A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball

The Washington Nationals should be an inspiration to every team out there at any level. They lost their superstar and came out of the gates slow and buried. Yada yada yada, now they’re world champions.

And now WE begin the long trudge through Winter that doesn’t even start for 7 more weeks. As usual, we’ll be closing up a wing or two of Flap Nation. It’s always a little sad as I walk the halls, turn out some lights and lock up an office door or two.

I keep telling myself “this is the last year I’m doing this.” lol. Well, maybe it is, maybe it is.

I’d like us to be able to go out on top but that seems a long way off….

Lemme sit here with my coffee and look out this window for a spell, see how I feel in April…..

“and you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack, and you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile….”
Anyway, regardless of *how we got here* we have a game 7 and can say with certainty that today is the final baseball game of the year. For some of us, that sucks.

Others of us? We could probably use the break, honestly.

Go Washington. I’ve gone back and forth on who I want to win usually deciding that I just don’t care. But the way Houston handled the Osuna thing tips me in the direction of The Nats. It would be absolutely awesome if Osuna entered the game with a 2 run lead in the 9th and blew it for them…..

Does the series end tonight? By tomorrow will we all be looking out our windows longingly waiting for Winter to end or spring to start or whatever?

Stras has been so great I would side with Washington getting it done tonight but I’ve been wrong about almost every one of these games so maybe that means the Astros are about to go *2 in 3*

I remember the ’96 World Series very well. Lots of stuff going on in my life that week. And that was the last time a team went down 2-0 only to win the next 4 games and the title. And it seems the same thing is happening now, 23 years later.

It’s funny how a few games can change your entire opinion of a team that has played, what? like 175 or so this year? I’m pointing the finger at Martinez for not pinch hitting for Sanchez in Game 3. Ever since that gaffe Washington has been a balloon slowly deflating.

About the only thing the Nats have going for them is that they get back on the road which seems to be a necessity to win one of these games…..

Somehow we’ve been able to dodge the PG&E shutoffs. But just looking at this I’m skeptical that I’ll get to see the Niner game today (or the baseball game)

Here’s what I don’t get: why doesn’t PG&E just put the lines underground in the windiest spots? Keeping them above ground nailed into basically wood stakes seems like such an antiquated process that is just inviting a nightmare scenario.

What am I missing here? It would save them $$$ in the long run, prevent wildfires, it’s all good, right?

Kruk was on KNBR the other day saying “All I want is for the series to go 7.”

Jeez, more power to him. These games have been interminably long. And because I literally could care less who wins I’m missing several innings a game.

I need to stare out this damn window for a spell, look for Spring to start or winter to end or some shit.

Will be surprised if Sanchez can shutdown the ‘Stros tonight but I’ve been surprised by this entire series. Kinda amusing that Houston jettisons their idiot assistant GM but the actual domestic abuser stands by at the ready. I would think that if you were worried about cleansing the team of bad juju you’d also get rid of Osuna. If they bring him in at some point this series you have to believe it’s going to be another blow to their team chemistry and their ability to win.

Warriors giving us a preview of who they are this year. KNBR guys a few days ago arguing about o/u 50 wins. Lol. Please. Even if they don’t deal with injuries (which is going to happen) they don’t have the players to win 50. They don’t have enough scorers, plain and simple……

Gotta give Tom Tolbert credit. Before the first wild card game even started he was saying the bet was Washington to win it all. I forget what the odds were that day, like 16-1 something like that? Anyway, he’s likely got a nice payday coming his way.

Of course, they still have to close the deal. And while Houston has better players across the board we know that anything can happen in baseball with a small sample size. But with their backs against the wall we’re talking about a team that hasn’t had to grip the bat tight all season. That is a LOT of pressure on the Astros to manage.

If the Nats pull this off history will look back on it as one of the greatest over-achievements of all time. They lose their star hair flipper, they start the season in the tank and look dead.
Then they pick up Parra from the Giants and it’s been a straight up trajectory since then.

lqtm……

Well, I guess that was good for the Nats. Steal game 1. But goddamn they felt all-out to do it, right? We’ll see what happens tonight with Stras but maybe they’ll play it differently now that they’ve gotten the first one.

Smoltz can be a little irritating with his “for the fans out there who don’t know” take but for the most part I like his comments. Even Buck doesn’t grate on me anymore but maybe that’s only because the Giants aren’t in it…..

Nats been off a while. Remember when that happened to the Tigers in 2012? Didn’t work out so good for them.

Houston is also a significantly better team.

Washington has a tough road to climb but if they win tonight who knows?

This is kind of a *nothing* article, it doesn’t even predict what he may get offered in free agency.

https://www.mlb.com/news/analyzing-madison-bumgarner-s-free-agent-value

And I think the answer is already in. If teams weren’t interesting in trading anything for Bum for a post season run, supposedly the main reason you want him, then why would they pony up big dollars to get him in the regular season (when he is obviously less effective)?

Something to kick around on this off day.

Ok, so that wasn’t boring. In fact, that was one of the most exciting baseball games I’ve seen in years. But take a look at these ALCS stats:

Sure, Le-Mah and Altuve gave us at bats we’ll never forget (not to mention Brantley’s “Pence on the Fence” moment). But the rest of this series was just a parade of chumps striking out. That’s boring.

These days it is not uncommon to see a good hitting team get shut out or score just 1 or 2 runs. A conga line of hitters head to the plate waving away at pitches only to trudge back to the dugout. So is this great post season pitching rising up? Or is this just the *new game* we are forced to watch now? Guys swinging for the fences on every pitch. Because this really is a grind to watch sometimes. You can almost guarantee Judge will strike out if he’s got 2 strikes on him. Same with a lot of hitters.

The bombs are fun to watch but there are WAY more strikeouts than bombs. The game we grew up on is dead…..

First it was the Twins. Then the Cardinals. Now it’s the Yankees. Teams that seemed so imposing during the regular season that look absolutely terrible when the entire country is watching. Is it nerves? Just a bad stretch? I’m watching Encarnacion and Judge wave helplessly at pitch after pitch and I’m thinking, “How do these guys EVER hit a bomb? How do they ever hit a BALL?”

There’s something imminently satisfying about watching Yankee fans dress up to the nines and get their deep chants going while they bang in unison on the stadium field walls…..and then by the 6th inning they’re just sitting quietly and beaten. Anyone else feelin’ me on that? lqtm….

Definitely missed baseball last night. You just get used to having it on every night, right? And then winter kicks in and you forget about it. Then Chi posts that poem about that dude staring out the window watching spring come or leaves fall or some shit and boom! We back at it.

I like seeing 2 studs lined up to face off against each other but I’d also like to see them get lit up for once. We’ve seen some great pitching this post season. How bout Grienke and Tanaka get hammered for once? Doubt it. It’s cold, good pitching weather.

BIG showdown tonight in Denver. Chiefs by 3? Any time a team has to go to Nepal to play I find reasons to bet the Broncos.

Whatever you think about Bryce Harper, one fact became crystal clear last night: The Nats didn’t need him to win. There is also plenty of question about the damage he was doing to that team with his me-first-look-at-my-flowing-hair attitude. It seemed to have the same effect on the Phillies. Just ask Gabe Kapler….

I’m stoked we don’t have to watch Goldy or Ozuna strikeout anymore. St. Louis was god awful. I think Washington may have an inflated take on their chances in the World Series as they are going to be facing a team that’s actually good…..

Embarrassing series for St. Louis. Where’s Goldy? Six K’s the last 2 games, one hit in the series. And Shilt keeps batting Fowler 1st. Fowler is terrible. What happened to “if they f**k with us, we f**k with them” whatever that expletive laden speech was all about. Maybe he should have said “If they f**k with us we will bend over willingly.” Can they salvage even a single game? Getting swept would have to set this franchise back a little, right? It has exposed many holes….

Pretty straight forward day: Cardinals in a must win game. Green Bay only 4.5 fav’s over the Lions? And with all that going on the Italian-Americans celebrate their day. Feel like this is probably a bigger deal back in New York….

Focus is on NFL today. We are in “rare”-charted waters out here. The Niners had their run with Harbaugh but that feels like a million years ago. And the Super Bowl era feels like a billion years ago. It’s fun to get excited about football again….

Stud alert in Houston. Verlander vs Big Maple. Will watch if I’m not too worn out from football….

Old man showdowns today. Scherzer/Waino, Grienke/Tanaka–this is what baseball was like in the olden days like 3-4 years ago. Obviously it appears St. Louis is up against it but this is why baseball is awesome. Wouldn’t surprise me at all in Waino stepped up with a man-like performance. And Grienke is a weirdo but he’s still got something left in that tank. Think both of these games will be super competitive today….

Bummer about the Rays, they have great heart and are easy to root for with that low payroll, but there was just an inevitability about this you could see from a long way off—Cole’s game 5 start was always lurking, he’s the best pitcher in baseball this year, they just couldn’t fell him.

But did Tampa soften the Astros up at all for New York? I just want to see a good series, I don’t really care who wins although I guess I’m rooting a little bit for Houston.

In the NL this one is easy. Let’s go Cardinals! It’s funny how liking ONE of their fans has me able to support their team. I used to hate St. Louis, man. They also have some easy to like players. And with Washington, I still haven’t expelled the bad taste of Harper. How funny is it that they got RID of that guy but got BETTER? Bryce Harper is a loser, a look-at-me guy, he says he cares about the team and winning but this year was proof that the Nats were better off without him…..

It started with just a harmless comment on the blog….

Shortly after, Soto sends him to his familiar crouch….

….he peeks back to see if the horror is true…

it ’twas.

After that, you just knew…..

Choked again, dem boys in blue….

Big game in LA tonight. Dodgers will probably win but you know what? This is doable. Think about it. All the pressure is on the boys in blue. And it’s not like they care that much about the next round, did you see how many pics they took after they clinched the NL West? They acted like they won the World Series–which, for them, they did. That’s their World Series. Now we just wait to see which round they inevitably get knocked from. Could be tonight though…..

After living through decades of success with my Niners it was shocking to hear that this is the first time they’ve started a season 4-0 since 1990. Twenty nine years? How old am I?

The Minnesota Twins are just an embarrassment. I didn’t think pitching would lead them to advancing, their pitching is bad, but where were the bats? All season long they blast the ball out of the park and then they get on the national stage and do THAT? Crazy.

I hate to admit this but I’m starting to like the Cardinals. It felt dirty just to type that.

Back to a 4-load of games today. Awesome. And Niners on MNF! Oh how I hate Cleveland and anyone associated with that cow town. But this is a good test for SF. They haven’t exactly been beating up on the NFL’s elite. And while I think the Browns are definitely overrated they do have some big names on that team. Interesting to see how it all shakes out.

Disappointing that Washington came up *nat-small* but not completely surprising.

If you were watching Gerrit Cole last night and thinking to yourself, “Man, this guy is dominant” you were right:

What is the deal with the Twins? They look like the worst team in the league. How the heck do you lose 15 post season games in a row? You have to be at least better than decent to make the post season. And then you lose 15 in a row? That is, consistently, a weak minded team….

Oh man, though I always expect the Dodgers to lose in the post season because that’s just how they roll I didn’t REALLY think the Nats would be the one to fell them. But sure enough, Kershaw came out and laid another post season egg and Washington is now in position to do this. They’re the ones playing with house money. They’re the ones that are now at home. And LA is back on their heels AGAIN. Lol, man watching their dumbasses lose in the post season is nearly as good as watching the Giants win.

Two more intriguing games today. Great baseball is just coming at us in waves right now, it’s awesome….

Four big ones today. Bummed that work is getting in the way of me partaking. Can Tampa Bay shock the world? Can Atlanta rally and take down the best pitcher in the NL (second half)? Will Minnesota ever break the spell the Yankees have on them? Finally, can Kershaw finally step up and pitch well in the post season? I’m talking about the entire post season, not some one-off game here and there…..

Mid way through last night’s thrashing I texted my A’s fan buddy and said “A’s coming up ant-small.” He texted back, “smaller.”

If you’re an A’s fan you have to be getting tired of this stuff. They have legit talent sprinkled up and down the line up. They have some of the livest arms in either league. And they get to the post season and it all goes out the window.

Again, we don’t spend enough time thanking the baseball Gods for what they bequeathed us in 2010, 2012 and 2014. Never the best team…..until the end.

Wow! What a way to kick off the post season. I feel horrible for Brewers fans who now have their very own Billy Buckner moment to carry with them for eternity. Between Hader overthrowing everything and Grisham acting like a little leaguer it was a great reminder that the pressures of tournament baseball are enormous and can take down anyone at any time……

Tampa Bay and Oakland should be intriguing just on the small market match up alone–although hearing the A’s whine about being a small market team is a bit of a joke.

Melvin will try, I suspect, to string Manaea, Luzardo and Hendriks together into some type of dominating 3 headed monster. Luzardo is one of the most fun pitchers to watch in all of baseball. Electric only begins to describe his stuff. He’s working with damn near sorcery out there. I suppose Fiers could follow Manaea but if I were Melvin I’d roll Luzardo out there and save Fiers for Houston.

I’m expecting a low scoring game so that means it will probably be 10-7….

The Wild Card games are both exciting match ups. Twin used to hate the 1 game WC format, I have always loved it. Kicking off the post season with two game 7’s? Yes please. It sucks for the fans of those teams only getting one game but if you don’t like it get a GM that can build a team to win your division. The WC format is also a good reason AGAINST buying at the deadline. Buying for what? You mortgage possible future stars for a 1 game crap shoot? It’s stupid.

But also awesome…..

On paper Washington looks to have the advantage tonight with the beastly Scherzer going up against an opener. But with the way the game has changed I doubt it plays out that predictably. And tomorrow Oakland has the crafty old vet *Undecided* going for them. He’s tough.

I’ll say Milwaukee and Oakland advance….

And I did this bracket to support our main man Daniel and also because I think I’d be the only bracket out there to hit. You should see how I answered the questions to supplement the bracket, oh my!