No Win Banked
Normally a game like yesterday would irk and irritate me. Questionable plays in the field by Doobie. Underwhelming start from Cueto. Wet Sock Man continues to swing the weakest of bats….
But then I remembered we are in first place with the best record in baseball and there has to be other things out there to irk and irritate me.
This morning I have to walk into the DMV without an appointment for something. That should irk and irritate me far greater than anything that happened yesterday….
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Three out of four not too shabby…things like DMV back there getting back to normal. All restrictions except for public transportation and health facilities still requiring masks lifted. Why people still wearing to places like 7-11 and grocery stores still mystifying to me…
I hate DMV not only because the people working there seem to hate their jobs and all the people who show up for help, it’s also because i never leave there without spending money.
And, I have a fucking hard time passing that eye test.
maybe the greatest trip to the DMV of all time. I get there at 6:45am to wait in line for when it opens at 8. I am 8th in line, not bad. Then at 7am they start letting us in. What’s this? The lady at the front, who was way too pissed off already for 7am, tells me they haven’t updated their website yet so nobody knew they were opening at 7 now, not 8. Boom, Big Flavor bank shot for the win. I was out of there in 20 minutes and they waived the $14 fee I thought I was going to have to pay.
My friend says the best time to go is like 10 minutes before they close…
fuck that. I’m not driving 30 minutes in rush hour traffic only to get down there and find some long ass line. They just send those people home once 5pm whistle blows. Maybe if it was right down the street or something but I don’t have any DMV’s near me.
I didn’t say it was a good friend…
excellent luck! Few years ago I had to get a new driver’s license number. DMV “officers” said no. I finally found the functionary in Sacramento in charge of such things, submitted sworn evidence, etc., got an authorizing letter from him, and the local DMV assholes still said no. They’d never heard of such a thing; they never changed numbers. Much additional correspondence to finish the task. It’d be easier to buy a gun. Or a dozen guns. Then DMV failed to update its computer system. An Oakland cop with nothing better to do stopped me in the hills because my brand new car did not have a front license plate, and he was unable to locate my license information. He called for fucking backup. I guess he suspected I’d forged the officially issued license card in my wallet and stolen the car from a showroom. Idiot. But the fucking DMV almost got me arrested.
“Why people still wearing to places like 7-11 and grocery stores still mystifying to me…”
It might be because the virus has killed over 600,000 people in the U.S. so far.
And a lot less people got a cold or the flu this past year or so because so many were doing the Covid-19 protocols. Some people, myself included, are going to be using a mask for a long ol’ time in stores. It’s nice not catching the flu.
Absolutely. Calif is more than half vaxed — good start; maybe we’ll avoid an autumn onslaught of the Delta variant that’s reversed a lot of Britain’s progress. (Right wingers can start bashing India along with China, huh?) A mask in a busy store is a very minor inconvenience for me.
The variants are definitely a concern.
But there can be a psychological aspect, too, no doubt. After trying to stay safe from the Covid-19 virus for over a year, it’s hard for many vaccinated people to flip a switch and suddenly stop wearing masks. Many people need a gradual transition. It’s a tiny bit like a soldier coming out of military service in a danger zone and adjusting to civilian life. The mind needs time to adjust.
There’s a good weekly news magazine called The Economist that I buy at a local grocery store sometimes (because I much prefer paper magazines to digital.) A recent issue had a well-researched story about how under-counted the Covid deaths are around the world. In some nations, like India, the amount of Covid deaths is way under-reported for various reasons. The magazine believes the worldwide number of Covid deaths is three to four times higher than the reported numbers.
Most people I’ve heard here, Zum, think the opposite – that at the very height of it there were so many deaths per day that they would just attribute them to COVID. I lost so many friends and acquaintances this year and only a couple were due to COVID. Just the usual cancer, heart attacks, etc. We’ll probably never really know the truth…
We can know truth. We just need to keep seeking it.
I’m a big believer in the idea that in the study of history, the truth eventually comes out, the vast majority of the time.
That’s why I don’t believe there was any other person involved in the assassination of JFK except for Oswald. The evidence just isn’t there (yet) for another conclusion, IMO.
Conspiracy theories are basically a type of gaslighting. The kind of thing Orwell warned us about.
I think in 2014, Bumgarner acted alone…
It is confusing when one store will say no mask required and the one next door says mask up with a sign on the window.. I always have a mask in my pocket atleast cause I don’t want to go back to my car( which pisses me off!) if I forget it which I have in the past and have somebody pulling the wears your mask 😷 at the front door..
I’m fully vaccinated but it doesn’t me shit right now at most places..
Nice job with the mask emoji!
“hard time passing that eye test.”
I renewed my driver’s license a couple of years ago, and I had to take the eye test. I was surprised at how tiny the letters were. It’s not some la-dee-dah test.
Yeah, I have a stigmatism and when I look into the viewer thing they all look like $ signs. Luckily they do this thing where they have blinking lights on both the right or left side and all you have to do is see em.
Wow, Duane Kuiper will miss some time with the Giants in the booth with a medical condition that requires immediate chemotherapy treatments.Thoughts and prayers go out to Duane and his family at this difficult time..
oh. Bad news.
That is sad news.
I wondered why he was not doing recent home-game broadcasts, but was “on assignment” as Miller says…
“cop with nothing better to do”
We have to deal with that out here in the country with highway patrol who sometimes have nothing better to do. Highway patrol (!) will hide their cars behind trees in orchards and bust speeders going over 55 on country roads. I assume the tickets are a big money-maker for the state.
“Cop with nothing better to do”
Yeah you have that right Zumie.
A Buddy of mine was heading to Stevenson Ranch Golf course in Merced county where we getting together for a golf tournament, no need to hurry there but I guess he wanted to get there early to hit a bucket of balls and have breakfast first. He said as he arrived that he got pulled over for speeding for which he denied, but in these rural areas scenarios the cop will say yeah u can go to court over it which he said to all of us not likely to take a dayoff on a trumped up charge and the cop is just making his monthly quota of tickets. So he paid it in the mail. Probably lucky as far as it was going to the course then leaving after tipping a few after the round at the 19th bar though..
Bill James himself was on the MLB Network today advocating changes in the sport.
He would like to see the batter’s box moved another inch from the plate because batters wearing protective gear nowadays have less fear than they used to about being hit by a pitch, and some of them stand over the plate practically.
And he would like a limit on the number of foul balls a batter can hit with two strikes. He talked about how good batters have gotten at fouling off tough pitches with two strikes.
Joel Sherman would like each team to have 5 time outs for the game. Those would be used for pitching mound visits by a coach or manager, challenging on replay, or whatever else stoppage of play was needed, other than injury situations. And I assume the team would get more timeouts for extra innings.
A manager would have to use the timeouts wisely.
I do think you would still need to be able to have the manager coming to the mound to change pitchers each time. A pitching change moment can be a volatile situation with a lot of emotions. The manager needs to be out there.
Bill J’s two ideas make a lot of sense. The foul limit could spur more action more quickly.
I like the limit on foul balls with two strikes idea.
Three maybe? So you get two more swings w/ fouls after two strikes, and the third foul — you’ve struck out in the score book.
That would affect lots of players, and probably would reduce game time, maybe by 5 minutes or so per game? Belt would be impacted for sure…
Bill James said research shows that batters today foul off way more two-strike pitches than they used to. Batters have gotten really good at fouling off those pitches on the black with two strikes, and waiting for the pitcher to make a mistake.
My wife and I are fully vaccinated as of over a month ago, but we will continue to wear masks inside stores for the foreseeable future, at least through year end. We’re not doing inside restaurants either, unless they are distancing and the air flow is good, which is unlikely for most places after June 15, I think. NorCal has some of the highest vaccination rates in the country, but there are still a large % of people un-vaccinated that could get the Covid and be spreading it wherever they go. The vaccines are not 100% effective. So called “breakthrough” infections are hospitalizing and killing vaccinated people across the country, though the numbers are quite small. If you’re 60+, and a lot of us are, a breakthrough infection is still potentially very dangerous. It doesn’t bother me to wear a mask, whatsoever. I would also note that with all the mask wearing this past year, the annual flu season never happened. Flu was virtually unheard of this past winter. That’s reason alone for me to wear a mask in the fall and winter season. Flu kills something like 30K+ people a year in the US, maybe more. I always get a flu shot, yet I usually end up getting flu anyway. Those shots are about 60% effective, tops. The doctor tells me the shot helps if I do catch the flu, but that doesn’t help me much when I feel like crap anyway for a couple of days, and have a 3 week cough after it…
my zip code is 98% vaxed and everyone still wears masks in stores. Who cares? I like it better like this, no stanky-assed breath getting breathed on me by strangers. Outside no mask, inside mask. I’m fine with it.
It doesn’t bother me at all to wear a mask I am so used to it now. And it is the first year in about 4/6 that I didn’t get a cold/flu.
For some reason I’ve always been very susceptible to colds and flus, even as a kid. Had a months long case of bronchitis in about 4th grade (drugs weren’t as good as now), so ever since that bout, whenever I’m exposed to some respiratory thing, I tend to get it, usually once or twice in winter, and it doesn’t go well for me in the lungs. And, I’m a non-smoker. So, I’m super vigilant about this Covid crap even with vaccination, because if I got it, I think it wouldn’t go well for me…
It’s always better to be safe than sorry. I had bronchitis when I was young also and was a smoker for years. Some of those colds/flu’s that i got were pretty scary at times.
It’s interesting, people adjust. I was at a small gathering of vaccinated folks recently, and none of us shook hands, but did other things for greeting. It made for some good friendly chuckles. There were fist bumps, elbow bumps, non-contact air high-fives, and bows. It was very cool.
I’m over it. Only wear it when I have to.
I wonder if that red irritation spot on the bridge of my nose will ever go away…
The excess death stats provide a good snapshot of how many to attribute to COVID. There’s nothing mysterious about these figures nor is there much to quibble over. The demographics of the victims are the reason half the country shrugs it off. The war analogies fall flat because of this, too — no random 20 year olds from Georgia or Texas to feel sorry for.
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7015a4.htm
Yes, that’s the main methodology used by The Economist. Some nations had astronomical surges in the number of deaths in the last 12+ months. In many nations, lots of those deceased died at home, were never tested for Covid, and were just considered pneumonia deaths, and not added to the nations’ Covid death total.
My neighbors’ 17 year old son, along with rest of the family, got full blown Covid last Thanksgiving. Early this year he started getting epileptic seizures. First one he fell and fractured his skull, in hospital for a week. Several thereafter. Never had any seizures before Covid. He’s now on epilepsy meds, likely for life. Driving limitations for foreseeable future until he’s gone through some testing protocols. Doctors blame Covid, say they are seeing this and other neurological consequences, particularly in younger patients. Being young and seemingly unscathed from Covid doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t somehow negatively effect your health for life. Young people should vaxx up just as much as any other age groups…
Yes, I’m glad my own 20 somethings got vaxxed. My comment above wasn’t to suggest that younger people couldn’t be severely affected. It’s just that they won’t be in numbers that will make an impression on Fox viewers.
Limiting foul balls is an interesting idea, especially if you think hitters are primarily responsible for their increase. OTOH, if the fouls result largely from pitches hitters used to put in play before everyone threw 95 and had a change up/slider, one negative effect would be even more strikeouts. I still think that an accurately called strike zone would help speed up the game and increase the number of balls in play. Pitchers throwing to corners should theoretically miss more frequently towards the center of the plate.
I think a lot of fans would be OK with a high amount of strike outs if everything is happening at a quicker pace. And hopefully eventually more hitters would lessen their upper-cut and try to focus on putting the ball in play.
Last night the Red Sox played the Yankees on ESPN, in what is always considered a marquee match-up, but I didn’t really feel like watching it. Red Sox and Yankees games are notorious for moving at the speed of mud.
I watched a little of it, and saw a horrible strike three call that killed a Yankees rally in the bottom of the ninth. The ball was at least 8 inches off the plate.
We really need electronic balls and strikes calls.
Yeah I caught that AB and it was a terrible call by the ump when the Yanks had the winning run at 3rd.What gets me is Boone sat on his ass in the dugout while 2 of his coaches got ejected, one being Phil Nevin who just recently got back after a bout with covid& a staph infection and loss 22lbs but still defended his player after blowing a gasket.A bad look for Boone, maybe he didn’t want to get tossed again?after he was ejected in the Rays series saying to the ump that Garrett Cole was not getting the same pitches that the Rays pitcher was.
Yep they’re is turmoil in NY after losing 5 of 6 at home and worse getting swept by their bitter rivals Boston..
Bill J’s proposed changes would slightly alter existing rules to smooth out the evolution of the game. Bunt one two strike foul and you’re out, as it is. Makes some sense to apply the principle to any extended ABs. Moving the box an inch would be a minor tweak with good potential, too. Elegant ideas.
It would not be a big surprise if Boone is the first manager fired this year.
Would’ve happened already if George was still in charge.
But he’s long gone,
I can’t stand Boone.
I thought BamBam was a lock before they went for Boone…
Who’da thought the Yankees would end up being such a boring team? They represent the worst-case scenario of strike out/HR derby ball.
They’ve been unwatchable to me since Mattingly retired.
And their announcers are awful.
Loved Phil Rizzuto…
I never did or do understand the rationale of endless full swing foul balls, but foul off a two-strike bunt effort, and you’re out. Bases loaded, you can swing off your ass for the fences and a grand slam with infinite foul offs, but just try a teeny weeny little bunt after strike two, and your AB is down the dumper…
Here’s an article about Mike Schmidt.
It’s arguable he is or is not the best baseball draft pick “ever”, but evenso, it’s a good story about a great player staying with one team his entire career.
https://tinyurl.com/ytk32ms6
I’ll always think of him as the first cryer.
That retirement speech breakdown was embarrassing…
I was at the stick and Schmidt hit a towering shot to straight away center, it was magnificent and probably the best one I ever saw.
He’s got a case for best 3rd baseman ever…
Just looking at championships won, a case could be made for some other players.
And, of course, for many decades of MLB there was no draft at all.
Schmidt and I both have something in common, we both wanted to be architects when we left high school. I took a few college classes on architecture and I soon realized that was not going to be happening for me. 🙂
Schmidt’s got a helluva case.
If I had one game to win I’ll take George Brett…
Story says that Schmidt was drafted as next pick after George in the ’71 draft.
Then, they met later as opponents in ’80 WSeries. Interesting trivia.
I’d take either one of ’em. Matt Williams was the Giants best 3rd sacker in SF, but he’s not in the same galaxy as those two…
“Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper released the following statement on Monday morning:
“I wanted to let you know that I may be missing a few more Giants broadcasts than usual and I wanted to share what’s going on with me. After some tests and visits with doctors, I was diagnosed with a medical condition that requires me to immediately begin chemotherapy treatment. I feel very fortunate that I have an incredibly talented team of doctors and healthcare specialists who will be assisting me throughout my treatment plan. And, of course, the support and love of my entire family, along with our incredible fans, everyone at the Giants, NBC Sports Bay Area and KNBR is overwhelming and deeply appreciated. I still plan on broadcasting this season, though I may take a few more games off if I’m not feeling well and I want to thank my broadcast partners for their unconditional support and willingness to step in and cover for me. Thank you for your prayers and for giving me the space and privacy to focus on my health at this time. While this was not the adventure I anticipated, I’m staying positive for a quick and full recovery.””
One day you’re laughing it up, the next day you’re in chemo.
Hoping for the best outcome…
Z’s ops are astonishingly active. The on-the-fly improvisational interleaving of depth, analytics, and passionate will to soar remind me of something — just can’t quite remember what.
Childhood?
another cool pic of him
I don’t think our Willies have ever taken a bad picture…
I’m actually excited about this news.Sam Long’s first start at AAA he struckout the first 8 batters he faced.Has a mid 90’s fastball but it’s his wicked down breaking curve ball that’s been lights out.Good spot here against a crappy Rangers team to see how he looks. Seen enough of Kazmir to know he should just retire, and with Webb&Sanchez still will be out awhile a good move.I wouldn’t be shocked to see that other kid RHP Matt Frisbee up soon as well who could throw multiple innings out of the pen..
I’m all for some fresh arms coming up. If they are dealing at AA and/or AAA, lets see what they can do to maybe shore up this Pen…
Pads jump out to a lead over the Cubs. The Cubs were over-rated.
OK, that big chain necklace the Pads put around the neck of the player who HRs is a funny and cool idea.
Stix called to chat for a while. He’s working hard to rehabilitate his homestead. The probationary authorities have given him to the end of August to establish it as a genuinely livable domicile. Or something like that. He has the help of friends. He thinks he’ll make it. Hooking up electricity sufficient to fire his computer may take a while. I brought him up to speed on the Giants. The beat down in LA really pleased him. The overall success, ups and downs, injuries notwithstanding, had him shouting.
Bart is making some noise…
https://www.mlb.com/giants/news/giants-joey-bart-stays-hot-with-four-hits?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage