A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball

Our Cardinal friend, @C70, has requested some answers to some questions for his yearly “Playing Pepper” series. I’m still reeling from the glory of Steph Curry but it seems like a good time to get back into some Giants talk. Why not Shop Talk?

What are your thoughts on the team’s offseason?  Did they do what they needed to do?

I would rank it as the best off season in recent memory. Adding two stud SP’s and legit lead off hitter was more than I thought we would do. Sabean usually hibernates during the off season and wakes up around the trade deadline so this was a nice surprise.

There’s been continuity in Giants management. Brian Sabean was GM for 18 years and is still involved, Bruce Bochy is starting his 10th season. How has that helped the product on the field?

They work very well together. That seems a boring, obvious response, but if you are an Angels fan you yearn for something so simple. I’ve been told they eat together a lot. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that’s a good thing for longevity and success.

What’s the deal with Matt Cain?  Is there reasonable hope that he can return to his pre-2013 form?

Bad time to ask this question with him on the shelf again. But no one here trusts the Giants medicos and this is the 2nd cyst he’s had removed from that elbow since November. So, my feelings fall somewhere between *no hope* and *little hope*. *Reasonable hope* is not part of my Matt Cain vocabulary.

What player do you expect to make the greatest strides this year?

We have a nice mix of veteran and youth. I’m not looking for any one player to make great strides. I’m looking for everyone to play to expectations and if that happens we will win the World Series (again). There. I said it.

What’s your projection of the team’s record and where will they finish in the division?

I’m usually pretty pessimistic about seasonal records because it amounts to a *future bet* and I don’t make those anymore. Too many things happen. The original roster can look very little like the end of the season roster and who knows what will happen to the roster of pre-season contending teams? That said, I’ll go with 98 games. Yes I am feeling gooooooood this morning!

Which team in the division do you most enjoy beating and how do you think you’ll fare against them in 2016?

Of course it’s the Art Dealers but not like I enjoyed it in the old days. Times change. I like beating the Rockies a lot because I hate all Denver teams. I’m not sure about the number of wins we have vs them. I just want to beat the piss out of them every time we play.

Thanks again Daniel! I’m sure the Flappers who contribute to the blog will chime in with their thoughts in the comment section below.

Steph musings are everywhere, why not here, too?

I don’t have to go too far to find a good comparison. Steph Curry is like Barry Bonds. The frequency of the bombs. The distance of the bombs. The way you feel as a fan watching true greatness unfold live and unscripted in front of you. Steph is unadulterated joy meeting utter disbelief.

Barry was like that, too.

There were too many moments in last night’s epic game to recall this morning. Especially this being a baseball blog and all. I still can’t believe Andre Iguodala, a bad free throw shooter, hit those 2 shots in that situation to send the game to OT. I still don’t know what Kevin Durant was doing when he got trapped. Draymond scoring 60.5 DK fantasy points with exactly 2 real points scored. And more globally thinking, I still don’t understand how Steph hits shots from so far away so consistently. He’s stretching the range of our imagination the same way he’s stretching the range of his shot. Bang. Bang. Double bang.

Barry did that, too.

He’s Steph Curry yo. He does things no one else can do.

Listening to the radio last evening, I found out Cain had a cyst removed from the same elbow, nearly the same spot, last November. This is bad no matter how the team tries to spin it.

If it were me, I’d come up with multiple contingency plans for Cain’s spot in the rotation.

Not when it comes to the Giants it isn’t. Until Matt Cain proves he’s completely healthy I am 100% considering him doubtful for the season. Timmy would be an interesting pick up but I don’t think he would want to come back as an insurance policy. Although considering the Giants medicos history as well as Cain free fall from health, I think he would be much more likely to secure a starting spot for SF than he might currently think.

I hope Lincecum isn’t forgetting the value of pitching at AT&T. Considering his situation, I would think he’d want all the help he could get.

But if the Giants have sailed ship from BTTJJ then we are looking at Hest-by-Hest and if he’s improved his stamina and conditioning I wouldn’t hate the idea of counting on him as a #5 for the year.

This is one of those situations that just can’t be about the money, right? If there’s anyone who can live off 100 million already in the bank, I have to assume it would be Tim Lincecum.

He’s got his rings, he’s got his CY’s, he’s got the dough. At this point in his life he goes to a place for comfort instead of skrilla, yes?

That’s why I will be astounded if he ends up in San Diego.

Who knows, maybe he needs the money. But it sure doesn’t seem like it. And he also doesn’t seem like one of those dumb athletes who heads off to another team/league seeking a new professional challenge and thinking the fans will love him unconditionally.

There seem to be only 2 teams that Lincecum would consider pitcher for. At this point in his career. Considering all of the things he seems to value in life.

…..because there’s nothing else to talk about.

And that’s a good thing. Discussing the bullpen on February 24th just means the rest of your team is rock solid.

So Casilla is the closer, I think that’s a given until he implodes. Romo to be the  8th inning guy, probably.

Lopez will do that “3 inning a month specialist stuff”.

That leaves Strickland, O-Shit!, Kontos and Hest-by-Hest as the long man.

If they carry a 13 (unlikely) it might be Broadway. Or would the dark horse be Ricky Romero? Or do we tease ourselves into believing that the great great Big Time Timmy Jim JIm makes a glorious return to the kingdom that he built?

Am I missing anything?

I like our bullpen a lot. Nice mix of experience and young flame throwers. And hey, if the bullpen falters the one thing I KNOW the Giants will do is go get help. They aren’t spending 165 million on 2016 salaries and complement it with a leaky bullpen that gives away games.

So, nothing to stress on here. Cautious optimism warranted…….

I thought I’d bring back an oldie but a goodie to honor David Lee who recently got bought out by the Celtics.

But today is, in fact, #fullsquadday. Everyone is supposed to be in camp except the inevitable straggler who has a visa problem.

I woke up this morning worrying about our offense. “Worry” is probably the wrong word. “Questioning” is a better one.

Panik? Show me you’re healthy. I’m skeptical of that back.

Pence? Go one day without making a stupid video with your chick. Seriously, that dude needs to take a break from her and play some baseball. She seems to be extremely high maintenance. No more movies from them unless it’s him banging her.

Crawford? Last year felt like a career year.

Pagan? I’m setting the o/u on games he plays this year at 74.

Span? He had waaaay more gray in his go-tee than I was expecting.

Belt? Wear a helmet with a full metal grill 24/7 and I might feel comfortable about him making it through the year.

Duffy? I dunno, this dude just makes me feel uncomfortable. Mostly because of that weird cat.

Buster? I like him.

42 years ago today, Tom Seaver signed a $172,000 contract making him the highest paid pitcher in history.

That is all.

Everywhere I look, college basketball. Pretty rad slate of games today. Can Duke avoid a letdown? Can the Tar Heels rebound from that improbable defeat? Speaking of rebounding, it’s time for Oklahoma to start winning again, right? And the Texas/Baylor game is going to be exciting. You wanna talk about an exciting college bball atmosphere? Score a ticket (if you can) to the Texas game today. It’s going to be crazy electric in the stands.

And in other news, Giants pitchers will play long toss and some players will carefully stretch out their obliques.

Watch the Texas/Baylor game today if you have nothing else to do. You won’t be disappointed. Same with Purdue/Indiana later this evening. Two games that are the essence of college bball.

What are you guys looking for this Spring Training?

I’d like to see Crawford ditch the man bun. He’s impossible to look with that thing perched atop his dome.

I’d like to see Pagan seamlessly transition to LF.

I’d like to see Pence stop making those stupid short films with his hot fiance.

I’d like to see the young guns in the bullpen cement their roles.

Most of all, just stay healthy.

Thoughts?

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football talk: Here’s the inside of Bob Griese’s helmet in ’73. It’s dripping with CTE…..

Jason Stark does a poll each off season gauging the opinions of *35 baseball executives*—best and worst free agent signings. Here is his worst list:

I think Grienke got listed as *the best*. That’s hilarious to me.

Hey, if you want to read some good stuff go check out Twinner at the end of the last thread.

Chi said *make it so* and finally that has happened. As one of 8 mlb teams that require their pitchers and catchers to report on February 17th, the Giants have made some news today.

Here’s hoping most of them don’t look like that web.com wannabee Ty Blach.

Let’s just keep everyone healthy, ok? Long way to go to get to #4in7

The Giants being favored in 2016 is hardly surprising. We added 2 stud pitchers and a quality leadoff man to a team that already had a very good nucleus. Vegas is just telling us stuff we already knew.

I read a tweet from someone yesterday who said he’s not doing fanfest anymore because of the long lines. Said he waited 4 hours in line for 1 autograph.

Seriously? Didn’t he kinda see the writing on the wall after hour number 1? Who sits in line for 4 hours at fanfest?

Does anyone know how many players missed fanfest? I know Bumgarner, Pagan and Cueto missed it. I give the Latin guys a break because it’s a pain in the ass to travel into the country but Bumgarner? Nah, he should have made it. According to Baer he is driving in from NC and he was in Arizona the day of Fanfest. You can’t jump on a 90 minute flight? That’s lame.

Or maybe it’s the best?

Hope you all are enjoying your day off if you have one. If this is just like any other day for you, hey, this isn’t bad.

My buddy Dave (nicknamed “Pa”) is having an ok time. He and his girlfriend are on a *poker cruise* and I texted him a preferred Bill Murray movie line just to mess with him. This is the text I got back (it’s rad):

Chi, when do pitchers and catchers report? I’m pretty sure “poker against Orel Hershiser’s drunk wife” is scrapping the bottom of the sports barrel……

And a quick “Orel Hershiser and wife” search turned up this so I’m guessing Dave’s description of the game last night wasn’t too far off. lulz

I’ve missed a handful of dunk contests over the years but I’ve seen most of them. I definitely haven’t missed any of the epic dunks.

So when I declared (on twitter) that Gordon’s dunk over the top of the mascot while sliding the ball under BOTH legs was the best dunk I’ve ever seen I immediately started getting *dunk call regret*. Figured I’d gotten caught up in the moment. Figured the memories of Dominique and Jordan and Carter had finally flittered away.

And then I saw the 3-D vine of it and *dunk call regret* quickly faded. I mean, come ON. This is INSANE. It’s not the prettiest dunk. It’s not the most powerful dunk. But the immutable laws of *verticality* broken here combined with the awkward position of his body at peak height….for me it makes it the best dunk I’ve ever seen in one of the contests. The human body is not supposed to be able to do this……..

If you are fan-festing today, and I haven’t heard that anyone is, flip me some photos. Today is all about The El Camino Real Derby at GG, links @ Pebble and some all star stuff mixed into the evening. I’m also interested in catching a glimpse of the Buddy Hield Show but don’t know when that’s gonna happen with everything else going on. And I don’t DVR things. I could, I just don’t. Can’t watch something if I know the outcome. You guys DVR stuff?

Flipped on KNBR on the drive home last night and was greeted with contrarian radio voice of Marty Lurie. Felt like  baseball was back. He was interviewing Josh Osich who literally has nothing to say. Marty spiced up the interview a bit by accidentally saying “O-shit” two times. Seriously, who names their kid “Josh” when they have the last name of “Osich?” I mean, you’re just asking for that, right?

Mavericks and Pebble streaming all morning and it doesn’t get much better than that……

FanFest this Saturday and I’m stoked to be busy enough to snub the bejeeeezus out of it. Fanfest isn’t my thing anymore. If you like loooooooong lines, you should definitely go. Weather should be in your favor if you decide to make the trek.

On his radio show yesterday, Krukow predicted that Matt Cain would be the Comeback Player of the Year. Let that sink in.

Cain did look in great shape the other day down at Pebble. He hits the shit out of a golf ball…..

Fav golf tournament of the season today 🙂 🙂 🙂

Big, big day for Belt. Here’s a question that I THINK has been asked here before: Has the team ever submitted a number HIGHER than what the player submits? There has to be something in place to stop that from happening, right?

Pebble Beach this weekend. I’m not going but will watch as much as I can on TV. Hands down the most picturesque golf tournament of the year. I like Jimmy Walker this week.

I’d kinda like to see Belt’s case go to arbitration. First of all, if it does go, that will show how the team honestly feels about him. And I think that needs to finally get put out there. Next, I want to see if he wins. He’s got the peripheral stats that everyone like to jizz about. Does that influence an arbitrator? I’d be fascinated to see how that plays out.

But they’ll probably settle with him since they always do. Right? They WILL settle with him?

Ugh, the Broncos. I hate the Broncos. I hate all Denver sports teams. It’s been easy to hate their baseball team and their basketball team—both constantly suck. But ever since I went to college with 2 dudes from Denver I’ve had to listen to their nonsense about the pro teams. And the Broncos have been the one thorn they continue to dig in my side. They even managed to get me to hate John Elway, one of my favorite players in any sport growing up as a Stanford fan.

And they have been especially obnoxious since this recent Super Bowl win.

I HATE the Denver Broncos…….

The Giants were reportedly in discussion with Juan Uribe but talks tanked because….get this…..Uribe was asking for too much money.

Huh? What could he have possibly wanted that would have been “too much money?” Multiple years? I would think 1 year at 5 mil should get that done easily. And you pay that man his moooooney. He earned earned it 6 years ago.

In other news, Conor Gillespe is back in the organization.

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Very interesting match up with OKC tonight–they did not seem to take kindly to Steph guaranteeing a win. Trouble is, playing at Oracle, I’m not sure they are in a position to do much about that bold, in your face, claim…..

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Super Bowl tomorrow. Please no terrorist funny business, ok?

Orioles are interested in Timmy. That uniform would be a good look for him. I’ve liked the Orioles since I was a kid. The name, the uni, Jim Palmer, Doug DefuckingCinces….all of it.

NBA three point contest contenders are lined up and it’s going to be FANTASTIC. Defending champ Steph is back plus Klay. James Harden and Chris Bosh will both be worth watching for the possible implosion factor alone, and the rookie Devin Booker will catch my interest. Middletown, Lowry and Reddick round out that ultra-competitive event.

Of course, we know who is going to win. Here’s a stat for you: this season, Steph is shooting 60.4% from shots 28+ feet out. The NBA average from 3 feet or closer is 59.5%. How rad is that?

Earlier this week, Gomes signed a deal to play in Japan. I’ve always liked him. Seems like a very cool dude. But I did not like this comment:

“It seems like the players are getting bullied. It’s February. These people are human beings. They have families. They’ve got to make plans. I’m not trying to get back at baseball by any means. But I’m not just going to hang around. What has changed since the end of September? It’s not like a guy is hot right now or in a slump.”

That’s the type of privileged, out-of-touch comment I would expect from an A-Rod or some other dumbass.

I’m sorry Gomes feels bullied. Hopefully some fresh sushi and a foot massage will ease his pain.

He’s 35 and declining rapidly. Japan should extend his career a bit. Doubt he ever takes another swing at the major league level……

I haven’t really followed this story, but I heard that Kaep wants out. Isn’t he already out? I’d like to play for the New York Jets too but I don’t think telling that to a media source makes that happen.

People are saying that this “leak” will hurt Kaep’s trade value. This makes no sense to me. Who wants to trade for Kaep? He is absolutely not worth the 12 mil he’s scheduled to make if he isn’t cut by April 1st. What team would trade for him and take on that “Kaep” hit?

Maybe he would have to agree to a contract restructure if he wants a trade to the Jets to get done?

To me, Kaep has almost no trade value. He has barely any value unless you think he can fit into what Kelly wants to do. Which I don’t think he can do. Steve Young called it perfectly: Kaep works really hard on things he’s already good at. I can’t see Kaep succeeding in a sped-up offense where he has to think and read defenses quicker. He doesn’t do his homework in the film room. He doesn’t work on technique. He doesn’t practice short throws until his muscle memory is locked in. All he wants to do is work out and throw deep balls in practice.

But hey, if the Jets want him they can have him…..

I used to think the beginning of February was a boring time around here. Nothing to do. Haiku dead zone.

And then I watched the news story of Punxsutawney Phil being hoisted high above his beaming handler’s head as hundreds of people cheered wildly nearby. And I was reminded that there does indeed exist a more boring time, far far away…

Anyone got a Super Bowl prediction? I know it’s the chalk play but I just don’t see how Denver doesn’t get rolled by Carolina. Sometimes the public gets it right. I think they have it right on this one…..

I’d like to see the news channels around here to go 3 seconds without saying “Super Bowl City”. I don’t think they could do it. There were 2 SEPARATE stories this morning on the freaking pants Cam Newton was wearing when he got off the plane in San Jose yesterday.

Not sure I’m gonna make it through the week with all the bullshit going on here……