They Called Him “JC”
I went back and forth on the topic of today’s thread. It was going to be Kieran Loveglove or whatever his name is. But I decided to give a shout out to Jose Castillo. Like all of you, when I heard the name I thought “wait, didn’t he play for us?” Part of it is his general sounding name. Part of it is that so many players put on that SF uni. I remember 2008 opening day quite well. We shouted loudly about how lame our opening day line up was. The Dodgers shut us down 5-0. Remember these guys? “Brian BigCock” nickname was born that day…..
Anyway, he was a forgettable player with a forgettable name playing in a forgettable era. There were only a few references to Castillo here at the Flap over the years. This one from WillieD is about as good of a eulogy as I can find:
RIP to Jose Castillo. We may not remember your contributions but you were one of the many steps this team has taken in its walk across the earth. And because of that I can say “thank you for being part of our journey”.
And now be on with yours…..
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
What a great post and an even better find of WillieD’s JC reference.
Nice. JC follows long with Big Titty, Big Sweaty, Gamer, Ray Ray, BigCock, Freddie Electric, the Merk . . .
Funnnnny piece in the Lovegrove article.
“I’m a thinker, and if I’m given too much information I start to think about it,” reasoned Lovegrove, whose level of familiarity with Yogi Berra is unknown. “Because of that, I’ve kind of had to avoid the analytics thing. But I have found out that when my ball is down in the zone it tends to sink, and when it’s up in the zone it four-seams. When I can throw up is when I’ve been going down. It’s all about setting up hitters, and actually pitching as opposed to just throwing the ball.”
McClain was on the 2008 team too at some point.
JC was in the car with Valbuena after playing winter league game in Venezuela, right? I mean this is 10 years after he last played ML ball with Giants and Stros 2008.
I know we complain about the OF, but 3b has been rough spot for Sabes too.
Great job, Flavor.
The 2008 Giants – the team that McGowan personally apologized to me for putting on the field…
RIP Castillo.
2008, Pablo’s first year, BWilson saved 41 and Timmy won the Cy going 18-5 with this team. I moved to NC after going to opening day that year.
I remember little about Jose Castillo except that his line that Opening Day looks familiar. 0-3, with a GDP…
Glad to hear the Zman has hired two new heads of pro and amateur scouting, Zack Minasian out of the Brewers and Michael Holmes, respectively. I’m really jazzed about Holmes, thankfully replacing Barr, who has come up with mostly dry holes the last few years. The Zman worked with Holmes when they were both with the A’s; and Holmes was just the ass’t scouting director there. The A’s consistently come up with top performing draft picks, they just don’t keep them. I’m stoked with the Zman clearing out the deadwood and moving ahead with two guys in their 30s with energy and new ideas…
I agree with everything you just said. I’m amazed that Barr wasn’t canned when Bell was hired, but realistically, he was probably forced upon him. As were two special assistant old-schoolers – Gene Clines and Joe Amalfitano. Plenty of on-field minor-league managers and coaches returned too. In fact, Shane Turner, whom Bell replaced as farm director, is a special assistant in baseball operations. Consequently, can anyone blame Bell for leaving and taking the Reds managerial position??? By the by, Bell never lied to the Giants, i.e., he always had aspirations with being a MLB manager. He was intrigued when they asked him about the minor league gig and was given assurances that he could make changes. Umm, right.
Giants organization is virus laden with dead wood. More times than not, they don’t get fired, but moved to other positions, e.g., see Bobby Evans, the aforementioned Turner, Sabean, and Dave Righetti.
I know we don’t do much soccer here, but on a slow sports day, take a look at this from Messi.
This is the better one of two free kicks he put in goal tonight for Barcelona. He reportedly made $111 million in 2017 from all sources.
The guy is a magician…
https://twitter.com/search?q=Messi&src=tren
Great post today, BF.
Nice games back to back for the Kings against two terrible teams- the Suns and the Cavs.
Nice part of the schedule.
RIP “Dirty Al” Gallagher…
https://www.sfchronicle.com/giants/article/Former-Giants-third-baseman-Dirty-Al-13451777.php?utm_campaign=twitter-premium&utm_source=CMS%20Sharing%20Button&utm_medium=social
Damn. Another favorite player from that ’71 team (along with Chris Speier and Tito Fuentes). RIP Dirty Al . . .
Pierce Johnson, who spent quite a bit of time in the Giants Pen last season, just signed with the Hanshin Tigers of the Japan League. Given last season’s Giants, that might be an upgrade for him…
“CARACAS, Venezuela — Former major league players Luis Valbuena and Jose Castillo were killed in a car crash caused by highway bandits who then robbed them, officials said Friday.
The 33-year-old Valbuena and 37-year-old Castillo died late Thursday when their SUV crashed as it tried to veer around an object on the road, Yaracuy state governor Julio Leon Heredia said on his Twitter account.
Officials said some bandits place or throw objects on highways to force vehicles to stop or crash so they can rob the occupants. Heredia said four people have been detained after being found with property of the athletes.
Valbuena and Castillo were teammates on the Cardenales de Lara team in the Venezuelan winter league and were returning from a game in the capital when the crash occurred en route to the city of Barquisimeto.
Third baseman Carlos Rivero was in the car and survived, according to the website BeisbolPlay.”
Opportunities for Loo and others!
“Die-hard Trump supporter Christy Edwards Lawton was at a Manhattan party last year when she noticed a beautiful woman across the room.
The woman, who had “stunning” good looks, according to Lawton, seemed like someone who would have no trouble finding love. But she also had a surprising secret: she couldn’t find a boyfriend in New York City because she voted for Trump.
“I’m a Republican,” the woman whispered to Lawton, she recalled. “They don’t want me.””
Look at the vid today of Drumpf doing the coin toss at the Army-Navy game.
The dude just underhanded the coin up in the air with a flat hand.
He doesn’t even know how to flip a coin. Clueless…
Zum, there’s already sufficient evidence to convict Trump of 2 felonies (involving the payoffs to the 2 sluts he banged). Unfortunately, he’s safe until he’s out of office due to precedent about Presidents not being indicted while they are in office . . . However, as John Dean points out, there’s sufficient evidence to impeach him. This video by a Republican commentator – SE Cupp – explains exactly how much trouble Trump is in. Oh, and his false bravado Tweet about being vindicated of zero collusion yesterday? She addresses that too, e.g., sort of like Al Capone saying, “Hey, they didn’t convict me of murder.” Umm, yeah Al . . . only tax evasion. Enjoy Alcatraz. Same deal for Trump. Hopefully . . .
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/12/08/se-cupp-monologue-trump-mueller-court-filings-unfiltered-vpx.cnn
It’s going to be an interesting 2019. Looks like General Kelly wants no part of it.
fuck him too. He engineered the family separation policy
Bummer on the passing of Dirty Al Gallagher, I remember him well on that 71 championship team along with Chris Speier at SS,Tito Fuentes 2B, Willie McCovey at 1B, and actually it was the last year some HOF played for that team including Mays,Perry&Marichal ..
Gallagher was a scrappy player and always a dirty uniform hence his nickname, but fun to watch alongside Speier that formed a great young nucleus together on that special 71 team..
This is the least I’ve cared about the baseball offseason in a long time. Zaidi’s fix-it job is going to take years, IMO. And that’s alright. I’ll still follow Spring Training games like a mofo. I’ll still follow the team during this long rough patch.
I’ll still eagerly await the arrival of the season preview magazines.
The Kings lost to the Pacers today. That’s disappointing. The Pacers are very beatable.
Second game of a back-to-back on the road ain’t easy. This was hardly surprising.
Yeah, they looked a step slow all game.
Sad to hear about Gallagher and Castillo. Of course only McCovey will be honored with a uniform patch unless we lose another big name in the coming months. Our surviving HOFers are way up there and have had some well publicized health issues. I’ve lost count of how many funerals and wakes I’ve been to in the just the past past few months. The unexpected ones are tough to take. When the real geezers go it’s more like a celebration of their life as people like to say. I’ll never forgive the Giants for not honoring Jim Ray Hart with a lousy patch the same year they did so for Jim Davenport and Monte Irvin.
I had moved on from baseball cards by the time this one came out…
I’ve never heard of this guy, came along a little before my time. I looked him up and he had a pretty non descript big league career. But his death got a fair amount of press/attention around here, anyone know why? Was it just because he was a native SF?
And his 47 middle names…
I admit to knowing very little about politics and I really don’t keep up on current events. Most of the time I don’t even know the names or issues you guys talk about. As far as Trump, I was glad he won mostly because of my disdain for Mrs. Clinton. I like the idea of putting America first – it’s way overdue. I hope he’s actually doing it. The best and fairest criticism I’ve read here was something about him being a terrible leader. I don’t think he knows the meaning of it. Might’ve been Wilco Joe or Dirt who wrote it. FWIW, I voted for Mr. Obama twice. The first time was because I bought into the fantasy that he would be our first “global president” (whatever that meant). The second time was for killing Bin Laden. He was in office for all 3 of our WS titles plus the magnificent WC win over the Mets. Gotta love him for that!
Great post.
Trump did not put America first in regards to Russia and Putin, IMO.
BF, the affection we older Giants fans have for the ’71 team is immense. It’s the season I became a Giants fan. Gallagher was the 3b on that team. That team is magic in my memory.
After the ’71 team, the Giants took 16 years to get back to the playoffs. That was a long time, as Will Clark shrieked.
Trump’s slogans are just words, they mean nothing. Putting America first is another way to say “let’s go back to the 50’s”. I truly believe he got into this just to sell hats. Darker though, he’s a racist, he emboldens racists and he’s an embarrassment to our country. Trump likes to say he supports working class people. That’s bullshit. He likes to keep classes defined. He likes to keep people in their *place*. He’s loves coal, for instance, because those people aren’t a threat to him and they’re waaay down the class ladder which is where he likes them. His favorite thing are natural disasters where, again, he can *save* people who ultimately owe him a debt of gratitude. He’s a *kiss the ring* fucker. He’s one of the dumbest people I’ve ever heard speak and here’s a tip that proves it: go read just the transcripts of his speeches. Don’t listen to him, just read the words. He has no idea what he’s talking about. It will sound like a lunatic ranting in an empty bus station at midnight….
Ok, I’m done venting. I appreciate what you wrote Loo and I support the “voted against Clinton” take because I don’t like her either and can’t believe the Dems couldn’t find someone more electable, but I can never and will never support this racist lunatic.
And to be clear I’m not calling anyone who supports Trump a racist. Only that he emboldens them.
I’ve always felt my beloved Affirmed was emboldened by the great Alydar.
If you were too young to see it, check the tapes sometime…
The Commisioner’s been kind of quiet. Could be some big announcements at the Winter Meetings. Most likely:
1. Rules limiting shifts
2. Pitch clock
Talking politics is dumb. No one ever changes their mind. Best left unspoken about but let’s see where this goes. Feel free to discuss today.
The thing about Gallagher his talent level was at best average, his guts and scrappiness was unbelievable though, and I believe his teammates fed off of his high energy.
He was a stubborn Irishman from the Mission District that got his chance in the bigs, that he probably didn’t believe would ever happen.
Opening day 1970 as a Rook,Dirty Al was slated to back 2nd ,Willie Mays batting 3rd pats him on his butt and says :Go get em kid”,Al says later I wasn’t just on cloud 9 I was in heaven!!
Yeah, he was a very streaky player. Him and Fox practically came to blows regarding his playing time.
Take a look at 3b in the Sabes era ’97 on:
Mueller 97-2000
Ramon Martinez
Russ Davis (ugh)
D Bell
E Alfonzo 03-05
P Feliz
Pablo sometimes replaced by Uribe
Mc G and Duffy
Nunez Arroyo Gameface Gillespie
Longo Pablo R Jones yada yada
i thought Castillo replaced Feliz? No?
yes 2008.
no remembrance whatsoever of Martinez
I remember Martinez, fairly well. He was always R.E. Martinez in the newspaper box scores.
I liked him – thought he was pretty useful…
My Ramon E. Martinez memory: Giants-Mets at Shea in ’99, 0-0 bottom 8th, Ramon E. playing SS drops a pop-up that scores first run in 2-0 loss.
Epic 8:20am post Flav! You’re also right about never changing anyone’s mind about politics too, albeit, you forgot about 2 other areas where you wont either – religion and sports team.
You asked about Gallagher also . . . For me, AK and Zumiee summed it up best. That ’71 team had a buzz. A combination of new and older players, where I actually thought the Giants would continue their winning ways. Who knew that it would take 16 years of trudging through the wilderness before we would see another playoff game? Trading Willie Mays in May the following season was a big clue. Early in the season and the Giants were essentially saying, “No Mas.”
A bigger tell was the papers revealing how broke Stoneham was. We had over a 1.1 million butts in the seats during their NLCS 1971 season . . . Fast forward the following year, we had about half that (647 thousand).
lol, great point here…..
I’ll never forget the sight of Patek crying all alone in the KC dugout after Chambliss HR in ’76…
yeah the speed days. Pirates (loved those guys) under Tanner stole 260 bags/hit 133 HRs and led league in runs. Moreno stole 50 more that year, 70 the next season.
Loo I remember Dodgers P Ramon Martinez but not the Giants guy.
Giants seemed to get one decent year out of Sabes 3b and then off they went. Bell hit 20 bombs then went FA.
Alfonzo had .850 OPS season for Mets, came here went .726 .757 .672 before they let him walk
Feliz in 04 .790 OPS next 3 years .717 .709 .708
Blade,yeah I thought that 71 team was going to have a run in them going forward,with a combination of youth and veterans, then unfortunately A-hole Stoneham started dumping the vets (Some guys named Mays&Perry) to keep the franchise afloat supposedly (geez no shit you only drew 650,000 after 1.1 mil in 71 fans revolted after seeing those 2 HOF booted out for shit returns as well..
AK, I was more emotionally affected by the Mays trade, but getting rid of Perry turned out to be beyond stupid. Perry won 134 games with the Giants . . . and went on to win 180 more games with various other teams. Damn.
Me too, Blade. Willie was just about everything to me and as a certified Met hater, I was extra appalled.
It was tough to watch him deteriorate in a Met uniform. Once the excitement of his return to NY died down,
and his diminished skills became apparent, he was neither a fan, clubhouse, or media favorite.
Gil Hodges had died suddenly right before the season and I think Willie was obtained to cheer up the shocked and depressed fan base. As time went on there was resentment for him forcing ’69 WS hero Agee to the bench as new manager Berra probably felt pressure to play Mays. Young Met fans had no particular love for Willie who they only knew as a San Francisco Giant.
I think I have said this before here, but Mays was the last player I worshiped – for the things you just indicated, including his coldness toward fans, and Stoneham getting rid of him like a piece of tissue paper. Anyway, baseball players became more greedy in my eyes, especially after the advent of free agency.
Chili Davis named the Mets hitting coach.
The first MLB game I ever saw live was the 1971 NLCS Giants v Pirates, game #2 at the Stick.
Starter for the Giants was John Cumberland, who I don’t remember.
I do remember the final score was a Bucs beat down 9-4, and Bob Robertson clubbed 3 jacks.
We left as the game headed into the bottom of the 9th, so we missed seeing Mays hit a meaningless dinger.
I had the game ticket for a long time, have no clue what happened to it. I think it was $7 for a ticket on the left field side about half way up the upper deck and 50 feet into the outfield.
I remember listening, as a kid, to just about every night game that season. Speier was a rook, and did great. Race was between SF and the Doghairs, and Giants pulled it out with a last game win at Jack Murphy. I think Marichal started that game, and so he couldn’t start the first couple of games of the Pirates series, which was a big reason why they lost it…
Yep. The Giants had to use Marichal to win that last game vs. the Padres.
I probably saw Mays play about 15 games in person at Shea. Never saw him hit one out but I would just fixate on him – even in the on deck circle. He never had a big game when I was there, although most of those games were after 1966, his last big year. Just seeing him live and in color, hearing his name on the PA, watching him dig in at the plate, and the routine basket catches kept me happy enough…
As the years went on, it didn’t bother me as much that the Giants lost in the ’71 playoffs. It seems very right that Clemente got to win a championship that year.
The ’71 team had Bobby Bonds, of course, who was my first hero, period, in my life.
I loved my parents, but I didn’t think of them as heroes in those younger years.
Later on, of course, I knew less flattering things about Bonds, but for a few years, he was the guy.
By the mid-’70s, musicians and writers took over as my heroes, and, frankly, I don’t think that’s really changed.
I was at this one, Zum and I remember thinking how great Bonds was becoming. I didn’t remember that Mays played first that day or that the Bernie Williams no one knows, as well as Snark’s boy Cumberland also appeared…
Yeah,. I was at game 1 of that series. Perry’s win. Thought we were headed to the World Series.
Amazing finish to the Dolphins/Patriots game if you can find the video.
It was phenomenal – and great news for the Chiefs…
And yeah, that ’71 team was a cool team. Speier was a favorite among all those guys. Dirty Al as well.
Guess I was a week early with my Niner win prediction.
George Kittle 210 yards in the 1st half?
That’s just crazy 😜 shit right there💩
Hal Lanier was the opening day starter at shortstop for the ’71 team, but then Speier eventually got some starts and Wally Pipped him.
Yeah Hal Lanier never could hit worth a lick, his glove was his overall saving grace, making a pretty good duo with Tito Fuentes on DP’s…
For those who missed the first 10 times I posted it, Willie’s nickname for Hal Lanier was “Maxie” after Hal’s dad Max Lanier, a teammate of Willie’s early in his career…
Niners and Raiders both win! That probably hasn’t happened in 8 years.
It seems pretty unique.
will the Browns win more games than the Cavs?
Just saw the highlight of Drake’s run. Incredible speed. Dude put on the afterburners twice. lqtm.
Cooper 3 TDs for Dallas. You can tell he’s a jerk. Refuses to celebrate with his teammates. Just runs away from them pounding his chest.
ME! It’s MY touchdown! ME ME ME!
Has a wide receiver ever become an NFL headcoach? Probably not. They wouldn’t be able to relate to all the players.
never gets old…..
Good lord, I had completely forgotten but I had a sweater just like that when I was in the 8th grade. My Mom made it for me. Generally, I appreciate everything my Mom did for me growing up, but she apparently had her lapses….
That final play of Dolphins game reminded me of a similar play involving Miami, way back in early ’82 against San Diego and Air Coryell (might have been a playoff game). Too bad I can’t remember if it was Miami that pulled off that play or the Chargers..
Miami did the lateral play to send the game into overtime. The Chargers ended up winning, but came up flat against the Bengals the next week.
The Niners then defeated the Bengals in the Super Bowl.
Ok, thanks for completing that scenario for me, sounds about right… 🙂
A play that used to be called the Hook and Ladder.
’81 season, but ’82 playoffs.
Still the 1981 playoffs.
I didn’t realize the Bears were pretty good this season. I knew a Bears fan back in the ’80s. Most obnoxious sports fan I ever knew.
Collinsworth is like listening to an electric saw cutting wood.
His constant chuckling at his own statements is a kind of torture.
Zum, wide receiver as head coach, the only one I remember was Raymond Berry, headed the Pats back in… I don’t know, mid-’80s maybe, I think just for a few years. He seemed relatable but not all that smart….
Got crushed by the Bears in the Super Bowl?
I will say that ’85 Bears team seemed like it had 16 guys on the field playing defense.
Only the Dolphins on a Monday night game figured out how to do much against them.
Yes, and I think Berry was the Pats headcoach in that Super Bowl against the Bears. Could be wrong. That game was never even close after the first play of the game….
Yes it was Raymond Berry. I looked it up – thought it was someone else…
The Rams might still be tired from the Chief game…