Arizona and THE MVP
Giants vs Grienke today and the one thing we have going for us is the Visual Memory Index number. Giants are at +7.54, Arizona is at -11.55. It’s no lock but that suggest the Giants hitters will be tracking the ball a little better than the D-backs hitters. So I’m cautiously optimistic tonight….
The Warriors. What can you say about this team? Mid season I started following this d-bag Cleveland fan/writer who predicted the Cavs would beat the Warriors by 10. That’s the game the Warriors beat them by 40 (or whatever it was, not gonna look it up). This dope has spent the last 4 months talking shit about “wait till the Finals…”, he was especially critical of Steph winning the MVP. Well @VernThompsonNBA is getting closer to his wish….
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Cueto can match up with anyone. AZ is 5-12 at home, so everyone else likes hitting there too.
Giants owe these guys big time and I really don’t think Snakes are a contender for anything past 3rd place.
Portland was good series for Warriors. I don’t think any other team left has as good a backcourt/more offensive weapons with range. Curry and Thompson are rolling and they play good team D with Iguodala in there.
Just have to avoid the occasional meltdowns from Green and stay out of foul trouble.
I really hope next elevation of game from Thompson and Curry is to draw more contact and get to the line more. They have such great body control they avoid contact and get clean looks. However, guys like Lillard that are able to shoot more FTs get defenders and opposing team in foul trouble and that’s an advantage.
Hey Curry shoots 90% from the line—if he can get there 5-6 times more a game all to the better.
I see that point; but Curry also has an amazing ability to avoid shot-blocks in the key.
I guess what I’m saying is- your idea makes practical sense, but from an aesthetically-pleasing aspect, it’s more fun watching him find clever ways around defenders.
Zum you’re right Curry often flips in shots before bigs get to him and finishes brilliant creativity.
He does seem to get bumped a lot without getting calls; hopefully as 2 time MVP he gets the calls others get all the time. I do think ability to draw fouls is an art and a lot of other guys (like Durant) are good at it and it’s something that can work to team’s adavantage.
What the bleep is the Visual Memory Index?
http://www.baseballvmi.com/
I’ve used it as a tool the last couple of years to compliment my daily fantasy research. It can be quite accurate, especially on the first game of a series.
I said a day ago I’d love for Warriors to sign Alan Crabbe, out of Price HS in LA and 3 yrs at Cal, as FA in offseason. He left early and was player of year in Pac 12 under Monty and is just now figuring out what he can do in the NBA. He’d bring instant O to the bench, unlike scrubs like Rush and Barbosa.
Blazers also have Harkless and Davis as FAs, and both these guys have game. If their bigs improve, look out.
I’m gonna defend Barnes too. He’s a complimentary player who doesn’t shoot much but still plays good D (he was on guards a lot of the night) rebounds and moves the ball so the scorers get more touches. He doesn’t need 15-20 shots a game here like he would get elsewhere. He hit a big 3 the other night and has nice moves to basket. I liked when Kerr ran the play with him at high post and he went right to rim. He rarely makes mistakes or bad decisions with the ball, unlike Green, who makes the worst turnovers.
LeCoach doesn’t realize this is exactly the type of teammate he needs, an unselfish player that can blend in with others, not another all star like Kevin Love. I’ve seen this over and over on teams I’ve coached–it’s not always about having your 5 best players on the floor, but the players that play together the best and work well with each other.
Crabbe is a beast. I hadn’t seen much of him till the playoffs, and he’s special. McCollum is another guy who suddenly is real good. Portland is a lot like the Dubs in that they can rain 3s and attack the middle.
Barnes? He is maddeningly inconsistent. He’s just had too many games where he shoots 0-8 from the field and clanks half his free throws. He should forego the outside shots and just attack the rim with his length. I do like his defense and rebounding as you said, Willie.
Steph and Klay make lazy/stupid turnovers as well. This is something they need to watch out for, but it’s a product of the up-tempo game they play.
I really like all the positivity about our chances with the Snakes. Supporting it with facts & figures is commendable too. Sadly, the truth is we have struggled mightily against that team for quite awhile now. They’ve swept 4 from us at home already … FOUR! .. At HOME! We’ve got our best pitchers in the first two games, our worst in the next two. After tomorrow, I’m praying for rain … I know, I know .. it’s in a dome .. in AZ .. in May .. I’m still praying for rain.
Grienke hasn’t pitched that great at Chase field this year. I know its a small sample size but his 4 games at home he’s 1-2 and sporting a 7.61 ERA and a WHIP of 1.732. He’s allowed 5 HRs at home (zero, on the road) and opposing teams have a .347 BA against him there.
Grienke can be got.
Those numbers make it all the more likely that he throws a 3-hit shutout.
Damn Unca, I went the other way on the #s. I was thinking we’d have 5 runs by the 3rd and a little payback for the game he threw in our house.
Wow, a realist! I thought I was the only one, Chuck? … but when I say stuff like that I’m called ‘negative’ .. Go figure!
Was 3 in 5 realistic 6 years ago?
Oh so TRUE LOO!
Anything is possible. We do seem to be hitting better on the road tho.
The Warriers need to address their Defense, they let Portland score over 120 points in the last 3 games, I am sure that Kerr will be talking to the players about that!
Portland is the closest team to us in terms of defending the arc.
I was reading an article about the 2006 draft. Within the first 11 picks, there was a lot of quality. Having a lousy 2005 season paid off for the Giants and some other teams.
2006 MLB Draft first round
Number Player Team
1 Luke Hochevar Royals
2 Greg Reynolds Rockies
3 Evan Longoria Devil Rays
4 Brad Lincoln Pirates
5 Brandon Morrow Mariners
6 Andrew Miller Tigers
7 Clayton Kershaw Dodgers
8 Drew Stubbs Reds
9 Billy Rowell Orioles
10 Tim Lincecum Giants
11 Max Scherzer D-backs
There’s actually a Wikipedia page about Giants’ first round picks. Here’s the picks since 2000. The batting average of success is high compared to other teams.
And, yes, the Giants drafted a guy named Boof Bonser. 🙂
2000 Boof Bonser Right-handed pitcher Gibbs High School
(St. Petersburg, Florida)
2001 Brad Hennessey Right-handed pitcher Youngstown State University
(Youngstown, Ohio)
2001 Noah Lowry Left-handed pitcher Pepperdine University
(Malibu, California)
2001 Todd Linden Outfielder Louisiana State University
(Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
2002 Matt Cain ’10 Right-handed pitcher Houston High School
(Germantown, Tennessee)
2003 David Aardsma Right-handed pitcher Rice University
(Houston)
2003 Craig Whitaker Right-handed pitcher Lufkin High School
(Lufkin, Texas)
2004 no first-round pick
2005 no first-round pick
2006 Tim Lincecum ’10 Right-handed pitcher University of Washington
(Seattle)
2006 Emmanuel Burriss Shortstop Kent State University
(Kent, Ohio)
2007 Madison Bumgarner ’10 Left-handed pitcher South Caldwell High School
(Hudson, North Carolina)
2007 Tim Alderson Right-handed pitcher Horizon High School
(Scottsdale, Arizona)
2007 Wendell Fairley Outfielder George County High School
(Lucedale, Mississippi)
2007 Nick Noonan Second baseman Francis W. Parker School
(San Diego, California)
2007 Jackson Williams Catcher University of Oklahoma
(Norman, Oklahoma)
2007 Charlie Culberson Second baseman Calhoun High School
(Calhoun, Georgia)
2008 Buster Posey ’10 Catcher Florida State University
(Tallahassee, Florida)
2008 Conor Gillaspie Third baseman Wichita State University
(Wichita, Kansas)
2009 Zack Wheeler Right-handed pitcher East Paulding High School
(Dallas, Georgia)
2010 Gary Brown Center fielder California State University, Fullerton
(Fullerton, California)
2011 Joe Panik Shortstop St. John’s University
(New York City)
2011 Kyle Crick Right-handed pitcher Sherman High School
(Sherman, Texas)
2012 Chris Stratton Right-handed pitcher Mississippi State University
(Starkville, Mississippi)
2013 Christian Arroyo Shortstop Hernando High School (Florida)
(Brooksville, Florida)
2014 Tyler Beede Right-handed pitcher Vanderbilt University
(Nashville, Tennessee)
2015 Phil Bickford Right-handed pitcher College of Southern Nevada
(Henderson, Nevada)
2015 Chris Shaw First baseman Boston College
(Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts)
And, of course, some important trades happened with some of these guys: Alderson was turned into Freddie Sanchez, and Culberson was turned into Marco Scutaro, both pivotal trades for helping to win championships in ’10 and ’12.
Wheeler was traded for Beltran, a trade I fully supported during the ’11 season, but the Giants didn’t make the playoffs that year. You all knew all that already.
Blackburn’s up, who’s being sent down?
I don’t know. Where’d you hear it? Pagan’s still not in the lineup…
Tolbert mentioned it on KNBR.
Parker down, 13-man pitching staff again, and a gimpy Pagan.
waiting for Pagan to get healthy is like those Irish fuckers who waited around to videotape the pitch drop
http://www.nature.com/news/world-s-slowest-moving-drop-caught-on-camera-at-last-1.13418
A total mauling OKC. Has there ever been a more empty 67-win season?
I’m so sick of Pagan&Bochy’s relationship! They should atleast exchange wives once in a while..
Anyone else ever listen to the opposing teams radio broadcast? I often find a wealth of detailed info — especially in the early innings — that I never get from The KNBR crew. Sometimes it’s about a particular player’s history & background, sometimes it’s their current stats or trends, or getting a general sense of how the opposition perceive us. I real enjoy it.
They got Randy Johnson guesting right now … Pretty cool!
Yes, Lisle – depending on the crew it can be enjoyable.
The Arizona TV broadcast is brutal.
Every other word is “Goldy”
Just muted it before I had a stroke…
Not with the opposing crews a bit cheerier more often than not lately.
Now or never?
Tied up.
Greinke is painfully slow to watch.
Feels like one pitch every 10 minutes…
Great AB for Belt. Down 0-2 in the count and taking tough pitches from Grienke then delivers a solid single for the rib-eye!
So far BB9 is having him a year. He may finally have fit into those size 15 cleats. Betcha his lady likes that.
What a fuckin’ laser that was…
The Giants are actually hitting the ball!!!
SHARKS need to keep hitting the Predators…
This is the best I have ever seen the Sharks play in a Game 7….fingers crossed they can keep that up….
Goodbye.
Hey Joe!
Great song…
I feel like Panik really needed one of those…
VMI numbers paying off tonight as I had hoped they would….
Yaha! I was just gonna post something mean about Panik, whose avg. is down in .240s.
Boom!
Figured that light desert air with the low level of humiliated relatives would be the perfect tonic for some of those sagging bats. A nice Panik attack is proof positive.
Greinke looks like shit.
Loved the Hendrix version of Hey Joe, classic.
Looking for a shut down inning here.
There’s your percentage, AK.
Speaking of Lincecum, did he announce his retirement?
Goldschmidt hopes not. He doesn’t look too happy trying to hit Cueto tonite.
Report was it was down to SF, Angels and ChiSox.
Damn I hope the Giants don’t have to use their bullpen!
Pitch count after 5: Greinke 89, Cueto 80. The Snakes starter faces the bottom of our order and Cueto ended his inning with Goldilox going down. Betcha big Paul hopes the Giants are the winner of the last 3 teams in on Timmy.
Shark Tank is “ROCKING”
Do you believe in miracles?
Well atleast to the next rd against StLouis.. Smoking the Predators 5-0
Greinke now at 104 pitches as Blanco, Cueto and Span took up another 15. Will he start the 7th? Depends on how Snakes do vs Cueto in the bottom of the 6th, i think.
Greinke gets paid one million dollars per start. How often do you get to watch someone make a million dollars right in front of you in a few hours?
The cast members of Big Bang Theory, I guess.
That Bruce Springsteen concert I went to.
Some boxers have done it in seconds…
Good point!
Hey Loo did you hear the Randy Johnson segment on the Snakes broadcast … Wow, I was impressed!! He sounds dumb as a post! For some reason, I would have never thought that.
I assume the reason was not his West Virginia hillbilly mien.
That was probably a bit mean of me to say that. However, he was overly articulate .. could have been the medium as not everyone presents well on radio or TV.
He did say some interesting things about how the game has changed: young guys in the dugout during game checking out laptops with stats on percentages for umpires’ called ball/strike zone. Also how, in general, young players (especially pitchers) are not given time to develop at the big level like they were in the past. I remember him as a rookie with the Expos.They traded him to Seattle for Mark
Langston .. He talked a bit about that too.
“.. was NOT overly articulate ..”
Never cared for RJ but what a career. Some of the numbers are insane.
From 1995 -1997 his W-L was 43-6!
I thought I was being mean, Lisle!
One thing I never really never got with hockey players is you pound on each other for 7 games(fights,blood,heavy checks to the boards, basic Hanson Brothers on the ice)and its the only sport that does it is to show a little class and congratulate the winner with Handshakes.
I for one would like to see a few haymakers thrown during that process for a guy you just can’t stand .. Just curious if it’s ever happened in all the years they have played..
that is one of the coolest things in all major sports.
Tho I have heard guys say, “I can’t believe I shook that guy’s hand.”
” … a few haymakers thrown ..” Solid Gold Kat! LMAO!
Ya know I could give a rat’s ass what the pitch count is.
Cueto just dominated Golds again with a 1-2-3 inning. I’m glad Bochy left him in as long as he’s dealing. Now get some more insurance.
Agreed. Watching the Goldy one being overmatched makes me smile.
Cueto makes Goldschmidt dream about facing Timmy again!
I always wanted Timmy to hit at least one homer. Never did.
Sandy Koufax and Willie Mays both hit their first ML homers off Warren Spahn.
Osich just can’t do that.
Kershaw K’s the side in 9th to finish 5-0 win over Mets, 3 H & 13 Ks.
Yeah, I was figuring with Colon vs. Kershaw, there would be no help from the Mets tonight.
Wright’s hitting .232 now. He might be done.
His defense sucks, too. His body is giving out.
But Wright’s supporters/apologists point out his near .400 OBP.
He seems overmatched against the better pitchers, IMO.
He’s overmatched against the pitching machine…
Gearrin looks like a little girl who doesn’t like her birthday present…
With Pagan injured but not on the DL, Bochy must figure his 24 is better than anybody’s 25. If we’re carrying 13 pitchers, then there are 3 bench players healthy and ready? 3? WTF?…
Yeah….I wonder if he rationalizes it with Bum as a very viable PH – not that he ever uses him that way…
Bum sounds good as a PHer, until he swings himself into an oblique pull, and a 6-week DL visit. Bochy would look pretty bad if that happened…
Unless Giants break out with a crooked number here I know it’s highly unlikely, but why not leave Gearrin in?
He faced 3 guys and nobody got the ball out of the IF.
Bochy’s big on ‘get the guy back on the horse he fell off of.’
It would make too much sense.
Nobody does it…
If Unca Chuck were on here, I’d ask him the odds of a 1-2-3 from Casilla…
Slim and none…and there it goes…
Let’s close this sucker out. While four runs typically isn’t that big of a deal, it is when your team has been sucking like the Giants (esp with RISP). But four is the most they have scored in a while. I still think this series in Arizona might be part of the potion to cure their hitting ills.
Sharks with the big shut out and off to the Western Conference Finals, along with the Warriors. Bay Area of Greatness!
OK, who’s up in the bullpen? Giddy up before Casilla gives this game up…
The horse is a bucking bronco.
Need a DP here, Goldy on deck is no bueno…
Another triple-bypass night of Giants baseball…
Walk Goldy to load ’em, and put tying run on 2nd? I might do it, to avoid a Goldy blast…
I agree.
Looks like that was the plan. I’m OK with it. I don’t get bringing in Lopez, I don’t care if he goes against a LHB. Casilla pissed off at Bochy? Hmmm. First sign of trouble in paradise in quite a while…
Except Lamb homered off Casilla with two outs in the 9th a few weeks ago.
Good call Mac, that probably sealed it for Bochy. And, maybe Casilla wanted a shot at revenge, but got pulled, and that’s why he got PO’d…
Mac always has the facts…
Here we go.
Who would be the closer if Casilla starts too really suck!!
They would go committee for a while until somebody proves themself.
Law? Is there a better choice? I like a lot of Strickland’s stuff, but he just makes me nervous. Brain Wilson nervous in his heyday, but on steroids.
Wow that is surprising. Casilla looked pissed.
what happened there as they cut to commercial?
I don’t like Lopez closing, and that’s what he’s doing…
Ballgame!
Hey, this team (and Flap Universe) needs the Giants to win a laugher.
Ballgame.
Whoa Nellie, that Pen is a work in progress.
Casilla and Bochy look like they’re going to have a post-game session in Bochy’s office…
Or a wreck in progress?
And we all know who will win that train wreck…
Giants beat Greinke! Raise the flag, any flag!…
Yay! Finally beat that fuckin’ team and that fuckin’ pitcher.
Guess Santiago ain’t doing the post game wrap.
That’s your Chilton Auto Body “fit” of the game!…
Still in first place!
Yeah, Casilla looked pissed, but he’ll get over it. Nice move by Bochy. Should give Javy a little confidence boost as well.
Casilla should be in the doghouse after that display on the mound! Glad to see Bochy tell him “Keep your ass on the mound till Lopez gets here!”
Ha! Casilla gets credit for a “hold,” the most worthless stat ever invented.
Greinke has sucked, maybe the Dbacks will do an even swap Greinke for Peavy, they pay 1/2 of Greinke’s contract. What a deal !…
Cueto is looking like an all-star; he’s pumping up the number to take him out of his short-term deal opt-out and into a long one…
Agree, Cueto is a monster, lovin’ him as a Giant. Of course, I always think of Quatto or whatever that “thing”‘s name was in the first Total Recall….
…
LA Sports arena being demolished soon…
I can see how Casilla might have felt deceived. He got the message to pitch around Goldschmidt and then he gets taken out.
I think it was more a match-up decision than anything else, Zume.
Yeah, I just meant how Casilla saw it. I totally agreed with Bochy’s move.