Ray Of Hope
At least we aren’t getting unbearable heat in Washington. I remember many trips there where the heat just absolutely wilted our asses. Either way, our bats are quite wilted lately.
Ken Mackenzie went to Yale and after his baseball career he returned to work there as coach of the baseball and hockey team.
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
“Sometimes they’re not so hot vs. righties either” is lol funny from Mac. Didn’t see much of it but box has SF with 3 hits, 2 of them by Fitz. yikes to rest of lineup. Detroit up next and they not only have pitching but are 2nd AL for run per game, trailing only Yanks.
Luis Robert is intriguing enough to have his own separate page at MLBTR. Fine defensive OF, currently healthy enough to lead league in SBs… and hitting about as well as Wade Jr. Maybe he just needs to get as far away as possible from Sox land and as bad as they are again might not cost too much. Sox are worst hitting/scoring team in AL, slightly better at pitching.
Rhys Hoskins name came up in TA column from Tyler Kepner. Changed his mechanics a bit and having nice bounce back season for Brewers. Even some of their fans in comment section think he could be moved at deadline. Wonder how team management feels about that.
don’t we miss Baggarly at the athletic? I think he said he’d show up mid season. That other guy gets no scoops.
Only NL Division Leaders LA Cubs and red hot Phils plus Mets (31) have more Ws than Giants after 50 + games. If anyone had said preseason SF would be 2 games back of Dodgers after about 1/3 of season…
Have to remind myself that Giants are 8 games over .500, only 2 back of hated Dodgers and sitting with 7th best record of 30 teams. But sobering reality is that since start of Twins series 2+ weeks ago, Giants have scored 1 or fewer runs in 6 of 14 games – 5 games totaling 1 measly run and yesterday’s shutout.
Not surprisingly Giants lost 5 of those 6 games (only exception 1-0 win over A’s last week). Nearly impossible to win games when you score 1 run. Two other times in past 14 games Giants managed only 3 runs but scraped out wins both times.
Posey needs to decide whether offensive punch at 1B and behind plate comes from Sacramento or via trade. In my view, not enough punch in lineup at present to sustain .575 winning percentage over full season.
Djloo…in response to your post yesterday I can’t pinpoint exact year I went to first Giants game. It was definitely late sixties vs Phils at venerable Connie Mack stadium but ‘67, ‘68, ‘69? Was likely about 8 years old.
Strange thing is that my lasting memory of game was huge beer sign above outfield scoreboard. Couldn’t remember name of beer so goggled it. It was Ballentine. Now I’m aging myself. I’ve tried many brews over the years – especially IPA’s – but don’t think I ever drank Ballentine.
Even when they weren’t very good from late 50s to early 60s Phils had cool players, including Johnny Callison, MVP of 1964 AS game. Really good bio in his SABR page on B/R. didn’t realize from 1962-65 he had more OF assists than Clemente, or that old Connie Mack Stadium had 34 foot high wall in RF.
Callison’s GW blast at Shea in ’64 ASG (off Dick Radatz) might be my earliest baseball memory. Pretty sure he would’ve beat out Boyer for MVP if Phils hadn’t famously flopped…
Connie Mack Stadium | Shibe Park (projectballpark.org)
Good team lots of sluggers,Allen,Howard,Callison,etc but in the end it will always be considered Gene Mauch& the Flops in an epic collapse down the stretch…
Great comments on Connie Mack. Takes me back to vintage bandbox stadiums plopped down in middle of residential neighborhood a la Wrigley Field. Dick Allen always scared me when he came to bat in close game. I’d forgotten about Johnny Callison.
I’ve been to a couple of series in DC and all of em have been hot. If I remember right, at least one of em was around a hundred in the stands and even hotter on the field. They might have been wearing throwback unis that day as well.
They do have half smoke sausages from Ben’s Chili Bowl in the stands, which were great.
On paper, Big mismatch today with the starters, in Giants favor. They need to take advantage…
Couple of sports remembrances for a May 25.
1 Ali v. Liston in Lewiston, Maine. 1965. Iconic photo by SI’s Neil Leifer, arguably the greatest ever Western sports photographer. In the ’70s and ’80s, I was a slave to reading SI. As a teen, I waited every Friday for the mail to come with my weekly SI subscription. I even got a letter to the editor printed once, although it escapes me now what the topic was. From middle school through high school my mother renewed it every year for an Xmas gift. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/25/arts/design/muhammad-ali-neil-leifer-photograph.html
2 2013. Angel Pagan’s iconic walk-off inside the park HR. Resulting in one of, if not THE best, Giants on-field photo in the championship era.
Me too snarkk. Catalyst was early 60s “gift” so to speak, where my uncle Frank gave me dozens of Sport and Sports Illustrated magazines. The former magazine goes back to the mid-40s (1946 or 1947). Anyway, I devoured them and then had my own Sport and Sports Illustrated subscriptions for years. Marvel comic books and Mad magazine were other books/magazines I read.
Do kids even read today beyond assigned school work and their phone messages? Dunno . . .
Not many. My older snarkette was a voracious reader as a kid, unlike most of her friends. That’s why she’s an excellent writer today and has a vocabulary to beat the band. Unlike almost all their friends, we didn’t give the snarkettes their mobile phones until they were halfway through middle school (in the 2011-14 time frame), and they accordingly considered mrs. snarkk and I to be nearly child abusers — ha ha.
Mom got my brother and I a set of encyclopedias mid-60s and by the time I graduated high school, I had read all of them. Similarly, I was reading novels when I was 10. Forgot when the Godfather novel came out, but that one, along with Shogun were favorites back in the day. Still read a lot today before I go to bed. I am trying to get my daughter interested in them too (we have a set in my office), but so far without success. Any ideas snarkk how to cultivate an interest in reading?
See if you can figure out what Michelle’s interests are, what is it that floats her boat, her interests, even at her tender age, without any input or direction from you. If you can do that, then maybe just casually find and give her some reading material that stokes that interest, directly or even tangentially. Not online, though, even if she’s already doing computer things. Reading a book or magazine is way way better than online. Concentrates the mind, sprinkles the imagination way more than computer reading, IMO. And deposits great language skills. Plus, no links to distract ! I suggest avoid giving her a phone until the latest possible time, i.e., before she resorts to taking a butcher knife after you…
Thank you. She is interested in entomology (actually corrected me once when she was 6 about spiders being arachnids versus insects). I argued with her that she was wrong. Fast forward the next day, her teacher text me, “Yes Mr. Melikean, spiders are arachnids.” lmao . . . Whoops!
Yeah, I already decided that she will not get a phone until 13 or 14. What you just said is important, particularly about what interests her and go from there. She has a number of interests (art, singing, etc.). Again, thanks!
Thanks, cool story/great classic pic.
Ray makes quick work out of that threat in 2nd.
Nathiel Lowe would be an immediate upgrade over Wade at 1B , shouldn’t take much to pry him off a bottom feeder team like Nats..8 HR’s 34RBI’s destroys Wade stats better defense as well..
Huff bomb!
Maybe that causes Melvin to sit Bailey for a few games?
Regained the catcher HR lead, 2-1.
🙂
Huff should get some more starts. Especially against teams with low team speed and steal threats…
Off the top of the fence and crawls over for Huff, Giants will take it though as Hunter Pence mentioned Huff’s “Light Tower Power” Lol 😂
Snarkk so your saying Huff should play against the Giants?
Yeah, good one Kat !
We’ll see something like that when the Gyros play the Bucs and Joey Bart. I think Bart and Huff are pretty similar, except Bart has the better glove…
All of a sudden, today WordPress allows me to edit/correct my posts. Tomorrow, who knows?
Kinda like the Giants batters.
Too funny Mac
Maybe Huff’s response to SF adding another back up C to Sac. That was his 2nd so far and he’s hitting .213 with .617 OPS. Difference btw him and Bailey is about 1 hit a week.
Meanwhile last night Luciano went 4-5 scored 4 drove in 4 with 2 bombs in 11-4 W. Whisenhunt gave up all 4 in 5.2 4 hits 5 BBs 1 HR @ OKC.
one of the bombs flew 460+ feet I hear.
If Wilmer gets hurt, I guess Luciano would be the logical choice to bring up? Luciano has a stone glove, wherever he plays, so IDK — maybe he’s prime trade bait, but doubtful Giants could get much. Let’s see how Incarnacion does when he’s back. I think Wade is in process of walking long off a short pier.
Meanwhile, Eldridge is raking in AA Richmond…
Schmitt may get a shot next week. Jerar will, thereafter. My guess is still this: Hicks and Luciano swapped for a 1B after the break.
Ray works out of it again.
Huff had K’d 22 times in 45 ABs coming into today, with 1 double and 3 BBs.
Question: Early in the year it seemed like we were running a lot. After seeing what seemed like a hundred GIDP I realized I can’t remember the last time we attempted SB. Lee on in front of Flores a lot but never goes. Fitz either. Any else seeing that?
I think Melvin is afraid to give up outs trying to steal with the offense straining otherwise. I think just the opposite. Make the defense make plays, put pressure on them…
True and it’s more noticeable when they aren’t scoring much. Losing Fitz to IL hurt and he did get SB today. Also not getting guys on base in first place, like Chapman that might run. Yaz and Lee BA both went down since earlier, plus Giants have had games recently where they haven’t had any walks at all–today there were only 2.
too many others Ramos Adames Matos Flores Schmitt and Cs aren’t gonna run much anyway.
Ramos and Chapman have done a great job of looking dumb at the plate today. Adames sure knows how to roll a pitch over to the SS.
Yet another Wade pop up. 0-4 again. This isn’t getting any better.
If Wade isn’t DFA’d to make room for Encarnacion next week, IDK what further futility Wade needs to show to get himself cut…
OK, Walker needs to close it out. Giants couldn’t extend the lead, so it’s up to the Pen…
OK, 3-2 now. Walker more than shaky.
whew!
whew!
lol!
Yep .. great minds.
Whew! Series win!
Torture…gotta love it.
Collective exhale . . . Good trip to DC.
Wow.
NOT the type of closer performance you want. He’s making a case for Doval taking back the closer role. BTW, Giants blew multiple scenarios to add on, as usual.
Anyway, a roadie series win is a roadie series win…
at least we didn’t waste Ray’s good outing. That’s an improvement.
Onto Detroit. Good to take 2 of 3 to start this roady, because Tigers are pitching the hell out of it. This series looks to be a really tough one…
Now Tigers. Fortunately, they do not face Skubal (whom was lights out earlier today).
Giants tend to make stiffs look like #2 starters, so thank goodness for small favors. Tigers have MLB 5th best staff ERA, just behind Giants #4. Giants for sure better have their gloves working for this next series, can’t have errors.
Nats are dogmeat ERA at 26th, and look what happened there to Giants bats…
I still have faith Adames and Chapman will start hitting. But it’s getting harder. Adames looks lost. At least Chappy helps with his D and still getting walks.
Noticed the Sox immediately filled their hole at 1st. Wade is useless.
PS Fitz got the steal about 5 minutes after my no steals post:) A quality reverse jinx!
Adames had these splits in the past 3 seasons:
2022: .238/.298/.458/.756
2023: .217/.310/.407/.717
2024: .251/.331/.463/.794
So, based on recent, but consistent trending, he’s not going to bat for much of an average, or take a lot of walks to push up the OBP. His saving grace is SLG. Remember, that was all in a very hitter-friendly, nice and warm Brewers ballpark.
So, if he continues into summer not hitting doubles and HRs, he’s going to be of little help offensively. Buster had to know this risk, along with an average glove and range, when he signed Adames…
Much as Farhan deserved his exile, he did bring in Ray in a then-risky move. Ray is now the Giants best starter, and it’s not close. Hopefully his arm is strong, healthy and durable. Webb is a team leader, and he’s very good when his sinker is on. But, when it’s off and up, he’s not that great…
What was the risk Snarkk? Farhan dumped 2 losers in Hainger&Disco he brought him fortunate to flip them for Ray even if Ray was coming off TJ surgery he was going to be better than the stiffs he shipped out..
I mean that picking up any dude who just had TJ and taking on his fairly hefty contract on the assumption he’ll rehab back in a year or so somewhere near his old self is always a risk. Mariners must have felt that to deal him for those two. I didn’t have a problem with the trade at the time, was happy to get rid of those two Drecks. Per Cotts, it looks like Ray pulled the lever on his option after last season and so has this year and ’26 left on his deal at essentially $25MM per — I guess that’s a semi-bargain deal for the team these days if he continues to perform like he has so far this season.
Meanwhile, that chump Snell is now on the 60-day IL for the Doghairs. Gawd, I’m so glad that SF decided they wanted no part of him anymore…
Hopefully Encarnacion is playing some 1b in rehab
Sweet series win. Ray’s been stellar all year and bullpen rock solid except for Walker. Didn’t think I’d say this after Doval’s struggles last year but I’m more comfortable with Doval closing games than Walker. One Nat hit away from blowing 2 run lead today. Walker looks stressed during his warm up tosses and visibly relieved whenever he earns save.
But offensive woes continue. Only five hits with Chapman batting .216, Adames .209 & No Longer Late Night Lamonte .164. Lineup putting too much pressure on pitching staff.
Regardless, 2 of 3 series win. On to motor city.
Rizzo on radio said something like Walker couldn’t throw a strike in his warmups…
And 2 pitches he actually threw for strikes in 9th were hit for doubles. 🤨. Walker’s travails in 9th this year make Brian Wilson’s 2010 “torture” escapes seem like quiet walk in park. But back to 9 games above .500.
That first one that Abrams hit bugged me. Yes it was off the plate and he poked it other way but why go out there–it’s totally against where your D is set. Chapman was playing SS and couldn’t get to it. Abrams swings at everything to begin with–all your fielders are elsewhere.
rain forecast for Motown on Wednesday. Hate to lose that off day on Thursday.
Good news is Skubel pitched today so we don’t have to face him.
Complete game 2-hit shutout today against the Indians. 94 pitches.
Yikies.
They said his final pitch of the day was the hardest one he ever threw in his career – 102 something. How can you not blow out your arm throwing that hard?
Loo,,Yeah Skubal’s last pitch hit 102.6 mph .Damm he was dominating 13K’s allowed 2 hits ( perfect thru 6)on his CG Shutout!
Giants are Damm fortunate not having to face Skubal in Detroit.
I actually like the Giants chances in Detroit if they can get some hitters to wake up!!
Monday..Birdsong 2-0 1.98 ERA 29K’s be Montero 1-1 5.28 ERA 21K’s
Tuesday..Webb 5-4 2.67 ERA 74K’s vs Flaherty 2-6 4.39 ERA 64K’s ( given up 11HR’s in 50 plus innings)
Wednesday..Roupp 3-3 3.63 ERA 49K’s vs Jobe 4-1 4.06 ERA 35K’s
Xoot, I think my family is leaning toward Los Altos Sub-Acute & Rehab (mostly due to your indepth info on this and other facilities). Again, thank you.
Sounds good. I hope things go well.
Yeah, another save for Walker, but he just seems like he has no idea half the time where his pitches are going. He had crazy movement, but it does no good when he’s hitting guys or is 3′ wide off the plate.
Doval may creep back into the closer role.
Great series win, but the bats got to wake up.
It’s Memorial Day and Giants are 1 game behind Dodgers. that’s the team who just picked up Lou Trivino and start Conforto in LF. Sure bats bug everyone, but the team is figuring out how to win. As Snarkk said above, road win is road win. It’s not Ice dancing–No style points in baseball.
True that, Willie. The Giants are 9 games over .500, we are the only team in our division with a winning record against teams that are >.500 (13-11, LA is 8-8). I know there has been a few blowouts but the +44 run differential is mainly from good pitching and timely hitting. I gotta believe Chapman and Adames will get hot and the division can be had,
Matos in LF today and Wade at 1B. Ain’t Too Proud to Beg. But I ain’t holding my breath.
I guess you could call that playing left field.
Hanging curve on an 2-0 count and Chappie pops up.
This offense is blehhhh