FIFA Time!
World Cup Day. I admit it, I’m going to watch. Go Argentina. Or FIFA. Or whoever.
Let’s see if we can score a run today. Because if we score one, we will score 5. And that should be enough to win today.
When we score first, we are 38-11. When their opposition scores first, we are 13-32.
Although Pawlie taught us this lesson back in 2012, right?
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Pulling for Deutschland.
I watched the Giants game and the Padre/Dodger game. I pulled for someone to score for 18 innings and got zero satisfaction on that. 18 shut-out innings! You’d think someone would have just accidentally scored a run.
Los geht’s Deutschland!…
Messi is awesome to watch but with all the Germans in the house it’s Deutschland by default.
I’d like to see Messi hit two awesome goals and Germany win 3-2. And NO deciding this game with penalty kicks after extra time…
Colvin was in centerfield, the Giants scored 5 runs, so Bochy went back to Blanco for two games in a row. I think I spoke too soon about Blanco not having incriminating photos of Bochy.
Giants announcers keep talking every day about the Giants starter needing to be “the stopper”. What do they want the starters to do? Throw a shutout every game? Starting pitching isn’t the problem when you’re averaging less than 2 runs scored for at least the last dozen games. Squad is now 9-22 over the last 31 games…
Pence RF
Belt 1B
Sandoval 3B
Posey C
Morse LF
Arias 2B
Blanco CF
Crawford SS
Bumgarner LHP
Word is Hudson is replacing Bumgarner at the AS game. Shouldn’t he get some rest?
Go Giants!
He would pitch one inning max, then have 4 days off. So that’s 1 inning in 9 days
I have no idea who Marc Topkin is. For what it’s worth:
“The Giants are considered to be the team most interested in Ben Zobrist, Marc Topkin reports, with the Reds and Mariners among other teams also intrigued by the 33-year-old. Zobrist would help the Giants and Reds at second base while the versatile 33-year-old would fit in Seattle as a shortstop or right fielder since Robinson Cano has the keystone locked up for the M’s.”
With Scutaro barely able to play twice a week, they could fill the vacuum with http://tinyurl.com/np6yvd7
The Braves owe Uggla $15 million in 2015. Ouch.
Seems like he’s just about done as a major leaguer.
Giants cut the Gamer loose and waived $12+ million goodbye with a season and a 1/4 to go. The idiocy of LT guaranteed deals continues…
Panik is 3 for 6 against LHPs since coming up to SF. He’s hitting .265 in his last 10 games. I couldn’t find minor league splits on his efforts vs. LHPs. Arias is hitting .192 against LHPs this season in 54 PAs, and 4 for 20 =.200 over the last 14 days. I don’t know if Arias has a history of any kind against this guy Nuno. If anyone has a reason for playing Arias today instead of Panik, I’d like to hear it…
Trade bait?
Today’s Dback pitcher Nuno, as far as I can tell, is some guy off the scrap heap over from the Yanks just recently (5.42 ERA, 1.44 WHIP with them in 2014). And, I believe the Giants have never seen him. So, his actual name for today will, of course, be Sandy Koufax…
Win today takes the series. Head into the break on a good note.
Keereist. Belt out as late scratch with back stiffness.
Adrianza now at second, Arias at first. On paper, this is a joke white flag offense.
The bench jockeys better be bunting some today, and the “big bats” need to hit HRs today…
Blanco pops up ahead of Panda. No bunt try, no slap grounder. Sweet…
With Belt out, Adrianza takes 2nd base, not Panik. Adrianza hitting .167 against LHPs as switch hitter. Good luck to the Giants, and good afternoon, Flappers…
Fucking team needs a yoga instructor
never thought I’d say this, but even at 0-0 soccer is more interesting than our tired-ass shit hitting team. Pathetic.
Krukow and Flemming were talking about how all the teams should get Thursday off during the All-Star week.
Someone should tell them that all the teams get Thursday off this upcoming All-Star week.
But it’s understandable that they missed such top-secret information like that.
LOL- MadBum rips a double. He wouldn’t be blamed if he blew a snot-rocket towards the hitters on his team.
Blanco tries to go yard. Fly-out to the warning track.
He tried to go the other way, hit it hard, “Cement Shoes” Trumbo made a nice catch. Blanco also had a walk, a line drive hit to right, and the bunt where he was out by a hair. 4 good at bats.
Hi, Zumiee.
Big AB coming up for Posey here.
Yeah, finally someone comes through big time.
Buster slam!
Instant 4 runs! 🙂
Awesome catch by Pence to rob Goldy of extra-bases.
and then turning and firing the ball back in–smart
Great use of leather by the Giants that inning.
Great play by Sandoval, diving stop and throw.
Giants’ D has been very good lately.
interesting stat: Buster is the first Giant to hit a grand slam from the 4 hole since Moises Alou in 2005. 9 freaking years? lol
Not counting playoffs 🙂
haha, that is fucking FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!
Snot rocket power.
MadBum slam!
cloninger against the Giants
TWO SALAMIS!!! Man, is that country boy gonna have some crowing rights with the rest of the staff (and more than half the position players as well. Looks like he gets his 10th today. Could be he was trying his damndest to get ahead of Timmy in W’s again.
so apparently all I had to do was call us a pathetic shit-hitting offense and boom, 2 grand slams. I’m better than a productive new BBOTD. 🙂
I just got home and my Mom calls long distance and she was going crazy . . . “What’s up Mom?” She says, “Oh, that man on the Giants who doesn’t use Kleenex to blow his nose, just hit a grand slam.” I respond, “Bumgarner?” She says, “Yes . . . and that little guy did too.” I said,”Who? Panik?” She says, “No, the other little guy who plays catcher.” Hilarious. 🙂
that’s fantastic. literally laughed out loud on this one.
My mom has always been like that. She loves the Giants and 49ers, but for the life of her, she can never remember the players names.
“The Giant who doesn’t use Kleenex to blow his nose”— I don’t know, that could be a nickname that really catches on! lqtm
I guarantee you I’m using it from now on and definitely in tomorrow’s thread.
If he qualified, Bum would now only trail Tulo, McCutchen and Goldshit in slugging %
Cody Ross’ 2010 post season OPS: 1.076
Gotta love a clown.
In today’s lineup, Pence leads with a .297 BA. Tied for second at .275 are Senor Snotrockets and that little guy who plays catcher. Strange stats in a weird season.
Ya gotta love Bum though. He gets a standing ovation from the crowd, which is well deserved. He hardly notices, because he is steaming about his pitching and with head to the ground, he lets loose with a big loogie.
why is Krukow surprised that it’s the first time a starting C and P have hit GS’s in the same game? How many times has a P hit a GS in a game? It’s probably only been a handful of times that any other position has hit a GS in the same game…..
I am a bit delayed (was tardy switching over from the World Cup match). Intended to go back and watch the end if it (I left at 0-0 in the 55 minute mark), but saw a post where Germany won. Fuck them. I really was pulling for Argentina. Wanted to see Messi win his first World cup title.
Sweet assed Giants game though. TWO grand salamis, and MadBum with the second of the season. And fuck Cody Ross…just saw him poke one out.
That second salami by Bum is looking huge now. Come on bullpen, nail this mother down. Hell, a couple more runs would not hurt, either.
Panik was literally helpless in that at bat vs Perez. Any of us could have done the same, maybe better.
Nice inning by Romo! Fuck yeah!
Romo pitching to Posey, the difference is huge.
I’ll say it again – Romo is invaluable. Sure, let him pitch the 8th, but if Casilla falters (which I hope doesn’t happen), we got the best closer in the wings not named Chapman and Kimbrel IMO.
Time to close this mother out and end the first half (sorta) with a win and series win.
Sweet win.
Watching the Amy and Buster show . . . Going forward, Bochy needs to consider using Bum in critical pitch hit situations. Fuck the excuse of him possibly getting hurt. Shit, the dude is from the country – that excuse is laughable.
At 1:06 I said the Gyros “big bats” needed to hit HRs today.
Bum is now officially a “big bat”…
Yes, Tom. However the line in front of it had the words “joke white flag offense”…in the middle of about 6 negative posts in a row.
I know you care deeply about the team and the organization, but the absolute BEST teams in baseball are gonna lose 65-75 times a season. That’s a lot of games where they don’t hit pitch or play well, don’t get hits with RISP or don’t score at all and fans wonder what the F is going on. To the other teams it’s gonna happen even more often. Giants have done enough good things to be a game out of first place, so far.
Only the second Giants team in 11 years to have 52 wins at the AS break. For all the Anxiety, not too bad.
Clown, you get my nod for Mr. Zen Master of the 1st half. You’ve “saved” at least a half dozen Flappers from jumping the Golden Gate bridge or committing Seppuku with a rusted butter knife.
I get tired of all the negativity myself. This guy sucks, that one should be DFA’d, another never used late, LU full of pathetic scrubinis, in the wrong order, Bochy this Sabes that yada yada. Never ending story…until different elements combine for a W like today.
The Giants are 1 game out of first place with 52Ws, just about exactly even with every top team in the entire league. About the only thing *blowing up* would be my blood pressure over this nonsense.
Yes they have issues but so does every other team out there including the sainted A’s everyone was so in love with. Long way to go still! Enjoy the break and then get after Marlins.
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Fantasy Alarm @FantasyAlarm 6m
News Alarm: Vernon Davis (TE – SF) Vernon Davis reportedly is not planning on attending training camp.
Fuck this guy, go with McDonald and Vernon can suck his agent’s pole…..
Well, hate to single out one player but this team is not going to the playoffs with Posey at.750 ops. They have to get more consistency from him. He’s the designated face of the franchise making 187m. Time to pick it up.
Hitting .237 at home…wtf?
Looking back to Opening Day if we were told then that the Giants would be a game out at the Break and actually up one in the all important loss column, not too many of the campers on this blog would have had particularly long faces.
Williedav: You beat me to a couple other points i was fixin to make, so then i gotta note that the team has actually won five of its last nine. So despite some recent uncomfortable shutouts its kinda looking that the slump is over and the June Swoon is so last month. If any team in baseball needed some time out, it’s this one. Getting the feeling CrawDaddy was dragging lately and will be particularly happy for some time off.
Another one who was dragging looks to have gotten off the schnoid. Maybe some lower pressure appearances in the 7th and 8th innings will help that focus get fine tuned once again. One remaining concern is Morse. Not much beastly been happening lately.
With Scutaro back the Bench is less of a problem. Presuming Bochy will treat him with kid gloves. He’ll need a start or two per week to keep the rust from forming. Basically, though, he is an OBP and sometimes clutch threat from the Bench. At this point the starters have been effective most of the time. Can’t expect a lot more there. Injury could change that in a flash, but Petit is a tad better than mediocre in the fill-in role. Feeling that Panik is the answer at 2B ~though he will need plenty of mentoring from both Scoots and Crawford. Adrianza is still somewhat intriguing as infield fill. Arias is useful mainly for his positional versatility.
Main need, and most everybody here knows it, is an offensively weak outfield situation. There has got to be somebody out there playing for a team with slender pitching resources up and down the pipeline that can spare a mediocre to average outfield bat for some better chance at a pitching upgrade in another year or two. We know there is plenty of pitching talent in our pipeline. Time for Sabes to dangle some bait. My ideal candidate need not be a huge power bat. A guy with a decent OBP track record and who can draw some walks and pop a fair number of doubles would present an ideal balancing beam for a team with a surplus of hackers.
Outlook for the second half? Dodgers have not begun to run away with this one. They have holes. Also that ballyhooed questionable chemistry. Giants appear to have emerged from the worst phases of their near-annual early Summer slump. Setting a major league record today with the first ever battery-mate pair of Salamis in history is an excellent coda for the first half, a morale booster and perhaps a promise of a no longer befuddled offense after the Break. Again, looking back to Opening Day, i suspect very few Flappers and Giants fans in general would have looked forward to today’s standings and had much to grump about.
4 of the 5 wins against Padres and Dbacks
#realitycheck
Scutaro sucks and can’t play regularly. He’ll be dl’d again by Aug. Panik .560 ops ain’t cutting it. Obvious need to got get a quality 2b. Like Freddie in 2010. And a mid relief guy and a vet bat off the bench.
We’ll know by August if you are right about Scutaro, Question, is that the start, middle or end of August? I’m not disagreeing with your assessment of our obvious needs, But me, I probably would have gone with a starting OFer, type player, maybe one that can play center and lead off as the biggest need.
We made it to the AS break looking pretty good. Anyone who still thinks we should blow this team up, well, see ya next year. Me? I’m on for the ride. Go, Giants.
Have a nice break y’all.
I’m hoping my recommendation about Zobrist comes true. I see that the media is picking it up in earnest now and for me, this is a no brainer. Zobrist can play short, 2nd, and the outfield (and do all 3 well). Equally important, he is very selective at the plate (good eye) and usually bats at the 1 or 2 spot. Anyway, I am betting dollars to donuts, this is the trade that is made when everything is said and done.
With caution, Scutaro can probably handle twice a week. Uggla’s the likeliest pickup, because Sabean will only have to pay the pro-rated minimum for him.
Uggla is ugly. He’s hitting below .175. We’ve got plenty of that already…
I have literally nothing going on tonight–my kid is out of town with her grandparents and there’s nada on my social skedge. So I just watched a replay on CSNBAYAREA where Rennel interviewed 10 of the guys after a game–seemed like about a month ago because they were actually playing well.
Anyway, most of those guys really have the gift of gab. Very entertaining stuff. Pence, Affeldt, Morse, Huddy, and Bochy were the best……
I hate the All Star break, except as a break for Giants players. In fact, I love it when the Giants send the minimum number of players to the game, especially if we are in the heat of a pennant race as we are now. The season is a drain emotionally and physically for the players. I hope they get their rest and come back ready to rock and roll.
No games until Friday. Ugh. Mostly I dislike this for 2 reasons: 1. The All Star game sucks and I really have no interest in the HR Derby either; and 2. No nightly fantasy league or tournament play (the latter I miss because I get my gambling fix and I have done very well this season). Other FL players understand this addiction.
Anywho, with all this “dead time,” I think I will start researching/plan a trip to some country I haven’t been to. 🙂
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thanks for the recall, Twin. You were our friend then and now. Still hoping we see more of you around here after the break. Take care.
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Down time is a good thing. Fill it with something else. I put on Face Book this afternoon a few pics with my immediate family: parents (Dad, 97, Mom, her 84th birthday today, and my 2 siblings), not too common a get-together. Tomorrow I’m driving my folks down to Shenandoah Nat’l Park in Virginia for a few days, a place we often went as a family from when I was a toddler, and also where I went numerous times backpacking and camping as an adult in my time in the East. Haven’t been there in years. Probably no internet; and that’s fine. Yeah, Steve, plan that trip, and I’ll see you in Saigon when I move back in October…. 🙂 Enjoy the break, everyone.
Looks like the post-All-Star rotation will be: MadBum, Hudson, Lincecum, Vogelsong, Cain. I was hoping to catch a Timmy start when the Giants play 4 in Philly next week, but now he’ll be the only one not pitching that series. He will get the start to open the 3-game series vs. the Dodgers after they play the Phils.
blade seems convinced Sabes is going to get Zobrist. I must confess I know little about him. What’s he worth in giving up, blade? Adrianza, straight up?… 😉
You read it here first snarkk – you can take it to the bank that the Giants will consummate this deal. Zobrist needs to start ramping up his production if the Rays want a reasonable return on him. It’s been a rough year for him but Zobrist has shown in the past what he’s capable of when he’s in the middle of a hot streak and that’s the hitter teams would be trading for and hoping they get.
So in answer to your question, it’s been reported that the Rays have shown intrigue on their side as well, i.e., they have been scouting the Giants’ Double-A Richmond affiliate, where top pitching prospects Kyle Crick, Adalberto Mejia, and Clayton Blackburn have been pitching.
He’s had a very good July so far. I can see Scooter and Ehire for now ( have to squeeze every ounce out of Adrianza before deciding on keeping him at all) . Panik goes down until September (unless Scutaro can’t cut it ), Zobrist traded for at the deadline takes over 2nd base. Blackburn, Duffy to Tampa.
Don’t book it and don’t remember this when they bring up Nick Noonan 😉
Yeah, he has been raking in July. I agree with you about Blackburn and Duffy going to Tampa . . . Or, Adalberto Mejia and a “lesser light” prospect going to them as well. Everything I have read is that no way, no how, do we give them Crick (Zobrist is good, but he is 33). Rays realize that and will be fine with the package we propose. I think (LOL).
Zobrist’s pay is also locked for the next couple seasons too at a reasonable salary versus Utley’s contract, which is significant coin.
Yankees are going to be pissed at the end of the season if they miss the playoffs by one game. The rain delayed (5 innings) game between them and the Orioles was just called a final, with Baltimore leading 3-1. LOL.
Don’t forget, everyone, that the World LaCrosse Championships have started this week, on ESPNU.
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All the “replaced” All-Star pitchers still go to the game, correct? Or is it optional for them to show up? This question may have already been answered on the Flap, but I can’t remember.
Wild first half, those of us that avoided the GG Bridge. We have gone from expecting a sweep to not expecting much. From “Holy, shit how did Sabean envision thi,s?” to fuck Sabean Billy Beane is GM of the year, doing it bold with a big trade.?We have had streaks, good and bad. Mysteries and miracles and the return of sweet Timmy Jim.
It is the AS break, the Dogers, the dog days and sweet September. Will Brian find us a trade? Will we wilt when August burns? Or will this team pull together and make some magic in October?
God Bless the San Francisco Giants!
BTW, you guys may already know this but great game at the world cup. Germany went out and built this team to win it. They found players that were fast, unlike other German teams. After speed it was stamina then talent. Three years in the making with the German Prime Minister cheering in the stands.
And Argentina handled them better than anyone thought they would.
It might only be boring old soccer, but the amount of fans I saw visibly crying as their team lost means this game is truly world wide. There was a lot of positive press in Europe over the spirit and play of the USA team.
Nice to see your posts, edd.
There are a couple of expat English dudes doing some funny schtick about soccer and the WCup. Apparently, they do this during the EPL season, too. http://www.meninblazers.com As Brits, they trashed the performance of the Brit WCup team…
http://www.espnfc.com/video/men-in-blazers/103/video/1949106/men-in-blazers-boot-room-extraworld-cup-final
World Cup ……Good riddance!
“…4 of 5 wins vs. Padres and D Bax.”
I honestly don’t think there is a lot of difference btw top and bottom feeders in baseball. It’s more what you bring every single day x 162. Best hitters are gonna suck, pitchers too sometimes. Giants got hurt vs. Pads on the day Amarista hit a HR, and Friday he hit his 3rd HR of year off Haren while Pads beat them 6-3.
Look at Dodgers, who scored 5 runs in 3 days but still managed to win 2 of 3 vs. Padres. Last 2 games were 1-0 Ws, so LA scored in 2 of last 16 innings, 1 run more than Pads. That’s a lot of zeroes in half innings; LA didn’t thrash them. For Punchless Pads just a couple more games to add to 10 games under .500 total.
Same thing for AZ. Cyrus did well and the guy is capable of doing that. Yesterday SF came through vs. their pitchers when they needed to, while DBax rookie CF Inciarte twice made dumb baserunning mistakes that helped take his team out of potential big innings. Giants had excellent D too. AZ did slap Bum around for 10 hits and a 2 run HR…just wasn’t enough to overcome what he did with the bat and end result is they solidify their hold on last place.
In the NFL you get *on any given Sunday*. Baseball it’s that way for 6 months, every single game.
Zobrist has lot of experience in OF too. He’d be fine in RF if Bochy decided to play Pence in CF…just saying.
Bochy himself said that Pence plays CF anyway, that he’s often right behind Blanco when he’s making catches.
Pagan’s health really does leave Sabes in a bind. If he were to go pick up a legit corner OF or CF like say Ben Revere or Allen Craig or a Marlon Byrd type to add offense, he’d be stuck with someone on the bench if Pagan did come back along side Morse and Pence. Pence never likes to come out and the others would want to be in there every day too. Having 4 every day OFs means someone’s ABs suffer on a regular basis, something that is ruffling a lot of feathers in lala land.