Appreciating Our “3 in 5”
One thing I thought of this morning that made me feel a little better about the Giants in general. We won 3 championships in 5 years. “3 in 5” became a saying around here for a while. But think about Oakland. They LOST 3 sports teams in 5 years.
Imagine how awful that would be if you were an Oakland fan.
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Mets-Braves split puts both in and DBax out. Whomever wins first one can safely tank second one and save pitching and regulars for WC series that starts right away.
horrible way to end this season. MLB needs to plan this out better in the future.
Manfred strikes again .
I can’t see either the Braves or Mets letting up for this one. Kind of like the Giants giving the Dodgers the opportunity to make the playoffs. Not gonna happen.
Lunchtime pause to express gratitude at end of season. First to Flavor for hosting SF Giants daily blog and providing loyal and dedicated Giants fans a place to analyze, critique, vent (all too frequently) and praise (sadly all too infrequently) our Bay Area heroes. Second to the many Flavor bloggers whose daily posts have made me more knowledgeable on Giant organizational structure from player stats of active major league roster to developments in farm system to front office/senior management machinations. My appreciation.
Yes…3 in 5 was great. The glory years. Renteria’s 3 run home run in Game 5 of 2010 World Series, 6-0 in elimination games vs Reds & Cards in 2012 and Ishikawa’s pennant clinching homer in 2014.
Last 10 years…not so great. Alex Pavlovic believes Zaidi’s fate will be known today or tomorrow. This franchise needs fresh and different approach to roster construction.
Slusser reporting that Farhan firing is imminent…
Giants announce they’ve fired Farhan.
New President of Baseball Operations: Buster Posey
Buster doing negotiations in the Chapman deal was no fluke.
Buster is the new Pres. of Baseball Ops. Wow !
good day one of the off-season. Bye bye Farhan…
Well one note about the double header criticism for today to decide, the Diamondbacks could have controlled their fate Lost easily first two games of the Padres series and against us as we smacked them around pretty well. So fuck em…
Wow. Color me surprised. Guess there was more to the Chappie deal than previously thought.
OK, now sign Snell, Buster . . .
I want to know if Zaidi continues to get his under the table payments from LA.
Har dee har har.
Good day for Giants baseball.
For Buster, there’s some risk involved. Jeter and Michael Jordan took a little shine off their reputations with their front office jobs. And Tom Brady’s not the greatest broadcaster ever.
But it’s definitely a great PR move. It brings hope and anticipation. It could work out really well, or not. It’s not an easy gig.
The Niner game seemed pretty weird to me. It seemed like the kind of game where the Niners should have blown out the Patriots after three quarters, and played a lot of back-ups in the fourth quarter. But the game never quite achieved that. It just kind of sloshed around.
But I also remember reading in Jerry Kramer’s book “Instant Replay,” about his life as a Green Bay Packer during those glory years in the ’60s, where he said something like: Teams can’t play at high emotion every week. It just isn’t humanly possible. Some games are just going to be punch-the-clock get-the-job-done type of games. The Ram game was high emotion, with a crushing loss at the end, so it was predictable the Niners would be kind of flat emotionally vs. the Patriots, and the Niners still won decisively, and that’s impressive.
NE, like the Jets, suck. The Niners played flat till Warner’s pick 6. NE was pretty stupid not taking the points when they had the chance early.
The 49ers problems on special teams aren’t going away apparently.
2 TDs called back by penalty. Too many false start/illegal motion/illegal formation penalties point to not being prepared mentally. Kittle’s holding call was bad. As was the PI call. And non-call on Aiyuk. Red zone scoring is way down from last year. At least Moody made his kicks. Still relying on the base pass rush to get pressure. Did see a few stunts tho.
the new Neukom. Or the neoteric Al Rosen with money to spend. I like it. Rebuild the FO first. Could be perilous though.
Going on record – love Buster as a player, but big, big mistake. They should have hired Kim Ng, Jed Hoyer, or Eve Rosenbaum imo.
It’s definitely got lots of PR stunt in it.
Take the fans’ attention away from the adrift status of the franchise by hiring a franchise demigod as GM. Buster’s been a great catcher, and they generally make good baseball men, but he’s got no history of front office management. The history of a move like this is not particularly good for other professional teams, baseball included.
I hope Buster brings on to support him some new FO and personnel people who are smart, committed and know what they are doing. The Giants need a farm system overhaul in strategy and focus on choosing and developing legitimate MLB quality players. Players who are fast, strong, athletic, and smart.
Kim Ng could still be person directly under Posey, per Baggs in TA. He said Giants likely to talk with some of others they interviewed before hiring Z.
I hope Buster convinces someone of Ng’s stature to come over to the team. Eve Rosenbaum, Asst. GM in Baltimore would be another killer move by Buster.
My point is that Buster, even with the 2 plus years in the front office – is a novice. Lots of work to be accomplished and as snarkk and you alluded to, he needs help ASAP.
The last game of the season for the Indy Fever set a TV viewership record. But they were eliminated from the playoffs, and now it’s up to the remaining four teams to try to keep viewer interest going. I think it could go either way on that. When it’s not Clark playing, how many men want to watch women play basketball? Well, that’s the question.
Chelsea Gray. Her team, the Las Vegas Aces, has won the championship last two seasons. I had been hearing what an amazing point-guard she is. Her nickname is “Point Gawd.” (A cringe nickname if there ever was one.) Well, how did she do in her first playoff game this season? Four points and one assist. One assist.
I kept hearing WNBA broadcasters say throughout the season “The product has always been good, and Clark has brought more viewers to it.” Has the product always been all that good? Maybe it has. I literally paid zero attention to the WNBA before this season, so what do I know?
The Point Gawd: four points, and one assist. Her team lost game 1. I have to admit I didn’t watch the game.
now does everyone have confidence with Buster. He spoke the truth about how ball players feel about the City and caught a ton of ahit. But he was reflecting the actual thoughts of the world of baseball. My hope is he is going to bring back some old school perspective and I think Melvin at his heart is more old school not reliant on the Farhan/Moneyball nonsense. Analytics has a role but it has subsumed baseball management and strategy.
Buster clearly will have ownership’s complete support so Jim operating without having to look over his shoulder is a positive and strength. But how much does Vuster know about all the ins and outs of salary structure, salary caps negotiations etc? But it is clear to me that he was the one who got it done in the Chapman deal. But where will Buster be regarding strategy non the Snell level player? Just throw all the money he wants as probably a lot of first time GMs do even though that may not be the best long term strategy?
Wonderful inspiring move. surprised Posey would take on responsibility of this job and waiting for other shoes to drop.
? would be what does this do to expectations of fanbase? there were 9 teams in NL over .500 and only 6 of them will get to playoffs. DBax have 89 Ws and that might not be enough.
So long Z, enter Buster. Gotta think Posey was as disgusted as we were with what he saw on the field, probably more so. I’m all in with this move.
Lovely Mel stays ? He should be gone too. He is not that good. Notice big/rich teams ie Yanks, Redsox, the flipping Dogs in SoCal etc…did not want him.
Just a great day finally the Giants do something right and decide to shitcan Farhan!
Buster Posey taking over is great for this organization that needs leadership and a better vision for the future in all phases..Farm System totally needs to improve,Better Scouts,Shit even better coaches on the big league roster!
They have to dump Melvin as well don’t they? He was another hand picked manager by Farhan after his other handpicked failure in Kapler.
Need a fresh new face to manage( still pissed Stephen Vogt didn’t get the gig)so I’ll go out on a limb and say Buster will hire his former roommate and Giants coach Mark Hallberg as the new Giants manager..
The reason I think this is a bad move is that it smells of a “cover my ass” sort of strategy by Johnson Jr., i.e., this hire deflects from ownership’s cheap ass ways, e.g., this last season was the only one in recent memory over the luxury cap. That being said, we still had the 2 year option contracts.
I digress though, fans are going to give Buster every opportunity to succeed next season . . . but they will want results by 2026 in my opinion or he will be the scapegoat (when in my opinion – it’s Greg Johnson that should be on the hot seat).
The two teams in each league that get a bye for a whole week have the challenge of the hitters trying to stay sharp.
I wonder what Freeman’s status will be. He badly twisted an ankle. If the ligaments are strained badly enough, he’s going to be hobbling. The injury that gets called a “high ankle sprain,” which is really badly strained ligaments, with a lot of bruising showing. I had that a couple of times playing basketball. One of the times put me on crutches for about six weeks.
“The Giants need a farm system overhaul in strategy and focus on choosing and developing legitimate MLB quality players. Players who are fast, strong, athletic, and smart.”
Well, sure, all the teams are trying to do that. Zaidi was trying to do that. It just isn’t easy to do. Hunter Bishop was supposed to be that kind of player. A lot of pundits considered him a sure-pick in that draft. And then…..a bunch of injuries derailed him. Maybe he still becomes that. But not soon enough to help Zaidi.
Were the Giants trying to do that? Really? How?
We’ve seen a lot of these young players up this season, and quite a few don’t seem to know how to play fundamental ball. That’s a systemic thing.
I haven’t seen one that is sound fundamentally, except McCray in the outfield (and I don’t mean his hitting).
Baggs in TA quotes Johnson statement, “…we are confident he (Posey) and Bob Melvin will work together to bring back winning baseball to San Francisco.” So doesn’t appear as of now Melvin going anywhere.
He also made reference in column of analytics push by Z vs. old school approach favored by ownership members over Kap. He also said it was upset ownership that demanded Z dump Kap end of last year.
“He also made reference in column of analytics push by Z vs. old school approach favored by ownership members over Kap. He also said it was upset ownership that demanded Z dump Kap end of last year.”
Willie, did you write that wrong (particularly the part about, “He also said it was upset ownership that demanded Z dump Kap end of last year.”? Are you saying that ownership demanded that Zaidi dump Kap before the season ended? If so, this is all news to me and it makes me think (as much as I dislike Zaidi) worse of ownership because they were the catalyst for Kapler’s firing versus Zaidi.
Anyway, please clarify.
Yes he did. I’ll find the quote of what Baggs said.
“At the behest of an ownership group that added Posey to its board of directors, Zaidi fired Kapler during last season’s final weekend and pivoted from an iconoclast to a conventional choice with local ties.”
He makes further point about limiting roster churn and using fewer openers and platoons under Melvin.
Maybe the same owners who after 2021 forced Zaidi to give Crawford a two year deal instead of a one year Q offer and Belt a deal at all.
Agree. Yeah, that shit didn’t make sense either Xoot.
TY Willie . . . Loco provided some clarification too. Much appreciated. I held that against Z since last year and maybe I shouldn’t have been that harsh towards him (although, Kapler seemed like a friend to him, and perhaps he should have resigned too???). Anyway, it just makes me think less of ownership right now.
Hard to say how this move will turn out now but we needed some fresh eyes and I just don’t see Posey’s ego getting in the way of anything. He’s a Giant at heart and I bet he’ll be open to suggestions. He will still have ownerships strings attached but we shall see. This move made me happy.
Dikembe Mutombo — gone at 58…
From the Baggs article – “Zaidi operated with near carte blanche authority following the 2019 season when he expended personal capital to replace manager Bruce Bochy with his hand-picked choice, Gabe Kapler, an unpopular candidate who had just been fired in Philadelphia with a year remaining on his contract and whose introductory press conference turned into a grilling over how he handled an alleged assault involving minor-league players while serving alongside Zaidi as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ farm director. When the Giants regressed in 2022 and ’23, though, Zaidi’s power became more and more checked by ownership that asked him to make concessions. So Zaidi went with a more traditional approach this season. At the behest of an ownership group that added Posey to its board of directors, Zaidi fired Kapler during last season’s final weekend and pivoted from an iconoclast to a conventional choice with local ties.”
Thanks John for the clarification. Different subject – My brain is turning to mush, but if I recall correctly you are in N. Carolina, right? This Hurricane was far West of you, correct? The destruction in the Appalacians seems unbelievable, particularly in Ashville. I am not absolutely certain, but I think I drove through that area when I was on my Eastern States tour (when I saw you, relatives, and a couple of ex’s out there). Do you have friends affected by this Hurricane? Hope you and yours are okay.
Yes, the storm devastated the western part of NC, but we were fortunate here. I do have some friends there, that are safe but lost their homes. We also have friends and family in Florida that made it safely but have many infrastructure issues there.
We had reservations to be in the Ashville, Black Mountain and Chimney Rock areas in a couple of weeks for a festival and a hanging out weekend with friends from New Orleans, obviously that’s been cancelled. Now we are in a what can we do to help mode. We have been through storms where people just want to gawk and see the damage while you’re trying to get your life back, so we are mindful of that. Thanks for asking.
Shocked by the destruction, particularly in Ashville and a place called Chimney Rock, where every business, building and home was destroyed by Helene. Are you guys still thinking about moving? I seem to recall you mentioning that a few months ago. Where to (if so)? Praying for your State John. Take care of yourself.
Not that it matters now, but Farhan will probably end up with LA or the new Sac A’s — some VP of Analytics or Player Evaluation or something like that. I’ll admit I was bamboozled the first several years of his regime, I thought a GM being smart in things other than just old baseball would translate into a winning organization. At least with that guy, I could not have been more wrong. Analytics are here to stay, but are only support to help you make decisions based on what your eyes and experience and personal interactions with players tell you…
amazing comeback by Mets to take 6-3 lead. see what they do in second game if they hold on, locking in spot. they have to play again tomorrow and that could mean 5 games in 4 days.
Another Diaz meltdown. Bases loaded double from Albies, 7-6 Braves bottom 8.
Lindor with 2 run HR top 9! Mets lead 8-7.
wild ass game.
Great win for the Mets! Would be so cool if they could get the sweep and knockout the Braves. I’m still pissed off about Braves overtaking the Giants a 103 win season but it didn’t matter with no W/C days. And it was Crime Dog McGriff ( really a great ballplayer) that was picked up from Padres at the trade deadline and just went off hitting to help the Braves catch up and of course no one can forget Solomon Torres getting hammered as a rookie when Baker went with the kid instead of a veteran to try and tie Braves on the last day of the season and it failed miserably losing to the freaking Dogpile makes its worst..
RIP, Kris Kristofferson.
Grew up for a while in San Mateo, I think.
Renaissance man, ladies man, Oxford man, Army Ranger, country star, movie star. He wrote one of the greatest lines in modern pop/rock/country history: “freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose”.
RIP…
My fave line?
“She’s filing her nails while they’re dragging the lake.”
That and
“She drove a Plymouth Satellite . . . faster than the speed of light”
his son is a friend of mine. He had a complicated relationship with his dad.
Yeah, graduated from San Mateo High some time in the 50s. My sisters saw him a few times.
Fucklanta
Pete Rose has died at 83 in Las Vegas
Cue up his Hof induction . . .
rip Charlie Hustle.
More like Charlie Hustler.
Total tool who sold out his family, friends, and teammates to push his lie for 14 years.
He only told the truth to sell his book.
the nickname was never a compliment.
hah!~
John Dowd, Faye Vincent, and Bart Giamatti brought old school Kenesaw Mountain Landis vengeance down on Pete Rose. Bad timing for Pete. Never would’ve happened after the owners’ coup that installed Selig in 92.
pete rose was an awful human being on many different levels but he was one of my favorite players growing up and I’m sad he died today.
Down with this take. Rose was a POS person, e.g., liar, convicted felon, adulterer, fraud, declared bankruptcy, addict, etc. Sheesh, this asshole was like a “little” Trump.
That being said, he was one of my favorites when I was a kid. He always played the game between the white lines the right way. Even back then, he was derided by contemporaries as an asshole and given the moniker, “Charlie Hustle,” where they thought he was trying to show them up . . . Ironically, that very same moniker years later became a positive for him.
Yeah, he was quite a character, but he deserved to be in the HOF, especially when you consider some of the ass wipes that are in it already. RIP Pete.
Go Lions . Pete Rose in younger days hit at top of Reds order with Tommy Harper Vada Pinson and Frank Robinson. Loved those teams.
Great SABR bio on Tommy Harper, from Encinal HS Alameda.
Oakland put out some phenomenal players. Loved Pinson, and Robinson.
JD Vance eulogizing Pete Rose. Maybe he’ll debate about it, too. Hilarious.
https://x.com/jdvance/status/1840939402790355068?s=46&t=k0FDC_rVBvlG86Y-OHTiNQ
Screen pass is such cool old school play. Seattle sends 6 guys at Goff, they throw screen to the right and gain 30 yards. 42 points on Seachickens is very cool.
Hey! The All-star game is going back to team unis.
Never liked Rose. Always thought he was a red-ass.
Apparently, Zaidi didn’t want to appreciate our “3 in 5”. From the latest Baggs article.
“In recent years, some of the decorations commemorating the three World Series titles from 2010-14 disappeared from the clubhouse walls. Zaidi did not run an orchestrated campaign to erase all signs of the championship era, but there were times when he clearly felt uncomfortable following such a celebratory time while running a franchise that really did need to turn the page in meaningful ways.”
So glad he’s gone. There is joy in Mudville tonight.
https://www.facebook.com/SportsCenter/videos/1257184635455036/