The Dodgers are going down (in the playoffs) and a Pagan vote
The Dodgers are 38-7 over their last 45 games? Maybe because we’ve sucked since May I haven’t noticed that spectacular stretch. Regardless, that is a team that’s going down in the first round of the playoffs. Book it. They aren’t that good. Although admittedly, no team is. Still. with HanRam nursing yet another injury, Puig striking out all the time (he’s got 1 RBI in his last 9 games) and a bunch of untested players in playoff pressure type games, I see them going down hard in the first round, no matter who they play……..
Angel Pagan is nearing a healthy return. Some of the scribes are wondering what the point would be of bringing him back this year. To that I reply, “don’t be stupid.” Of COURSE you bring him back this year if he’s healthy enough to play. I will never understand the philosophy of shutting down a season just because you’re out of it. If the Giants shut it down, which they have basically done and WILL have done if they don’t bring back Pagan, then why should the fans bother going to the games? Why should they have to pay for tickets if the team has given up?
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Pagan should play. The bums may make it past the LDS.
I listened to the bottom of the 9th on the radio yesterday, driving down the freeway, so maybe I missed it — but did any of the Giants broadcasters mention the banana thrown at Adam Jones in CF? Pisses me off to hear about the incident via web news instead of local. I hope the various video records of the game assist the cops in nailing that asshole.
AT&T security says they were never told about it so it’s entirely possible that the broadcasters didn’t hear about it till after the game.
Yeah, I just saw a report about that on the splash.
I got a late break heading to work this morning, so I heard Krukow’s piece, and he said that during the game, when the incident happened, they were not aware of it. And yes, they need to find the asshole who did this, and that jackass needs to pay. One fuckwad giving the entire city/fanbase a bad name.
Might as well shut down all the starting pitchers if that’s the philosophy. When I heard about it, some commentator said that throwing bananas at someone was a racist thing to do in Europe.
That certainly didn’t cross my mind, but then again I don’t jump to those conclusions readily. Throwing oranges at Tommy Lasorda is not thing . . .
Pagan’s a baseball player. I would think he’d be fired up to put the uni on and run out there. He’d be pissed if the team decided he shouldn’t play. He’s signed to a nice contract, so he’s still CF of the future. Let him play if he’s healthy…plus it would eliminate all this leadoff angst/LU wrangling BS.
Leg injuries to speed guys are one thing, but the amount of half assed injuries (like hurting yourself in the on deck circle) for some of today’s players coupled with the overprotective mothering of the clubs is annoying. Look what happened to the Nationals for *protecting their investment*.
Yeah you bring Pagan back if he’s good to go.
Don’t need to see Torres and French loaf out their anymore.Why there both on the team is a joke to me.
Send Pagan on a vacation. This season is a waste of time. Sabean better get busy and clean house in the off season.
One of the reasons the Dodgers are doing well is that their scrubby guys are doing well lately, too. Uribe, the Ellises, Schumaker, Punto. They’re getting production from everywhere.
Having said that, Kershaw is 0-1, 5.80 ERA in the playoffs in his career. And A-Gone has a history of choking, so when it comes to the playoffs, who knows?
Good pts.
Pagan’s injury is/was pretty serious. Surgery on a hamstring is not a small matter when explosiveness is a key attribute of your game. I wouldn’t mess around with it unless I was darn sure it was fully healed, and then I’d give it another 3 weeks. That should take me to the end of the season. I’d hate to see him come back in September, and blow it out again for nothing…
Agree, with the severity, proceed with caution. No reason to push it. Its his competitive nature that you have to guard against as he’ll want to be Pagan of 2012.
leave it up to pagan. it would be would be heartening, going into the offseason, to see the pagan we saw most of last season…
i don’t see that the team is shutting down the season, i think that bochy’s comments after madbum’s snit prove that out…
as to the other ofers, we still need 4 more besides pagan. while frenchie is surely is gone, i would think that torres and blanco might get a chance to make the team. pence’s return is totally up in the air, belt will *not* be an ofer, he is the first baseman. kieschnick, alas, is looking totally overmatched. but he’ll be in the mix along with pequero and maybe brown. and they may look for a new guy or two in the fa or trade markets, this is a group that is completely unsettled. getting me back to pagan- as said earlier, it would nice to see that he *wants* to be back in there and that we’ll see the pagan of last year. even before his injury he didn’t hit, field, or run like he did in 2012…
Blanco and Torres are done, Giants are moving on. Frenchy is so gone, he should be gone now. With the effect of Pagan’s injury unknown on his future skill level, the entire OF for next season is a huge question mark, which is crazy at the MLB level for any team…
i’d be surprised if both blanco and torres are gone. nothing to do with ‘man love’ . just the fact that both have skills that can help a team, and despite all the virtual friuts and veggies tossed their way, they are not why we’re where we are. if the money guys had done their jobs, snarkk and i could platoon and the team would still get to the playoffs.
Of course he should play and not only for the reason Flav cited. Specifically, that would be almost a year away from playing MLB level baseball. I don’t care who you are, if you don’t use it, you lose it.
Also, for personal reasons (my fantasy leagues), I am frickin’ pissed off because the Rockies are thinking about shutting down Carlos Gonzales for the season. Same deal with David Wright. Both of these fucks are worthless to me if shut down this season and any thoughts of taking an FL championship are minimal at best.
Per MLB Trade Rumors (not me, so take it up with them) . . . “Tim Lincecum is pushing his free agent stock up with his recent run of strong starts, but the Giants haven’t initiated contract talks yet with the hurler. An executive cited by Rosenthal pegged a potential deal for Lincecum in the three-year range with a $13MM-14MM annual salary. Though that initially appears high considering the right hander’s poor performance last year and at the beginning of this one, the qualifying offer the Giants are likely to extend will probably be in the same $13MM-14MM range.”
steve- that all sounds pretty reasonable, but i think that if he continues his run, we’ll be looking at 16-18 per. he’ll get that 13/14 regardless, imo. how he finishes will determine the length of contract he’ll get.
I agree Michael. As I mentioned the other day (in relation to some saying that Tim had resurrected his season and his stock), I think those remaining nine starts are crucial in determing $$ amount and length of contract. Yes, the last four or five starts have been encouraging, but the remaining starts are key, IMO.
Undoubtedly. Question – Do you think the Giants should be initiating contract talks now, later this season, or at the end of the season?
Me? I think the Giants should not convey panic to Tim or his agent, but I would begin broaching the subject with them. The Giants are in trouble with regard to obtaining pitching on the open market next year and consequently, I think they should do everything in their power to retain Timmy (without overpaying too much, i.e., I hate it when pitchers get more than 3 years and a gazillion dollars . . . SEE BARRY ZITO). Similarly, I think they need to retain Vogie as well. I am encouraged by his last start against a stout Baltimore Orioles team. Sign him ASAP.
Signing anybody during the season won’t happen. Bobby Evans said as much 2 weekends ago in an interview with Marty Lurie. The main reason they don’t, according to Evans, is that it sends the wrong message to all the other guys on the team that they’re NOT negotiating with during the season…
Teams do it all the time snarkk, including the Giants. Besides, Tim isn’t “just anybody.”
Blade, I’m just saying what Evans said. He said it won’t happen, and he’s the guy in charge of signing players. Besides, Timmy would be an idiot to not go onto the FA market to see how foolish other teams will be…
I think they should be having exploratory talks with Tim’s agent, and I would be really surprised if they are not already doing so. But to try to work a deal now…it won’t happen for the reasons snarkk mentions. Good, bad or indifferent, that’s how they are moving right now.
And as I mentioned earlier, I think Tim’s next 9 starts will set the tone on $$ amount and length of contract.
No rush to do the Vogey deal, as they already have the option on him for next year at around 6 mil.
This stretch for the Dodgers is right up there with the ’84 Tigers starting out at something like 35-5 and never looking back. They seem unstoppable now. Before, detractors were saying that even with all that talent (and I don’t agree that they’re not that good… it was just a matter of time before they started playing well), it was a forever lack of team chemistry that would hurt them. Well, winning is one of the best causes of “team chemistry”, so they’ve got that now, but we’ll see if that disappears if/when they hit a bad stretch. Right now, I don’t see anybody beating them in the playoffs, but that’s *now*. Still time for some adversity to strike. And we all know that anything can happen once the playoffs begin. I’d be happy if the Giants beat them every time the rest of the way, but I’m afraid that’s about the only consolation possible…
I agree Paul. I never said they were not talented…the question was, could they get that talent to all play to potential and move in the same direction. Well, I think 35-5 answers that question.
And I agree too that I am not that sure that they get knocked-out in the first round (I hope like hell they do). Paul mentioned he didn’t see anyone beating them in the playoffs right now. I disagree…I think Atlanta is looking strong, and the Bucs look good, too.
But at the end of the day, one thing that will always hold true, Fuck the Bums.
I agree with snarkk’s 9:51. They have to make ABSOLUTELY sure that he is 100%. As mentioned, surgery on a hammy is no minor issue. And Pagan, by nature, love to go “balls to the wall.” How you check that…I am unsure. So, I lean more to the cautious side, and really wonder what playing him for a couple of weeks buys you. Definitely err on the side of caution…if he comes back and blows that hammy again…that would be awful.
In reference to Twin’s 10:24 (and my response to that post), if Tim does continue to perform in his remaining games as he has on this recent stretch, I think the Giants will make a play on him (even a multi-year deal). With Cain and Madison the only two starters definitively locked-up for next year, Vogey (if he performs well the rest of the way), and Tim could really be in the mix to help round out the rotation for next year. If Tim does well over the rest of the season, I would love to see him back. Should be interesting…
One more reason why Pagan should play if he is healthy this year . . . Pagan’s confidence going into next season. If I am injured, I don’t want to spend the entire off season and winter wondering if I can play MLB at the level I once did. He needs to get out there a few weeks before the end of this season and determine if he still “has it.”
What if he “has it” so much he blows it out again for a team going nowhere? Will a second surgery work? I see a $30 million investment (next 3 years) that should be protected. He can work out in the offseason, and play a little winter league or something to keep sharp. I vote shut him down, let’s see more auditions for OF from the AAA. Then, they can all be written off as potential major leaguers, which is likely the case, but at least that would lend clarity to needed moves in the offseason…
Snarkk, again the prerequisite is that he feels healthy and the medical/training staff put their imprimatur on it. Even Bochy wants him out there . . . “It’s important that he plays,” Bochy said. “I’d like him to go into the winter feeling confident and good about the surgery. He can take away any doubts that could creep in.”
Sheesh, the dude isn’t an egg, so let’s stop treating him like one.
We’ll have to agree to disagree. I don’t see any point in it. And, I don’t trust the Giants medical/training staff much. The downside risk of coming back too early is too much for me, given that our outfield is in shambles heading into the offseason — he’s the only known quantity for sure coming back…
Yes, agree to disagree. Your point about our outfield is correct, especially in lieu of the outfield free agents coming on line next year. Hardly any of them excite me at all. We need to do a full court press on Nelson Cruz, Jacoby Ellsbury, Curtis Granderson or Shin-Soo Choo.
Yeah, Blade, I’d take any of those four, or all four, with Choo at the top, then Ellsbury. I doubt we get even one…
Even if he gets the green light from the med staff…the potential payoff for playing a few weeks for, as snarkk says, a team going nowhere, vervus the potential downside (re-injuring the hammy), well, I just don’t think the benefits outweigh the potential costs. I say (and voted) for shutting him down.
2014 Free Agent Pitchers (* – player whose current contract includes 2014 option.)
Bronson Arroyo
Scott Baker
Erik Bedard
Nick Blackburn *
A.J. Burnett
Chris Capuano *
Chris Carpenter
Bruce Chen
Bartolo Colon
Aaron Cook
Jorge De La Rosa
Scott Feldman
Gavin Floyd
Jeff Francis
Armando Galarraga
Jon Garland
Matt Garza
Roy Halladay *
Jason Hammel
Aaron Harang *
Rich Harden
Dan Haren
Roberto Hernandez
Tim Hudson
Phil Hughes
Ubaldo Jimenez *
Josh Johnson
Jeff Karstens
Hiroki Kuroda
John Lannan
Jon Lester *
Colby Lewis
Ted Lilly
Tim Lincecum
Derek Lowe
Paul Maholm
Shaun Marcum
Jason Marquis
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Brett Myers *
Ricky Nolasco
Mike Pelfrey
Andy Pettitte
Wandy Rodriguez *
Jonathan Sanchez
Ervin Santana
Johan Santana *
Joe Saunders *
James Shields *
Tim Stauffer
Jason Vargas
Ryan Vogelsong *
Edinson Volquez
Tsuyoshi Wada *
Chien-Ming Wang
Chris Young
Barry Zito
Out of this list (excluding Tim and Ryan), I only would consider Ervin Santana, Phil Hughes, Hiroki Kuroda, James Shields, Matt Garza, Jorge De La Rosa, and maybe 2-3 others. Shields would probably be my top free agent target.
they have vogelsong for next year if they want him for 6.5 million, they have a club option. as to tim, i don’t rule out going hard for him if it’s 3 years max. i’ve always thought that the worse he pitches, the better chance we have in keeping him. some choice. but as a few have thought, me included, the fact that our best minor league options are not ready makes it likely that sabean will go hard for him. i just hope that market fever doesn’t overcome sabean and make him do something really dumb- if anything more than 3 years is the going offer- he should decline.
Absolutely agree. I would hope he says, “adios Senor Timmy” if the dollar amount and/or the contract years are outlandish/ludicrous.
Given recent history, there will be several teams coming after Tim hard, they’ll set the market stupidly high in dollars and years, most likely…
I heard a soundbite from Sabean this weekend noting that the “inventory” this winter (I think that’s the word he used) will be scant, much like the trade-deadline, meaning demand will trump supply and drive prices high. He left it at that, but his tone was pretty flat.
I heard that, xoot. His tone is always flat, he never sets high expectations, for good reason. Regardless of his public distaste for the market, he’ll need to find a few players in it…
the dodgers? i guess it’s about time for the poor chemistry to do them in 😉
seriously, folks, they were the best team *on paper* going in. when we couldn’t bury them when their injuries were at the worst, trouble was afoot. puig *did* turn out to spark them ( me wrongo) , we went feet up, and the rout was on. but, as i posted, i’m a 59 out, 60 to go *we can do it* optimist. it all started with….
Ort-rod?
In a couple of years maybe we’ll look back at 2013 and make sense of its vagaries–Moscoso pitching ahead of Zito out of the pen (for some reason, I’m reminded of Yabu), Torres/Blanco/Quiche/Francouer, the strange draft picks, etc. Now it’s just frustrating.
I’m seeing some really dumb chatter out there about this banana throwing thing. From SF fans are revealed now as racists, to “what, throwing a banana at a black guy doesn’t necessarily mean anything racist”, to there’s no proof it ever happened, to wishing they’d thrown more bananas. Crazy…
Hello all, does anyone know if Saturdays Umpire will be disciplined for the piss poor calls he made? just wondering.
A guy over on BleacherReport goes with
A few potential options include Jeff Karstens, Jason Marquis, Joba Chamberlain and Matt Belisle. Any of these pitchers would be an upgrade over Mike Kickham, Eric Surkamp, George Kontos, Jean Machi or Yusmeiro Petit, all of whom toiled with mixed results with the 2013 Giants
people are getting down on kickham and surkamp much too quickly, imo. it’s hardly unusual for young pitchers to struggle their first time up ( or in surkamp’s case, coming off injury). i expect one of them to be the 5 next year. also, hembree has rebounded after a rough stretch, i think he’ll be here in 2014. look out for cody hall as well. i think someone else mentioned him; he’s in aa now, between sj and richmond he’s 52.1 ip 24 h 11 bb 66 k 1.38 era. escobar has a bullet next to his name as well.
Why would the ump be disciplined? He’s known for being crap behind the plate. Krukow predicted as much before the game…
Not why would he be, it is why won’t he be?? I have told about the fact that NFL officials have their games reveiwed, and they will be demoted to the College games if they continue to perform poorly. once again don’t change the way the game is played. The traditionalist will say leave the umps alone, human error is acceptable. If that is not a load of crap I don’t know what is.
The umps get reviewed, and mlb uses their computerized pitch info strike/ball system. So Bucknor will get yet one more failing grade on his card–and he has had many of them in last two decades. Saturday he was hearing it from the crowd, I can tell you that.
“Now it’s just frustrating.”
Xoot, the good news is that we are in the proverbial driver’s seat next season insofar as expiring contracts are concerned. Sabean and ownership is flush with potential free agent money and they will have a hard time explaining why they couldn’t sign a front line number 2 or 3 pitcher (even with Tim coming back). Additionally, the guys I mentioned above – Soo, Cruz, Ellsbury, or Granderson – are all doable. I will be very disappointed if we don’t get an excellent outfielder and pitcher. Crying pauper wont work, especially in lieu of those in-house contracts expiring and the fans excellent support at the Phone Park.
Kuiper said this morning that he thought putting Zito out there for relief is fine. Well, maybe not fine, but he understands it. That all they’re doing is trying to keep him sharp for when he gets a start, probably in September. I guess that’s plausible. But, I guess he’s assuming there will be a few blowouts more, so Zito can come in. Because there’s no place for him to pitch in other than a blowout. I just don’t approve of wasting a roster spot for him for another two weeks so he can do nothing but sit and wait for a blowout, so he can get pounded again…
I’m not certain, but I think Alleykat or WillieD said something to the effect, that Bochy was giving him an opportunity to get “right” by pitching him in no pressure long relief situations. I agree with that assessment. Bochy was a player and he is a player’s manager – he would never disrespect another player. His relationship with all of his players, including Barry, is excellent. Zits is going through a period of time where his confidence and his intrinsic value is at all time lows (I know this sounds funny after what we have seen the last several years. 🙂 ). Barry is going to be a free agent and he will not be pitching for the Giants. Everyone seems to agree on this point . . . However, the Giants like Barry (for being accountable, always a trooper and never bad mouthing the team). They will give him every opportunity to “build” his free agent value in my opinion.
well, working out a waiver deal with a contender, if anyone will take him, is the kindest thing they could do for him, imo. even i think it’s sad seeing him trudge out like a 38 yo career minor leaguer getting an inning in the bigs to tell the grandkids about.
I’m sure all starters have methodical approaches to game day, but Zito’s rituals are legendary. I don’t remember the details about what he does off the field, but I’ve seen him on the field before his starts since the early days in Oakland, and actually enjoyed the show. Before moving into the bullpen he has this extended long-toss workout. He stands in CF and throws strikes to the catcher in the pen. Then after a certain number of throws he moves in, throw by throw, until he’s on the mound in the pen.
I didn’t notice him out in CF yesterday throwing his long toss warm ups during the bottom of the 8th. 😉
i agree. pitching him in blow outs isn’t doing anyone a favor. and i’m afraid that a couple starts in september isn’t going to be rebuilding what little value he has left. put him on wavers, if he isn’t claimed and a deal can’t be worked out, he gets his 7 million early. he’ll get over the injustice of it all.
Xoot, that is so frickin’ funny . . . When snarkk and I went to the game (our bad for selecting that game), he did the exact same thing – extended long toss workout. Both snarkk and I commented that HE “SHOT HIS WAD” BY THROWING LONG TOSS BEFORE THE GAME EVEN STARTED!!! Of course, he was worthless that game – walking everyone in sight and those he didn’t walk, got hits. I think he was gone by the 4th, maybe earlier. Snarkk with the eidetic memory would remember.
Yeah, that game was brutal. Zito took half an hour or more before the game for his warmup routine out there, just like xoot said. It’s a wonder he’s got anything left when he starts the game. How the hell can he convert that bullshit into coming out of the Pen? Blade, I think he lasted into the 4th, he’d thrown 80+ pitches or so by then, something like that. Absolutely brutal first three innings, like it would never end. For the Flapalooza, I wouldn’t mind actually seeing Gaudin pitch. He’s quick, throws strikes, keeps the action going. Of course if he’s too fast, not enough time for beers…
Darvish just struck out the side in the 5th against Houston . . . He already has 10 SOs. Sheesh.
Almost forgot . . . No hitter as well.
I missed yesterday’s thread re: Orange Sombrero Flapalooza. I’ve had my tickets since early in the year. Will be in club 232, row A, seats 3-6 (we are going with some friends who live in Sebastapol).
I think Flav is right…if you wait until day of the game, you should be able to score tix at a decent price. I was lucky…buying mine as early as I did, I got them for $35 each (not bad for club level…even if we are down the line a bit).
Anyway…looking forward to it, and hope the turnout is awesome. It should be a memorable night.
i didn’t realize it was this bad…posey .186 batting average 5 rbi since the all-star break.
Me either. I knew he was scuffling…but damn…didn’t know it was this bad.
The bcasters say the stats, but quickly, and don’t dwell on ’em. If Belt had this Buster streak, they’d be crushing him…
Love to land both Ellsbury&Choo next year.
Sure Sabean doesn’t though.
Stanton would be the biggest prize, he would destroy LF bleachers with his pull power.
OF..Stanton RF
Ellsbury CF/Pagan
Choo LF/Pence
Pence &Pagan fighting for food scraps are use this guys all interchangeable.
AK, the Rockies fans and media all want ownership to bring Stanton to Mount Sherpa. However, if the Giants or someone else with deep pockets decides to get involved, ownership will “fake” a bid or two, but wont ultimately, get involved. They are too cheap.
Blade,unfortunately the Giants are to cheap as well to make a big- time splash.
With all the money coming off the books(Zito the biggest chunk and many others) they should be aggressive this off-season, but who knows?
Kat, I don’t think there’s any combination of players at the MLB level or lower levels that the Giants have that would be enough for Stanton, short of giving the Marlins all the SF top pitching prospects in the low minors, and that probably wouldn’t do it…
the farm system rankings are *very* fluid. crick will easily move into the top 30 or so, blackburn has received baseball america raves in july and should move into the top 80 or so. escobar, mejia, williamson, hall, and a few others will be upgraded. i know you’ll disagree with all that, but we should see some preseason rankings in january. i think you’ll be surprised. or i will, kids can get derailed by a lot of outside factors nowadays…
I hope I’ll be surprised. We need bodies and soon. They keep talking about Scutz “injuries” and I’m thinking, what injuries? Did I miss a DL stint? If it’s the finger thing, I dunno. His back, his legs, his finger, what?…
Belt named NL Player of the Week. Which probably means Pill starts at 1B tomorrow.
that’s funny
i’m having a hard time underestanding your 1.33 post, kat. that’s not an insult, it’s just hard to read. maybe it’s me.
anyway, i’m sure sabean will look for an ofer- pence is in the ‘pursued’ group, however. if he is retained, i’m not sure that they go after another. in addition to an ofer, they need two or 3 starting pitchers-counting tim and vogie- a reserve infielder with some pop, and maybe a reliever. if we give scooter 2nd base, i can see this as the 25 man roster;
posey, belt, scooter, crawdad, panda, pence, pagan, the winner between kieschnick/peguero, the other as the 4, blanco as the 5. infield reserves: arias, newcomer. back up catcher: hector or monell
pitchers: madbum, cain, timmy, vogey, kickham or surkamp, lopez, affeldt, rosario. casilla, romo, mijares, hembree
in other words, they spend their bucks on re-signing pence, timmy, and lopez. as mad as this may make some fans, i don’t think management thinks this is a team in need in of a makeover. they wouldn’t have been so hardline on tim, lopez, and pence if they did. obviously what happens with them will affect what else they do. and peguero will be up in september. i could see them going after 2 ofers including pence if they don’t think our young guys can handle a starting role.
I believe they have to go get a legit MLB caliber LF, or a CF that will play LF. The Kiesh/Peguero combo is underwhelming in potential, to say the least. The lack of getting legit OFers on this team baffles me like the Niners being unable to secure a few legit WRs…
well, i think they’ll decide on what they think of the potential of kieschnick and peguero this year. then they’ll decide on whether to pursue a second fa ofer.. they will already be going after at least one ofer, we know that. pence or someone else. i’d think that any fan would be scared shitless having pence, pagan, and another ofer all with long term contracts.
You heard it here first – Panik makes the team as a reserve. Book it. Regarding other newcomers, I definitely see a starting pitcher and outfielder being signed as a free agent and/or traded for (the latter if Panda comes into camp FAT, DUMB AND HAPPY, i.e., he should have every motivation in the world – his next contract – to get his ass in shape).
Buster’s had a rough few weeks, but overall his numbers are about what we would accept on August 12th.
Batting about .300, with 14 HRs. The RBIs would be higher if there were more runners on base ahead of him. He could still go 20+ HRs.
20 home runs? Sammy Sosa once hit that many in the month of June (1998). Of course, we all know that PEDs are no longer prevalent in MLB (HAHAHA).
You know the Dodger organization’s going to be nervous every time Puig gets tested.
This is from the Ripley Believe It Or Not File – Brandon Crawford has more intentional walks this year than Mike Trout, David Wright, Prince Fielder, Adrian Beltre, Buster Posey and NL home run leader Pedro Alvarez.
that might be different if those guys batted 8th much of the time 😉
LOL . . . quite true. I knew you would figure it out.
Apparently some guy has copped to throwing the banana. Details still coming in, but he professes no ill intent toward Jones. He was just PO’d the Giants lost, so when he saw a banana on some cart, he threw it onto the field in anger. Up to us to believe or not believe…
If he is black, then I believe him.
His name suggests Greek ancestry. Hey, are Greeks soccer fans? Maybe the guy is aware of the outrageous racist banana waving that went on earlier this year at an Italian soccer game.
The rise of the far right in Greece is becoming a grave issue and is putting the country back on the front pages – this time with Golden Dawn being reported as ”the mother of all far right movements in Europe.” Xoot, this group is racist and xenophobic to the max. Much of Greece is in turmoil due to their putrid economy. When I was there, the sadness on Greek faces while riding the subway each day, was something I will never forget. That country is a tinderbox waiting to explode (much like Turkey did a month or so ago).
Interesting.
So the angry guy just happened to hurl the gorilla-food at Adam Jones in CF just after Jones hit a 3-run bomb off of Zito in the top of the inning? I’ve seen a lot of produce heaped up on the make-it-yourself bloody-mary counter behind CF, but no bananas. In fact, the presence of the damned banana in the stadium just doesn’t make sense. A ballpark catering cart packing bananas instead of sweet or salty junk food? Yeah, that’ll make you money.
Still, I’ll await the investigation to find out more about the pinhead’s motivation. If the team can ban The Dawg from sitting in his seat for half the season, after interfering with a FB at the wall, the team can ban banana from the park.
sorry, “ban banana man from the park”
Earlier when speaking of Lincecum – He is number 4 with regard to strikeouts per 9 innings pitched. Impressive!
Rank Player (yrs, age) Strikeouts per 9 IP Throws
1. Randy Johnson (22) 10.6098 L
2. Kerry Wood (14) 10.3174 R
3. Pedro Martinez (18) 10.0398 R
4. Tim Lincecum (7, 29) 9.7367 R
5. Nolan Ryan+ (27) 9.5481 R
6. Trevor Hoffman (18) 9.3608 R
7. Sandy Koufax+ (12) 9.2775 L
8. Oliver Perez (11, 31) 9.1904 L
9. Clayton Kershaw (6, 25) 9.1731 L
10. Yovani Gallardo (7, 27) 8.9340 R
Damn impressive…
The banana chucker’s name is Alexander Pouldias.
Supposedly he grab a banana from a cart after watching the Giants implode late in the game and was pissed off.
Atleast he didn’t put a pipe around it like “Beverly Hills Cop”
So you stuck a banana in my tailpipe.
According to sfgate’s John Shea, who got his information from the San Jose Merc (that’s amusing, isn’t it?), the guy’s identity is “Alexander Poulides, 42.” Forty fucking two. I expected him to be a twenty-something kid who’d guzzled too many beers.
well, there are worse fruits and veggies to be conked with, any of the 212 hard avocados in the store today would do serious damage to the helmet-less noggin.
lol . . . Not to mention quasi nut/fruits such as coconuts.
ok, back from a LONG 2 day drive. I love coming home from a trip and if there’s a drive/road trip involved it’s that much more awesome.
After reading all your comments today, my thoughts (should any of you care);
1) I’ve re-thought my position on bringing back Pagan this year. Byrnsie (Eric) re-tells his hammy story all the time—says it ruined his career. Of course, he was trying to play through it and tore it completely so it’s not the same thing. Still, I agree with Snarkk about the team medicos. How can we trust them? Are we sure they even operated on the right hammy?
2) the Dodgers and chemistry. It never happened last year because they threw a bunch of guys together in the middle of August and they didn’t click–partially cause they didn’t know each other but mainly because the Fried Chicken guys don’t have chemistry with anyone– except fellow chicken lovers. But none of those guys are doing anything for the team chemistry this year, unless you count Beckett being absent as *contributing*. And Crawford, while surprising me with *only* one month missed this year, is hardly a dominant force that you’d expect a 100+ million dollar guy to be. Never a power guy, he’s really lost a lot of his speed too. And while he’s hitting .296 his BABIP is .333. He’s as soft as they come at the top of that LU. A-Gone is doing what he usually does, hit the quietest .300 ever. And when the playoffs come he will evaporate. Puig? Sorry, Puig just seems like a train wreck to me and I think that whatever spark he provided is over. He’s no chemistry guy, he’s a me-guy. See that clip of him showing up Gonzalez? HanRam has surprised me with his productivity this year when healthy—but that’s the key. He could easily go down with something that would force him to miss the playoffs. And is Matt Kemp even alive anymore? The starting pitching is the only thing to worry about if you’re facing the Dodgers in the playoffs IN MY OPINION. The 2013 Dodgers have chemistry because they are winning, but that will all end in round 1. They’re winning this year because they got on a hot streak and kept it going and the NL West sucks………
3) Pence. Why do we want to sign this guy again? Seriously, remind me. If it’s just “we don’t have any other OF’s” then fuck that reason. Last year he hit .219 for us, admittedly with a lot of RBI’s but those came due to his spot in the LU–lots of OF’s can produce runs if they’re in the right spot. And outside of his orator skills, he did very little in the playoffs for us. This year he’s cobbled together a decent enough season with most of his damage happening much earlier in the season. Predictably, the WAR-folks beat off to him, he’s ranked 9th in MLB for OF’s at 3.6. Still, anyone feel like giving that dude 5 years/75 mil? Not me…..
4) Barry Zito claimed off waivers? What stoned/drunk GM is gonna do that? He’s been horrible, horrific, pick your favorite adjective. I’m surprised the team hasn’t just banished him to the DL with a phantom injury. Whatever, they’re just riding out the rest of the deal–a deal I am 100% fine with for all the reasons I’ve already given–you don’t get the 2012 WS without Barry Zito. Period. Fact. That’s worth double his deal (to me).
5) the banana guy. Fuck him and he’s a liar if he says he grabbed the first thing he could find to throw. Maybe if he was sitting in the middle of a banana farm in Ecuador and Jones said something about his mother, I could see it. But ATT? That’s all you could find to throw?
Felt good to bang on the keyboard again………
barry’s past contributions and what they’re worth to any of us is obviously subjective and whether they would have won more than 2 titles with the 126 million to spend on other players won’t ever be known. as far being picked up off waivers, he does or he doesn’t. dfa him, as snarkk said. but using him as mop up is of no benefit to anybody.
pence- well the early season extension talk was always ridiculous, how hard they go after him depends on how he finishes. at least he appears to be a guy who will not tank a non-walk year. but 5/75. no. if that’s what it takes, bye bye.
oh, welcome back. i don’t know if i’d return if i had the chance to stay. beautiful country.
Thanks, Twin. Nice to see you posting so actively again, I’ll assume that’s a sign of improved health
well, sort of, health wise. i’ll put something on my blog later.
Welcome back, Flav! I hope you bounce back quicker than I did a couple of weeks ago when I drove from Reno to SanDog in one day after getting 5 nights of low quality camping/casino sleep. I was in a funk for about 3 days.
To respond to your takes:
1) I say shut down Crazy Horse. If nothing else, I think its cool that his last play of the 2013 season would be perhaps the most awesome play of the 2013 season. Still bummed that I missed listening to that live even though I was in the city and had been listening to much of the game. As a consolation, I did get stoned in a bar with my son that night.
2) I feared the Dogs were gonna win it all last year and now I’m really worried. I hope they somehow falter, but they look tough to beat to me.
3) I’m down with Pence at 15/75. If not him, who? ..and did I understand A-Cat’s 1:33 to allude to Pagan, Pence, Choo, Ellsbury, AND Stanton all to be on the roster next year? If so, pass the Vaporizor!
4) What a great point to ponder. Did Barry justify his entire deal last year? I never looked at it that way, but damn, I think I agree with you that he did. I think they’re handling Zeets just fine. Toss him an inning here and there, go the phantom injury route if needed, and (as Snarkk said a while back) let him start a game or two at ATT as the season winds down. I’d love to be there to see both Tim and Barry’s last starts as Giants at ATT this year.
5)I really hope the guy is being truthful that he threw whatever he could get his hands on. Either way, what an ass.
It depends on who you talk to about Zito’s contract. There’s definitely static here about it always being a bad deal. I’ve heard next-2-nothing from the 3-D world about him this year. Fans seem to be giving him a lot of slack right now for 2 reasons: 1–we don’t win the 2010 WS without him (period) and it’s just kinda the end of the road (2). Plus, we’re not contending this year so it’s hard to muster up any visceral vitriol (3).
I made mistake about him carrying over his success last year into this year. He’s done. And I bid him a heartfelt, fond, loving (gay?) farewell. 2012 is a year I’ll never forget and it doesn’t happen with his critical contributions at the most important time of the season, right?
Ack! 2012 not 2010. We won 2010 quite easily without him lol.
Stupid iPhone auto correct shit, I shouldn’t ever post something from my phone
well, one can say he won 2 ws for us.
And of COURSE I emerge from the stix after 10 days in hibernation (ok, our house is 2 miles away from the highway) to find out this morning that not only is there no Giants gm to watch but I can’t even stomach a slop A’s game, they played a day game. I’m still rolling with Ball-four and Donaldson (one of my great waiver wire finds early this year) only to feel shame for drafting pussy Cespedes in rounds 2 and 3, respectively.
At least I’ve got a Yankee gm taped, I’ll go catch that….
http://zekesplace.wordpress.com/2013/08/12/new-update/
night all.
Talk to you in the morning, Twin
I still think there are a lot of yards Lincecum is just not going to agree to play in, regardless of the money. These would include, first of all, anyone in NL or AL East–he is not going to one of those hot humid band box yards like Boston NY or Balt. I’d say the same thing about Washington and Atl–he is not living there for 6 months and pitching in that heat/humidity, plus the road games vs. Philly and Mets.
Detroit I could see, tho of course he lives far enough outside of town to be away from the riff raff and burned out streets. But that would mean he still has to pitch in Chicago Cleveland and KC. STL would be a maybe just cuz the yard is always full and they compete, but Cincy no way. road yards include Chicago and Milwaukee.
I’m sure he will have suitors if he finishes OK; I just don’t think he is into playing in any of the above cities and is wary of a big bucks contract and the pressure it would bring somewhere other than SF.
Whether Sabes is interested in the likes of Stanton, Choo and Ellsbury is completely irrelevant. Choo as an FA can tell Sabes he’ll come there when he moves the fences in and adjusts the heat in summertime to like it is in Cincy.
Agreed. NO hitter wants to come here. And SAbes doesn’t have the currency to pay for Stanton– I love reading fans who say “Go trade for Stanton!”. Yeah, lets just go do that
Hence my overall complaint about the Giants draft strategy. Pitchers, pitchers, pitchers. If you get a once in a generation combo like Cain, Lincecum, and the rest of the 2010 crew, you get a generationally low starter ERA that dominates the postseason. But, nobody can hit. When the dominance is gone, you’re screwed. Hence, draft overweight on the position player side, because FAs hitters will NOT come here (listen to the Chris Davis interview with Marty Lurie last Sunday). But, FA pitchers WILL come here, because it’s like pitching in Yellowstone park…
If the Dodgers get the kind of calls in the playoffs like they just got vs. the Mets — a called third strike instead of what absolutely should have been a bases-loaded walk to tie the game — they’ll most certainly be a tough out. This might have been the worst strike call I’ve seen all year, it was that bad.
I disagree about no hitter would ever want to play in SF. When it comes to free agency, ballplayers care about one thing and one thing only — making the most money. It’s why Rowand chose to play in a ballpark completely unsuited to his hitting talents, such as they were, after playing in a very hitter-friendly park in Philly.
These guys would play in Antarctica wearing nothing but a jockstrap if you paid them enough dough.
I agree with Willie D!