Weekend Re Cap
So what’s more impressive, his name or his punch? Because if we’re talking about best names in baseball, the conversation starts and ends with “Rougned Odor.” I’m “old school” baseball, as I’m sure all of you are, and I wish more problems would get solved on the baseball field this way. For once we didn’t have a bunch of pussy grand standing “hold me back” nonsense. And kudos to Bautista for not going down. That was a clean hit he took like a man.
As for the Giants, what can you say? if the 40 Percenters are kicking ass we are going to be tough to beat. Krukow said Peavy can pitch 3 or 4 more years (which is a slap in the face to him since he said Cain could cruise for another 5 or 6). Peavy is now The North Carolina Area Code and that’s at least headed in right direction….
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Kind of interesting to unravel the whole chain of events:
-Hard-fought playoff series last year between Texas and Toronto, with Texas already feeling they gave away the series with some big errors. But punctuated by the most famous bat-flip in MLB history. And Texas feeling like they were the team posterized by the bat-flip, and having to see that on sports-show replays all off-season.
-Then the retaliation HBP on Bautista, with a 97-MPH fastball to the ribs.
-Then his retaliatory illegal and dangerous slide on Odor.
-Then Odor, doing as middle infielders used to be trained, did a retaliatory low throw towards firstbase, right toward Bautista’s head, and may have nicked his helmet.
-Then the confrontation between the two. Bautista thinking it’s going to be a bunch of just menacing staring-at-each other, but Odor going for the fight. And Bautista taking a punch to the jaw.
– Beltre grabbing Bautista from behind to keep him from doing something crazy, and getting himself suspended for even more games.
The punishment? I think Bautista should get a two-game suspension for the slide. If you’re going to have strict rules on those slides at 2B, then someone clearly blowing off that rule needs a real punishment from the league. Odor should get a 5 or 6 game suspension for the punch. That could have been very ugly and dangerous.
And then one-game suspensions for anyone doing any fighting in the general melee.
I only gave the blog a cursory look yesterday, so the “area code” thing went over my head. Just read your thread now and again, the previous post and had my V8 or ahh ha moment. Nice. Easy bet neither gets to Colorado’s area code of 303.
By the by Flav, yeah, not best in Division, so I should have qualified or omitted that. Go Giants! Oh, one other thing . . . Colorado is looking like a legitimate MLB team. I repeat, they look like a legitimate contender with their entire pitching staff having dominated the Mets in Kathmandu (which is amazing in itself). See what happens in June and July, when they usually fall apart like a cheap suit.
As you educated us on this topic years ago, i feel confident that all the travel to and from Denver will do in their bodies by late June/early July.
Flav, quite true if history is a precursor to the future. This team mystifies me though, which I will explain in a moment . . . Although a Giants fan, I appreciate the fact that there are NO weak sisters in the division . . . Sure, I would like the Giants to run away from the pack, but if this is how it goes going forward, then I am fairly confident that the Dodgers, Sherpas, Snakes, Padres will not roll over in September when one of our division foes or another MLB team is playing them.
So, these are the reasons I am impressed with the Sherpas:
1. Although their ERA is high, it is misleading, e.g., their starting pitchers have gone at least five innings in 13 of their 14 May starts.
2. Usually the Sherps are last in the league in walks allowed, but currently, they’re 10th.
3. The staff sports an excellent 3.38 road ERA and received good home outings this homestand, including Jon Gray’s first major league win. Butler and Chatwood were also very good in their last starts at home.
I can’t recall a Colorado pitching staff as good as this one. EVER. All young arms on the rotation, with a fairly good bullpen with reinforcements coming (Castro, Motte and Ottavino – the latter 2 whom both can close). De La Rosa, is on the DL and their fans are hoping he never comes back . . . as recently as last year, he was the staff “ace.”
You can shoot me later for saying this, but my respect (not love) continues to grow for the Sherpas pitching staff and the team in general. However, again, we will see what shakes out going forward.
Thinking the Rox are a good shot for a Wild-Card?
There will be no WC coming from NL West
No way Carstie. This division is like a jackal that devours her young, i.e., the increased inter-division games, coupled with another NL team having an easier path ensures that. Most baseball writers/analysts (I’ve read) have already said this. Consequently, as Flav alluded to – Giants will need to win the division.
Suspensions? No. They took care of it on the field. Which is how it should be. Texas looks pretty chickenshit for waiting too the last AB of the last game they play this season but whatever. Kudos to Odor for the punch. I’d have punched Bautista for the Miami Vice shades he was sporting. Both guys likely get 1 game each. Which is fine.
I disagree. Our prison system is full of guys who took care of it on the field, so to speak. It’s a different era now. But I think the biggest thing driving the rules is the amount of money the players are paid now. Team owners just don’t want a Wild West atmosphere, and the danger of that, when they’re paying these guys so much on huge longterm deals. Two playoff teams last year lost middle infielders to broken legs and that understandably drove a move to tighten the rules.
I’ve never gotten why hockey allows so much fighting. Sure, the hardcore hockey fans like it, but it guarantees the sport can’t be marketed to the larger public. There are more women than ever watching baseball now, and that’s because MLB has cleaned up the sport, sometimes literally. Less guys chew tobacco, so women aren’t having to watch disgusting spitting of tobacco going on all the time. And the endless manager/umpire arguments have mostly faded away due to replay. Sure, the sport is more sanitized, but if you want to market the sport to the wider public, that has to be done.
Overall, I’m curious to see what MLB does do. As we speak, they’re looking at the video footage over and over.
I know quite a few women who love hockey, and are not averse to a good dose of “drop the gloves and get it on!” The biggest turn-off for most women re: baseball is how often a ball player has to check his package or scratch his nuts.
Not much chance he’ll get it down to the northeastern corner of North Carolina’s area code, 252. Still, good outings by both Cain and Peavy, if they can keep this up we should start getting a good lead over the rest of the West.
If Cain or Peavy can get down to the south bay 408 territory I’ll be pretty happy. I don’t get why it matters when it all went down. Bautista had to know he was going to get served eventually after his antics last fall. I was sort of surprised to see the scrum at 2nd after the HBP. Rougned Odor seemed to have his mind set on throwing down no matter what and he just about dropped Bautista with that right. Good thing Beltre was there to hold him up afterwards. As far as punishment goes. I guess Zummie has it about right. Who doles out the suspensions these days anyway? Torre?
It’s going to be significant, you can’t do that stuff on the field anymore. But whatever, it was still entertaining.
Oh I get it but I think the issue has been taken care of. Baseball isn’t life, it’s a kid’s game. Prisons or people in general have little to do with what happened on the field.
Bautista should be the one to be punished if you are doling out days off. He’s the one with the illegal slide and the grandstanding in the 1st place. He started the whole thing. Odor was pissed JB tried to take his legs out.
lulz
Just saw this:
JANIE McCAULEY, AP Baseball Writer
The Los Angeles Angels are closing in on a deal to sign two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum, a free agent trying to come back from hip surgery, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations.
Noooooooooo! that would suck sweaty balls to see Timmy in a Dodger uni.
Not the Dodgers Unca, the not located in LA, LA team. He’d be wearing the Rally Monkey uni.
Bahaha…I still want to CHOKE THE LIVING SHIT OUTTA the Rally Monkey every time I think about it (and I try not to think about it, at all).
I figured SD would be the one since his catcher Hector signed with them.
.
Tim had supposedly narrowed the 20+ teams with interest to three, and San Diego did not make the cut. I assume the Giants were one of the three, and assume the Angels are dangling more of a starter role to him.
In the post showcase interview between Timmy Shawn Estes, Estes told him that with the back-end rotation problems the Giants were having at the time, that there was certainly the possibility he would get some starting opportunities. Timmy acknowledged as much, but said he would prefer an opportunity to be a starter out of the gate.
Fuck, I hope the Angels do not sign him. But if he does sign with any team besides the Giants, at least that one would be in the junior circuit, and we do not face the Angels this year.
With those two Southern boys seeming to be cleaning up their act and the 4 and 5 spots looking now to be heading to the .500 W-L record, it could be that Timmy feels his best chance is elsewhere. That said, if Peavy and Cain are able to swing their season into an even split in wins and losses, this team is nicely positioned to win the West and with their 1-3, make some serious moves in the playoffs. We should know more by Sunday.
All true, but 55 looked like he was throwing free and live (I watched all 40-something pitches of the showcase). He was ticking 92 regularly, and his curveball had some really good snap (and that is not something that is easy to do in that thin, dry desert air). I just really wanted to see him back in a Giant uniform, and to finish his career the way he started it… representing the Orange and Black. Sigh…
Tim Lincecum, who recently auditioned for teams to show he is healthy, has agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Angels, according to ESPN’s Jim Bowden.
The deal is pending a physical.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/15564685/tim-lincecum-agrees-deal-los-angeles-angels
FUCK! DOUBLE FUCK!!
My official prediction to my son in the off-season, don’t think I Flapped it, was that Timmay would sign with the Angels because of the lack of their starting pitching and giving up 4-6 runs a start would be overlooked in the AL….
You gotta Flap shit like that G-Head! C’mon, get your head in the game!
Sorry G-Head. That SHIT does NOT count. As San said…ya gotta Flap it! Otherwise, it is just drivel…
I don’t know how I read ‘Dodgers’ into that post, but I somehow did.
Nooooo! Not the Angels!! Oh well I guess this might get me to go see an A’s game. . . .
I don’t know how I read ‘Dodgers’ into that post, but I somehow did. The LA byline just fucked my brain . . .
Nooooo! Not the Angels!! Oh well I guess this might get me to go see an A’s game. . . .
WTF ???
You’re not the designated driver today are you?
Heh heh. Nope. Not even drinking yet.
Timmy in a different uni is going to be odd to say the least.
Yeah, me being he DD means less than 5 beers. . . .
LMAO…
Only wish Timmy the best. Shit, I’d be down with him winning a 3rd Cy Young . . . Doesn’t affect the Giants. Go Timmy!
Bautista’s slide didn’t look that bad to me. Certainly not in the same category as Utley or some of the ugly ones in the past like when Pudge broke Omar Vizquel’s wrist. I think Odor should get and will get a stiffer punishment than anyone else.
Blade talking positively about the Rockies freaks me out a little bit. Now I’m worried about them.
Tim to the Angels? I can handle that, I guess. I was hoping he’d retire. Second choice was for him to come back to us and third was to go to the American League.
I’ll be at tomorrow night’s game.
Agree Dog about the slide. Was very tame to me.
But it does break the new slide rules. The umps did call the play a double-play because of interference.
You’re absolutely right. However, I hate that rule, as well as the home plate “Posey” rule as well. Again, tinkering with the game = watering down the game . . . Just my take.
To me it was a bogus slide, he started the slide basically right on the bag, clearly to take out the second baseman. Hey,they hit him, so he was pissed and ready to take it out on somebody. Kuiper talks about that kind of stuff all the time when he was playing. He’d get pissed at his pitcher for hitting a guy, because he knew that guy would be steaming into second ready to take Kuiper’s ass out…
Those of us who are old school do not like these rule changes, but you can bet that the primary reason they are being put out there is that the guys signing the checks (club owners) want to protect their investments. In this day and age there are so many players making the big bucks. The owners are going to push for rules like the Posey rule, and the new slide rule to minimize the chances of their investment (big buck players) getting injured.
When is it okay to throw the first punch?
I once asked a cop friend of mine that question.
His answer was: “When you feel threatened”
Billy Martin was a big-time “first puncher,” to the point of being a sucker-puncher basically. His classic move was to be talking smack from a distance with somebody down at the other end of the bar, and then as the dude walked over to engage Billy, Billy would be watching the guy in the mirror behind the bar, and when the guy got near Billy, Billy would turn and punch him in the chin, and usually knock him out. You’d think the oafs would catch on to that tactic, but they never did, apparently.
“Oafs” didn’t read his frickin’ book!
Oaf is a funny word and an under-utilized insult…
The Dodgers/Angels game tonight will be on the MLB Network in most of the nation. Information for after the Warriors game….
Yep…I have Angels-bums on my MLB feed tonight.
If our beloved Dubs survive a long war with OKC and the Cavs sweep-walk (patent pending) though Toronto, who has the edge in the Finals? I’d say LBJ, my fellow Americans…
As long as he avoids a land-war in Asia.
Princess Bride reference????
Yes!
Great flick (Princess Bride)…
Favorite movie and one of the best scenes filmed.
“Our beloved Dubs”… Lulz
The Angels signing Timmy is a red flag for him. They almost always make the wrong move
For shit and giggles, I like to look at the MLB rankings of the various sports sites. Here is ESPN’s take on the Bums at #9 and the Giants at #10. Anyone else see something wrong with this bullshit, e.g., such as the previous week’s ranking for both and how the Dodgers shot up 7 spots, despite the Giants having a better record?
9. Los Angeles Dodgers
Record: 20-18
Week 5 ranking: No. 16
Coming into Saturday’s start, Scott Kazmir had yielded nine homers in his first 37 1/3 innings. Clayton Kershaw has struck out 77 and yielded only four walks. That’s a 19.25 K/BB rate, which would be a season record for ERA title qualifiers. He has at least 10 strikeouts and no more than one walk in each of his past five starts, setting an MLB record. — Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit
10. San Francisco Giants
Record: 22-18
Week 5 ranking: No. 10
The outfield duo of Denard Span and Hunter Pence had big weeks for the Giants, who remain neck-and-neck with the Dodgers for the NL West lead. Even Jake Peavy got in on the action, as he tossed a strong game against the scuffling D-backs on Saturday. — Jeff Wiser (@OutfieldGrass24), Inside the ‘Zona
I can’t even bring myself to read this lol. There is no lamer or more meaningless ranking than an online power ranking in baseball.
“lol”
Exactly. That’s where the giggles come in.
With ya Flav…that shit is getting ZERO attention from me…
I guess Diane feels like the Dodger offense has its mojo going now. Seager has heated up. But a lot of the other guys are about the same as earlier.
Interesting article I have not seen nationally, although it was in the Denver Post. Bonds criticizing Harper for being one dimensional.
http://www.denverpost.com/rockies/ci_29898957/bonds-harper-should-diversify-his-game-adapt-walks
No offense to you, brother, but for me, zzzzzzzzzz…..
Anyone else shocked that Francour is still banging bombs? He just hit another one. Thought he was completely done in SF
SD is on a role with Strickland and Francoeur delivering.
Nice job on the spelling, my man
He was and he still is done imo..
Fuck yeah! GO WARRIORS! They are looking good! Keep it up, boys!
That was a ridiculous missed lay up by Barbosa.
This whole Timmy thing has me bummed, and as I said earlier, at least he is going to the junior circuit, AND the Giants do not play the Angels this year. I dreamt of Timmy signing with the Giants, working his way into the rotation, and finishing his career with us. But remember, this (Tim’s contract) is a one year deal. Peavey is done after this year with the Giants. You know, if Timmy has a decent run with the Angels, the Giants will be right there making a play for his services. He may just be rocking the Orange and Black next year. And then, on the flip-side, monkeys might fly out my butt!
I wish Timmy nothing but success! I am in his corner big time, as long as he is not pitching against the Giants!
Curry drives me nuts when he forces passes for turnovers…
LMAO…I have ZERO worries about Curry. Give me more of him, Green, Thompson…it is a beautiful thing watching Golden State basketball right now. I am just soaking it in…
Small technical aspect of baseball that I’m wondering if anyone else has ever thought about. Not likely, but anyway: growing up playing a LOT of Little League ball, my best coach (nicknamed Jigs because of all the time he spent in the local water hole with a jigger of whisky in front of him) taught that when running the bases, you always hit the bag with your right foot, because that acts as a natural push-off point to head most directly to the next base. If you hit the bag with your left foot, it sends you in a less direct path to the next base and you’re basically needing to either more sharply turn your body to the left to head to the base or you’re crossing your steps. Yet many major leaguers (when I notice it) seem to hit the bag with their left. It’s such a small point, but it made so much sense to me learning the game that I’ve always wondered about that…
Wow. You are right…I have played and watched baseball since I was very young, and had never thought of it, but it makes absolute sense! Damn.
FrigginOKC has some huge dudes on the front line. Klay is getting Hot!!
What’s all the type about Michael Westbrook? “Looks like dogshit and he stepped in it..”
Curry with the 29 footer at half! Unreal…
30 feet don’t short change the man. He’s a beast.
🙂
Always like the sound of a swish especially to close out a quarter/ half/ or the GW at the buzzer and that title belongs to ice in his veins Curry..🏀
Timmy to Angels? Makes sense. Thy have dog meat starters, so Tim can go there quickly after a bit of rehab in the minors. I hope he gets it together , if he’s got any fastball control back, he’ll probably do Ok, they don’t know him in the AL…
one of my favorite sounds from my youth was a highly arched (think Purvis Short) 25 footer that swished at the perfect angle through a chain net. That sound kept me out till well past dark in my driveway……
Never played on any hoops as a kid that had a chain net, but will never forget the sound the first time I heard it…
Man, that was a beautiful finish to the first half. Klay with the string of hoops, and the killer defensive play down the stretch. Mix in some Steph being Steph, and damn…it doesn’t get much better. Warriors are on fire! Curry is pure assassin!
oKC has done well really collapsing on Curry on perimeter, he’s had trouble passing the ball off from out there– he needs to give up the ball earlier or have somebody else bring it up so he can elwork for a shot or an assist on the fly. If the Dubs made all their freakin layups, they’d be up by 20…
At the brewpub– Pint of Faction pale ale is smooooth and tasty, along with a tub of fried artichokes. Dang that’s a good combo; almost as good as the Splash bros….
$3 for a dozen chokes on Happy Hour special, can’t beat it…
Add some deep fried cheese curds (dipped in beer batter) and you have the perfect meal!
Sounds like stroke city. 🙂
No such thing as “the usual” for Snarkk…
Remember Purvis Short well Flav!
Use to practice that high arc rainbow from the corners a lot!
I actually remember a dude from UCLA back in the day 67-68 champion ship teams named Lynn Shackelford a 6’5 PF in those days but was the “Original” High Arc Shooter that ripped the nets from the corners and up top,( had long range ability that would have been 3’s in those day)and sometime the net would end up splashing back up and sticking to the rim, which I thought was really bitchin!!!
I remember Shackelford. Dude was automatic from 20 in the corners…
That Adams guy is one ugly dude; he and Randy Johnson would make a pair; Big Ugly squared …
Chain net in the driveway? Damn, must of been a rough hood.
lulz..
Some parents are tightwads when it comes to cord over chain..
No shit. I saw my first chain link net when I moved to California…
Klay getting it done!
Steph frigginunreal ahots; but Westbrook is eating him alive on the other end…
Other than Westbroook, all these OKC dudes look 6 foot 12
Shit had many steps can Adams take without traveling?? 4-5?
That was as ridiculous as it gets…
Is OKC the old Supersonics?
Yes…
Curry guarding Westbrook is no bueno…
Yeah, but Curry doesn’t have any holes in his game.
Angels lead Dodgers 4-2 so far.
Dubs damn sloppy and careless with the ball…
Refs never call traveling, crazy ridiculous…
The Warriors own this one. Shitty ball-handling in the 2nd half, and piss-poor from the free-throw line.
20 points off turnovers; yikes.
Damm out hustled out played!
Thunder steal one next one a must for sure! Sloppy play turnovers as Snarkk said was their downfall..
Turnovers weren’t even that bad. 14? They got killed on 2nd chance points. If they don’t score when they go small they get smoked on the glass. The ball movement in the 4th was awful . Too many empty possessions.
The Angels have a hideous bullpen. Good luck, Timmy.
The Mariners fans will get to see him a bit, that’ll be interesting…
Westbrook killed them in Q3. All they did was foul the guy the whole period…
I played CYO basketball as a kid in the Valley on cold, winter Saturday mornings at foggy, outdoor courts with chain nets. Sometimes, you could barely see the other rim and backboard at the other end of the court. No joke. The fog droplets would blow off the nets when you’d make a shot, or just hit the rim. By the end of the game, your hands were frozen and black from the wet blacktop rubbing off on the ball and onto your hands. Compared to when I was a kid, Valley winters are not nearly as foggy anymore…
Very true. The fog isn’t as bad as it used to be. Probably from all the development. Lots of ground has been covered over in the last couple of decades. And climate change, a combination of both.
That, and not near as much rain as there used to be. Hell, when I was a kid, there would be ground fog literally for a week or two straight. You wouldn’t see sunshine or blue sky for the whole time until it cleared out with a rainstorm and/or lots of wind…
Yeah, that thick fog used to be very scary to drive in.
No S, zum. The ground “Tule” fog would “lift” maybe to a couple of hundred feet by mid afternoon, and you might, might see the outline orb of the sun shining through the fog. But, then about dusk time (4:30 or so in winter), it would start getting colder again and the fog would start lowering back to the ground and by 8 pm or so you couldn’t see crap again the rest of the night. That seemingly endless fog pattern was pretty damn hard on the psyche. So, once in a while, the parents would drive up to the foothills just high enough to blow through the fog level and see the sun and blue sky, and look down on the fog canopy laying over the Valley…
Do Angels fans leave the game early too, or is that just a Dodger thing?
Angels 7
Dodgers 6
Final score.
Klay’s bro: 2 HRs.
That 9 inning baseball game took forever. An epic fail of things that were supposed to speed games up.
Pitchers wandering around the mound between pitches. Batters stepping out of the box between pitches. Visits to the mound that lasted forever. The umps were probably dozing off.
What happened to the 30 second visit to the mound rule?…
Totally ignored by this umpire crew. Yeah, Maeda uses a translator, but the visits to other pitchers were long, too.
Paul mentioned the fundamentals of rounding bases….that’s probably the kind of thing that’s not worked on much anymore in Spring Training. And decades ago teams used to practice sliding in sand pits in Spring Training. Teams don’t do that anymore. Teams used to take full infield practice before games during the regular season, and that’s not done anymore. Players used to play pepper before games, and that’s not done anymore.
Zum I always enjoyed watching IF practice, ball zipping around the bases and then throw back to where it started. OF throws too to different bases including the plate.
The Japanese still do this, even after games. This is why Aoki used to blow me away with how oddly he played the OF. With as much practice as he must have had from younger days he still couldn’t track a ball at his age.
Pads are going to be awful but without Ross and Cashner (both on the DL) their kid pitchers no one has seen are exactly the kind of guys Giants often struggle to hit.
And Aoki’s baserunning was bad. It always kind of boggles my mind how bad some of the major leaguers run the bases sometimes. The other night, the Cardinals had a runner on third with no out, and the batter hit a comebacker to the pitcher, and the runner on third got caught off third in a run-down, and was tagged out. Just abysmal baserunning.
Singer/songwriter Guy Clark passed away today. I saw him perform at Hardly Strictly a few times. Sad news in the world of Americana/roots music.
Sad to hear this, he wrote some great tunes. I love Jerry Jeff’s version of his “Desperados Waiting for a Train” (among others). RIP Mr. Clark.
Definitely sad news. I too love JJW’s rendition of that song, Clown. RIP.
Dubs come back and win the next two. They drop the second one in OKC and then win the following two. Dubs in 6
Hope so. the guy missing shots and turning the ball over more can’t be Curry; he’s gotta be the MVP.
Bigs gotta show up too, Bogut Ezeli Mo. Livingston 2 hoops 1 assist in 21 minutes, ugh.
Lot of nice moves to hoop vs. bigger players, but too many missed lay ups. Get this one out the system.
And keep OKC off the FT line! Even Adams hit more than any warrior.
Addams family was one awesome show, funny as hell plus sexy Morticia.
What was it about Morticia? Was I at that age where every curvy girl was sexy? Or was it that, plus the pre-goth goth look and the wicked, dry, intelligent humor that made her the real deal?
Go Gigantes!
I had a major crush on Morticia. Visualized the tag-team with her, Barbara Eden (I Cream on Jeannie), and Elizabeth Montgomery (Bewitched). There were also the young lasses on Petticoat Junction and Gilligan’s Island, and I always had a crush on Linda Evans as the daughter on Big Valley (oh how I wanted to explore her big valley!)…ah, fond childhood memories…
“Elizabeth Montgomery (Bewitched)”
I always had a lot of sympathy for that character. Married to a real dud of a husband. (Two in fact.) What was ever the appeal of the two Darrens? It’s hard to understand. Later in life you start to have more sympathy for the shrewish mother in law, who’s always wondering why Samantha ended up with such a constricting, angry, hyper-critical husband. And he’s not even good at his job. In episode after episode, Samantha bails his a## out of trouble, by coming up with the ad campaign that saves his job.
I think of her twin cousin, the hippie, as the inner Samantha, subconsciously yearning for freedom.