Four Straight Day Games in Chi-Town
I love baseball in the daytime, but that’s more *romantic* love than it is *practical* love. I’ve never understood how so many people can attend day games. Since 90%+ of the population works and kids are in school during the day, how is it that so many fans can find the time to pack these stadiums during the daylight hours? Even in the Summer time, these days most kids are funneled through a strict schedule of camps. If I take my kid to a baseball day game in the Summer it means I’m pulling her out of a Tara VanDerveer bball camp and at close to a buck fifty a day, that’s just not happening. 🙂
So when I see 4 day games in a row (and technically it will be five since yesterday was a day game) my brow begins to furrow. I start to do a slow burn. At least 2 of them will be on the weekend but again, that’s right in the middle of *get sh!t done time*. The Cubs play 30 night games a year, we couldn’t have played even one? One of the most electric baseball games any of us have ever watched was played at night on October 4th, 1989. As my mind’s eye recalls Will Clark losing that ball into the blackness of the Chicago landscape, I wonder how *electric* that would have been had it been a day game? Ok, it would have still been electric, that’s a bad example.
Regardless, we are headed into Chicago to play four day games against a team who’s leading hitter is Nate Schierholtz. Of course, their team batting average is .198 so temper your fear of Nate-Dawg’s bat……
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In the photo bucket I’ve dumped 2 new pics. The first one is Zumie at the game yesterday brazenly rockin’ the Rod Beck look. The 2nd photo is of UncaChuck and Gregor Blanco inside someone’s home with Chuck awkwardly wearing Gregor’s WS ring. Chuck, you got a story to tell? lol
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Give a fist bump to Nate, boys.
My first trip to Wrigley, in May ’78: ice-cold rain, bleachers, drunk. Next visit, circa July 1985: sober, dry, warm, Friendly Confines.
and both, of course, were day games — before lights were installed there
I love those pictures. Chuck rockin’ a WS ring? How awesome is that? Yeah, I definitely want to know the story of how you have Blanco’s ring on. Zum – great picture as well! I also hadn’t seen the Chi and daughter photos. Chi, very nice! By the by, I had to look at the “fool” picture for about 30 seconds before I finally figured it out. Duh!
Yeah, that guy was sitting a few rows in front of us (Fool stitched over Cabrerra). He was busy…everyone and their brother wanted a picture of that jersey.
So What the Fuck, Chuck…how the hell did you end up in a room with the “Tiburón Blanco” (the White Shark) rocking his WS ring?
Magnus, who is this Tara you refer to? and has she been a BBOTD? [I’m begging to be deleted]
I think that page would get deleted by a Flap editor quicker than I could get it up there. And of course, that would be the right call. 🙂
Tara VanDerveer, I assume (Stanford women’s BB coach)?
Interesting article by Kawakami on the Zito/Alex Smith comparisons. He’s right, too.
http://tinyurl.com/cbm4gqk
He’s partially right. There are too many differences on how contracts are handled by the NFL and MLB to make the situations completely similar , but Smith took a huge pay cut to stay with the Niners beyond 2008…
But there are interesting points from a guy who really has been total hater of both players.
Since apparently snow is predicted for Chi, Mil and Det in next couple days and with all the day games scheduled anyway, maybe Giants and Cubs will have opportunity for a real old fashioned double header.
Let’s take the wayback machine to…..
Lee Elia once offered his theory on the fans who show up at Cubs day games:
Considered by some a great motivational tool.
Damn…and I though Tommy Lasagna and Leo Durocher could cuss. Weeeee Doggies! That was effing hilarious….
It will be interesting to see how LF unfolds now. Andres looked on life support (similar to early 2010), suddenly 2 games might change all that. We have three OFers in Fresno who could bump Vungo and/or Gregor to the bench. I’d certainly go with the current platoon for awhile but I think it will be a very fluid situation, who the LFer will be in a a couple weeks is uncertain, let alone by EOY- there are 5 or 6 possibilities within the organization and a deadline possibility as well.
Pagan CF
Crawford SS
Sandoval 3B
Posey C
Pence RF
Belt 1B
Blanco LF
Noonan 2B
Vogelsong RHP
Damn – maybe Yogi (post from yesterday, I believe – about moving Crawford up in the line-up) has Bochy’s ear (actually, I can see it with Noonan getting a start, and the way that MudBug is stinging the ball right now). But tomorrow it will be Scoots back in the two-hole…
Neither should hit there. Whatever Crawford does today won’t change that, either way.
IMO.
In the grand scheme of things, I agree. But given the line-up today, I would have Crawford in the 2. Who else is there in that line-up that you would put in the two-hole? And I do agree (that is why I said tomorrow Scoots will be back in the two-hole)…
I don’t have the time or ability to analyze NL lineups. I’m not sure the best solution is to put your two worst hitters together. What attributes do you want in the 8th slot? Ability to hit pitches out of the strike zone? HR or 2Bs power? Speed? High OB%? Is the pitcher’s hitting ability a factor? What’s the perfect NL lineup?
1) High OB% and speed
2) High OB%,, speed, doubles power, ability to hit pitches out of the SZ, LH,
3) Power, high batting,average, speed
4) Power, high OB%
5) High OPS,
6) High batting average, speed, doubles power
7) HR power, high OB%, speed
8) Power, speed, ability to hit pitches out of the SZ
9) Power, high batting average, ability to bunt
I sure hope Bochy isn’t heeding my advice. The reason why batting Scuturo 8th might work is because he’s a better hitter than Crawford,
More nonsense- not that Scutaro is the better hitter, but that the better hitter should hit in the 8.
BTW, less than half (45%) of Americans aged 18 and older were employed full time for an employer as of August 2012…
Awkwardly? The ring didn’t fit over my skinny-ass fingers. I was a little surprised. That’s Gregor’s place on Berry St near AT&T. Don’t know if I told you this but my wife does corporate housing with a little company in Folsom. Last year she got a call from Brett Alexander who was looking to get Dan Otero a place near AT&T. When he was sent down, Edlefson took his spot there. Later, she got calls to find Jose Mijares and Hunter Pence places. She found one for Mijares, but not Pence.
This year, she’s gotten calls from Blanco, Scutaro, Mijares, Tommy Milone, Ryan Cook, and a couple of Angels players. My wife went down in SF on Tuesday checking on the place to see if everything was OK. I had to go on a couple calls in Cupertino and Palo Alto myself, so we wnt together and I got to meet Gregor and his family. Very nice guy. The ring is insane. VERRRRRRY cool.
Scoots is out?
That is bad ass…so cool. Love the picture.
“In science, the term observer effect refers to changes that the act of observation will make on a phenomenon being observed. This is often the result of instruments that, by necessity, alter the state of what they measure in some manner.”
The only relevant measure of a pitcher’s past performance is the W-L record in games started. WHIP and WAR are only to be used if you’re trying to predict future results. Don’t analyze Barry Zito’s stats, and keep your calendars on the month of April.
They are removing the tarp.
“The only relevant measure of a pitcher’s past performance is the W-L record in games started” Absolute poppycock, Johnny.
W-L is more a measure of team performance. A full profile of the pitcher’s performance is obtained by considering many factors, W-L being one of the least important. That’s why W-L has become less and less important in CY voting.
The Cy Young votes aren’t as important as a pitcher’s W-L record, especially in the NL. Zito contributed to his victory yesterday by getting a couple of hits. It also helps if you can field the position. You can bet your last dollar that Zito’s teammates value the W-L record in games started to be MUCH more than his WHIP. Even ERA is a tainted stat, in that all runs are deserved, unless a player reaches base AND scores as the result of an error.
At first I thought Chuck was renting a room from Blanco. 😉
OK, I’m all in for having Chuck’s wife arrange a meet and greet for the Flappers with all the Giants she arranges housing. What’s in it for them? The grace of meeting middle to old aged unabashed Giants fans? I dunno, we’ll think of something else. Plausible deniability required. Great Pic involving the ring…
Game time thread up