Finding a Hopeful Needle in the Hairy Chest Hay Stack of the J-Tom Hire
Jim Tomsula….zzzzzzz………
The last time I wrote something like that it was to the Letters to the Editor at the Chron back in 2007. I wrote it in reference to the Giants signing Bruce Bochy to be their manager. I still have that letter somewhere, I’ll try to find it…..
So that’s about the only thing positive I can find to say about the Niners new head coach hire…….
Speaking of Bochy, there were things in his managerial career that surprised me (I looked that up today). He’s barely over .500 for his career— 1618–1604. He’s only finished first in the NL West twice in his 8 year career with the Giants. And yet his playoff record (with the Giants) is 34-14. Impressive.
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Wow…had not idea that Bochy’s overall record was sub .500. But as long as the team keeps getting into the post-season regularly, and Bochy weaves his magic, it is all good.
Tomsula? I said my piece yesterday. I am not enamored with the signing. Jeddy Dork got his “Yes Man.” On the flip-side, it appears that the players like the move (but what the hell are they going to say…no way they trash the dude in the media). Past players like Jesse Sopula and past coach Mariucci like the move.
WTF – let’s see that happens, but I don’t have high hopes for next year.
In other news, Big Daddy Charles Johnson (principal owner of our Giants) is being sued for fraud.
http://m.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2015/01/giants-largest-shareholder-sued-over-mutual-fund.html?r=full
Say it ain’t so. Maybe this is one way that he built that 6.5 billion…
guys like this get sued by loser opportunists all the time. Why would Johnson risk everything to keep 130 mil from some chump?
Agreed. I will be surprised if anything comes of this allegation.
There’s a photo going around of Ron Jeremy and Tomsula side by side. Just sayin…
Fuck…I have seen about a dozen of them. I think it is all pretty damned funny. If I was Ron Jeremy… I would be PISSED. lqtm…
If Tomsula flops as HC, then maybe he can get a gig in the porn industry working with Jeremy.
So is Tomsula already stroking male enhancement commercials Dirt?
That’ll be coming soon.
This ones almost too easy, kat.
BF, you listed Bochy’s Padre regular season record. He is 667-629 with the Giants so far. His overall total for his career so far is 1618-1604, .502.
The 34-14 is his Giants playoff record. He was 8-16 with the Padres, making his overall playoff total 42-30, .583.
He won a couple of division titles with the Padres, in addition to his 2 with the Giants.
Overall, counting the Padres, he has 4 World Series appearances, and 3 championships so far.
As a player, of course, Bochy was also on the Padre team in ’84 that lost the World Series to the Tigers.
One of the most surprising things to me about Bochy’s managerial career is how long he managed the Padres. 12 years! Who’da thunk it? Talk about toiling in mostly obscurity. He was NL Manager of the Year in ’96! I’d have never remembered that. I’d have to think long and hard to remember what was going on with the Giants in ’96, or even MLB in general.
Top 25 all-time managers’ wins and losses so far:
1 Mack, Connie 3,731 3,948 .486
2 McGraw, John 2,763 1,948 .586
3 La Russa, Tony 2,728 2,365 .536
4 Cox, Bobby 2,504 2,001 .556
5 Torre, Joe 2,326 1,997 .538
6 Anderson, Sparky 2,194 1,834 .545
7 Harris, Bucky 2,158 2,219 .493
8 McCarthy, Joe 2,125 1,333 .615
9 Alston, Walter 2,040 1,613 .558
10 Durocher, Leo 2,008 1,709 .540
11 Stengel, Casey 1,905 1,842 .508
12 Mauch, Gene 1,902 2,037 .483
13 McKechnie, Bill 1,896 1,723 .524
14 Piniella, Lou 1,835 1,713 .517
15 Leyland, Jim 1,769 1,728 .506
16 Baker, Dusty 1,671 1,504 .526
17 Houk, Ralph 1,619 1,531 .514
18 Bochy, Bruce 1,618 1,604 .502
19 Clarke, Fred 1,602 1,181 .576
20 Lasorda, Tommy 1,599 1,439 .526
21 Williams, Dick 1,571 1,451 .520
22 Griffith, Clark 1,493 1,376 .520
23 Weaver, Earl 1,480 1,060 .583
24 Huggins, Miller 1,413 1,134 .555
25 Lopez, Al 1,410 1,004 .584
I don’t know why Leyland always gets run as a near lock HOFer, he only has one WS title , right?…
Yeah, I don’t see Leyland as a lock, in my opinion. But he did manage three different organizations into the playoffs. Two of them into the World Series, and won one. And he had an impressive amount of longevity. But a case could be made his Detroit team flopped twice in the World Series, and his Pirates team flopped in the playoffs.
Looks like Boch will pass Baker this year on the all time list.
Zoom, thanks for the corrections. I intended to list his playoff record with the Giants but you’re right, I mistakedly gave the overall record as the Padres record. Will fix that now.
For the heck of it, here’s the list of managers with 3 or more championships. Bochy is the only one on the list not in the Hall of Fame yet, because he’s still active, obviously.
Joe McCarthy- 7
Casey Stengel- 7
Connie Mack- 5
Walter Alston- 4
Joe Torre- 4
Sparky Anderson- 3
Bruce Bochy- 3
Miller Huggins- 3
Tony La Russa- 3
John McGraw- 3
It would be pretty sweet if he got to 4 & 5 (in SF of course). That’s a pretty exclusive club eh? I wonder how long he’ll keep going?
He turns 60 in April, so I would guess that, health permitting, he manages at least 4 or 5 more years.
But 60 is the new 40. I hope.
Boch had a lot of dog meat teams for the Pads. Just ask San Dawg…
Astros are still in the trading mode. With a hot, young centerfielder on board Dexter Fowler happens to be available. Great defense. No significant pop. Very nice OBP. Still a decent SB ratio. A Stros fanblog suggested a Fowler for Strickland trade. That one will have the airworthiness of a lead zeppelin. But that is a fan blog. Stros management is likely to be more realistic in moving a surplus outfielder. Most teams can use even fair to better than mediocre pitching prospects. Giants have a raft of those.
Good post. Fowler is a guy who I think needs to get on a team like the Giants to find out what he’s really got–what is he REALLY gonna be in the major leagues. He’s been half assing his way though his career up to this point. He’s never had a guy like Hunter Pence look at him with wild eyes or Buster give him a quiet “MVP look” to refocus him. I’d take a flier on Fow in a second since I think he might find a reason to play hard if he was a San Francisco Giant……
I agree…I would take a flyer on him, but Strickland would not be a part of the trade package.
If Strickland went to Houston, NASA would have to re-open Mission Control to monitor all the launchings…
Bahaha…if Strikland remains in SF over the long-haul, I believe he will prove all you naysayers wrong, and will be a damned good closer. Dude just needs some time with Rags and Gardner…
Stick is right. I could totally see that trade going down, especially since the Astros had to give up a young, flame throwing lefty to land Gattis.
I am about halfway thru the Bochy-Flannery piece from the MLB Network. It is outstanding. Makes you wonder how much longer Bochy will stick around without his best friend.
For anyone interested, this morning the U.S. Court of Appeal for the 9th Cir. issued its decision in the City of San Jose v. MLB antitrust case.
Always aiming to be entertaining, Judge Kozinski begins: “The City of San Jose steps up to the plate to challenge the baseball industry’s 92-year old exemption from the antitrust laws. It joins the long line of litigants that have sought to overturn one of federal law’s most enduring anomalies.”
Toward the end, he writes: “Like Casey, San Jose has struck out here. The scope of the Supreme Court’s holding in [the] Flood [decision] plainly extends to questions of franchise relocation. San Jose is, at bottom, asking us to deem Flood wrongly decided, and that we cannot do. Only Congress and the Supreme Court are empowered to question Flood’s continued vitality, and with it, the fate of baseball’s singular and historic exemption from the antitrust laws.”
Kozinski’s opinion is a pretty concise and comprehensible explanation of the A/T exemption and its impact. At oral argument, he joked about being foreign born and not really susceptible to the allure of baseball. Thus, I suppose, “the baseball industry” opening line.
San Jose’s next move is to beg the Supreme Court to review Kozinski’s decision. There are half a dozen reasons why they may not want to review (they accept 1% of appeals annually). But who knows. Here’s the link to the fine legal prose. Aficionados will appreciate footnotes 5 & 6 and the implications therein going forward. Others will say, wtf? Do you really read and write horseshit like this every day?
Click to access 14-15139%20Opinion.pdf
great to see you Xoot. Hope you stick around, you were a great Flap contributor back in the day.
well, thank you!
Gotta love a judge with a sense of humor. And irony.
All pending motions denied as moot, Xoot.
either that, or Shit Outta Luck, Chuck. (SOL being the abbreviation for . . . ah, never mind)
Now I’m thinking of a joke my son told me. The Most Interesting Irishman in the World: “I don’t always drink beer, but . . . Ah, who am I tryin’ to kid. Ah course I do.”)
The honorable judge slightly misspoke. ‘Only Congress and the Supreme Court are empowered to question Flood’s continued vitality”… I think he meant to say “viability” rather than “vitality”. As a recovering journalist and sometime copy-editor, i do tend to ferret out these little glitches from time to time. Aside from that aside, his humor was spot on and thanx to Xoot for the info.
I’d be for getting Fowler. I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Dexter. I saw several of his games in Single A, when he played for the Modesto Nuts, a Rockies affiliate. He was so dominant at that level. He was one of my favorite minor leaguers of all time that I watched. He hasn’t been dominant at the major league level, but a decent player.
He wears #24, probably not for Willie Mays, but for Ken Griffey, Jr., I’m guessing. And Griffey, Jr. may have been wearing that number in honor of Mays.
Speaking of the Modesto Nuts, they’ve added a new mascot. They already had Al the Almond, and Wally the Walnut. And now they’ve added Shelley the Pistachio. Check out this awesome photo:
http://www.modbee.com/news/local/article3166727.html
Have you been to a game there? What’s it like?
I do love a good hat
http://goo.gl/9Lh0vd
Basking yes, but a strange rumble in my gut is reminding me that January is half over and February cannot come soon enough. Perhaps it is the announcement that ST tickets in Scottsdale are ON. Perhaps I wish to see the Gmen healthy and playing into shape showing the TEAM spirit that enlivens their fans so.
And it looks like the MLB Presents showing of the Boch Flan friendship is playing this weekend Saturday around 3p and Sunday just before midnight. I think.
Thanks for the heads-up on “The Odd Couple” edd. I plan to search for and record it this weekend.
The judge is right. Let the Supreme Court rule if it wants or let Congress change this and they should. One sport should not have special status. BOO HISS!
Teams should be allowed to move wherever they want to……..this is the land of freedom……right?
2 responses to yourself in two days? Nip, you are feelin’ chippy these days, eh?
Nip must of cleaned out his van and put a new air freshener in it..
The A’s suit was doomed from get go. I can’t remember exactly which councilman brought this up but it was either Olivero or Liccardo, the mayor elect. Grandstand play with zero substance behind it.
Wolff, the mouthpiece, and the billionaire silent owner need to sell the team.
I do feel bad for A’s and Raiders fans frustrated by the continued uncertainty of what will happen to the yards of their teams. And of course, thanks for all your help with the committee, Bud.
Willie, I’m pretty sure Liccardo was strongly behind the City’s lawsuit. He knows it’s a longshot. (I think he’s a Hahvahd trained lawyer.) But the PR was priceless.
Petit just signed a 1 year, $2 mill deal …
2.1 mil, but who’s counting. He is worth every fucking penny.
Fowler is an ok, Garry Maddox-like player who would be a modest, but significant step up from Gregor. His home/road splits were still pretty wide in Houston, but Fowler proved he could be productive playing outside the Colorado freak show. If he had a little more pop to go with the excellent OBPs, he’d be a much hotter property.
I suspect Fowler would draw the same kind of complaints that Gregor does, someone whose deficiencies loom larger for many fans than do his plusses. My kind of player . . . .
Wow, eerily similar career numbers to Fred’s time in SF.
Fred Lewis: .355 OB .420 slg for .755 with 101 OPS + SF totals only
Dexter Fowler: .366 OB .419 slg for .786 career
One thing I don’t get about Fowler is how few bases he has stolen–only 11 last year and one year with Rox he stole 12 and got caught 9. How can that happen?
Can we compare Freddy’ glove work to Fowler’s?
Here is a link to a preview of “The Odd Couple,” the piece on Bochy and Flan. Check out Bochy at about the 1:46 mark. Nice glasses, Boch.
DOH…helps to include the damned link…
http://m.mlb.com/video/v37115087/tim-flannery-and-bruce-bochy-are-the-odd-couple
No kidding, chuck. I’d have given him $3 mill just for that Nats game.
You got that shit right, Charlie. How is the job in the City working out?
Damn…I am really going to miss Flan. Will definitely be out to check out the Lunatic Fringe…but will miss seeing him on the diamond…along the 3rd base line. Happy Trails, Flan.
Another chump change deal for Petit, compared to his effectiveness last year& setting a ML record for consecutive hitters retired.
“Have you been to a game there? What’s it like?”
Ah, I could talk a lot about experiences over the years at Thurman Field (formerly Del Webb Field.) It’s one of the older Single A ballparks around, and had a much-needed renovation face-lift several years ago. But that was not enough to keep the A’s affilitate there, who opted to go to the brand new state-of-the-art ballpark in Stockton. (Yeah, I know it’s hard to believe the phrase state-of-the-art could be used in the same sentence as Stockton.) The Stockton Ports ballpark is one of the best, if the not the best, Single A facilities in the nation.
But the Modesto ballpark, Thurman Field, has its charms, too. The trees beyond the outfield fence, for example. When someone hits a homerun at Thurman Field, they literally hit the ball out of the ballpark. The Stockton ballpark has a groovy concourse that goes all the way around the outfield.
So when the A’s organization pulled out of Modesto, the Rockies jumped at the chance to put a Single A team in Modesto, and the Modesto A’s became the Modesto Nuts, named for the agriculture in the area.
When I was a kid, they were the Modesto Reds (actually a Cardinal affiliate, they had been a Reds affiliate before that, but kept the name “Reds” when the Reds pulled out.)
One side of Thurman Field is near freeway access and a golf course, the other side is near some sketchy neighborhoods. And across the road is the Tuolemne River flowing by.
The dimensions are not hitter-friendly for right-handed hitters. It has a deep left field and left-center. I did see Buster Posey hit a homerun over the centerfield wall there, when he was playing for San Jose. It was a bit of a called shot on my part. I told the people I was with to watch this guy; he’s a future star for the Giants. And Buster promptly hit an HR and made me look like a baseball genius to the group I was with. Good times! 🙂
I have seen nothing in print, but per KNBR, the Giants have signed Nori Aoki to a one year deal for 4 mil.
Thoughts from Flap Universe?
Aoki was no better than Blanco last year, and there is absolutely zero reason to believe he would be this year.
I agree, James. When his name was kicked-around I said he is nothing more than Blanco. He does have slightly better offensive numbers, but I think Blanco is as good, if not better in the field. I guess Sabean missed that “with some pop” piece of my request for a LFer…
Just saw that. Hey, he was a pain in the ass in the WS. Other than that, i got nothing to go on.
Mid .280s hitter. Lots of doubles. Should translate into triples here. What’s not to like?
Who hits 2 though? I’d guess Pagan. Sure beats Pence batting there.
Aoki was 1-14, .071 avg. in the World Series. Ouch.
I guess it was defensively? Shit, I don’t know. Maybe it was the playoffs. He was .304 in the ALDS and ALCS.
Yeah, some of Aoki’s World Series was doomed because he had to face Bumgarner, who was making history.
Aoki won’t have to face Bumgarner this season. 🙂
Wasn’t his defense either Chuck!
I vidvly remember Aoki doing a cartwheel ole attempt on Panik’s drive to right that ended up a triple..
At least he won’t be facing Giants pitchers now.
I think he’s a better hitter than Blanco. More consistent anyway. Not staggeringly so, but Blanco has repeatedly said he gets tight playing all the time.
I agree, Charlie…said as much earlier. Slightly better with the stick, but I think Blanco is better with the glove.
From Heyman: “aoki gets $4.7M guarantee. $4M salary for 2015, plus 700K buyout on 2016 option. can make 12.5M max”
Aoki also had a misplay or two in RF during the WS, for which he was benched. This move does nothing to improve the starting line up, but it does provide some depth.
I like the Aoki move. He’s a fair to middling bat and despite his misplays in the WS he’s a decent OF.
new thread
No Fear…All’s Well Now…Aoki is a Giant!
Tongue Firmly Planted in Cheek.
$4 mill for Aoki + $7.5 mill for Romo + $9 mill for Peavy = would could have been plenty of money for Nelson Cruz….
I remember seeing Aoki make a sort of lunging catch to save a run in one of the playoff games, and I think this is it against the Angels. Start at about 2:25 to see the catch, or start at 1:25 for another good catch he made in the same game.
http://m.mlb.com/video/v36728903