We Win! Now What Do We Wear?
So this is probably a thread that our resident “swag expert” (Pawlie Kokonuts) should be writing. I don’t even know how to spell the word. Is it *swag*? *shwag*? *schwag*? No clue. All I know is that Pawlie invests in the gear. And not only does he invest in it, he uses it as some sort of medieval-social-human-behavior-radar-indicator. I don’t know what that is either but it sounds good. Pawlie can spot an SF insignia from 3 blocks away. And the conversation that he most certainly will be starting with you will determine how much *Giants fan* you’ve got in you. I love it. But he can explain it better than I can.
One thing stood out to me at the parade— the sheer number of people wearing Giants gear. It would have been like walking through a desert in the deadest of a moonless night, if not for the orange. It didn’t used to be that way. That’s the single good thing that the band wagon jumpers bring to the party–they turn the whole scene into a world of orange and black.
Me? I’m not a swag-guy. I own 2 tee shirts (one that’s about 10 years old and quite tattered and an orange one that I bought to wear to Game 1 of the 2010 WS). I own one authentic MLB *genuine merchandise* jersey, sans name on back. No hat. I’ve had hats but I’ve lost them over the years. I have an orange and black bead wristband that some chick gave me before the start of the 2010 world series. I wore it then, took it off for 2 years and then put it back on again this September. Took it off a couple of Sunday night’s ago. Seems to work good enough.
All in all, I’m not a huge *swag* guy, can’t really even stand using that word actually. But I must admit, orange and black is a pretty good look. Maybe my opinion is colored because of the current
B-A-S-K enveloping me……..
So what gear are you guys going to be picking up this off season? Here’s the hat I like and will be buying as soon as I can make it over to the Dugout Store 3 minutes away from my work (not having done it yet shows you my commitment to the world of *swag*):
Here’s another one. It’s got a little more of an understated look to it but I’d feel like a fraud walking around with a hat bragging about 7 championships, only 2 of which I remember or care about:
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Over the years I’ve gotten a lot of swag (I think of swag as the free stuff), either as a season seat holder at the Stick or later a Charter season ticket holder at Pac Bell (sorry Nipper, that’s what I call it and I have a hat to prove it). Each year that they changed the name of the stadium(s) I got something new. Hats, a replica of the stadium, Bike messenger bag, hats, seat cushions, baseballs, bobble heads, baseball cards etc.. Friends and family would also give me stuff, tees, sweat shirts, shot glasses, beer mugs, you get the idea (Xmas in 2010 was two sweatshirts, the complete DVD collection and the Band of Misfits book). I used to buy a new cap every year as each year I would write the year and my W/L record that year under the bill. I’ve given away some of this stuff over the years mainly to friends that had kids. I gave my 2002 cap to a little punkette in a bar (Thee Parkside) so sometimes there was an added benefit to the swag/merch, if you know what I mean (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).
So this year my wife and mother-in-law have already asked what I wanted from the 2012 merch. What I’ve picked is the black mesh cap the reads WS Champion and the SF logo (no year on the cap). The black hoodie pull over with the small WS SF logo on the breast. A toss up between the gray and black long sleeve tees and the short sleeve orange tee (page 2 of the merch page) that Champions and the SF logo are more prominent.
skyping with Bozo a few weeks ago was a little overwhelming. He had the Giants straw hat, the jersey, I think there were pennants or something in the background, he had multiple bobble heads bobbling around to and fro…..there was a lot of shit going on there, lol.
What do you expect from a clown?
I don’t like ostentatious, so NO bullshit writing on the back of hats, back of T-shirts, sweat shirts and especially, jackets. Only exception is a jersey and that’s only if it matches what the team has on the back of their official jerseys, e.g., number and player’s name. My mom usually provides me with swag and most of the stuff I wont wear, unless it is subtle (albeit, I wont tell her that). Prior to my brother passing away in the early 80’s, he gave me an “Old School” short cut 49er jacket, with no writing on the back, minimal logo in front. I treasure that jacket and still keep it, even though it hasn’t fit me since 1990 (weight lifting will do that. Ha.). I will probably “will it” it to a favorite nephew before I leave this ball.
Also, I am totally against hats if you are trying to cover up bald spots and/or this is what you consider “putting on the ritz” and making an impression with a new woman you’ve just met or your old lady on the weekly date night jaunt. In short, I rarely wear hats and if I did, then it would be a dignified black background with orange SF insignia Giants hat.
In Colorado, SF Giant and 49er sweatshirts, with hoods, are mandatory for two reasons: 1. Cold weather; and, 2. In your face rebuttal to ALL Rockies and Bronco fans.
The only Jersey I have is a Krukow (39) one I had made up before the 2002 season. My seats were close to the broadcast booths so I had the Kruk one made up, one buddy of mine was going to get a Kuip one and another friend was going to get a Tito Fuentes one. They didn’t do it. That year, besides my seats, I bought two Bleacher seats for Opening day. I let two friends sit in my seats and I went out to the bleachers for a change of pace. Wearing my new Kruk jersey, I was stopped everywhere and told to grab some pine meat. I can’t say it was because of that jersey or not, but the Dugout store had so many requests that they started making tee shirt replicas. Over the remaining years I got the Krukow salute a few times and I was told I was on TV a bunch because of it. That was pretty cool, although I still think if my other two buddies had gotten their jerseys it would’ve been hilarious and a lot more fun.
Tito Fuentes is one of my all time favorite players (I think I have mentioned this here before that I got in hot water by my little league and high school coaches for doing a variation of Tito at the plate, where I would twirl the bat around my fingers/hand . . . Umm, coaches thought that was over the top. Ha.). Yeah, a Fuentes jersey would be something I would buy (only a Mays or Marichal jersey being more desirable).
I have one of the Krukow shirts you mention (gray with the 80s Giants lettering on the front and Krukow/39 on the back).
Steve – I have my McCovery throwback that I mentioned, and have always wanted a Marichal, too – one of these days).
Bozo, almost forgot to mention that was some funny shit about Kruk. OK, now you can grab some pine meat. 🙂
I think you’d have to have a Fuentes jersey made up. When I got mine I think it was 5 bucks a letter (not sure how much the numbers were). So I always joked that I could have saved money by getting the jersey of the greatest player of all time (Mays) but nooo, I got stuck with a Krukow.
Suppose everyone saw that Weiss was formally hired at the Rox new manager. Saw the discussion last night…I think the last managerial job Wotus interviewed for was a few years back for the Bucs.
Well, I have quite a bit of swag (new term to me) that I have collected over the years. T-shirts – cannot even begin to count. I have the Groundbreaking shirt for Pac Bell along with Opening Day Pac Bell (2000), inaugural series Pac Bell (Giants – Yankees) right before the new yard opened for the 2000 regular season, Spring Training t-shirts dating back to at least 2000 (wore my 2000 ST shirt to the parade).
I wear a Giant or HD (Harley Davidson) t-shirt probably 80% of the time. Other days the t-shirt is either music or beer related.
Hats – I have quite a few of them, although I do not wear them regularly. The only thing I have with “writing/signatures” on it is my Spring Training hat from 2010 (signed on the bill by Vida Blue and Gaylord Perry).
Jerseys? I have probably 8-10 Giants, a couple of Sharks, and a Negro League one that has patches of all of the Negro league teams on the back. A few are batting practice jerseys. I have a 1994 BP jersey with the 125th MLB patch and Bonds 25. I have the Cal Trans orange (number 28 that I bought in 2010 at the beginning of the year). Have a throw-back 1989 Will Clark (road grey with SF on the breast), and a throw-back (road grey) McCovey that is from 1973 (orange San Francisco on the front…McCovey – 44 on the back).
This year I have, so far:
NL West Division Champs shirt: http://shop.mlb.com/product/index.jsp?productId=15478746&cp=16912166.17005626
NL Champs shirt: http://shop.mlb.com/product/index.jsp?productId=16396606&cp=16912166.17005626
WS shirt: http://shop.mlb.com/product/index.jsp?productId=16820066&cp=16912166.17005626
World Series hat: http://shop.mlb.com/product/index.jsp?productId=16779276&cp=16912166.17005636.
Will probably pick-up another shirt or two (Parade shirt in long sleeve). Thinking seriously about a new hoodie…the one I have now is old and starting to show wear…but I still love it and get compliments on it regularly.
So, yeah…I guess you could say I have and like my swag.
I have two jerseys – my cousin game me one that’s way too large for me (xl) and another one with the 2002 World Series insignia on the sleeve, but traditional in every other way.
Chi, I like the Orange WS T shirt with the roster names on the front (lol . . . I was able to “blow it up” and read the fine print because I am using my Apple MacPro laptop).
That is actually the NL Champs shirt. (It may say World Series on it, as that is when they punched their ticket to the WS.)
Chi, I’m not sure if I’m right on this and I’m not going to look it up (I have a feeling I’ll be corrected if I’m wrong). When I was playing music, swag was the free promo stuff we’d get from radio stations, clubs or whatever. Likewise when we gave out free CDs, tee shirts or stickers we considered that swag for the person receiving it. When we sold stuff or bought it we considered that merchandise or merch. But again, I could be wrong.
Cheers.
Okay…so I may have a few pieces of swag. Well, one for sure. During a break between innings, one of the regular occurances at the yard is where Lou Seal cruises around the permiter of the yard, and shoots t-shirts into the crowd. I was in the bleachers for a game one night with my son, and caught a t-shirt (it was the orange commemorative t-shirt for the Giants being in SF for 50 years). Sailed right through my son’s hands into mine. 🙂
All of my other Giants garb, etc. is bought (well, another exception is pins that were handed out for certain games, etc.). I also have an extensive pin collection…but that’s another story.
Chi – I love the tee shirt story, I don’t think I know anyone who has actually gotten one of those. Man, I so wanted one of the hot dogs they used to shoot out. I just thought it would be cool to have a hot dog delivered to you from a bazooka.
I’m kind of anti-gear. I used to get a kick out of looking kind of scruffy and non descript and kicking guys ass on courts who showed up in their matching nike/adidas whatever outfits with shoes way out of my price range.
But it’s cool to see fans everywhere with Giants stuff on, gals included. Buddy of mine used to buy a new hat every year too, just one he liked regardless of team. He had the old O’s hat, white with the grinning bird in the middle, and a cool blue jays hat (pretty rare to see one of those in norcal) from back in the day. Dunno about a gray SF hat….might take some getting used to.
Have my share of swag.McCovey Tshirt,Sandoval long sleeve shirt,Golf Shirt black with a SF emblem,real cool look on the links with a matching Giants cap.
Have a few sweatshirts,and a Old School super warm probably will never come back in style Acid wash blue jean jacket with huge Giant emblem with NL emblem and AL&NL pennants on the sleeve,Plus Huge Orange GIANTS Spelled out on the back!
Well, it is official now…Buster is in the hunt for MVP. Also, Bochy is in the mix for NL Manager of the Year.
http://blog.sfgate.com/giants/2012/11/07/buster-posey-bruce-bochy-among-finalists-for-bbwaa-awards/
Figure Posey wins easily, but is Johnson considered the front runner for MOY?
Yes.
I had a couple of Scott McClain bats, gave one of them to Flavor. I have a Giant’s cap I bought at a grocery store before a round of Chemo began. I have some memorabilia one of my brothers sent after my Dad died. I don’t even know where that stuff is other than a windbreaker from some celebrity golf tournament. Safe to say I’m not into that stuff.
I’m not really a big gear guy. A few things and all gifts. My niece just gave me an Orange Cain T-shirt. I’ll probably sleep in it or wear that underneath something black. My 2010 WS cap is getting nasty according to the GF. I consider it broken in, so I told her to buy me another if it’s an issue. Those hoodies look great for the winter. Would go well with my G’s sleepwear pants I like to lounge in.
Yeah, my swag kind of rolls in and out like the tide. I have the opening day 1993 Grateful Dead t-shirt where Jerry Garcia, Bill Weir, and Vince Welnick sang the Star Spangled Banner a cappela). I have a 1980s (I think) t-shirt with the orange ball and the old Giants script written across it. Like the one Buster’s wife was wearing (except the ball was white). I used to have a hat covered with Croix de Candlesticks (lost it), another hat with a bunch of promo giveaway pins (I’ve got a Giant attitude, Gotta love those kids, the 1989 ‘I survived opening night’ pin game me and my soon-to-be-wife were arrested at, the 1999 final game at the Stick pin, and the 400, 500, 600, and 700 hr Bonds pins). I have the 2002 NL Pennant hat that I got Will Clark to sign, a bunch of t-shirts from the 2010 playoffs and a 2002 shweatshirt from the beginning of the year. Also bought a 2010 ws hat and i bought my wife a jersey and a blanket.
Thing about those WS hats (and this year’s playoff hat. They make you look like a pinhead. They are too high on the top.
The only jersey I have is a Chinese majestic knockoff Matt Williams 1989 away jersey I picked up for $25.00. I’d say I’m not really into it, but the stuff just kinda adds up over the years.
Niner stuff, my prized possession is a t-shirt I bought for $2.50 in the Stick parking lot in 1978. It says ‘Forty Fucking Niners.’ It was the phrase you would hear after many of those god-awful games in the 70s. Got a few commemorative bar t-shirts from some 49er super bowls. My biggest mistake was washing my 1987 Tom Rathman jersey last year. It disintegrated in the dryer. Plus I have my signed Alex Smith jersey I won from Chron writer Kevin Lynch in a 49er Insider draft contest a few years back. Kentwan Balmer, baby!
Chuck – I had that same Niner shirt years ago (Forty Fucking Niners). Wore that fucker out until it was just shreds…
Yeah, I can read the paper through that FFN shirt. It is paper-thin, but holding together.
Last time I wore is was for the 1994 NFC championship game. My neighbor at the time had a good friend that worked for Fox Sports, and he got us tickets. Great game.
Ohm, and I still have a Giants hat I found after a Giants game in 1977. Me and a couple buddies hung around the RF stands at the Stick after a game, and I found a Giants bag with a pro model (white underbrim – size 7 3/4) hat and sweatshirt in it. The sweatshirt and bag are long gone, but I still have the hat.
My daughters must have 10 t-shirts each. Plus their jerseys and hats.
Yeah, I like the black hat, but the ‘7 time’ is lame.
As I told my wife two years ago, Xmas shopping for me should be easy. WS hat from above and any kind of WS sweatshirt/hoodie will do, a T-shirt would be bonus. I needed a new WS hat anyway since I wore the last one during a round of golf and it’s got that sweaty-line thing across the brow. Thank you Giants for being so accommodating.
A few of my favorite swag/merch things: A black SF Giants hat I’ve had for at least 20 years old, probably longer, but I still wear it to ballgames; an orange shirt with Wilson’s silhouetted face/beard, another black one of Jerry Garcia’s silhouette, both a co-worker got me while he was vacationing in SF during the 2010 NLCS; two SF Giants pennants from the 1970s; 2 SF Giants balloon-shaped Xmas ornaments, one with Santa in the gondola. After the 2010 title, I found a Giants WS ornament here in Jersey, so my quest this holiday season will be to find a 2012 one.
Throwing this out there, in relation to Zumie’s election day thread a few days back (and his Lincoln costume). Looking forward to seeing this flick.
http://www.mercurynews.com/entertainment/ci_21948915/review-an-epic-lincoln
My all-time favorite t-shirt is one I had for years, and literally wore it to threads. Wish I would have kept it, but did not. It was the only one of its kind I ever saw, and cannot even remember where I got it (may have been online).
It was a Grateful Dead-themed shirt. Players (and ump) were the obligatory skeletons. SF skeleton is sliding into home, Dodger catcher receiving the ball, ump signaling “SAFE” with the arms, and instead of a cloud of dust, there were rose petals flying all over the place. Had the San Francisco Giants lettering above. Always got tons of compliments on that one…
Latest on Giant’s AE players, and projected arbitration numbers:
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/san_francisco_giants/
Two more reasons not to pursue Michael Bourn: 1. He batted .225 in the 2nd half last year; and, 2. Scott Boras is his agent (whom Sabean despises).
By the by, everything I am reading says that Cincinnati will pursue Crazy Horse, if they get outbid on Upton and Bourn. Apparently, the Reds only have one off season priority and that’s signing a lead off hitting center fielder.
Yeah, that and the mention I made yesterday that I heard the Phillies could be suitors. If either of those teams offer upward of three years…he’s gone, as I don’t see Sabes going any further, or over-paying for him.
I never watch the show “Survivor” but thought this rant by Jeff Kent was pretty damned funny.
http://blog.sfgate.com/thebigevent/2012/11/08/jeff-kents-epic-survivor-loser-speech/
Excuse the pun, but if he goes “sayonara,” then say こんにちは (Hello) to Ichiro Suzuki. Book it.
Dierkes seems to think Wllson will be non-tendered and I can see that. Interesting are the figures he thinks Casilla and Romo will get: 5.4 for Casilla, 3.6 for Romo. They make sense-Casilla wil be in his 7th full year, hence the higher figure.
If Wilson is healthy yet leaves and they don’t retain Affeldt, I agree with Dierkes that they’ll probably need to add. Bochy juggled well, but the 7th inning guy was Mota after he was activated and they need to do better than that. Kontos *could* be the guy but he needs some kind of off speed pitch. Long relief was very poor last year as well. Again, Bochy somehow made it work but they need better there as well.
IMO.
Good post Mike. The Giants may have as many as 7 free agents and I thought I would never say this about a middle reliever, but Affeldt is a very important priority for the Giants and they must sign him in my opinion. Unlike other lefty specialists, he is lights out equally against righties (.244) and lefties (.236).
I agree, Blade. And unlike others here who think Affeldt is gone (based on his post-parade comments), I think Sabean will make him a priority, and will be very surprised if Affeldt is not back. I posted his line for 2011 and 2012 yesterday, and they are both impressive. Couple that with his ability to get out hitters from both sides of the plate…well, as I said yesterday, pitchers like that don’t exactly grow on trees. I’m saying it now…and will eat my words if wrong, but Affeldt will be back.
Of all our potential free agents, I think Sabean will make him the biggest priority. Yeah, he wants to get paid (and he will), but I think he also recognizes a good thing when he sees it, e.g., doesn’t have to move his family; lives in the greatest metro area in the World, bar none; on a World Series team; and, the Giants “child proofed” his house, tools, and knifes. 🙂
I try to picture the actual eating of one’s words, and it baffles me. Do we eat them by the letter or the syllable? And do punctuation marks stick in one’s craw?
Blade, I agree with Chuck yesterday that Affeldt is as good as gone. He’s signaled obviously that he’d going for the cash, wherever it is. I don’t blame him at all. I will be very surprised if he’s re-signed. If he leaves, thanks for the great contributions and all that, But, I won’t be broken hearted about it. Sabes should have a good take on where Affeldt is careerwise, and won’t overpay…
I think the Giants pony-up the cash to keep Affeldt. He’ll be back…and if not, I’ll eat my words…
Fall league update.
Scottsdale Scorpions:
Gary Brown .333 overall, (54ab’s)…394/.444/.929 last 10 games.
Hembree 8 in,.368 Era
Panik .197.
That’s nice news on Brown. Since he’s been in AA this past year, I would expect nothing less than that kind of batting mark, as a top prospect. If he were at .270 or some such in the AFL, that would be troubling. As for Panik, he’s just been in A ball. The AFL has some pretty good players, so he may be overwhelmed by the pitching. Giants probably wanted to see how far off he was, threw him into the fire with the big boys, to maybe help them figure out what to do at second base and contract length stuff etc for Scutaro and Theriot. Looks like they have an answer — Panik’s not close to being ready…
Related to my last post, no way that Cody Ross comes back here. Why? First off, he reportedly wants a 3 year, $21 million dollar contract. Second, the Giants are a contact-hitting, move the conga line along offense and Ross doesn’t fit that MO.
I’ve got the traditional orange SF logo on black cap, no other schwag. Snarkettes have an SF cap and a visor (pink for the littler one, of course), and each an SF tee. I don’t begrudge any Giants fans how much SF stuff they buy, that’s all cool with me. It helps Baer sleep better at night, and pays the Gamer’s checks for hitting in his home cage. I’m just not into wearing a bunch of stuff, not to mention spending for it. My cap is my connection to the team and my past as a fan, so it has to be the traditional one. No WSeries or NLDiv or NLCS or other bullshit on the cap. If I see a guy or woman wearing only a traditional SF cap, and I’m wearing mine, I know that they know and they know that I know how many div wins and NLCS wins and WSeries wins the team has. We are the real deal fans. It’s BF’s “knowing dude head nod” or whatever the hell he says…
Well, that’s all good, snarkk. I dig my various hats, including my 2010 WS hat and will dig my new 2012 WS hat when I get it. And you can think what you want about knowing something about a fan by what they wear, but I have as much or more history as a fan than most. I rock what I like and could give a fuck what anyone thinks about it. That’s cool you like your traditional hat, but there are plenty of old-school fans who rock other stuff. It’s all good…
Relax Chi.
I said I’m cool with people wearing all sorts of shit. The more the merrier. You’re old school, and not a bandwagoner, that’s clear. Maybe I was a little too smug about only capwearers. But, paraphrasing Harbaugh, it’s just not my deal to buy a bunch of stuff. I’m down with the BF approach. But, the more stuff goes out the Dugout store door, that’s good — the more money the “committee” has to spend. Or, keep….
It’s all good, brother…the smugness just came across a little heavy.
Though, I will say that the jacket Krukow was wearing up on the dais at the City Hall love-in looked pretty cool. I might consider that one. Don’t think I’ve seen anybody else have that, actually. A Krukow special? If in the stores, probably requires a pretty good chunk of change…
Ah that reminded me, I have a jacket, too. All black. Wool body, leather sleeves, with San Francisco on the front in script….
Good read on one of the young pitchers in the Giants farm system (and a bit on the farm system,overall).
http://tinyurl.com/ap6h3ks
Yeah, good short summary. The thing that is alarming is that the various ratings services all have the Giants farm system strength well down in the 20s. It’s a consensus. And, the coupla starter prospects that this article mentions are NOT close to the big club, they’re several years away. So, I think we’re going to see at least one FA starter get acquired next season, probably a 5 type, to be parked in Fresno in case of an injury. Surkamp wasn’t great before, now he’s coming off TJ surgery, so I would just assume for planning purposes he’s never going to help at the big club level. If he does, that’s gravy. And if they deal Tim, they’ll have to get another starter via trade or FA market in offseason 2013. I don’t think this is a horrendous thing, but a problem that has to be sorted out. I’ve said for a long time now and won’t belabor it, that I think they should focus more on position player development in the minors, and acquire FA pitching that is reputable, and not horrrendously costly. ATT dictates that, since top level position talent that can hit, especially with power, doesn’t want to come here…
For the record, I likely have less swag or gear or apparel or memorabilia than most folks here. And my collection is quirky. I got the Series “on-field” hat for this year from Lids. The WS logo is better than in 2010, in my view. But getting the hat was a statement, to the Lids people, to my local world, and to me. Yet I may not wear the hat much at all. Its hip-hop-style, flat brim looks stupid on me. I have a similar hat from 2010 I almost never wear. I have another WS hat from 2010 I seldom wear, more a baseball cap style. But I rarely wear it. I have a green and orange SF hat we bought in 2009 from AT&T Park that I share with my daughter. It is misshapen. The main thing is, Magnus is right. I employ Giants’ gear, worn by me or a stranger, as a divining rod. It is a talisman. A secret code gone public. A cultish sign. A sacramental connection. Emblem of embracing. Badge of basking. All that is so. And dozens of encounters over the years have proved fruitful. (One was this past Monday, related here.) Lately, I’ve looked at some local strangers in the public square with Giants gear and left them alone. I’ve developed some discernment. But, yeah, when you are a stranger in a sea of other partisans, a sighting of the Black and Orange perks me up, galvanizes my antennae. Those of you who are not in the Bay Area or who have ventured beyond the region, understand this. And those in the Bay Area who have not experienced this “fan in exile,” this Babylonian, abandonment, picture it. And let us all bask together. Together we are champions.
Well said, Pawlie. I forgot that I too have the “on field” hat from 2010, but only bought it when I saw it at the local Sports Authority for $15 (original like a $35 hat). The thing with that hat, and this year’s “on-field/clubhouse” hats is they have a high crown, and they just look goofy as shit on me. I prefer hats with a low profile (like the 2012 WS hat I got this year…shared the link).
Anyway, I have experienced the Babylonian feeling before, as when I travel (and I have traveled a bit both stateside and abroad), I always rock my orange and black, and have met a few people that way (it has been the starter for a number of conversations).
Together We’re Giant. Together We’re Champions.
I wonder if Robert Koldewey was wearing a Giants baseball cap when he excavated Babylon in 1899?
No, he was born in Arizona, and moved to Babylonia . . .
Got a condo made of stone-a
I once got stoned. Once!
I once got stoned, too…it was about 2 hours ago…
I did almost nine years in the Army, so I did a fair amount of traveling. I was well known everywhere I was stationed for being a Giants fan. I almost always wore my hat when I wasn’t in uniform, even if it was just to get the mail. Even when I was in Iraq I had some gear with me. I obviously couldn’t wear it, but I had it hanging on the wall in my room. I know well the feeling of being the fan in exile. The worst was probably when I was stationed at Ft. Lewis, Washington. It is about an hour south of Seattle and I was there during the seachicks run to the SB at about the same time my beloved Niners were mired in obscurity. That was a tough time to be a bay area sports fan, especially in hostile territory. I was able to catch an inter-league game when the G’s came up and played the Mariners. They have a beautiful park up there and it was a great game to attend, Barry Bonds and Ichiro both homered in that game………..my point before I went off on that tangent was I know the elation I felt when I was in a far away place and saw that familiar black and orange esseff emblazoned on the front of the hat. And the disappointment when I found out the guy just liked the colors. Frickin poser!
I love every word of this, sfsarge. That’s what I’m talkin’ about!
I always had at least a Giants hat with me when I was deployed.
The thing about the farm is, a lot of the previous talent on the farm is one the team now. Yeah, they’ve traded a few guys away (Wheeler and the catcher who I can’t remember his name), but to keep the farm perennially stocked with major league talent isn’t an easy one.
But look at Belt, Posey, Crawford, Sandoval, Timmy, Bummie, Mattty, Vogelsong, Romo, Wilson, even Kontos, and Hector among a few others I can’t recall, and we HAVE a lot of homegrown talent currently on the team.
This was supposed to go under Snarkk’s.
Kontos was a Yankee, he came over for Stewie, unless he was a Giant originally?…
Kontos was drafted by the YankMees.
Tommy Joseph was the catcher that was part of the trade…
Ahhh, thought Kontos came up with the G’s. Forgot about Stewie. Can’t figure why the Yanks would want Stewie and Whitehead. Still and all, there’s a lot of guys on the team that came up through the farm. More than most? I’d think, but I don’t really know.
4 position players, 3/5ths of the starting rotation, and the closer (well, 2 closers) came up through the ranks.
Stewie and El Presidente — together they’ll hit about .210. But, I can’t imagine they’d both survive to make the final 25. I don’t pretend to have a clue about Yankee personnel strategy, and don’t care. All I know is Russel Martin is a FA now, he didn’t hit well much of the year. I liked both dudes while they were here, Stewie was darn good defensively. I hope they make as much coin as they can…
We definitely got the better end of the Kontos/Stewart trade but that was a trade that helped both teams. Stewart played sparingly but when he played he was an adequate fill in for Martin. I watched him throw some laser strikes in a few games. He had a down year overall though, at least in terms of throwing runners out. That surprised me. He hit much better than he did with us and had a couple of big hits that won games. And he’s such a money bunter but that skill is lost in the American League.
Whitey will end up just being AAA depth for the Yanks. I think Martin is going to sign elsewhere for more dough than the Yankees want to give him. He’s only 29, he’s a good catcher with pop, that goes a long way in the free agent market. Whitey’s probably happy to get claimed, he has a better chance of getting called up to the Yankees than he does getting past Hector on the depth chart (obviously).
Eli Whiteside should thank God for the blessings bestowed upon him. If he’d never made it back to the majors after his short stint with the Orioles in ’05 it would have surprised no one, Eli included, had he toiled in double A the rest of his career.
But Sabean saved him. For almost no statistical reason, Eli has now completed 5 years in the big leagues. He’s made 1.5 million,and that doesn’t count the playoff shares he’s taken in. He’s got 2 WS rings. He’s the worst hitter I’ve ever seen who lasted this long. He probably catches himself shaking his head all the time in disbelief that his career turned out as good as it did…….
Absolute spot on take re: El Presidente. 2 WS rings and it’s shake your head time “what did I do to get this lucky”? HOFers play a career and never even sniff a WSeries appearance, let alone 2 rings…
Ahhh, missed all the fun shit at the end of the previous thread. Good stuff re: Melky.
well I thought I wrote something pretty encompassing of the Melky-thing, at least my feelings about it. No one responded so I’ll take your post today as at least an acknowledgement of my post last night. 🙂
yup . . .
“the worst hitter you can remember who lasted at the mlb level for at least 5 years”….
That’s a hell of a thread topic right there. I might hit it this Winter some time. Any of The Un-Stable’s could take it on too, probably better than me……..
Johnny Disaster has to be in the top 5.
Yeah, but he played a decent SS back in the day when it was fine to have a SS that couldn’t hit. Plus Eli had a worse career batting average than Disaster.
Whiteside just can’t hit a baseball. He swings through hit me fastballs right down the middle and he misses them by a mile…….
It is a good topic. I have no grudge against Eli, nor do you. He was part of two winners. But talk about overachieving. I hope he sends a nice Christmas card every year to Mr. and Mrs. Sabean, with a bouquet or fruitcake or fresh fruit from Oregon.
The Un-Stable’s…I like it…
Yeah, when I lived in Colorado for 3 years, (they didn’t have a baseball team) I got little flak or animus wearing Giants gear out there. Wear Niners shit? A whole different story. Granted this was pre annihilation of Denver by the Niners in Super Bowl 24, so the shit wasn’t too bad, but still people would talk shit all the time about Ca in general, and SF specifically. My take was, the Niners are kicking everyone’s ass, so shut it about Elway Elway Elway and your crap-ass Orange Crush. Running into people from all over the country, though, it was interesting seeing their reaction. Mainly because I ran into a ton of Miami Dolphin fans in Aspen before and after Super Bowl 19 (and I made a bunch of money betting on that game with them). I wore my Niners/Giants hats all the time up there, and bumped into Bruce Collie’s parents (both wearing Niner stuff) a week before that Super Bowl. Good times. Also ran into John Havlicek, Bill Walton, and Charles Bronson (with Jill Ireland. Hot).
Funny thing is I almost went to the infamous snowball game in Denver where Fat Ray was nearly hit by a snowball as he was trying to kick the game-wining FG as time ran out. The refs refused to do anything about it, and let the miss stand. Denver won 16-14. It woulda been a 5 hour drive one way (over to Glenwood Springs, and back to Denver on I-70, over the continental divide to watch that horseshit game. Glad I didn’t do it . . .
I’ve told this story before, I think, but one of my best friend’s is the son of Dick Lamm who was the governor of Colorado for many years. Scott (my friend) is Colorado to his core (still lives there). And when I transferred to Lewis and Clark in the spring of ’89 he was one of the first people I met. Scott talked so much shit about the Bronco’s that fall and he hated the 49ers. Of course fate brought us together that year with a 55-10 Niner shellacking of his beloved Bronco’s. We didn’t bet anything, we didn’t have any money. But I still remind him of it to this day. Last weekend he and I partnered on the Breeders Cup, me 75%, him 25%. He largely deferred to me (and it was to his benefit) on all the betting decisions we made but there was a point in the middle of the card where he was adamant about including a horse in a triple that I knew had no chance. I just said, as I have many times over the last 20 years, “Dude, remember when you told me that Denver was going to walk all over the Niners in the Super Bowl? And remember what actually happened?”
He acquiesced with moderate protest.
The horse ran up the track, by the way…….
Funny. My wife’s cousin lives in Littleton (and my wife lived there for a while), and they made a $20.00 bet on that super bowl. After the Denver loss, we got an 18″ x 18″ x18″ block of styrofoam in the mail with 2000 pennies stuffed (angrily, I might add) into it.
Great story. Educate me. “Ran up the track” is a good thing, right?
Great story, Flav…
Yes…me too…WTF does “ran up the track” mean? (I don’t follow the ponies.)
I didn’t see this above, so apologies if it’s a replay:
Hensley today has been outrighted and declined to go to AAA, so he’s a FA. Not bad for his stint here — about a million bux, and a WS ring., Not big news, but it’s slow now..,.
I just read Dbacks are looking to move Trevor Bauer?? He was supposed to be the next Lincecum. I guess it illustrates why drafting and developing is such a crap shoot even with a top 5 pick.
Dude, I watched Bauer pitch in college with my own eyes. That guy is a pending super star pitcher. He’s just not ready right now as his short mlb stint this year showed (and he did deal with some minor injuries when he was up here that screwed up his mechanics). The D-backs have a lot of pitching depth in the minors so that’s why they are considering moving him (and they think they can get a king’s ransom for him). But it would be absolutely the DUMBEST thing they ever did. I doubt they move him, they’ll want to much. He will be the next Timmy though, watch it happen. And when I say the *next Timmy* I’m talking *pre-2012*
Yeah, I knew of him from UCLA and so was surprised to read that is all. Read a little bit more. Apparently is not about his arm, but his head. He’s “reportedly” a pain in the ass and doesn’t get along with teammates..
I enjoyed the Colorado yuk yuks from Chuck and Flav. Here’s more funnies from our Colorado reefer madness approving State . . . Walt Weiss ONLY got a one year contract. However, it get’s funnier – now the Rockies are considering Jason Giambi (who was in the running for manager) as their hitting coach. Hahaha. Last time I checked he was an over the hill pitch hitter. What’s next? Scour the little league teams across Colorado for their pitching coach?
More about the insanity that is the Colorado Rockies:
http://www.denverpost.com/kiszla/ci_21958002/mark-kiszla-good-luck-new-rockies-manager-walt
Dunno about Weiss, but I think Giambi would make a good hitting coach. Players seem to like being around him anyway.
The players do love him. Shit, they played with him. Similar deal with Weiss, who worked as special assistant to general manager Dan O’Dowd from 2002-08 and tutored many of the Rockies, working with many of these players on fundamentals and the proper approach to the game.
However, this has nothing to do with being able to get along with the players or potential to eventually do the job. This is the deal with the Monfort brothers, who own the team – THEY ARE CHEAP. They have no credibility in Colorado and dollars to donuts, they saved approximately $400-500k of Jim Tracy’s $1.4 million salary by hiring Weiss. Hiring him for one year speaks volumes about this choice. Name an existing MLB manager that would bite on an offer like that? Exactly. No one. Last, but not least, it also sends a bad message to their existing minor league managers and coaches, insofar as hard work at the lower levels of this organization gets you no where. Gimmicks do.
I don’t follow them…sounds like one fucked-up franchise.
Flav, I’ll give you your points on melk, I understand how guys feel, and after all the negativity sabes allowed to happen here with bonds I can see why he’d steer clear of the situation. I just don’t hold what he did against him. All personal trainers these days are telling their clients the same thing—I can mask it and you won’t get caught. some are right, others aren’t.
I read the mlbtr stories, and imo the Zak blogger is dreaming. If there is no Melk and no pagan, you cannot win with an OF of Pence Blanco and Brown…all 3 of those guys could hit under .250. Pence didn’t show much here at the plate, and I think he’s the one going to be way overpaid for his talent.
Pence is going to get 12-14 mil in arb. If you can get pagan at 3/25 ish, I think he is a much more valuable player in long run. I’d be OK with giving Brown a shot in a platoon with blanco, maybe after a month or so of Fresno, but throwing him right into the LU at start of the season I think is too big a reach.
Agree on all points, Willie. I think 3/25…and as a stretch 3/27 is as much as Sabes will go…unfortunately, I bet Pagan gets more and a longer-term offer.
Willie, I’m with you in regard to Melky. The Latin players love him (Blanco was one of his best friends) and I don’t think the other players dislike him or were offended/resentful when he left. Anywho, it’s all up to Sabean and he has the pulse of the team way more than any blogger. Regardless of the decision that Sabes makes, I will support it because he KNOWS exactly what is going on. By the way, Melky is getting multiple offers. My understanding is that his agent is advising him to ignore multiple year offers and prove himself with a one year contract (which I agree with).
I disagree with what you said about Brown. In my opinion he has zero chance to make the team. Sabean will sign an old fuck like Ichiro should he lose Pagan.
It’s funny to me to see bloggers all fired up over what guys are doing in the minors, ala pill, brock bond etc. Maybe the kid can play mlb right away, but it’s a completely different game. See how much of the team sabes can afford to bring back, and how he fills in the holes.
Yeah, I said I agreed with Willie, but I think you’re right Steve…Brown has almost no chance at making the big club. Definitely not out of ST. I think even a September call-up is a long-shot…he will really have to light it up in the minors to get such a look…
I miss DJLoo. Okay. There. I’ve said it.
Nipper too. Even Denny. And mrmrmrmrmrmrbill. That’s just me.
…and Ferret. But since I’ve not read all the recent comments, maybe they’ve all made cameos. Been dealing w/ my daughter’s pertussis this week. Not fun. Seems to be on the mend. Will try half-day of school tomorrow; first in a week. And yes she was inoculated.
Hoping your daughter gets better soon, Pawlie. And I miss those guys, too.
Goes without saying. But he’s showman at heart, he loves a grand entry. He must be fabulous in an evening gown as he enters the ball. 🙂
He’ll be back. He loves the adoration too much.
I miss the funny, irreverent Denny of days gone by.All the others you’ve mentioned, as well. Ferret: made meatloaf tonight. Already looking forward to tomorrow’s sandwiches…
Q. What exactly is meant by a “qualifying offer” to a free agent?
It is an offer of a 1-year contract for the average of the last year’s top 125 salaries. That’s 13.3 million this year. If it’s offered the team is eligible for draft compensation if the player signs elsewhere.
Hence (the 13.3)…no way in hell Pagan was getting one from the Giants…I suspect he would have accepted…
I dunno Chi. From some quarters, the Giants were questioned about not making the qualifying to Pagan, because he likely would NOT have accepted, since he’s going to be a hot item for a multi-year deal. Effectively, the criticism is they could have had a no-risk move to get a draft pick if they can’t sign him…
I like swag a lot. I’ve got several Giants t-shirts, hats, hoodies, bobbleheads, game programs, posters, pennants, banners, cups, refrigerator magnets, and whatnot. I’ve been to a lot of games where they were giving out stuff. I’ve gotten some 2012 World Series stuff the last few days. I’m diggin’ it.
People (such as me) that are Giants and Obama fans have got a double-bask going on. Or even more than double. Basking goes exponential.
All that needs to happen now is for the sky to start raining pizza and donuts.
Weather report for today says Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs…
I love this post!