A Place to Talk About Giants Baseball….
Ok, so I am going to remain optimistic that we get some baseball. Why? Cause it don’t cost nothin’. And I definitely want to watch some ball that isn’t stupid replays of games that have already played. I think we’ve seen what can happen to the blog when there is no baseball to discuss.
It is not pretty.
I will begin by no longer posting any Trump letters and that’s hard for me to do because I got a doozy from “Eric Trump” this morning.
But it is time to retire that particular bit.
Now, can we please, pretty please with sugar on top, get some freaking baseball?
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Come on, man. We got NOTHING. Politics drives me nuts, but there’s nothing else.
Go for it. I’m just winding my participation down until we start to play. I’d love to discuss the abomination that is the dismissed case of traitor Michael Flynn. But I shall refrain…..
Thanks because you know I could go on and on about that one (had lunch with one of his attorneys last fall)…
lulz. He pled guilty twice, but yeah, he’s innocent.
I just read they are closing the Giants training facility due to virus concerns. I guess we have a month to figure out how to do this but if they throw teams on the field without practicing it probably won’t look too good. But, then again who really gives a shit what we look like with a 60 game season. Hopefully during that time we can see who are truly gamers and go from there.
Aren’t they supposed to report to their home stadiums???
I don’t know.
That is my understanding and there was chatter on mlb channel last night that some teams may try and locate some of their minor leaguers near their home stadiums at college fields to keep them in game situation shape…
Baseball back bring on down Yasiel Puig…at least makes Loo and I happy and I am affirmatively refraining posting a story about the KY primary election and the suppression myth. The Dem gov and Repub sec of state agreed to centralize the primary voting in the two most populous counties of Jefferson and Fayette the Louisville fairgrounds and the UK football stadium because of covid concerns and the lack of sufficient poll workers available not because Republicans hate black people…the Repub sec of state is quoted as saying they need more polling places for the general election…
I’ll believe the Puig thing when I see it. IF he were to come to SF it would be because he had zero other prospects. We’d have to drag him from his family in Florida to come play in a climate he hates in a ballpark he loathes. It will never happen.
Lunch bet???
And fully agree he has no other or better options…unless he wanted to go to Korea…adding the DH and beginning the season with 30 man rosters lends some obviousness to bring in Puig and giving Ruf and maybe Shaw shots at being on the roster and also DHing…
Sure. Again, if it’s his only offer I can see it. But I think there are enough teams out there that would throw him a shitty contract and he’d take that over anything the Giants offered.
Ok lunch is on. I am more likely to cash that in there then you in DC.
Austin Slater is Giants player rep. I realize btw 30 man (to start then it goes down to 28 and 26) roster and maybe 20 taxi squad guys he fits in there somewhere, but might behoove him to come out firing on all cylinders.
Okay, so politics are out and I have zero on baseball. So, my question is what do you guys do all day, with COVID-19 restrictions? I will start it off . . . I am busy with a list moving into my house (Chi has seen it – at least the 2 page version, that has grown to 4 pages) and one of the highlights was winning my case with the State Attorney General’s Office (PUC division), where AT&T agreed to install a landline telephone at my house . . . ya know, the old copper wire hookup.
So, what do you guys do to keep occupied? Work? From the office or at home? Impact of COVID-19? Or whatever?
I’m a teacher on summer break. It’s 100 degrees in the Valley.
Because of the virus, we are still very reluctant to go out much in public.
I read lots. Watch movies. Play guitar. Watch the occasional retro Giants game.
retired baker but thinking of doing some part time work in the future.. Right now I am taking care of my sister who has some serious medical issues. Gonna redo some fences in the yard(both sides. Did the back fence last year. Maybe put a new roof on my shed if not this summer then by next. Or just get a new shed. Spend most of my time on the computer and try to at least get an hour or more of exercise everyday. Politics have pretty much taken over my central thinking lately. Crossing my fingers for both baseball and football.
Zum, my cousin is a teacher/principal (this year a teacher) in the San Jose district. She is preparing for online courses, as children will not be allowed back to school in the immediate future. She has a great attitude about all of this and also, goes over to my parent’s house twice a week, where they play cards and dominoes.
Are you preparing for online courses as well?
Congrats on the new digs…my parents have some issue with ATT on the coast in Santa Cruz county for internet service…my days are fall spent working from home and with wife working part-time 3 days a week, I am doing a large amount of keeping the 5 kids fed…they are so demanding with wanting more than one meal a day!!! One college daughter though is working a ton at a grocery store and taking summer online classes…
Peter, does your wife have to work part time because her employer cut her hours?
No it was just a part time job to begin with at home patient care…
Cool. You guys going stir crazy being at home? Especially with the kids at home?
A little bit but wife and I went been out a couple times for dinner last week and just had lunch after a doc appt for her and two of the places have been indoors…been doing a lot of Home Depot and Lowe’s and about completed just about 250 yards of fence painting with another 200 to go. Deck repainted and now need to do some lower roof painting….ugh now getting depressed…
250 yards???????????? I want to see photos of your place!!!!!!!!!!! Send them to Flav for posting. I can not imagine you painting 250 yards of fencing, with 200 yards left to go? I want to see this. LMAO.
250 yards of fencing painted and another 200 to go Damm!
GH what do u own the Ponderosa??
Yeah like Blade said Pictures to BF!!!
Blade: Heading outside in a few minutes. There’s a small nature conservancy behind the house,here. centering on a swampy pond with a storm sewer drain coming in and a small creek outlet. Drain was massively plugged with years of detritus including a smallish snow-board, a jump-rope and masses of plastic all entangled with roots from invasive box-elder trees as well as dead branches and leaves. Been using up the hours that way and gradually transitioning it from an eyesore and a man-hole cover tosser into something almost nice. Also been cutting up some of the larger branches, etc into firewood for the gazebo firepit and removing crushed rock from in front of the house where plans have changed.
What I like about all this is getting my manhood back by way of the natural exercises that was daily routing back on Echo Ridge. Hands no longer so pussified and old-manish. Been barefoot a bunch so the feet no longer feel so defeeted. Fed-induced neuropathic swelling abating nicely. Food’s been real and bed IS real. Amazing to get those feelings of humanity infusion again.
AND tomorrow should bring delivery of a new iMac desk-model, so transcription can begin on that mass of notes and chapters that engaged much of my energies while down with the Fed$…Just one bit of belated politix, here. One candidate (name withheld) is most unpopular with victims of the Fed$…Back in the day he was a major push behind NO paroles for Federal prisoners as well as limiting time off for good behavior (taxpayer dollars involved with kickbacks, etc for insiders). Also he was a major mover behind the 100 to One sentencing disparity between crack and powder. Black inmates especially despise those actions–at least the older guys who have been down for awhile and who keep up on things like that.
Armed with a good computer I should be able to get my political rocks off without joining in on the ongoing gripe over the Flap. Bring back baseball and that’s all I’ll be about. Will fill everyone in on progress getting it set-up with much assistance from tech-savvy nephew. Purchased at a nearby Best-Buy as they lived up to their promise of matching prices with anyone else. Neph got us $50 savings that way as he showed them the same model offered by Amazon. Can’t get their geek squad in anytime soon as they’re booked up 3 weeks in advance largely due to Cv-19 messing everyone’s life up via the lockdown/plandemic.
So thanks to the brotherhood on the Flap, the whole law n’ order racket is gonna get a good reaming.
Outstanding post Stix. I really hope you get back to your property next year and are able to fix it up, where it has some semblance and livability to what you had in years past.
Awesome post, Stix. I am so happy you are doing much better physically, and that you are getting that new Mac, brother. Keep us posted on the writings.
Looking forward to talking baseball with you and the rest of the flap universe.
So as some of you may know I work in health care. I’m a cardiac ultrasound technologist. I work at Oakland’s general hospital and we’re the safety net for Alameda county. I took two months off because they let me take leave to stay home with my school aged kids who obviously couldn’t go to school. Zoom school was definitely a challenge. Almost a waste of time, they didn’t really learn anything new, and barely were able to refresh what they learned. Terrible situation for everyone. Although, it was great being able to reconnect with my family. Being the sole bread winner and working two sometimes three jobs to keep the family housed and fed really took its toll.
Anyway, I’m back at work now and we are definitely seeing an increase in COVID patients. Not overwhelmed yet, but there is a real danger that we could run out of PPE. That piece is still broken. With some elective surgeries being allowed the hospital is slowly but surely coming back to life. We had to cancel everything non-emergent in expectation of a surge that, fortunately, never came. So this place was almost a ghost town for a while. Please wash your hands and wear your mask. It’s not that hard.
Looking forward to seeing some kind of season I don’t even care what it looks like at this point. Bring it on!
“Being the sole bread winner and working two sometimes three jobs to keep the family housed and fed really took its toll.”
Delbert, thoughts and prayers are with your family and you. Your message resonated with me. It’s been years since I have struggled (e.g., lived in the back of my car at one point). However, my problem/issues were self inflicted back then, so little or no comparison to what you’re going through. Just about speechless about what you wrote. I do love your message because it’s so inspirational. Few people can imagine what you are seeing day in and day out as a health care worker. I really admire what you are doing for the community. Feel free to message me on Facebook (Messenger) any time.
Thanks Steve! Will do. Congrats on the place by the way.
Del – good to see you post. I second Steve’s comments about your work/family situation, and the work you do my friend. Wishing you and yours good health and blessings. Looking forward to the day we can all take in a game again, and for the opportunity to buy you a beer, again, All the best, brother.
Working full-time, 100% telecommute. On the coast (Fort Bragg) for three days (head back Friday) to beat the fucking foothill heat.
What I need to do is start playing more golf!!! Jumped right into hot and humid here in Virginia after getting back from the Bay last week…our pool though at least re-opened but they are allowing just 6 families at a time and one lane for each.
One lane only in swimming pool 🏊♀️?Isnt that easily over 6 ft apart?
Yes I really dont have a fear if they just opened the pool with only a couple swimming lanes…
I have a stationary bike that I use, and need to use even more.
yeah fitness is an issue with stuff I’d normally do like basketball summer weekend practices and clinics shut down. Using light dumbbells for half dozen exercises every other day and some hatha yoga for flexibility, which is awful. Not near as hot here as in Valley so try and get out and take early walk for half hour or so as often as possible. Hey do what your body can handle.
That’s cool Willie. I just got back from my short walk to the mail box (about a 1/4 mile). Otherwise, I haven’t had a chance to explore yet. You’ve always been in very good shape. This crap must be killing you mentally, especially not being able to work with younger folks.
We do a walk with the dogs to the mailbox and back almost every morning (about 1.3 miles and lots of long fairly steep hills). Kickass walk. I also do a circuit class weekly that kicks your ass, too.
Puig has to rebuild his value. He was terrible last year and has been on a downward spiral for years. He needs a small ballpark to hit his homeruns, flex his biceps and try to dupe a dumbfuck GM into giving him more money than he’s worth.
I had him in my fantasy league and he was just starting to begin hitting well in cincy and then got traded and that ditched his productivity. I really dont think he had a terrible year but was just starting to get his swing….but in a bandbox none the less but his offense plays well at what are we now called Oracle Park?
And with games in more hitter friendly parks like TX Hou AZ and CO I think he is a good add and he is obviously going to be on a Flodger war path the entertainment value is sky high and we need some entertainment in this year of all years…
he swings for the fences every swing, with his obviously diminished power he’ll fly out at a record pace, he’ll get frustrated and sulk.
But it doesn’t matter because Puig knows more than anyone that he needs to be based in a band box to re-build his value.
I’m just chillin out at home coach potato style counting down my surgery date June 30th.
I do have to drive up to one of those COVID-19 tents and get a swab test on 25th as part of my surgery protocol,
if for some reason it comes up positive, I’m screwed and will have to wait even longer, don’t think that will be the case though I’m feeling good, looking good 🤣🤣
I know you were an outstanding athlete in your younger days AK. Do you think this surgery will allow you to minimally play golf again?
Blade..It will be a slow process, but I’m thinking a minimum of 3-4 months before I can hit the links.
I will try and pin down my surgeon on that, but after a hip replacement they’re is a lot of PT, and hopefully no infection arises for a setback. It’s crazy looking at the hip replacement ball joint system going into my body, but it’s needed badly as my degenerate hip with arthritis is just so painful to get around on without extra meds to take.(The doctor said with your new hip your arthritis is usually eliminated in that hip. which would be bitchin)But yeah I’m going to golf, fishing, boating,camping and all the things I enjoy in the future!!
Kat – I Jane a friend who had both hips replaced (two years apart). His sitter had both replaced, too. Giants won a World Series each year he had a hip replacement. We keep encouraging him to get another. He is doing much better now, post hip replacement surgery
AK, just pay attention to the PT (Sportsdude knows what I am talking about). My PT for my shoulder surgery/bicep rupture emphasized that I would FAIL if I didn’t exactly follow his instructions. In effect, he said guys like me would do too much and would have issues. Conversely, if I followed what he said, I would be just about as good as new.
I have a lake 5 minutes from my new home. Give me a shout if you ever want to go fishing. Practically, none of my CA friends fish. What’s with that?
Yeah Blade you can’t over push things are you can have setbacks.Sounds like you grudgingly listen and did it the right way(are u might have pushed it to much also?)Yeah it’s amazing now when I heard basically it’s a 2 hour operation, then recovery room, then see if u can walk some down the hallway and then u go home the same day if all is good, maybe a total of 6-7 hrs crazy, but they have come along way with these surgeries and are even better than 10-15 years ago..
And thanks for the invite.I really dig Placerville,Pollock Pines area , especially when I u you to bring my aluminum boat and camp up at Icehouse lake, Loon lake, then shoot down to Stumpy Meadows lake near Georgetown.But just checking out Jenkinson lake ? near u would be a blast first!!!
No, I actually listened to him AK, although I wanted to do more. That being said, those stupid rubber band exercises gave me all I could handle. Humiliating going from weight lifting iron to wanting to “graduate” to the different color rubber bands. lulz. It took over a year of hard work, but I got back all my strength.
Yeah sadly for me this will be my second surgery in 2 years.I had a 7 hr neck surgery where they went into the back of my neck and front to repair C-4 C-5 C-6 and back of the neck to shave some bones back.I was losing feeling in my hands and was seriously losing the ability to even hold a pen and write my name! All’s better now though I still have some numbness in my forearms and hands I can lift atleast lift 5 gallon full water jug!
Yeah I have those stretch bands from my PT doctor, they help, I like when I put part of it in a door and shut it and then stretch it out to the max!!
I initially went it to get a MRI done on my lower back/ hip which was killing me, but when I mentioned my hand numbness and strength, they recommended a MRI on my neck and discovered it was all jacked up and recommended getting that fixed first.
So now finally I’m getting around to the hip replacement after I was scheduled in March and got screwed by Covaid19 ! Just hoping this will be the last of my problems, cause I was always an Ironman in the past, never sick, no health issues, couple of softball injuries broken wrist, a knee problem etc..
I just want to get walking again normally with out a freakin WALKER!!!
You’ll do it AK. Keep the faith . . . You’re going about it the right way. Amazing what those doctors can do. You know, the other thing I was thinking about was my health care coverage with Kaiser. Back when I had my shoulder surgery it cost a grand total of $200 ($100 for MRI scan and $100 for the surgery). Unbelievable deal!
It is my understanding that in the 60 game schedule they will go 40 against NL west division rivals and 20 against the AL west so that means 10 games against each NL west team (3 and 2 game series 2 series at each park) and 4 games against AL west (2×2 in one series in each park).
Any news on playoff structure? I am assuming it is 16 teams to make up revenue (3 game series for first round? Higher seeds first 2 games at home to give them an advantage)…
Sounds crazy but if Cueto and Smardj pitch decently I could see us being .500 and being in wild card reach)…but that likely means they dont move either pitcher for prospects this year and means we dont get anything for Smardj…
Playoffs will not be changed. Same since 2012: Five teams, with WC game, best-of-5 LDS, best-of-7 LCS.
Duh, five teams per league, 10 overall.
Ok interesting
Winder, I try to do the same thing – at least an hour for exercise everyday. So, so difficult with this move to California, coupled with buying a house. Especially so, getting back into weights (Core adjustable bar bell set). I was doing my “travel workout,” consisting of 5 sets of 125-150 crunches, 5 sets of 50 pushups, and 5 sets of various movement/calisthenics exercises. What exercises do you do?
What’s the weather like where you live? Brookings Oregon was one of 3 areas I thoroughly investigated living, along with Hawaii and where I am at now. I read that it has a banana belt climate. True?
I live in Albany Oregon which is in mid Willamette valley, and it is mostly overcast or raining. We get a little snow every year. The summers are nice but mostly short. Our claim to fame is we are the grass seed capitol of the world. i have a routine where i do at least 80 pushups, 40 air squats( that is to help my very tired back, lifting 100 pound sacks of flour and sugar didn’t help with that). I also have two treadmills, one is a manual with an uphill slant of 30 degrees. that one makes me sweat after 10 minutes and I usually try for 15 or 20 if I can. Very easy on the back. then the other one is a regular one and I try and do some speed walking for 12/15 minutes at a time. Gets the blood moving. i moved here from Hawaii a few years ago Hawaii is great but very expensive and 85 degree weather everyday gets a little old especially around Christmas. After a few years it kind of wears on you at least it did me.
Glad you mentioned Hawaii . . . I have been sort of wondering if I made a mistake passing up Hawaii (I didn’t). I put 2 bids on a beautiful Hawaiian beach home with ocean views and was shot down by the owner. He was asking way too much for the place. Ironically, do you know where he was going back to Winder? Oregon. LOL. For the very reasons you cited likely. I actually have experience with Hawaiian fever, as we lived there when I was 13. After a couple of years, I was going stir crazy.
Impressed with your workout. Keep on doing what you’re doing!
Both Washington and Oregon have a big Hawaiian population, or coarse Las Vegas has the most. Problem with a lot of houses near the ocean in Hawaii is unless they are continually maintenanced get weathered and even though there is not much to them( no insulation for the most part) they fall into disrepair easily, salt air and heat do damage. Don’t know where you were looking but a lot of properties in Ewa Beach were like that. I lived there on and off for 20 years, mom moved over there in 1960 and lived there the rest of her life.
Big Island on the Hilo side.
Blade, for the next school year, our school district is offering parents the choice of either sending their students back to school or doing school online. The online option will be run by the district, and teachers won’t have to run it. There’s still a lot of things to work out about having the students back at school, though. Many safety logistics have to be worked out by the district. I fully expect to be teaching with a mask on, which will be a challenge. During this past school year, the entire 4th quarter had to be run online by teachers, which was a challenge. I did learn a lot of computer stuff in the process.
You’ll adjust regardless Zum . . . I can tell you never get “too excited” about any challenge put in front of you. Good luck this school year!
More of these every day.
Just say no to Puig.
Giants may be running that noise up the flagpole for some sort of PR, not sure what sort. Maybe that they are considering all talent options; then in the end, a final “Nah”. I hope so…
I’m hoping this DC Circuit rubber stamp of the Flynn dismissal is appealed to the full Circuit, beyond just this 3-judge panel, one of whom is a recent Drumpf minion. If you and I pled guilty twice in federal district court to a federal crime, I’m sure we could all get the charges eventually dropped after engineering a change in the prosecution crew, and intervention by the Attorney General to say that we’d been unfairly treated by the FBI…
did you see that one of judges on this panel publicly criticized the trial court’s procedure before the appellate briefs were filed? Fucking kangaroos having a party in the DC Circuit these days. I don’t know the composition well enough to guess whether en banc review would do better. The US SCt, however, if they were to grant cert, would be in a weird bind. The law-and-order conservatives might not be able to stomach Barr’s corruption.
Wish I couldda got that kinda deal from the Fed$–particularly with age-factor, no priors and standing 15 feet in front of my door. But its quite clear that they look out for their own and as psychotronic weaponry didn’t do all they had hoped for, there was not the kinda HUUUGE media splash that would have only meant the loss of a couple pawns in the “Great Game.” So they were pissed at me because their agenda was not forwarded.
The FeeBiis’ Behavior Analysis Unit at Quantico can only project and predict so much about the psyche of any individual who catches their interest. I sent Xoot a copy of my 10 page sentencing statement in the Minnesota District Court. Double Jeopardy all the way–absolutely contra-constitutional, but seven of the Nine Black Robes “ruled” that the trumped-up “dual sovereignties” doctrine trumps the Law of the Land. I’m sure that guy in Oakland can make a copy for you of that statement which left Hizzonner a bit dumbfounded.
Snarkk, where is the originaL FBI 301 report of Flynn’s interview? Oh my still missing. Who would have thunk it???
Why were there edits made to that report and it is my understanding those reports are never ever ever ever edited because it is supposed to capture the original agents perceptions of the interview contemperaneously? Why was the original interviewing agent Strzok the one who led the Clinton server investigation and then expressed hate for Trump as a candidate and then as the elected president to then be allowed to do the interview? Why did his love paramour Lisa Page edit his 301 report? That is a violation of fbi regulations.
And most of all why did the DoJ and FBI not hand all over investigative material as the Constitution requires to his defense attorneys and you and I would demand if we were charged???? This is felonious malfeasance and if it were any political Democrat you and the media would be screaming to the highest heavens about. Please explain to me how anyone not just Flynn should be deprived of investigative material to prove their innocence??? Plead guilty to get the feds off your back is not an indication of guilt. It is a reality that people dont like Trump and dont like Flynn and so any violation of Flynn’s civil liberties concerns not the left??? Once the party and idealogy of civil libertarians now it is the idealogy of fuck em he is a Trump supporter.
Let us query one Stix on this subject about federal prosecutorial malfeasance….
Flynn pled GUILTY. Yeah, jails are filled with innocent folks who plead guilty. Jesus.
Why did all of Trump’s cabinet ignore the subpoenas in the Russian investigation?
I was trying to think about how I would be handling this pandemic during my early 20’s. I can’t even comprehend it. Especially at that time when I was hanging out listening to live music, drinking and flirting with beautiful co-ed’s nearly nightly on 6th street in Austin. Those were the best years of my life.
It’s easy for us to call these kids out for being selfish and stupid but I almost certainly would be doing the same thing.
Very solid point WJ, As I would of been right there with ya drinking, flirting and chasing skirts!!
Hey I’ve heard Houston is a real hotspot right now with Coronavirus outbreaks 😷, I wasn’t sure if your still in that part of the state are not, but be extra safe and your family as well..
More than likely my girlfriend (now wife) and I would likely have just stayed in my apartment all day and do what 22 year olds do. This would have likely resulted in her getting pregnant which would not have been good for early 20 something Wilcojoe and future Mrs. Wilcojoe.
5 sets of 50? uh, well. 5 sets of 20 per day used to be my lawyerly quota, at its peak. Jog two miles around the piedmont track and then spend half an hour hitting fungo flies and line drives to the kids. Yoga every am, too. Now, many of my favorite asanas are potentially harmful to my 68 year old spine. As to push ups? I’m working my way up from moderate spinal injury setbacks. I’m up to 5/5 a day, if I feel ambitious. But that’ll improve. Various other daily *calisthenics.* And my daily jog/walk in the sun, up and down hill for half an hour, is gaining speed. I’ll be huffing and puffing soon. I’d say old age is no fun, but that’s not really true. It’s a challenge.
I read constantly, check in on the news, and work on writing projects. My pro bono legal work pretty much evaporated in the shutdown and I have little interest in reviving it. Litigating 24/7 is not a healthy way to live. Late last year I got involved in some get-out-the-vote efforts organized on a national scale (Va. and NC, then). I’ll be back into that, probably focusing on Calif. districts. Amazing what web and cellphone technologies empower.
Best pandemic development for me is diet. For example, I’ve become addicted to wild salmon and avocado. Devised some good salads.
Everything would be much more enjoyable with some live baseball to watch.
Xoot, believe me – it’s not easy. If I quit for let’s say 2 weeks – I have to work my way back from around 25-30 pushups to 50 again. Carpal Tunnel, especially in my left wrist, along with a balky shoulder (what used to be my good shoulder) is taking its toll. I can still do my handstand pushups as well, but I only do that on special occasions such as my birthday. My experience is that you don’t move, you eventually die.
Ironically, my diet has improved since I got my own place. Too many cup a noodles at the rental with Der Führer landlady in Colorado for 6 months. Besides being an absolute bitch, I couldn’t stand being in her kitchen. It was like a hand grenade hit it. So disgusting. Ugh. Consequently, I made mostly microwave dishes/boiled water in my room. Now, I am getting back into salads again.
“wild salmon and avocado”
I am all-in on that. And with some rice on the side. 🙂
yeah! Although I’m partial to quinoa now (steamed in bone broth, when feasible).
Empty stadiums. It was done before, in Baltimore, after Freddie Gray turmoil. A louder echo from the bat. Thwack into the glove, for all of no one to hear. Chatter on the field picked up by no one except other players, announcers, janitors, and seagulls. Baseball by Beckett, Not Josh, either. Hit ’em where they ain’t. they ain’t anywhere. A strikeout with the bases loaded. A game-winning grand slam. Cheers of silence. No drink to spill on nobody’s head. TV sets (smart screens) and radios echoing the silence. The echo makers. (Title of a book I am reading by Richard Powers. Nebraska. Sandhill cranes.) Take me out to out of the ballgame. BAW! Umpire mating call. BAW! In tomorrow’s scrapbooks, digital archives, the caption reads, “What Were They Thinking? Play Ball! Or Something.” Turn the page. Masked and anonymous. Rough and ready. Lost and not found.
“Hit ’em where they ain’t. they ain’t anywhere.”
So well said.
When you’re Wee Willie Keeler “hit em where they ain’t” was a totally apt mantra. He made Brett Butler look like Paul Bunyan by comparison.
Translation: I don’t like it. You can have it.
I noticed one new rule last night: invading an ump’s six-foot safe-space to argue a call will result in the player’s/manager’s/coach’s suspension. If you get a chance to kick dirt on the plate safely, take it!
A lot of rubber gloves and masks are going to get used in every game. Just collecting all the stuff a batter takes off after getting on base is a logistical issue.
“Logistical Issue”? You gotta believe it. “The Boys of Suddenly Last Summer” dealing with the plandemic could make for quite a movie script.
I see the garbage about starting the runner at 2nd for extra innings…just garbage. Who gets put on 2nd? A designated runner? First person at bat? Any ideas? If there is a designated runner does he get to return as the designated runner for the next inning???
If so for a potential designated runner should give Billy Hamilton a guaranteed job…
Whoever made the last out the previous inning becomes the designated runner.
Can you pinch-run for the designated runner, and why not?
Yes, a pinch-runner can be used as the designated runner.
Does that make any sense???
Perversion of baseball
Agreed. Rubbish. I saw it a year or two ago at a minor league game in Rochester. The game was over in the KJV blink of an eye. WTF.
No more treating the dugout floor like a garbage dump. That’s an improvement.
Pretty strong earthquake felt in the Valley this morning. Epicenter of the quake is Lone Pine, in the Southern Sierra Nevada.
how poetic that sounds
Listening to Murder Most Foul. Dylan. Father’s Day gift. Holyfuck. On his fuckn worst day, he is America’s Whitmanesque poet laureate. Bar none.
Dylan himself acknowledged years after his 1965 masterpiece, “Desolation Row”, that he wasn’t certain how the lyrics came to him–he surmised that he channeled it. Sign of the times. ’65 was a wonderful time to hanging out in Manhattan There was a very sweet vibe that year…Proceeded San Francisco’s Summer of Love, but without the regalia and the hangers-on. He includes a nod to Uncle Walt in his latest…”Murder” likely has some channeling, but he’s been around long enough that the fullness of his intellect has caught up to his mid-60’s romp with the muses.
There is something about ‘spiritus mundi’ which can engage an entire generational experience. Dylan was at the right place at the right time and with the right mojo to place “Desolation Row” as the Prophet from the Northcountry’s sole appearance in ‘The Oxford Book of American Poetry’. Of course that posting preceded his recognition by the Oslo committee.
He knocked the presumed titlists clear off their contesting pedestals with this: “Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot sitting in the captain’s tower, while calypso singers laughed at them and fishermen hold flowers.” Knocking out the heavyweight contenders when you are 24 or thereabouts places Mr. Zimmerman in the company of the greatest of English Romantic poets. “Murder Most Foul” is as close as the man can come to letting the cat outta the bag. Kudos. He just keeps on keeping on.
If they are gonna do bullshit like that maybe put a runner on first and make em steal 2nd just to make him legit. Of course once the batter puts the ball in play he’s automatically legit. If he can’t steal second by the next batter then he’s out.
Dylan is amazing there is no classification for him but that.
Interesting stat on the designated runner: The pitcher would not be charged with an earned run if that runner scores (it would be scored as if the runner had reached on an error).
i mean, that’s reasonable right? I’m not as down on the runner on 2nd thing as everyone else. Let’s see how it plays out.
Funny, wearing my Bob Dylan t-shirt today one of my kids bought me. As far as exercise goes, I’m still fucked up from all my shoulder problems from years ago. Did a year of PT that was merely damaging my shoulder further and further until I got the MRI and subsequent 4 hour operation on the bone spurs, torn bursa, and frayed tendons. I’m supposed to have another surgery on my other shoulder, but am avoiding that for now. We do a lot of walking and hiking with the dogs as we back up to an open area of 600 acres, and I do a shit ton of work in the yard and around the house. The honey-do list is now infinite.
My son and I recently took down an 8′ x 6′ section of cinder-block wall that the previous owner was going to build a garage on to. The blocks of course were filled with concrete, and had rebar crisscrossing throughout. The huge rotohammer didn’t help that along, but we got it done. Fixed up my daughter’s new apartment with new ceiling fans, paint, a new stove, bath vanity and sink, blinds, curtains, all kinds of fun. Fixing my sprinkler system seems to be a full time job. Fucking nightmare. they are buried in hardpack clay, and everything is going to hell.
Waiting for the Sierra Buttes campgrounds to open. Great 4×4’ing and fishing up there. Gonna take my son out there in the next couple weeks.
Sounds like you live in a nice area. Some say walking is the best exercise of them all. Everything helps
Are the dugouts empty of players not starting?
I think I heard that somewhere where they will sit in the stands distanced apart??
So if you need another player to come in, what do you do bark out his name from the dugout are point at him,
I m pointing at row 2, 3rd guy in from the right?
Yes, that’s basically how it will be.
The optics of it on TV could be awful.
As hungry as we all are to see baseball, this could be ugly.
The Korean League did the best it could with the stuffed animals in the seats behind the plate, and the constant ambient music.
We’ve probably all been to a concert where the band seemed not into it that night.
The challenge for the ballplayers is to create the look of intensity yet also doing as much physical distancing as possible. The players will get creative and do the best they can with it.
I don’t see how the NBA and NFL could even function with their sports.
If this gets rid of the stupid “beat the shit out of the guy with the game-winning hit” stupidity, I’m all for it.
Read a column on F/G about “love of the game” phrase often bandied about indiscriminately lately. In it the writer mentions she’s reading a book I gotta check out: “Uppity: My Untold Story about Game’s People Play” by Bill white and ghostwriter. He had quite interesting career, drafted by Giants played for Cards and phils, broadcaster for Yanks and Prez of NL.
Local Book’s Inc recently reopened have to see if i can find that one and the Mays one by Shea.
re: Dylan, vibist Joe Locke has a fantastic vid version complete with vocals of “Who Killed Davey Moore?”
fwiw Giants have 4th toughest schedule in all baseball ahead of them according to Zips ratings in another F/G column.
Worse comes to worst, they’ll just play crowd noise for the broadcasts. Hell, they could pipe it into games.
BTW, reading ‘Life’ by Keith Richards. I’m not reading enough during this down time. Gonna read ‘Just Mercy’ next.
I’ll probably try muting the tv volume and listening to the radio feed. No doubt I’ll toggle back and forth. I’d like to hear some amusing things from the field. And I couldn’t care less about crowd noise or crowd shots. No spilled-beer foul balls or children fighting over nachos? Oh, what a shame. The Giants’ broadcast crew will rise to the occasion. I hope.
Yeah it will be tough on K&K who’s main entertainment during a Giants blowout game
Is all they’re corny shots of babies 1st game, gamers that bring a glove in nose bleed seats expecting to catch a foul ball,which parent is the real gamer taking care of the kids over the slacker that completely ignores them..
Actually for Krukow life should be easier on his weakened body, due to no traveling on the road anymore, being in a studio setup I assume?
This one made me laugh.
Les Keiter did fake play-by-play with sound effects on WINS radio in NYC in 1958. For all of the maudlin sentimentality surrounding the Bums leaving Flatbush, note that it was the Giants, not the Dodgers, who maintained a presence on the airwaves for their team-abandoned fan base.
I really hope the games don’t use fake crowd noise. To me, that would be really cheesy in this day and age.
Just for fun, here’s what the standings looked like last year after the first 60 games:
NL West: Bums 41-19; Pads 31-29; Rox 31-29; D-Backs 30-30; Giants 25-35
NL Central: Brewers 34-26; Cubs 34-26; Cards 31-29; Pirates 29-31; Reds 28-32
NL East: Braves 33-27; Phils 33-27; Mets 28-32; Nats 27-33; Marlins 23-37
AL West: Astros 40-20; Rangers 32-28; A’s 30-30; Angels 29-31; M’s 25-35
AL Central: Twinkies 40-20; Indians 30-30; White Sox 29-31; Tigers 23-37; Royals 19-41
AL East: Yanks 38-22; Rays 37-23; Red Sox 31-29; Jays 22-38; O’s 19-41
Not much changed in the AL except A’s over Rangers as WC. NL, though, is something else. Cards won NL Central, Cubs were out, and the Nats might want to get off to a better start in defense of their WS crown. Also, Kapler’s Phils would’ve been 2nd WC. Kapler/Phils 32-28 in 2018, so maybe there’s reason for hope.
Given zero expectations (unlike Philly) Kapler has everything to gain. Really interested to see how he plays this, and how his coaching staff all new except for wotus, is able to be of assistance. Glad he gets to see what he has; this will be big help going forward into 2021 and upcoming off season.
idk the optics of no fans in stands might be funky, but players are just playing except for the ones who would otherwise be scouting up potential babes. You have bat in your hands in the box, it’s you vs. pitcher and same thing for guy on the mound. You’ve got the sign, ball in your hands trying to put it where you want it.
Going into this probable season the Giants will have no expectations and nothing to lose. So maybe they will play loose–perhaps excepting those vets on the griddle who would need to put up career seasons to get another bid. Meanwhile the kids and retreads will play to stay, making for one hungry team. What the braintrust saw in Kapler to put him in charge on the field, I do not know. If he’s the kinda guy who can get em playing as loose as a goose they could be a fun watch.
As Mac said, first half seems to be time Kapler’s teams do well. After that, uh
2019 May 25 they were 31-21 10 games over. Jun 11 38-29 9 games over.
final record 81-81 .500 so after June 11 they went 43-52.
2018 Aug 5 they were 63-48 15 games over. final record 80-82 as they lost 34 of next 51. 8-20 in september
I think the Giants with they’re lack of fast runners are at a disadvantage in extra inning games having a runner at 2nd base.The league should make an exception with the Giants only and have a runner start at 3rd, and even then they might not score..
I would absolutely sign Usain Bolt for that role – a modern day Herb Washington.
In a meaningless year, with an expanded roster, why not?
Ah I suspected the dream of Puig might flush you back here!
Bolt did give soccer a try a few years ago.
I’m here to start a “Draft Hillary” movement …
A’s of Finley’s days also had Allen (sp) Lewis, aka Panamanian Express
allan lewis 44 career steals. Interesting enough, 0 SBs and 2 CS in 2 post season 72 and 73 while A’s were romping.
Loo! 👊🏼
As for the other noose at Sears Point . . .
A raceway tenant told authorities they remembered seeing the rope seven or eight years ago after a model airplane crash, but the rope was not tied into a noose at the time.
Detectives are reviewing surveillance footage as part of their investigation to find the suspect or suspects involved in the incident.
Soooooo, someone replaced the old rope? They climbed the tree and added the noose?
Should your DH bunt over the extra inning runner when he leads off the inning? Momentous strategic decisions ahead . . . .
Also, if top players like Trout and Yelich are leading off with the runner on second, there’s no way teams are going to pitch to them and they’ll get the intentional walk.
A manager may choose to do that with weaker hitters, too. The overall probability of scoring a single run goes down with runners on first and second and no outs.
mlb tv showing last night of 2011 season, highlighted in Pawlie’s book. good stuff
i know I said I’d stop posting the Trump emails but this may be the final one. Eric Trump has put me on the clock. This could all finally be over…
“This exclusive offer expires in ONE HOUR, Fuck. After that, you will permanently forfeit your potential status as a Trump VIP.”
I’m sorry to hear that, Fuck. I think you’ll get bumped down to the B or C lists now. Maybe they’ll invite you to the July 4h victory party for Gen. Flynn at the Russian Embassy. That’d be interesting.
lulz…
Apropos of nothing — They just pulled an unexploded bomb out of the Red River in Hanoi from the US bombing campaigns. Still finding that stuff. Land mines are still the worst, farmers get their legs blown off even today in some countryside places…. Apologize for long link, just an FYI.
https://vietnamnews.vn/society/738586/unexploded-bomb-from-american-war-pulled-from-red-river-in-ha-noi.html
how’d you like to have that job. Unearth, move and dispose of a 50 year old bomb that could explode at any second for any reason. FUUUUUUCK that. Leaving thousands of fucking unexploded bombs all over a country’s landscape. Disgusting. America is, mostly, disgusting in how they treat the rest of the world.
Tdoay, there are several more modern bridges, but during the war, Long Bien bridge was the only one spanning the Red River, so it was constantly being bombarded to disrupt transportation in the north. Not surprised they’re still finding these. The bridge is still there. Stories say the Air Force got so frustrated because they’d bomb the shit out of it and 2 days later, it was back up and functioning. Pretty cool old bridge, still used, a bit of a tourist attraction. But yeah, the remaining landmines (planted by both the US and the Viet Cong throughout the south) are the worst….
I remember taking a class on the Vietnam war at Lewis and Clark College back in 1990 and we were shocked back THEN at the number of unexploded bombs littering Vietnam and Laos. Thirty years later it seems it’s still a huge problem. Incredible.
They must have really long fuses…
Jamal Adams to your 49ers is being heavily rumored…
This guy must still be wondering WTF he did wrong…
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/paciojo01.shtml
Very small sample size Loo, but this guy could rake!!
He had a legit case for more AB’s you would think..
Gotta love the 162 game projection…
Wow…he deserved better. Impressive lifetime stats…
Good rundown on the baseball season by “The Athletic.” Hope you guys can read it…
https://theathletic.com/1889615/2020/06/23/what-we-know-so-far-about-the-2020-mlb-season-and-other-new-wrinkles/?source=dailyemail
Weather on the North Coast (Fort Bragg) is bitching (high of 65 forecasted for the three days we’re here). Then back to the dreaded heat and possible planned power outages.
Learn about the Drumpf cult.
Astounding article…
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/06/inside-the-cult-of-trump-his-rallies-are-church-and-he-is-the-gospel