Barry Bonds is Coming Home
Barry’s coming back next week. Does that do anything for ya? Who knows, maybe he can say something in a way Muelens can’t. It’s always hot or miss with the mortals trying to glean something from the gods. Since it’s almost inconceivable that Bonds would come back and start being a dick to everyone, I see this as nothing but a good thing. He wants to get back into the game in some capacity, he will HAVE to turn on “good Barry” and keep him turned on 24/7.
He might really be able to help a hitter like Brandon Crawford….
I’m not sure what he can do for Scutaro who not only hasn’t played in a game yet, he hasn’t even swung a bat yet this Spring. I hope the private discussions about 2nd base are long and focused at the highest levels of Giants management…..
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Took them long enough to pull Bonds outta Giants purgatory. Wouldn’t surprise me a bit if BB25’s godfather had a bit of a hand in swaying the decision. My feeling is quite confident that the team’s chief Boohus came to the conclusion that we would get the good Barry. The move can be seen as Stage One in the superstar’s rehabilitation on the public stage.
Effect on the team? If Bonds gets through to one player, even, and helps him improve his game, then the team wins. Bonds has a keen, analytical eye when it comes to swinging a bat. If he can translate his observations to guys on the current roster and to aspirants like Gary Brown it’s all to the good.
Liking today’s LU. We’ll probably see this quite often, without the DH of course, after Scutaro’s back inevitably fails.
Pagan CF
Belt 1B
Posey C
Pence RF
Sandoval 3B
Morse DH
Arias 2B
Crawford SS
Perez LF
Hudson RHP
I’d be impressed if the entire team switched to 32oz bats, started crowding the plate, and donned the elbow guards.
It’s too bad Abreu’s pop comes from the right side. If it were reversed, a platoon with Arias would probably be as productive as a healthy Scutaro. As it is, I’d like to find out whether or not Abreu can sustain his respectable 2013 numbers.
The best thing about Scutaro’s performance last year was obviously his ability to maintain a good OBP. I’d like to think that he made a strategic decision to take more pitches to help compensate for the physical problems.
Token comment to keep the blog numbers looking passable.
Mota hanging them up. Now he’s free to drink all the children’s cough syrup he wants.
The veil of secrecy has been removed from the Scuts back injury. Sort of…
http://www.csnbayarea.com/giants/giants-concerned-not-panicking-over-marco-scutaro
Prepare for a season-long Scuts on/off playing schedule. And, probably at least two stints on the DL. If you have a bad back, it’s hard to play any sport, let alone one where you have to twist your back to take every swing at the plate. All this from one leg slightly shorter than the other? How about a corrective, built up shoe on the shorter leg to balance the lower back and hips — have they tried that already or would that help? Or, Is that too logical and obvious a question for our quivering media to ask? There. My first ST semi-regular rant on Giants medical issues…
Yikes. Nothing in that article sounded good. He’s got hip pain, too. It’s going to be a revolving door at secondbase again. Hope somebody rises to the occasion.
Good stuff snarkk . . . ty for sharing.
During some video clips the other day, I saw them installing the revolving door near 2nd base at Scottsdale Stadium. Let’s hope they don’t need to use it that frequently…but I sure as hell am not holding my breath.
Back to yesterday’s thread…I am thinking a Flapalooza at Flav’s mum’s place is a capital idea. Flapalooza 2015 in Scottsdale…
Loved Wilco’s post on attending ST games many moons ago. My first trip to ST was back in the mid 80s. I have similar recollections as Joe. One of my more vivid memories was a game against the Fucking A’s at Phoenix Municipal (early 90s…probably ’92 or so). We bought the cheapest seats and after an inning, had front row seats behind the Giant’s bullpen. We sat there all day jawing with the likes of Mike Jackson, Dave Burba, and Shooter. It is obviously not like that anymore as the popularity of ST has made tickets more difficult to get and also a bit more pricey.
But it really does not matter. I just love being down there to see the kids who get their first roster invite, check out the guys who have a legit chance at cracking the roster, and of course, to see how the regulars are doing. My daughter and I leave Saturday. We’ll be in Scottsdale by early afternoon. First stop after getting checked-in to the hotel will be RnR on the main drag in Old Scottsdale, for one of their famous Bloody Mary’s with a crisp slice of bacon in it. Cannot wait!
Our first game Sunday we see our boys in the Orange and Black take on the hated Bumbinos of Smell A. This at their yard (Camelback Ranch in Glendale). New facility…will be my first trip there…looking forward to it. Our second game we see the Cubbies in Scottsdale, and we wrap it up seeing the Giants-Reds in the Red’s yard in Goodyear (first trip there, too). We have lower box seats for every game We’re about 10 rows up from the Giant dugout in Goodyear, 3rd row down the line for the Cubbie’s game, and about 5 rows up in Glendale (down the left field line…so we may get to jaw with The Beast).
I am SO ready!
I’m now watching my 4th Dodger game, without having seen a Giants game yet. I guess it’s fair to say the MLB network has jumped on the Dodger bandwagon.
I think it’s fine BBonds is going to be there for a few days. He’s smart, he won’t get into anybody’s grill now. He’ll be charming and give some hitting tips. Then, he’ll be gone. Why the Giants have agreed to do this now is a good question. Paving the way for rehab of his history and a future statue?…
Sounded on the radio Bcast that Hudson was sharp on the mound, threw strikes, efficient. Maybe not quite in shape yet for fielding and covering 1b, but a solid first outing…
I’m leaning towards wanting Adrianza to play 2nd when Scoots hits the shelf. An infield of Belt, Adrianza, Crawford and Panda (slim, not fat) is pretty imposing, defensively.
Me too BF,
The extra advantages for Ehire to me is that he can play SS as well, and is a switch hitter,plus he’s younger then Abreu who is 29.
When I was a kid there was a crazy guy in the neighborhood with one leg shorter than the other. One time he came hobbling down the block as fast as he could yelling that the cops were chasing him. One of my more clever friends told him to run with one leg up on the curb to even himself up, and sure enough…..ZOOM….. he was long gone.
Gold Baby!
Build up the height of the chalk line down the 1b and 3b lines?…
What Bonds can do for Scutaro?
Explain the MLB 401k retirement pension plan. 😉
Give him the card of his personal masseur…
Shit snarkk, Paulinasia and I can do that. 🙂
Scutaro spending a week in Bangkok or Vietnam == you guys would have his back in worse shape!… 😉
Beercan helping along today with Marty Lurie’s broadcast in the desert… 😉
NICE!
I heard that. I still love how casually he refers to his girlfriend as *Beer Can*
I like the idea of Barry hanging around the club and I’d love to see him take on that Mays/McCovey role as the years go by. I’m not sure what he brings to the table as far as helping the guys hit, but who knows.
“Hey Crawdad, make sure you don’t get the bat through the zone too quickly when someone tries to throw 102 mph gas inside on you like Gagne did to me back in ’03 when I pulled the damn thing foul into McCovey Cove.”
(Greatest foul ball of all-time by the way)
I went to spring training a few times back in the day. On a couple of occasions we worked the daily double of attending the NCAA tourney and catching a Cactus League game all in one extended weekend. The first time I ever went was 1991 where 3 of us slept in sleeping bags out in the outfield at Indian Bend Park, where they trained. We had this dream that The Humm Baby himself would roust us in the am and tell us to get the hell off the field. Didn’t happen. Later that day, we saw Big Daddy Reuschel throw a B game on that same field.
@Flav: love the Cats in the Cradle reference from 2/28!
Steve, funny 401(k) retirement plan comment, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Scutaro hangs up his cleats not long into the season. If the guy can’t go, he can’t go, and that article makes it sound like he’s not even going to be close come opening day. Smart athletes know when the body is telling them it’s time to quit. Sabean “expects him to be healthy” and “there’s plenty of time”… huh. If Scuts is feeling this bad before he even starts physical activity and he had the entire off-season to get better, I’m not sure why the team is so hopeful that working out in ST is going to do the trick. We’ve quite possibly seen the last of Marco.
Agree Paul. I live by this quote, “The happiest people are those with a Plan B.” I hope Sabes has a Plan B regarding Scutaro.
The Fast and Furious guy was not part of the deceased actor’s bit on the Oscars? TOTAL BULLSHIT!
Nevermind. I guess he was part of it. I was grading some papers at the time.
He was, SD. The names passed by quickly. It is the only part of the show I pay attention to. Those death lists usually offer an oddly out of place and unusually comprehensive picture of the industry. Last year the amazing Chris Marker was up there on the screen. Weird and kinda cool.
I actually think the biggest impact Bonds is going to have on Belt. Not that Belt didn’t come along well last year and have a solid season, I think Bonds can take him to the next level with pitch recognition and driving the ball.
We have all seen Bonds standing next to the batting cage and imparting advice to young hitters. I think he has always been more comfortable with younger teammates and not the bigger names he played with as a Giant, including Will Clark, Matt Williams, Jeff Kent, etc. Think this will be a very positive development especially with younger hitters down in the farm teams.
I did not realize how questionable Scutaro was going to be this season. I would have liked them being a little more aggressive in having a backup plan beyond an ad hoc let’s roll the dice feel that I an getting. I still think we should be looking at moving Affeldt as the best potential chip. Vet lefty that can be an 8th inning setup guy would seem valuable to me. I threw out back in Dec an Affeldt for Ackley idea. I still like it…
Peter, I previously said that I like Dustin too. He is a lefty and the Mariners have 7 lefties in their starting lineup! Ridiculous! Even Cano said they need another right handed bat (Morales would be his preference and I agree, since it wont cost them a draft pick, as he played there last season). Quite frankly, articles and columns have alluded to the Mariners GM being an idiot, i.e., I think the Giants could get Ackley fairly cheap (especially after last season’s face plant).
Blade, hope you cancelled that spring flight from Laos to the Crimea… 😉
Paul and Blade, The Charge of the Sybarite Brigade.
Half a klik, half a klik,
Half a klik on,
All in the city of flesh,
Rode both toward the thongs.
‘Forward, forward the Rubber Brigade!
Charge for the buns!, they cried:
Into the city of flesh
Rode the two, slammin’ orange Gatorade…
😉
LMAO…that’s good, snarkk…
I am so out of touch regarding the world at large, that I had to Google what you were talking about. This just after the Olympic’s too. Fucked up politics and power grabs.
Had to wait until after the Olympics were over; couldn’t taint all the “peace” of $50 billion in Olympics graft with an ongoing invasion about 150 miles away as the crow flies…
Putin did this same shit in ’08 with Georgia.
I’m not a movie guy but I did see two movies this year and I liked them both immensely: Gravity and Frozen.
Flannery said today on KNBR to Lurie that Blanco’s been working hard with him on bunting improvement. That Blanco said he is going to try to bunt at least one AB a game in ST to get his skills up. Paraphrasing, Flann basically said he’ll believe it when he sees it, and that Blanco should bunt more for hits, given his speed…
Build a statue for Bonds forthwith. When he left I quit paying to watch.
Funny, but couple years ago everyone thought the Z guy Seattle GM was a genius. Cano’s been there what, a week and he’s already figured out what they need…I just don’t think his contract is gonna work out for them. Even with Cano I don’t think M’s are gonna contend for much of anything this year (division is tough and too many East teams in WC mix) and therefore will have wasted one of the good front end years of Cano’s deal.
And how many of those are there?
Loved watching when Bonds was around, but I will never quit paying to watch. Sat through a number of shitty games back in the day (think Montreal weeknight game) and still loved watching our boys. There are still a lot of good knowledgeable fans at today’s games, but many are there sitting in corporate seats to look pretty and be seen. That was one of the cool things about the Stick…the fans there were FANS.
And I think it is awesome that BB is back in the fold. It is well past time to begin mending those fences. Will try to get a photo op with him during ST…or at a minimum get some good shots of him on the field.
Ielleen voisno had a good article on Barry coming back. She pointed out this only for a week, Giants management wants to see how Barry interacts with the players. If he is all smiles and greets all of the player with enthusiam then all will be good in the Giants world. If he comes back and has his nose in the air and starts asking where his barkalounger and 40 inch TV is well then he will see an early exit and if will be good by BB for good.
Iellen Voison
Hey is anyone haveing trouble with word press. The message “Enter your comments here” I am just typing over that, I cannot delete it can’t tell what I am typing until I get past that message.
Seems to be working for me
YEah, I’m g3ewtting that, too.
Yeah on your site it disappears, but not here
For me, when I start typing on the line the “enter your comments here” disappears — I think that’s the way it always is. Timmy going today. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of command he’s got early. Typically in ST, he doesn’t have much…
It’s started doing that on my regular computer, but not my lap-top. On my regular computer it types over that sentence, and that’s kind of annoying.
Kostya Kennedy, who wrote a very good book about DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, has a new biography of Pete Rose coming out next week. Could be interesting. Rose should have spent the last several decades enjoying life as baseball royalty, but he fizzled that away.
On a separate note…Niners sign Boldin to a 2 year deal worth 12 mil (9 mil guaranteed).
Apropos of nothing, this is some crazy stuff about the origins of baseball.
http://grantland.com/features/baseball-archaeologist-david-block/
BTW, how’s Twin? You out there?
Good article. I knew the Doubleday stuff was bunk, but didn’t know base-ball went back so far, and maybe to the European continent….
Great link. Thanks, chuck.
I love Black & Tans with Smithwick’s.
Interesting article, Chuck. I was surprised to see no mention of Alexander Cartwright, though. Maybe I missed it. Cartwright put together rules in the 1840s that make baseball that is recognizable to us. The diamond, three outs per inning, three strikes for an out, etc.
S Dawg, here’s one you can use vs. full court man D. We were up 1 with the ball and a few seconds left in Saturday tournament opening round game, having blown a 5 point lead by missing FTs. I take my last TO and draw up the *gate* on the board
We set up 4 across FT lane, one on each elbow one at each FT extended. Gal (fastest) on ball side FT extended cuts in diagonal toward the ball then shoots btw the two elbow players, who collapse in and screen her defender (closing the gate), and she goes long.
We hit her past half court and she goes in for uncontested layup, we’re up 3 and home free. My buddies who are both 70 taught me this years ago so I have no idea how old it is. I mean, there’s Old School and then there’s one room school house..