 due up after Belt…
As far as pulling Tim after let him hit, it probably wasn’t the plan for him to cough up the lead..
agreed never a better batter when nothing is happing
shouldn’t have started Huff in the first place
As Dennis and others have said here, Huff will get a few weeks to show what he’s got. Bochy won’t sit through a repeat of last year from Huff.
I hope Bloomquist enjoyed his nap. Oops.
Get over it Edd.
LOL, twin, he was on my fantasy team last year. AND this year, maybe he reminds me of myself?
All though, being fair; Huff an be a leader.
and big head knows that
What’s this “big head” bullshit? Have a brew and chill out.
Pear Butt’s error and Burger Boy’s pitching haven’t helped..;-)
Who is Pear Butt and Burger Boy?
haha, more awful nicknames from Twin
I just like the way Mota quietly goes about his job. Underrated.
Maybe PH Pill here for Belt vs this screwy lefty.
Never mind. Snakes brought in their RH setup man, Hernandez.
Pill couldn’t have done any worse than a good morning, good afternoon and a good night.
Jesus.
like, the rest of us didn’t notice!
Hope the world is OK mate
what the fuck is wrong with DmD?
my GF thinks he is cute
this first-pitch swinging reminds me of early 2010; Nate on deck….make my prediction true!! ooops
And Crawford looks at one right down Van Ness Ave. Good Friday? I beg to differ.
defence, it is the way the game is played
LOL
Is the season over, boys?
Hell no! We’re still in striking distance of that second Wild Card…
OK…that was pretty funny.
hey, speed for power, seems fair to me
Pawlie, I love the scene near the end of your book- the woman in the rocking chair. What a great story. It reminded me of the end of Theodore Dreiser’s “Sister Carrie.” Carrie, in her rocking chair, facing uncertainty…..
HEY ZUM . . . don’t give it away. Still reading.
Good point. I was trying to be real vague, but I should hold off on that sort of thing.
De nada my friend 🙂
well, it’s not like we don’t know what the game results are, gents; there’s not THAT much plot to spoil, is there?
SPOILER ALERT: Sheesh, thanks so much, Zumie. Truth be told, in an earlier draft I ended it right there w/ the truffle dogs. A soft, quiet landing. Then I learned more about Gio and it took a different angle. His excitement had to be captured. I would’ve liked the cinematic quietness of that ending, but for a few editorial reasons I had to flesh it out and get some volume to that chapter to balance w/ other chapters. But, yeah, if time permitted I might have fooled around with it a bit. I didn’t go back and forth w/ an editor a lot, which would’ve happened w/ a big-time publisher. It also would not be out yet. Appreciate the comparison, though. Drop by at baseballstarrynight.com or at Amazon and reiterate your note above, if you don’t mind. (I don’t think we are Friend-connected on the dreaded FB, are we?)
Will do, Pawlie.
and a 59 mph pitch goes 54 feet
defence
woo hoo
Jesus H. Now Pablo joins in on the error fest. Sorry, you commit three errors in a game —
you don’t deserve to win. Not to mention when your “Ace” stinks on ice.
FB team, yep back where I belong, in the cellar
If the Giants lose, I blame 3 players: Belt, Pagan, and Huff.
I can see were blame can be divided amongst those three. But if Timmy doesn’t top that barbershop quartet, then we all need a goddamn haircut.
hair cut, smare cut
you just love a winner
I’m going with Rowand, Durham, and Lewis..
I say, give ’em a game
Bum and Cain
2 out of three?
let the season be
so ow I understand why ESPN replaying the Jim Joyse error
he is the home plate ump
gotta love good unions
You’re very haiku-ish, Ed. (grin)
JJ Putz into close it out. Ed, did you know about 15 yrs ago there was a horse named He’s a Putz that used to run at GGF. I always got a kick outta that pony.
my wife used to train trotters, there is no money there. And she used to look, during the walk. I just made a bit more than she did. Today is different
Was that English?
shark me
Pablo who?
Where the fuck is Bozo? His boy Blanco gets a PH single and he’s not even here celebrate.
Gotta give it up to the clown, he called Blanco way back when ST started.
Pablo! JJ, He’s a Putz!
Shit. Got excited there for nothing. We’re on pace to lose 162.
one dwn, 273 to go
Buster coulda been a little more selective ahead 2-0…
Yeah, not a great pitch to swing at 2-0.
ahh,
timmey through some fat stuff
hate that
Not a terrible game for first-o’-the-season “working out the kinks”. It’s not we’re the Orioles playing a community college team.
Yet.
A tad sloppy tho’ spirited. Some promise in the bats; bullpen a bit rusty but did the job. Defense needs work. And RISP may be better than last year but still has a ways to go. What can I say? I’m disappointed, but what are you gonna do. Most worrisome to me was the strikeout-or-homer aspect of the bad innings for Timmy. The strikeout-or-homer syndrome is never good, be you a hitter or a pitcher.
G’night, girls.
and I used to understand threw is different from through
now my fantasy leader Angels pitcher Weaver is on ESPN openting day, guess I will sleep tomorrow.
Not only are we on pace to lose 162, but we’re also on pace to commit 486 errors this season.
My good friends at BevMo are really gonna love me this year.
stop; I know how opening day distorts everything, but shake it off. I think we got to Ian Kennedy way more than we — or anybody — usually do
At least we won’t have to wait long to get back at ’em. Day game tomorrow.
Well, tomorrow MadBum begins his Cy Young quest..and I understand that there are some snot rocketeering records to be had as well..
Said to be the European record
epic.
Seconded.
In many ways, that freaky bunt-bounce in front of Buster that turned into an E was the turning point. It was very much like a play against the Phillies in a game we lost in the NLCS.
I hate to make generalizations after just one game, but that hasn’t stopped me in the past…
offense will be better, pitching will be worse than last year. That delicate balance between the two will determine the Giants fate. Still sticking with Bumgarner to be our best SP this year, and Pablo to be our offensive star. Not too worried about our pen, but the 4 and 5 spots in our rotation have me sleepless at night. We need to trade for another quality SP. The sooner the better.
Well friends, it’s been too long since we poured the last round….Been following the blog on a daily basis, but no time to chime in…Congrats to Pawlie on the book…Can’t wait to get my hands on a hardbody, er hardcopy…I thought of Twin last month, as I spent a week at UCSF with my father in 1173Long…Not the way I like to spend my time in the city, but it could have been worse….Happy Opening Day Y’all!
great to hear from ya!!!!
Oh God.
. . . which reminds me: an early Happy Easter, all.
Wilco I just popped a new thread up but I’m glad to see you here, bro. Love it that you came back today and thoughts and prayers for your father………
Had a queasy, intuitive feeling going into the game. Sure nuff. Also got the feeling that the next two will go our way. We’ll see. No great crime in losing by one run on Opening Day to a good team in their own ballpark. Liked the way the team kept coming back. Some LU adjustments will need to be made. The likely possibility of Freddy returning soon could change things around a lot. He bats second. Melky third, for now. Later, he bats in the 6-hole once Belt gets his show on the road. Though not yet into his power-stroke, Posey is OK at cleanup. He got some definite respect from Kennedy there in the first. Pablo goes to his natural spot: The Enforcer role in the five hole. Huff may or may not be okay batting seventh. Against some pitchers and in some venues the speed detail should man the OF, with Pagan in right, Blanco in center and Cabrera in LF.
Bochy is an exceptional manager of pitchers, but he is a bit sensitive for his veterans. When the Snakes’ nasty setup man came in to face Huff, a RH PH might have been the correct call. Maybe Blanco for a bunt would have been the way to go. IMHO Dylan Hernandez would be a better closer than JJ Putz, but that’s for Hoot Gibson to worry about.
A loss is a loss is a loss, to paraphrase Gertrude Stein. But compared with some of the losses last season, this one was far from humiliation. The hitters kept coming back and scoring runs, just not quite enough. Timmy was up and down, really losing it when Buster belched. Should have been pulled right then, but i suspect Bruce felt needful to show confidence in his #1. Timmy is taking a bit of a chance by not having gone for the security of a long contract. Now he’ll need to beat his own worst enemy. Sometimes a self-challenge can do wonders. Hope that works in his case.
nice to see you, Stix. You’re a little *out there* these days in the few posts I catch from you but you’re a *Flap Vet* every day I see your handle and I hope come back in full force…….
and by the way, nobody has a *queasy* feeling going into Opening Day. Don’t tread that water. To be honest with you, you’re teetering on *Denny* territory with that kind of negative pussy talk. And Denny seems to have turned a relative corner so I hope you follow him today and not follow him into the last few months……..
The queasy, intuitive feeling was specifically about today’s game. Still feel that with the proper arrangements and a bit of good fortune this team could win a hundred games.
As I was inattentive during the off-season, I hope not to repost old chit, but Clint Eastwood has a baseball movie coming out this yr: “Trouble With the Curve”. Lookin’ forward to it!
Good to see Stix and Wilco post . . . Sending good thoughts your way Wilco regarding your father.
Flav, this guy (a very nice person and I thought someone who was knowledgeable) just traded me Gallardo for Wandy Rodriguez. Gallardo got rocked today, but also got shafted by the umps, i.e., the guy I traded with panicked. Rodriguez had a fairly good day, but he is no Gallardo. I have a feeling this trade will be contested by the league I am in. They have done it once already.