And Now For Something Completely Different
Cue the Monty Python music. Or Benny Hill. I know this is fairly blasphemous to be writing about the Olympics during a Giants/Dodgers series, but then again, tough shit. It was this or writing about my mom throwing away my 3 boxes of baseball cards (~1966 to 1974) and what kind of sports memorabilia you guys have.
To Edddddacker’s unbridled delight, the XXX Olympics have started. And mind you, these really ARE the XXX Olympics, as all the athletes were given 15 condoms to use at their discretion, and local surveys say that about 75-80% of the athletes hook up with someone(s) over the course of the games. Multiple times. They are really putting the “Ohhh” in Olympics.
Anyhow, are you guys thrilled about the games? Yeah, they only come every four years (I guess that’s why they make up for lost time . . . [OK, enough of that]) so it seems to be a big deal. The pageantry, the hoopla, the athletes themselves, stronger, higher, faster. Medals, prestige, world renown overnight. That being said, I think the games are nothing like they were back in the day. During the turbulent 60s there was the civil rights protest of San Jose State’s own Tommie Smith and John Carlos. Their stand cost them their medals for a long time. You had the underlying tension of the Cold War hovering over the competition between the Soviet bloc countries and western countries (the athletes themselves didn’t share these feelings. They were hooking up back then as well, I suppose). You had the massive Soviet weightlifters like Vasily Alexiyev lifting crazy amounts of weight. The enigmatic Cubans like boxer Teofilo Stevenson. The East German women’s swimming and track teams who could barely disguise their proto-testicles and growing Adam’s apples. And the cocky Americans like high jumper Dwight Stones and Steve Prefontaine. Throw in some kooky Brits, crazy Canucks, and the pixieish Chinese and Chezck gymnasts, and you had a miasma of excitement. Characters abounded. Just the fact that a lot of these athletes were behind the Iron Curtain added to the mystery of the athletes competing. You had the tragedy of the Munich olympics with 9 Israeli wrestlers being murdered by Palestinian terrorists. It seemed to be a much bigger deal, with much bigger implications back then. 1976 was the last of the Cold War games as the US and the USSR swapped boycots in 80 and 84. In an age of relative isolation (read: no internet) between countries, the eyes of the world were truly on the games.
There was little corporate intrusion, and bare-bones coverage. Sure, there were the puff pieces, and athlete profiles (Which were usually brought to you by none other than the incomparable Jim McKay), but the focus was on the events. If it was time for the 100 meter dash, you got a minute of preliminary info. Nowadays, they start the hype of every race with 1 hour of in-depth analysis, talking head banter, and corporate shoe tie-ins to make you want to puke. The inclusion of professional athletes watered down what was always an exciting bunch of basketball games. The hastily assembled USA basketball team going against Soviet teams than had been together for years was always intriguing to watch. Typically, the US Olympic athletes were one and done. Maybe 2 games max. Soviet/East German teams had athletes competing in 3 or even 4 games. They were professionals out there. Supported by their governments and given all the advantages. There was a certain charm that the US athletes were not funded by the government (for the most part), but were subsisting on public money. Now, it’s all about the corporations, the sponsors, Visa, Coca Cola, MasterCard, on and on. Yay, the US basketball team will crush every opponent in sight. the Chinese gymnasts will lie about their age. Sure, there are compelling stories, like Usain Bolt may not even be the best sprinter on his team let alone the world. Another collection of plucky US gymnasts led by the old Soviet coach Carolyi will gather some medals. Track is usually exciting, but where is a guy like Michael Johnson or even (gulp) Carl Lewis? Boxing? I got nothing. Decathlon? Bring back the days when Bruce Jenner looked like an Olympic athlete, not Joan Rivers.
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Small ball includes trying to get a runner in or to third with nobody out- Pagan failed, not Bochy.
Nibble city
be nice to nibble some bases
Losing to Babbs really sucks. But going down like meek little churchmice really pisses me off.
Wow.. Zito pitching stupid there. Melky fucks up as well.Fuck.
One hit off fucking Babbs. He’s a fucking stiff. They should have waylaid Barney.
Ahhh, fuck it. They get swept, you gotta wonder what Sabes does.It may not change his strategy, ut then again, it might.
Time for a rally….
No secret to what the Giants need.
As Sing said, sorta, We need hitters!…
Pagan, with no one on, takes 5 straight pitches. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
Well, that was nice.
Aaaaand, more futility.
Someone please shoot Karros. He’s a moron.
The pitcher ain;t on deck Crawfish. Swing the bat.
BLEEP THIS!
Fuck…Just give them the rest of the farm for Hart…There is no one down there anyway.
I spent the morning looking at their Top 20 prospects…What a joke. Yes Brown and Joeseph are finally hitting at AA, but Brown has minimal power and Joseph is still at least a couple years away from proving anything…Outside of Panda and Posey is there a club that has produced so little homegrown offensive talent since the days of Thompson, Clark and Williams?
Are you an Astro’s fan, Joe?
I’ve said this before, but 2014 and several years after looks brutal for this organization. There is not much in the minors now that looks like it can contribute significantly then, either pitching or position. Lincecum will be gone. Zito gone. So, they’ll have to buy starters. No decent hitters want to come here, so if they can’t sign Melky, that’s uncool. With LA on the rise and money to burn, that could be a nasty period for the Giants. Sabean is going to leave the organization with the cupboard pretty bare…
Only a fan of their female fan base. 🙂
That’s a stupid fucking question. Cease and desist….
I didn’t remember, there was no insult or set up intended. I had intended to ask about prospects..
Twin, what was your question about prospects?
fight coming?
Again with man on second, no outs, and Phttttt. Brutal.
Belt has to swing, you don’t take called strike three there.
Can somebody, anybody hit a damn home run?…
Well, maybe they *should* move Buster to first base.
He can’t play scared all the time. He’ll have to block the plate at some point or it will really cost us.
Maybe more to the point, Bochy should allow him to block the plate. Buster’s just taking orders.
Huff is back!
Sorry, Nip. But even I can’t drink to that.
Me too! But we can drink to Chuck getting mighty pissed about now. The Neighbors must be ready for their roofs to blow off. Windows break etc.
Bleep you, you bleeping bleep.
Good meditation, UC, but I confess to having close to zero interest in the Olympics. I’m not sure why. In the Cold War days that you so aptly describe, my brother and I would re-enact the Olympics, both summer and winter, including the theme song. We had fun. Somewhere along the way, I lost interest in it. And that’s that. for now. BLEEP.
Yeah, that was kinda my point.
Adios, Flappers.
This one’s done…
Economics? Fuck that. This crying poverty is two loads of horseshit.
6-0 Dodgers. Kemp is hot today.
7-0 Dodgers! Ouch!
And the fun continues.
It IS time for the Olympics.
OK. I think it’s high-time to start beaning everyone. I’d hit ’em till everyone got tossed.
6-0 with an open bag at first and he threw him a at the belt hit me gimmie. That was the time to deck his ass.
Dodgers are playing with a lot more Agression and passion than we are. Disappointing..
Oh goodie. Women’s volleyball.
There’s no fight coming from me, Nipper. The question for Joe was shortstops in the Astro’s system and whether they’d move Lowrie (yes, I know he’s hurt at the moment). Do they have guys who would make trading him a possibility?
Utter bullshit– that was another set up post that you changed to some innocent “prospect” question. Easy to read. Don’t fuck with Joe, he’s as legit of a Giants fan as is on this blog.
I’ve been friends with Joe here forever. Joe is the only one here with any first hand knowlwdge of the Astro’s that I know of.But I will not be discussing this with you.
Last I heard from the local scribes in Houston, Lowrie may be out longer than expected…I doubt anyone takes a chance on him now.
Flav, it’s all good…Even if Twin was insinuating that Houston’s farm is just as barren as ours, he’s right…Regardless I took no offense to his comment.
I had not seen that he’d be out longer than the 15- since they picked him up for a relief pitcher, it would definitely worth a shot if there was nothing more to the injury.
Yeah, I think they mentioned possible nerve damage…No question he would have been dealt, had he not gotten hurt…Even Milo Hamilton was on the trading block.
I follow our farm system closely, Houston’s not so much. Thanks for the cordial answers, Joe.
I hope there’s a 3 way tie for the 2nd wild card spot. Let’s see Selig figure that one out. Are there tiebreakers like in football?
A 3 game playoff for a one-off game.
Is that right?
No . . .
But it smacks of a Seligian solution.
I guess y’all heard Rosenthal say Cody to SF is a possibility. Would cost about a million for 2 months…
Karros said Huff is likely their best power guy option down the stretch.
I just puked myself.
Didn’t hear the Cody thing. Fuck it. Do it.
Oh joy. Tease me now.
Tease me more…
3 men left on….
Are you watching the game or having phone sex?
oh oooh ohhhhhhhhhhhh! Olympics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What I heard was that one of our people mentioned Ross- Rosenthal essentially said “good luck”..
Yay. They get a hit with RISP, but of course it doesn’t score a fucking run.
At least Penny is getting some work.
What a puke game.
Nice of Penny to pitch BP for the Dodgers . . .
Ooooooooooooooh. Nice Foster’s ad . . . BBOTD.
10 to tie, 11 to go home.
Stewie with a home run . . . Sign him now.
We all know the Giants aren’t going to hit much here- and a couple games not withstanding, neither is anybody else. That’s why they’re 12 games over at home. This is just a good one to forget about- what’s for dinner?
Pretty funny if the 2nd Wild Card spot came down to 3 teams tied, or even 2 teams tied. That was probably the last thing Selig was thinking about when he and the owners added the 2nd Wild Card, that it creates more opportunities for ties.
I was driving during a chunk of the game, and the only interesting thing about the game was hearing Miller, a master, go from creating drama in the in-game situations and tactics, to transitioning to “blow out” mode, and engaging Krukow in storytelling back and forth. A great example of what Hank Greenwald used to say: “A broadcaster can’t control the game, but no matter what, the broadcaster can still give a worthwhile broadcast.” Blow outs are easier to work with on the radio than TV. On radio, during blow outs, the game literally becomes a distant after-thought, and good storytellers can take over.
That’s why I’ve always felt that a baseball play-by-play announcer needs some gray at the temple and gravel in the voice. If he *saw* Say Hey in NY, that’s a plus. If his “old-timer” stories are about Frandsen, not so much….
I love talking announcers-we’ve had so many great ones here..
On my way home from daughter’s soccer tourney, which spared me the horror of watching today’s game. I just wanted to tell Chuck what an excellent essay he wrote.
I didn’t compliment him on it either- your thread was a real surprise to me, Chuck, and in the best way.
You still haven’t . . .
I thought it was a compliment. Saying it surprised me in a good way isn’t good enough, I guess. Sorry.The surprise was the subject, but whatever.
Thanks guys . . . didn’t really realize how long it was going to turn out til I posted it.
Try as I might, just can’t seem to tamp down the encomiums for threads [sounds like a nasty intestinal disease].
Tamping down encomiums is illegal in the south.
That one was ugly. I don’t care about losing or even tossing out a stinker like that. What upset me is that the Dodgers have been having a *binocular party* for two straight days now. In our house. They are making all the plays and celebrating in our faces. Meanwhile. we are a LU full of limpness.
As I said when he got hurt, I thought Pablo would ultimately hit the DL. The fact that he fucked himself up in a position he should have never had to go play in the first place is that much more infuriating. It is UNACCEPTABLE that the rest of the normal LU turns to smoking massive pole just because one guy goes down.
Listen up: Sabean isn’t going out and getting anyone beyond a *Scutaro*. His hands are tied. Ownership has set their line in the sand and they used the blood of Neukom to draw it. The payroll will stay around 130 mil, end of discussion……
So someone has to step up and lead this team. I don’t care who it is—Belt, Pagan, Posey, Huff, somebody. Because while I don’t give a shit about losing a game or 3 to the Dodgers at this time of year I do care about how we look while we’re doing it.
We’ve played like a group of uninspired pussies so far this series. Maybe Voggy steps up and shows them how to act……….
“uninspired pussies”
Ike Davis due up this inning looking for his 4th homer of the game vs. AZ…
He’s about to out-homer the Giants this month.
He’s going for 15?
We have 14 in July. He has 9 counting tonight. Yes, I know we still have a sorry total.
I think they’re still looking for a bullpen arm and another bat. Unless it’s a starter like Hart, those aren’t big ticket pieces- and they can help. We’ll see.I’ve always felt they’d win as is, Panda’s injury and uncertainty in the pen make that iffier.
As for the Olympics and Chuck’s opening thread, I understand how it doesn’t seem as magical as it did in our youth, not with all the commercialization, etc. But I second Zum’s comment that “One of the goals of the Olympics is to promote world peace”…. that is still true and should always be true. As long and drawn out as the opening ceremonies tend to be, every time, I will sit and watch all of the countries march in, because that still truly amazes me, to see all those people, from all those countries, all, you know, kind of smiling, together. I will always love that. Actually, it’s kind of a microcosm of some of my evenings at the bars over here, so many nationalities, smiling, together…. 🙂
And let me add this: whatever broadcast you all are watching, you are LUCKY to not be stuck with ESPN’s international edition out of Hong Kong or Singapore. Horrible production, cutting to commercials in the middle of a race, no insights from the commentators. I’m thinking of paying up just to add the BBC to my cable for the next couple of weeks.
As for the Giants… well, I predicted the Dogs would take 2 out of 3, it just had that feeling coming in. Now the boys need to step up to avoid the sweep. With Voggie on the mound and his wife in the cheering section, just get it done. And yeah…. Sabes is saying there won’t be an impact addition; he needs to rethink that unless he’s just smoke-screening. Here’s the thing: injuries won’t just magically stop happening the rest of the way. This team is just not deep enough to overcome even just one key injury. Something like that Hart deal people keep mentioning here might indeed need to happen.
thanks, I wish you would post here more often.
I wouldn’t rule out a deal for a guy like Hart, but I’m thinking more of what it will mean next when Melky and Pagan could both be gone. I disagree that we *need* it this year, though.
Chuck, saying your thread surprised me was meant as a compliment. I was surprised at the topic, not that you wrote well. I’m sorry if you took it wrong…
Ike is still not out homering us this month, though. 😉
maybe you should check to see if he’s an Astros fan….
3 posts into it and you’re just now realizing he was joking? Sad.
I was kidding, Mike. Don’t sweat it.
I really was going to write about baseball cards and memorabilia, but seeing as this happened to be opening day of the Olympics . . .
I don’t know what’s sad about trying to be sure I hadn’t inadvertantly insulted Chuck. What’s sad is Flavor thinking it’s sad.
What’s sad is losing 2 of 2 to the fucking Dogs.. .. ,,
Well, that too. I’m not real worried ,though.
If they don’t make an impact move (and I think they should as long as it doesn’t mortgage the future for a rental), then maybe they need to try to get back to some things that were working before, like, when Blanco was playing the Andres Torres role as sparkplug and took over right field. I know Blanco’s numbers have gone down, but I just can’t see Nate “making things happen” as much as Gregor was. He’s had some time off…. have to hope he could crank it up again at the top of the order. And do Sabean and Bochy really believe Huff will rise to the occasion? Really? I’d do more than eat my hat if that happens but would gladly bow down to them as knowing what they’re doing. Anyway, the team will still be in first place no matter what the outcome of Sunday’s game. A solid addition within the following two days would be a good shot in the arm, in the least.
I’m not saying they don’t need to make some changes, Paul. And Scutaro may not seem like “impact” but he’s a pretty significant upgrade on Manny. I definitely agree that Blanco should be back in the everyday LU, and I would not have activated Huff- that’s 11 million bucks talking. But anyway, it’s always good to see you.
Completely agree that Scutaro was a good pick-up and definite upgrade (Splash commenters were moaning about him not being “the answer”… of course he’s not THE answer…. but definitely an upgrade as one necessary piece). Yes, Blanco should be put back in fulltime. And no question about Huff. The guy should’ve retired a few months ago.
The only significant name I’m seeing on Giants’ rumors is Victorino and that wouldn’t make me excited either way, depending on the price.
We could probably get Ramon Ramirez back from the Mets real cheap. He’s been awful. Wonder what him and Hairston would cost. Isn’t it time we had our very own Hairston?
at this point, any move Sabean makes is going to be based on luck. It will be low risk, low reward, unless luck kicks in and he finds himself a “Cody Ross” or something like that…….
And I’m perfectly ok with a little good luck falling our way. Had bad luck last year with Beltran’s injury… had good luck two years ago with Ross. I do trust him to do the right thing. Just not sure I buy his public stance that an impact bat won’t be added, because I don’t really think he believes it’s not needed. The next few days will tell.
Throw in Ross and Burrell and we’ll recreate 2010
Huff should pull a Marquis Grissom and walk away.
If the women on the LPGA looked anything like a few of these girls on the Golf Channels Big Break Atlantis, I might actually watch ladies golf.
Hint, hint turn on the Golf Channel.
And check out Cristina.
Is she the loud clapper?
Agree about Victorino, not an impact. Polanco would be better, if they’re focusing on Philly.
I wanted Polanco- but he’s been DLed. “Frannie” is up for him.
Oh. Oops. Didn’t see that…….
Lopez and Ramirez were pretty much either dismissed or at best nice little pick ups in 2010, Lopez in particular was huge down the stretch and in the postseason (as everyone here knows) . You never know, a Scutaro could be a big contributer. Fontenot was a nifty pick up in 2010- not earth shaking, but real help.
GNight
no shit. That’s my point. He hit on those guys. But none of them ever looked good or exciting when the deals went down. It was luck that they turned right for us. That’s what we’ll hope for if he picks up someone new…..
You don’t know that it was luck. I liked the Lopez pick up due to his L/R splits, argued with LiveFree about it. Ramirez was more of a surprise to me. But it isn’t luck just because it’s a small transaction or because most people didn’t pay attention.
Fangraphs had interesting column on Victorino couple days ago. He is having problems vs. RHP, batting only .234 this year as opposed to .312 vs. LHP. Most of his offensive numbers are down across the board vs. his last 3-4 years. He had pretty good numbers last year, hitting .292 for the season; as of now I think he’s at .251. WAR value has been as high as 5.9 and never lower than 3.7 last 4 years, currently at 2.2 on F-G.
That said, couple bloggers commenting on the site seemed to think philly was not smart to let him go, and that he should be worth more than reds reliever Ondrusek, which was proposed deal they turned down.
I definitely think he could help SF, for a couple reasons. He has been a lead off, something really only Blanco has done well at for SF this year. He still runs well and would give us good defensive play in either CF or RF. Besides Melk, our OF has been disappointing for the last 6 weeks or so. This also improves our depth quite a bit, and I think he represents a potential replacement “sparkplug” for what Blanco had been giving us earlier. Not to mention it hopefully puts an end to the Nate batting first experiment
It blows my mind that Francisco Liriano is only 28….
Btw, Chuck, today’s title and your first line bring back fond memories (and mammaries of Carol Cleveland) of M-P show. I thought it was regularly fucking hilarious, and could probably still watch reruns and laugh.
Don’t know if you noticed, but Yoshis of Oakland had a band playing Thursday night calling themselves “Grandmothers of Invention.” Included were Napoleon Murphy Brock, don Preston and one of the Fowlers, tom (bassist?) I think. Wouldn’t be the same without Peerless Leader, but I bet it would have been an enjoyable show, featuring music from early days through roxy & elsewhere.
I know Dweezil has a band that tours and plays his dad’s music and i’ve seen some of that group on youtube, but I don’t know anyone from the days when I used to follow FZ regularly and see him play, and I’m out of touch with anyone who might go watch Dweezil too.
A friend of mine saw the Dweezil show and said it was good, but, you know. . . Saw Frank in Berkeley (in 87?)
well that was less than optimal. we had our department picnic today so i’ve only lurked. tried to listen to the game on the radio but people kept wanting to “talk” to me! what’s that about? i’m listening to the giants here! Glad to see that Flavor buried the hatchet with the melk maids. they seem very nice.
off to either sam’s or the buena tomorrow. either way, drinking will be involved.
‘night lads.
Last Olympic thought for the day. You hear these announcers talk about the ‘disappointment’ of the US women’s 4×100 relay team’s bronze finish (just happened to catch this event). They cut to Andrea Kramer interviewing them. She is fishing for them to say they didn’t do well enough, to get them to feel disappointed for not getting gold. They were having none of it. Good for them.
Yeah, good for them. 1.) to be in the games 2.) to have fun with your team and do your best 3.) any medal = HUGH honour. Finishing 4th? Probably better than most. 4.) Winning, and with it a memory to carry for life. Don’t think you will see any Lo Vieto
😆