Perfect Night
Great day for Bay Area sports last night. Dubs rolled. Giants won. Stratton was pretty average. Man though, he was one clean inning away from a quality start. If Harvey shakes his way through 6 innings/4 runs (in 5 starts) I gotta pay up to San Diggity? Eh, I’m still not worried. Harvey (who sucks) will come through for me in the end….
Unseasonably cold, lame weather day today. Check out the ticket prices according to espn. We are the one at the bottom. ATT is no longer the place to be.
Go out and beat the Reds (who suck). I have no idea how this team swept the Dodgers. LA has flat out given up and it’s a glorious, wonderful thing….
The other take is that LA has just been ravaged by injuries and just WAIT! till they get their guys back. You know what? Screw that. We lost our top 3 starters this year, we’ve been sending out pole smoker after pole smoker to the mound and yet we have stayed competitive on the year sitting only 3.5 games out.
Resilient….
The art dealers appear to be dealing in counterfeit art this season, aye?
booya!
Giant actually got out bombed 3-1 and still won, tho not exactly going away.
Strat had a 6-1 lead going to 4th and immediately gave up 2 run bomb, then in the 6th gives up another one and a walk, and Bochy has to take him out. Arrggh not how to pitch with early lead 11 baserunners in 5+.
If Slater is quick enough to steal 2 bags, then he ought to be able to play CF…or at least RF next year.
Speaking of which Jax was only guy in starting LU to not have a hit. I’ve ragged on flav’s guy BH but even tho he is only hitting .216 and might want to add some walks to skew the OPS of .635, that is still 60 points higher than Jax.
BH is obviously an excellent defensive OF, runs well and according to Kruk had best arm in the OF last night.
Craw is hot right now and once Mac gets back LU is passable. But Sabe/Evans have to fix CF.
FFS! I just wasted five minutes trying to figure out who BH is. Didn’t think to look at the Reds. Didn’t know BH has a good arm, but a lot of guys like him rack up assists with their speed.
FYI, he’s only the second best player with that name. I had a roommate once with a Hall of Fame set of APBA game cards. We drafted teams and played a best of seven series. I had absolutely no idea who Sliding Billy Hamilton was when he took him. If Blacks were never allowed to play in MLB, he’d be the best lead-off hitter in history.
The current model would help the Giants more than the Reds, but he’s not worth the asking price.
Duggar in Sac: He’s hitting .246 with OB of .344 OPS of .695 in a hitters yard and hitters league in general. He’s struck out 44 times/19 BBs in 134 ABs with 2 bombs. Um, Gorks has that many up here.
If he can’t get to .700 OPS in the Coast League then he sure ain’t ready to do it vs. ML pitching.
Tom Wolfe, napoted American Author (Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test) Dead at 88. RIP.
It’s a minor miracle that the club is at .500 and 3.5 games out. Get some pitching, clean up the errors and they could easily move to the top of NL West.
Agree, Dirt. Next road trip should tell us a lot about this team, and could test that resiliency.
If Bum is activated on eligibility date (25th), he could pitch in the Cubbie series.
fucking A+ take Dirt
Good post, Flav. And yes, Resiliency is the one word that best describes this year’s team…
Blach vs. Manley today, who is probably the Red’s best starter. 8 starts, 3-4, 44.1. IP, 44 Ks (K per inning), 3.86/1.26.
I thought they’d be hard-pressed do this good when healthy. If they can get some sort of better pitching from the starters, hey, we are fine. AZ just went through their first shit-streak and are wobbling.
Hate getting optimistic tho . . . it feels wrong . . .
If Slater is so quick, he should be . . . . . . . . . . leading off!
How hard is this, Boch?
Not sure why, but looking at his minor league stats, he has never hit in the lead-off position…
Which is why Boch never thinks out of the box..He has Blanco lol 😂
Frankly I don’t give a damn, I just want to see a different name than (I’m hitting) Blanco at leadoff.
Robinson Cano suspended 80 games for violating MLB’s drug policy…
Plenty of time to heal his broken hand..
Anybody that thinks the PEDs era is done in MLB needs to get a clue. With the juiced ball and management not caring about more Ks, the HR hitter is being sought and rewarded more than ever. Like I always say, we don’t have a clue who and how many are using…
I’ve read a lot of Wolfe’s books, and have liked them all. He draws the reader in very well, and takes them on a journey through American culture in a fascinating way. He was kind of a Charles Dickens of post-WWII America, really getting at what makes this nation tick. And the books are really entertaining. At least a couple were made into movies: “The Right Stuff,” a very good movie; and “Bonfire of the Vanities,” a terrible movie.
How does that work for Cano? Does the suspension start after he gets back from injury? If that’s the case, his season is done.
Yeah, Wolfe is fairly polarizing. You either like his writing style or hate it.I’ve only read Acid Test and the right Stuff and dug them both. I should read the car one. Kandy Kolored Metal Flake Streamline Baby or something like that.
He and Hunter Thompson ushered in a new era of journalism, reporting, and writing. Hyperactive, bombastic and supercharged . . .
. . . was . . .
Wish Wolfe had written more novels, though I see there’s one I missed, A Man In Full, set in the East Bay.
Giving equal weight to book and film adaptation, The Right Stuff is in the Top Ten.
OTOH, Bonfire of the Vanities is perhaps the best novel ever made into a terrible movie.
that’s too bad about Cano. His name and his Dad’s (who once pitched for Stros) came up in that book I read “Eastern Stars” about life in San Pedro de Macoris of the DR. Good book, lent some insights into what prospects face and life in the academies.
Drug laws and availability much different in Third World from here. Lot of those suspended seem to have ties there; still think most of it centers around guys telling players they can mask it/you won’t get caught when tested.
Yep. I believe he was popped for using one of those masking agents…
Why do i always think of these guys when I hear ‘masking agents?’
Steal two bases, get sent back down.
Baggs: Giants sent out Austin Slater and called up Miguel Gomez.
I’d rather see Morticia . . .
And here’s something for ya’all to bitch about…again…
Blanco leading-off… 😂
1. Gregor Blanco (L) LF
2. Andrew McCutchen (R) RF
3. Buster Posey (R) C
4. Brandon Belt (L) 1B
5. Evan Longoria (R) 3B
6. Brandon Crawford (L) SS
7. Austin Jackson (R) CF
8. Kelby Tomlinson (R) 2B
9. Ty Blach (R) P
I’d move Blanco to 7th or 8th, and move everybody else up one notch. But Bochy can’t find meaning in a universe where a catcher bats second in the order.
I can see people having a beef with Slater being sent out, and Blanco and Gorkys continuing to get ABs. If the Giants don’t make a decent run for the playoffs, then there was no purpose for all of these Blanco and Gorkys ABs. All it did was take experience away from a younger player.
But, at this point, the case can be made that the Giants are still making a decent run at a playoff spot. I just don’t think Blanco and Gorkys add much to that effort, anyway. I think one of the AAA guys could do what they’re doing, and be getting experience at the same time.
Posey in the 2 hole. Nah. You know what. Gorks and Blanco are typical 4/5 OFers. I am not losing sleep on this shit like some of you guys. Playing .500 with all the injuries…let it ride…
And I know I am in the minority, and I am good with that…
I will say, that when Pence or Mac comes back, and you know they will, then Actionless needs to be the first guy to pack his bags, IMO.
I’ll be low key. imo, Tom Wolfe’s fiction was never very good. His journalism, however, was good, and entertaining, and his subjects were terrific. The early surfing subculture in San Diego, the first astronauts, the commercial art world, the Merry Pranksters. Ken Kesey and Robert Stone sitting on a cliff in Mexico, putting their considerable imaginations together to plot Kesey’s survival, was a great moment. But Robert Stone’s own memoir, Prime Green, contains a much better portrait of Kesey and that era.
and even with Hanson out Blanco has no business leading off
Agree. Also, many people forget that Bonfires Of The Vanities was a series of articles initially that he churned out weekly (monthly? Forgot). In any event, they made it into a book.
“After seeing a hand specialist Tuesday, Pollock was revealed to have suffered an avulsion fracture in his left thumb and will miss four to eight weeks, per an official announcement from the D-backs. Jarrod Dyson and Chris Owings are expected to fill in for Pollock in center field during his absence.”
Mac is conscious!
Slater was sent down for infield depth. Simple as that. It’s not like they’re going to DFA Blanco or Hernandez.
I thought I saw a note that they worked Slater at 2B the other day before or after BP. Why not? If Belt’s size 15s can survive the occasional start in LF, anything’s possible. But apparently the tryout didn’t convince.
i dunno, outfielders moving to infield is a lot harder than the other way. Reaction time is just so different and any speed they have with their feet don’t really come into play.
They played Slater at 2B for a while when he was with San Jose, couple years back.
Dodgers lost to the Marlins.
lulz!
Suspecting that given this, Cincy now has the worst pitching, stat-wise…
And that was with Turner back in the lineup.
Two nice ricochet plays by Tomlinson.
Whenever I see Joe West behind the plate, I can’t help but think of the great Bumgarner staredown.
So funny!
Classic.
the best.
Not sure I see Blach, long-term, as a starter. Maybe better suited for long relief and spot starts…
xoot, At last night’s post game Bochy said moving to 2b was an off season or spring training project. Not a mid season deal.
well, I don’t see him becoming Ben Zobrist anytime soon.
Give us a hint, Joe! 😂
Clark Kent needs to get his stick going…
Giants don’t know what they want to do with Slater which is asinine.They have the worse CF metrics in baseball but yet they still throw out the 3 headed monsters of Gorky,Blanco&Jacksonless instead when Slater would be a huge upgrade.And WTF do we really need 8 freakin relievers for?
And THERE are the metrics on Blach. 1-45 pitches, he cruises, low ERA/WHIP. After that, not so much. ERA and WHIP balloons with the HRs allowed.
I never saw a ball sit in the cove unclaimed for so long…
I was thinking the same damned thing, Loo…
Nice to know someone else is preoccupied with such meaty matters…
Great to see Belt pull the ball like that no doubt rocket into the water.
8 HRs for Belt and Longo. Who hits more/how many can they get this year? On pace about 1 every 5.5 games.
The Splash-cam is a great feature of Giants broadcasts. It captures the full majestic arc of an HR.
Great call to get Balch’s ass outta there, and PH…
Boom…
Pablo’s most important hit so far since he became a Giant again, IMO.
That’s a nice move by Bochy right there. If Specs hadn’t struck out maybe Blach hits. Instead Sando gets him off the hook.
The LU scored 10 last night and already has 4 in 3 innings tonite.
Gotta feeling they are gonna need some more too.
When everyone gets healthy the Giants can almost send out a complete 2014 championship lineup.
All we need is Morse…
Blanco
Panik
Posey
Pence
Belt
Panda
Crawford
Bum
Juan Perez is probably still in good shape
Forgotten WS hero!
And almost goat! 🙂
He and Blanco were almost co-goats.
my recollection is that it was all Blanco’s fault in game 7. But it worked out. game 5 Perez smashed a LD off the CF pad that left a dent and made sure Bum would finish the shutout.
After Blanco misplayed the ball, Perez booted it once before picking it up. And his throw to Craw wasn’t that good. Craw made a nice short-hop of the throw. Billy Ripken made a lot of the Craw short-hop. He called it one of the huge plays of the Series.
yeah, well
Crawford’s hitting .285 now. I did not see that coming.
Now .290.
wow FLR dominated that inning. He’s gotta be a big help out there.
Krukow said Gorkys has been swinging the bat really well.
Gorkys has a .658 OPS, so whatever.
Arizona won for the first time in about a week.
Fun Fact: i was at the Bum/Joe West staredown game in good seats in the lower level behind the plate.
The confrontation was noticeable…even sitting in the stands. Buster’s reaction is still my favorite part.
Smith and Watson are a nice lefty combo.
Good to see from Watson after a tough time in P-Burgh.
Even better if it’s Smith&Wesson..
I can see it now the Giants have double barrel action in the bullpen..
lol
Way to go Specs!!
Huge insurance run!!
Love me some Specs!!
Great for Specs; he needed that.
Wotus has been gold so far this season coaching 3b.
Strychnine time.
This Gomez guy sure has a ugly swing with a big hitch in it as well..
Poor kid comes up from Richmond and gets three change-ups in a row in a 2-strike count. Welcome to the big leagues, kid.
That’s the first time I’ve heard Kuip call Specs Specs.
Yeah I was thinking the same thing LJ.
Thought it was pretty cool 😎 ”Specs on the backhander”
Strick looked dominant in this game. Hope Posey is all right. That was a nasty shot.
Yeah can you say dayoff for Posey tomorrow!
Got the W which always make Clint happy right Zumie?
Back over .500!
Winner Winner!
Fangraphs has just posted their analysis of the Giants’ top 22 prospects. (The Giants have 22 prospects?)
https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/top-22-prospects-san-francisco-giants/