Baseball and books, two of the great things in life!
I’m going to the Giants game today, and I’m very excited about it! Well, I’m ALWAYS excited about going to a Giants game, but today even more so. Last night’s win was especially sweet. The Panda is back, the lineup looks the best it’s looked all season, and MadBum pitched the way we expect our main pitchers to pitch: lights-out domination. The Giants are in what may be shaping up to be an epic division battle with the Dodgers, and face it- this is awesome. Sure I’d like the Giants to have a 10-game lead in the division right now; but since that hasn’t happened by this time, they are now in a classic division title fight, and we as their fans are right there with them. We get to go on the ride with them; that’s one of the great thrills of baseball.
And it’s nice relief and distraction from some of the other things going on, like the grim state of politics. Super-PACs pouring millions and millions of dollars into attack ads to win over “undecided” voters….those people who don’t pay attention. In a CBS poll from last week, 38% of those polled said they had NEVER HEARD OF Paul Ryan before. What a joke. It would be hard to call that “healthy democracy.” However someone feels about Ryan (and let’s just say I’m not a fan), people should have at least HEARD of him before. Maybe that’s part of the reason for the baseball book kick that I’m on; books combining history and baseball give that extra dose of comfort and relaxation. (I’m often on a baseball book kick, but sometimes more often than other times.) I just finished the Lefty Gomez biography and found it very engaging and compelling. I’ve started reading Doris Kearns Goodwin’s baseball-oriented memoir of her youth in the 1950s, and then the book waiting for me after that is about Connie Mack. There’s just a lot of really terrific baseball books out there, as demonstrated by our own Pawlie K., and new ones coming along at a steady rate it seems. Baseball is no longer the #1 most popular sport in the nation, and hasn’t been for several decades; but the game is as great as ever, and books about it are as great as ever. I’m sure at some point I’ll be onto a different reading kick, and certainly I have many unread books on my shelves I want to get to; but for now, the baseball books are hitting the spot nicely. And also hitting the spot nicely will be time at the ballpark today. Lincecum vs. Strasburg. Two firstplace teams battling it out. An opportunity for a playoff-type atmosphere to the event. Every game is huge the rest of the way, and every game is an chance for something memorable to happen. Every season itself is like a book, and this season has exciting and unpredictable chapters to go.
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Actually, blade, I am noticing TL has 96 pitches and hopefully he is up this inning. so who do I bat for him?
bum or cain
Hmm, a conundrum Ed, my man.
I tend to agree with Snarkk. With Mota and now Cabrera this year in an organization with the ever looming shadow of #25. Sure it is not just Giants’ players getting popped but it suggests a systemic issues within the organization.
I guess we’re just using the wrong Fedex guys.
there has always been that question of the team doctors and the job that they do
I am just saying
So, Xavier Nady, come on down.
No more Milkmaids……sniff…sniff….
I was wondering if Melky could still win the batting title. I believe you need 502 PAs to qualify.
He’s got 501!
That’s fucking funny, Loo…perfect for the situation…
Awright King Felix! Maybe that’ll knock Melky off the front page.
I wasn’t (and am still not going to say it) – King Felix has a . . . uhh . . . going.
So how many innings does Strasburg have left now?
WTF – Let’s get another 8th inning rally going here!
Wonder how the information was communicated (if it was) at the ballpark. Zumie must have been shocked.
J.A. Adande, guest host of Pardon the Interruption, said the Giants playoff chances are gone with Melky’s suspension. Adande, born in Los Angeles, WAS IMMEDIATELY CROSSED OFF MY FUCKING CHRISTMAS LIST. Whoops! Umm . . . He was never on it. 🙂
Hey Loo, there is something in the MLB rules where Cabrera can still win the batting title . . . It has something to do with the 2nd place hitter (McCutchen) falling below a .340 batting average, i.e., Melky would be awarded an extra at bat should this occur. Fucking goofy rule if you ask me . . .
Wouldn’t that beat all? Ahhh, this just pisses me off to no end. Like I said earlier, this shit is supposed to be a diversion from the bullshit of the real world. Instead we have a game that is still dirty as fuck, and Selig is going to act like this is some kind of victory instead of an indictment of a game that is still tainted as all hell. Fuck you , Bud.
Fucking Braun escapes his suspension before the season starts. Now we have the RBI and run leader busted. Plus Mota. Yeah, Bud, the game is now clean.
It’s fucking laughable. I ain’t handing it to the Dodgers, but really, the hit leader and stud of the team is gone. With Xavier Nady taking his spot. Yeah, we’re good.
The front office MUST have known this was coming. That’s the pisser. Behind the scenes, the wheels were turning 4 weeks ago.
Fuck Selig and the shitstorm he created. Crow about this as another victory in your lame-ass attempt call the game clean.
Fuck Melky and like Loo said, his fucking band of faggot milkmen!Take their tainted milk and never show up at the park again.
And No the last guy I want brought up is Xavier Nady and his buck 25 Avg.I would rather bring up Puergo or Brown or both.Might as well go with the future then a washed has been in Nady!
And get this pitching staff back to 12 ferchrissakes.Shit this bench was way to thin today cause of the extra pitching.Fucking Bochy and Sabean need to strengthen this team the rest of the way to stay in this race,and that’s not with 13 pitchers!
Kat, the extra arm is there because several of ’em aren’t very good, so I guess the argument is strength in quantity. I agree they should go with 12 and get another bench player, but if they had a super bench guy from below, he’d be up here. So, the bottom line is add Pence and Scutaro, now subtract Melky. The net result of that equals more Blanco, apparently. That’s not a good equation, unless he somehow finds his May and June form again. Somehow Pagan seems to find a way to F up in the field with Lincecum pitching. With Tim looking like he’s falling backwards again, things are looking woozy for the squad. They gotta get off the mat during this roadie, and can’t let LA cuff ’em around or things could he hairy in a hurry…
This sure didn’t take long:
http://shop.cafepress.com/free-melky?cmp=fb_freemelky&pid=6673149&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=fb_freemelky
How about: “Got Melk? Got caught!”
Well he got caught using “Melk Muscle Milk” instead of just regular 2% milk.
This day is another bad one for baseball. No question about it.
Two ways to look at it.
The drug testing is working (Budster). Or, the stoooopid ones (Melky, Mota and Braun) are being caught.
I don’t know about anybody else, but I’m getting sick of Giants testing positive for PEDs. Either don’t do them and suck or do well naturally, or if you do them, don’t be stooopid enough to get caught. As for Giants management and training staff in all this, I’d like to think they’re absolutely clueless until these things suddenly materialize. But, it’s happened so often with so many different Giants over so many years with this team, I can’t manage to do that realistically…
I cannot possibly see the Giants signing Melky, even for one year. How can you cheer for a cheater? And one has to suspect that his skill has been enhanced last year as well. So what would you be getting out of him and imagine the scrutiny he will under next year? Do we want to deal with that?
I don’t want Soriano either….
Look at it this way, Pence’s contract price is no longer much of an issue, because Melky’s price just hit the discount bin. Sign Melky to a cheap one year deal with tons of incentives, and get a new, heavy bat in here that might cost something, because now Melky’s not going to cost much. Meanwhile, Brown’s train arrival time may have just been accelerated…
Adding insult to injury, the Dogs are leading the Pierats 5-2 and will probably get the sweep in PIT, taking a one game lead in the West. Fuck, I need a beer. When does football start?
Don’t start talking Raydurrrrs, Sham.
My head is really spinning after reading Cabrera’s Wikipedia bio, especially this part:
“Cabrera keeps an open Bible in his locker and reads a passage in it before he takes the field. Cabrera said, “I don’t consider myself a Christian but I do know you have to believe in God. You have to believe you’re here for a reason. That’s why I’m always reading the Bible.”
Maybe Melky stashes his PEDs inside the Bible, like Andy Dufresne’s and his rock hammer…
I wonder if Baggs is taking back his apology for forwarding that rumor on Twitter a few weeks ago. He’s vindicated today, for sure. The posters above are probably right, the Giants caught wind of this earlier, before the deadline, and made the deal to get Pence ‘cuz they knew Melky was goin’ down. That is not at all beyond the realm of reasonable conjecture. Teams have moles in the league office…
Snarkk, my take is that Baggs will not take back his apology for one important reason – continued access to the Giants. Everyone knows he is “vindicated,” so that will suffice in his mind. However, to throw this in the Giants face may not be career suicide, but it sure as hell would make things tough for him going forward.
Snarkk,I too have a certain amout of displeasure in management .Baggs was reporting that MLB did not officially inform the Giants until today.Even though Baggs was bringing up some Melky ? 3 weeks ago.They probably knew.The “Officially the Giants didnt know is bogus to me.Our beat writers knew he tested postive,or atleast suspected it.Andif there is an appeals process.I don’t see how the team wasn’t aware.
I’m out guys.
Bummer of a day, for sure…
Shiit, Comcast just trotted out King Sleazeball Victor Conte. He’s the expert though. He said you have to be dumber than a box of rocks to get busted for this. He said in his estimate that baseball is still about 50% dirtry.
I have no reason to disbelieve him.
Yeah,. Baggs just said that he didn’t get any heated denials when he brought it up. Just a lot of no-comments. They knew 3 weeks ago.
Like I said, Selig will crow about this as being a victory for the testing policy when it’s an idictment of how many people are still dirty.
Back for a second. I just heard more about this process and this may have been known to Melky and agent right after the AS break, possibly before. Then it went into appeal. The BS part of this is that he waited to give up and accept the suspension after the point of fewer than 50 games left in the reg season. He could have admitted it 10 days ago and given the Giants the option of getting him on the playoff roster, if there is one, since the suspension could have started with over 50 games to go. But no. Now, the team has virtually no real option to get him into the playoffs, if they are fortunate enough to survive this and get to the post season. Total bull, and selfish…
If the amount of players using is only 5% of Conte’s estimate of 50%, then Selig is again the emperor with no clothes. In short, testing is a complete sham.
Just go for broke now.
Unless Blanco lights a fire the next few games, put Belt in LF, Posey at 1b, and Hector at catcher to max out the hitting potential for the lineup…
I feel like Don McLean
Bye bye Miss American Pie. The day the Giants died.
Yeah, it may not be that dire, but what a major let-down. This just pisses away all the good feelings that were building up arpouond this team.
ONE FUCKING DAY with their stretch drive lineup. Adios.
Yeah, it sucks hard. Seems like a new trend with Bay Area sports in general–teams do really well, build you up, and then the stupid shit hits the fan and they crash and burn. Sharks choking, Giants and Raiders losing key players to injuries, NFC Championship game, A’s just giving up their best players, Warrios being the A’s of basketball, and now this stupid nonsense with Melky. Can’t forget college ball, either. It’s just a shitty thing to see again and again, regardless of which teams you’re a fan of. Bay Area sports teams just have a way of choking in the end.
Five Niner SBowl rings was very real. I remember it well. When they got to the Big Dance, they always left with the prettiest girl. Every frickin’ time. I still look back on that run for the amazing time it was. 16 years or some such of 10 wins or more. Maybe this year this Niner team can make some magic again…
Drum Roll….From Chuck Connors “Branded” TV Show
All but one man died there at Bitter Creek
And the say he ran away
Melky, marked with a coward’s shame.
What do you do when your branded.
Will you fight for your name.
Scorned as the one who ran
Where ever you go,for the rest of your life
You must prove your a man.
Been out all day–a long, shitty day, both personally and for the Giants. Read all the comments, all great. There does seem to be a divide between ruining us/not necessarily ruining us. After thinking on and off about it all day, here are my Melky Thoughts:
1) Fuck Melky–not for taking the steroids but for being stupid enough to get caught. There’s only two ways you get caught: 1) you’re too broke to pay for the expensive masking drugs or 2) you’re too fucking stupid to buy the masking drugs or manage the cycle. He’s got money, at least he’s made nearly 12 million over the course of his career, I would think he wouldn’t have a problem coming up with the dough to purchase the expensive masking drugs. So I’m going with, he’s fucking stupid.
2) How major is this for the team going forward? I still don’t think it’s *devastating* since I think it would be WORSE to lose Cain/Bum/orVoggy (you’ll notice I left 2 guys off that list). It hurts to lose him but he’s 12.5% of the position players. And we have recently added 3 guys who could make up for the loss of Melky: Pence, Belt (who has just recently started hitting like a monster) and Pablo (coming off the DL). And Posey has turned into a modern day Thurman Munson. Maybe better. And Scutaro has basically replaced Theriot. Crawford is still hitting well enough…..My point is that Melky hasn’t been carrying the ball club; for a while now. That’s been Buster and the ENTIRE supporting cast. So I think it would be worse if Buster went down…..
3) Under NO FUCKING CIRCUMSTANCE should the Giants re-sign Melky. Look, the dude has been with 4 different teams in the last 4 years. You almost NEVER have a major league team miss 3 times on a guy before he magically turns into a .350 hitter who’s churning out multiple 200+ hit seasons. And if I’m suspicious of a guy taking steroids I’m going to look at where he took off statistically. So I’ll assume he started taking them last year in KC. Maybe he started taking them this year, who knows. I DO know that I’m not interested in seeing a “Roid-Free” Melkman. That was seen already and it had journeyman written all over him……..
4) that’s it for now. Probably more later. Disappointing but hardly something we cannot overcome.
I almost started drinking at work today when the news broke…Unfortunately my office is more Matlock than MadMen…I agree with Snarkk, might as well go for broke…Pavlovic argued against callling up Brown or Peguero, due to the “tight pennant race” bullshit…Not sure if it bears discussing, but Lincecum is done, finished, toast…”Looks like I am drinking again tonight, another night of slamming life down.”
“I almost started drinking at work today when the news broke…Unfortunately my office is more Matlock than MadMen”
WilcoJoe, fuck POTD, we should have line of the day (LOTD) . . . Good one! 🙂
I wonder how Melky felt the moment he read Baggs’ *public apology* to him last month. What a fucking puss-wad he is. And he KNEW he was guilty and about to engage in a fruitless, pie in the sky appeal. Then today he comes out with his “I’m so sorry” tweet. He had no problem letting Baggs look like a dumb ass, twisting in the wind with a mea culpa he didn’t need to make. What a fucking pussy…….
For a guy who supposedly has the bible in his locker every day, I’d say he’s not processing too much of what he’s reading…….
Sour Melk indeed. He apparently left the clubhouse without saying anything to a lot of his teammates. Probably to avoid the media. How can you play everyday for 6 months from ST onward with a bunch of guys, then totally F them up with this, and leave without saying anything to them? Unless it’s some kind of suspension rule that he had to get outta there ASAP, I think that’s pretty lame behavior. Somewhere, Chipper Jones is nodding his head and smiling…
So many great posts on this crappy day…..the amended press release, Matlock, lamenting one game only with our primo line-up, the day the season died……and many others.
I agree with all of it, though I hold off on calling the guy a fuckhead or dumbass for going down this road. Melky has been a journeyman 4th outfielder his whole career, living in the shadow of someone else’s dream*. I’m not gonna judge him for doing what he did to become an elite player.
As I’ve said many times before, this blog is always best for me during the down times when it is comforting to hear so many other people take this shit as hard as I do. Especially when I’m getting peppered with texts from Dogger fans throughout the day.
*Yeah that’s right, I made an Ashlee Simpson reference. What can I say—-its been a rough day and I went to a bad place.
…and just to keep things balanced:
Melky did this to me:
I don’t blog at the csnbayareawhatever website but i just created an account and posted this to Baggs’ last post. I think he reads it. I am getting more and more pissed off about Melky’s silence after Baggs issued his “public apology” to him on July 28th. When I read that I was like, “Baggs fucked up. What a dumb ass, trying to scoop this story and then outing a guy who never should have been outed.” No prob for Melk, he had his bible and a longshot appeal to fall back on. Hey, while he was busy with his agent-driven apology today on twitter, do you think he shot Baggs a personal one? Ha, of course not……
Anyway, this was the quick one I shot Baggs blog:
“MountShady said
A Public Acknowledgement of Andrew Baggarly:
I can’t imagine how you felt posting your July 28th apology to this clown. I can’t imagine EVEN MORE how he felt reading it. He sits silently by while you make your way through the internet with your tail between your legs and does nothing except instruct his agent to engage in a fruitless, pie-in-the-sky appeal. And NOW this chump wants to come clean on twitter and apologize to everyone? What a joker. He left out one BIG apology—to you.
I have more respect for you now as the most connected, informed and hardest working Bay Area writer than I did yesterday. And it was still an awful lot yesterday.
Keep on keeping on, Baggs.”
Sweet, Big Flavor guy. I’m sure baggs, who i’ve met (ok, he signed my books), is completely stoked by this. That being said, his blog is not what it was. But who is these days.
“Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”
Tennyson
Can Tennyson play LF?
Yes, something in the new Baggs with the Comcast TV and all that twaddle has lost a lot of his blog’s previous cachet. For one thing it’s hard to follow what he writes and what he does on that damn Comcast website. It’s a mess…
The Melkmen and Maids must be hurting. That gig and any payroll from Baer just dried up and blew away like some cheap ass powdered Melk. Look for some white suits and hats on Ebay tomorrow…
That’s really why I’m so pissed. Mota? Ehh. He’s on the edge of retirement looking for whatever straws to grasp at. But Melky took the team by storm and the seemingly aloof dick soon warmed up to the fans and was kicking ass and having fun. All star game? No prob. MVP. After the bad taste of the fucking Barry years and the interminable homerun chase and subsequent horseshit, the team gains a new identity. Now it’s like we’re back to square one.
You have to wonder how the rest of the team responds to this I’m sure they’ll keep on fighting the good fight, but you are taking out a lot of the offense.
Then you have clowns like Wilpon saying “It was so obvious” today. Fuck that. A guy hitting over his average at 27 isn’t as fucking nuts as say a 37 year old guy adding 40 lb of muscle in one offseason or a 36 year old pitcher adding 5 mph back to his fastball.
Blehhhh.
At least wait one more day to finish this series off.
Fuck.
I’m not shocked, but I am surprised. Maybe I shouldn’t be any longer. I’ve been jaded by the last 15 years of bullshit in MLB, but I still love the game, and get wrapped up in its seasonal stories. You summarized it well Chuck. This was the Giants feel good story of the year, along with Buster being back, and now the one balloon of two in all that just popped. Why would it be “obvious” he was a PEDster to any of us just watching the game? We’re not in the clubhouse seeing this guy work out, with his shirt off, or in his house watching him shoot the stuff in his ass, or wherever that happened. We’re fans, and though more educated in the game that most, that doesn’t mean we’ve given up the dreams of a great season, a great run, and great stories to tell. Hell, with this now, I don’t trust anybody anymore. IMO, they’re ALL suspect. ALL, even Buster. Why the hell should be be free of suspicion more than anybody else? He might even be more at risk of using PEDs, given his injury. That’s what’s fucked about this. There wasn’t any innocence to lose, it’s just now there’s no innocence at all. Say it ain’t so, Melky. Ya’ fuckwad….
and, in the winner’s corner, BOOKS! Baseball took a deciding blow on the west coast while looking strong with an east coast uppercut.