What Happens When The Grave Duggar Gets Tired of Digging?
The Giants added lots of arms this off season but precious few legitimate bats. I guess they are counting on The Grave Duggar to exceed even the high expectations already set for him by Flap Nation. But come on, he’s only one man.
Of course the other path they seem to be taking is this: Run the Bore Core out there until they get hurt or prove to be totally ineffective. At that point, bring up the kids. That’s not the craziest plan when you consider this is absolutely a throw away year with LA and SD light years ahead.
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saw a tweet from the Giants (or one of the TV affliliates) suggesting SF is hoping La Stella could be a “Justin Turner/Max Muncy” type. LOL. Only if he starts taking ALL the steroids he can get his hands on, STAT!
With MLB switching baseball, we might find success with gap and opposite field hitters.
2021, bringing back the conga line.
well, Giants added lot of arms because they let lot of last season’s SPs walk. Pen guys were up/down last year lot of young arms. Hopefully year of experience plus added vet or two pen becomes more reliable. Kapler at least got to see who could do what last year and with Moronta back has new weapon. 2 or 3 top prospects might make it up to big club at some point, especially if SPs can’t hold up or are dumped off at deadline.
As to the bats, they are rolling out who they had last year, and offense was surprisingly good. How sustainable that is over 162 open to question. There aren’t any “kids” to call up should any of BC get hurt really, beyond Bart and the backup IF with AAA history. OF is same guys they had last season battling it out for final 5.
LaStella is a platoon guy who isn’t a power hitter, so that comp to Turner/Muncy is nonsense. But he is good solid hitter who can back up Solano and Longoria. Z is an OB guy who values not making an out over how many bombs you are going to hit. I’m re reading Keith Law’s Smart Baseball, and he says same thing.
And if GD ever makes a contribution, it will be because he has figured out how to get on base at higher rate than his career .281 pct.
He’s The Grave Duggar. He can do anything.
He’s our Lizard King!
He certainly can, so far only as high as AAA level. check out his numbers on fangraphs…walk pcts much higher around 14% than at ML level, around 6%. Had a fantastic season there last time he was in Sac but unfortunately his slash line numbers took steep decline trying to hit ML pitching. So here we are, ML OB at .281. That ain’t gonna cut it with Z no matter how good the glove is.
fwiw, fangraphs projects Giants as 78-84 team, almost exact same winning pct as last season. Offense drops from 5 runs scored down to 4.5, one of lowest in NL. pitching goes from allowing 5 runs a game to 4.7. Run differential from near even (plus 2 last season) to -32. Third place finish, 16 behind Pads in second. LA and SD rank in top 3 of all baseball.
Hadn’t entered it, but for the past week or so that 78-84 record was hammering away at my brain. That prognostication hinges on them not serving as a supply depot for teams with surplus young starters in their pipeline, an injured regular and a so-so replacement, while looking to stay in the race. Then that scenario is predicated on the B.C.s to be having decent, but not spectacular seasons.
Reason for the relative optimism in achieving 78 wins is twofold: Buster will have a very positive effect on the entire staff as well as resuming his role as the informal team captain. Secondly, combined with Posey’s presence, there should be a notable drop-off in the bullies blowing up late-inning leads. Opponents will need to score big in the first five innings and that will happen while our starters face the LaBumbos and more particularly the Pads. Six or seven W’s vs the Dagos could be a minor miracle. No matter what, Giants always play the Bums tough.
Thanx, Winder. Feeling sorry for the younger generations. They did not get to share in the experience. Hendrix asked the question decades ago. Guess he was addressing the then unborn. Morrison sure was one spectacular shooting-star. Saw Manzerek at the Fargo Bluuz festival a few years back. He can still rattle those keys.
Not anymore, he can’t…
Stix- I don’t understand the younger generation for the most part. I just wish we had the information that the kids nowadays have. It was a big deal when we got our first color tv, and microwave. Modern times.
La Stella looks like he could be Belt’s brother.
Right now this is a strange team in another strange year. No ace, no closer, no real power in the middle of the LU. D should be good, although Wilmer and Solano aren’t great. Maybe the softened ball and the return of the pitcher in the LU will help.
The foghorn bunch just did an in-depth study on LaMonte Wade, SF received in a little-noticed trade for a surplus pitcher going to the Twins.
Three major points were stressed. Firstly, Wade was #6 in MLB as least likely to strike out. Secondly, his propensity to take walks and wear out the pitcher is also very highly rated. So he’s primarily a contact-hitter whose .240 BBIP suggests room for more balls falling in for hits. Finally, he may be in the process of adjusting his swing to hit more balls in the air, as against that tendency to ground out. Should that adjustment work out, he could become a nasty-assed LHB pest somewhere around the top of the lineup or even batting 7th or 8th and seeing success when there are no outs, even in the face of the pitcher due to bat.
All in all, this far under the radar deal could end up as one of those Z&H specials which could significantly alter the equation, as he has the versatility to play anywhere in the outfield and also at 1B. He’s gonna be competing with Grave Dugger for that final O.F. spot on the 25-man. If he excels in S.T. he likely gets the nod. If not, some rattling cages for the River Cats might transform him into a quick callup.
His BBs will only increase if he bats 8th
Duggar? Are you serious Flav? I have seen a couple of other posts from you and maybe 1-2 other Flappers the last week singing this guy’s praises. Huh? When I think of Duggar, I am reminded of that great scene in the 1961 film, The Hustler, where Bert Gordon tells Sarah:
‘Listen, Miss Lady Bird. You’re here on a rain-check and I know it. You’re hangin’ on by your nails. You let that glory whistle blow loud and clear for Eddie, and you’re a wreck on a railroad track. You’re a horse that finished last. Now don’t make trouble, Miss Lady Bird. Live and let live – while you can!’
Just a matter of time before Z tells him he better have a Plan B for his career.
The Grave Duggar is like one of those old ballplayers from Field Of Dreams.
Not everyone can see him, Blade.
Apparently only Flavor, San Dawg, and me were given that ability…
You need to start by completely embracing his nickname. Once you do that, a whole new world opens up.
good news
The only thing our farm system produces is kale…
Jeeeze, Loo. I’ve met a Kale or two, but maybe I should have asked whether they spell it like the cabbage varietal or with a “C”.
Thanx,Flav: At a mere week and two days away from pitchers and catchers reporting, I felt really comfortable checking out that NBC site and scoping through all the other presentations as well as that one on the pipeliners. It’s all of 8 above zero, but nice sun here in the TCs this afternoon, so my thoughts are straying west by southwest to the Aridzona desert. Looking like LaStella and Jake were really good pickups and now I’m intrigued by Wade as well. Though the rotation may be a bit shaky and those 36 or so games with the SoCal monsters loom; I’m still confident of that projected 78-84 finish largely due to the fact that all those “little” moves by Z&H will add up, making for a strong team on the field, at bat, in relief and possessing excellent versatility.
To me GraveDuggar is Moonlight Graham,once he crosses the line he can’t play anymore.So please for the love of the game cross over now so real talent can play..
Larry Flynt, son of Magoffin County, KY, a place I know fairly well, and prince of scratch and sniff, dead at 78. Citation to his copyright and defamation battles with Jerry Falwell enlivened many a legal brief.
I never warmed up to the music of Hendrix. I like some of the Doors recordings. There is much music I like from the 1960s, but my favorite decade of music is the 1980s. Punk and New Wave gave birth to the explosion of the alternative rock world. It carried over into the early 1990s until rap swallowed the entire world and made rock into more of a niche music.
“The Giants throw some bullpen darts” is title of fangraphs column that goes over recent acquisitions of McGee, Wisler, Brebbia (out with injury currently) and minor league deals for Leone Sherfy Bracho and Littell.
Mr Clemens writes, “Spaghetti, meet wall.”
but goes on to say that $$ isn’t a big deal even if McGee sucks, and that if they hit on one or two of these it’s “golden.” Further, “Its a smart use of resources for a team that probably won’t stand up to class of the NL West this year.”
Jake will probably end up the closer with little opportunities taking over Watson’s role. He does have the most experience closing with 47 saves, though I like Garcia getting a crack, along with Moronta if healthy.There’s no way they carry 6 left handed relievers is there? So guys with options will likely be jettisoned to Sac..
Speaking of kale . . . wish I had seen him.
JJ is one of my favorites.
Rap didn’t make rock roll niche. Rap and hip hop has been around since the 70s.
The Brittneys and Jonases and Nikki Minajes did. Pre-fab bands.
Grunge appears to be the last organic form of rock music. And there are few real rock bands these days.
Shame.
Just about every decade, going back as far as I can remember, some performer or collection of similar performers comes up with something new and moves music in a certain direction, even if just temporarily. Somewhat easy to *label* any decade by a kind of new musical direction. Maybe I’m just too old or too far away now, but I really wouldn’t know how to label the decades of the 21st century by any kind of good, new music….
Really enjoyed Hendrix myself, from first lp on. wind cries mary, hey joe, red house, castles (made of sand) crosstown traffic, fire, foxy lady, can you see me. Simpler cuts more enjoyable but you can tell he was r/b guitarist in younger days.
Rap exploded in popularity in the 90s. That’s just factual. A check of the album and singles charts shows that. It happened about the same time as Cobain’s death which I tend to think are related. The Seattle scene was thrown off-balance, and the whole rock world was thrown off. U2 and REM did some misguided experimenting with electronic keyboards. Radiohead was the great rock band of the late ‘90s, and then they got really experimental also. I, personally, see the Americana bands as the next great rock scene after that. Although rock has never topped the charts since the Seattle grunge scene.
The great Americana bands are very worthwhile. Uncle Tupelo, Wilco, Son Volt, Steve Earle and the Dukes, Lucinda Williams, and so forth.
But what has happened since those you just listed? They are all already quite awhile ago. What Americana music is different or interesting since then? I’m not sure I could name a single band currently performing (or even just recently) that I would consider *good*. Again, I guess I could just be part of the grumpy old man cohort…
Paul, I don’t see it as a bad thing at all not to have an interest in younger performers. In my older years, I like songwriters that have done a lot of living, and are drawing from their experiences.
Yeah, I agree, I don’t really feel like I’m missing out on anything…. but I’ve always paid attention to new music, and still do (just not as much), and I find it interesting that for the first time, I really can’t just think of a decade (the last two, really) and immediately name a style of music or a creative interesting performer for that time…. Oh well, no biggee. Kind of feel the same way about today’s Giants…. haha.
There was a kind of neo-folk pop scene in the ‘90s that was very popular, but it didn’t move me much. Shawn Colvin, Sarah McLachlin, Jakob Dylan, Counting Crows, Hootie and the Blowfish, etc.
The pop artist of the ‘90s that most fascinated me was Aimee Mann, and on into the early 2000s. I saw her in concert many times, at many different Bay Area venues.
There was also a sort of indie folk/rock scene, oh maybe 10, 15 years ago, so, this century, that I got into a little. Bands like the Lumineers, Walk Off the Earth (Canadian). But they didn’t really grow much over time…
The performer on Saturday Night Live this past weekend was OK, but didn’t get me excited. She destroyed a guitar, but so what? We’ve seen that done before.
I guess I’m pleased her music was somewhat guitar-based.
As rap has receded a bit, the music world is dominated by techno dance music. Vapid and forgettable. Like the Super Bowl halftime performer. Totally forgettable.
she tried to destroy the guitar. For like a min. Maybe there was another clip i missed but I saw her finally give up and just wander away. It was stupid and made her look ridiculous. If you’re going to destroy your guitar you get two tries, max. That is Rock and Roll 101
One of my favorite bands of the last 20 years is the Pernice Brothers. Joe Pernice is one of the great songwriters, but not much known unfortunately. He writes lush pop/rock songs that are some kind of cross between Pet Sounds Beach Boys and the Smiths/Morrisey. He and his band played some great gigs in the Bay Area. I chatted with him a few times. Very cool and down-to-earth guy. You could tell he really appreciated every fan that showed up.
Those albums still sound pretty good.
Great moment on the Internet recently. A lawyer told a judge during a Zoom meeting that he wasn’t a cat. This video clip is still making me laugh.
https://mobile.twitter.com/RexChapman/status/1359217017220390912?fbclid=IwAR1jZo-0u7kQzELeYykIzksVxzefBo-nKBDr7k4lHy47DSlEFQ418I3rf6o