One. More. Win.
Two years ago, in this same spot, I was a blubbery mess. Here’s what I wrote the day we won the world series in 2010:
“I woke up this morning, rolled out of bed and noticed something unusual:
I was at the top of Mount Everest. I took off my goggles, looked around….It’s the biggest world I’ve ever seen. I would worry about sun blindness except for the fact that all the light is radiating from me, not towards me. So I’m just sitting here, quietly, writing the words that you’re reading now, atop this goddamn mountain. As a Giants fan, I’ve been Sisyphus. And yet this morning, here I sit next to my boulder at the top of Mount Everest, unsure of what to do next. If any of you have any ideas, I’d love to hear them……..”
This year, I’m feeling none of that. There’s no mountain or sun blindness or metro-sexual *Sisyphus* references. There is just me making my coffee in the dark this morning and mumbling to myself about how freaking easy it is to beat this fat Detroit team.
And maybe this year I’ve just got too much perspective for my own good. I find myself focusing less on this impending accomplishment and more on my anger towards the national media. I’m not going to mention any names because it would be an indirect acknowledgment of their human existence and since I don’t think they deserve that I’m not going to go there. I have tweeted out my displeasure recently for at least one internet-media-whore.
I know why no one ever gives the Giants any credit. It’s for 2 key reasons.
1) Barry Bonds. There are countless writers and media people who will never let Barry Bonds stop them from carrying a personal bias against San Francisco. And they continue to punish the current team for their feelings about Barry Bonds. That makes no sense.
2) The Giants don’t have a bunch of players with standout saberstats. No one loves new numbers more than me. But the saber-stat world is not immune to a pendulum swing and that’s where we are right now. We’ve got lots of math-guys trying to force us into buying into every saber-stat out there. Go read articles at fangraphs for an hour and you’ll see countless examples of it. You feel stupid if you don’t just shrug and go, “Yeah boy, that x-FIP number really jumps out at you. That pitcher is SOOOOO much worse than his 15 wins were this year.”
Except for the fact that an xFIP number, just like almost every saber stat, has nothing to do with how many wins your team actually gets or how your team actually plays together. Saber-stats are good for one thing: possibly identifying a player who is either more or less valuable than the general population thinks he is based off the obvious stats that casual fans know about–HR’s, RBI’s, wins, ERA, stuff like that. This is very important in fantasy baseball and can make or break your season based on decisions you make to add/drop/trade/keep certain players. But in the real baseball world, saber-stats aren’t as important as wins or how a player will perform on a given day. The Giants don’t have too many fantasy studs on their team. And this concludes my second point for why the Giants so consistently get shit on by the national media.
The Chronicle published an article by Al Saracevic, who I suppose must be a writer in Detroit. It was a brilliant article that I read twice and it covers perfectly why we won last night, why we have won this post season and why we will be winning the 2012 world series. Here it is:
http://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/Ballgame-s-little-moments-equal-a-win-3987749.php
And you don’t need a calculator to figure out how the Giants are doing this. Just use your eyes. Momentum, confidence, cohesiveness, karma and a team performing successfully under pressure are the main reasons we are on the cusp of this great accomplishment.
I missed the parade in 2010.
I will not miss it this year.
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Went back and looked at 1966 WS. O’s hit 175 HRs that year and had 4 guys with 23 or more. Frank Robinson, oakland’s own and one my fav players of all time, had a monster year and wound up with 1.047 OPS, and was named MVP of the Series too for a couple bombs.
But in the Series, O’s hit only .200 as a team and scored 13 runs in 4 games….to the Dodgers 2, and swept their ass. They had Brooks the vacuum cleaner at 3b and Paul Blair in CF and lights out SPs. Pitching and defense, which of course never gets old.
In the modern era of middle IFs with the power of a Robinson Cano, Giants win with scutaro and crawford. D has the triple crown winner, Giants have Gregor Blanco with the biggest blast of the night, while Cabrera pops out to SS in their biggest AB with bases loaded.
I’m sure one of the few guys who might have seen this coming was Bud Black, who’s team battled SF all year and saw what they were doing second half up close and personal. But being a left coast guy, I’m sure no one was going to listen to him either. Uh, scoreboard, brutha.
fantastic, comprehensive, engaging post. Thanks.
Palmer beat Koufax in one of those four games.
Chemistry
Careful BD (Inc). That word doesn’t exist to some bloggers at the flap
The Chronicle published an article by Al Saracevic, who I suppose must be a writer in Detroit
——————————————————————————————————————
You’re joking, right?
“You’re joking, right?”
One hopes so. He’s the sports editor of the SF Chronicle.
Why would I know that? I don’t subscribe to the chronicle and the only writer I ever read even occasionally is Bruce Jenkins.
You know what would add a little spice to tonight’s game?
The DH is optional.
Let Cain bat.
BOOYAH!!!
And to be clear, I couldn’t tell you who the sports editor I’d at the Merc or the LA Times or the Sac Bee–
Super cool that you and Ted are so on top of that critical information though
Yes. It *is* super cool
Since it’s so easy to find out who he is, i would expect that you would do that.
I don’t give a single shit about who he is. And I would expect that if you polled all non-SF chron readers you would find that the vast majority of them don’t know who he is.
I can’t imagine not wanting to know who the writer of a briillant article was.
I was thinking this same thing about the new stats and the Giants getting no respect. Get a bunch of good players top to bottom, mix in some great players and wins happen. Having Bochy steer the ship certainly helps. Has Sabean turned the world on its ear with the way he has built teams and the position they are in now 2 out of the last 3 years? I don’t know but after 6 straight wins this club is rolling right now and Detroit hasn’t even seen the best arm or team effort.
Yup. To use a movie metaphor, what’s better? Watching BOOM TOWN with the king of Hollywood Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Claudette Colbert (The Tigers) or HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN with Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, John Carradine, Lionel Atwill, J. Carroll Naish, Glenn Strange, George Zucco, Elena Verdugo, Sig Ruman (The Giants)
Why can’t we be “Boom Town?”
I don’t know what the TV ratings are for this series (I’d guess somewhat low), and I don’t really care. But I do get the sense that, unless Detroit pulls off a miracle, the media will have to give the team more respect because more thoughtful and knowledgeable people are going to see and comment on the bigger picture at some point down the road; they might start with the question Philly asked after the NLCS two years ago, and then Texas asked, and then St. Louis and now Detroit, which is, “What the fuck happened?” Uh… the Giants happened. I hope this fact cannot and will not be ignored.. even though I say I don’t really care what others think. Actually, I do. I want everyone to know what we Giants fans have been living with and experienced, and I want to give them a big Tim Lincecum “fuck yeah, shut up”. While smiling, though, not angry. No, this will be all happiness…..
I have also really enjoyed the shell-shocked looks on the faces of the arrogant fat fuck Detroit players…
Well, its tthe theory that the giants should just be happy that they made it. The scrappy team that overachieved. Bob nightingale has an especially sophomoric article about why the giants will meekly fade away this series.
http://www.freep.com/article/20121024/SPORTS02/121024027/detroit-tigers-san-francisco-giants-world-series
Sent from my iPad
http://www.freep.com/usatoday/article/1663191?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CDetroit%20Tigers%7Cs
Sent from my iPad
Never realized what a dick nightingale was.
unbelievable, write what you think your readers want to hear and never mind the details, eh?
What a fucking prick! I will say this, ever since Arnold became Governor, the rest of the country never looked at CA in the same light…For some reason, THAT was the exact moment when Californians were no longer taken seriously…Gay marriage, medicinal marijuana, a bankrupt state economy, all of that pales in comparison to the shit I got, when the Governator took office…Let’s face it, we are mocked by everyone outisde of our state lines…Everytime someone say’s “Great place to visit, but would never want to live there”, I always want to punch them in the fucking face…Someone mentioned the other day that Jerry Brown was the Governor of CA again and I told them to go fuck themselves…Later I realized that they weren’t joking.
But hey, two (fingers crossed) World Championships in three years…Whose laughing now?
Let’s just Sweep this Anemic Tiger team.I.would be so embarrased if I was one of their fans,i would go underground and never see light again.
We “Bitch Slapped..Whooped Ass…Majorly Kick their Ass” all over the place on both fields now!!
There is nothin the Tigers can try and do,even using 2 colored Max eyes Scherzer tonight.
Giants just fucking “Steamrolled”these clowns(sorry Bozo) and took what little fan noise they made and few chances.to score,silent and in disbelief when we turned Killer DP,by the outstanding quality pitching by Vogletron.
Pitching,Defense,Offense,Chemistry,Coaching all Superior to this Hapless led Leyland team.
W/S Champion SF Giants….Thanks for a Dominating Ride!!
I,m sure his email is flooded with incendiary emails. What a fucking hack. Mediocre? E only thing mediocre is his biased writing.
Most saberstats are just more sophiscated stats measuring performance than those of the dinosaur age. But many factors beyond W-L measure a pitcher’s performance. If virtually everyone of those except W/L are thrown out, Zito *did* have a very good regular season. But If that’s the measuring stick now, I’m completely cool with it .And there’s no doubt that he performed very well in his last two postseason starts, by any measure.
Sabean and Bochy back to the future with pitching, strong defense up the middle and an offense that fights for every base and gets runs with timely hits. I’m not bored by it. It’s solid baseball and it’s great.
what he said
Actually, I doubt anyone saw Pagan picking it up like he did. The last of August were uncertain days. No Giants lover jumps off the bus even with Timmeh, Wilson, Pablo, Belt all gone or struggling. Melky using. Zito moving up the rotation?? No big trade deadline deals. At the end of August there was some wringing of hands for Giants lovers, for sure.
But it sure looks now like this was the time a team was forged. Instead of with characters, showing character. If Bruce Bochy doesn’t win manager of the year? Posey. Scooter. Crawford. OH, MY! Remember this year, it will prove to be one of the all time greats. for baseball.
and another parade for San Francisco.
seven hours and we get to go again.
Well their best pickup was Scutaro.He solidified the black hole at 2nd.Plus his bat and Veteran leadership made him the “Best” pickup in Baseball.Dude is “Nails” a true Baseball Warrior.
what I meant is no big names news headlines deals. The giants had their eyes on scooter for a while, tried to get him in Spring training. His leadership is amazing.
I don’t pay much attention to the national sports media. What I do hear is usually pretty much old fashioned analysis, that pays little attention to SABR stats. Anyone who does pay attention would have noticed that the Giants had the highest park adjusted OPS in the NL. There is little in the stats that suggests the Giants shouldn’t be where they are.
My sense is that most writers and fans treat the “newer” stats kinda like the casual museum goer who, 60 years after the intital notoriety, still secretly looks at the abstract expressionist painters as a bunch of incompetent frauds, even after you show ’em some early paintings that “prove” they could do “real” art.
I’m OK with ceding SABR stat superiority to other fans. I tried a few times to read the new Baseball Prospective book at my local library. It’s just not something that will ever be my thing. I just couldn’t find it enjoyable reading, for whatever reason.
“Good pitching beats good hitting” is a truism that’s been around since the beginning of baseball. I guess SABR stats can help us understand WHY that’s true. Which is cool, if people want to dissect it to that degree. I’m behind the SABR curve,though; I’m still trying to absorb OPS, which sprung up to fame a few years ago when I wasn’t noticing.
And I’m appreciating the “WHip” stat now.
Except, the one phase of the game the Giants excelled in above the others this year was in scoring runs. Even after Melky left.
I thought the Tigers were supposed to win largely because of their pitching, i.e., the conventional wisdom. The Giants have scored 12 runs off of a very tough staff.
I do have to admit that Zito must have screwed some Sabregeeks old lady, for the respect he gets at Fangraphs, Baseball Reference, etc, At Fangarphs his WAR is in between that of Affeldt and Lopez. At Baseball Reference- it’s a NEGATIVE 0.3.
If one thinks that’s just a bunch of nerds talking, I hear that Alyssa Milano rated him wore than Nathan Lane…
We should enjoy Barry for all he’s worth right now. And then check in mid-July next year to see how much the Flap’s consensus on BZ differs from the geeks.
actually James, that’s another classic smoke screen saber-idiots use to defend a losing case. “Get back to me in the future” is the mantra. Well, I thought we were supposed to see the *real* Zito rear his ugly head in September. That’s what we were told by some here. “Yeah, he’s winning games, but wait till September!”.
Whoops. September came and went, as did October. And Zito is still going strong.
Maybe he will suck next year, maybe he won’t. But whatever happens it won’t change the fact that Zito was outstanding this year and was a major factor in the Giants winning the world series in 2012 (assuming they finish off the fat Tigers).
Enjoying the “numbers” is just a small small part of enjoying baseball for me. I’ve generally found that the stats just confirm what the “eye test” sees. The “sabrstats” mentioned here by me or anybody else are a drop in the stat bucket, barely more advanced than W/L, BA, etc. People spend their whole lives developing the new stats. And one would have to spend their whole life if they tried to understand all of them. If I went to the games anymore I’d probably pay less attention to stats.
I’d prefer not to be called an idiot because I believe that success in baseball, like many other games, always involves a varying combination of skill and chance. If you need chemistry and karma to explain and enjoy the Giants’ success, or want to believe in destined true love, or the life hereafter, hey, whatever gets you through the night.
Actually I posted before September that how Zits performed then would be the key to determining whether this year really was any better than a couple of others- even after September there wasn’t much more than the W/L that would support that he was any better than 2010 and 2009. But he did pitch well in the stretch than he did in those years, so he gets credit for that- which is why I posted that I thought he’d win those postseason starts.
Well, the eye test tells us that the Giants do not have a particularly good offense. Some stats that dig just a little beneath the surface — and not the highly specialized stuff that keeps the geeks busy– tell a different story.
And, BTW BF,the Dodgers pitching finished with an ERA lower than what it was when they made their trade. Hanley Ramirez and Adrian Gonzalez finished with much better numbers than Loney or the injured SS would have provided. The Dodgers came up short because they didn’t improve an anemic offense enough and the Giants played great, not because AGon, after hitting an HR in his first AB as Dodger, all of sudden realized, “hey, I’m emotionally lost in this great big City of Angels!”
I wasn’t calling you an idiot. I was referring to saber stat geeks who stubbornly stick to their position even after they’ve been proven wrong. And since I spend lots of time trying to understand and use those stats I would qualify myself as a *saber stat geek*. The difference is, we aren’t ALL idiots.
the Dodgers lost for the EXACT reason I said they would at the time the trade went down: they couldn’t figure out how to play together. It WAS a chemistry thing. And that’s not just my opinion, it’s shared by countless baseball people. The only difference is that I discussed it before it happened and they all talked about it after the fact.
The stats confirm what I’ve said about the offense. I agree it doesn’t take much digging to confirm what I’ve seen.
You mean those same countless baseball people who picked the Tigers? You also suggested that the trade didn’t clearly address the Dodgers real need, pitching.
TF, yes, you have repeatedly pointed out the road numbers. The point is that stats that are not particularly difficult to grasp, and which supposedly have been mainstreamed, are still often ignored by the “countless baseball people” when they formulate their opinions and narratives.
the Dodgers hit .251 in Sept. They hit .258 in August. They scored 91 runs in Sept, 125 in August. They also had a worse team OPS in Sept than in August and I know that’s THE MOST IMPORTANT INDICATOR, right James? The offense got WORSE after the trade, not better. Any idiot knew that Hanley and A-Gone were going to be more productive than Loney and hurt-SS. That was never the issue. They couldn’t figure out how to play together as a team.
And they DID need pitching that they never got. As I said at the time, Capuano would fold in September (which he did). Billingsley wouldn’t pitch another game (which I said he WOULDN’T do the day he got hurt). Kershaw getting hurt was an unforeseen development but one thing cannot be argued: The Dodgers needed starting pitching help in the worst way and didn’t get enough to fill the gap (unless you think Beckett was enough and he wasn’t).
The Dodger pitching held steady after the trade. That is a fact. It does not matter how they got it done (they do have a very good bullpen).
So, the offense didn’t produce because AGon and the other new faces came in, performed better than those whom they replaced, but the holdovers like Kemp just somehow couldn’t abide? Or maybe his injury had something to do with that 742 OPS over the last 28 days?
The reason I love baseball so much is why the Giants are winning. Chicks dig the long ball and that’s cool. From time to time we can bang with the big boys. But with our pitching and defense we don’t have to. Getting on base, advancing runners, and knocking them in. Taking advantage of opportunities when they present themselves in both halves of the inning. Small ball that turns into crooked numbers posted on the scoreboard. Oh sure there is plenty of painful, heart wrenching torture along the way. But isn’t that what makes it all so fun?
And chicks have begun digging Giants baseball. There are lots and lots of new fans amongst women. Maybe it’s the “matinee idol” aspect of how the Giants have marketed themselves to women; but along the way, lots of new women fans have discovered how full of drama and interest baseball is. The everydayness of it, the daily intrigue of it. And, sure, it helps that the Giants provide lots of wins. Winning is better than losing! Talk about one of the great truisms of sports!
Yes they have, I have noticed a lot more ladies at the game and they’re totally into it. Makes going to games that much more fun.
That has always cracked me up – ‘chicks dig the long ball’. This chick has always dug great defense…it is practically obscene the way I react to a ‘strike ’em out, throw ’em out’ double play! Gregor’s catch last night…I swooned! The 6-4-3 makes me giddy! You can have your Action Annie’s, the ferret digs the D!
Ferret I know you know about this right?
This classic Nike commercial. As has been mentioned before, homeruns and lots of runs is sexy baseball and needed to attract the attention of the casual fan. You obviously are far more knowledgeable than a meandering passerby who doesn’t know the difference between a RBI and a base on balls.
Sarge, sure I know about it – it just always struck me as funny…and more than a little patronizing, but you’re right, they weren’t talking to me! lol
Hey Bozo….If your a Pittsburgh Steeler fan,they really came to the fore front for you today,their uni’s today are “Clown” worthy!!
From Marcos Breton of the Sacbee:
Many who were huddled together at frigid Comerica Park couldn’t believe it Saturday night when the Tigers’ massive sluggers were neutralized by a 35-year-old retread starter, a long-haired former ace reborn in the bullpen and a little Mexican American closer who looks like he could be one of Pancho Villa’s men.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/28/4943811/theres-nothing-tigers-can-do.html#storylink=cpy
From the same article:
Then, the first question to Giants manager Bruce Bochy went something like this: “Is there a sense things are just going your way?”
Showing amazing restraint, Bochy paused and in a calm voice said: “I’ll say this: The club is playing well.”
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/28/4943811/theres-nothing-tigers-can-do.html#storylink=cpy
Bruce Bochy, master of understatement! LOL!
I went and looked to see what happened to Nick Peters.
Peters, who retired in 2008, had attended all 50 of the Giants’ home openers and authored five books on the team.
I did not realise he was at retirement age.
I have no doubt that Pablo and his .636 batting average will take home the WS MVP. But I’d vote for Timmy 2nd. What he has done in 4.2 innings of work has been amazing. Besides just being dominant and shutting the Tigers down, it’s just been inspiring to watch him re-invent himself for this post season. And Bochy deserves much of the credit for coming up with this ingenious way of channeling Timmy’s influence into this world series.
The super middle man? By foisting Eck on baseball, LaRussa helped fully institutionalize the questionable value of the dedicated one inning closer. I like the idea that, through his use of Lincecum, Bochy would help give greater prominence to a trend that’s actually more important to a team’s success than the closer — first rate middle inning relief.
This is true for the simple quantitative fact/reason that 2-3 innings is worth twice, perhaps three times as much as one inning.
with numerous defensive gems, the amazing bunt and then the smash to the wall last night Blanco has a case too but i think you are right and it goes to Sandoval
So did this dazzling display of Matt Cain’s pitching accuracy get posted yet (from Mythbusters earlier this year)? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_5XyMUwDMc
I kinda been out of the loop…
Really it doesn’t matter if Tim pitches or not.The Tiger’s haven’t hit any of our Pitchers.
2 shutous in a row,a gift HR off Pagan’s glove to count for 2 of the 3 “Total”runs these chumps have managed to muster.
Probably throw Wellenmeyer at them and get a possible shutout inning.
Let’s just set the Alltime record of 3 straight W/S “Shutout” gamesThat might.shut up some east coast bias writers.
27 outs of shutout ball to go!
hilarious and SO true.
Went to the theater (Argo) with a friend to kill time. I have a date at 3pm (walking distance) to kill more time before the game. Tick tock tick tock . . .
How was Argo – looks good! A date? What, is your laundry all done? ha ha
Excellent movie Ferret! Go see it. Yes, the date was good too. Oh, you are spot on about the laundry too. I have my second load going as we speak. 🙂
Great post, Flav. I don’t think I’m jaded, just more mellow this time around. I think the 6 elimination games in the playoffs may have just worn out my ‘freak out’ button…taking it one inning at a time – and LOVING IT!!!!!
Go Giants! we win we score
How easy it is for misunderstandings to develop, I thought Flavor meant the Dodgers had bad drugs..anyway, didn’t God decide this was our year? And why would He do that? I mean, face it: the rest of the country is right. We’re serial blasphemers and not the least bit repentent about it. The only thing that saved us in 2010 was that Philly fans boo Santa Slaus and God likes Santa. I’m absolutely serious that we’d we’d better wrap this up tonight before He gets back from the beach.
All this talk about MVP and Timmy, I have not heard anyone claim Bochy as Manager of the year? Maybe Twin has and I just missed it, but he is most deserving IMO
I meant Pablo and Timmy for MVP, even though if Zito gets another start and does well he might be in the running then also.
I think because it’s just a given that he should win it.
I haven’t suggested him as MOY because I don’t think he’ll win not because I don’t think he deserves it. Sporting News named Davey Johnson ( the managers vote for that one). It will be tough- Johnson is12 yeras older ( writers like that ), ugly but with a professorial look, his team’s success was more unexpected. I think Bochy will have to claim to be a recovering drug addict and have some supporting papers.to have a decent shot.
and I think it’s stupid to not finish the post season first before they vote on MOY–it’s the most important time of the year, that time should count and be factored into the manager you’re voting for. If another manager completely outmanages their opposing manager in the WS how does that NOT make them MOY?
The BBWAA vote on the MOY. Problem: how many of those 28 writers watch every team play every game that would qualify them with the credentials to cast a vote? And in my opinion, you have to watch a manager manage for the entire year. They don’t accumulate stats the same way players do.
If any of those 28 writers are watching the WS and still think that Davey Freaking Johnson should be the MOY then they should lose their vote.
hope you’re talking mvp so far because this series has a ways to go….don’t be cocky…I expect it to return to San Francisco 3/2.
wswin– I’m curious, what have you seen so far that causes you to *expect* the Tigers will win the next 2 games?
o.k. sub out expect for think…the last couple coulda gone either way
the Tigers didn’t score a run in *the last couple*. By definition, if you don’t score a run you cannot win a game. It’s actually the only way to ensure with 100% certainty that you can’t win a baseball game. Therefore, it would have been impossible for them to win either of the last couple.
a hit at the right time …oh never mind
Theriot to DH today. His OPS against RHP is only 12 points lower than Delmon Young’s. 🙂
another failure of the OPS stat: incorporating the walk and giving it the same value as a single. A walk rarely produces the same result as a single, especially when there are men on base. I’d want more from my DH than a couple of walks tonight……….
Theriot batted 269, Young 247 against righties. The Riot is hardly a patient hitter. Neither is very good.
OPS remains a fine general purpose stat for measuring a players offensive performance, better than BA RBIs, etc. It’s the geeks who have quibbles with it, and, as I understand it, that’s because it privileges SP over OBP. The distinctions from player to player using more precise stats are marginal.
Well, Theriot has ownage on Scherzer at 1-2 😉
.
DumbFuck Hater Jeff Passan said the Tigers would roll in 5 games. Now he’s declaring the series over. Wow, really going out on a limb there, eh Jeff?
My issue with Passan and his cronies is that he doesn’t give the Giants any credit, he just explains away his failed logic by blaming the Tigers for choking and going into a team wide slump.
Ok, and maybe they HAVE all fallen into a team wide slump. Or should our pitching get the credit for that?
Our starting pitching has stepped up and delivered epic pitching performances since Game 5 of the NLCS (0.66ERA since Game 5).
I was in the same boat as most of the prognosticators before the series started. I feared the Tigers pitching staff and thought our pitching staff, the way it had been performing, would have a very difficult time with the Tiger hitters.
Then I got a look at the Tiger hitters and thought to myself, “hey, we should be able to get most of these fat fucks out.” And then the staff did something that all champions do: they raised their game. They stepped up during a time when the most pressure was on. They are pitching their best games of the year at the most important time of the year. Is that an accident? Or is that the sign of a champion?
I haven’t seen a stat yet at fangraphs.com that measures the heart of a player or identifies a player who is most likely to perform under pressure……..
Getting back to Bochy, I think he should have won last year if merit had more to do with it. Much has been made of the 2010 guys who flopped, and the many injuries. Winning 86 games was a magic act, IMO..
OK a couple of hours to go. Internet has been spotty, land line is toast and although there has been a couple outages, the power is still on (please, please keep making it so Number One).
Red beans in my belly (your fault, edd and chi) and rum in my glass (my fault). I’m ready for some Giants, Word Series baseball.
kat- That’s a clown question, bro’. I’m not a Steelers fan and could give a shit if they played wearing wigs and fake noses. Well, actually that would crack me up.
And, I’m pretty sure Al Saracevic is a fucking A’s fan, so fuck him.
GO
GIANTS
!!!!
red beans and ricely yours
we score we win
Go Giants!
thanks for checking in and glad you seem to be weathering this ok
See, that’s what I love about this blog . . . Everyone else is watching the game in relatively calm weather. However, with all of us spread across the 4 corners of the globe (sorta anyway), we always have at least one person that either has to watch a Giants baseball game via a pirated broadcast on the internet, ESPN GameCast with those stupid yellow, blue and red icons, game reports on their telephone’s 3 or 4G network, or read about it the next day. 🙂
I am already imagining Bozo watching the game this evening, with water cresting at his doorstep, inches below the stilt foundation height, rain water coming through shingles and tiles he missed while securing stuff yesterday, and dangerous debris, such as propane tanks and sailing boats floating by his house.
🙂
Man blade, you started to scare me there. I was having visions of all those things.
Nope I’ll be sitting in my easy chair, waiting for the Red Cross to make me some garlic fries, FEMA to adjust the volume on the TV for me and the church ladies to darn me some new socks. And oh yeah, my contractor to actually come back and level the house (well, that last one is a bit far fetched).
epic. How bad did it get?
I hope you know I was jesting . . . Be safe friend!
Blade – I know and I hope you know I was kidding about the Church ladies. (grin and smile here)
Flav- So far it hasn’t been bad for a Hurricane, but it is a pretty fucked up storm.
Spanning the Globe to bring you the constant varitey of Sports.
The thrill of Victory,the agony of defeat.
The human drama of athelitic competition.
This is ABC Wide World Of Sports!!!
Jim McKay reporting live,with wet clothes and a wet woody,
from the outer Banks of South,possibly North Carolina .
Remember Old Seal’s Fan? He never could seem to figure out how to get the game.
On tv? Or just in general? Cause I remember both
Yeah, both.
Word out of Detroit,like the Tigers offense even the “hookers” are having a hard time scoring.
Clown, hope the worst is over for you. Soon it’ll be our turn here in NJ since we seem to be in the crosshairs of this storm. So let’s go Giants and finish off the pussycats,, because I may not have power tomorrow.
Hey Mac& Bozo…Yeah all my thoughts are with both of you.My neighbor has a daughter at NYU,and they want her to come back to California.But she stocked up supplies and decided to ride it out.They have already cancelled classes for Monday,maybe Tuesday as well.
Stay Safe!!!!
It’s still going on here Mac. They’re saying on the Sound side (were I live) we’ll be seeing a 3 to 7 foot surge tonight, don’t know about that but it sure has been a freaky storm. Stay safe up there my friend.
PLAY BALL!
Let me be the first to weigh in on the announcers.
“cain is a flyball pitcher. 48% of his outs are ground balls”
now I know cain is a flyball pitcher, but that is a small margin.
Boo hoo Prince.
Froze Posey with that pitch.
Pence! Belt! We score, we win!
Triple Belt-ed!
I think I just woke up the neighborhood when that ball hit the wall.
yeehaw
Texas Fight!
Boo. Yah.
We score we win
Whoot! Pence and Belt!!!
Yeah Baby,Pence&.Belt lighting up Max 2 color eyes Scherzer.After they just said of course how strong.he.was pitching,fucking idiots
HAHAHA . . . Leyland finally got the memo.
One is good! Set ’em down again Matty!
Nice AB for Theriot,ball just hung up in the gap.Already better looking then Hector AB’s
Damn, thought the Riot was gonna make me pay for slagging on him . . . .
Buck &McCarver grasp for any Tiger action.Lradoff hit,their excitement level triples over a Giant hit.
Then Cain shuts the door,they can’t wait to get to a commercial in disgust.
Another Tiger that needs to skip a meal. Way to go Brandon.
When ya get back home Ashley, check out the Flap. 🙂
Are starting to hit some balls hard off of Maxie Pads.Good sign.
Scherzer is showing me zero . . . Fastball has no movement and the rest of his pitches suck.
Sherzer’s stuff reminds me of Montefusco, the change up excluded.
That’s slightly before my time, I was just starting to to watch baseball around Count’s career. But I didn’t think he threw that hard
Low nineties FB, very low three quarters, good slider. Almost no one threw mid nineties regularly then.
There were a lot of guys who threw mid-90’s in the 70’s. Certainly not as many as today but if you’re going to compare a flame throwing strike thrower like Scherzer to anyone (and he can easily touch 97-98) I wouldn’t think of The Count as the first guy. But like I said, I didn’t see him pitch much, just heard some games on the radio…….
Well, no, throwing in the mid nineties was unusual then, not unheard of, but not anything like today — see the Cardinals. Montefusco had the K totals and ratios to merit the comparison, but I was mostly just noting the release and movement of the pitches.
Buster seems to be feeling more pressure this series than in 2010. Hope his heart isn’t shrinking.
I guess he was due.
What about the breaks the Tigers are getting this game? 2 fucking garbage home runs.
If the wind hadn’t helped that ball, we would have torn the “heart” out of the Tigers. Great plays by Brandon, Pablo, and Belt. So, we have a game . . . maybe. Scherzer has been fairly lucky as Kat pointed out. We’re hitting this guy and we only need a few to drop in.
Well, amazing, more breaks for the Tigers, an obvious ball 4 gets called strike 2 on Blanco.
tough sequence in the Blanco at bat. He does the right thing and lets what he thought was ball 4 go by and then swings at a pitch after that from Sherzer that he could not have expected to be coming…….
Whatever, they scored 2 runs on a wind aided ball. The opposing team scores runs, it’s part of the game. The breaks definitely seem to *feel* like they are going the way of Detroit tonight though.
Not really complaining, just pointing it out because so much has been made of the Giants’ luck.
Okay,so they have the lead for the first time in the series – time to panic??
Go Giants!!!
Be safe, Bozo!!! (temporarily replaces Fuck Bozo!!)
Not at all Ferret.Scherzer is going down.Were hitting hard shots off him.
Oh and Fuck Bozo!!! It’s a superstition thing right now.
Sorry, meant to put a Hell to the NO!!! on that post!
Alleykat you are both wise& correct – what was I thinking?
Fuck Bozo!!! (and take care)
Thank you Matty for that 1-2-3 inning and keeping that Verlander interview to a minimum.
Player of the game, right there!!!
there is a large group of fans in New Zealand watching on ESPN. The New Zealand Baseball Team (playing in March World Baseball Classic – AT&T San Francisco is hosting the semifinal and final games.) is coached by a Giants minor league coach. Missed his name.
How about a new name for a beer Joe…Up Chuck Buck.
Just a super GG play by Crawford!!!
Craw is blowing my mind.
Get some runs Giants!!!
Fuck you, Bozo!!!
That ball was not going foul. Stupid McCarver!!
So is Crawford going to be the starting SS next spring??? Dripping with sarcasm by the way
BUSTER BOMB!
Bustahhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pfffffffffttt! I love saving my pffffffft’s for the other team. 🙂