A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball

Texas spent 500 million dollars on two middle infielders. I’m sorry, but that’s just dumb. It’s a lazy way to try to quick fix your franchise. If I was an owner I’d never support this approach. Build your team with hard work and cunning, not buckets of cash. That doesn’t work. Glad we have a GM who gets it.

I honestly can’t recall a single team winning the WS and us going “yep, they won it when they signed so and so back in November.”

Therefore……

Reports are that Castellanos is seeking a 7 year deal. Uh, Farhan would never do that. Nor should he.

#inFarhanItrust

Someone is going to give Gasman a 5 year deal? LOL. I would barely want him back on a 1 year deal. First half last season: 1.73 ERA. Second half (after teams began laying off his slider): 4.76. And there was no evidence he was adjusting to this.

He was a nice find but guys like that often flameout (see: The Dick).

Let someone else make the mistake of signing him.

Marte to the Mets. Good. I know some of you guys wanted him but honestly that deal wreaks of an overpay for a guy who sold himself at one of his heights. And all you need to know about this deal is that the Mets did it. They are like the Angels, their free agent pick ups are almost always terrible.

What I’ve learned about Zaidi is that you just sit back and watch him hit on the Gamboa’s of the world. I wouldn’t have been bummed if we had gotten Marte, something that we were likely not in on, but this is fine. Farhan is a genius. Let him do his work and then we can sit back and admire true greatness.

Is this a Farhan special or what?

Happy Thanksgiving, Flap Nation. Gonna be a nice day with all the regular things you’d expect. I’m sad I don’t get to see my dad or mom but we’ll check in with them later and I know my old man is reading this.

Keep dropping recipies and/or what you’re doing today. We still have 3 World Series beauties to celebrate, don’t forget about those.

Carstie Clausen	Nov 22, 2021, 8:06 PM (9 hours ago)
to me, carstie

Flav:  So you want me to talk recipes.  Okay, but first to the team.  One quality which has stood out in recent years, even before Zaidi assumed the reins, has been the organization’s loyalty to the men on the field. By signing Anthony DeSclafani to a three year contract, the Giants not only firmed up the top end of the rotation, but also (as per Farhan) let the baseball world know that rebooting the rotation is a primary goal of the front-office.  The interest in Cobb is interesting, but we’ll see.  A  re-upping of Wood now looks likely.  Still feeling that in lieu of the qualifying offer (which they also did not offer to our returning happy camper) the boys in charge of team composition will also have a long sit-down with Gausman and his agent—talking a contract likely no shorter than that offered today’s returnee.  Should those scenarios come to pass, then a major outside signing like Strohman may not be essential.  If Cobb is inked and with the arrival of Hjelle, the team would have six pitchers who have starter chops.

  Webb is the primo.  Gausman is a very capable #2. Scaffolding in the 3rd spot will ensure some elevation in the top of the rotation.  Wood would be a quality fourth starter. A Cobb/Hjelle mix n’ match for 5 and 6 would proivide needed depth in both the rotation and as longman.  Neither of that pairing would likely be an ego-case, so psychologically they should be able to deal with such a competition and cooperation. You wanna winner, a solid and deep rotation is your starting point.

 Though we all quake at the thought of losing Buster, let’s celebrate for his being honored as NL Comeback Player of the Year.  And man, did he earn it.  Both the pre-game and post-game hours spent in the trainer’s room attested to the likelihood that he was playing in pain.  And then he goes out and has him one helluva season, harkening back to those even years when SF went 3 for 5 as World Champs.  In my book Posey looks to be a virtual shoo-in for the H.O.F.

 Speaking of the Hall, the just released listing includes no fewer than eight candidates for that honor who either were longtime Giants or essentially ended their careers sporting the orange and black. Timmy Terrific is up for his first go-round.  Though his career in SF was basically a last-look, super shortstop Omar Vizquel is also on that listing.  The big one wore #25 and holds some amazing records.  It’s about time that some of those sports writers get over their steroids snits and give the man his due.  There may also be a slight whiff of racism connected to the issue.

  Primarily, the owners needed to get the game back into the limelight after the player strike and lockdown which likely cost Matt Williams the opportunity to slam 50+ homers in that circumcised season.  So they smugly looked the other way when McGwire and So-so had their big fling.  BB25, already a likely HOF candidate, based on his achievements up to that point and projecting into a long career which would elevate his lifetime numbers well into the stratosphere; probably thought to himself that if those two meatheads could bust the Maris and Ruth records, then possessing as he did the best eye-hand coordination of anyone in the history of the game—with the conceivable exception of Ted Williams—he could become the most prolific slugger in baseball history.  So why should those privileged inkslingers keep sucking on sour grapes and finally give his due to Willie Mays’ own godson, Barry Bonds.

 Okay, so I’ll get off baseball and project something more edible, something folks mostly around the mountain South called “Johnny Cakes” (an Americanization of the Shawnee tribe’s fixins which earlier on were called “Shawnee Cakes”.  We’re also talking something closely akin to fritters—some real downhome cookin—even though my own background is the lutefisk and lefse crowd.  In a mixing bowl I toss in some combination of these primaries:  Oat bran, wheat bran, Indian Head cornmeal, masa harina, whole wheat flour, oat flour, barley flour and rye flour.  Usually five from that selection at a time.  Gotta have some Rumford’s or other non alum-based baking powder.  Probably a dash of milk or even half n’ half along with an egg and just enough water to make for a nice stiff batter.

 Now the fun part.  A couple of cousins sharing either half or a quarter Korean ancestry remarked that their heritage too adds other elements to the basic batter.  To date I have employed chunked or chopped tomatoes, either green or ripe, pickled jalapeños, chopped and measured according to personal preference, halved Spanish-style pimento stuffed olives, chopped apple, diced dates and/or figs, crushed walnuts and /or peanuts, pine nuts ,diced dried apricots or mangos, raisins  or craisins,and, of course, chunks of cheese.  Got my hands on some kimchi, so that’s been added in from time to time as well.  In other words there’s virtually a pizza=menu of add -ins.  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention canned salmon.

 During the summer months and through the falling (but not here in the Northwoods—fallen) Fall– the morning combo got dropped into pre-heated peanut oil in a trusty cast-iron skillet atop the wood stove in the mostly gutted but due for replacement starting next spring 106 year old kitchen.  Anyone who has cooked for a year or two and has been around a bit can tell you that the best results when it comes to frying most anything occurs in the cozy confines of a cast-iron skillet—or one of those old-fashioned griddles if you are fortunate enough to possess a stove which can handle such an implement of construction of tasty vittles.

 Cue the table.  No salt need be added to whatever blend you happen to choose, so long as you can come up with some of that thick, dark soy sauce which I happen to prefer as a light dip.  Light because you do not want to overwhelm the cornucopia of flavors.  During those warmer months, three or four breakfasts per week evolved from the top of that wood cookstove.  Now, living in a small-town apartment, there’s this convenient, but not quite so sexy electric range.  So these days it’s down to twice a week doing all that time-consuming prep of that never gets old repast shared with a stout cup of heavy-duty coffee and either a Will Shortz approved NYT crossword puzzle or one from my massive collection of old “Life” magazines.

 Now that the iMac is once again a daily adventure, I’ll often catch some mellow Bluuz over u-tube.  Later on in the day, truly classic 1965-75 rock n’ roll or maybe some easy to digest classical or perhaps even (mood suggesting) some old time Country from the likes of Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson or Merle Haggard, who’s classic about Muskogee. Oklahoma versus San Francisco was penned on a tour bus driving through while he and the rest of his fellow music makers were stoned outta their gourds.

 Ya know, if you happen to be up for it and keep your days busy and interesting, retirement and the aging process can actually be mostly pleasant, an adventure in this rat-race culture where you can own your own time and live according to the feelings of your inner being rather than being caught up in that rat-race world of alarm clocks, deadlines and traffic jams—not to mention the ignominy of being required to get throttled by a necktie.

Fun week coming up after a couple of days of work–family, friends, food, football, folf and feers. Er, uh, golf and beers. Either way, can’t wait. People like to crap on the T-giving games but you fire up 20 teams at draftkings and those are 3 goddamn super bowls right there.

Also, an under the radar move: I’m staying home this week.

Always loved the recipe shares that Twinfan and Stix inspired over the holidays. Sadly there might be a greater chance that Twin shares his this Thursday. Stix is truly flummoxed by the login process here at Casa de Flapa. Whatever. I hope he writes me the longest of emails, I will share it if he does….

Now that we have been put out of our misery with the end of The Big Game I get to look forward to….Niners v Jaguars? Yikes. It truly is a sports dead zone. Without daily fantasy I’d have not interest in this stuff whatsoever.

I’ll probably miss the game cause I’ll be at church. lqtm, who goes to church? Seems like an awfully boring ritual….

Eh, to be honest this game has felt *bigger* in the past. Stanford regularly treats Cal like the doormat they are having won the last 10 of 11 Big Games. This year might be different because Stanford sucks. Cal is a complete mess dealing with Covid outbreaks. The Cardinal should be getting back Tanner McKee at QB and that’s really their only chance to win this game.

Personally I’m looking more forward to the Niner/Jax game which shows you how much excitement I have for today’s Big Game. I’m going to a tailgate but I’m not going inside the stadium.

Has there ever been a guy who’s fortune changed quicker in a year than this guy?

Eh, probably.

But what he did last year was remarkable. Love having him back on shortest deal possible but I fear they’re going to tear this up and give him 2-3 years. Whatever, I should be able to find other more important things to irritate myself with.

Discuss…

If I’ve learned one thing over the years it’s when not to bet. If something looks like a sure thing, ESPECIALLY if the public supports it, either go the other way or don’t bet. Everyone was hammering the Rams last night and if you had asked me for a line from Big Flavor Inc. I would have started at 10.5. I didn’t have the sack required the bet SF but I had no problem sitting that one out last night and just enjoying the game.

One thing that’s been proven as fact so far this season is that there is no dominant team in the NFL and the only team that isn’t competitive is Houston.

The Niners looked like a completely different team than the one that took an embarrassing drubbing at the hands of the underwhelming Colt McCoy.

And that gents is why I love sports. You just never know what’s going to happen.

Rams are only 3.5 favorites? If I wore a younger man’s clothes I would hammer that. But I’ve learned over the years that usually nothing is as it seems when it comes to betting on NFL. Especially when the public is hitting it hard. So i will just sit back and watch this one and hope that the Niners can somehow get off life support. It’s hard to root for SF though especially when I am so disappointed in them—from the top to the bottom.

Just a weekend thread to keep the line moving. Such a letdown from last Saturday.

Alabama 52 point favorite in their game today. FIFTY TWO. Can’t even look forward to the Niners playing since they don’t get executed till Monday. At least the Warriors are surprising but this feels more like a run against the schedule than it does an actual run. Whatever, chop it up.

The Bailey pick after they drafted Bart is irritating….unless one of them pops. If neither does, yeah, that sucks. Drafts are hard in every sport. The Niners have been absolutely terrible at it. Of course the Raiders just waived BOTH of their first round picks from last year. The Rams have caught crap for trading all their picks but look where they are now? Stafford, as I said he would be when he was freed from Detroit, has been a fantastic pick up. And they are Super Bowl contenders. If they win, who cares if they have any picks or not? A trophy buys a lot of rope from a fan base.

The “look at me” awards are coming out next week. AL seems to have a distinct advantage in terms of power in the MVP race vs NLs. Guerrero, Ohtani, Semian vs Harper, Soto and Tatis? AL wins that one. It’s too bad Crawford didn’t make the top 3 but things like 107 wins, gold glove, clutch hitting, etc… don’t seem to matter to the voters.

Hey my buddy The Mudman, recently referenced in the Buster “First ballot” bet with Bird Dog has come down with covid. This is only relevant to point out because this is a fully vaxxed guy, overweight, who only has mild symptoms. He has a trip to Hawaii planned next week and he said “Hawaii can wait.” I said “Dawg fuck Hawaii. HEAVEN can wait.” Anyone who thinks your “natural immune system” is as good as the vax at fighting this is a lunatic. I’ve been putting off getting my booster shot but not anymore.

Post Breeders Cup doldrums hitting me hard this morning, gents. Couple that with no more baseball, the Niners are impossible to watch….what else in the wide world of sports is going on? The Warriors? Eh, I can really only tolerate pieces of NBA games these days. Thank God for fantasy sports, there will always be that.

Buster Posey! I’ve heard many people honoring his retirement speech to the media. Pasalon even disclosed that he shed at least one tear. Buster retiring spawned a serious debate between my friends Bird Dog and The Mudman. BD declared confidently that Buster is a first ballot HOFer. Mudman screamed “Nay!” And a bet was born. I don’t think Buster’s got a snow ball’s chance in hell of getting in first ballot but I could see him making it after that. Thoughts? Although BD did secure 20-1 odds on his bet, it feels like The Mudman has Bird Dog over a barrel on this one, aye?

Still at the beach but wanted to give you guys a new thread. My only quibble with this trip is the weather. I’ve been to San Diego a dozen times+ and it’s always been gorgeous. It is cold and foggy. I didn’t pack for this. San Dawg I’d like to speak with the manager.

Breeders Cup Saturday! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

Posey is retiring, something I suggested could happen earlier this year. So mentally I was prepared for this. I have mixed feelings about it. But I’m headed to Del Mar today and it’s no time for mixed feelings. We can chop this up all winter. For now let me leave you with probably the coolest thing you’ll see today. Dude does this for 10K in tuition money…..

The Braves avenged our 5-0 Game 6 meltdown by closing the deal on their own 5-0 Game 6 lead. Good for them. From the time Ozuna and Acuna went down this team and the front office never gave up and ended up winning the ultimate prize. I am not really happy for their fans who are basically just Chop Zombies but I definitely know how they feel this morning—as a fan, this is the best it gets. I’m envious.

I’m surprised to hear about so many of you guys not watching this World Series. It’s actually been quite entertaining. It kinda feels like Atlanta has to do this tonight, right? In 2002 the Giants had a chance to take down the Angels in Game 6. I’ll never forget that night. I was watching the game alone in my condo at Redwood Shores. Too nervous to watch it with anyone. 7th inning stretch came and I was a raging rocket ship ball of energy. For some reason I decided to take a quick shower, no idea why I did that. Halfway through my 2 minute shower (that’s 1 minute in for you math geeks) I started weeping. I couldn’t believe this was about to finally happen. I got out, toweled off and settled back in for what would turn into one of my greatest real life nightmares. Game 7, we never had a chance. Those rally monkey fucks won it all in Game 6.

I hope the same thing doesn’t happen to the Braves tonight…..

Snitker owns that one. I get that they’re short on pitchers but it was clear Davidson didn’t have it, couldn’t find the strike zone and had no business in a game like this anyway. When you’re handed a 4 run first inning lead you have to do everything you can to hold on to it. He just kept rolling with this dude till it was too late. I don’t think Dusty managed his pitchers much better. Letting Valdez hit for himself with a man on 3rd down 2 runs was essentially giving up the inning. But Dusty’s never been too good with managing pitchers, has he?

Ah if only Bass Baldy hadn’t disappeared we might be able to get to the bottom of this mystery. Zumiee is right, me and that dude didn’t like each other. But most of my venom was directed at him because I thought he was being an idiot about Duvall and not taking into consideration park factors. Well, good ol’ Bass Baldy got the best of Big Flavor on this one. And I have no problem admitting when I’m wrong about something. If more people admitted they were wrong about things this world would get along better….