Saying A Prayer For Pablo
Sandoval has pain in his elbow and while everyone is down playing it I thought I’d take a different path and *up-play* the fuck out of it. Players/Managers/GM’s all lie about how serious an injury is until an MRI comes out and they can’t keep the lie going any longer. This has *bad news* written all over it. The Merc blog says we should “say a prayer” for Sandoval. I’m not religious so I don’t really know what that means. I found this prayer on the internet and while it has nothing to do with this particular situation, I decided to post it here. However you chose to do it today, keep Pablo’s ominous elbow in your thoughts. Pablo, may your MRI show up as clean as one of your post-meal dinner plates. We can’t afford to lose you.
A Baseball Player’s Prayer
by: unknown
to tell a strike from a ball,
to know where to throw
and never to fall.
running straight and true
and I’ll look for your sign,
to stretch one into two.
to see every pitch,
so if a player needs help,
then I will see which.
so I’ll be at my best
and take pride in myself,
in sports and the rest.
when I throw the ball
when I’m far from home plate,
or against a wall.
please guide my feet,
bring me home safely,
so my job is complete.
let me always give praise,
so they’ll see you in me,
in all of my ways.
to be fair and smart,
to teach us to be good,
let it come from his heart.
just as well as a win,
to do any less,
is surely a sin.
let me make my parents proud,
as proud as I am,
when they yell MY name out loud.
let me always have fun
and if Heaven has All Stars,
I want to be one.
and my seasons are done,
let me play on your team.
just like your son.
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
I’m hoping Pablo just has an elbow stinger. My gut tells me he’s going to have a monster year. A 43 HR type of year.
If Blanco starts doing what he talks about in his blog http://gregorblanco.mlblogs.com/ the bottom of the order could be very productive.
I’m not sure why I’m so off from the Crawford regress predictions, I guess it’s my damn gut again. I’ve always thought of a Robby Thompson type production. So I’m saying he’ll be about .260 with maybe 10 HRs and about 25 Doubles. Oh yeah, a Gold Glove will be sitting on the mantle of his new home at the end of the year.
If Pablo’s elbow is OK and the only thing of worry right now is an additional back-up INF and the back-up catcher, I’m feeling pretty good about getting this season started.
Bozo, I am completely DOWN with what you said about Crawford. He will have a break out season (along with Belt) in my opinion. Just his fielding and a .250 BA is worth having him in the starting line up.
I will spin a Buddhist prayer wheel tomorrow for Pablo, as well as say a couple of Hindu prayers to Shiva (The Destroyer), Vishnu (Supreme Being), Ganesh (Elephant God of Wisdom), and Hanuman (Monkey God who wards off evil spirits). Couple that with you guys saying a couple of prayers to JC, I think we’ve got all bases covered.
New blog post . . . Good night girls. 🙂
I am watching that Ken Burns Baseball again on Netflix. It’s nice to get some history now and then.
And looking at this old book “The Glory of Their Times” by Lawrence S. Ritter for the very early years of baseball.
Like I have said before Pablo has played 107 & 108 games the last 2 years.Yeah mostly all due to his hamate bone injuries,but not all.Hamstring’s,tight back etc etc etc.Guys have mentioned that his all- out style of playing has hurt him, I’m not buying it.Every player on the team give it their all or should.And every player in a course of 200+ games (ST,season,playoffs) are gonna get banged up with minor ailments.But in most cases they just need a day off maybe 2, I don’t see it in Pablo.He misses chunks at a time, I want him in there for 150 games atleast but seriously doubt it will happen.His body will not let that happen.Let us pray now that I’m wrong.
No one in baseball goes into second base harder to break up a DP than Pablo does, buy it. As to these many other injuries, nonsense. In 2012, he missed 35 games due to the hamate bone- so he missed 19 games for other reasons-not all injury related. In 2011 he missed 41 games to the hamate bone injury, meaning he missed four games for other reasons.
‘Kat– Despite his largeness, I don’t feel like his body size or conditioning is to blame for missed games. The hammy injury occurred when he was playing first base and he did an all-out splits to catch a ball. That could have happened to anyone.
As you have noted, the other 2 DL times had to do with his hamate bone. He’s fat, but it’s not causing him to lose any games. Later in his career, it probably will.
You know, the Aretha version of “Say a Little Prayer” was a thing of beauty. I have it on vinyl somewhere, and I swear that some of the parts sung by her sisters that were her backups don’t show up in any versions of this tune I’ve listened to on youtube.
I loved the muscle shoals sound of the rhythm sections (tommy cogbill and roger Hawkins) and horn arrangements for her and Wilson Pickett. Check out “She’s Lookin good” sometime, with the wicked man screaming while the band smokes the out chorus.
Aretha’s voice still kicks ass. I saw her a couple weeks ago in an Opera house in Norfolk and it was a great show, although a bit short (at one point she took a song off to change from heels to house shoes). The 20 piece band smoked and even though they’ve probably played the same set a million times it didn’t sound like it.
I have no idea how I missed your FL thread Flav ???? I just went through the 90 comments and all good stuff, including the HR predictions. Question – who won the WBA (or is it C)?
Still going– Puerto Rico (Pagan) vs the winner of the DR/Netherlands game.
Thank you Craig.
First, the team has zero reason or obligation to share with the fans what they *fear* about the severity of an injury. The FACT is, the MRI is what tells them the extent of it. And even then, as I have detailed from VAST personal experience, even an MRI can be interpreted differently by different doctors. And before someone goes there- it’s not different for athlete’s injuries. If the team mininimizes their fear as to the extent of an injury until the MRI sheds more light on it, they are doing the proper thing. IMO.
As to Crawford, the numbers Bozo mentions are about what I expect (hope?) for also. The projections for Belt aren’t quite as consistently poor as for Crawford, but at an approximate composite of .260 18-75 .820 OPS, they’re below average offensively for his position. What they each give us in the field and as quality young men makes them valuable pieces to the Giants success, IMO. And they both got better, whicjh is kinda what we look for in the youngsters…
Our Father who art in San Francisco
Baseball be thy game. Thy will be done, the NL West will be won, on the field, as well as in the bullpen
Give us this day our bat and our glove, and forgive us our errors, as we forgive those who home-run against us. Lead us not into defeat, but…help us BEAT THE DODGERS.
In the name of the fans,Buster and Tim, Panda and the Angel..Amen.
(Stolen from somebody)
fantastic poem. For a second, I thought you wrote it till I got to the end.
I edited it. It was a Cardinal prayer.
delish editing
“New Mexico all the way.” Dunno if alford can pull that one off, but the Mtn. West is a good b-ball conference and he has proven to be a very good coach. They got 5 teams in, same as Pac 12 and I have a feeling they are going to do better than Pac and their teams are better. First round game here in San Jose features Cal vs. UNLV…just hope someone from conference survives opening round. Arizona vs. New Mexico in LA possible second round match up.
Man, the head AD guy Muir at Stanford sure disappointed fans by keeping Dawkins, a move that kind of surprised me. Tree bloggers everywhere on different sites whose comments I read are really pissed he’s still around. His team should be really good next year; luckily enough the players are all coming back. But even this year when they won bloggers thought he had enough talent that they should have been winning all along, and of course excoriated dawkins as befuddled/bewildered and out coached when they lost.
I think an avg coach with top players will do better than a good coach without same. In b-ball the top guys can take over a game and win it for you, such as Alan Crabbe getting 30 when Cal beat AZ on the road. When your better players struggle (like crabbe did vs. Stanford and Utah), the best coach in the world is gonna have a tough time winning unless the other guys step up—which is not what they are used to doing.
Is it Packer who had always made college ball a totally coaches’ game? “That was a GREAT time out, Jim!”
YOU CANNOT PETITION THE LORD WITH PRAYER!!!!
Jim Morrison is alive!
When it comes to all around sports knowledge and being a class act, there is none better here than the great williedav.
Good morning all. now that the USA has been eliminated, we can get back to the real deal. Pablo and any player with an injury. It is a wait and see how/if it effects his production. So no worries till Sandoval shows it is a problem. or if the MRI shows something needs to be taken care of. Who would play 3rd if Pablo is hurt that is the real question.
Now as far as Crawford is concerned, I agree he should have a break out year. He will be nice and relaxed now that he as had a full season as the starter. I think the beginning of last year he was wound so tight he played poorly. This year should be very different.
Well, it will be more critical Belt has a breakout year. They will be fine if Crawford repeats his 2nd half of last yr. But Belt needs to develop his power stroke playing a corner position.
That’s true, but interestingly, it’s his hitting on the road that was most troublesome. He hit .237 with 2 HRs .321 OBP .662 OPS away from home.
Home .315 BA 5 HRs .401 OBP .906 OPS
Ishikawa had very similar ( with even more dramatic differences) home/away splits in 2009. We’ll hope that Belt fares better going forward…
To recap Panda’s injury history, he’s missed 76 games to the two hamate injuries. So in four full seasons he’s missed 42 games for other injuries or reasons.
The most curious matchup in college hoops this week might be in the NIT: Mighty Kentucky, last year’s NCAA champ, playing at Robert Morris, a small Northeast Conference school in Moon Township, Pa., near Pittsburgh, and where Joe Walton coaches the football team. The hoops coach is a former local player from my area in Jersey.
From the splash
Bochy has faith in Joaquin Arias at third, though there’s not much depth from there. Bochy mentioned Wilson Valdez and Kensuke Tanaka.
He said that after the game, I have still not seen that he’s expected to miss significant time.
Arias filled in brilliantly last yr…why is this even being debated in the media, with talk of moving scootie over???
Sorry if I’m missed something here…
Bochy has said that he won’t move Scoots over to third. Wants him to stay at 2b.
Been in Philly over the weekend. Horrendous icy, snowy drive Saturday. Always great to see my daughter in the ballet, and smile to myself recalling the local folks texting each other in the audience the night we clinched in 2010. I am sick in bed today. But Pablo’s all good, or will be. As Blade noted, we’ve got all the bases of prayer pretty much covered. Heck, someone can even toss a prayer to Bertrand Russell, to satisfy the atheists.
Scoots arm is not strong enough for 3B or SS nor is his range.He can play 3rd or SS in a emergency,but he is strictly 2B.
Crawford is the guy a SS who has the range,glove and Arm and will probably win the Gold Glove this year as well.Just ask Bum’s Catcher AJ Ellis who flat out said he’s the Best SS in the NL.
Marco has played more SS than any other position, including 132 in 2010 and 109 in 2011. He’s been a better defender at SS than 2B. He’s not a good defensive player at any position, however.
Generally, I agree, although Scutaro did ok at 3B when he first joined the Giants last year, toward the end of Pablo’s rehab. Definitely a spot or short-term deal, however,
Pablo has had elbow soreness before. Probably overuse with his play in Venez, then WBC and ST. Give it a rest for a few days. Meanwhile, he can ride the bike and do his conditioning program…
That’s the news I’m hoping for..
For fans of “The Natural”…
http://tinyurl.com/czdastp
I loved that movie
Interesting stuff. Thanks for the link.
I agree, Nipper, baseball history is very cool. A good book or good movie shows that all the baseball seasons of the past are never truly over. They can be brought to life again. And fiction, too, like “The Natural,” can evoke other eras strongly.
I bought a copy of The Natural the other day. I intend to read it before opening day. The movie was pretty good. I don’t know why I never got around to the novel before. Eddie Waitkus, in real life, had to be one of the unluckiest baseball players ever. In the top ten, that’s for sure.
From Waitkus to Panda, women with an agenda or ulterior motives are a potential problem. Same as in the other pro sports. How young guys with tons of dough navigate through those shoals would be an interesting article for one of the local scribes, I should think. Were I in that position, I’m not sure what I’d do. Be careful, obviously, but that’s easier said than done. With that kind of scratch in your bank account, you can pay for high quality female “company’ that leaves when you ask them to, but I suspect that would get old after a while (well, maybe a long while) 😉 …
Snarkk day dreaming?
Well, not just broads. According to Matt Snyder of CBS, Zito was duped out of 3 million by a friend in a “”fitness software scheme that never materialized.” Zito is suing the friend, Michael Clark, and others. There’s even a tie in to Madonna..
http://tinyurl.com/cquofws
Never ceases to amaze into what these rich athletes will invest. Restaurants, untested software schemes, undeveloped real estate with no entitlements, etc. Just stick your $20 million a year into a mix of REITs, corporate bonds, LT gov’t bonds, blue chip equities with a dividend program, small company mutuals, some actual income properties (like strip centers in good locations with long term creditworthy tenants and apartment buildings in good shape with low vacancies) and similar. It’s not that hard. And, voila. You’re earning about 8% to 10% aggregate on your money, maybe more in good times. If you want to be silly, take 5% of your yearly and invest in something risky like Zito’s Sausage Parlor or some software company run by your second cousin. Maybe it hits, maybe not…
I told the story about when a small time con guy and radio personality, a guy named Bob Leonard, swindled Larry, Curly, and Moe AKA Billy, Whitey, and Mickey out of some major bucks for investing in bomb shelters. Leonard ended up doing time and when he got out he scammed Martin again, I don’t remember what for. Leonard was on the road trip I took with the team in 1965. I remember he couldn’t get anyone to do an interview with him unless he paid them. So he did one with me. I knew the drill: the rooks were growing up before our eyes, Kaat would be big down the stretch…there was a heck of a lot of 110 percent effort goin’ down.,.
I think Jack Clark’s disastrous investments included strip malls and REITs and real estate ltd partnerships. Of course, the properties were in places like Wyoming, but still . . . .
Irritated nerve in his right arm.. Rest up, Pablo.
Sounds about right.
http://blog.sfgate.com/giants/2013/03/18/a-diagnosis-for-pablo-sandovals-sore-elbow-and-what-happens-next/
I think Schulman read my earlier post. Ha ha.
Rest the wing for a few days, as Dr. Snarkk diagnosed and prescribed earlier — but keep on the losing weight and conditioning program…
Losing weight and conditioning program? You gotta be kidding!
ulnar neuritis.. Hopefully is doesn’t bother him during the season. Chronic problems with it usually require surgery from what I read.. *Positive thoughts*
Pablo didn’t look especially fat to me the other night…
Looks like the Giants aren’t the only ones in the division with an injured third baseman:
“San Diego Padres third baseman Chase Headley will miss at least the first two weeks of the season after breaking the tip of his left thumb.”
Sucks for him and the Pads.. Headley is a good dude who, while on the road playing in San Francisco, spends some of his spare time at a children’s cancer clinic in San Francisco trying to cheer up the kids and their families.. My significant other speaks highly of him.
I like Headley too. If he was playing anywhere else in the NL besides the mausoleum that the SD stadium is, he would be the premier 3rd baseman in the league (right up there with Pablo). Due to playing in SD, his HR production will always be low. Good post Chico.
Different cultural traditions and such, the air-horns and whistles are not pleasant to my ear. The volume on this WBC game gets turned way down.
Smaller crowd tonight overall, without the Asian-American fans there.
Why are there so many injuries in every sport lately it seems?
The sports gods are angry.
The athletes nowadays don’t the have the cast-iron stomach like Pepper Gomez…Loo.
‘More air-horn’ said no one ever.
Not true, Zumie!!! Ask any old-time NY Ranger fan.
I haven’t seen anything to suggest that there are more injuries than usual but maybe it’s true. It’s a proposition that will probably go unanswered.
Yankee & Knick fans here are crying…
Maybe it’s the smaltz..
If there are more injuries, my theory would be that it’s because the players are just flat-out bigger than they used to be in all the sports. There’s more muscle mass, putting strain on tendons and ligaments. Film footage of the major sports from the 1980s and earlier show a lot of less “buffed” athletes, overall.
And, we know what helps develop larger muscle mass, don’t we?
Yep. Wheat germ. And, flax seed…