Selig Stiffs Gwynn and Welch
Bob Welch died in June and Tony Gwynn died a few days later. The All Star game was a perfect spot to honor the memory of both men and the contributions they made to the game. And yet there wasn’t a single reference to either of them. This made no sense to me. Is Selig only down with honoring the baseball legends who are still alive? The only thing I can think of is that mlb didn’t want to take anything away from the focus of saying “goodbye” to Jeter. And if that’s true, that is simply shameful. What other reason for ignoring their deaths could there be?
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Good point Flavor . . . Along with what you posted above and what happened last night regarding Wainwright and Jeter (I reposted my comment below from the last thread), I was disgusted with the All Star game – that supposedly is NOT an exhibition.
“The car salesman probably will not do anything about this. I didn’t think my opinion of the All Star game could go any lower. However, after what Wainwright did, I have less respect for this idiot, Bud Selig, and the so-called All Star game.
Thomas Boswell ✔ @ThomasBoswellWP
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Wainwright says he grooved a couple to Jeter. Maybe ‘bush’ to do it. But worse to SAY you did it. Ruins moment you conspired to create. Dope
7:40 PM – 15 Jul 2014”
Wonder how rest of the NL guys feel about Wainwright, i.e. the guys who had to hit off King Felix, Sale, Darvish and all the others with nothing grooved to them. Besides the obvious home field thing for the winners, even if Jeter grounded out to ss he’d get applause from the crowd.
Note in the Chron today said Tyson Ross and Huston Street both wore #19 patches on their unis in honor of Gwynn. Anybody mention that on broadcast? Can’t have gone unnoticed by all, including Bud the spud.
I haven’t seen Wainwright’s comments but I don’t really have a problem with grooving one to Jeter in his first AB. The whole AS Game decided home field is the problem. The WS teams are impacted by something that is totally out of their control.
I don’t have a problem with him grooving one either. But saying you grooved it was the big mistake. And then his lame attempt to take it back was even worse!
Fair enough. It seems like MLB has pretty much ignored Gwynn’s passing. Is it due to the small market? Did he piss someone off or something?
Absolutely. Had he played in NY they would’ve canceled the fucking gm to honor him
Flava Flav, you are totally right on both counts…and with the NY Gwynn comment
Yeah, the WS designation via the ASG was bad enough from the get-go. Now it has gone from mildly stupid to total farce. Too bad for Wainwright he’s in the NL and has to bat for himself. Some pissed off pitcher on a contender might go all Drysdale, Gibson and Maglie on him. He will have earned that.
Right. What’s Jeter supposed to say? Thanks? I think Jeter feels like he can hit off a guy like Wainwiright, piped or not.
Wainwright is plainly and simply a moron. Nice sentiment, but one that you keep to yourself. Either do it and don’t say anything, or just respect the game and pitch. I’m just glad they didn’t give Jeter the MVP for his double and single.
Micah, Bochy made an excellent speech the before the June 23rd game against the Pads when they unveiled the #19 on the RF wall. Can’t find it anywhere.
One thing that was cool was Bochy gave Bud Black a base that Gwynn had signed after his last game in baseball, which happened to be at AT&T in 2001. The Giants had it on display somewhere. Stupid me forgot to take pictures. I did get a pic of the 19 on the wall though.
Here’s something . . .
http://m.mlb.com/sd/video/v33800257/bruce-bochy-discusses-tony-gwynns-legacy
Thanks, chuck. Hadn’t seen that. I guess I am sort of surprised we haven’t seen something a bit more in depth from a local guy like Pav, Baggs or Schulman.
Yeah, I saw that live (pre-game on that day). Thanks for sharing, Charlie.
In the history of the game, did they ever decide home field by best record?
Or was it simply alternating year to year, and now this?
Prior to 2003 it alternated.
Selig is a vertical stiff.
Again ………AL is SUPERIOR!
You mean like last year’s champ RedSox?
Were you watching highlights of 2012 video from previous thread?
Or Wash leading Texas to back to back defeats in 2010 and 2011?
Ralph Kiner, too.
This morning, Kruk said Wainwright was an idiot for talking about grooving one to Jetah, not for doing it. Kruk said he would have done it, too. And, he said he likes the AS winning league getting the WS home field. Sorry, I get the grooving — but only if the AS is meaningless other than the exhibition it is. So, Kruk strikes out IMO…
Kruk just annoys the shit out of me more every day. Combined with Kuip mailing it in I’d rather just hear Miller or Flemming.
Kuip isn’t mailing in those HR calls. He dominates Flem from that standpoint
Yeah, I like his home run call but not much else. It is definitely superior to Flemming’s falsetto. He regularly confuses players and his post game act is ridiculous. I don’t usually watch the post game so I don’t care about that much but I do wonder about his general confusion at times.
I still like Kruk and Kuip, but the “likeage” is growing some moss. Kruk is still darn good in game color other than the homerism (I hear him now only on highlights and post-game radio), but on radio Kuip mixes up players, has been botching some calls, and I won’t dwell again on his post-game eating/drinking shenanigans that diss the fans, IMO. Also, seems to me all 4 of the announcers are more often now “on assignment”, i.e., one guy is off the broadcast on a short vacay for one series (usually away) or Flemm moonlighting. Miller has started mixing up players, too. Guys in their 60s, I guess, can’t be helped, or take some Gingko Biloba. Kuip and Kruk have long-term deals — so cruising may not be limited to LT contracted players…
I’m glad you guys are annoyed. Go Kruk and Kuip! And don’t forget Amy G!
Kruk said this morning the only time he ever grooved a pitch was at the Stick pitching to Mike Schmidt in what everybody knew was Schmidt’s swan song series at the Stick in his retiring year. Kruk and Schmidt had been teammates on the Phills. Kruk said when he became a Giant, he had success against Schmidt because while with the Phills, a Phills pitcher told him that Schmidt was a sucker for a hanging slider, and sure enough, Kruk always threw him that, and he popped ’em up. Since Schmidt had been a teammate, Kruk didn’t throw a slider, but grooved him a fastball down the middle to start his first AB against him that day at the Stick, and Schmidt smoked it against the LF fence for a double. I’m OK with that kind of scenario, that’s a good baseball story, from some random regular season game. Not in a playoff game, not in an AS game that counts for home field…
I lasted about one inning of the all-star game last night with Monday night’s Colbert Report thrown in the middle.
I quickly glanced at the box score this morning. Did Pence and Hudson both not make it into the game?
Pence grounded out. Hudson, I don’t know…
Hudson did not pitch…
Yeah, Twitizens remarked about Gwynn, tho’ I didn’t see anything about Welch. Not having a TV, I quarter-heartedly followed the game as a gestalt mosaic or digital comments on Twitter. Corporate baseball really has sold out its soul, hasn’t it? On to the Second (shorter) Half! And the Third Coming of our #sfgiants!
I agree with the group that I have come to just ignore the whole all-star game festivities. It used to be my favorite thing as a kid late 70s early 80s when the Giants sucked. There was an amazing aura to the game and the NL played all-out because reping the NL to them meant something. Plus all the players who you would never see play unless you saw them on the game of the week pre-espn.
All that specialness is completely gone from the festivities. I think it is good for the players to have a mid-season break but I would just move the all-star game to the end of the season and get back to baseball by Thursday instead of now taking 4 days off.
Maybe stick the all-star game in the middle of the championship series and world series and no one who is in the world series can play. Just make it a one day event with a futures game beforehand and maybe shorten the futures and all-star game to a 6-inning affair. Remember when the Rays-Phills had that rain-shortened world series game. The next day when they played just 4 innings was exciting and full of intensity. …
This term “piped” is new to me. Since when did the ASG bring in porn? Steady revenue stream, I guess.
You know, they used to have TWO All-Star Games every summer. 1959-62. Talk about excessive. And stoopid.
Nice thread Craig. Such a joke to not mention Gwynn and Welch. I watched bits and pieces of the game. Highlight? Puig K-ing three times. I know it isn’t a Golden Sombrero, but WTF…I give him an “Honorary Golden Sombrero.” Couple that with his stellar performance in the HR derby (which I did not watch, but heard the details), and you gotta love it.
On the point of Wainwright grooving one to Jeter. As others have mentioned, in a game where the home field advantage for the WS is on the line, that is just plain fucking stupid. And then to mention it is even MORE stupid, and the icing on the cake is when Wainwright tries to back-peddle out of it. What a tool.
Five days for these shenanigans (HR derby and AS game) is a joke. And as I mentioned on previous threads, the piece I would REALLY like to see is the “Futures” game. Fuck…is it Friday, YET?! I’m ready for real baseball.
FanGraphs on Giants’ prospect Ray Black- *averaged* 99.4 in the outing the writer observed. Since 2002 the only MLB pitcher who has averaged 99.4 or higher is Aroldis Chapman. Ray is said to have a plus slider as well. As the article says “All in all, Black is an obvious future closer if his arm stays attached and he can stay around the strike zone.” (he has a history of arm problems) . Exciting guy to watch. At 24 , he has get moving up.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/prospect-watch-milbs-hardest-thrower-and-other-stories/
Stats:
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=t478&t=p_pbp&pid=605143
Very cool, Michael. I like the writer’s comments:
“You might think Black would be a mere shell of the solid prospect he was as a collegian after his repeated setbacks, but, well, you would be quite wrong. Here’s his first outing. You’re really going to want to watch it, because it might be the most electrifying inning of pitching I’ve ever witnessed:”
Ty Blach at AA Richmond is the starting pitcher for the West All-Stars in the Eastern League All-Star game tonight.
Very cool. Wish I could find a feed to check out the game.
wow. How’d we get him? Pitt gave up on him?
He went to school at Pitt, we drafted him in the 7th round in 2011.
Thanx for the links, Twin. Wondering how long this kid stays at Augusta. Also curious as to why he has evidently not been used in the closer role for the Green Jackets.
He’s just begun his pro career after a lot of injuries. He was drafted 3 years ago.
Yes. According to the article, he missed two entire seasons. Has only about 4 innings of work under his belt as a pro. IF he can stay healthy it will be interesting to see how he progresses.
My summary of Fox’ broadcast last night: All worship the Great and Mighty Jeter! We are not worthy to breathe the same air that he does!
—-
The Fox interviewer wimped out while interviewing Selig about his legacy. Not a single question or reference to steroids.
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I don’t like interviews while the game is going on, and I especially didn’t like the shabby treatment Pence got. The AL manager was being interviewed, and Pence’s AB was stuck in a shrunken box and totally ignored.
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One of the broadcasters called Jeter an American icon. Really?
James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Robinson, and…..Derek Jeter!
It’s a good thing Jeter is retiring. Sick of hearing and seeing so much about him. He’s good, but no superstar. He does play for the New York media, though. Frankly, i don’t give a fat, furry, flying fart about the Evil Empire and their pinstriped, buttoned-down boobs.
And they gave Jeter a full inning of interview time. We got to hear riveting stuff like: “Over the years, I’ve tried my best to stay out of trouble” and “I always focus on the game that we’re playing that day.”
“This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.”
Well, I missed the HR derby. No thrill in watching that. Maybe if Pence and his gangly awkwardness was in it, or even Bummie, who I’m sure would have both smoked Puig in a nano-second, why not just let all the players take BP? It would be just as exciting, and we’d be spared the inane commentary around something akin to BP.
The game? I sorta watched it. It is cool to see guys like Trout and King Felix play. Guys who I rarely get to see play in normal circumstances. Even with interleague. Jeter’s opening play on McCutcheon is really what the game is about. And for. Jeter made a great play but couldn’t get McCutcheon out. He smiled and tipped his cap to Jeter. A cool little thing in the grand scheme of a sort-of pointless game. I sure was happy to see Farrell not use a replay there.
Really, what IS up with all those interviews? Fox spends WEEKS building up what an AMAZING game the All-Star game is, but then during the game, they break away for tons of interviews, and the game is often treated as a not-very-important after-thought. Do they ever poll fans about those interviews? Of course not.
It springs forth from media people telling other media people what they think we want. So that’s how we end up getting Joe Buck for the World Series and the Super Bowl.
We don’t call Murdoch’s mania Faux Noose for nothing. Think their sports coverage is bad. Try and keep your stomach from losing its contents when viewing their public affairs and political coverage. Bad to the bone.
Yep agree with everyone else, No Wynn no Welch?? WTF, The AG has pretty much become a joke, mostly due to giving the Fan the vote on who goes. The people who should be picking IMO are coaches and Sports writers. Granted they have favorites also, The Everyday Fan is just plain biased.
Baseball is basically a regional sport now, but Jeter is the biggest ball player by far as being nationally recognized.
I mean, if I was walking down the street and bumped into Mike Trout, I wouldn’t recognize him from Adam.
Fox says: Giants fans, watch the All-Star game!!!
And, oh by the way, your guy Pence will be batting in a box about this big: []
Yeah, it sucks when the game gets in the way of the interviews. If it was up to the network wonks, they’d tape the game and extend them by 2 hours with interviews interspersed at annoying intervals.
You know, like the Olympics.
It just perplexes me. What baseball fan ever said: “I want lots of in-game interviews”?? And who would miss them if they were gone?
If their goal is to try to open up the broadcast to more people, they should take somewhat of a lesson from the Giants Comcast broadcasts, and interview fans at the game or something. There’s probably a lot of interesting stories of people that came many miles to watch the game. Or are wearing something silly or funny. At least that would be more interesting than hearing the AL manager say he enjoyed watching Kershaw pitch for an inning.
I didn’t watch any of the game last night. Instead, I watched Shark Tank on my PC. Much better decision. Everything about the AS game seems contrived to maximize revenue for Fox and MLB. However, as you said Zumiee, their assumptions on what they think the fans want, results in a broadcast that is frankly, offensive to me. They are 180 degrees off if they think this will result in more fans, much less if they think they will retain or gain back the fans they lost (such as myself).
It’s sounding more and more like Zobrist is a likely solution to our problems at 2nd base, outfield and who bats leadoff. Yes, Zobrist would potentially solve ALL those problems. This is the most detailed article outlining why this trade makes sense; who would be traded (Panik possibly, along with another prospect); and who are competition is (Reds and maybe, the Mariners).
http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2014/7/14/5899797/ben-zobrist-trade-rumors-san-francisco-giants-interested-cincinnati-reds-and-mariners-also-in
I think Zorbist makes sense but SF will try and hold on to Panik. Too bad they won’t just take Adrianza straight up 🙂
He’s getting $7M this year, and $7.5M next year (club option).
His age, 33, bothers me. And, his production has generally declined the last few years, per that article, though doing well lately. Also, what contribution has that Tampa dome made to his numbers? Skewed upwards, I should think, compared to what he’d do at ATT. Anyway, seems very much a Sabes type acquisition. I would hate to lose Panik, he seems like a possible long term solution at second, a solid player potentially, not very exciting both offensively and defensively, but takes good ABs, at least before Bam Bam and Bochy coach him for a while to be “aggressive” with the bat…
Zobrist’s age is perfect to sign, help us win the World Series, sign to a 3 year deal, and watch him get hurt and crater.
Scoot’s DID break the chain, but we’ll see how effective he is going forward. I’d simply leave him as a PH at this pont. Not risk putting him in the field to get hurt . . .
Good read, Steve. Thanks for sharing. This adds a bit more to the article on a potential Zobrist trade that I posted last week.
I am not that concerned with his “production.” The main thing the Giants are looking for is for him to get on base ahead of the middle of the order. His OBP has always been good (the .354 is his lifetime average…he currenlty is at .352). He also is a smart hitter (much of a contact hitter like Scoots). He has some pop (has averaged 18 HRs a year). But again, the Giants want him as a top of the order guy to get on base.
I would hope they can swing a deal without Panik, but if he is required to make the trade, I say pull the trigger.
His age, IMO, is not that big of an issue. He is 33 and only potentially inked through next year (club option for 2015).
I say giddy the fuck up and get it done.
Blackburn and Adrianza should do it. No on trading Panik. Long-term he looks good at second unless Matt Duffy does a switchover instead of SF ultimately trading Crawford to make room for the kid at SS. Zobrist’s clearest position would be CF until and/or unless Pagan makes a full recovery. He should be fine as a leadoff man setting the table.
And while I’m ranting…. 🙂
How about Reynolds saying that Jeter is 8th all-time in hitting. That’s just a flat-out misleading thing to say. Jeter is 8th in number of hits, but that’s NEVER been how the term “leading in hitting” has been used. It’s always meant batting average. If you lead the league in hitting, you have the best batting average.
It’s not a big deal, but Reynolds knows better. Maybe he meant to say it the correct way and flubbed.
I looked it up: Jeter is 88th all-time in hitting.
But certainly, 8th in number of hits is very impressive; I don’t mean to downplay that accomplishment.
Jeter is harmless to me. I could give less then 2 shits about MLB canonizing him for Sainthood. Meh. This bullshit is pushed by the NY and East coast media, so I definitely don’t fault him. All in all, he seems like a nice guy; but frankly, when I think of elite short stops, his name is barely in the top 10 . . . if that.
I agree with all points…especially about elite shortstops and where he falls in the pecking order.
KNBR spent the morning discussing who will rise up and be “the face of baseball” now that Jeter is going. First of all, that’s not exactly an easy definition, is it? “The face of baseball?” I thought the “FOBB” was whoever was on the XBox cover each year. 🙂
As you said, he had a lot of hits. He played 20 years, he’s supposed to have a lot of hits. But he never won MVP.It’s cool he played his entire career for one team but that doesn’t make him the best at anything.
I’m not hating on the guy, I get why Yankee fans love him and he’s a winner and a great role model and “The Captain” and all that. But if you want to talk about someone who dominated it’s really more of a guy like “Mariano” not Jeter….
The All Star game had a “red carpet.” Who knew?
Here is Pence walking it . . . https://vine.co/v/MQa7ewmuTFD
This morning on KNBR. they were asking who would be the next face of Baseball. and they were wondering if Jeter would have been as popular or as well known if he had been on another team. New York certainly is a fish bowl for any type of celebrity
Blade, that’s pretty funny. Dig the one guy in the crowd at the end doing the touchdown/fingers up sign, or whatever he hell that is.
Also it’s great that no one is paying attention.
I’m pouting because my 9:51am didn’t get POTD. And I miss Tedspe. Darn it. I’m calling him right now, to check on my boy.
Pawlie, between this post and your most recent Laughorist thread, I must ask, are you ok? You are coming across as super duper sensitive these days.
maybe I’m having my period. Ever notice how women can claim dispensation via hormones, but what about men? WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH OCEANS OF TESTOSTERONE. Think it’s easy?
Are your oceans drying up?
tsunami
Seriously, if you do call him, please provide an update (as to why the hell he has disappeared from the face of the Flap).
Speaking of the face of baseball, Pence should be the face of the game. He plays like every situation will be his last, runs out every play, tries for every batted ball, he swings like an epileptic in full spasm, he runs like a wounded gazelle, and he throws like a 5 year old.
He’s everyman, and he’s one of a kind.
What’s not to love?
“Speaking of the face of baseball, Pence should be the face of the game. He plays like every situation will be his last, runs out every play, tries for every batted ball, he swings like an epileptic in full spasm, he runs like a wounded gazelle, and he throws like a 5 year old.”
Unca, you nailed it. That is a classic and more important, accurate description of Pence. Shit, I can admit freely that I was at the front of the parade of people with pitch forks and torches to run him out of town when the trade went down to acquire him. If I recall correctly, he didn’t exactly make a good first impression either. Fast forward today – I LOVE THE GUY. Face of baseball? Indeed! If I am building a baseball team, he is the “Captain,” no two ways about it.
Great post.
I read or heard somewhere that Pence drinks about 18 cups of Java a day. Not decaf…
Ha. I drink a lot of coffee, but not that much. Shit, that’s like 2 pots, right?
the thing the KNBR guys missed is that you don’t become the “face” until you’ve shuffled all the way to the top. Jeter was around forever, he finally became “the face” about, I don’t know, maybe 6 or 7 years ago? Who was the face before him? Steroid guys? Mariano? Randy Johnson? Who?
Bottom line is that there is no face and will be no face until that one guy (Buster?) plays long enough and wins more than anyone else. Winning does have something to do with it and Jeter didn’t do that on his own……
You have to be good for a long time with an impeccable personal record, your team has to win consistently, and you have to be the leader of the team. That’s how you become the face of baseball. Either that, or just hang around in NY long enough. Mike Trout will probably wear pinstrips one day…..
I could care less about who is the face of baseball. I just want to be able to say “Fuck Yeah! Three World Series titles in Five Years, Bitches!” If that comes to fruition…ALL IS GOOD in the world of baseball.
righto…and I’m not even worried about home advantage. I’ve learned: if we get on a postseason roll, we are a
juggernaut (n.)
1630s, “huge wagon bearing an image of the god Krishna,” especially that at the town of Puri, drawn annually in procession in which (apocryphally) devotees allowed themselves to be crushed under its wheels in sacrifice. Altered from Jaggernaut, a title of Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu), from Hindi Jagannath, literally “lord of the world,” from Sanskrit jagat “world” (literally “moving,” present participle of *jagati “he goes,” from PIE *gwa- “to go, come” (see come (v.)) + natha-s “lord, master,” from nathate “he helps, protects,” from PIE *na- “to help.” The first European description of the festival is by Friar Odoric (c.1321). Figurative sense of “anything that demands blind devotion or merciless sacrifice” is from 1854.
Do me a favor Pawlie, pick up “The Life Of Pi” at your local library. Spiritual? Yes. Religious? Yes – all 3 of the major religions (Christianity, Muslim, and Hindu). Adventure? Best adventure book I have read in years. The movie is good, but it doesn’t do it justice like the book. I am in the midst of reading it and am losing major sleep because I can’t put the book down. It’s that good.
Awesome book, and a good movie. Agree that the book is better (as is almost always the case).
I read The Life of Pi around the time it first came out. The troublesome thing is this: about the only thing I remember is the character having to drink his own pee, and wasn’t there a tiger in the boat? and a riff about zoos.
Magnus,
I’m good. My age must be showing. But I’m fine. Maybe it’s the Eastern philosophy I’m reading. No worries.
Jeter became the face of baseball because of New York, but also because he dated like 150 hot women over the years, and isn’t your usual ball-scratching, tobacco spitting goober.
Besides, I never heard of him call ‘the face of baseball.’ Til this thread.
Yeah, I’ve never called him that either. It was something Gary and Larry were talking about on KNBR and I thought it was kinda stupid so I decided to bring it up here. 🙂 🙂 🙂
glad to hear you’re ok Kokonuts. Hang in there or whatever I’m supposed to say during moments like these. 🙂
I’m eager to come out to SF to reconvene, or Waikiki or Denver or Reno or Jackson Hole — whatever. I hear Boise is awesome.
Boise stinks. But Ketchum is quite nice. Katie is there with her grandparents right now.
Pawlie – You should come out while Paul is in country. Sounds like the basis for a good Flapalooza. Blade…you in?
You should come out while Paul is in country. Sounds like the basis for a good Flapalooza. Blade…you in?
Pawlie, I know that you and some of the guys have talked about a neutral Flapalooza spot but for me anyway, that’s hard to do. Most all of my trips each year are dependent on where I’m taking my daughter except for the 3 or so Reno trips I take each year. Wanna meet in Reno? lol. Cause I’ll be there next week for about a week.
Bay Area watering hole, or another Flapalooza at a game would be cool.
I think I’d do it. Don’t care where we sit. Ideally, I’d have Yankee Stadium Mystery Guest on my arm.
Brandon Rush is coming back to the Dubs. Curious to see what WillieD and any other Dub-centric Flappers think about that move. I guess as long as he’s healthy it’s a great pick up, right?
I assume we are not paying Rush a whole lot, so good on bringing him back. Makes even more sense if we move Harrison Barnes in a deal for Kevin Love. I think that deal is going to get done but now may take parting with Draymond bin order to keep Klay out of the deal.
I would also not be surprised to see the Rockets as a third team in a deal and David Lee ending up there
I say hell no to trading Panik for Zobrist unless there is a bigger deal in place to get Price as well.
Panik could be a very serviceable 2B for the future and Zobrist will be on the downswing of what has been a fairly mediocre career.
I agree GH. I would much prefer a deal without Panik.
Glad to hear you’re not endorsing him for the “face of baseball” Flavor. I second Chuck’s unbelievably great post (11:50am) regarding Pence (1:56pm).
Chi, I might be out there, but more likely I am in some foreign country experiencing the . . . umm, local culture. 🙂
WTF – you would take chasing some SE Asian hotties over hanging with your Flap brothers???
I refuse to answer that question. 😉
I’m finding out my kids are reading this blog, so yeah, I understand the sediment!
Yes, I know . . .
. . .and thanks, Steve. Pence, for all his herky-jerky, blazing eyes craziness, he plays the game right.
100…sorry could not resist when I saw there were 99. With that, you know it is one slow-assed day in baseball. Come on Friday…daddy needs a baseball fix.
this is, without question, the worst day in sports every year. Absolutely nothing going on…..
Mini-rant about Flem (who I have never liked and who acts like a vindictive girl on twitter): After both the Pagan ITPHR and the 2nd Bum GS he yells out “My Goodness!”. That might be the gayest thing you could say in that moment unless you’re broadcasting to the Omish.
And his total fuck up of the Renteria WS HR will live in infamy as the worst HR call of all time….
So, clearly, I have nothing else to do tonight.
But I stand by the comments above………
Thank you.
Not to mention that he kissed Miller’s ass to get the job. If it supplanted FP Sanhydrant, I guess that’s somewhat OK (except I’ve got that shit on the Nats broadcasts).
Didn’t see a lick of the All Star Sham, loving the break on this end, might keep it going for awhile.
Yeah I’m with ya BF, Flemming is a pussy and his gay little bitch voice drives me crazy!
And yeah he totally fucked up Renteria’s All-time shining moment winning HR to win a 1st ever W/S title for the SF Giants in SF,with a pathetic gee goly I’m too young to make an historic call, so I’ll sound like Gomer Pyle instead!!
Flemming has always struck me as a fruitcake. Or a Mormon. Not sure which. I wonder if he has a trampoline in his backyard because then definitely Mormon. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
Refresh or inform me, how did Phlegm screw up the Renteria WS HR? Did he, um, say it was a triple? Wrong name? Wrong sport?
Note to self: go back and watch that HR Derby clip that was posted here.
BREAKING: Does the West Coast also have jerkoffs (often underage, typically w/o helmets) ride around on the urban, seething streets on little motorized unlicensed bikes? Ugh.
I’ll let you diagnose the problem with this HR call.
And again, say “My Goodness” once and I’ll overlook it. Say it twice and my grandmother better be around. Or someone churning butter. Omish people churn butter right?
Flems reminds me of the Boy Wonder type trying to fit in with the bigger stars. I don’t care for him much, and (gulp) Miller either. Together, Miller tries to F with him and get laughs that don’t work. I don’t mind K and K that much, but the crowd shots at home games should be cut at least in half if not more.
Flems is actually a lot better at college b-ball, imo.
“Boy Wonder” is the absolute perfect way to describe that dude. And I wouldn’t really care one way or the other about him but he’s a total dick asshole to his twitter followers and he just comes across as the classic “I’m smarter than you” Stanford grad. And while I love The Farm I don’t love their snotty ass graduates……
this is the only HR call of that moment you need. 1:01.
Jesus God. I still get chills and tears. I’ve seen this before. You take it? I see the clip in a whole different light now that I’ve been to the Public House. Could watch it 50 times.
I’ve watched it 15 times since I found it tonight……
Awesome awesome clip, although some of the people in the clip are too young to know real Giants torture. 🙂
there’s gotta be a clip of the celebration at Finnerty’s too
Magnus, I responded to your comment at The Laughorist. Really, I look for any excuse there to write about something, anything. ANYTHING. Typically just verbal playing with the lint in my belly button. And still, I can’t seem to manage even a small post every day. Which makes your longevity and consistency here all the more remarkable.
fair enough. I like reading anything you write and I will travel across the deepest depths of the internet to do so. So just know, I’m always watching. lqtm
aw…………
BTW, Cody Ross Favorited one of my tweets the other day. It’s cool that even as a Dback his Twitter profile boasts about the 2010 WS. If I could only get a RT from him. In his heart, he’s a Giant. Always will love what he did for us, with a smile.
I might be in the minority, but I like Flemming’s call of Renteria’s HR. I like when broadcasters just emotionally go for it in big moments, and let the cards fall where they may. I think the opposite of that is Bob Costas, and why a lot of us aren’t thrilled by him. Costas seems to do everything in a very calculated way. It’s impossible to visualize Costas doing a memorable call.
I see where you’re coming from. The voice-melt was a spontaneous thing and it almost makes it better from a an imperfect standpoint.
But his “My Goodness”, twice, in totally awesome get-rad moments, doesn’t fly with me at all. “My Goodness?”
He dropped that on both the Pagan ITPHR and MadBum’s 2nd GS and for all I know he says it all the time.
“My Goodness” isn’t baseball, at all on any level. At least my baseball isn’t……..
“My goodness” sounds — I don’t know — Canadian. Or as you and others said, Amish. Or Mormon. Maybe Amish Canadian Mormon Anabaptist.
well you just taught me that Amish is not Omish so I learned something today and learning something in a day should always be celebrated as the best thing you did that day.
So thank you, Pawlie Kokonuts. I love you Pawlie, don’t forget that.
I do know that. Yesterday I moved some WS stuff from There to Here, including those black beads you draped on me before Game 1 in 2010 as if you were a Hawaiian potentate conferring citizenship on me. The beads now adorn my lamp on my desk.
the beads will always bond us my man. The beads and everything else. Ok, I gotta bail, have a good night. Come out to Reno next week and surprise me. I’ve got a place for you to stay and everything, you’ll just have to put up with me playing poker every night. 🙂
Zum, thx for the tip on “1954”, I’ll have to check that out. One thing I miss about a lot of the 1 yr books is that there isn’t much on non contenders. I think in those days the Pirates were truly awful but had Ralph Kiner in prime of his playing career.
I’m also waiting to get my hands on the Bill King bio by Ken Korach. I really enjoyed King for b-ball for many years, and some of his football calls are legendary too. Korach was always top notch baseball guy too, light years ahead of the other Kuiper and of course Fosse.
As for B-Rush, I’m just really leery of guys coming off major knee injuries. Often they just are nowhere near the same player, and by trying to be that guy they f-up their game. And meanwhile, screw Kevin Love. The dubs imo are gonna be fine—keep Klay Barnes and Draymond, plus the new guy and wait for Ezeli and the foreign big to get healthy and develop. Kerr has already talked about involving Bogut way more in offense. I’m in, and there are parts of the triangle that are very fun to watch develop, plus Kerr is big push the pace guy. Love it.
agree on the “major knee surgery” thing. Bball is not the sport to expect guys to come back the same. Speaking of that, is that what took Festis so long to come back? Shit, 30 years ago he woulda been playing in the playoffs last year for sure……
And thanks, Willie, for your book recommendations. The Chamberlain 100 pt. game book was terrific.
I’m planning on getting the Feinstein minor league book you recommended.
yes, Willie, I mentioned the Feinstein book to someone, as if I had already read it, tho’ I have not. I am quirky and bizarre with my reading habits. I can only read a book when I am ready, in a way that I can’t describe or know in advance. For example, DJLoo was kind enough a few years ago to send me a Marichal bio. It looks excellent, but I’m not ready for it. Yet. And I don’t even know what “ready” means. But I’ve often waited years before reading a book that either I bought for myself or received as a gift. On a personal note, every morning I read from a 365-item compilation of Thich Nhat Hanh’s little gems. And one or two pages from “The Untethered Soul” by Michael A. Singer. Transformative.
yes, that does sound like a great read, as does that Steve Rushin book. I’m a very slow, savoring reader. I only average 12 to 18 books a year. I’m reading “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr. Unlike our esteemed and erudite zumiee, and several others here, I typically do not care for historical novels, but Doerr’s prose is worth it even if he is giving the history of mayonnaise. (No, he does not. Yet. It’s France and Germany, WWII.)
I hadn’t heard of the Doerr book. Looks like something I gotta check out.
Compared to the 800-page works you cited, you might find it too spare. I don’t know. It’s so episodic as to be like a slide show. i think it works. Don’t snicker but Martha Stewart is a big fan of Doerr (who actually does live in Boise). On his website she interviews him about The Shell Collector collection of stories. She went up a notch for me. JOKE: What does Martha Stewart say after sex? Looks up at ceiling and says: “Beige. I think I’ll paint the ceiling beige.” hahahahahahahahaha
I think it was San Dawg who made the point that, of the 4 Giants broadcasters, Flemming is the one willing to be the most critical of the Giants, and I think that’s something in Flemming’s favor. My only criticism of Flemming is that he “over-hedges” too much, if that he can even be a word. All announcers do it to an extent, but Flemming does a lot of those: “He’d like to have that swing back,” “He’d like to have that pitch back,” etc.
I’ve heard Miller be quite critical of individual players. And, in an indirect way, question Bochy’s moves sometimes. For example, Miller specifically mentioned on the post game show a few weeks back that pulling of Craw in favor of PH Arias…
I was reading this stuff about Flemming and was wondering, “Who are these Omish people? Where do they live? They like butter?”
Then Pawlie connected the dots with Amish . . . 😐
ouch! Come on, at least give me credit for the butter churning joke even though I didn’t know how to spell “AMISH!!!”
lqtm
Who’s comin’ to Citifield Aug 1-4?
Loo, if I can’t talk Pawlie into coming to Reno next week I bet $10 and a handjob that BuzzSaw gets from a shady BBOTD that he’ll meet you for a game. Dress in your niceys he’s on strict orders to get a pic of you. 🙂
Maybe me, but probably not. Been going to Connecticut almost every few weeks for my mom. Prob. again next week. I know, it’s nearby. We shall see. Maybe Macdog?? Tike, whom I met before a game in ATL in 2012 is going. The same guy who called out my name out of the blue in the stands in OAK during Petit’s near perfecto. Crazy.
I might be going to the Monday game.
No lie, there are Amish folk in these parts (Calif. too?). Picture this weird sight: an Amish man standing on a corner near a hospital (prob. just had a kid), wearing a straw hat, white shirt, suspenders, and SMOKING A CIGARETTE.
None in CA that I know of. Plenty in Ohio. Some in TX, I think. And, of course PA, too. I love Lancaster County. Blue Ball. Intercourse. Paradise. Ephrata. Great names, nice little towns. Mrs. snarkk and I Went to an “Amish Dinner” at a farmhouse table once years back. Ate by the propane lamps. Good, wholesome food, lots of it. You can’t throw a cow without hitting somebody named Zook, Lapp, Stolzfus and so on running a farm or some tourist biz. Took the Snarkkettes there in summer 2011 on the way to DC, stayed overnight on a Mennonite dairy farm, milked the cows in the morning. Good stuff. We have a coupla Amish quilts, and I have an Amish straw hat from there that I wear in the back yard sometimes. The Amish know how to make a buck, that’s for sure. When I wear the hat, I imagine I’m a younger Harrison Ford, hiding out in Lancaster County – ala “Witness”. Great movie, I highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it. Fantastic musical score by Maurice Jarre, too. One of my all time fav scenes is where Ford dances with Kelly McGillis upstairs in the barn. A very hot scene where nothing really happens. Here, she’s forbidden fruit, very forbidden, and that’s the best kind…
I’ll be in the heart of Amish/Omish country the weekend after the Philly series for my daughter’s soccer tournament in Lititz. Ha, that’d be a trip to go to a farm and do all that, but alas, but we’ll be staying at a hotel in Lancaster. We do plan on hitting up an Amish restaurant that my daughter has raved about since the last trip there that I missed. And I plan on avoiding the Pa. Turnpike and taking the local route into town, if for no other reason than to see those horse-and-buggy drivers on the side of the road. The best was seeing one of them last year parked at a Wawa, a popular convenience store in these parts. I’ll be on the lookout for Kelly McGillis.
Given all the book talk, and the Renteria-related vids above, I’ve finally gotten around to reading Baggs’ “A Band of MiSFits.” What a trip to relive all those incredible moments and remembering where I was when they all occurred (at work most of the time). Occasionally there’s something I’d totally forgotten, like Fontenot actually started a couple playoff games at third and Renteria not becoming a regular in the lineup until about halfway through the playoffs. I like the way Baggs highlights all the players and Bochy at key moments along the way. Someone said they hardly ever read Baggs now that he’s on CSN Bay Area, and I agree, it’s too bad because I remember devouring every word of his blog during that season. Anyway, Cain just left Game 2 to a thundering ovation and the Giants are about to go to Arlington. I think I’m going to like the ending.
another version of a happy ending. POTD nomination for MacD. Baggs book was great…hope he has chance to do another with similar results.
Btw, nice to see so many posts from our Esteemed Host, something all too rare. Might not have been great sports day, but Blog was a great read.
Side note: don’t know why, but for months now I’ve had the biggest problems trying to download youtube vids, whether it’s here or on their site. It takes forever to get started, they stop sometimes after a few seconds, yada yada and I just give up. I can watch baseball ones from mlb or whatever (sometimes go through google first), but anything from YT sucks. Bugs me, because the ones here are great, and I really miss listening to fav music stuff on YT. ?
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/fox-and-mlb-release-statement-on-exclusion-of-tony-gwynn-tribute-during-all-star-game-031640507.html