The Best Day Of The Pandemic Yet!
A package arrived yesterday. Normally I wouldn’t turn that into an entire blog thread. But these are desperate times. I was so excited to open it but I remembered what Snarkk said to do with packages so I lysoled the shit out of it and quarantined it in my garage overnight.
I just opened it. My heart was pounding. It felt like Christmas even though it was just another dreary Covid19 morning. The package was from San Dawg. Months ago I mentioned off hand to him that my Toomgis coffee mug was starting to show a little wear and tear, not surprising since I use it every morning. So he sent me a new one along with a package of unopened baseball cards. I now have a set of Toomgis coffee mugs.
The best card in there was a Trevor Baur and for some reason a card commemorating the moon landing. I’ve always been a big Bauer fan, here is my scouting report from him nearly a decade ago:
Maybe “superstar waiting to happen” didn’t quite pan out. But he’s very good, he’s extremely bright and I appreciate his social media posts.
Anyway, THANK YOU to the great San Diggity Dawg who managed to spruce up an otherwise impending day of monotony. If you were wondering, both mugs were payment for bets lost although to be honest I haven’t really kept track of the most current bet. I don’t think it’s even been resolved yet. Still, now I have 2 Toomgis mugs.
And the day begins!
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
What a cool gesture on the part of San Dawg. Very cool, Dawg.
I hear you about the monotony, Flav. I think this is my 4th full-time week of telecommuting. Not sure, the days and weeks have just become a blur. I am a social person, big time, so this is tough for me. I miss interacting with staff in person…hell, I even miss going to a meeting at work! LMAO. Really looking forward to that day when life returns to some sense of normalcy. It will be a challenge to figure out where I will go for my first meal out. First drink in public is an easy one. I hang with a number of guys at a local brewery at “The Old Guys Table.” We all swap texts regularly, but will be good to tip one with them all in person.
Anyone heard from Stix lately? I have not heard from him in some time. Hell, he may be out of the pokey by now. Also connected with Sarge via text last night. He and his family are good. We had been looking forward to a beer together at opening day. Looks more and more like that will be next year.
Anyone here optimistic that we will get ANY baseball season in?
Chi, let me ask you, do you think your Co. could survive in fashion it is now with everyone telecommuting, at least part time if not full?
I know unc is doing this from home, and he has long daily commute from 680 all the way to SF.
I think some businesses are going to take very close look at this. Makes me wonder about the office boom in SF and Silicon valley with big Tech buying up buildings everywhere. Not to mention the huge Google plan for downtown San Jose.
There is big story about the possibility of baseball in AZ with all 30 teams there and no fans.
Hey WilleD – I shared previously that where I work (part of the Dept. of Energy), has looked as sharing of office space well before this pandemic, and the reason is that we are getting close to being out of space in some of the regional offices (Folsom, where I work probably has the most space). Will that happen? Hard to say, but I would suspect they look at the telework data, and use that in their evaluation post-pandemic. Right now, a large portion of the organization (all regional offices) are teleworking 100% (just a handful of folks who MUST work onsite are continuing to work full time, on premise.
I suppose a season played entirely in AZ with no fans would be better than no season. At least we could watch the games on the boob tube. Crazy times they are.
The game would be interesting since there would be no home field advantage. I hope they can pull that off.
Unless they pipe in canned audio. That would be a little over the top.
Magnus, as you illustrate above, there are silver linings, though that’s too glittery a term. Yesterday I was invited to submit a poem, quotation, or text to Poem Exchange, an internet chain letter. It lifted my spirits, not that they were especially low. What did I submit? This, from William Butler Yeats:
Gratitude to the Unknown Instructors
What they undertook to do,
They brought to pass;
All things hang like a drop of dew
Upon a blade of grass.
as usual Kokonuts you got me thinking long and hard about that one. Stay safe, friend.
It’s been quite a while since the adjectives long or hard were asociated with me in any way, directly or indirectly.
lol
Great post. Way to go Pete!!! payed off a bet and unknowingly provided us all with some levity to our boring Ronavirus day.
I’m pretty shocked at everyone giving this Jeff Passan article legs. Carrying “significantly expanded rosters” to address the problem of a player testing + doesn’t fix anything. They would have to quarantine the entire team the player has been exposed to and bring in an entire new team. How is that realistic? And what happens when players just keep testing + even if it’s just a couple a week?
it’s just a plan at this stage. Definite benefits to having available stadia, all teams in confined area no travel/no fans yada yada. Obviously lot of things to work out; month away at least.
Sure everyone has to be tested with quick results. IF things were to flatten out what I’ve read in couple different places is that if someone tested positive it would NOT involve full quarantine
Without a vaccine why wouldn’t it be a full quarantine? Can you provide the links you read that argued it wouldn’t be a full quarantine? I’m interested to know what the alternate plan would be
Story about NYC stuff reminded me of something. Weekend before the Cutch 6 hit walkoff HR game early April 2018, was able to meet up with SanDawg at Dutch Goose in Menlo Park on Friday night. Great place, hadn’t ever been there, had a great time good food/drink.
Cueto shut out LA for 7, SD had the long drive toward homefront ahead of him.
giants eventually won for second game in row on Panik HR, this time off Jansen.
Flavor, it’s on the MLBTR story on right widget headlined Latest on potential 2020 season.
Scroll down to 12:16 AM 3rd paragraph in:
“…officials do not believe that a positive alone would necessarily be cause to quarantine an entire team or shut down the season.”
That’s a perplexing conclusion to me. It violates everything about trying to defeat this virus.
well that’s just an opinion with no reasonable alternative response offered.
Not a surprise:
“The Times reports the president’s family trusts all have investments in a mutual fund whose largest holding is Sanofi, the manufacturer of Plaquenil, the brand-name version of hydroxychloroquine.”
I’m not going to hold that against Trump and it certainly doesn’t explain his perplexing support of the drug. He has a very small financial interest in the company that makes the drug.
—from the Wash Post: “only 3.3 percent of the fund’s holdings are in that company. What’s more, Trump’s disclosure, filed in May, shows that the three trusts each hold between $1,001 and $15,000 in the Dodge & Cox fund. In other words, Trump’s stake in Sanofi from each trust is between $33 and $495 — or between about $100 and $1,500 in total.”
Other than pursuit of the almighty dollar, what is the point of these possible games in front of nobody, except TV audiences? It puts many support people at risk, not just the players. How can a batter be distant from the catcher, or when a batter is on first base next to the 1bman? He can’t, even if he’s wearing a mask. Baseball is not an essential activity. All these players and support personnel will have to tested, and probably on a regular basis during the “season”. How do you explain to the public craving for testing that millionaire players and support people get all the testing they need, when we masses get no tests or wait 10 days for results? Who is the person or persons in MLB that are willing to take responsibility if this crazy attempt at baseball in the middle of a pandemic causes a player or support person to contract the Covid-19 and die? I think this is nuts. Baseball should sack up that we’re in the middle of a dangerous historical event and do what the rest of the us need to do to defeat this thing…
I’m guessing this idea came about to give Trump something to feel good about–he did have that recent meeting with all the major sports heads. It makes no sense, I agree, and if it did ever get off the ground it would fail immediately once a couple of players or people associated with the games (groundskeepers, umps, etc) came down with the virus.
Glad you liked the package Flav! The “I don’t think Johnny Cueto will ever pitch in the big leagues again” bet has been settled.
Every year I buy one pack of Topps Heritage Cards each time I go to the store (the Heritage set uses a design from the past—this year it is the 1971 model) until I get someone on the Giants. Took me 4 packs this year until I got……………..Longoria.
Next year’s Heritage line will recreate the 1972 edition, which was the first year I collected cards when I was 7, so I’m kind of excited to check those out.
That baseball plan seems wacky. If you can’t get in at least 150 games, just cancel the season. Do it right or don’t do it at all.
Beers and a meal at The Goose sounds great right about now. A wonder if they are doing take out? They probably are.
excellent, ok obviously I remember that bet. What do we still have live? I have Biden as the Dem nominee, you have the field?
Yes. Biden v The Field for the presidency is our last remaining bet.
Bern Baby Bern. I know he has a snowball’s chance in hell at the nomination, but he has been my guy going back to the 2016 fiasco, er election.
At the time I made the bet, Bernie was on fire and Bloomberg and Warren were still looking like possible contenders. It went south like 72 hours after the bet!
I’m guessing the players started to realize they weren’t getting paid, and haven’t put any of those millions away:)
Do not know if owners still getting paid their TV money??
Biden should be a LOT more visible than he has been. And Bernie should bow out already.
I get letting Trump trip over his tiny dick every day, but really, Biden should be doing something out there.
As far as the players not having money, how do you spend $10,000 a week?
Just saw that Biden is on Cuomo’s show tonight. Or CNN. Or both?
I heard the idea of playing baseball inside a biodome in Phoenix (!) and thought it was some kind of April Fool’s day joke.
ALL 30 teams sealed off from their families and the outside world for 4.5 months while the season takes place inside the biodome? Gimme a break.
And I though Westworld was a little outlandish.
Even though Bernie is (and has been since 2016) my guy, I agree, he should bow-out. He has almost no chance at the nomination. It is gonna be Uncle Joe.
I agree with this sensible view:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/04/07/sporting-events-should-be-among-final-parts-everyday-life-return-not-first/
https://1045espn.com/will-harris-talks-possibility-of-mlb-biodome/
Wow. Unreal.
If you are waiting on vaccine/cure for yes/no to sports, then you are resigned to NO sports for a year minimum. It likely won’t be here until mid to late next year, 2021.
Reading on yahoo about antibody immunologist who has some hope for what he (and others) are researching, Fauci said this is a good approach (imunology) and always has been. If this can be tested and proven effective it could be ready by fall. It is not a cure as he put it, but can help ward off the virus from attacking lungs and could be injected into a person testing positive with strong symptoms.
He got at this by looking back at how SARS works and was cut down eventually.
Went back and caught-up on yesterday’s posts. Was good to see Blade back. Yes, we have been in touch re: properties in this area (Placerville, Pollock Pines, etc.).
Blade – if you drop in today, I would say HELL NO to Grizzly Flats. It is literally in the middle of fucking nowhere. We can talk more if you like.
To clarify, I do live in Placerville. It is a badass little town. We are about the midpoint between Sacramento and South Lake Tahoe on Highway 50.
Placerville is the county seat for El Dorado county, and the town nickname is Old Hangtown. The reason is that back in the wild west days, with Placerville being the county seat, this is where they administered justice (hung the guilty). There is a place that used to be a bar, but has changed over to a different establishment and it is called “The Hangman’s Tree.” When it was a bar, you could access the basement area, and there is a stump from an old tree, and that tree was “the hangman’s tree.” This is gold rush country, so lots of history from that era. Gold was discovered about 15 miles from here in the tiny town of Coloma.
OK, enough history for me for one day.
About that biodome…that is some batshit crazy stuff…
MLB channel was showing Pads Tigers 1984 series. flipped over there just in time to see Gibson whack 3 run bomb off Gossage. Saw Darrell Evans in dugout and Larry Herndon was in the lineup for Detroit.
Pads had Flannery Bochy Ed Whitson and Lefferts, plus Dravecky and Birch Society boys that thought Reagan was too liberal. Plus Garvey Terry Kennedy Templeton wiggins G. Nettles .
Brown uni days for SD. New ones aren’t bad either; Godson had top on last I saw him thanksgiving.
Pads really ran into buzzsaws in their 2 WS appearances (Yanks 1998).
All I remember about the ’84 series was a lot of Bevacqua talk…
What’s Toomgis? Never heard of it. It must be Left Coast. Just like golubkis are, um, Right Coast.
Toomgis is a fat dude made out of junk food. He’s the AM/PM mascot, It stands for Too Much Gross Inedible Shit.
Fauci optimistic about the fall (a.k.a. Autumn)…
Yeah like are chances of getting a stimulus check, a lot of Americans are going to get screwed out of that 1,200 check myself included..
Ain’t no check heading my way, but that’s cool. Personally, I don’t thinK one $1200 check is enough.
Chuck I’m thinking we couldn’t ( well maybe I could) spend $10k a week, but if you are set up lifestylewise to a $ 1 milliion a week 10K isn’t much. MLB minumim last year was $25k a week last year
John Prine passed away from the coronavirus.
“There’s a hole in daddy’s arm where all the money goes
Jesus Christ died for nothin’ I suppose
Little pitchers have big ears
Don’t stop to count the years
Sweet songs never last to long on broken radios”
RIP Mr. Prine.
I hated Toomgis for years until San Dawg turned me on to the subtle nuances that made him such a likable character. Diggity has a way of explaining shit that just makes sense. Amirite?
He’s one of a kind, for sure…
this guy is a standard deviation or two away from my musical wheelhouse but he seems like a fun guy who knows how to party. Chi is pretty broken up about his passing on FB
Loved John Prine. His debut album in 1971 floored us. We thought he was the next Bob Dylan. Turns out he was the first John Prine. NYT obit tells how he reluctantly performed Hello in There and Angel From Montgomery at an open mic in Chicago at a small club. The audience responded with shocked silence. Then began to clap.
Loved John Prine as well, saw him a couple times back in the ’70s. That album (forget the name) of him sitting on the bales of hay, I played that thing into a groove-less pancake….
Agree on the debut album, Pawlie. So many great songs on that album…Illegal Smile, Hello In There, Angel from Montgomery. In my opinion he is an American legend.
How is it possible that I have never heard his name?
Was he really well known?
He wrote that “Angel from Montgomery” song and probably a lot more. Yes, he was quite famous.
Yeah, the John Prine passing really got me. I have been listening to John Prine since the early 70s. He is absolutely one of the all-time great American songwriters.
Saw him a number of times. One of the fondest was seeing him in the mid-80s at a small club in San Francisco called Wolfgang’s. We got there early and while waiting for the doors to open, John Prine himself walks up, and we had a short chat with him. He was so down to earth. We had a table at the front of the stage. Amazing show.
RIP.
The British PM Johnson was boasting a month ago about how the virus wasn’t going to stop him from shaking hands with people. And now he’s fighting the virus in a hospital IC unit.