A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball

I read WillieD’s supportive post re: Buster at the end of yesterday’s thread and I encourage all of you to do the same. A couple of points I quibbled with: 1) Buster better not complain, he’s gone on record many times TELLING the team he’s staying at catcher because that’s the position he wants to play. I’m not sure when players started telling the team where they were going to be playing, but whatever, that’s been Buster’s stance since he got to the big leagues and the Giants have regularly bent over to appease him. 2) Being second on this team in slugging and OPS is nothing to write home about. We need more power, plain and simple. The Giants have hit 45 HR’s this year at AT&T, the opposition has hit 59. That’s inherently unacceptable and regularly contributes to our losing ways. He very well could end up with his lowest seasonal HR total of his career (not counting the ankle season). Personally, I expect him to be able to hit at least 20 bombs each year and if he’s not going to do that, or even come close to that, our offense is going to basically be the baseball version of Sisyphus.

But having said all of that, I am certainly not above admitting when I am wrong. It’s actually a trait I wish more people on the blog and in real life would practice more often. The rest of Willie’s post resonated with me, especially the part about having your best player on the field doing the hardest job. And it’s impossible to argue against catcher being the hardest job. This is the line that got me: “What’s best for the team is something completely different—having the best guy possible for the job doing the toughest one on the field night in and night out.”

So my mind has been changed. You won’t hear me saying they should switch Buster from catcher to first base anymore. At least until he can’t physically do the job anymore. I would like to see him get a little more time at first base to avoid at least some of the dings. Belt could use a little time off, too, especially when he’s striking out 3 times a game and swinging and missing the ball by nearly a foot. But that’s a discussion for another time. 🙂

While Kaep sits and stares blankly ahead in his bold attempt to end oppression everywhere in America, we now turn our attention back to baseball. I was excited to see AZ with the worst VMI for hitters (by far) so Cueto should handle them no problem. Can we scratch out a few runs off one of our arch nemesis? That is an absolute toss up.

Two more days before *reinforcements* arrive. I always chuckle at that. Kruk loves to talk about *fresh arms* coming but they’ve been pitching all year, too, just in a different place. It gives Bochy more options i guess. But looking to our below average farm system to provide *reinforcements* at this critical juncture in the season is a big *lulz* in my book….

And, just because……

Well, if you believe in slump busters, yesterday’s win was the answer we’ve been searching for. I don’t discount it because it’s the Braves. It’s a major league team that we walloped. And these guys are going to need to be hitting. Have any of you checked out the rest of the schedule? I don’t see a gimmie-game in there. You know San Diego will play us tough so don’t say them. Actually the Padres suck, I’m banking those W’s right now. 🙂

I didn’t see if Bochy was asked about holding up Gorkey’s. Did any of you read about it? Or was that just another pesky questions the beat writers were afraid to ask?

Arizona, who I want to say has been a beatch for us all year, is in town. Cueto vs Grienke. Probably a coin flip.

Dodgers in Sherpaville…..

When I heard The Great Zumiee was going to a BRAVES game I thought, “Jeez this isn’t even really fair to the Braves.” It was like a fastball right down the middle to Barry from Mulholland or Smoltz or Maddux or Park or Shilling (yes I worked a rather easy trivia question in there).

And then I saw that ragtag line up we were trotting out. But it still didn’t matter. Cause it’s the Braves. Going against The Great Zumiee.

He’d never a lost a game….

And as the boredom of that game unfolded I started feeling bad for Zumiee. All I had to do was change the channel or go find something else to do. But he was stuck there having to watch whatever that was.

The POTD says it all. I’m not a gif finding person. Maybe one or some of you or even the Gif Lord himself could find one that appropriately describes what it was like for Zumiee to have to sit through last night’s nonsense……

So let me start by saying, I am not the most patriotic person on the planet. Not by a long shot. There are countless things in my country’s history, both current and past, that I am embarrassed by. But I still thank God I am allowed to live here. I appreciate the gift of freedom as I know it. I don’t own a flag but I don’t think it’s going to far out of my way to stand and look in the direction of one when the national anthem is being played. I just checked Colin Kaepernick’s salary breakdown. He got a 12 million dollar signing bonus and now has 61 million dollars guaranteed at a rate of 19 mil a year. And he is going to ride the damn bench, at best. So when I hear this simple fuck saying this shit, I just cringe:

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game against Green Bay. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

Listen up you dope, you don’t have to “show pride” in the flag, just fucking stand there and honor it. If you want to protest bad cops that’s fine. I’d probably stand right next to you in unison. But to disrespect a country that allows you to make 19 million dollars a year to do JACK SHIT is the height of clueless hubris. Why don’t you fly your dumb ass to Syria and see if they’d be willing to pay you that kind of dough to warm a bench? I’d like to see Kaep try to make it a week in Syria just trying to stay alive.

No one is stopping him from taking some of his millions and helping people of color. Maybe he’s doing that already, I don’t know. But to happily cash those checks every week in a country that allows him to do just that and then openly disrespect the flag that protects his right to do so is just beyond me. I can’t fathom that type of stupid.

End of rant. Cut his fucking ass TODAY.

I remember being in my backyard on Tennyson in Palo Alto listening to Scott Garrelts try to finish off a no hitter. I think it was ’88, maybe ’89. He had 2 outs in the 9th and someone hit a ball up the middle, base hit. I fell to my knees and screamed out “you have GOT to be KIDDING me!” It was very “John McEnroe”. Last night wasn’t as desperate. We needed the win most of all and we’ve had enough no hitters since then to make Moore’s near miss not sting too badly.

I really enjoyed last night’s posts. I found this photo of the day me, Steve, Chris and Dave (buddy who ran into Kruk at the store) set sail on our meandering trip around the western US. Wanna say the route was LA, Vegas, Grand Canyon, back to Bay Area. Still best friends with those dudes today. Think this was ’92. Goddamn, I wish there was an “after” pic. Cooter.

There’s not much to say after a 1-0 loss. I guess it could have been worse. 10-0? Getting shut out by some blistery fuck with herpes on his hand is one of the lower moments of the season.

Here is the bottomest of lines: We are 11-25 since the all star break. That’s not bad. It’s the worst record in all of baseball. When you are THE WORST over that stretch of time it’s silly to even consider winning a division title and hoping for a wild card spot is just a bad, desperate look.

If I saw some fight in the eyes of this team or their manager I’d probably manage to find some fight in my own. But I don’t see it and I’m tired of watching the same bullshit nearly night in and night out.

I’m not saying they aren’t trying. I’m saying that we may have wildly overestimated their abilities this year. San Dawg bought a 1977 RV with 2 other buddies yesterday. They spent the night drinking beers and voting on what to name it. That sounds like a significantly better way to spend an evening than what the rest of us did……

When I put the call out for a suffocating pitching performance I was kinda hoping it would be better than just holding the Dodgers to single digits. Two guys named Segedin and Toles went blast off. That’s just so stupid.

The only good news is that the great TedSpe made a triumphant return to the Flap. Then he left to “go memorize lines.”

Someone should write a tragedy depicting this Giants season. It could be titled “For Whom the Bell Segedin and Toles”.

Cueto tonight vs The Blister.

I’m not even going to look at the O/U number and go out on a limb and say take the under tonight.

This is when guys like Nunie, Moore and that fucking lefty reliever need to step up and realize they aren’t playing meaningless baseball anymore.

If a Giants/Dodgers series doesn’t get these guys going I am concerned that nothing will.

Here’s the deal: I don’t think the Dodgers are very good. Their starting pitching sucks. If we pitch them into submission, which is totally possible, I will be very disappointed if we don’t score enough runs to win at least 2 of these games.

If you haven’t seen the Legends trilogy (the interviews were started after WS#1 and kept going until after WS#3) you should check it out. One thing I noticed was that each year there was someone(s) providing excitement and energy— Huff, Torres, Pat the Bat,  Uribe, Scutaro, Pence, Pagan, Panda, Ross, Juan Perez, Morse etc… the list is long.

I know most of that video series related to the post season and that, by nature, is going to contain and generate energy. But when I watch this team this year I am not seeing any energy. I’m watching a collection of guys who are trying to be professional and stoic and trying not to panic. But I’m not seeing any energy or excitement. Even in the list above, there are 2 guys on it who used to be an energetic shot to the team (Pagan and Pence) but I’m not getting that from them this season.

Overreacting? Possibly. I’m not sure how much energy any team has in the middle of August. But it just feels like there is no magic in this season. It feels empty.

Maybe the series vs The Dodgers will get us going…..

I hate espn. I hate their lame website. I hate Chris Berman and pretty much every announcer that does any of their games. I hate that they dictate. I hate the way they rule.

Why is this game on at 5:08pm? Why is it even on their station at all? Do they even have to ask or do they just tell the Giants to move the game to 5:08 and make room for their shitty announcers?

And it’s 3 hours worse on the east coast. I don’t know about you guys with kids, but we go to sleep pretty early on school nights. I’m a baller with a bed time, beatch. If I had a kid who was a huge Giants fan I’d have a hard time explaining why they couldn’t watch the entirety of the SUNDAY game.

And what about the people who bought tickets when the game was originally scheduled at 1pm? I don’t know when this game got changed but I’m pretty sure it was once scheduled at 1pm—until the dicks at espn took over.

There is absolutely no value at all to the team or the fans for this game to be on espn or for it to be moved to 5:08. There is plenty of exposure for the players already, this isn’t 1979. This is all just about espn. 100%.

And I think that’s total bullshit.

That’s 2 IN A ROW. I almost forgot what 2 in a row was. One in a row doesn’t even make sense.

Regardless, we are on a winning streak and it hasn’t felt this good all season.

I am pretty positive I took for granted all those wins we were piling up earlier in the year. Best record over 31 games since ’54? Eh, whatev. Unimpressed.

Now 2 wins in a row has me wanting to drop trough and blow load wherever I’m standing.

So if you see me on the street, a knowing dude head nod is fine but do it quickly and move at least 10 feet away….

lqtm.

When Justin Freaking Ruggiano hits a grand slam off your best pitcher and you are now down 4-0 to one the best pitchers in the National League and your team can’t hit and the crowd is as deflated as a beach ball caught on barbed wire……

And then THAT happens? I couldn’t believe what I was watching.

The win didn’t do much to move the needle on my feelings about this team. There has just been too much bullshit to be excited right now. But I did enjoy a nice exhale as the sea gulls took over and we got to take a W instead of what looked like a certain L.

The only good thing  that’s come out of this Summer Slide is that it’s turned me into a master prognosticator.

We get the bases loaded with no out and our best hitters coming up?

I know what’s about to happen…..

A runner is rounding second and headed in the direction of dumbass Roberto?

I know what’s about to happen…..

There is a play at the plate?

I know what’s about to happen……

Cain loses it completely and he starts walking guys?

I know what’s about to happen……

We get a 4 run lead?

I know what’s about to happen…….

The rest of this season?

I know what’s about to happen…..

That is all….

Maybe it’s time for Sabes to pull one of his fake-out, block-another-team, accidental score dumpster pick ups. Waive everyone. Claim everyone. This has become nearly impossible to watch.

The infuriating thing is that there really are no moves to make. Unless Cory Gearrin coming back gets your engine going. The outfield is Pagan, Span and Pence and they aren’t going anywhere. You see any open spots in the infield? I hear our catcher spot is locked up.

My idea for bringing Gearrin back is to DL this fucking lefty reliever with some sort of vaginal defect and see what happens with subtraction.

Other than that, I don’t see anything else that can be done to stop this long, slow slide to second place……

Maybe I’ve missed it, but have any of our lame beat writers asked Bochy about R-Kelly? At this point, I think the only way we get Kelly removed is if he takes out a gun and shoots the runner as he rounds third. Even then…….

I can’t bring myself to discuss yesterday’s disgusting blow game. And to be clear, that’s what it was. You can’t put the whole thing on Casilla. We stopped scoring in the 5th, Strickland sucked. Casilla had nothing yesterday. It happens.

And still, we are 1 game up in the NL. How could this be? Without citing numbers (you guys all know what the numbers are) I decided to go through each position on the team and see if that position is meeting, exceeding or failing to meet pre-season expectations.

LF: EXCEEDING. Pagan has been better than I thought he was going to be.

CF: FAILING TO MEET. Span has way too many games where he does absolutely nothing.

RF: FAILING TO MEET. Not really Pence’s fault because of injury, but I expected more production out of RF this year.

3rd Base: FAILING TO MEET. Whether it was Duffie or Nunie, 3rd base has not been good this year. Although that’s not really fair to Nunie who has had the significantly better overall year. He needs to get it going here though.

SS: EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS. Crawford has been brilliant.

2nd Base: FAILING TO MEET. Again, partly because of injury, but even when he’s been playing he hasn’t been as good as I had expected.

1st Base: I’ll go with MEETING EXPECTATIONS just because Belt has been pretty bad since the end of June.

Catcher: MEETING EXPECTATIONS. Buster is Buster. I’d like to see more for all that dough but  nobody seems to have a problem with him so I’ll go with “MEETING.”

SP: FAILING TO MEET. Not by a lot. But I expected more from Smarge and thought either Peavy or Cain would rise from the ashes. Bum has been great and Moore is who I thought he was. But still, Cueto and Smarge and Cain are 60% of the rotation and they have not been reliable, collectively, at any point this season.

RP: the only guy I trust out of our bullpen is Derek Law. That’s it. That’s not good.

“FAILING TO MEET” led my list. And yet…..

still in first place. What to make of that?

Last night was the first game in a while where I had the time to watch the entire game and I only made it through about half the game. Boring. Lifeless. I can’t imagine how the fans felt and Kruk and Kuip must have been stretching their eyes across the park looking for *gamer babes* to trumpet.

I can’t watch Cain pitch anymore. That’s not the Matt Cain I knew.

I’m going into tonight with a + attitude but this LU just doesn’t jazz me up.

Span, Pagan, Belt, Posey, Crawford, Pence, Nunie, Panik. Of course, if any of those guys want to start hitting, maybe even turn it into a little competition between hitters, I am on board.

If we don’t win the NL West I am going to be as disappointed as I’ve ever been. Never has a division been so winnable.

We get kind of a fun inter league match up tonight. Normally I don’t like inter league but I’ll put up with it for an mid Aug match up with the struggling Orioles. I’ve said many times, the Orioles were one of my favorite teams in the 70’s, mostly because of the cool ass names of their players (Palmer, DeCinces, Bumbry, etc…) but also because I thought “Orioles” was a rad name.

I never thought Baltimore was good enough to win the AL East this year and am surprised that they are still in the race. I highly doubt they’ll be there in the end. Cain should be able to manage them if he changes speeds and keeps the ball on the corners. He’s facing a free swinging team tonight. I’m very excited to see their starting pitcher Dylan Bundy. He’s a young, high strikeout guy who seems to have put his injuries behind him.

….alone, anyway.

KNBR talking heads trotting out the tired cliches about “Giants winning with pitching and defense.” And while that’s true, they also need to do more with the bats as it’s probably not a good plan to try to win 1-0 all the time. After carefully considering it, I really think all we need to do it get some bats going at the same time. I know that sounds like a stupid, simplistic plan akin to Wotus saying that “first and foremost, they have to be ready to hit.” But it might just be that simple. We have 8 bats that have proven this year and in their career that they can hit at the mlb level. Almost all of them (and even Crawford before The Night of Seven) have been under-performing for over a month. To me, that’s just a bunch of guys pressing. We don’t have a line up full of *Shingo’s*.

So let’s go. Span, Nunie, Pence, Belt, Panik, Pagan, Posey, and even Crawford. All you guys know how to hit.

So start hitting……

Finally, no longer in sole possession of first place. We’ve been alone at the top since May 15th. This slow, painful slide back to the masses was inevitable and possibly just what the team needs. We haven’t played like a first place team in over a month. Maybe not actually being one (alone) will be what finally awakens these slumbering Giants.

It is PATHETIC that the Giants have coughed up this lead with the Dodgers playing barely above average AND without Clayton Kershaw. But you get what you deserve, ultimately, across the course of 162.

Span is mercifully being rested today. Nunie at the top. Blanco ensuring 2 pitchers hitting in a row at the bottom.

Núñez 3B, Pagan LF, Belt 1B, Posey C, Crawford SS, Panik 2B, Pence RF, Blanco CF, Samardzija P

That was a pretty epic headline I posted yesterday morning, eh?

I went back and looked up that 7 for 7 that Rennie Stennett dropped on the Cubs back in ’75. He led off, his team destroyed the Cubs 22-0. Not a good start for our former main man Rick Reuschel. The Giants beat the Braves that day, 7-6. Von Joshua led off but he only had 3 measly hits…….

In my opinion, Crawford’s Seven should go down as more legendary. Sure, Stennett did it in only 9 innings. But when you win 22-0 you are swinging free and easy. Every at bat Crawford took was pressure packed and nearly every time he came through with a hit. Plus, he played 14 innings and had to be tired as fuck. Yet still, he kept hitting. It was a historic, legendary performance. I’ll remember that game my whole life.

As you know, the Giants ended up signing Stennett to a deal that went down in infamy. He was making $450K a year, lol. Not even half a mil a year had everyone up in arms. How times have changed. Me thinks Rennie lika’d da coka. To say he didn’t perform on the field would be an understatement. He only played two years and disappeared after the ’81 season never to play again.

I’m not sure what that win will do for the season. Maybe they’ll get no bounce at all and this season will continue to spiral. But I do know what a loss would have done had we ended up losing after that great comeback. That would have devastated the season, no matter how the players would try to spin it afterwards…..

Thank God we won that game, lol.

Miami has the worst VMI on the board today so I’m not too worried about them hitting Cueto. I am genuinely worried about Fernandez throwing a no hitter against us. So if we can somehow scratch out a run or two, I think we’re good.

I’m 100% over the Kelly thing. At least for yesterday, he wasn’t the reason we lost. But I think we could all envision a scenario where he costs a game in the post season.

I’m rock solid on not watching any Olympics yet. I was in a bar and accidentally looked at the screen but I’m not counting that since I didn’t watch it. Someone was in the pool. That’s not enough info to ding me out of the contest (I don’t think, ruling?????).

I really want to watch a gif of that dude breaking his leg but haven’t done it yet since I think that would definitely oust me. Maybe after all of this ends…..

Yeah, that’s right, I dropped a lil’ a J-Lo to kick off this Sunday morning. And speaking of *kicking off* or *kick starting* or *lighting a fire* or whatever other cliche you wanna use, did my man Nunie do it yesterday or did he DO IT?

It might be a bias of mine but I love ball players who fly around the bases. I love helmets that explode off a runner’s head with complete abandon. The biggest problem for guys like that, obviously, is they have to get on base to do all that stuff. Billy Hamilton would be my favorite player in baseball if he had a better OBP.

What I’m still trying to figure out is how Will Clark got two triples in the same game. And a double? That’s a box score I’d like to see……

_______________

No Harper today although I’ve gotten to the point where I think I’d rather see him in the line up than out of it. Dude is a shell of himself.

Unca’s POTD is interesting. As I’ve said several times, I’m not worried about the Dodgers even a little bit if Kershaw doesn’t come back. And the Rockies? Come on, as Summer’s Warning Track approaches (late August) their ragged, altitude-ravaged bodies will force a fade upon them. What if everyone played out at a 33% win rate? That would put the Giants at a cool 80 wins for the season. But if all 3 teams won 33% of their games the rest of the way, hey, we’d win the division and head into the post season like bosses. Sort of.

Stras today vs Cain and if Dirt’s prediction is going to come true, now would be a good time for it to begin. Maybe Stras will get one of those strained neck thingy’s that has forced him out of starts in the past.

San Dawg we are once again on the same wave length. I told someone in White Butte that my goal was to not watch a second of the Olympics. I was talking to a rich, retired white man on the driving range. We struck up a convo after he told me he liked my Giants shirt and I was blasting my drives out of the range. He looked at me like I’d lost my damn mind when I told him about my lofty goal but he couldn’t stop himself from staying and marveling at the distance of my drives. Anyway, I  really don’t think it’s going to be that hard to pull off. I suppose I could accidentally wander into a room with a tv already turned on. If I avert my eyes is my goal still true? I don’t get the Olympics anymore, man. It’s lost its way. Corporate greed takeover. I couldn’t care less about a single event. You give me some Carl Lewis, some Mary Lou or some damn Flo Jo and maybe I’d get back into it….

Think I’m just being a sour puss? The US is a 47.5 point fav today v China. Hmmmm, oh yeah, I can’t wait to watch that great international *competition*.

Span and Casilla have gotten much better since the additions of Nunie and Smith. Coincidence? They say it is. But the evidence is clear. I guess if that’s what those guys needed to finally get their shit together, so be it.

How hot is it in DC today? Weather.com says mid 80’s later today. That seems fine but I’m sure the humidity will make it worse. One thing we learned about our guys in New York: they like a cool marine layer. Nature’s air conditioning. Our boys like to keep their core temp at its proper homeostatic balance. Maybe they could equip each Giants hat with one of those portable fan thingy’s…..

Leaving Black Butte today and bouncing down to Bend. I haven’t seen a single black person in Oregon since I got here. They should change the name of this place to White Butte. lulz. Anyway, I’ll be gettin’ down to business at the Awbrey Glen Golf Club so I’ll likely miss this game but I think my sister has some type of mlb package at her house. So maybe I see some of the game. Looking forward to more “Nunie magic” today….

__________

lol, just got to my sister’s house. Get a load of the street sign that’s right outside her house. I’m pouring one out for the DuffHeads right now.

I’m only catching highlights at mlb.com but can someone explain why Cueto was left in the game so long? It was pretty clear after he gave up back2back bombs that it was time for a change. Besides the obvious Bochy flaw of leaving his starters in too long I think he’s got a thing about Cueto being the horse, the guy who goes 9 innings all the time. Maybe he got lulled into that more than just being afraid to go to his bullpen. I mean, come on, how could he be reluctant to use bp guys? It’s not like they’re going anywhere. He HAS to use them, all year.

Belt has been moved down to 6th in the LU, I think that’s been pretty clearly decided by Bochy. If he’s going to bat all the way down there he needs to get off his obsession with walks. Two more in the bank last night. It doesn’t do any good to take a walk for the dudes at the bottom of the LU behind you. He took a very close ball 4 pitch last night with guy(s?) on base (at least I think that’s the vid-replay I saw). Again, what does that accomplish? I like the walk and it’s an important part of an offense but it’s not like we have a bomber offense that can drive his walky-ass in all the time.

The Phillies, as I said a couple of days ago, are an interesting team. They definitely don’t quit, they’ve got guys who are playing for their major league lives right now. That type of attitude and approach to the game can be tough to play against.

by the way Mac, great re-cap of the game at the end of the last thread.

Glad I didn’t have to watch any of that. I don’t understand why Philly’s record is so bad, every time I pay attention to them they play great. Some tweets floating around that Smith’s stuff looked very good, despite the results. Thoughts?

Definitely some positives to take from the comeback, the bombs, the 2 SB’s from Span…..

Big start for Cueto. He’s been bad since the 2nd half re-start.

Wow, what would the Duffy reaction be if he’d actually been playing? Doesn’t him being on the shelf for months ease some of this devastation? I am totally fine with trading him for Moore, I actually think it was a fantastic move–one the Giants literally never make. I liked Duffy but Wilco made a great point about the Willie Mac winners. Great guys, not always the greatest ballplayers. And I am standing by my Matt Moore call—coming back from TJ can take a little time. This guy is going to be a rock solid #2. Maybe not right away but even in his current state, and the move to AT&T will obviously be a plus, he is going to literally change the entire look of our flailing, unreliable rotation. And I don’t know about the rest of you, but we can win this year. And I want to win this year. These moves allow us to hit a re-start button of sorts….

Lisle (and others) made a great point about Duffy easing the transition of The Fat Panda Exit and in the end I think that will be his greatest contribution to the Giants. But come on, he wasn’t even playing. Now we get Nunie who is better AND Matt Moore? Shit, I’m all in. I personally think DuffMan is going to go on the have a very underwhelming career but will be happy to be wrong. But the bottom line is that I really don’t care how he does going forward. Sorry, I am not a DuffHead. I kinda understand why some of you are though. Is it a cat thing? Does fat Skeeter leaving factor into any of this? lulz.

I am beyond excited about this bold makeover. This was a win-now move by the front office and it’s a move with an eye to the future too. How often do you get both?

GH, I’m playing Big Meadow today, Glaze tomorrow and then my sister’s club in Bend (I forget the name) on Thurs or Friday.

I’m headed to Black Butte, Oregon for a week and then Sun Valley. Gonna play a lot of golf and spend time with the fam. We are up 2 games on the day I leave. What will the number be when I get back? This east coast swing is absolutely no joke. It really doesn’t matter who we play as the Yankee series proved. Philly gave us phits when they were HERE last month. What will it be like in their house? Not looking forward to that series. And who could forget the Nats sweeping up embarrassingly a couple of July 4th weekends ago. I remember it was hot as fuck that series. Anyone know what the weather in DC gonna be like?

We wrap it up in Florida and being indoors might be a welcome relief but we could play the Marlins on the moon and it would be a fight.

So we are up 2 games today.

Hmmmmmm……