Winning And Not Winning
The Giants have had very few days off this season, but is anyone else surprised we have the 2nd most wins in mlb (29) next to the Cubs (30)? With Peavy’s shenanigans and Cain’s inconsistency, it blows my mind that we have so many wins.
Very likely stuck on 29 at the end of today…..
I’m despondent about *my beloved Dubs*. I don’t understand how a team can be so dominant in the regular season only to look so painfully average in the playoffs.
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
I’ve kind of switched my thoughts from pitching to the outfield. I’m not going to bash on Pagan but it looks like injuries will continue to be an issue all year. Span and Pence have also had the injury bug and losing one of those guys right now would be a huge problem, so I started thinking of OFers. Is Williamson or Parker the answer? Realistically, Mac is probably at least a year away, last night Parker showed he had major pop but is he the guy you want playing 50+ games? I don’t know. I also don’t know who is out there that could be traded for. Someone at the McCovey Chronicles was making an argument for Beltran, been there rented that. Braun’s name comes up, but it would be costly and maybe its just me, but I just don’t like the guy. Would Miami trade Ozuna? Maybe last off season, when the owner hated him, they would have but man that would be really expensive today. By the most part, it seems that shitty teams (I meant teams that would be willing to trade), have shitty outfielders (I meant players that wouldn’t be much help to us).
So I started looking at FAs that didn’t sign this year, except for the Major league experience I don’t think that Nate McLouth is the answer (plus his year ended with shoulder problems) but what about Alex Rios? He doesn’t hit for power anymore but might be a doubles hitting machine at Pac Bell, plus it would be kind of ironic if Rios came to the Giants the year Timmy left (the best trade that didn’t happen, happens, sort of). Then again, there might not be any gas left in that can.
So I guess the next month will just be spin the DL wheel and hope Parker and Blanco can keep things going, if I’m Specs, I’d be shagging a shit load of balls in the OF..
Regarding Golden State, it ain’t over yet.
Nice post. Yeah, with your analysis there, I am not sure there is any immediate help out there that isn’t cost prohibitive. I see them riding it out with Blanco, Parker, and Specs. Ozuna was certainly an interest of mine in the off-season, but agree, he would probably cost too much at this point (even if the Fish wished to deal him).
Agree re: the Warriors. If any team can bounce back from a 3-1 deficit, it is this team. Last done by the Celtics in 1981.
At present the current edition of the Giants tends to remind one of the first SF World Champs from 6 years ago, what with the shutdown starters and the tepid offense. No reason to suspect the Rotation will fade, particularly if Peavy flubs his next two starts vs the punchless Dagos and the classically rebuilding Braves. It is also not unlikely that the hitting will come around, particularly as they play in warmer venues more frequently.
Fascinating question with the offense is yesterday’s addition ~Parker. Can he consistently hit elite MLB pitchers, or at least average ones? His presence towards the bottom of the lineup as a potential major power threat could impose a fear-factor on opposing pitchers, dropping an exclamation point near the terminus of the conga-line. Even one Big Bat can induce team-mates to amp their game a bit with bursts of growing confidence.
Tough schedule in June. Can the team avoid the Swoon? With three potent stopper quality arms in the Rotation it does not seem likely that the Giants will fall into a losing skid that will match their current winning ways. A deep and well rested bullpen will not allow very many winnable games to slither away. The Colorado series could offer some portents. The Rox get to face Cain, Bumgarner and Cueto. We are overdue to take a series in the Box of Rox. Meanwhile, today features Shields vs Peavy.
See the stats (his and Williamson’s) that I posted below. He has to find a way to reduce his K rate. I say get him a locker next to BB9 and let Belt school him in that regards.
Parker seems to be cut outta similar cloth to former Giant Adam Duvall who now has become one of the enforcers for the Reds ~ relatively low OBP vs fairly high slugging percentage. Giants evidently let Duvall go partly because they could not envision two of them playing in The Show for SF. Being a reasonably competent outfielder, Parker probably was the better keeper.
Well said, guys. Great stuff!
Parker did play some nice defense hosing Kemp yesterday to go along with the HR (I’ll forgive him for the bunt!). So we can take Pagan going down and platoon accordingly with JP and Tiburon Blanco. Losing Pence is the kicker. He would be a huge loss. One that would be tough to overcome. As it was last year.
Still and all, the pitching looks to be saving us from ourselves. We score (a little) we win (a bunch).
Today? Well, a Peavy win over Big Early Game James would be nothing but gravy.
Mmmm…gravy. I love gravy.
Made me think of a favorite from Murphy’s Steak House, an iconic restaurant that has been open since the 50s in my hometown in OK. They have an item called the “Murphy’s Hot Hamburger.” Open faced burger on toast, topped with some of the best fries on the planet, and then covered in their beef gravy (drippings from prime rib and steaks). The only way to order this is “give me a hot hamburger, GRAVY OVER ALL!” Heart attack on a platter, but damned it is good!
Damn. Guess I’m getting a burger today . . .
Chi, we have a place here that has a breakfast special with a huge homemade open faced biscuit topped with fried chicken and covered in bacon gravy (not sausage gravy, bacon). The thing is wrong on so many levels but oh so right, damn it’s good. With a bloody or two, it is a cardiologist’s nightmare.
That sounds awesome, John. I love me some bacon…bacon gravy? Get out! Gimme some!
One of those occasional meatless mornings for me. Kinda. Few days ago i steam-sauteed down some fresh garden veggies like spinach and bunching onions along with some small peppers (3 mild, 1 japaleno). Meanwhile i stirred up a batter featuring some Indian Head cornmeal from Maryland (no GMO and maybe even organic); plenty of oat-bran; some rye flour; bit of whole wheat flour; one farm egg; Rumford’s (non-alumina based) baking powder and considerably more milk than water.
Veggies ready, they got folded into the batter along with a full can of pre-Fuckyoushima radiation-free, Alaska pink salmon (been hoarding those) stirred it all up and them spooned into my original Griswold #10 skillet dabbled with olive oil atop the wood cookstove.
Served it up with a bit of raunch dressing for a side-dip and a cup of strainer-seeped heavy-duty coffee. Got 4 meals from it over the past 5 days or so with enough batter combo remaining for one more go.
With his power that we saw again last night, I’d really like to see Parker get a chance to play all three games at Coors. I don’t care if the dude whiffs three times each game, he’d still be capable of getting one airborne and into the seats in that thin air.
We’re going to be getting the Sherpas at the right time. They have a losing record at home. Pitching staff was decimated on the road, e.g., yesterday De La Rosa by the Red Sox; Lyons was destroyed the day before that (and then sent to the minors afterwards); and, Gray getting slaughtered by St. Louis on Thursday (giving up 9 runs in 3 innings). Oh, and speaking of striking out – Arenado did it 3 times yesterday and Story, the Golden Boy, did it 4 times in 4 at bats. Ugh.
So yeah, maybe we can make some hay in Kathmandu. Dunno . . . As the Rockies normally do well there.
Yep, they got two more at Fenway, and hopefully two more pummelings.
Interesting. I have not been following them closely. I know a few weeks ago their pitching was going gangbusters.
In that thin air he may launch one halfway to Mars.
Nothing wrong with giving Parker a shot along side Blanco, who is coming around after slow start.
Span looks good still stinging the ball and playing well defensively. It is not going to be as easy as last night for the kid, but he made a fine throw and scorched a ball way out of here.
As for Warriors, I haven’t seen much of last 2 games (don’t get home from work until after halftime), but…their better players are getting seriously out played by OKC. Westbrook is torching them and Warriors have not been able to defend him and score against him like they did vs. Harden and Lillard. Usually they have bounced back after bad games, but not so last night. OKC starting 5, all of them including Roberson, were much the better.
The bigs have been non existent; I expected more of Ezeli and Speights but they can’t defend or hit shots.
Iguodala has also not been usual self off bench nor Livingston; I thought their depth would matter but outside of game 2 it hasn’t shown up. No one can guard Durant but Green and Igs haven’t been able to make him pay at the other end.
Donovan has done a great job and Kerr has not been able to get his team to settle down and be more patient. The turnovers have been a season long issue, and GS has been their own worst enemy with bad decisions, bad passes and shot selection. I don’t buy fatigue factor–problems are more mental (not playing smart) and being out worked for loose balls and rebounds (not playing hard enough).
I’ve said before too that Thompson and Curry don’t get to FT line enough, and that’s a skill that Durant and Westbrook have exploited when they have the ball. They’re just better at it and it’s hurting Warriors.
Great post. To Blade’s question last night (in regards to the Warriors) did you foresee anything like this coming? I know OKC has improved significantly since we saw them during the regular season, but still, no way I saw us going down 3-1 and in such a convincing fashion by OKC. The Thunder just seems to be the hungrier team right now. Time to put up, or shut up for the Dubs.
Snarkk, what I read was Williamson wasn’t doing well vs. LHP (dunno no why), so bringing in another LH wasn’t going to matter as much.
Giants thrived with guys like Morse and Burrell in LF, so even adding in an occasional start from Specs isn’t a big deal imo. Long term, that’s different. Backing off Pence and giving him more rest seems very prudent move.
Ok thanks. I thought it weird a little since they seem to need more RHed pop than LHed…
To finish off the last thread “All You Need Is One,” but it sure as hell doesn’t hurt to have more! CONGA CONGA CONGA!
To snarkk’s final comment on the last thread:
“Parker coming up certainly paid dividends tonight with his dinger. But, anybody see anything in the media about why they brought him up instead of Wiliiamson? I would think they would favor the RH power hitter for ATT usage, not the LHB.”
I have not looked at the pitching matchups down the entire 10 game roadie on which they will embark Friday (beginning in Colorado), but assume they looked at the lefty-righty thing and decided to go with Parker.
I know some here are big on Big Mac, but I like Parker. I think he is definitely a better OFer, and both have shown power with the River Kitties. Question is (and this is ALWAYS the question), can either show the consistency needed to stick in the bigs, and not become one of those proverbial AAAA players.
Parker has shown more power than Williamson this year, and has a better OPS. Here are their lines to date in Sacto:
Williamson:
29 games, 114 AB, .298, .333, .544, .877 with 27 Ks and 7 BB.
Parker:
36 games, 135 AB, .281, .366, .615, .981 with 42 Ks (ouch) and 16 BB.
Neither of them are good at recognizing breaking pitches, but Parker seems to square up some balls more often than Williamson.
Well, we all know how badly Matt Williams sucked re: the breaking ball early in his career. I hope Parker can improve enough to stay on the 25, because I think he is an above-average glove, and well, we saw his power potential last night. The kid can hit with power!
Yeah, I mentioned that yesterday. The Warriors are not passing and being patient. And they are getting nailed with ticky tacky fouls. When they drve, they don’t get calls. When Westbrook goes inside, thy get the calls.
I ain’t blaming this solely on the refs, but there is a big discrepancy in fouls called. The Warriors did no favors by missing their FTs but it’s infuriating to see Iggy get hacked on a rebound with no call, and all the brush fouls called regularly on Westbrook and Durant. Westbrook runs into Bogut while Steph hits a 3 and they call an O foul on Bogut. If I’m Kerr I get tossed. Like the fucking non-travelling call on Westbrook in game 1 literally right in front of the ref, the calls appear to be sweked.
All season long, the W’s have been on the short end of FT attempts. Whether it’s because of their style of shooting outside or whatever, that’s the way it’s been for them. The odd thing is, they are a much better team in the paint than they typically get credit for, so they do get inside.
With all that, the disparity in foul calls in some of these games is ridiculous and I don’t any explanation for it.
And the fouls going against the Warriors inside takes its toll on the defense. When you get called for everything, they have to back off to stay out of foul trouble.
All good points on the Warriors, but the most glaring thing I see is that OKC just seems HUNGRIER. They are diving for the loose balls, they are playing great D, they look like the Warriors team we saw in the regular season. And I also think that Donovan is out-coaching Kerr to some degree.
No more excuses. They face potentially three elimination games. I still think they can do this, but they will have to find their Mojo, and find it quickly!
It took the Giants 2 full weeks to climb out of the funk created by the last debacle in Colorado. From a baseball standpoint, I hate that fucking place. Now, with the team on a big roll, back they have to go to that shit hole. Yes, that makes me nervous, because that park can turn the best pitchers into BP machines.
The team has had good series’ there, so that’s what I’m hoping for. And Peavy’s not pitching. Numbers 1, 2, & 3 only. Go Giants.
Five, one and two. Cain first. This one could be his big test. If he can go six without giving up more than 3 in that house of horrors, we got us a winnah.
Right, spaced on Cain, but I’m starting to feel pretty good about him these days. Hopefully he keeps it up.
I guess I’m with Sandawg and don’t really care about the Warriors.
Nice Giants win last night.
Problem with the NBA is that it’s very difficult to simply flip a switch and get back to playing your best ball if you’ve been in a funk for a few weeks. Go W’s, but this is a monumental task.
Zumiee – completely off-topic. Have you ever heard of a young lady (songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, amazing vocalist) named Sarah Jarosz? I will be seeing her in Grass Valley on June 8th (happy birthday to me), but she is also playing the Freight and Salvage June 13th (and a few other local locations in Mill Valley and Big Sur).
very cool. I’m going to have to find out more about her.
Agree with Eric. Sweet voice and an accomplished guitarist.
Parker has ha periods of success, spectacular success, last year. That and 13 homers in Sacto is why he got called up. Williamson hasn’t done jack.
Well, Williamson had done OK, but Parker’s power numbers have been better…illustrated in the stat lines I shared earlier.
I think Peavy surprises us all today…in a good way. Then again…
1. Gregor Blanco (L) CF
2. Joe Panik (L) 2B
3. Matt Duffy (R) 3B
4. Brandon Belt (L) 1B
5. Brandon Crawford (L) SS
6. Jarrett Parker (L) RF
7. Kelby Tomlinson (R) LF
8. Trevor Brown (R) C
9. Jake Peavy (R) P
Back-to-back Brandons in the four and five hole today, and Specs with another start in the OF. #28 gets the day off…he needs it, you guys have been merciless with him. 😉
Got Panik and Crawford in a mini stack against Shields. Platoon advantage to them. Almost included Belt too, but got Tommy Joseph instead (and he’s already performing with a single and stolen base at Detroit).
Chi, I’ve not only heard of Sarah Jarosz, I’ve seen her concert. She’s terrific. When I saw her in concert a few years ago, she was the opening act for someone; but off the top of my head I can’t remember who. Maybe Patty Griffin, but that could be wrong.
that would have been one hell of a show! love me some PG.
Yeah, these types of singer/songwriters are my musical wheel-house.
Chi, I’m sure you would love Kathleen Edwards, too, a Canadian singer/songwriter. I’ve seen her in concert several times, although she hasn’t toured for a few years. These young-ish singer/songwriters that have kind of an older spirit to them, like being world-wise at a younger age. Kind of reminds me of how Neil Young wrote songs like “Heart of Gold” and “Old Man” at such a young age.
Kathleen Edwards cover of “Unkown Legend” might be better than the original. If someone can find it, post it here, it’s not to be missed.
Thanks, guys. I will check her out. Wilco – Sarah Jarosz is originally out of the Austin area…but based in NYC, now. I am in love with that young lady…
Ah the continuing debate on what the team needs to stay competitive, so once again the Giants are being forced to bringing up the young guys to plug holes. That is a good thing, I think learning to hit in the bigs is harder than learning to pitching. So play Parker and play him a lot. Took Crawford awhile to learn to hit.
For Parker, a basic thing to start with would be recognizing when a breaking pitch is going to be in the dirt. Not easy to do, but if he can get a knack for laying off that pitch, he immediately raises his chances for success.
Yeah, The bomb was nice but in the previous ab he chased one a foot in front of the plate last night.
I’m just hoping Peavy doesn’t shit the bed today.
Mejia’s last outing was 7 strong innings. He’s at 2.23 ERA overall for Richmond.
Gregario’s last outing was 5 innings 3.60 ERA overall in for Sac.
Adalberto advancing to AAA soon, you spose?
He’s making his case eh? 0.89 WHIP over 28 innings in May.
Wasn’t he popped for PEDs last year or the year before? I wonder how those types of things factor into the club’s evaluation.
I’m sure it improves it. As n someone taught him how to avoid getting caught.
Yeah, John, I feel the same way. The Warriors do score a lot of points inside on fast breaks. Yet they don’t get the calls inside that other teams do. Curry certainly wants to avoid heavy contact, but that doesn’t preclude fouls on him. Especially when he gets hammered occasionally going to the hole. The rest I just don’t get.
And I have no idea how the refs rotate for playoff games. Is this the same crew every game? It sure feels like it. By this measure, if there is a bias, it would seem to be continual.
I’m a Gregor Blanco guy. He will be instrumental in tonight’s win.
Excuse me: this afternoon’s win. Sheeesh, our 2 of 3 from the Cubs is looking ever more impressive. Nobody seems to beat them.
.
Pfffttt!
I think this is the quickest I have pulled out a “Pfffttt!” 🙂
Nice throw . . . I pulled back my Pfffttt!
Hey, just getting back from an interview. I see Jake made it through the first with only 16 pitches (not optimum, but good for him, of late), and NO RUNS ALLOWED.
Job interview? How’d it go?
Chi, I was referring to Williamson’s performance in the Majors. Based on power potential alone, Parker is the obvious choice. He’ll probably whiff a lot, but he’s always a threat to go deep because he’s so damn strong.
Nice glass-half-full on Peavy today, but I ain’t holding my breath.
Heads up play by Craw.
Chuck, I remember baseball used to reward umpires with the best metrics with playoff games and WS games, which is as it should be. Now, it’s the goddamn union-influenced spread the wealth philosophy that lets even marginal umps get those games. I think it hurts the games, because they are not all the same, especially behind the plate.
I don’t know if it’s the same in the NBA, but it wouldn’t surprise me because Scott Foster is universally reviled in the Association and he’s in there all the time.
More Foster, as an example, that overturn on the shot clock violation when Durant’s shot wasn’t within 6 inches of the rim was egregious. He overturns the call made by the ref on the baseline from 30 feet away. And the Thunder then score, of course. That was game 3, IIRC. The guy sucks.
Yeah, there are at least 4 calls a game, much like the Bogut foul on the made 3, that drastically change the fortunes of a game. Much like football, you can completely change the outcome with one or 2 well-placed calls. Not saying it is happening, but 128-89 is a bit skewed.
Peavy less skeevie today . . .
Agree with Kruk – Shields had his head up his ass (should have covered 3rd).
Today the 3 year anniversary of pagan’s ITPHR. They just replayed the radio call on knbr. So epic.
Forgot to mention, Giants-Pads is the MLB.tv free game of the day.
Man, Kemp is having a rough series in the field.
Nice. Duffster is beginning to get it together the last couple of days.
fuckin’ Peavy. 6 shutout innings. This almost pisses me off.
. . . and Kruk practically slobbering over him with praise. Sheesh, it’s the frickin’ Padres.
70 pitches, 4 hits, a walk and no tallies through six. That works out to less than 12 pitches per. Is there a virus going around which emanated from amongst the Big Three? Dude may have some drawn out adjustment time, but evidently he has not forgotten how to pitch. Could this be some kinda harbinger, or are we simply talking Padres?
Earlier today i speculated that if Peavy could go a full 6 and surrender no more than 3 runs, the Brass would consider that a positive sign. One way or the other it would take a total flatlining in Atlanta for Jake not to be still dealing come June.
What next?
The Warriors performance has been disheartening. Give Mark Jackson one thing, his Warriors teams brought the D.
When Curry jacked up the very first shot of the game, I was despondent. That could not have been what Kerr wanted coming off the opening tip. Kerr is simply being out coached.
It seems to me that when things started to run amok Games 3 and 4, t he Warriors need to do exactly what is opposite in their nature and start slowing every thing down. I would have tried using Speights a whole lot more than Kerr has been. Play him more with Ezeli and then put Draymond at the 3 or sit him at this point or when they need to slow the game down. Then keep Iggy on Durant and Klay or Livingston on Westbrook.
Seems shocking to intentionally sit Curry but when they need a new change in pace, they need the right personal in there and we are simply being outsized and OKC is far more athletic.
Well, while we’re having this pitching change and station identification, did anyone read this today?
“The U.S. Defense Department is still using — after several decades — 8-inch floppy disks in a computer system that coordinates the operational functions of the nation’s nuclear forces.”
Now couple that with a President Trump.
No wonder the VA is a fucking clusterfuck. Hard to believe that.
Get this Chuck, the Treasury Department’s “individual master file,” which is the authoritative data source for individual taxpayers. It’s used to assess taxes and generates refunds. That file “is written in assembly language code — a low-level computer code that is difficult to write and maintain — and operates on an IBM mainframe,” the report said. Treasury’s master business file, which contains all tax data on individual business income taxpayers, likewise is written in that same assembly language code, which was first used in the 1950s, and maintained on the old-school IBM mainframe.
While Treasury has general plans to replace the systems, “there is no firm data associated with the transition,” GAO’s report said.
In addition to Defense, the departments of Treasury, Commerce, Health and Human Services and Veterans Affairs “reported using 1980s and 1990s Microsoft operating systems that stopped being supported by the vendor more than a decade ago,” GAO said.
And the Social Security Administration “reported rehiring retired employees to maintain its” systems which use COBOL, the computer programming language which was widely used — in the 1970s — according to GAO.
And who the hell is this Jake Peavy we see today????
Or is it more of the Padres???
I’m beyond done with OH! Shit. All he does is walk guys and give up bombs
“Doctor, doctor give me the news”…
-Spark-us Kelby, M.D.
“Double your pleasure, double your fun”.
Hello, all. I would like to get 3 tickets to a Red Stockings game. Anyone know a great way to do that?
What happened to Belt?
Rolled his left ankle sliding into second.
Did it look bad?
Actually, yes, but he walked off.
Is Kontos on the horizon? Oshitagain bagged it? Missed the shit show.
Phlegm just answered my question . . .
I guess the next question is, why didn’t Bochy use Kontos earlier?
Ballgame!!!
9-0 vs the Pads . . . Let’s hope we can keep this up against the Yetties
We don’t fool around. Victory. Wish the Cards had won today. How is Belt?
So now it will be every other r game that peavy will pitch like crap?
I never ever feel happy about one of our starters not getting the win but I feel no sympathy for Skeavy.
I dint realize we had a day game, missed most of this one … Happy for the win … Sputtering offense seems still in effect. Can I get a brief synopsis?
That 30 win bracket is a nice place to be at with 5 games to go to hit the 1/3 mark of the season at 54 games. Be nice when Romo returns. Looks like that pair of lefties is basically mostly good as loogies. Tomlinson is looking good and Crawdaddy has been clawing in those Ribeyes lately. He’s about caught Belt as #2 on the squad.
Oshit gave up a bomb to fuck Peavy out of the win. Belt got hurt (don’t know how bad), and Kontos saved Lopez’s bacon in for the win.
Thx Chuck … I realize it’s mean spirited but I’m ok … actually, more than ok … with Peavy not getting the win.
From Pav: Belt sprained his ankle. Bochy said it’s mild, might need a couple days off.
The answer to the question: “can Belt avoid weird injuries?” is “no, he cannot.” You can’t stop his injuries; you can only hope to contain them. Try to limit them when possible.
I didn’t see the play but it was described as weird. FWIW.
Reminded me of the Estes injury in the 2000 playoffs. Both guys tagged out while writhing in pain.
The Giants’ five walk-off wins lead MLB.
Chuck has it dead on. Once they called that foul on Bogut when Curry buried the 3 is when I would have gone ape shit as Kerr. And that is what I told my son as we were watching. That was about the time where the 2nd qtr meltdown began as it did in Game 3. Kerr should unleashed some wrath and get that team to wake up.
Game 3 had a moment when Westbrook drive to the hole during the OKC run at the end of the 2nd qtr with Thompson on one side of him and Bogut on the other. If that was Laimbeer and Joe Dumars, Westbrook would have been decapitated. Instead he glided right in for the easy lay up.
And maybe we need to add next year a tougher SOB. Barnes is good as gone. We need a tougher inside presence.
I’ve no idea what the W’s intentions regarding Barnes are, but it’s amazing to me that he flat turned down an $80M contract and then all but played his way out of getting the offer again (IMO). He’s way too tentative and inconsistent offensively given his size and athleticism. He should be getting to the rim way more than he does, but most of the time he seems unwilling to do so. I agree that the team needs to get tougher inside.
Chuck, Belt’s foot got caught in the second baseman’s glove as he was lunging for an errant throw, causing Belt’s ankle to roll pretty hard. Complete freak occurrence.
Thanks, John. Still haven’t see the highlights.
Good win..
Re Dubs..@Ghead..Jackson’s teams did not “bring the defense”. Not ever. With the same team almost exactly team Defense went from next to last in 13/14 to 2nd in the league last season. Instant title.
In these playoffs they are nothustling and not playing like a good team that won 73 games. They beat teams that weren’t as talented. OKC is in the 1st 2 rounds.. The last two games are an exact copy of all the Dub teams from Curry’s 1st year till Jackson last. Run down the court, shoot a 3, and hope for the best. Good enough for 7th or 8th seed and 1st or 2nd round exit…
It’s not over yet. If any team can do it these guys can. What has happened to D Green is a mystery, but unless he gets it together we are done!
Well said. Lack of D on those teams was one of the big reasons Jackson was let go.
I’ve been saying that half the year about Barnes. He has the ability to attack the rim at will on most small forwards, yet he’s content to linger near the 3 point line and shoot mid-range/3s. He was a beast his rookie year, and Jackson misused him his 2nd year. It seemed to fuck him up.
I don’t know if he has checked out or what, but Durant certainly looks better and better as an option next year as the playoffs roll on.
The biggest issue is Green and Curry both have played like dogshit for most of this series. Curry’s injuries are well documented, but Green looked in obvious pain at times yesterday. His ankle is sketchy.
Sharkies 20 minutes from the Stanley Cup finals. . . ! My Chicago cousins who moved out here are really into them. And the Blackhawks. Might have to try and catch a game should they reach . . .
GH, funny you should say that about Kerr. My wife was yelling “Why isn’t Kerr dogging the refs?”
I said, shit, he’s been screaming all playoffs and it hasn’t helped a goddamn bit.
The thing that drives people crazy about Votto…..he just took three called strikes in an AB.
Yer killing me Blade. I’m surprised the GAO isn’t using punch cards and tape drives.
I’ve said it before, and it’s the obvious- the Reds are awful.
Worse than the Padres?
Yes, though it’s hard to believe that’s possible. The Reds are in full tank-mode for high draft picks.
Votto called out on strikes again. That is…..whatever. The Reds can have him. I would never want him on my team. I couldn’t stand it.
27 years of frustration.And I should no,even when they started at the Cow Palace. But the SanJose Sharks are going to their 1st ever Stanley Cup Final!!
Congrats and make it so in the finals!!!
What’s 27 years?
#SFGiant fan
#KCChieffan
#NYRangerfan
#NYKnickfan
Congrats to the Sharks!
Sharks off to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in franchise history. Very cool! The last four minutes of game six was intense!
And don’t tell ya I told ya so re: Peavy. I just had a feeling he would pitch a gem today, and he did. Great extra inning win to stay perfect against Dago (9-0).
Now we just need the damned Warriors to win this next game. One game at a time…
It would be so bad ass to see the Sharks loft Lord Stanley’s Cup…
If only Bernardo had lived to see it…
A little spoof of West Side Story on the TV show Scrubs:
Got that right Chi!!!
Thornton&Marleau especially I’m pumped for, they put in their dues year after year with some good teams some so so,and fortunately, the org stuck with them,and they bought into the new coach Peter Debour aggressive style and it paid off!
Strange decision by Bochy not to have Brown bunting with a runner on second, and no out, in the bottom of the ninth. He was swinging away the whole AB, and failed to move the runner to third.
I didn’t get that either, Zum.
West Side Story was the first movie I ever saw in a theatre. My mother took me in there just for the A/C.
I was all for the P.R.’s
As soon as I got home I made a black wristband out of electrical tape and wore it to school every day.
And has Natalie Wood in it. Very cool.
To this day, nothing hotter than Rita Moreno…
What- not Ann Margaret in “Viva Las Vegas”?
White people really shouldn’t dance.
http://giphy.com/gifs/rita-moreno-west-side-story-hbic-7jgfLZu3n5L1u/fullscreen
Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor — for Irishmen, they were pretty good. Start at about 1:20 into this vid, they get cookin’ at about 2:30 …
That’s insanely awesome. I somehow have never seen that movie, just some clips from it.
The Reds have struck out 14 times so far.
They really suck.
It was good considering the usual cratering, but I’m not getting excited about Peavy v. Pads. They hit some shots off him, but he got through it and his slider looked better than the usual suckage. But, the Pads have the worst BA in baseball, they’re dogmeat. Plus, his last good performance was v. Dbacks, who are dogmeat II. Let’s see him perform well v. a good lineup, then we can start pulling out Saran Wrap for the furniture…
Meanwhile, the Dodgers have been scrambling with their rotation ever since the 17-inning game vs. the Padres. And Wood tweaked an arm muscle in his last start, so they are bringing up a 19-year old phenom, Julio Urias. He has dominated at AAA. On a side note, he was born with an issue with one of his eyes. The eye kind of stays half-closed, and he had plastic surgery done on it last year. Overall, he was rated one of the top prospects in baseball. His debut in the big leagues? Against deGrom and the Mets tomorrow night. Welcome to the big leagues, kid! He gets tossed right into the fray. Dodger fans are understandably very excited. As excited as Giants fans were when Timmy debuted.
From an article:
“Urias, 19, has 27 consecutive scoreless innings in Triple-A, and this season has a 1.10 ERA for Oklahoma City, with 44 strikeouts and eight walks in 41 innings.
He was either the top or second-rated pitching prospect in baseball entering the season by most national prospect experts, depending on where Lucas Giolito of the Nationals was rated.
Alex Wood was originally supposed to start on Friday, but was pushed back to Monday in Chicago as he is dealing with soreness in his left triceps.
The Dodgers will need to make corresponding moves to add Urias to both the 40-man and active roster.
At 19 years, 289 days old on Friday, Urias will be the youngest Dodgers starting pitcher since Dick Calmus on Aug. 23, 1963.”
And who can forget ol’ Dick Callus?
super interested to see how he does.
Some more information from Wikipedia, and correct information about his eye. I wasn’t totally correct:
He played with the Mexico national team as a youth, joining them on road trips since the age of 10. The Dodgers discovered and signed Urias on the same June 2012 scouting trip in Mexico on which they signed Yasiel Puig. The Dodgers paid a signing fee of $450,000, most of which went to the Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League.
Urias underwent three operations on his left eye during his youth to remove a benign mass. As a result, his left eye is nearly closed, but he is able to see through it. When asked about his eye condition, he said, “That’s how God works. He gave me a bad left eye but a good left arm.” On May 19, 2015, Urias had an elective surgery to correct the condition.
That Dodgers/Mets game will be on the MLB Network tomorrow night, 4:10 Pacific Time.
Telll ya one thing, it would be pretty sick to have the Giants win the 2014 World Series, the Warriors win the 2015 NBA championship, and the 2016 Sharks win the Stanley Cub.
If the Cubs won the Stanley Cub, it would be even more amazing…
lulz
Go Tiburones! Fear the Fin!
In the D-Backs/Pirates game today, both teams’ uniforms look like they were designed by somebody on LSD.
I hope Peavy can win half dozen more games. Yes it was vs. Padres, but that team beat LA twice over the weekend and twice beat Cubs on the road. He’s likely not going anywhere so if pen helps him out instead of throwing it away, let’s see if he can get as many Ws as Cain (who is stuck on1 right now) at back end.
Giants depth has become a great strength, with nice games from Blanco Parker Specs and even Brown.
I think they are far and away better team than LA. Unless Dodgers get a big push from Urias their rotation is very suspect beyond Opie. Puig got benched again for not hustling and is hitting under .250. Utley won’t last and some of other regs (gonzo Kendrick Crawford) are long in the tooth as well.
Barnes is not the problem he’s part of the solution. A guy like Durant (who isn’t coming here) who hogs ball and shoots 30 times a game, is not going to fit in with Thompson Curry and Green with only 1 basketball on the floor. They do need to get more out of C position and find another scorer off bench with Ig in there, which is why I’d go after a shooter like Alan Crabbe.
OKC has given Warriors fits for last couple years because they can score with them. They took out Spurs and are getting a lot out of guys like Roberson Adams Kanter and Waiters. No I didn’t expect this, because in past Warriors haven’t ever had 2 bad games in a row.
It’s on the better players, Curry 2 time MVP who is not nearly MVP of this series, Iguodala MVP of Finals to score rebound and defend, and Green to pull his head out and be productive at both ends.
Kerr said it best–they weren’t prepared for Tuesday and that’s his job, to prepare the team. But it’s up to the 5 guys on the floor to play like champs, not chumps.
you think Durant hogs the ball? I think he defers A LOT to Westy. Besides those 2 guys, who else should be shooting the ball? I don’t think Durant would want to come here but if he did I bet it would work out
Not sure I see Durant as a “ball hog.” If OKC has one of those (and he has been better in the series against the Warriors) it is Westbrook. I too think that if Durant did come to Golden State, all of the players and personalities could make it work.
I remember Flav asking this Q (did you expect this…see it coming). Glad to hear your spin, WillieD, as you are the hoops expert in the Flap Universe, IMO. Great post. I concur on all points.
I have to agree with Willie regarding Peavy. He’s a #5 pitcher, so I’m not expecting too much. I looked at all his starts . . . He has 3 quality starts against San Diego, Arizona and Miami. He got bombed at Colorado (everyone does), Cincy (bandbox), Cubs, and Mets. Other starts were meh against Arizona and LA, with an “almost quality start” against Toronto.
If he beats the San Diegos of the world, I’m down with that.
I agree. And really, I do not see any immediate viable options that would be an improvement. Peavy is a proud man and a warrior. I am sure he wants nothing more than to be an integral part of the Giants doing well, and winning another World Series. If he and Cain pitch close to .500 rest of the way out, I take that all day, and twice on Sunday.
Yeah, Durant is a big scoring threat inside, much more than Barnes can ever dream of. Westbrook is the ball hog on that team, not Durant. But Westbrook has been sharing. With Westbrook passing more, they have gotten much better as the season, and playoffs have progressed. Which is why they are doing so well.