No Flapper Left Behind
Look, I admit to being one of Xoot’s wussies who worried that Stix was either dead or back in the clink. So it was a wonderful surprise after a long ass day to get a surprise email from him confirming his whereabouts and health. The blog is different than real life, right? I forget who confirmed Twin’s death but it was just not a natural or cool way to find out about it.
Stix fired off two of his standard epic posts at the end of the last thread so check those out when you get a chance. Would love to get a look at The Ice Palace. Harvey’s sister? And that maple syrup sure sounds good on my pancakes this morning.
Now that all Flap HOFers are counted and confirmed it’s time to get this damn season under way. Let’s go!
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
He’s baaack: For real or for not, check out who got the save in last night’s slam-bang vs the Pads, with Giants homers banging all over the ball-park. So cut from the suspense already. Trever Gott. That was not a misprint. Yeah, he got the chance to bring it home and he did it. Kapler must be a man of deep faith, considering last year’s fiasco by that Kentucky kernel.
Perhaps it was Gott’s last hurrah on the 26-man…at least for awhile, but in Spring Training hope springs eternal and Trevor had him a good go last night, closing things out after DiSclafini got the W with 4 fine innings of 8–yes, eight, special K’s, with only one run given up against a loaded SD squad, evidently sorely missing their numero uno, Tatis.
Great news! Welcome back Stix. Always good to have you in the mix here.
Alright, Stix. Glad to see your callused fingers back on the keyboard.
At the end of yesterday’s thread, Loo posted an SI article. I didn’t know MLB bought a major stake in Rawlings. It also seems Manfred isn’t trusted all that much by the players when it comes to juiced baseballs.
That was interesting read. Dunno why anyone would trust Manfred or what MLB says about the ball.
Yep, weird how MLB says they are trying to make the ball less live but some of the balls tested are the opposite. Makes me wonder if having the arches closed at the Yard helped all those HRs or if the Giants were shipped the juiced balls last year.
I bet you’re onto something there, Bozo.
It didn’t make sense to me that the archways (at ground level) would have much of an impact on balls in the air.
Unless it’s some aero-dynamic thing that I wouldn’t understand…
Willis. the astrophysicist knitter at the core of the SI piece, was the first with an explanation for the 2016 surge. Cool to see she’s pursued her research. A light search suggests that mlb bought part of Rawlings in 2018, as an investor in a private equity firm’s takeover. Just as mlb is finding new ways to use its statcast data, mlb is now finding new ways to alter the ball. Big surprise. I’m sure the union will crack the whip during cba negotiations this year and straighten all of this out.
Also, 2020 data is inherently unreliable. The weird delayed short season, the focus on covid protocol, etc., unsettled everything. This year mlb loudly publicized its re-engineered ball well before ST. Ominous new world that has such technological domination in it.
Technology, particularly AI, along with robotization, threatens to forever end life as we have known it. Everything is becoming abstracted and unhumanistic.
Luckily for me, a friend who is pretty tech-wise walked me through the process of getting a simple bus-ticket on-line. It was like dealing with a governmental bureaucracy. Though the Jefferson Line outta the Twin Cities has excellent personnel with people skills and caring attiudes; their check-in website sucks shit. It desperately needs for a major overhaul and according to Paul, the Hermit of Bullshit Valley, should be employing a pdf. They jump you through more hoops than the entire entire NBA.
At their first major stop, in the city of Bemidji, they turned away SIX women and children–a combination of Americans of African descent and Somalis, none of whom were aware that they could not buy tickets from the driver. Likely, none of them–or maybe one younger Black woman, could have dealt with the fucked-up online system. They walked away shattered.
Fuck the social distancing protocols which are still being imposed, even on masked Bandidos, which all of them were dutifully wearing. Only 20 allowed in a bus which holds 60. The “station” was a convenience store whose employees were obviously not made aware that those poor folks needed to jump through the AI hoops to get a simple bus ride. Total obfuscatory insanity. Where are the goddamn adults in this adulterated reality?
Yeah, the two of us already on the bus truly felt deeply sorry for those refugees from contemporary reality and also for that burdened driver who had to give them the bad news. America, where the hell are ya?
Just now checked out the Foghorn site’s take on subtractions from the 40-man. This go-round it’s a tough row to hoe as there is moderate-level talent all over the place. So the writer picked his three most likely to be dropped from the Top 40.
Numero Uno: My first expectation for some time already: Darin Ruf. Defensively challenged and age 34 plus having a sour spring. Second: Jaylin Davis. Not drawing walks. No power showing yet. Loaded with talent at 26 but evidently needs more seasoning. Number three: Wandy Peralta. An LHP reliever having a sour spring, while the pen is teeming with lefties doing better, including some who have had SP experience.
Good news is that Zaidi is a fast and furious ST trader. Foggies expect him to concoct deals with, for Ruf, to target a team which needs LH power off the bench and who can start in a pinch. That team would likely be a post-season contender. Davis would appeal to a rebuilding outfit who can patiently develop the guy. Teams short on LH RPers might like Peralta as a middle reliever. Payoff would be moderate to partly cloudy prospects–pitchers in the lower organizational rungs who could be sacrificed for more immediate needs for the two vets and more in search of a high potential outfielder than a half-buried reliever.
I don’t think Ruf is going anywhere. My prediction is that he is on the opening day roster as one of the five OFers.
This too from Around the Foghorn. Basically saying the OFers will be Yaz, Dick, Slater, Dubon, and Ruf.
https://aroundthefoghorn.com/2021/03/23/sf-giants-roster-cuts-announced/
Again, good to see you here, Stix.
So the foggies contradict each other. What’s to say? Wait and see, I guess. Nice to hear from you, Chi, knowing we can now pontificate on Giants baseball and not get depressed by the world of politrix.
Yep…and regardless of the mixed smoke signals from Foghorn land, I still believe Ruf will be on the OD roster. Time will tell.
Pav mentioned that there are still 16 guys in the Pen, so ya gotta think most of the final 10 to be cut will be from that group.
“America, where the hell are ya?”
Start printing the T-shirts ASAP!
Good idea Loo. You own it. I don’t have the time as having a homestead to rescue from 4+ years of demise and devastation AND a 100 page+ adult coloring-book/puzzle book (I will not let buyers know how the alphabet translates from our everyday abstract one into the symbological zone) AND as an art-book (for which it will probably qualify, as most who have seen it have commented positively). A mere hundred privately-printed copies, author signed should sell out fast on Etsy and following that I’ll need to scout out a publisher, as at that point my calloused hands will otherwise need to hold the proverbial tiger by the tail.
Third obstacle is the work in Diamond Willow needs to be launched via a yet to be designed website by this fall or early winter. With maybe 200 sculptural pieces plus walking-sticks, staffs, dancing-sticks, scepters, etc., the project will need for a mass of camera work and will suck up time like a remora.
So the slogan is all yours, Loo. Make your million and remember me in your memoirs.
Make sure to hire a better user experience designer for your website than the Minneapolis Transit Authority did for their ticketing system.
I hear the new iPhones with LIDAR will take great photos. I remember just a few years back laughing at the big LiDAR Scanner spinning on top of the self driving Uber that cruised around downtown SF during the day. Now half the cars on the freeway are 50% self driving. Things are moving quickly these days.
Didn’t it just came back real strong in Atlanta and Boulder?
Sam Dykstra of MLB.com rates the Giants position player prospects as number TWO in baseball after Tampa Bay’s usual bevy of talent. As the analysts at Foghorn put it, this sky-scraping altitude for SF is unprecedented territory for at least half of forever.
Trading stunning position players for equivalent pitching help looks to be in the cards in the not too distant future by perhaps the most astute gamester in the game, Farhan Zaidi. Swiping him from the LaBumbos may be the best move made by the ownership gang since Horace Stoneham swapped Bobby Thompson to the Boston Braves for Johnny Antonelli.
Stix, great to have you back. Um I have hard time figuring out who present “stunning position players” outside of Yaz would be. Even if SF dumped off Solano, mo primo prospect isn’t coming back from anyone for a mid 30s middle IF without much pop and a defensive liability.
while Giants prospects are certainly something to be proud of and keep an eye on this season, I don’t think any of them will be here 2022 except maybe Ramos. And remember Ramos has I think less than 100 ABs above AA ball, where he hit .240 without much pop. He needs to show this season he can handle pitching at higher level, and what OF spot he is best suited for.
Poor editing on my part willedav. Meant to say “stunning position player prospects”. Potential swaps of one or more of them in the next year or two for equivalent prospect pitching may well be Zaidi’s long-term intent.
Fair enough, and could certainly happen. They do have excess of OF prospects/dearth of starting pitchers. Holding my breath the prospects do show something positive this season.
Ramos get a call later this year. That is my prediction.
Heliot Lemuel Ramos should get a shot later this year. Nice double he ripped and hustled into last night. You could argue that a perfect throw could’ve nailed him, but once he made up his mind to go for two that was it. Funny final out, too. He raced in on the liner with supreme confidence, bobbled it slightly in the upraised web but never stopped running, never acknowledged any problem. He has a distinctive style–sort of bullish, in a good way. He needs some training, but his talent and confidence levels are very high.
An unsuspecting Sac Kings fan can be reading a recent issue of Time magazine that has a section in it called “The Next 100 Most Influential People” in the world and see Doncic picked as one of the 100. Well, OK. He’s a big new star in the NBA. I’m not sure what the potential influence will be, though.
His numbers aren’t dramatically better than Fox. Doncic averages 4 more points per game and 2 more assists. The rebounding difference is irrelevant because Doncic has a different role on defense than Fox. Doncic is a forward who plays point guard.
The Kings are going to be fine at guard with Fox and Halliburton. It’ll be sad if Bagley can’t get it done at the pro level, though. If he could be a 20 and 10 player, that’s all that’s hoped for. Rumors have it that the Kings are trying to shop him, though.
Kings made good trade for Delon Wright (Utah, pac 12 guy I like), have emerging standout Center in Richuan Holmes, the steady and underpaid Harrison Barnes at Forward and stellar backcourt. Not all bleak for them!
Agree on the question on Doncic (someone’s speculation on how he will be influential). And regardless of the comparisons between Doncic and Fox, I think the Kings had a HUGE swing-and-miss in that 2018 draft. While I like Bagley and feel he could be special IF he can stay healthy, they should have taken Doncic.
Plus, who would not want Doncic’s mom in the stands for your games. She is down right HOT. Again, IMO the Kings missed the boat in the 2018 draft.
The curse of Vlade. Huge whiff.
fangraphs is doing positional rankings. They have CF up and Giants rank 24th overall and 11th in NL. Listed options are Dubon Ramos Yaz Duggar Slater and Wade Jr. Of Dubon they said “…as a stopgap until Ramos or another long term solution arrives, he should be adequate.” Though they do rate versatility over starting CF as better quality over 10 yr career.
Further, “Speaking of Ramos…The odds that he’s a CF for long don’t seem good: he’s already losing foot speed and Oracle Par is not the place to have someone fake it in CF. It’s too early to write him off the position entirely, but odds are the long term solution for the Giants isn’t on the list above.”
Starting CF last night was Slater, who homered off Keone Kela to RCF (“hot spot” in yard as noted by K n K) in 6th as Giants stretched lead to 6-1. Belt got first AB right after, and struck out on 3 pitches.
Yes, glad things are well, Stix. Sounds like the homestead has a lot of work left to be habitable?
Vandals took out 3 windows. Stuff trashed everywhere. Stink still lingers in the kitchen from food not carted off by my friends to give to food shelf or something. Then vandals got into it and still haven’t dug down to the bottom of it yet as yard, gardens, trees all need attention before things green up a bunch. My 1981 18×16 $35 shed has finally collapsed after maybe 37-38 years. So the actual money for roll roofing and shingle nails comes out at less than $1/year invested. Parts of it are still hanging tough and it may be ressurectable. Two other ancient and sheds as well as outhouse need work.
As for the 47′ well, the vandals may have taken the handle, so the water supply is sketchy at best—if any. Doors on dressers, etc–all antique as I’ve never bought a new piece of furniture in my lifetime–are busted up by the vandals and they knocked a leg off the living room table. Have yet to check out small bedroom and the upstairs, but hoping for the best. Planning on having power restored on return northwards in a few weeks. Storage of stuff will be a huge hurdle, so new sheds will be another priority.
So yeah, looks to keep me as busy as a mama cat contending with a litter of puppies or a hen dealing with a bunch of ducklings.
Thanks for the concern, Unca.
26 man roster according to B/R with only a 4 man bench and 14 pitchers ( yep 14 pitchers!)
Starting LU..1B LaStella..2B Solano..RF Yaz..C Posey..LF Dickerson..3B ..Longoria..SS Crawford..CF Dubon
Bench..C Casali..1B/OF Ruf..INF Flores..OF Slater
Starting Pitchers..RHP.. Gausman..RHP..Cueto..RHP.. DeSelafani..RHP.. Sanchez..RHP Webb
Bullpen..RHP..Tropeano..RHP.. Yamaguchi..RHP.. Leone..LHP Garcia..RHP..Wisler..RHP.. Rodgers
LHP..Alvarez..RHP..Moronta..LHP..McGee
IL..Belt..Wood..&Brebbia aisle to start the year on IR
The pitching staff could change with competition still fierce, but this is how’s it shaking out for now..
This staff is gonna get lit up…
all this excitement about Gausman, man, I don’t get it. He was good for us in 10 starts. For that he gets 19 million? He’s been pretty awful most other seasons. And he’s a huge injury risk…..
And he’s our #1 LMAO
Isnt the limit 13 pitchers??? Just read that yday…so one more bat. Surprised wont be Vosler…I dont have any sense of Wade Jr being legit…
I thought so too but they ended that restriction.
With Wood not likely starting the season we have no lefty starter it appears…they should start the season with 9 relievers and after Gausman-Cueto in the rotation they should try this opener idea with one of their numerous lefty relievers. You could have two of them go 1-2 innings each and then bring it a right-hander for the third time through the line up…I am surprised Vosler is not going back be on the roster…I predict Wade Jr. will be gone by May..
DeScalfini and Webb round out the rotation…
With the successes those two have had so far in S.T., they might end up defining the rotation.
Zum–fun Kings game tonight? Both teams on pace for about 130.
A real defensive battle. 🙂
it is a joke Kerr dropped a DNP–coaches decision on JuanT last game. That guy needs and deserves minutes. He does it all plus he’s got a fantastic story, easy guy to root for.
yeah very cool backstory, great guy.
what a spin move and finish by Fox, wow.
Without Green Warriors are actually fun to watch. Oubre Wiggins JTA Poole are all scoring points and contributing. win or lose, entertaining. And Mannion hit 4 3s in first half.
Wade just hit a 2 run homer knocking in Belt as well. My guess they will get it down to 13 pitchers and keep Wade to play some 1B/ OF as well..
4 pt play for Tyrese the Cyclone from Iowa St.
He’s real comfortable in the NBA level of play.
The Warriors had a depleted lineup, but the Kings need every win they can get.
44 for Fox tonight.
He was tremendous. Loved the midrange game Js. In his 4th season now and seems to have lot figured out.
Wade as of last night’s game was hitting .206 with .594 OPS. Don’t see how he makes it. Giants have Ruf LaStella and Flores to cover 1b, and OF is full. All of these guys are better hitters.
MLB.com rates Giants 4th best in all baseball for prospects age 21 and under. 7 of them are position players, Harrison the HS kid is ranked 8th as pitcher.
btw DBax are 3rd and Padres also in top 10.