N-F-L
One of the few days of the year where baseball isn’t going to be on my radar….
After watching Bochy trot the tired and bedraggled Span up to the top of the line up once again yesterday, I finally realized what we’ve all known for so long: Bochy has his guys and those are his guys. Period. I don’t think it even matters if he likes them or not (and that’s a good thing). I mean, there’s no way in hell he likes Casilla with the repeated stink eye he gets from him every time he removes him from the mound mid-blown save.
And that’s not a bad approach for a manager to take. There are ebbs and flows throughout 162 and if a manager jerked around players the way bloggers would they’d probably finish in last place every year.
But Bochy is critically lacking the ability to act in a timely manner when a player is either done or it’s just not going to happen for them with games dwindling down. There are countless examples of this, we all know them.
Hey, other guys might step up and fill the gaps of guys like Span and Casilla. And that might be enough. But it doesn’t mean Bochy is perfect, it doesn’t mean he’s impervious to second guessing. Old dogs know old tricks. That’s what makes them old……
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
I could care less about the NFL. I’m glad the games at Levi Stadium are mostly on the weekend and don’t mess up my evening commute.
The womb to tomb gloss yesterday was great. I hadn’t heard that one in a while. I guess we all have our pet peeves when it comes to Bochy. For me it’s Crawford in the clean up spot. Dude’s post AS performance has been on par with Belt but he takes up permanent residence in the 4 hole? Meanwhile it’s Operation Dick Around for Belt. Not that he isn’t deserving. With Pence superfreakingnova hot maybe he’ll finally make the switch. Or not because he doesn’t want to mess with his success. Whatever Bochy.
It’s hard to put too much stock in romping all over the cellar dwelling Los D-Backs and those terrible pajamas that they wear. I’m just hoping for another W giving the club a .500 roadie as they steamroll home.
I heard that one on knbr yesterday. Lol’d. And is there a better description of Bochy than “from the womb to the tomb.” I think not.
There’s pluses and minuses of this team over the last 2 weeks….I just hope the smell of post season gets in their lungs and remembering overcoming 6 elimination games in the 2012 post gets in their heads. Yeah, smacking silly pitchers with 5 and 6 ERAs last nights isn’t a stamp of a returning offense. But, it just could be that worm turning again…..
Just get to that one game dance and go from there!
Time for that salute and a shot of whiskey.
Go Giants!
Braves ruined a Mets game yesterday and might have injured Flores. Bottom feeders (hello Padres) do have something to do with pennant races—gotta beat em. that’s been a calling card of LA beating up the chump teams.
Snarkk, too many mistakes by Cal all around last night. SD is pretty good team in their league and the running back is dang good. Cal can recruit good players too, just mostly on offense skill positions.
Dykes is in for tough year tho if his D can’t hold run game and QB keeps throwing ball to wrong team.
Big game for Moore to keep the momentum going. You guys are right about having to beat bad teams. It’s encouraging to see the bats heating up. Time to stomp Greinke. Chase him early.
Sunday is my only full day off and starting now I’m coaching b-ball in afternoons, either practice or games starting in Nov. I just can’t get into NFL tho Niners suckitude does have something to do with it. I hate watching Seattle roll them.
And despite all the $$ it’s run by complete idiots. How in the first game is there all this controversy still about concussions and helmet to helmet hits? The last one on Newton was brutal.
Flavor:
I meant to congratulate you on one of the great lines ever yesterday:
“Bochy is managing games like a quick pick lottery machine spitting out losing tickets”
In West Side Story (1961), there’s a scene where best friends Tony and Riff shake on these words:
Riff: Birth to Earth?
Tony: Womb to tomb…
Spoiler Alert: They both end up there.
1961? I had no idea. I figured it was a saying from somewhere because the guy who said it on KNBR seemed like he’d been lining it up for a while. Can’t believe I never heard it till yesterday. And thanks for the props. The lotto line was from 2016, Big Flavor.
Flav, saw your post on the DK Million dollar maker. Yeah, that has to be the biggest entry tourney they have ever done. I think at last check it had close to 1.4million entries. I only have five so far, but there is still forty minutes till kickoff.
I’ve got 130 different teams across both FD and DK. Had to go big this first week.
Great main post, BF. Well said.
Last Giants sweep was Az just before the break. This might be a good time for another one:)
My take on trades….1st) Duffy trade. Moore is a good starter. Not great, but good. We needed that badly. Duffy was a nice guy but really a below replacement player at 3rd. No history to suggest he wasn’t a one hit wonder. Lots of fair to good rookies never are good again after the leagues pitchers adjust. That the Giants got a # 3 starter for Duffy ( look at his stats ) is nothing short of a miracle.
2) Getting an allstar for what we gave up ( almost nothing) in nunez was another great trade.
Possibly offset by the trade rarely mentioned. We gave up last years number one pick and susscac for Will Smith. WTF? WAY to early to give up on a number one pick.
Seriously. Bickford . In his time with the Giants in a small part of 15 and most of 16. Era never above 3 at any level. Whip UNDER 1.0. With SF minors 133 K’s and 30 walks. Yes over 100 more K’s then walks. How many young guys have that K to BB ratio there 1st year in the minors out of HIGH SCHOOL!
He was drafted in 1st round by the Jays as a jr, and again by SF as a senior so others saw his potential too.
He is young and may be not develop but this was a seriously stupid trade. Couldn’t we get smith for just sussac? Is Smith (before SF struggles) any better than the multiple lefty’s we already had? Based on usage since he got here I would say no. Again. WTF???
Over 6 games in the Brewer’s org Bickford had a 1.5+ whip in A+ ball. I don’t put much stock in the numbers at that level either way. Osich has sucked and Lopez is gone at the end of the season. Meanwhile Smith has settled in with some good performances lately and is controllable through 2017. Good moves all around as far as I’m concerned.
Back by the Bay . . .
And one for Diggity . ..
Brees is rolling.
Anybody ever stay at Humphreys in San Diego?
I’ve stayed there twice, and a while ago, but I thought it was pretty good.
A ways out from town, though. But, they have seriously good music acts go through there…
Brees for 98 and a TD. Geaux Saints!
Meanwhile, what’s up with Chiefs?
Bochy keeping it real.
All hands on deck. Posey in for the day game following a night game.
Denard Span (L)
Angel Pagan (S)
Buster Posey (R)
Brandon Crawford (L)
Hunter Pence (R)
Brandon Belt (L)
Joe Panik (L)
Eduardo Nunez (R)
Moore
I look at that lineup, and except for Span at the top it looks good. How do we not score more? 3-8 compare well to most lineups in all mlb, at least on paper…
I know everyone is in love with power, but Giants have been out homered 5-1 or so last 2 games and won them both. Bottom of the order romping right now…get some pitching and D winning combo.
To be fair to Span he was rolling in August.
That’s true – maybe he wore himself out…
I may have said this here before, but for entertainment value I would really enjoy a gay Viagra or Cialis commercial. What’s taking so long?
“For an erection lasting 4 hours or more, call the Guinness book of world records . . .”
Bums lose to Fish.
An Invisible Span sighting!
San Dawg, your football team is still very Jeckyll/Hyde. They beat the chiefs for 3.5 Quarters and give up 30 points to 6 in the 2nd half. 21 up and in control and they drop it.
Cards lose.
How many times has Span rolled over a 3 or 4 hopper to 1st or 2nd this season? His spray chart must look solid on the right side of the infield. This dude is hard to watch. The HR probably gives him another Oh for 29 with Bochy…
Lame. Pagan was right there, but does his Iron Man impression. Sigh.
Another hopper to 1st for Span, with 2 men in scoring position. At least he’s consistent…
Span’s the Lefthanded version of Arron Rowand Snarkk..
Whelp, that’s twice in this game snarkk. With Greinke the first pitch is often the only hittable pitch but Span just watched it go by.
RALLY FUCKING RALLY….
Span seems like the kind of guy that 10 years from now, you won’t even remember he ever played for the Giants…
unfortunately, Bochy will play him 3/4 of the way through 2018 before he finally decides to wave the white flag on him
Despite the 2 runs, Moore has pitched well enough. Time for the offense to do something.
Can Pagan steal anymore? His hammy is suspect, I don’t know if he’s got the speed for it anymore. Good AB he had there to get the BB off Greinke…
Nice job by Belt. Time to step on the gas…
RALLY FUCKING RALLY…
Pence!
Matt Moore is a flat stud.
Yeeesh! Signs of life???
SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
A great day to be a Giants fan.
Holy Batman,A 3 game winning streak!!!
Strick with the save! Sign him, uh . . . . we’ll see
Exactly!
That’s fucking awesome.
As New England takes the field tonight, they’re already in sole possession of first place in their ridiculously weak division. It’d be cool if, someday, any team in the rest of that division actually got good.
Arizona will beat them tonight.
wow, i didn’t realize they were 9.5 dogs.
NE scored a touchdown with short white receivers. The guys are fast, and built like steroid-users.
Someone I’ve never heard of just put NE up 7-0. IF BB can pull this off he’s a football God
Chris Hogan from Monmouth U.
Arizona should win, but they just don’t look like they realize the game has started yet. NE looks a step quicker.
Moore, dominant today. Blazing fastball and filthy curve. He put a FB by Goldschmidt like you don’t see happen very often, just overpowered him. Dude has a really live arm. He can throw hard, but with that smooth delivery I think those pitches get on the hitters even quicker.
With the Pads coming up, it’s time to put together a nice 5 or 7 game winning streak. At the least, to build the wild card lead up a bit, or, with the Dog ears coming up, get back the division lead. 6 more games with those guys, 7 total with San Diego, 3 with the Rox and 4 big ones with Saint Loo. Keep it going!
Yes!!
Janeane Garofalo is playing quarterback for the Patriots tonight.
And she will beat the Cards.
AZ is a shitty team that will not be good this year. The Niners? They probably end up at 8-8 with AZ.
8-8 for the Niners? Wow, I’d been thinking more like 2-14.
That Raider game was by far “The best game of them all today!
Black Jack DelRio going for the 2 pointer and the win was ballsy! Goat if you fucked it up,but brilliant in a hostile road environment looking at OT with Brees going off all game probably said fuck this do are die baby!
Matter of fact :”I don’t know how he could get on the plane with those massive balls!!
Yeah, go for the win on the road is the axiom. Ballsy as fuck tho.
Don;t believe the bullshit. They may not be great offensively, but the defense is looking good. And really, the offense was nothing last year. Get at least some improvement and they should be able to play decent football.
The line of scrimmage line that all the TV networks have now might be the most annoying “innovation” of them all.
I like it.
I just don’t see the point of it and don’t need a line to see where the LOS is. And it really throws me off with the regular every-5-yard lines.
What’s the fuckin’ point of it? It’s just more clutter.
The first down line is all you need…
Oh sorry I thought you were talking about the first down line.
If Strickland hadn’t gotten out of the 8th so quickly, was Casilla coming in for the 9th?
No
Jesus. NE cannot tackle.
AZ and the NIners both 8-8? I’d take AZ > the Niners season record for any amount of $$$ you wish to wager.
50-1 sounds about right.
huh? 50-1? How about just who has the better record at the end of the season? And I’m already losing with AZ losing tonight. How about a nice bottle of wine?
3rd and 24 and Belichick goes soft.
NE deserved to lose.
But Arizona completely self-destructed at the end. Stupid holding call, stupid play-call on 2nd and long, and then a bad snap.
The snap looked ok to me…
I think low enough to throw the kicker’s timing off a little bit.
Yeah, it wasn’t perfect but the holder didn’t help any…
Beating Greinke is huge.
Belt’s single on an 0-2 shoe top curve was also huge.
So was Casilla even warming up in the 9th?
Let’s hope not.
You know what else is huge? (Somehow I think you imagined something….different)
that is the greatest ad I’ve ever seen. What was up in the middle when he looked sad and his partner tussled his hair? No wood? I’m gonna watch that ad like 50 times. lol
I don’t know about the two guys, but I’d take a coupla blue pills to take on that Eurasian chick announcer…
there is so much going on in this ad. At one point it felt like a scene out of the Blair Witch Project. And then the scene at the end…..I’m still working through all that. At first I thought they were gonna fight. Then it looked like they were doing something naughty. Then the make out scene. I dunno. This might have been over directed…..
Is this for real? I would’ve hoped for something amusing like the gay couple in Modern Family. They could have a magical moment when they find the perfect shower curtain in Bed Bath & Beyond. Why does it have to be so graphic?
If they run this ad in South Carolina or Georgia the state legislatures there may call for immediate secession…
I’m as sick of the Pats as anyone, but one thing about ’em, they go about their business good play or bad. Whereas the Cards, I don’t know how many times they’d celebrate after a first- or second-down stop, and then one or two plays later it’s first down New England.
I’m celebrating.
Giants beating Greinke is an omen. And, Belt’s 0-2 RBI knock off Greinke on a filthy curveball to tie it up was one of his top hits of the season…
I think Belt’s hit tied it and Panik’s clutch groundout gave ’em the lead, but no doubt the Belt hit was huuuuuuuuuge.
So Craig…BB a football God?? For sure. Best football coach ever? In the conversation for sure.
Go Giants!
No doubt the Pats have benefited from bascially having 6 nearly sure wins every season for 15 years playing the 3 dogmeat teams in their division. Hard not to get at least a first round bye or home game playing in that crap division…
Great to see the squad finally get a 3 win streak going in the second half. And, they’re starting to hit. Pence is en fuego. But, remember the Dbacks are dogmeat, and the Giants really need to focus now that they are home. They should be able to take the series against the Pads, and have at least a 5 of 6 streak going as the Cards hit ATT later this week….
The Pats were down Brady and Gronk, on the road no less, and still managed to beat AZ.
AZ is overrated. 50-1 is a joke, Craig, but I said it way before the game ended that NE would win. I just don’t think the Niners are as bad as everyone thinks. I’ll bet ya anyway, but it’s basically a gift. I’m thinking I got a 20% chance at winning the bet. If you win, you get a jug of Almaden Mountain Nectar. If I win I get a bottle of Silver Oak cab.
PS. If you think that viagra ad’s real, the Niners are winning the Super Bowl.
What year is that Almaden Nectar? I hear 2011 was very good…
Silver Oak is good, but i’d hold out for a Stag’s Leap Cask 23 Cab…
1978 . . .
done!
You do realize that the Almaden is less than $10.00 and the Silver Oak Cab is $250.00 right, Flav?
Just checking.