Giants Magazine’s excellent choice
A couple of days ago, I was looking through a stack of magazines at home and came across the copy of Giants Magazine that I had bought at the ballgame on the day of Melk-gate, about eleven days ago. Giants Magazine costs $5.00 per issue, and is sold at the ballpark; a new issue comes out each month of the season. The magazine is nice value for the money; it’s fun to read. It’s packed with cool stuff, including lots of terrific photos, and a scorecard for those of us that like to do that. The magazine is all-positive, all the time, and is there to add to the enjoyment of the day at the game. And makes for good reading on the BART ride afterward.
But I had set this issue aside without reading much of it, until a couple of days ago. August 15th was a tough day for the Giants and their fans. The Giants did gut it out that day, and even had a chance to tie the game in the ninth inning. With Sandoval on first, and two out, and down by two runs, Posey took two big swings on strikes two and three, trying to go yard and tie the game. He struck out, and the game was over, and after recording the final out on the scorecard in the magazine, I put the magazine into the canvas bag I had taken to the game, and didn’t look at the magazine much again until the other day.
The Giants season could have gone either way after the day of Melk-gate, but they stepped up to the challenge, and showed the baseball world that there is a lot more to the team than Melky. And one of the keys to their overcoming that challenge has been the Giant on the cover of the August issue of the magazine….Angel Pagan. In hindsight, that was an excellent choice for the magazine! In the cover-story article, Angel has some motivational words that hit the mark even more in hindsight: “Everything happens for a reason. For me to have perseverance, I have to turn negativity into positivity. Heal and go forward. It’s made me stronger, a better player, a better person. Baseball is a game of failure. You have to understand that. And you have to make it better.”
That last line in the quote reminds me of the Beatles’ “Hey Jude”: “Take a sad song, and make it better.” Angel helped take a sad moment in the Giants’ season and make it into something better. When the Giants and their fans were hurting, and the season hung in the balance, he helped the team pull together, gain momentum, and march forward into the future, and into first place. With a little over a month left in the season, there will be other challenges ahead, including the Dodgers’ recent upgrading of their firstbase situation. This Giants team has an opportunity to keep showing the baseball world that this Giants team is something special, and can accomplish more great things. It will take a team effort, and Angel has been, and will need to continue to be, an inspiration to the team. The players are there on the team to get this thing done; every game has its opportunities for different heroes to step forward.
The article (by Dan Fost) in the magazine provides a moment of poignant foreshadowing: “Pagan really showed how he’s capable of picking up a team in a game in Cincinnati in April. The Giants appeared on the verge of getting swept there for the second season in a row. They were trailing 5-3 in the ninth inning when Pagan blasted a three-run home run off closer Sean Marshall to beat the Reds. “That could be our biggest hit all year,” Bochy says. “That would have been a long flight. Guys were getting beat up. It was a huge hit, a real lift for the ballclub.”
“Somebody had to do it,” Pagan says. “It happened to be me.””
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
I remember as a kid going to Opening Day, and one of my biggest thrills was getting that “first” Giants program in my hand.
I still have the Astros program I bought last may at Minute Maid…The cover guy; Bill Hall.
You make several comments that are fundamental to our SFGs fan worship. It is a team and we brag about our team chemistry being right for the job. Pagan seems to have something I did not expect: an ability to regroup and learn. I think it is hard for him, but he seems to be doing it anyway. And I, for one, love it.
The good thing our team brings to the game is a collection of players that can man-up and produce during different times of the season or game. Cabrera was a player we thought was doing that in spades and now the chemistry of team-ness energises those remaining team players to look forward and not back or down.
Scutaro has contributed, Posey is back better than we could hope, Pagan has pa-gone hot. The two Brandons are available, Crawford with a flash of offence and solid defence, Belt still has a nice offence up-tick that we should welcome when it is here and his defence is great. Pablo is capable of ramping up his offence and so is Pence.
I am so thrilled that Angel is in his groove because one chemical component can have reactive effects on the other individuals on a team. Winning is contagious and the team can only control what _they_ bring to the game. We do not worry about the trades the AL teams make until the day we play them, same with the teams in our division, once a trade is made. I think Agone is a good pickup, but one person is not the whole team.
I am over the moon the way Pagan has played, we still have great pitching and, like you, I believe chemistry and attitude go a long way.
They say every picture tells a story.
The Dodgers have a collage, pieces of photos that try and tell a story but don’t really add up. Yes, Gonzalez by himself is an upgrade but by the most part the Dodgers just fucked themselves for years to come. Just like the McCourt years it’s a buy now pay later kinda deal. And they will pay and pay until the new ownership cries poverty..
The Giants on the other hand have this Ansel Adams photo where every piece in it tells it’s story which is based on this huge hunk of granite in the middle. We have the parts to not only win the Division but to go deep into the playoffs. Each part of our photo is contributing to the whole. You look at it one day and Cain is your focal point, the next it’s Pagan, or the bull pen, or Posey, maybe it’s Panda or Theriot or Pence and Scutaro. Doesn’t matter who, it’s a team and they share those duties. This is all held together by that big hunk of rock and that’s Bochy. Try as you might, you just can’t wear that sucker down.
I’ll take what he’s having.
🙂
If the numbers posted by Rooster at the end of yesterday’s thread are accurate, the Dodgers don’t look all that fucked in the coming years…
I haven’t ever suggested that these moves are fucking them financially. NOTHING is going to fuck them financially and The Rooster is mistaken about *financially flexibility returning*. This ownership group ensures that there will always be financial flexibility. The ownership group could care less about their payroll number. 150 million a year? 250 million a year? 350 million a year? They don’t care.
I have questioned the players they’ve picked up and don’t think it’s going to help them THIS year. They keep adding to an offense that doesn’t really need help. They have done NOTHING to fix their starting rotation, in fact it might have gotten a little worse by adding Beckett. He’s been horrible this year, especially the last 2 months. Now, if Beckett just decides to *flip the switch* then that could be a problem. But that hasn’t happened yet, so it isn’t a problem…..
And if Beckett keeps up with his shit performances, tell me who the #2 starting pitcher is in that rotation? Capauano is a nice #4 or 5, as I said before the year started, but he was pitching way over his head in the first half. He’s ratcheted back down in the 2nd half. Joe Blanton? Ha, no. Harang? He’s having a decent year but the only thing he’s going to lead you in is in *ugly*. He definitely gets a spot on the All-Ugly team.
My point is, down the stretch you need starting pitchers stepping up and pitching huge games. If Beckett stays in the shitter there isn’t a single pitcher on that staff who I would trust in a huge Sept game (except Kershaw). And he can’t pitch ’em all…..
Billingsley?
I see now that he’s injured. Too bad….
It appears his lights-out pitching streak took a toll on his arm:
“Dodgers RHP Chad Billingsley, who came out of Friday’s series opener after 3 1-3 innings and 58 pitches because of inflammation in his elbow, was placed on the 15-day disabled list. He is 6-0 with a 1.80 ERA over his last seven starts.”
Loo–*too bad*? For your 8:40am post? Or for Denny’s team?
Too bad as in tough shit for the Dodgers…
got it. And he’s done for the year, book it. So again I pose the question, who is the reliable #2 on that staff? And if you don’t have a #2 you don’t have a 3/4/5 either. I would have been WAY more worried had they acquired CLiff Lee…….
Maybe they’d take Zito for a prospect…
“Whenever I have a lady over for dinner I always use my special sauce and I love it when they ask for more, but I tell them when it’s Dunn.”
Ed, your 7:01 chicken post with photo is too fucking funny. 🙂
Dunn’s River is very common here. They make several kinds, I have the Cajun one in my cupboard.
The best hot sauce they have here is Encona hot pepper sauce made from Habanero peppers, which are my favorite.
Bozo— you in any of the projected Issac paths?
No, most of the projections I’ve seen are west of us hitting land via the gulf. I am however keeping an eye on Joyce right now. Either way, if water gets in the house now I’m not the only one that’s FUBAR. If anything brings a flood surge over eight feet, I’d have to say a lot of the Eastern seaboard is fucked.
The question for me is: Are the Giants good enough standing pat, or is it absolutely necessary now for Sabean to counter the Dodgers’ big trade? There’s still this glaring hole in LF, although Blanco has shown signs of life. Since the Melky suspension, Blanco is 9-26 with 4 RBI and 2 runs. The rest: JC 0-9 with 1 RBI, Peguero 0-2. That’s a collective 9-37 (.243) with 2 runs and 5 RBI in 10 games. I think help is needed, since it’s unlikely Pagan will continue to hit .500 the rest of the way and Pence just can’t seem to break out of his prolonged slump. Your move, Brian?
I’m not expecting anything significant. Although I’m still hoping for somebody like Casper or Cody, I think they’re more likely to embrace their new “F-Melky chemistry” while hoping for the best from Timmy, Zito and the committee. I would favor a no-cost good karma move like Andres Torres…
Add Pence, Blanco, and Belt to my “hope for the best list”…
Agree Loo. I definitely don’t want them to “chase” a reliever. We’re fine in-house. However, a Vungo or Clown (Cody Ross) would be good Karma as you indicated. By the by, a bad Karma move would be bringing back Jonathan Sanchez in my opinion.
Dodgers are obviously applying the lessons learned from the “Spend Money Like Drunken Sailors 101” course I mentioned the other day (I warned that the Giants shouldn’t follow suit).
For a quarter BILLION DOLLARS, what do they have? Gonzales, two “has beens,” and one “never been.”
A big yawn from me.
I am thinking Pujols going to the Angels, who are now 3.5 games behind Oakland and in 5th place for a wild card. (sorry, Chi, there are 2 wild cards available so 5th is not very good)
It’s true that Magic’s group doesn’t care much about what this costs- after all, many economists believe they massively overpaid for the franchise in the first place. At 2 billion this group didn’t even secure clear title to all the land. http://tinyurl.com/d63yzkd
But the Sox robbed the Bums blind- the deal was great for Boston if they got NOTHING except the salary dump.As Dave Cameron at FanGraphs said, ” Even if the Dodgers hadn’t sent them any talent in return, just clearing these guys off the books makes this a worthwhile trade for Boston. This is a deal the Red Sox couldn’t walk away from even if the Dodgers were only offering some of Frank McCourt’s old hair spray.”
For the Dodgers this is all about not just getting to the playoffs but winning it all- they could have done far better for the team future by keeping the players they gave the Sox and spending their money in the free agent market this winter. As has been said, Gonzales is a clear upgreade but Craig’s 8:12 is spot on about the pitching. Willie talked about that as well, and others, I’m sure.
While Dodger fans and investors may not give a shit now about taking on these asinine contracts, they sure as hell will be hopping mad when it buys them a nice seat at Big Wang’s sports bar watching our new gang of misfits do it all over again..
Well said!
I heard some clever wise-ass said that Magic is now more popular in Boston than Larry Bird…
Wake up Nip! You out jogging the trails?
Sheets to the DL, which you knew was coming watching SF hammer his ass all over the yard.
Even Gloat admits giving up the two pitchers wasn’t to his liking. Acquiring decent pitching help cheaply is tremendous gain for Boston, who just suspended Aceves 3 days for conduct detrimental, etc (as in being the shits). Yesterday they led the Royals 9-3 after 6, and lost, at home.
Thoughts on who comes up as a call up to add pitching depth?
I’d like to get a look at Hembree who I know nothing about other than reading his name here for 2 years. Is he a righty? And whatever happened to Runzler?
Hembree just came back from injury and wasn’t throwing all that well all year. Runzler just hasn’t ever recovered from his bizarre injury, I guess. He’s missing the plate, but hitting a lot of bats. There really doesn’t appear to be much help at Fresno. Otero will probably be up to pitch in 14-0 games…
BOOF!!!!! Nah..
Hopping mad, twin? Not even close. Everyone knows throwing money around buying players doesn’t guarantee anything. And don’t get me wrong – I have reservations about becoming Yankees West – it’s ALWAYS better to win smart – by having a productive farm and making smart trades.
While I disagree with BF that Billingsley is “done for the year” (he had a couple MRI’s and it’s nothing more than soreness – same thing he’d already been put in the DL for earlier and bounced back from), I do agree that the Dodgers starting rotation isn’t stacked enough to inspire confidence for a deep playoff run.
And as far as “Magic’s group” – make no mistake, Magic is merely a figurehead – Stan Kasten is making all the decisions, Colletti doing the grunt work sure, but Kasten signing off on it. You know more about baseball than Magic EVER will, twin. Shoot, even BF knows more about baseball than Magic.
Rooster, if yur guys misss the postseason you’d better find a restaurant that will you sleep there for the winter. When the Dodgers are at home this October, this will go down as the benchmark for brain dead front office thinking. I know very well what Magic’s place is- the front guy to make Dodger fans think a new day has dawned. Read the link I provided on the purchase.
Of course the fans will be furious,at least those off of valium – Uribe is small potatoes now and he gets booed at church.
Would you trade Zito straight up for Juan Uribe today? Think $$$…
No. I want to win now and giving the Dodgers a reliable SP weakens us and strengthens them. I’d pick Zito over Beckett right now to start any game out there. also, I’m not really sweating Zito’s contract anymore. There is probably a 25% chance that if Zito continues his run this year and through 2013 that the Giants pick that option up. I’ve already explained the reasons why
Well, we shall see about Billingsley. Hard to see him being a rock down the stretch and into the playoffs with a barking elbow. We of course remember Brian Wilson seeing an elbow specialist and having an MRI last yr and it was diagnosed as “just inflammation”.
The Dodgers are second in the league in ERA, and 12th in runs scored. Getting more offense was exactly the right move for them, the business angles aside.
Well, I am looking beyond the numbers, but it’s fine of you want to get stuck on them. That Era was fueled by Kershaw (who is their one reliable starter down the stretch) and Lady B’s fantastic run over the last 2 months. But she is gone now. Cap has come back to earth in 2nd half and I don’t know a single Dodger fan that would want Blanton or Ugly-rang pitching in big games for them down the stretch.
Dodger fans are reminding us that Lilly is coming off the DL.
Lilly? Our response – HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I haven’t followed his rehab at all but that was a weirdly long time to be gone for a neck probably that he never had surgery on. If he’s right he will help them. But i’d need to see it first
Gonzales was what the Dodgers wanted and they were willing to pay any price. Making a blockbuster move is considered a positive in their market no matter how ill conceived it appears to rational fans. BF is right it might be one of the worst deals imaginable. Anyway Boston is very happy to be rid of so many expensive players.
Furious? Not a chance. At this time last season McCourt was having trouble making payroll. The Dodgers were picked to come in 3rd or 4th in the West this season by most prognasticators. You think because they bought a bunch of players with a month to go in the season that everyone expects them to win the WS this season?
That’s just stoooopid.
Dodger manager blurted out his expectations of a championship. He’s happy nevertheless.
Mattingly? doubtful – where did you see that, Nip? you have a link?
Rooster, I’m not certain that he said that, but per the LA Times, this was reported:
“. . . You either love the Yankees, or you love to hate them.
“It was kind of a little rock show,” Mattingly said. “Everywhere you went, you caused that little buzz.
“That’s the way the Dodgers should be. I’ll be honest with you: to me, when the Dodgers come to town, it should be THE DODGERS.”
Mattingly is not without sympathy, or admiration, for those teams that do more with less.
“There is a beauty in doing what the Twins do,” he said. “You have to be really good at what the Twins do. You build your minor league system. You do everything right.
“That’s the way we should be. Our system should be great. We should teach our guys to play the game right. But right now . . . to me, it’s the best of both worlds.”
Well, this season is their only shot. After that they’re fucked, Capon.
Nope – they have a much better chance of winning the WS next year, and better after that – after picking up some more starting pitching.
Yeah, saw that blade – but that’s a far cry from “blurting out his expectations of a Championship”.
ESPN of course they edit everything to death probably he was just voicing confidence in the new players obtained in the Dodgers quest for a championship.
Yeah, still waiting for Nip to cite the link . . . Regardless, the LA Times is also saying, “Kasten declined to discuss criticism from rival executives wondering why the Dodgers would surrender any prospects to the Boston Red Sox, let alone four of them, rather than challenge the Red Sox to find another team willing to swallow $260 million in salaries.”
The aforementioned affirms what we are saying at the Flap – the trade is ludicrous when you consider the unrealistic short and long term Dodger expectations. Especially in regard to their farm system. Sorry, I don’t buy the following:
“Yet, Kasten emphasized the Dodgers had not wavered from their commitment to revitalize their scouting and player development operations, even with the loss of prospects such as pitchers Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster from an already thin minor league system. “This will not detract from any of our long-term plans,” he said. “That’s the real Dodger tradition I’m hoping to restore.”
The Dodgers are reminding of this quote: Though this be madness, yet there is
method in it. [Hamlet] – by Shakespeare, William. Unfortunately, no one has explained their “method” to me yet.
Golden sombrero for Vungo today, who may now be batting righty full time…
I could be wrong about Dodger fans being upset if they don’t go all the way.We all know they’re a laid back group of folks. Hell, Crawford may not play again, Beckett might be your Eric Hacker, Gonzalez is .212 career in LA ( I hadn’t seen that yesterday )…but I’m tellin ya, and I’ve seen him a lot- you’ll love Punto..
Rooster, you know you’d be crestfallen if I wasn’t giving you a hard time. I’m delighted that you’re back and happy that you thought of me right away. Now why don’t you go on over to Room B for a piece of chicken on me? I think Craig has a batch going for the football game,..
Yes I would, twin! I’ve missed the banter – but honestly, I lost some interest in baseball during the last few years of McCourt’s “eight years of running the Dodgers in the most egregious, the most inefficient, the most self-interested, and the most vainglorious, idiotic way possible.” (taken from the article you posted the link to above).
Now that he has been replaced, and the new ownership is going 180 degrees in the opposite direction, I find the game a little more enjoyable again.
I think Adrian Gonzalez ends in a “z’…
OK.
Rooster finally back from a dinner that lasted how many years? Here’s a Mattingly quote after Tuesdays loss…
http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2012_08_21_sfnmlb_lanmlb_1&mode=recap&c_id=la
A. Gonzo is great for the Latino community. They make up the majority of Dodger fans.
Mattingly did say when he came to manage in LA he never thought they would do the things they have done. And he is happy.
The dogers also have $7M/yr for 7 years invested in Puig the 21 yo cuban who has never played yet.except 9 games in HiA Calif not sure why only 9 games but that is a decent major league player salary.
Mets waived Harrison, I know a lot of people get waived but it is a name mentioned on here before.
stupid espn I’ll be up past midnight.
Which one, George?
(grin)
If the Giants stay on rotation it’s Zit-Vog-Bum in the final 3 at LA…How does that grab ya?
Ah, by that time, Bochy will be resting the boys. Hacker-Loux-Penny ought to be able to handle a disconsolate Bum crew 😉
The idea that the Dodgers have not made the right moves for this stretch run is pretty weak sauce. Between Beckett and Lilly, it’s a reasonable bet that there won’t be that much of a drop off from Billingsley, assuming they even knew he’d be out as they concocted this scheme with the Red Sox. Billingsley is not that good, and Beckett has not been that bad, considering where he has been playing. The fact is, the Dodgers have pitched better than SF this year, but they have been an unbalanced team, i.e., their offense has sucked. I don’t think AGon pushes them past the SF in the end, but adding his bat was a smart gamble, again, the future and the $$$$ aside. Melky, Billingsley, AGon . . . One player, even a good one, usually does not make that much difference to a team’s overall performance. Adding both Ramirez and AG is LA’s very expensive attempt to recreate the Burrell/Ross magic.
I am definitely more worried about LA in the coming years than I am this year– but that’s been the same feeling ever since this new group bought the team. They WILL buy the most expensive players out there. I think they failed big time by picking up 2 malcontents (and with apologies to San Dawg’s experience with him in SD, A-Gon WAS one of the malcontents in Boston). for the stretch drive. And HanRam is all about himself, he’s the last guy I’d want in my *stretch drive fox hole). But like Twin said, Punto could be THE guy in this deal that makes the Dodger fans the happiest this year 🙂
If they hit on the right FA’s in the future then we will have big problems with LA.
The thing that hasn’t gotten mentioned here (at least I haven’t seen it) is that the bar has been raised for these Giant/Dodger games in terms of excitement and a national spot light– we are going to start seeing a lot more LA/SF games televised nationally.
ESPN radio is murdering the Dodgers for giving up all those prospects. Regardless of who is pulling the strings in LA they got completely fucked by CHerington–face down, ass up. They did NOT need to give up prospects to get those players……
With the Giants current financial situation, there is no reason the Dodgers and Giants shouldnt be the West Coast version of the Yankees and Red Sox…I think this trade will cause the Giants ownership to think the same thing.
I predicted in April (I wish there was a search function) that this race would come down to the Giants and Dodgers and would be “one for the ages.” While it’s not a “Flav like prediction”, I still hope it rings true.
For Kindle users, Amazon has available some free e-books, and one of the books is by Christy Mathewson, published in 1912. It’s called “Pitching In A Pinch,” and its kind of interesting. I don’t know if he had any ghost-writer’s help.
Regarding the changing baseball lexicon over the years, the book has moments that highlight that. Nowadays, we think of a batter’s “groove” as a good thing for the batter. The batter’s in a groove, or the pitcher grooved a pitch to a batter. All good things for a batter. It meant something different in Mathewson’s day. A batter’s “groove” meant a hole in the batter’s swing. A pitcher wanted to find a batter’s groove.
And in the early days of baseball, the pitcher’s area was just a chalk box with the pitching rubber, like softball is today. Teams began, on their own, to build mounds out there as a way of cheating basically, to give the pitcher an added edge over the batter. There were no specific rules against doing that, and the leagues kind of turned a blind eye to it, until eventually, organized baseball thought: well, the mounds are very popular, and we should standardize the height of them. All that to say, when a pitcher gets knocked out of the game, it used to be called “getting knocked out of the box,” and once in a great while you still hear it referred to that way, although I can’t really remember the last time I heard it referred to as that.
The Marlin’s are a pretty lifeless team, other than Stanton, and that dude is a MONSTER.
That thing with hector catching Lincecum is getting spooky. Belt out puts Posey at first and craw-daddy playing SS lets arias rest on the bench.
Well, Buerhle just got out of a bases loaded jam. Marlins lead 3-1 going to the 6th.
six more games and Whitey is up we can play Hector and Posey every day, everywhere, pinch hitting whatever.
Go Gigantes!
They’re not going to bench Belt, Edd. Just as now, one or two games a week at most.
fwiw, against Hudson.
Pence is 5-15, Pagan 11-31. Belt 1-6 2K’s. Posey 2-5, Pablo 2-14.
DJLoo used the term golden sombrero toay in reference to vungo.
I love baseball
I did it for you. You’ve been working hard…
Been thinking a lot about who is the biggest surprise this season. For me, it’s Belt because i just think he’s such a classy kid. He took a lot of abuse and hung in there. I think he will give Buster a run for his money for best hitter by end of the season. Pagan is so nice to have a lead off guy with that gap thing going on. Panda, I don’t know how long he can last with all that weight and he’s lookin’ bigger to me than a month or two ago. I always love the Italian-Venezuelan and love having Scoo-tar-o, as my Italian workmate calls him. Arias, sure looks like a winner, hope he can add consistency to his recent uptick, and Pence, a guy who is an enigma in all he does, sure seems like he wants to be a Giant. On the other hand, ‘dem bums have a mix of characters who may simply implode on them. Ramirez is a super talent who just looks wrong and I think will not add much before he finds a way to hurt this team. It will be an amazing final six weeks and i’m savoring it almost as much as Twin’s chicken dish.
6-2 Marlenes -Top 9
The bottom of the 8th took about an hour. Somehow they escaped…
George Burns, the late comedian, said on his 100th birthday: “At my age, I don’t buy green bananas.”
Insofar as this year is concerned, the Giants and Giants fans are united in thinking the Dodgers just bought green bananas from Boston.
At that age, ordering from Domino’s is a gamble…
Blade, I could not agree with you more on the green banana theory. I think it’s more like bruised bananas, except for A-Gon.
It was nice to see Hanley boot home an insurance run…
Once he gets it into his head that someone, anyone, is dissing him, he will fade.
Marlin baseball…TORTURE!!!
I’m not sure how many innings I can tolerate of Hersheiser’s nonsense and the other dude bringing that absurd, made up *announcer* voice.
I miss Jon and have never understood how they let him go. What a difference and I agree with you completely. Where do they find these suck ups.
No one beats Joe Buck, not from Midnight Cowboy fame, but the son of Jack, for a made up announcer voice.
Lineup according to carl steward.
CF Pagan
2B Scutaro
3B Sandoval
1B Posey
RF Pence
C Sanchez
LF Blanco
SS Crawford
P Lincecum
Think ground ball.
The way that was starting out, 2-0 almost feels like wer’re ahead…
32 pitches in the first is a bummer.
decent enough 2nd inning for Timmy.
Huddy was pretty lucky last inning, gotta get to him early. Once he starts cruising he’s, well, cruising and all of a sudden it’s the 7th inning, you’re getting shut out and don'[t understand how it’s happened.
Hector needs to stop making throws that have zero chance of getting the runner.
I love how Orel’s got TL all figured out. You see, it’s simple, he’s got a complicated wind up and he can’t seem to find the correct release point—been happening all year. He just….can’t….seem….to….find…it. LQTM
this gay love quarrel between Timmy and Busty needs to get handled by Bochy. It can’t go on, and almost supported with this stupid LU, just because these dudes can’t get on the same page. Belt should be playing tonight and I don’t see anything about the way Sanchez calls Timmy’s game that is so impossible to re-create by another catcher.
This has nothing to do with giving Posey a day off from catching. There is nothing about what Sanchez is doing with Timmy that is so special. We weaken our offense and our defense with this LU and it is 100% due to Timmy and Busty either not liking each other or not thinking they can work together as a battery. Bochy needs to get in front of this NOW and get it dealt with and these two dudes HAVE to work together…….
i was under the impression that THIS time, it was more about posy’s hammy. it looked like he grabbed/rubbed it after rounding third last night. what about belt in left rather than blanco?
I still think it’s not Buster catching but Tim doesn’t want Belt playing first base.
Why in the world would you think that, John?
thank you for saying that. I’ve not heard this before put like that but I sure have been thinking on it. I have a feeling that Posey may have said something which got it started. Lincecum and he are different types of guys but you’re absolutely right, Bochy needs to straighten them out.
Why would anyone not want Belt playing? He’s the best defensive 1st baseman and he needs to play every day so he can get stronger offensively. I think he’s playing superbly from the start of the season and not playing him must be driving him nuts. Not a smart way to play this.
Maybe the same reason people say he doesn’t want Posey catching, he doesn’t like him.
If you think Posey and Timmy are different, You gotta think Tim and Belt are about five miles apart.
The fact is I don’t know, but getting Buster from behind the plate only gets him to first, where as Belt doesn’t play.
A Tm- Buster has been rumored for awhile, Tim/Belt makes no sense at all.
twin it has been rumored, but the only thing I’ve ever heard was what Robbie said that they’re different or as others have said Tim just doesn’t like him. But I’ve never heard either player say it. If Tim is calling the shots on who catches him then I’d imagine he’d also be able to call the shots on who plays first.
I haven’t found a a rumor of that but see scads on Tim/Posey- almost all denials. But I haven’t found anything at all about Tim and Belt. I’ll look harder but I’m not seeing it. Plus I can see if not agree with Bochy using Sanchez if there’s a rift with Tim but I don’t buy for one second that Bochy would allow Tim to dictate who plays first.
They were never throwing Pagan out-dumb play from Crawford.
Tim hasn’t pitched well enough to be doing anything but shutting up and take of of his own business.
yeah, I can’t imagine him telling Bochy who he thinks ought to be playing first. He might have said something about catching but I doubt he has the yank to be demanding anything. Especially right now.
Exactly, I just don’t see Tim having enough pull to ask Bochy to pull his All Star, possible MVP player from catching him. But I can see him not wanting a first baseman, who has been rumored to be in Bochy’s doghouse and getting his way on that.
Again, I don’t know, I’m just taking a different view of the whole thing.
My reply was to twin. Robbie, make the case he can have an All Star catcher, a possible MVP dude pulled.
Far as I know, Mays was the only guy who could tell his manager who to play…
Belt has been playing regularly, excelling on defense, and hitting well. Tim isn’t dictating anything as to Belt.
I don’t think Belt has anything to do with it. Belt and TL have very little relationship during a game. But the battery HAS to be able to work together.
It’s not like Dusty couldn’t write Kent and Bonds into the starting, and they hated each other
In this case the company line makes more sense than the grassy knoll theories- Tim beats the hell out of cachers.
I understand the relationship between the catcher and pitcher. What I’m saying is that I’m not buying the rumor. I don’t see Bochy as that weak to take out the starting All Star Catcher, who has not only caught strong outings for Tim, but has also called/caught a perfecto because Tim asked. I know Tim and Buster had differences after the Bengie deal but that seemed to be worked out.
Agreed. That’s why this stupid buster1b/belt bench thing is idiotic. Bochy needs to stop supporting this divisive relationship. He’s contributing to it by writing this LU every time Timmy takes a start.
Some here think LA’s trade will help them this year but be a disaster down the road. Others think it won’t help this year but will down the road. The only thing that seems inevitable is that we (SF Giant fans) had better get used to this kind of thing, having the LA Yankees in the West now. Sometimes it (a big deal like this) will work, sometimes not. People often point to the Yanks and their lack of World Series championships even with all of that spending. Right, not many… but they sure do win their division or wildcard a lot. IMO, the Dogs are now built to get to the post-season, but the Giants are way better equipped to do well in the post-season than LA is… the challenge now to just get there just got a little tougher, I think. But we’ve all talked about this all season: if the Giants can just get there, they have a good shot at the whole thing. So, in a sense, this deal doesn’t really change much at all for the Giants.
There’s also 2 wild cards…
Having contended with a drunken hotel room neighbor at 5 a.m, I need some San Fran offense to keep me up, not necessarily for a Viagra-Cialis 4 hours, but maybe an hour. I dare say the game is boring, or maybe it’s just Orel.
TINFAA.
[This is not fun at all.]
It’s a disappointing performance. Huddy’s got his unfortunate groove and and it’s just not happening for us tonight.
Timmy continues to underwhelm and underperform but he’s giving us enough each start to “thank him” (at least if he was our #5). His fall out this year has been spectacular. With even a decent year from him we’d be up by 10 games in the West.
BLEEP!
Maybe no one else noticed or it’s simply a well known fact, but I was astonished by the winning % stat for Hudson. Going in to tonight’s game it was 1 point higher than Sandy Koufax. His ERA is 3.42, but that has been since 1999. He would get my vote for the HOF if he retired tomorrow.
Of course, he is bald. Dave Heaverlo, the last honest skinhead.
What a great name for a pitcher! I’m more of a grab her lo
Agreed. Loved that name
Well, the fried chicken has been the best part of this weekend so far.
Whatever happened to Tim’s dad? You sure heard about him a lot in the good times. Where is he now?
Braves have some upper-cutters…
Last I heard his dad was talking about severing the cord.
If Pence can’t get it together in Houston & Wrigley, then he may just be hopeless…
God can we fucking cut Hensley right now,he just sucks donkey dick.Who gives a shit if he only comes in ,in blowouts its just demoralizing watching his pathetic act anymore.
As I mentioned earlier the other day, I’m not sold on Hensley. Tonight, I give you Exhibits A and B. Heyward and Freeman in the ninth.
Off day tomorrow. Back to road, sweet road. 14-5 in last 19 roadies. Houston and Chicago. Anything less than 4-2 against these two would be sheer disappointment.
That was bad but didn’t those guys take some pretty fair pitchers deep this weekend?
Well, look at it this way- he’s probably made Mota’s return a near certainty.
Agree Twin,.Mota atleast gives you a different look when he staring in with his “Steriod Eyes” look on his face.
Don’t have that same feeling with Hensley.He’s got nothing left in the tank IMO,and Boch just needs to cut ties with his love for former “Maxi Pads Padre players”.
You were going good until you got to the part where Bochy supposedly would use a guy because he managed him before. Unless almost everybody has been used, Bruce rarely uses him a clutch or important situation. But if Mota is activated they can’t wait until rosters expand so someone has to go. It’s probably either Hensley or Hacker, IMO. But maybe only for a couple days..
You guys have no idea how bad Houston is…If they don’t sweep, in the words of Dennis, “we deserve to lose” the division.
Hensley’s sucked, so has Affeldt. But tonight it really didn’t matter. Bad plate approach tonight against Huddy. And I am accepting that we have no LF right now. It hasn’t majorly affected us but it’s a bad thing.
As much as I want Buster catching I do appreciate Sanchez’ bat. I’d like to see a week of Belt in LF, Buster at 1st and Sanchez at C. BUt I don’t think that’s ever gonna happen………
BF, why do you think the Giant’s will score more runs with Hector in the line up instead of Blanco? Hector is a typical high BA, low OBP hacker who is ok as a back up catcher. He has far too many PAs thsi
Because Blanco is dead weight anchor since the days he hit .400 for his OBP.
And I’m trying to get Belt in the LU while Bochy sorts out the Timmy/Busty Thong Argument
Fucking iPad . . . This season as it is.
A lot of Giants hitters were trying to pull Hudson’s outside junk. Lots of rollovers. Didn’t seem to any kind of gameplan against Hudson, other than “everybody do their own thing,” which can work a lot of times, but not so much against someone of Hudson’s ability and tactics. We needed some hitters going opposite field.
Good pitchers can foil the best of game plans. A crafty guy like Hudson, when he’s on, can make a hitter swing at what he wants him to swing at. GNight.
“crafty pitchers” are often “on” because his hitting opponents take a brain-dead approarcb to hitting him. Good example was Blanco 3-1. No fucking way do you check swing a strike in the situation. He ended up walking anyway but that type of approach to hitting, which they all had tonight, was ignorant….
One of the signs Tim wasn’t on tonight- very few balls in the dirt. When he’s on, he gets a lot of strikes on balls in the dirt, which may also explain why Buster rarely catches him anymore. Bochy may have decided that, because whoever catches Lincecum is going to take a beating, and has to spring out of the crouch a lot to chase balls in the dirt on strike three, that it’s best to give Buster a day off from catching on the Lincecum starts. And maybe Tim is being the good teammate and telling Bochy “That’s cool. Whatever you say, Skip.”
Just a theory on that, and no better or worse than anyone else’s theory. (grin)
Slightly bummed. Slightly bummed
But…just slightly
Fuck it. Games are won. Games are lost.
People live. People die. Balls bounce up. Balls come down. Balls get sore from bouncing up and down. Balls…well, that’s enough about balls.
Lincecum. Fucking Lincecum.
Lincecum.
And then…I woke up
At this very moment my favorite actor is Sonny Tufts.
Goodnight, gentlemen (?)
one of the things i’m not seeing this year is the bullpen HOLDING the line so that the offense has a chance to get back in the game. it goes back to my thread yesterday: when they get the lead early, especially the first inning, they do quite well. when they get behind in the first, it’s ugly.
‘night lads.