Heads in Sand
“We believe in our core. We want to protect our core. But we also have a large core.”—-Bobby Evans.
Well. that pretty much tells you what is going to happen today. We will be doing nothing. As I predicted. It really wasn’t very hard to predict.
I’ll always cherish the 3 beauties in 5 seasons, but it doesn’t give the people in charge a lifetime free pass. The game has changed rather quickly and it’s up to THEM to figure this out–not just keep doing the same shit that won’t work anymore.
This isn’t that hard to figure out. We will always be able to attract FA pitchers. We need to start overpaying for free agent right handed hitting power hitters. And have entire drafts focused on this type of acquisition.
No more nonsense coming out of Evans. If he’s in over his head, get him out of there. If they game has passed Sabean and Bochy by, get rid of them too.
And stop forcing players like Belt, Crawford and Panik into this line up. Their bats don’t play here. Not compared to what other bats are doing for other teams or what other legit right handed bats are doing in left field at AT&T.
This team needs to get completely blown up but only if it’s done by management with a completely different mindset than the one that gave us 3 championships.
A reminder of how right we all were nearly THREE months ago:
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Was competing with my dog Friday through yesterday in Livermore, and barely checked the scores. As I suspected, swept by the bumbinos. The good – the dog and I had our best ever weekend of competition. Nice tune-up for the nationals in September.
Agree Flav – I will be very surprised if Booby and Crew do jack-shit. It is beyond frustrating. They have work to do to get this team competitive again, and there is no indication that will happen. Pfffttt…
I always thought Baer was a couple steps ahead of everyone else in the game. From the building of the park pre-tech boom, before SF became the most valuable piece of real estate on the planet, to ticket scanning technology which is now commonplace across all venues worldwide to his “LGBT and Star Wars night” promotions, I would have to think he is doing a slow burn watching the front office continue along in its antiquated ways.
Interesting observation, Wilco. I wonder if there is any of that going on. Love him or hate him, ya have to give Baer props for his marketing abilities. He and Magowan were huge in getting the group of investors together that kept our Giants the San Francisco Giants (and not the Tampa Bay Giants).
34 1/2 games out. Nobody at 3rd and King is a step ahead of anyone as far as I’m concerned.
Were looking at 2019 as maybe the earliest getting back to being competitive in this definition, IF these supposed good position players in the low minor pan out quickly. I would trade Bum and posey in the offseason for a bunch of prospects. They will be wasted the next two seasons for PR, then maybe when the team actually can hit, their skills will be eroding…
If the org really, really was focused on winning, it would blow things up. It is not. It is conditionally focused on winning. As long as the revenue keeps rolling in, that’s the main focus. They know what they Should do, it appears they just refuse to do it so long as the turnstiles turn and the Garlic fries sell. Just oppo the As. They’ll trade guys for prospects just out of habit. Giants see trading an established player as a bad PR move. The Cub-ization continues…
Yeah Sonny Gray will be the next to ship out today.A’s want the Yanks #5 prospects to close this deal and will probably get them.
Giants?zzzzzzzzzzz
Heard the bums were making a run at Gray, too.
Their probably settle for Darvish..
The lack of activity leading up to the deadline never ceases to amaze me. Everything always happens in the final hour. This year should be no different. I hope.
The posturing by these clubs regarding their relievers cracks me up. There is no way in hell they will get a better deal in the offseason for middle relievers most fans have (and probably some GM’s) have never heard of.
I watched the movie “The Misfits” last night from the Turner Classic Movie network.
My review:
Some drunken cowboys hang out with a drunken Marilyn Monroe, waiting for something to happen in their lives.
Spoiler alert: nothing happens in their lives.
Kinda like the Giants..
Never saw it. Some Like it Hot is awesome tho.
The Giant are really hung by their own petards now. Whatever the fuck a petard is, I don’t know.
They were seen as doing the right thing by locking up young talent early in their careers a la Bummie, Posey, Crawfish, and the like a few years ago. Getting Pence was seen as a steal but we did the usual of overpaying for past performance on his next deal.
The problem has been that the cupboard has been dry these past 3 years
In the draft and the FAs have been various shades of suck.
So, sure it’s easy to say they should cut bait, but what then? They’ll be paying out dead bloated salaries and still suck because theyll cry poverty and can’t sign anyone. Either way they look to be hurting next year.
So I sort of get them hoping enough guys return to form and they are at least competitive. Because they really have no way to get out of this mess quickly.
Charlie – I agree with your comment: “So I sort of get them hoping enough guys return to form and they are at least competitive. Because they really have no way to get out of this mess quickly.”
To have a fire-sale now, they really would not get much in return. We know they might get a decent haul on Bum and Posey, but be real, no way the Giants are dealing those two anytime soon. Craw has a full no-trade. He ain’t goin’ nowhere. Panik isn’t bringing much, and I would prefer to keep the middle IF, in tact. Belt and Cueto may bring something if dealt to the right team (team has what we need in return).
My guess if the Giants do ANYTHING, it would entail either Cueto or Belt, or both.
And really, I think adding one true power-hitting OFer (preferably a LFer) and some tweaks to the BP is where to start.
Remember what the Giants paid for that fucking left reliever? That was big time payment at the time
…bickford. got busted for drug use then broke his hand during suspension. Doubt he’s even pitching yet. I’ll give sabean credit, he almost NEVER gives away anything that works out for the trade partner, lol.
Well any guy that looks like Spicoli is automatically into drugs..
The movie “The Misfits” found a reason to have Marilyn at a lake.
That dog is no dummy,he trying to rip her top off..Good boy!!
This chick wouldn’t even make it out of Simi Valley these days.
agreed.
But can Simi Valley women paddle-ball like this? I think not.
There’s plenty of ball handling in Simi Valley. Believe me.
Scaramucci out already.
lulz.
“Scaramucci was reportedly escorted from the White House grounds.” My favorite line in the stories so far.
LMAO…
This is what happens when you hire a clown to run the show…
And just to be clear…Not my Circus…Not my Monkeys…
Verducci made a good point. In addition to looking for power bats, teams are looking for pitchers with swing-and-miss stuff to combat the opponents’ power bats.
The Giants bullpen can’t get big strikeouts when they absolutelyneed to, not even Strickland.
Panik to Anaheim? latest rumor i’ve heard
bad rumor. the talks occurred last week
The Dodgers acquired a couple of lefty relievers that I only barely remember.
Darvish to the Dodgers. Bummer.
Called it on my 10:11 post..
that’s a pretty incredible pick up for LA and they didn’t give up any of their best prospects. Interesting.
pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.
No deals. No surprise. Booby and his Ball-less wonders hard at work (counting their fucking money).
I wish I could say I am surprised. Now watch the club get no hit through 5 by Sonny Gray’s stand-in.
bahaha!!
I certainly am not surprised the Giants didn’t make any moves. I am surprised and extremely disappointed that Houston didn’t do anything outside of getting Liriano (a back end rotation type) who they plan on using out of the pen. If they don’t make it to the World Series (and I don’t think they will) they have no one to blame but themselves.
yeah. That was super weak on their part. Seems to me they could have put a deal together for Gray or Darvish no problem.
Cubs are giving Bartman a WS ring…
Have they located him yet?
And does Moises Alou give him the ring?
good. They should give him 5 million too. They did nothing to stop Cubs fans from basically ruining this guy’s life. And for what? He did what happens probably every single day in at least one major league game.
So does Cueto opt out?
Do we want him to?
I am holding out mild hope that he proves he’s healthy and maybe the Astros give us the worse Tucker brother before 8/31. He won’t get claimed, we could trade him. Even if he returns to form next year (which is a def possibility) I don’t think there is enough he can do to fix this mess. We are completely and totally fucked for years to come.
I don’t see Darvish as a rental unfortunately, why would he leave that stacked LU next year?
I suppose something could still get done through the waiver thing…
absolutely. But Cueto has to show he’s healthy and productive NOW. No more fiddling around, either prove you can pitch to your ability or shut his ass down. I’m tired of watching him try to get his fucking fingers straight.
Good point. If he proves he is healthy, there will be a market for him.
Why are they rehabbing him already– so he can throw a shutout for 8 innings and lose? Sit for another two weeks to heal up the blisters. Then bring back the last two weeks before the Aug 31 trade deadline…
Fuck the Dodgers. I’m sure our resident Dogshit fan will be along to gloat any time now.
I actually hope they set the season win record. It’ll make the post season face plant that much more glorious.
Evans will probably issue a statement: “No front office chaos!”
Yep, giants success. Maintained “the core”. As fans, we are hosed for the next several years. How do you ask for a season tix renewal after a season and a half of this POS play?…
Nunie had 3 hits tonight, 2 of them doubles, and stole a base. They’ve had him at secondbase to start off. Pedroia must be injured.
Maybe he just likes the AL, or warmer weather?
Meanwhile, Giants have two young dudes 3 years away from MLB, if at all…
Bochy said Sandoval’s “been great in Sacramento.” “Great”? Words need to mean something.
We’ve seen this before, Boch is definitely in on the PR machine.
Paving the way for Panda to come up and hit about .200, looks like…
Kruk and Kuip on pre-game radio just broke out the Saran Wrap congratulating the front office on keeping the core around till next year so then they can all “prove something”. Like this past season and a half was not an aberration?…
Next year will be bleak again. No way it will not be bleak.
Another awesome Bochy quote today:
“We have shown a lack of power and I think it has hurt us.”
HOF analysis…
Matt Cain. The longest tenured Giant. In 2010 he had 223 IP and WHIP barely over 1.000. 2011, similar. 2012, similar. The perfecto in 2012 benefited from a HP ump whose strike zone was friendly and a Houston team in the depths of a dismal few years. But Cain earned the triumph. And he was a substantial reason the Giants have 2010 and 2012 rings. Not so much fun to get ready to watch him tonight, however.
A’s have pop.
It’s reasonable to think they are going to pound him, and for a least a couple of jacks before he gets pulled…
The Mocreif era starts tonight!
Panik still hits too many easy flyballs and pop-ups. I don’t know how he’ll fix that, though.
I thought Panik getting thrown out at home last night by Hernandez was illustrative at both ends of what ails the Giants in the talent dept.
A typically slow Giants runner getting thrown out easily from mid-depth CF by a throw that Span would not have even attempted…
I’ve been watching the TV show “House of Cards” about a complete sociopath who becomes president.
Hmmmm….does sound a little familiar….
Cain wants to get the sucking done early.
2 hits, 2 walks, two at-em rocketed outs including a sac fly, then a pop out, near 30 pitches.
Hey, at least he’ll go out to start the second inning.
If he lasts three frames without the game getting out of hand, it will be a minor miracle. I’m to the point now, and I hate to admit it, that I want him to get his ass kicked as early as possible. Whatever it takes for him to get DLed with strained shoulder or quad or whatever, and move on. He can have a last start in late September to say good by…
I am admiring Kruk and Kuip’s professionalism tonight.
I’ve heard them give a lot of credit to Hank Greenwald for teaching them so much. One of the things that Hank drilled into them was ‘no matter what happens in the game, you can still have a good broadcast.’
Do you think Cain goes out to the mound now and tells himself he’s still got it and he just needs the breaks to go his way or do you think he goes “I’m gonna get blasted but I’m making a mil a start so just suck it up and take the beating”????
No idea. At some point, some form of embarrassment might creep in.
Just DL him to stop the carnage, like they did Zito that one year with a 4 month foot injury.
I think the team has lost his last 11 starts in a row, or some such…
The problem is Cain has brainwashed Bochy/Sabes/Evans into believing he still has the stuff to get the big boys out lol 😂
But scenario 2 is the real answer.
Get the mil per start, cause he knows they won’t throw him under the bus 🚌 and really,who really gives a shit anymore?
fuck this guy’s fingers
It’s just another Moncrief Monday…
I always thought Sidney deserved a “de” after his given name.
This guy’s name used to keep me awake nights…
Moncrief 1st big league hit, only 2,999 behind Beltre!
Belt sure pussed out on that pop up!
That’s a player who’s checked out hoping he got traded.
Pussing out is the better part of valor.
There’s no railing over there. Just a pit!
Ball was in play, he pussed out James.
He had time to get to the edge of the dugout and still would not of fell in but he PUSSED out!
Yes, he did, Kat, and good for him.
Belt K’s and sez “Yankees Go Home!”
http://jacket2.org/podcasts/yankee-go-home-poemtalk-59
Paul Blackburn is very underrated poet these days. One of the best of his era.
jeezus, google his name and you get this a’s pitcher, endlessly
Obit Page
Oh god.
First the greatest right-handed batter in history
Rogers Hornsby (hit .424 in 1924) with a lifetime
average of .358–
and now William Carlos Williams
Yep, Xoot, an in between figure whose reputation will probably grow again.
Never good when your manager is rocking back and forth like former bench coach Leo Mazzone.Their just bored and rocking to keep from sleeping 😌.
Have to admire the commitment of those drum players in Oakland…
Escapees from OCD clinic?…
the flag wavers and horn blowers are just as impressive. never let up, no matter what’s happening on the field
I saw a game at the Osaka Dome a few years ago. The flag waving and incessant noise is what you remember.
Ok, Belt, fuck up again.
Do the seagulls make the trip from SF to Oakland?
The leftovers lack quantity and quality.
the tarp in CF, on Mt Davis, gets coated badly every year, baking in the summer sun
has anyone mentioned that Moncrief came up, out of MIssissippi, as a pitcher?
Jeeeebus. Kontos is a mockery of a sham of a catastrophe. Why the fuck is he still on the team? Certainly there’s a guy in AA ball that can walk guys and plaster a shitload of runs to the guy ahead of him.
This team is barely AA worthy at this point. Cain goes 5 and gives up 2 on 96 pitches and it is a Renaissance. A miracle he only gave up 2. Meanwhile the pen is a disaster of overworked garbage and unrealized expectations.
In the immortal words of Winston Chamberlain “Never have so many done so little for so long.”
He should change his name to HRontos.
If he’s back next year, I won’t be…
Just to be a fucking contrarian dickhead: The Giants hit 55 HRs, 39 triples, 147 doubles, and 503 singles at home last year with a 763 OPS. That OPS is pretty good for ATT, even by 2017 standards. They are on pace to hit 40 HRs, 15 triples, 130 doubles, and 500 singles at ATT this year. The missing triples and doubles are a bigger deal than the HR deficit. Other teams are still not hitting tons of HRs at ATT. They hit 64 last year and are on pace to hit about 70 this year. The greater number of runs allowed at home has more to do with the increase in hits surrendered in general than it does with HRs given up.
I loved Ellis Burkes. It’d be awesome to see Kent-like stats again. Rich Aurilia, yeah! Those are PED-era numbers. Corey and Cody are left handed.
The 2016 offense had 3 lousy months last year: May, July, and September. They did pretty well in August. Rather than first half good, second bad, they alternated months of good and bad. It is easy to see why there was little front office expectation of this year’s collapse, at least based on that calculus.
Well, that’s impressive. But no investment in the pen, outside of El Con Man and the weak Affeldt impersonator Will Smith (despite the post-Affeldt departure of Lopez, Romo and Casilla), and no investment in the OF (despite the $20+ million salary opp left behind by Pagan and Peavey) makes it easy to see that the front office knew they were taking a big risky chance this year.
On the other hand, I have to admit it doesn’t seem right to yell at the owners and the front office that we the fans are the ones who pay the price for their miscalculations. The relationship of a fan to a team is a whole different calculus.
Yes, agreed, but I’d argue that it wasn’t that much different from risks they’ve taken before with far less disastrous results. A 75 win year would not have been a surprise. Smith was especially good at impersonating Affeldt’s DL-inhabiting prowess.
The above was largely just a long winded way of saying that they need good hitters, whether left or right.
Yeah yeah, whatevs. Coming into the season, we all had pretty high expectations. Either division or wildcard. The brass did what they thought was right by signing their ‘core’ guys to big deals fairly early in their careers.
The core seems to be rotten right now and there’s little they can do besides (and it’ll never happen) eat $100 mill in contracts, bring up their dog shit ‘prospects’ and try to build for 2020.
Or stick with the core and pray that they come back. Problem is, they still have the issues that plague them now. No pen, no OF, Pence is a shell of himself, Posey and Crawford have dropped off the power map, no speed no power.
Gawd, this team is horrible. The pen is blowing leads once again at an alarming rate of 4 a week it seems.
I asked the other day for Kontos to be DLed.
His right arm has a 39 sleeve, his left a 36.
Boch apparently is OK with just having Murph adjust the uni…
And they don’t seem to give a shit. I think that pisses me off the most.
Shrug from the front office.
Wonder of wonders Boch actually pulled Cain in time, after he somehow scattered a ton of hits for just 2 earnies. But, then another Pen crater job. Osich finds it apparently impossible to not walk at least one batter every time he comes in. I can’t remember if/when he’s actually gotten a 1-2-3 inning this season.
I told zum the other day I heard the Giants had the worst inherited runners allowed to score percentage in MLB at 38%. With that grand salami allowed by Kontos from Osich loadin’ em, it must be up to 40%.
9 walks allowed this game by SF.
On pace to lose 101…
The league average inherited runners scored is 42. SF had given up 59 as of yesterday. The team overall has now given up 538 runs. Those extra 20 inherited runs allowed over 107 games is not that big a factor in the starting staff’s shitty numbers.
James. What’s the median? Not sure the mean is a particularly meaningful comparative statistic here, unless there isn’t much variability. I’d like to know where the division leaders are with this stat. Probably on the low end of the range? And, I’m not sure of your point anyway. The Giants are the worst in baseball at this, like they are the worst or near worst in many other pitching and offensive categories. Surely it is meaningful. It costs them games, like tonight. How many of their losses are directly attributable to this, I don’t know, I’m sure there may be a stat for it, with some defined parameters. However, you may poo poo it, it is a stat that shows objectively how comparatively bad the Pen is against other Pens…
The pen is no good, Snarkk, it’s just not as big a problem as the starting staff. If I hear one more sentiment about hard luck Blach, or poor Bummie, or someone getting Cained . . . . fuck that. Those runs the starters give up in innings 1-5 are a bigger reason for this shitty season than anything else, even the offense.
Here’s the chart if you want to look at it:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/2017-reliever-pitching.shtml
The starters ERA would be 4.55 instead of 4.84 if they had 20 fewer earned runs allowed. And, yes, a great pen would reduce that even more. But my point is that the pen’s problems are not as significant as the starters’, and that is reflected in their base stats, something that the inherited runners number does not change.
OK James, I’ll look at your link when I’m awake.
Meanwhile, Cueto out early tonight of the rehab start due to “forearm tightness”…