Final Week, Final Push
I thought we’d kick off this Monday with something different. Here’s an email I got from Stix. My man, I don’t know what the problem is. Clear out your cache. Then make sure you’re signed into wordpress. That’s where I’d start.
From: Carstie Clausen <carstieclausen@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Sep 26, 2021 at 5:41 PM
Subject: 102-54
To: Flavor <bigflavor77@gmail.com>
Flav: Howdy from Minnesota. Accessing iMac about every 3 days as cleaning up the homestead after 5 years of neglect is a constant draw on my energies. But this evening, after the game three loss to the Padres, I made it over to Markko’s and tuned into the How Sweep It Is over the Rox, Wow! Those taters keep on keeping on, with Belt, Yaz and Crawdaddy pounding em out. Evidently, management is cosseting the starters and employing the pen for most of the innings. Doval seems to be coming around nicely and Curvin Kervin is wowing them. The strategy employed this year has transformed a so-so team into a monster. A lot of teams will attempt to copy that new template.
Haven’t even attempted to engage with WordPress yet as my time is pretty limited. If you have any good ideas as to how to get back on the Flap please let me know ASAP. Who would have imagined such a season. Six to go with a two game edge. At this point the schedule may favor los Gigantes as I simply cannot see the LaBumbos sweeping Milwaukee. Breaking the monopoly on Division titles would be a perfect start to the PostSeason. High Fives to all the Flappers. Go Giants! -Stix
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Where’s a 10 yr old when you need one?
Thanks for posting that Flav. Glad he can follow along and enjoy.
Great to see an update from Stix. Hope he figures it out and can get back into the fray here on the Flap.
Glad to hear Stix is going well.
Hopefully the Brewers and Padres will play competitively against LA. The Brewers will have clinched by they so they may not have much incentive. The Padres continue to befuddle me. So much talent and they’re just rolling over. It just goes to show that you can’t just buy a championship, even if you stack the roster.
Of course, the Giants just need to take care of business on their end. They’re in a good position, so GO GIANTS!
how is Tatis so universally considered the NL MVP favorite with his team completely fading in Sept? Isn’t THIS when you’re supposed to be the MVP? In Sept?
sure, totally based on what he did earlier. Does have 40 bombs despite IL time.
At least it’s not Muncy, who will get his share of votes too especially if unthinkable happens.
by definition you are not *most valuable* if your team fades in Sept. If it’s all about just stats call it “The Best Stats Award” or something. Craw AND Belt both deserve consideration for MVP and I can’t believe I just typed that.
Two words— Ernie Banks
No such definition either, just writers opinion. Kemp totally deserved MVP over Braun and Mays got screwed out of couple too.
Glad to hear a post from Stix that will inspire the troops all the way to the division title!!
Of course how great the Giants have been and shocked the baseball world they still will get no consideration for MVP award especially Crawford ( what else does I guy have to do?)They will have 2 Awards atleast and if they get screwed out of those then there really is a conspiracy going on in baseball,,
Manager of the year Gabe Kapler, GM of the year Farhan Zadhi these are Slam Dunks on how a franchise can turn it around in such a short time, it still amazes me, Farhan basically sayin screw the rebuild just buy into my coaches and manager’s analytics approach on hitting and it will all work out!!
Don’t see it with Tatis winning the award.Yes he’s very talented 40 Bombs,40 steals? throw in 40 errors at SS and the teams complete collapse and run in with Machado in the dugout not going to help his cause..
MVP will be Bryce Harper who’s having a better year imo and has been carrying the Phillies to a playoff push unlike the Padres.AL MVP Othani hands down the best player in baseball.Too bad for Guerrero to have a tremendous year that nobody really notices..
Really encouraging that Gausman performed well yesterday, especially in thin air conditions. If he’s got some mojo back, that is great news, especially if the Gyros can win the division and head into an NLDS, where he might make two appearances…
Definitely. Threw some very effective sliders yesterday too, good thing amidst all the talk of hitters adjusting to his standard 2 pitch fastball-split/change usage. Coors didn’t bother him at all, really good sign.
Stories today too about how SF can vary use of he and Webb depending how well they can finish out reg season and get lined up for playoffs.
I used to care about things like MVPs–that was before we won those 3 beauties. Caring about MVPs is what fans of loser teams obsess about. I think it’s bs that Tatis is gonna get it but I really don’t care if he does.
belt’s only played 97 games himself. Giants won without him too==when he left in June (after missing dozen games earlier) they were 48-26 and then went 20-14 while he was gone. Today they’re at .650, so similar record whether he’s in there or not.
The true MVP player is the one that wins the Triple Crown!!!
Yaz,Robinson,Mantle,Williams etc..
Incredible that Ted Williams won the TC in ’42 and didn’t win MVP.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1942.shtml#all_AL_MVP_voting
Also finished second the year before when he only hit .406.
The writers must’ve really hated his guts…
Joe Gordon seriously??
He couldn’t even hold Williams jockstrap what a scam of justice..
And to lose out to Golden Boy DiMaggio the prior year another bias vote he clearly should of won that one too..
Williams hits .406 crushes HR’s and RBIs with OBP of high .400’s what a joke!
DiMaggio was the popular player and rode that 56 game hitting streak to overwhelm the voters that’s all..
this is cool
And that would be Miguel Caberá after Romo froze his ass with an unexpected fastball over his signature slider!!
When is Belt’s x-ray? Midnight?
Slush (on twitter) says team doesn’t ever release any info to scribes on off day.
Just now “Giants say Brandon Belt had an X ray today that revealed a fracture…”
mother fuck
Other part of quote from Slush is, “Belt will continue to meet with the doctors over the next couple of days to develop a recovery plan and timetable for his return.”
yeah. No. It’s over for him this year.
The recovery plan for a fuckin broken bone is sitting out 4-8 weeks…
I guess it’ll be Wade at first most of the time now.
Probably back to GD/Slater platoon in CF.
This completely fuckin sucks!
Ruf and Mr. Ed and Hapless Harry move around as needed.
What a fuckin disaster.
Yeah, I know. Next man up. (my ass)…
So if the x-ray tech lied to him and said there was no break, he’d be ok to play?
Kruk was really giving it to Belt this morning on KNBR. Couldn’t believe he was trying to bunt. “You’re a power hitter! What were you thinking!!!”
Unfair. Fans having been asking him to bunt ever since shifts got so radical and he’s done it successfully before, like Yaz. He was batting against tough LHP when game was close iirc (before Craw bomb)–I’d guess it was one time thing he was gonna try for that one pitch, and it was the one that completely got away from the Rox reliever and ran in on him.
Belt can’t seem to avoid injury for a significant length of time.
From this to the concussion he got from taking a ball off his dome during infield several years ago and all the other injuries in between and before.
This isn’t his fault, agreed. The pitcher just happened to throw on inside, or somehow got surprised and threw out of his rythmn.
Kruk and Kuip have never really liked this guy.
Even when they praise him, it seems they don’t really mean it, they do it with some kind of caveat or dig, half in jest and whole in earnest…
They won consistently without Belt for the time he was out.
Ruf will be back, he was hitting well when the oblique started.
Wade and Ruf will platoon at first.
They’ll mainly miss his defense…
The Merc disagrees…
Regardless of how Kapler and the Giants’ coaching staff draw up lineups during Belt’s absence, it will be nearly impossible for the club to replace the production he’s provided since he returned from the injured list in August. Since Belt rejoined the Giants, his 18 homers are tied for the second-most in the majors while his 1.085 OPS ranks fourth.
Nah BS on Merc–no way to tell when Belt’s hot streak would end, as all these do. The Dogs were without Cory Seager for long stretch, Betts too. So would they have won 130 games with these guys?
Giants have played without dang near every starter (and bench guys too like LaStella Wilmet Ruf and Solano) at various times during the year and still have best record in baseball.
Pitching will ultimately make difference in what else happens imo.
Meanwhile, Wiggins situation blew up Warriors media day.
Maybe him and Kyrie can find somewhere to start their own league.
This is how I felt when Melky got pinched…
from nbc sports, Vaccine resistant Andrew Wiggins: ‘I’m just going to keep fighting for what I believe.’
What do you believe?
‘None of your business.’
yikes
This is the stuff of morons.
At least Wiggins had the balls to say something, however stupid.
Wood flat out refuses to say anything when asked about his vaxx status by the media. If he has any principles on which he’s relied/relying to refuse to vaxx up, then he should be man enough to say what they are. My level of disgust is higher with Wood than with Wiggins.
I predict Wiggins will vaxx up when the Warriors tell him to take a hike, and that they’ll fine him an amount = to his game salary for every home game missed. That is $350K per game, and an article I just read said the NBA denied his request for a “religious” exemption. I’ll bet his principles include not pissing away $350K per game missed, or about $14 million…
KRON reporter kylen mills. tweeting on Wiggins media day, said “Warriors owner Joe Lacob has a masters in Public Health from UCLA with a focus on epidemiology.”
Maybe Wiggs can do some more “research” like a lot of these anti-vaxxers say, after 1 1/2 years of the pandemic, including having a sit down with Lacob for a $14 million discussion about vaccines…
Funny, on front page of SF Chron this morning is headline “Citing religion, 193 on police staff request shot exemption.”
And yet, in Wiggins story, whose religious exemption was denied by NBA, they note, “… no major organized religion has objected to coronavirus vaccines.”
rev. Peabrain down to the Ninth Baptist Temple of Holy Rollers isn’t organized enough?
The Church of Me, Myself and I — the Holy Trinity…
Goddamn this sucks. I feel bad for Belt, he had to be getting pumped for the playoffs after a 5-year absence and having his best season. Goddamn this sucks.
There’s a youtube vid of Belt bunting for a dozen or more hits. He knows how to lay it down. But it looked like he didn’t know what to do when the FB came up and in yesterday. Apparently, he’s 5 for 7 bunting this year (OPS 1.400+, lol), but with one out, a runner already on 1B and Bryant and Crawford behind him? He’s only hit into 9 DPs this year, I think. And he’s hit a shit load of fly balls and line drives.
Thank god he’s not dead on the deck, like the guy in oh captain! my captain!
Just read where Belt got hit by a pitch in 2014 that broke the same left thumb.
I didn’t remember that.
He was out for — 8 weeks…
Jon Miller mentioned the earlier break yesterday as soon as it became clear that it was the left thumb. His recollection was that it occurred at dodger stadium.
Bryant has played some 1B throughout his career, including some starts this season with the Cubs. Would he be another possibility? Though I might cringe if he tried to make the throw to 2nd that Belt does so well.
Highly doubt it, Mac…
Belt with the weird injuries to the very end of his Giants career. Whoever signs him has to know this dude will miss some games.
Not to say the Giants won’t sign him. They might.
I would agree now that the Giants are done with him.
I’m amazed that they hadn’t re-upped him like Crawford…
Maybe they already decided long ago they wouldn’t re-sign him, given his injury history.
Now, he’s re-confirmed it…
Belt out of all the BC in last year of contracts was going to be easiest to replace, especially with emergence of Wade Jr. and Ruf/Wilmet offensively at least. Chance to get younger and more athletic. and McCarthy had fine season in Sac. Also saves $$ to use for FA and pitching. I can see it, either way.
Belt has long been one of my favorite Giants, and it’s been a real pleasure watching him on his Captain’s Crusade lately. Obviously this sucks losing him now. But… as noted here, the team has won without him (though not recently, obviously), and if their slogan/identifier is indeed “Resilient”, they sure as shit get to test that now. Picked a bad week to stop sniffing glue…
Fuck.
Bad timing for sure. Hopefully the next man up will get it done. Guessing 5 more wins gets it done!