Searching For Sports Entertainment
NFL, over. MLB, doesn’t even really exist right now. Hockey…..
Decent Dubs match up tonight with Denver. Jokic is about as fun as there is to watch out there. Warriors playing pretty terribly lately especially on D. That probably isn’t going to change tonight.
Back improving. Can’t believe I have to wear this brace for 6-8 weeks, it feels like I’m already turning a corner!
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
thanks to mrsportsdude for that column on MLB cutting back on minor league teams and players, awful thing to do. Also takes something away from small town fans who might go to game.
Another proposal was mentioned by Brisbee in Athletic yesterday–to put limit on how many times ML club can option a player in a season, possibly lowering it from “unlimited” to maybe 5. Last season for example GD went down 4 times, Doval and Wade Jr too and I think Long was sent down 7 times.
Benefit for guy in Sac would be to collect ML paycheck, along with experience, however briefly.
Flav may have missed the story behind the back injury on my vaca so wtf did you do???? Skydiving was the cause???
lol no. I fell down backwards at work. Pretty mundane story actually.
Hope you get better soon, brother.
Btw, just clicked on Daniel’s Cardinals blog on the great widget to the right.
Um, nothing new since Dec. 31.
Posts before that all related to twitter search for best Cardinals accounts. yikes
Re Dubs I really wanted Ben Simmons as the next Gen leader of the team and he may be a free agent after the next season so maybe a longer term play. But undoubtedly they need to add a big body after the all-star game. Suns are more loaded than our aging team and glad they have told other team to F Off about trading Kuminga. I even like Moody a whole lot. If Wiseman can develop and then you add Simmons in a year and half we have a next gen team.
mm adding big body is common theme but I don’t see it as fit for what they like to do on offense, with ball movement etc. Looney sets screens for everyone and they do not use low post. Green will help at both ends by adding needed physicality and smarts, and it’s possible Wiseman and Andre can provide few minutes here and there in playoffs, all that really matters.
Yes Bjelica has mostly a fail lately, but if they were to add someone to mix that’s more type of player I think they are after–someone who can shoot and pass ball while not being defensive liability and clogging paint. Old school high post Center ala D West or Bogut. Alvan Adams would be perfect for today’s game.
Well, there IS the Olympics. I enjoy the skiing. Curling is off the hook.
can’t get into it.
Didn’t see this.
What was the result — was the hitter allowed to stay on base?…
I’m sure he was.
Looks like yes, he stayed at first. Go to top of 6th.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT201404180.shtml
Matt Kawahara has follow up story in Chron today about Passan report on MLB proposal to reduce minor leagues.
This from Henry Davis, #1 pick of Pirates last year: ” Hard to grow baseball when the people with the power to do so treat it solely as an investment trying to maximize short term returns.”
Further, this from A’s minor league pitched Aiden McIntyre: “There are a lot of guys contributing at the big league level who weren’t in the top 10 (draft) rounds and guys who played in the minors for over 5-7 years. So there are those guys who made it, and by shrinking the minor leagues you’d be shrinking the possibility of those guys happening.”
Ever since the owners took over the commissioner’s office in 92, they’ve had long-term business plans. Ditching the AL/NL commissioners and merging into one entity (with interleague play) was the most obvious result. Like any huge corporation with subsidiaries of varying financial success, they’ve adjusted over the years. I don’t understand the plan they’re implementing by trimming MiLB, but I’ll bet it’s meant to maximize both profit and capital gain. Maybe they’re counting on independent leagues here and pro leagues in other countries. I don’t know. (MLB relies heavily on the indep. leagues for experimenting with rule changes, etc., now.) But I bet they’re thinking long-term.
Fucking joke. They will ruin the game from the bottom up. Was it the A’s 2 years ago that balked at giving minor league players a $100.00 stipend during the cancelled games?
All the rules changes do little to grow the fan base, and they alienate the fans they have by doing all these little things to ruin the game.
Fuck these guys with a rusty pipe.
I’m ticked about the universal DH, but resigned to it and getting over it when faced with reality. These days, the “starter” mostly only goes about 5 innings, maybe 6. With no DH, that’s enough innings for one pitcher’s AB, maybe 2. And, in that case, there’s no big strategy in inserting a PH for that pitcher AB early, if the pitcher is getting shelled before the planned 5 or 6 frames. After that first 5 or 6 innings, you’ve got relief pitchers taking the rest of the game, and they’re not going to hit anyway, so not much “strategy” lost there, except if there is a double switch attached to it for whatever reason. Plus, the NL pitchers don’t seem to be able to bunt much anymore (especially SF pitchers) even if called upon to do it, which is becoming more rare all the time. All in, the DH in the NL doesn’t seem to me to be much different in result than the way the entire game is going anyway, without it. The bad thing is it will mean some reduced strategy moves, and more important to me it will make NL games longer, which is the reverse direction of where MLB wants the games to go. These 4+ hour AL games suck. I suspect Kap and coaches will make the most out of the DH, given their stats analysis and preparation. The Giants DHs will probably be a rotation of a small number of guys who will alternate between DHing and playing in the field, depending on rest needs and matchups. Too bad Buster retired, I think the DH would be a godsend for him and he’d have a couple hundred more hits in his inventory over the next few seasons for his HOF bid…
Yeah, the whole DH thing is a pisser, because I always thought it represented real baseball. But with ghost runners and shit, real baseball went away a long time ago.
The Giants pitchers were such terrible hitters and bunters last season it got us more resigned to the universal DH.
Except for Logan’s home run in the season finale!
PJ O’Rourke has passed away. I read a lot of his stuff in the 1980s. I wasn’t much interested in current politics in those days. He was a rare political writer I would read. His humor and insight were sharp. He was the rare Conservative humorist who was actually funny.
Later, when he was an ardent Bush, Jr. supporter, then his humor fizzled away. It’s pretty much impossible to support Dick Cheney and be funny.
The same thing happened to Dennis Miller.
In a thing I read yesterday about PJ, I was surprised to find out that he voted for Hillary in ’16. It turns out he was one of those small number of never-Trumpers in the Conservative political scene.
Back in the 1980s, Rolling Stone magazine was still really good, and PJ was a regular writer for the magazine.
Rolling Stone magazine actually helped me get through college. Reading the record reviews regularly taught me how to write the type of essays you get assigned in college. The record reviews had a common structure to them, and they were a nice example of how to write a concise critical essay about something.
Yeah, I subscribed to RS for years, from late ’70s into ’90s, always looked forward to its arrival, nearly always read it cover to cover. But they really lost it at some point. Been years since I’ve read an issue. I think the last one I read was one of their “Top 500 Guitarists of All Time” issues, and they ranked Roy Buchanan around 90 or 100, and Jack White at 17. Idiots….
Rutgers strikes again, taking down Illini.
Make it 4 straight vs ranked teams. RU lost to Illini by 35 early Dec., led by as much as 23 tonight, Illinois made a slight run late but game was really never in doubt. Throw in Nets, down 28 in 1st half, beating Knicks at MSG and it was a great night in Macland.
Hey Mac, have you ever been to game at Palestra? I just started reading great book by John Feinstein “Back Roads to March” about him going to out of the way to watch smaller schools as opposed to Power 5s with one and dones. He has always had thing for Big 5, and first story is about game from Nov 2018 he watched btw Temple and LaSalle.
Yes I have, twice from what I can remember. Once for the A-10 quarterfinals, probably ’88 or ’89, four games all in one day/night. Also went to a St. Joe’s-‘Nova game, probably around same time frame and at that time probably the biggest Big 5 rivalry. St. Joe’s fans really hated ‘Nova and Rollie. Yeah, definitely a cool place for hoops.
Awesome. Always dug St. Joe’s and Hawks mascot flapping arms entire game.
The Hawk Will Never Die.
wow Gary Payton2 just blocked Jokic post up shot inside.
“Macland”, I like that. Kind of like how parts of Scandinavia were once called Lapland. NJ could now be called Macland, and the NJ/NYC area could be Mac&Loo Land….
Yes, no lack of Sports Entertainment tonight. Now I got on US-Canada women’s hockey final, US down 1-0.
How do you not fire Thibodeau immediately?
yeah that was an ouch of an L. cbs story said seems to be predictable pattern with Thibs teams–do well in first season but over time he burns everyone out and teams fade. Curious decision not to make any deals at deadline when players flying all over place.
Craig you were right. last 8 min of W game just terrible. No D, couldn’t hit a shot, Looney awful at the line. I don’t get to see that many games. Live streamed the 4th Q. Really wish i hadn’t
Guess I expect more out of Curry than 1-7 from 3, at home. Dunno what’s up but isn’t only time it’s happened this season either.
that was also his man, Monte Morris, that made game winner. Steph left him (and took blame for himself) as he cut through lane to other side of floor to help on Jokic, and that was Steph flying by him as Morris won it with open 3 when Jokic found him.
Not everything is his fault, but him and Klay (3-10 on 3s 5-15 overall in 30 minutes) having tough go. Kerr admitted he made his share of mistakes as well.
Just read NYT brief recap of mask requirements (still in effect for theater), which have been reduced, in NYC.
Question: would new Mayor Adams go even further and reduce/end them for indoor activities, that would maybe allow for Kyrie Irving to play home games for Nets this season?
Doesn’t sound like that’ll happen. Or, Irving could just get vaccinated.
I heard that unvaccinated visiting players are permitted to play in NY arenas, but home team guys like Kyrie aren’t. Unless I misunderstood, how the fuck does that make any sense?
Same policy as Chase Center in SF for the Dubs.
Wiggins had to vaxx up or he was persona non grata for 41 home dates at Chase.
There must be a plausible rationale, but I’m not buying it — whatever it is…
Snarkk is right Loo. Comments section in Chron was up in arms about this too when Nets were here. SF County health regulations. He did have to have neg test to get in building iirc, but not a vac.
I agree, Loo, that is screwed up, as even Silver so said this week. That said, this would all be a non-issue if Kooky Kyrie would get vaccinated.
At some point early in NBA season, it was reported in Chron someone asked Wiggins if he was glad he’d gotten the vax after all. He got mad and said, NO he was not and said he felt he got forced into getting it And hasn’t changed his mind about vaxes one iota.
Kerr should have pulled Looney before the next 2 fouls were called. Or at least not given him the ball as an off ball foul under 2 minutes they can sub the free throw shooter.
Under
Wow. That didn’t take long. Just start messing around with twitter and I’m in twitter jail.
Latest MLB/MLBPA lockout meeting today lasted
15 minutes!!
I’ve taken a shit that’s last longer then that!
78 freaking days now going nowhere between whining billionaire owners and millionaire players and of course the absolute worst commissioner ever in Manfred , it’s just downright pathetic..
As a lifelong baseball fan,like every Flapper here is I’m disgusted that this great game will be irrelevant in a few years as every fan now should boycott their teams!!
Yes, and to speed on the recovery, steroid testing has been stopped.
Hey, MLB must be getting dope testing advice from the Russians. Just don’t test, da, everybody happy.
If they both agree to that then what’s the point of keeping Bonds out of the HOF?…
Flav, every time I read your lede I tell myself–trust the PTs/MDs and be patient. How many pro athletes try to come back too soon (or worse, hide discomfort and suffer through pain) and only make things worse. my Dad did this years ago with leg injury he had, overdid workouts and then had to redo lengthy rehab. Ain’t worth it, especially for something as complicated and vital as back.
Well said willedav!