That Moment
Yesterday is why I watch sports. You guys have probably all seen this sideline cam video, it’s epic. When I watched it the first time it reminded me of the video from the arcade perspective of Ishi hitting his bomb. The crowd gets silent for a moment as they catch their breath–it’s subtle—then they explode. That collective crowd silence phenomenon is something I didn’t know existed until I saw the Ishi video. And then you can hear it on this one too. Incredible.
And here’s the Ishi HR. Can you hear the moment of silence before the insanity?
Epic fail by the DB. Hit the WR anywhere and he falls down in bounds.
Bud Grant was smiling though!!!
Had not seen that sideline video. Very cool! If Minn can get past Philly they will be playing a home game Super Bowl.
Been reading that the DB was trying to avoid an interference call as that’s the last thing you want to do in that situation. Uh, no. What the DB did is the “last thing you want to do” in that situation.
The New Orelans newspaper had maybe the most perfect headline this morning. It was a full blown shot of Diggs running towards the endzone, with the headline “Expletive. Expletive. Expletive.”
Ouch. Glad to see Pittsburgh out of it. I just don’t get Pittsburgh and New Orleans playing their defenses so soft underneath. Bortles and Keenum aren’t great deep passers but both defenses played back all game.
Theee teams give me a lot of hope for the 49ers next year, but Jesus, there was a lot of shitty football being played this weekend.
It is a collective inhalation, a moment of expectation and hope. Very nice. Much better than the sudden death that follows abject failure. I heard that in game 3 2014 when Hudson gave up a triple in the first inning. The loudest, most hopeful crowd in the world went absolutely silent. Doom had come to call. The fact that the Giants only had one decent starting pitcher on the staff dominated every Giants fan’s mind. (Luckily, however, I also attended game 5.)
The worst thing about Oakland a’s home games and pro soccer games is that crowd noise never stops, no matter what’s happening on the field.
that’s a great point. I guess their fans just get used to that incessant stupid drum beating but they would miss out on these moments—-if they ever happened in Oakland which they don’t.
Diggs deserves credit for not losing his head in that moment. After he caught it there was an immediate moment to go right out of bounds, he could have done that and there would have been a second to try a field goal. Once he took off tho there was no turning back. Still, if you were losing your mind you might take off for a few steps and then instinctively go out of bounds to try the FG–and that would have been too late. Remember, he has a helmet on, he can’t see every angle around him. There could have been a DB right behind him that he couldn’t see. Anyway, great job by him from start to finish.
Right, that was my immediate reaction — what’s he doing not going out of bounds, but there was no other Saints player to run him down.
i could have seen his brain take over seconds after beginning to run and then trying to get out of bounds and man, he would have never lived that down.
lead singer of the Cranberries died. Younger than me. And yesterday some 15 year old kid, fam friend, died of the freaking flu. Crazy.
The DB all he had to do was wrap his arms around the dudes legs, instead he tried to upend the WR, missed him completely. He will be practicing tackling 101 next year
And he also wiped out the other defender in the process. Total worst-case scenario.
I don’t get why the extra point was forced to happen after that. That rule needs to change.
A winning touchdown with time running out in a playoff game doesn’t need an extra point.
they do it because of point differential that effects playoff seeding. I don’t understand why they still do it if the seeding is set once the playoffs begin
Because the Vegas line was 5.5.
I said it here before but of the very few A’s games I’ve ever seen, the biggest cheer by far was for dot-racing. And this was during a back-and-forth A’s-Red Sox game in the Bash Bros heyday. Insane.
I can count on one hand the A’s games I’ve attended. Once to see Ted Williams when he managed the Senators, once to see Jeff Leonard on the Mariners, once with my brother in law when I was around 14 ((1975?) and got seriously drunk sitting in the bleachers when they allowed pony kegs (!)), and this one back around ’88.
friend took me to a PS a’s game in 2013. Kid in a costume waved a big flag in front of our view from time to time–while the ball was in play; seemed to be perfectly accetable conduct there. I did get to see Cespedes hit a rope into the LF bleachers.
Chuck, they allowed pony kegs inside the stadium???
Back in the day, yes. Only in the bleachers. Waaaaaaay before Mt Davis.
now at what price????
wow. I knew they couldn’t avoid signing another vet potentially over the hill
Didn’t they review Melancon’s medical records?
We should have a contest to predict the start date for McCutcheon’s first stint on the DL…
That moment, when the crowd goes silent. Will Evans be tackled in bounds or run for the division winning TD?
If a random tweet is to be believed, it’s not Ramos, could be Beede.
Wow. Yes, we need to see the price—but our front office is not fucking around. This is exciting.
I guess this rules out Cain.
I definitely prefer McCutchen over Cain, but still . . . . Both McCutchen and Longoria are stars with apparently great character. I sure hope they both have a couple more years of star-like play in them.
uh oh. I forgot. McCutchen’s only signed through this year.
Giants apparently trade only with Pirates, Rays, and maybe Texans…
Cain is still in play. Giants still need another OF even with ‘Cutch
Shaw and/or Beede not in the deal per Baggs. If they somehow managed to hold onto Ramos too then Booby deserves props. Excited either way. I could eat a cha-cha bowl right now!
I wasn’t going to buy the MLB package this year. I will now.
We still need a bunch of bounce-back years, but the GIants will have my full attention going into this year.
Pav says Crick is part of McCutchen trade.
So we get the big McCutch…meaningless I think…management by band-aids…
Hardly meaningless, GH. A great deal if you want my opinion.
All we’re giving up is Honky Crick? Shit, this is a fantastic pick up. ‘Cutch doesn’t have to be the old ‘Cutch, he’s just got to be last year’s ‘Cutch. Our team continues to improve, we are contenders now assuming the pitching bounces back. Well, getting Cain would make us serious contenders….
Here’s hoping they flip Cutch at the trade deadline for much better prospects than they gave up. it will never happen but I can always hope.
I figured the Pirates would have their eyes on Derek Law as well. May still be part of it. They have Bryan Reynolds in it…
Thought experiment I conducted last October; the Giants could clone three players and be competitive with the Dodgers in 2018:
1) Mike Trout
2) Nolan Arenado
3) Bryce Harper or Max Scherzer
Poor man’s substitutes (OK, impoverished man’s substitutes):
1) Lorenzo Cain
2) Evan Longoria
3) McCutchen
4) Tyler Beede
2020:
Heliot Ramos> any Dodgers OF
Longoria> Turner
Here’s a Pirates blog view of Giants as trading partners, before today’s deal:
http://piratesbreakdown.com/2018/01/15/pittsburgh-pirates-trade-andrew-mccutchen/
” How do the Giants matchup as trade partners?
Honestly, not good.
The Giants dealt highly regarded infielder Christian Arroyo in last month’s trade with the Rays for Evan Longoria, meaning there is not much to like from a farm system that really isn’t that great to begin with.
Outfielder Heliot Ramos, outfielder/first baseman Chris Shaw, and right-hander Tyler Beede and San Francisco’s top three prospects and judging by what the Bucs have reportedly asked for Cutch in the past, it will likely take one or two of those to even get talks heated up.
Shaw has big power potential and Ramos, a 2017 first-round pick, could be a potential superstar with excellent power and speed. You would think since Neal Huntington was not budging from Victor Robles in a potential deal that could have sent McCutchen to the Washington Nationals last season, Ramos would have to be part of any deal.
Ramos is likely at least three years away from making the majors, so keep that in mind.
Shaw, who hit 24 homers last season in the minors, should make his MLB debut this season.
As for Beede, he can hit 97 at times with his fastball and also has a nice changeup, curveball and cutter. He should be close to being big-league ready.
Other than that, there’s not a whole heck of a lot to like about a package the Giants can offer. “
I’m seeing Cutch is coming for Crick and the OF in A ball, Brian Reynolds. OK, whatever. Crick is a throw away, though he showed some usefulness last season, finally. An A ball kid is a total crapshoot, so, OK. The Bucs haul SHOULD be problematic, because Giants get a declining Cutch for one year only. He’s better than Gorkys, yeah, and Spam, hell yeah. Giants are fully into using the band aid approach to fielding their Major League squad. The HR count from the OFers now may top 25 overall, assuming Mrs. Pence hits around 10…
So, is Cutch going to wear the 22, I ask the big Will the Thrill fan ?…
Eli Whiteside wore 22, so anybody can wear it. 🙂
The final piece for the lineup is a good defensive centerfielder. I’m assuming McCutchen gets moved to a corner.
Austin Jackson is still in play. 🙂
He can wear #22, it doesn’t bother me and it shouldn’t bother Will after all those guys who have worn it since him…..
Honestly, this should excite the fan base. If it doesn’t I’d like to know why this doesn’t excite you. ‘Cutch isn’t a superstar anymore but he’s very good. He and Longo have improved the offense a lot. I don’t know about you guys, but last year sucked. I’m no A’s fan who doesn’t mind taking years off at a time. I want to win every year. And with some bounce back pitching performers I feel like we are at least competitive again…
They’ve definitely improved the right handed part of the LU. Thing is, I may have been able to improve the RHed part of this LU, it was so bad. Duggar and Slater need to compete for another spot in the OF. I guess Pence is going to platoon with somebody for his $18 Million…
Lurie on KNBR:
“[Pence is] going to be in left field,” Lurie said. “McCutchen I think will be in right field and I still think that Steven Duggar has got a shot to be the centerfielder because they will not go over the $197 million (luxury tax threshold). I think Duggar, if he does anything in Spring Training, and Gorkys Hernandez, they could be your centerfield platoon.
“I think Duggar will start the season in centerfield.”
WTF is a Steven Duggar?
For that matter, why haven’t they retired Hac Man’s 00?
By my rough count, McCuthcen puts us at $198 mill or so….so right at the luxury cap. Does Dyson take a super cheap deal up front and more on a 2nd year or even a 3rd year?
Dyson and the rest of the pen all signed yesterday…
there’s no way for outsiders to calculate the CBT amount unless it’s obviously way back in the rear view mirror. Salaries get averaged over time, benefits and perks get included, etc. etc. It still seems to me the FO intends to stay under for 2018. They’re sure as shit not going to go 1/2 million over.
andrew mccutchen
@TheCUTCH22
Now…I’m a Giant!💪🏾Ive always enjoyed watching the success of the @SFGiants and I look foward to being apart of more this season. Can’t wait to meet my new teammates and fans. This is just the beginning…
Cameron Maybin is another cheapo option for cf.
For fans of alternating righties and lefties (mostly) which I think is silly, this ain’t terrible:
Cutch
Panik
Posey
Belt
Longo
Craw
Pence
Gorky or some other OF
Bench: Hundley, Specs, Panda and ???
Loo, McCutchen’s legs are on the down side of his career…I see a McCutch hitting 3rd and then Posey and Longoria, unless they want to see Belt hitting in the 5th. .
I don’t know why they are so high on Duggar right now. I hope he will be the rare diamond but why throw him to the wolves right now??? I can’t see McCutchen leading off nor is it going to be Duggar or for that matter Gorkys. I think you need at this point a legit leadoff guy and will be on the cheap….they ain’t breaking the bank for Cain….
The 2 trades make them intriguing for at least the first 30-40 games, and I’m genuinely grateful for that. On paper, there are still way too many past age 28 players who need to be better this year than last in order for SF to be in contention later in the summer. Maybe with some 2014 style luck . . . .
Seems like this ensures Gorkys will be in CF which is fine as long as Bochy doesn’t pencil him in at the top of the lineup.
I wonder if this gets Chi excited enough to come out of hibernation for the P & C countdown…
I think the Cutch pickup is a good one and at a good price. Last year he essentially hit to his career 162 game numbers and is a plus defender. I don’t see how this doesn’t make the Giants much better, along with the Longoria trade. Both are also good dudes.
Duggar is the next Mac Williamson, maybe. Slater or Duggar — one of them should stick, anyway, until the league figures them out. At last Cutch should put in maybe a .265 with 18 HRs and 85-90 rbis. That would be definitely a shot in the arm…
Before it happened i wasn’t too high on Cutch, although he has always been one of my favorite non-Giants. But yes, bring him on! Finally something to look forward to. They will surely be better than last year.
I think we will see as many CFs in 2018 as we saw 2Bs in 2014.
Andrew McCutchen And Longoria, looks better than last year. By the comments no CF yet? And it looks like whoever has the hot hand Botchy will play that guy in CF
Maybe they’ll bring in the fences so their outfielders will have less ground to cover…
I agree with everyone who thinks the addition of two solid-character all stars to the LU will make the season exciting. May they stay healthy and often pull drives into the LF bleachers. I hope to hell the front office knows what it’s doing. Side note: While idly scanning the 40 man roster today I came across the name Tyler Herb. wtf?
As long as it’s not Peaches N Herb…
Looking forward to the 30 extra HRs and the added entertainment value of the new players; however . . . if Longoria repeats his 2017, he basically restores the productivity they lost when Nunez was traded. McCutcheon’s OPS was 849, Span’s 756. Those numbers reflect the difference between ok and good, but they don’t mean a huge increase in total runs scored for the team. Unless there’s across the board improvement, SF will again struggle to get to 700 runs.
I don’t think it’s out of line to expect a better season from Posey, Craw, and Belt. Expecting improvement from Pence seems a distant hope, though. He seemed in real decline last season.
I’d take the same seasons from Posey and Panik, a full season of Belt at 830, and a better season from Crawford. All 4 of those happening seems . . . not impossible. They need more from at least one of the other OFers.
No WBC this year so that gives Posey and Crawford a better shot, maybe Melancon too
The bench needs to be way better next year, too. If you total how many PAs they take in a year, you can see the impact the non-starters have. It’s kinda like the bullpen. Our bench was even worse than the bullpen last year.
Yeah, we see it on a daily basis that teams have a better bench than the Giants. It really irked me when Tomlinson was sent to Sac to start last season. He should be an automatic for the bench. Maybe Sandoval makes it. Hundley, of course. The reserve outfielders will probably be weak.
.
ignoring the bench has been a consistent, go-to move for Sabean over the years. Agreed, time they put together a competent bench. Does Pablo fit on that bench?
I don’t mind it. He would be some late-game pop off the bench, and can sub at third or first. Would he stay happy in that role, though?
He’s an underachiever who hit 3 HRs in a WS game after a not so great season. If you’re going to be superstitious about a player, it may as well be him . . . as long as he’s a bench player.
no, I mean literally, DOES HE FIT ON THE BENCH? I feel like carbs were not his friend this off season. Gut feeling.
Gut feeling? Fit on the bench? Har!
Durant is making some stellar passes.
Hundley, Tomlinson, Sandoval, Slater may not be a bad start for the bench. I hear Pence is off the cold brew so maybe he turns it around.
I think it’s bullet proof not cold brewed and the stuff is great. That’s not his problem
Geeze, xoot. I didn’t peg you for a coffee elitist. 😏
I finally went to the Super 70s Sports Twitter page. All I can say is that you do a very good job of filtering these, BF.
This may be the year Toronto dethrones the Cavs in the east.
that’s 6 out of last 7 for GS vs. Cavs and 17-9 since 2014. Ownage be ownage.
Glad a couple moves got some people off the ledge. They’ve acquired some talent and no one they have given up will be much missed. Hope the new 2 RHs wreak some havoc on LA’s LHP heavy rotation too.
Pitching health and return to form from bum cueto melancon plus the FLR to help even out the other side of equation, runs allowed, next step. I’m still not sold Blach is good fit as SP.
The Red Sox still have to pay Sandoval close to $40 million, which is pretty funny.
This is a pretty cool feed on the twitter
Mammoth deep centerfield, but a short distance down the lines in left and right for some cheapo HRs.
According to the article, it’s probably Roger Craig on the mound, and McCovey at bat.
Pablo is done. And I don’t just mean in SF. That walk-off onto the arcade was the perfect swan song for his manic career.
Sorry, not drinking the Kool Aid. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
This ESPN column nails it in my opinion, “With the acquisition of Andrew McCutchen, the Giants have gotten older, more expensive and — depending on how they want to deploy their newest outfielder — even worse on defense” (sorry LJ . . . You’re hoping for the defensive wiz McCutchen of 3 years ago, i.e., the only reason he returned to CF last year is because they were short-handed in the outfield).
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22113478/giants-make-one-last-run
That being said, give Evans credit for what he did with a roster almost touching the luxury tax threshold – he got rid of Span, sort of “addition by subtraction;” and, scored a coup in getting Longoria and McCutchen, 2 players that are clubhouse leaders and had decent seasons last year.
However, they still need the following to happen:
1. A center fielder.
2. At least 1, maybe 2 decent bullpen additions.
3. A comeback season from Melanoma.
4. A comeback season from Bumgarner.
5. A comeback season from Cueto.
6. A comeback season from Crawford.
7. A comeback season from Pence.
8. An injury free good season from Belt.
9. Solid 3, 4, and 5 starters.
10. A decent bench.
11. Repeat outstanding season from Posey; and, another as good a season as last, for Panic.
With “Cutch,” they’re now AT the luxury tax red line . . . Again, color me skeptical that all those “comeback seasons” are going to happen and we add the additional pieces to the holes in our roster.
ESPN did not nail it. We got a guy on a one year deal who line reads….28 88 11 .279 That guy on our team last year would have been the best / most productive hitter on the team. Blows everyone else out of the water. If he slides too much let him go..who else could we get that was better last year for 14 mil???
“That guy on our team last year would have been the best / most productive hitter on the team.”
You’re taking what I said out of context. Cutch is a good score under the (luxury tax) circumstances. As I said, give Evans credit . . . However, your statement about him being the best hitter on our team last season is not saying much . . . Our team sucked last season, so yeah, those numbers are good. Compared to almost any other contending roster, they don’t impress.
However, I digress – that column did nail it in my opinion – the Giants have their head buried in the sand . . . These off season moves at best, get us to .500 . . . maybe. Regardless, our long term contracts are an anchor around our neck, made worse by the Longoria contract.
Consequently, I still stand by what I said earlier this off-season – that the Giants needed a complete rebuild a la the Detroit Tigers. Not happening obviously. So I think next season is just a mediocre attempt to delay our wilderness years.
PS Not a “comeback story. ave up but the power numbers very consistent. 20 / 80 every 7 straight years