A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball

Some very nice sentiments left on the last thread about Twinfan. He left the blog, I want to say around 2014, but his *aura* has always been here. My relationship with him was…..complicated.

I have 1,016 emails from him. ONE THOUSAND AND SIXTEEN. You guys have no idea the number of complaints he fired at me over the years. They often came across like direct orders. Here’s a screen shot of just a few of them. If you can read the subj line you get a flavor of them:

In this next excerpt, you’ll notice the subj line “quick computer question” that has 45 exchanges in it with the preview being nothing computer question related. LOL.

I could go on and on but you guys get the gist. I will just say this: Twin was high maintenance. But not always in a bad way. I just think he demanded the greatest awareness and knowledge of the game from those with whom he interacted. If you didn’t give that, he’d let you know you have to be better. In the *twinnest* way possible.

His contests were great. I miss setting those up with him. He REALLY got into those behind the scenes. He was an unbelievably generous person. I always tried to remember that his bitterness came from having to participate in a war he didn’t start or want. And in the end, 45 years later, it’s what killed him.

I’ll find a way to properly honor him here at the Flap. Nothing’s hit me yet. He’s just biding his time. Somehow, some way, like a doink on my dundering head, he’ll let me know.

He wouldn’t have it any other way….

It’s great to see small market teams like the Brewers going for it like this. I wish more teams would try instead of kick back and let the rev sharing checks roll in. If it doesn’t work they can sell off their players at the deadline. There’s really no risk unless the new guys get hurt…..

The Giants are *going for it* in a different way. There’s definitely more risk. If they are floundering at the break it’s not like they can sell off their old parts. These guys are for keeps.

I happen to believe it’s not a huge risk because, barring a bunch of injuries and dirt bike accidents, I think we are looking at an 88 win team right now. They’re right there for a WC spot. I’ll take that…..

RIP Twinner

Not a Hall of Famer?

If I’m a voter for entry into this dumbass place I would send my next ballot back with the word “unsubscribe” scrawled across the front of it….

I’m gonna let Daniel write the thread today. And I’m going to answer these questions with my answers as well as all of yours. We’ll see how that goes over in ‘Shoptaw country. Anyway, if you have any thoughts about these questions please respond below. I have the responses from the guys who already responded in the previous thread.

Daniel Shoptaw	Jan 20 (4 days ago)

“At least they’re better than last year.”

That seems to be the prevailing sentiment from everyone about these off season moves. Being content with what you aren’t anymore is not exactly a clear path to a championship. But there’s also nothing wrong with being better either….

I was definitely not in the camp that wanted a tear down. It worked for the Astros after years of last place finishes. It sorta worked for the 76ers who at least have decent players now.  But it was never a realistic outcome so why dream about it? If waiting around for half a decade for something to happen is your gig than I’m not going to dull your buzz. It’s just not for me.

Put the best team out there possible. I don’t want to lose 98 games again….

Well, that was a fun day of sports. I now turn my resistant eyes toward Philadelphia. Ugh. Rooting for any team from Philly is like asking me to root for USC or Cal or Notre Dame. Not in my DNA.

But there’s nothing worse than Tom Brady’s squeaky clean fake-o act or Belichick’s tired stoic facade or….the fact that they win all the time. That’s really what it comes down to, right?

Look at the Warriors. Is there a more likable collection of players ever assembled? Aside from Draymond of course. But even with Green’s antics, all those guys play to win as a TEAM. No egos. Few tattoos. Almost no off the court problems. And they are led by one of the most thoughtful, introspective, coaches in history.

And yet people hate them for no reason.

Other than…..they have cornered the market on winning.

Please, somehow, may the ghosts of Joe Montana’s past rise up as one and channel themselves through Nick Freaking Foles.

One time.

Staying with the NFL and riding the high of my wave of winners from last weekend, let’s take a look at the two games this weekend.

These games are fascinating. Three bad quarterbacks and possibly a one handed one. The wrong handed one. You also have 4 good/great defenses. And literally only one stud rb– who might still be hurt.

Granted, looking at the games from a DFS perspective is different that predicting who’s going to win and lose. I’ve only been able to come up with one decent angle and that’s taking Philly on the $$$ line (+135). They are at home (huge) and they are facing a team coming off an epic emotional win. Those teams usually have a big let down the following week. So I’m taking Philly on the $$$ line.

And I’m also taking Jax and the points just because NE was the only game I lost last week and that pisses me off and I don’t like Brady and 7.5 looks pretty good to me.

Again, not betting the games, just playing DFS, but if I WERE laying my own cash that would be the way I’d go.

You?

Goddamn it’s cold this morning. It’s like 45 what the hell is this? lqtm. I think I just heard our east coast contingent curse my name….

We acquired Engelb Vielba from the Pirates. I’m not sure what that is.

P and C’s report on Feb 13th? Yikes this is happening quickly. Aren’t there a lot of guys still unsigned? The Giants are going to sign Jerrod Dyson to play center field, aren’t they.

I think we need to pump the breaks a little on this Gorkey’s/Duggar CF platoon idea. Where did that even come from? Duggar looks to be cut from the honkiest of ivory bone and I’ve never understood the Gork’s thing.

But if you told me a month ago that finding a center fielder would be our biggest problem going into spring training I’d say you crazy.

Re-loading this team was the right move. The only long term thing I’m worried about is if the Giants give Bumgarner 300 million dollars. That would just be a massive mistake. There’s a pretty wide chasm between Bum’s actual value and his perceived value. I think there’s a decent chance he bounces back from his motorbike mistake year but after that…..Somehow we need to let that dude walk when he’s free but I don’t think Baer will be able to let him go….

I’m 100% behind the moves this off season. Not because I love the pick ups of Longo and ‘Cutch. I don’t love them. What I do love is the idea of not having to watch another 98 loss season. And while I moderately support the idea of a re-build, I know the Giants brass don’t know how to do that. So why try?

I’m not an A’s fan. I don’t jizz at the possibility of tomorrow. Tomorrow is bullshit, it doesn’t exist. The baseball season is looooong. At this point in my life, with 3 beauties in the bank, I just want my team to be as competitive as they can for 6 long-ass months. If we have to sneak in the wild card window, so be it.

‘Cutch and Longo make our team better. There’s no point in spending the rest of the off season debating how much better, those opinions will be worthless after this all unfolds. And I recognize the risk of expecting so many bounce back seasons for some of last year’s under-performers. I’m skeptical of Pence and Cueto bouncing back. But I do think Crawford, Bum, Melancon and don’t forget that FLR….all those guys could all bounce back.

I think the biggest fear for SF will be injuries as this leaky boat is not built for a long journey.

I’m not ready to sit back and wistfully dream about a future that never comes. Screw that. Go Giants.

Yesterday is why I watch sports. You guys have probably all seen this sideline cam video, it’s epic. When I watched it the first time it reminded me of the video from the arcade perspective of Ishi hitting his bomb. The crowd gets silent for a moment as they catch their breath–it’s subtle—then they explode. That collective crowd silence phenomenon is something I didn’t know existed until I saw the Ishi video. And then you can hear it on this one too. Incredible.

And here’s the Ishi HR. Can you hear the moment of silence before the insanity?

This is my favorite weekend of NFL football bar none. Four home crowds going nuts. Everything on the line. Great story lines….

My main interest, as usual, will be in the individual players I have picked at draftkings. I’m not betting on the games. But it’s fun to throw out predictions and with Booby doing nothing but digging into the deepest depths of his navel it seems like a good time to talk football…

Atlanta -3 vs Philly. I like Philly here. Money line bet. +130. If this game was in Hotlanta I would take them but I see the Philly D holding Ryan and his overrated offense at bay and Foles doing enough to get this done….

Tenn +13.5 vs NE. I would probably take Tenn and the points but I wouldn’t bet this game with 3 better opportunities this weekend….

Jax +7 vs Pitt. I would not only take Jax I would take them on the money line at +280. That D is legit and Pitt is shrouded in hype. Not even the great Stix song *Renegade* will be able to help them. Although I can see why that gets the crowd and the players going, that is a great song to play in a stadium. I don’t care if AB plays, he’s hurt, and Bell should have trouble moving forward against the D. Big Ben sucks and if Fournette gets going they are going to win that game outright.

New Orleans +5 vs Minn. Again, if this game was in NO I might take those points. But Minn has a great D and I firmly believe that if Keenum was going to fall apart he would have done it already. At home with a roused crowd and Brees out of his dome I see the Vikings winning this one big…..

Who you guys like?

Can’t imagine we have enough fire power to pony up for McCutchen. Unless we want to give up Ramos. The Reds are insane if they want Ramos for BillyHam. This is the problem with having exactly one blue chip trade piece. He’s the only one anyone wants….

This is why we are probably going to have to bite the bullet and pay up the compensatory picks for Cain. I’m not happy about it either but it’s not like a couple of picks are going to magically fix our shithole system.

But something has to give. Not even Booby could look at this outfield of Pence and Gorks and….? and think we are good to go out there for 2018.

I’m dying to know what the Giants offered Jay Bruce. Bob Nightingale said they went “hard” after him. So either they offered more than 3/39 and he rebuffed them because he didn’t want to play for a 98 loss team or their offer was less than 3/39–hardly going “hard” after a player of his caliber.

Much like Longoria, I didn’t want  SF to get Bruce because I really liked him, I wanted them to get him because he makes our team a little better. And 13 mil a year is Spam $$$. That’s nearly pocket change.

The moment after the Giants picked up Longo the only course of action from here on out was pedal to the metal. Get ANYONE who will make the team better and hope for some bounce back seasons from the guys on the pitching staff.

There is no other direction than full steam ahead, mateys.

I have returned from Central America. There is a lot going on there. Unlike here. I am still a little sleep deprived but I can’t seem to find any SF Giant related info. To be somewhat fair, it doesn’t look like the free agent market is moving at all. Very weird. Thanks to Chuck for slapping a couple of new threads up to keep the blog moving.

Now all we need is something to happen. Booby you up. Let’s go.

. . . better early than late. Absolutely nothing to report on in the baseball world, other than the Sporting News throwing a little shade on the once-almighty Derek Jeter.

Enjoy . . .

http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/news/derek-jeter-marlins-owner-ceo-decisions-firings-giancarlo-stanton-trade-rebuild/11641xbac64t41qho8w60cpzne

Happy New Year and Go NINERS! ! ! I think the previous thread timed out so here’s a new one.

Flappers, I am taking a hiatus for a few weeks. I’ll be out of the country for part of that and it just won’t be convenient to try to blog or change the threads. So man the ship, keep her sea worthy, weather any storms and watch out for pirates. Hopefully when I get back (January 9th) we will have assembled a team that can sail off to glory once again.

Steady as she goes mateys, steady as she goes…..

Rod Brooks, one half of by far the worst KNBR tandem at the station, was saying his big concern about Jay Bruce was if his home run power was inflated by Great American Ballpark and how it might translate to another home park not as HR friendly. I angrily dialed the station (but couldn’t get through) to let him know that Bruce hasn’t played in Cinn since the middle of 2016 and since he left Ohio he hit 37 home runs with the Mets in 153 games. He went on to continue to blast the ball for the Indians. I guess it’s too much to expect that KNBR hosts even remotely keep up with players who don’t play for the Giants…..

The concern, of course, is that Bruce is left handed and how might his power be affected by Triples Alley.

I’d still take him on a 3 year, 50ish million dollar deal but he’ll probably get more than that from someone else…..

Absolutely nothing Giants-related will happen today. Zero. Squat….That seemed to work yesterday. Anything happen yet?

KNBR afternoon guys were celebrating the Longo pick up but it was a pretty short sighted analysis. In fact, everyone supporting this trade seems to be just focusing on what Longo will do next year. There has been very little consideration of how his inevitable decline, which may have already started, will effect the team going forward.

This is a tough one. I like Longo a lot. He’s a great team guy, got a little pop, hits a lot of doubles, plays good D—he’s the prototypical SF target. And I do think our team is better with him. And I was not that high on Arroyo so losing him doesn’t bother me at all.

This just feels like a desperate move to try to stay relevant for a year. Longo is trending downward. We need more.

….Nothing will happen today. Or tomorrow.

I’m not sure if I can remember a less interesting off season. Not just for SF but all of baseball. Even the Stanton thing ended weirdly.

Great to see Timmy yoked out but I’m not interested in him anymore. Not sure what all that working out did for his hip but I doubt it would give him back the elasticity needed to have the motion he had as a kid.

I wonder what Giants players are thinking about this off season. Are they frustrated with operation “Do Nothing”? Or are they like, “Uh,we’re part of the reason that doing nothing is in full swing.”

I wonder if all these old guys want out of here. Head back to states where they’re more likely to raise a family. Most of them have already won rings so the edge of wanting to win has probably dulled a bit. And what about the guys who haven’t won? Span and all these youngsters. Are they sick of this yet?

I know everyone likes playing at AT&T but losing all the time has to balance that out, right?

Recent pic of Timmy. How could this guy be done?

With the Giants plan of “Do Nothing” in full swing, there isn’t much baseball related stuff to dive into.

Derek Carr is catching too much shit on the internet and local radio for trying to win the game. Dude laid himself out, stretched as far as he could, he just couldn’t get there. It was an athletic, competitive effort that just didn’t work out.

Here’s my question about paper gate: It looked on tv like the ball was short but maybe that was just the angle from the camera. The ref pulls out an index card, but he folds it first. What is the point of folding it except to make it more likely that it touches the football? To me that was the weirdest part of that whole thing. Why fold the index card?

Kobe Bryant is getting honored tonight and I couldn’t care less. The ultimate diva who’s numbers were skewed by an absurd amount of jacked up shots, he ultimately destroyed his team with his max deal at the end of his career, he got off the hook for rape and made it all good by just changing his number….there is nothing to like about this scumbag…The Warriors should stay in the locker room to protest this numbskull and I hope they beat the Lakers by 50.

The other day the KNBR afternoon guys were debating the question of whether or not Giants fans would tolerate a full rebuild. They were certain that SF fans would revolt if their favorite players were traded away. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My thought process, as a fan, doesn’t work that way. Why would fans want to watch their team lose regularly with players they *know*? And it hit me in that moment that all the marketing Baer has done over the years has finally come back to screw the team in the short term and the long term. Most SF fans are more attached to the players than they are winning games.

It was such a bummer epiphany to have……

So we got nothing for Matt Moore. One pitcher who is hurt and another who spent last year in A ball. That isn’t a surprise since Moore was probably the worst starting pitcher in the NL last season. I still don’t understand the move. Freeing up money? Moore only made 9 mil, that’s chump change.

Personally I would have rather kept him and hoped for a bounce back season. If we were moving 20 mil that would be different. Nine mil savings is probably going to the goddamn flower enhancement program outside the ballpark.

And now we might have to count on Beede as the #5? Yikes.  Can you imagine how pissed off his wife is going to be that he has to cut back on the photo shoots and actually start focusing on baseball?

The Winter meetings concluded for the Giants the way they began and the way they unfolded: nothing happened. Apparently the Reds wanted Ramos for Billy Ham and as much as I’d love to see BH wreaking havoc on the base paths, my understanding is that Heliot is our only top trade chip and he’s not worth letting go just to secure the top spot in the line up.

I would have been down with Avasail Garcia because of his right handed power stroke but again, the Giants weren’t able to get anything done.

Let me ask you a question: if you failed to get anything done at your job would you get to keep your job? I guess there are jobs out there for guys like Kramer who just walked around the office with a briefcase full of Ritz crackers. But if you were the GM of an mlb team, aren’t you expected to, you know, get stuff done?

Take another outfielder off the board. The A’s swooped in and swiped Piscotty Too Hotty. I might be a little more partial to him than others with him being a former member of The Farm. But it isn’t too hard to improve on the vaunted outfield of Pence, Spam, Slater, Dugger, hologram, etc…

While I’m typing this intro, there’s an ad on tv of some dope surprising his high maintenance lady with a car draped with a giant-ass red bow. This is the most annoying Christmas ad on tv, by far, bar none…..

I was too young to remember much about George Moscone getting killed but I do remember it causing lots of hysteria. Ed Lee died and all I’m seeing and hearing is some half hearted sentiments like “bummer, Ed Lee was a really good guy.” I guess the circumstances of the Moscone/Milk deaths were different and that was the reason for the *hysteria*. What do you guys remember most about that event?

Sounds like Ohtani has a damaged ulnar ligament. That’s probably not the worst thing in the world, he’s young and if he needs replacement surgery that’s almost something that makes a guy better now. The Angels probably aren’t too stoked.

From mlbtraderumors….

the Giants are impressed enough with prospect Steven Duggar that “it does affect how we view addressing that [center field] need this offseason,” GM Bobby Evans said.  “It does give us a mindset more short term.”

Here’s the link on Duggar:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=duggar000ste&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-

This is the guy he’s excited about? A perfectly forgettable honky in every way.

We are screwed….

This is an interesting blurb from mlbtraderumors.com about something I didn’t think the Giants spent much time doing:

“Though baseball hasn’t publicly embraced sports science the way it has analytics, the Giants are looking towards that very field as a way to gain an advantage. A fascinating article by Ian MacMahan of The Athletic (subscription required and recommended) provides some insight into the goals of Geoff Head, San Francisco’s newly-promoted assistant director of player development. “Everybody in baseball is tired by August,” Head tells MacMahan. “But if we are a little less fatigued than our opponent, it gives us an advantage.” The field of sports science focuses heavily on factors such as hydration, nutrition, workload and sleep; experts attempt to put together a formula that will keep players performing at their optimal levels as often as possible. According to Dr. Glenn Fleisig, the main difference between sports science and analytics is that sports science focuses on the “physical and medical aspects of a player,” as opposed to gameplay-based statistics. Less than half of all MLB teams currently have a dedicated sports scientist on their staff, and heavier use of sports science data could lead to big improvements by baseball players. As MacMahan puts it, “no one hits a home run sitting in the dugout nursing lead-filled legs and a tight back.””

How about you Zum? Are you going to be watching games every day next season?

A better question – Flavor, will you continue to write a daily blog if we again march toward 100 defeats (especially, if Booby lacks a plan, besides figuring out how to increase garlic fries and crab sandwich sales)?

______________________

Of course I’m going to watch the games next year. I’ve watched the games every year, why would I stop just because they stink? The sport wouldn’t sustain itself if only fans of winning teams watched the games.

The blog kinda goes hand in hand with us sucking. It’s a bit of a necessity at this point. Honestly, I think the blog is at its best when we are either really good or really bad. “Middling” is not the sweet spot of the blog.

I’m guessing it will be easier for those of you who don’t live in the area to *step away* as fans if we keep spiraling in this descent (although I’m not sure we can lose too many more than 98, this is about as low as it gets). For those of us in the Bay Area, the park is here, the fan base is here, during the Summer the Giants are the only game in town and it’s kinda hard to get away from it, especially if you are a true fan of baseball.

Plus, I’m actually ok with being a fan of a terrible team. Those 3 beauties have insulated me pretty good.

So yes, The Flop will be here, I’ll be here, I will continue to watch the games for the rest of my life. I can’t imagine it any other way.

I never understood all the noise about Stanton going to the Dodgers as it didn’t look like a good fit from the start. He wanted to go there? So what, the Dodgers don’t need him at the price it would take to get him. The Yankees are going BIG and it’s really a fantastic move for them. If Stanton doesn’t like NY (even if he wins a WS there he might not like it) then he can opt out in 2020 and I bet the Dodgers have far more interest.

Stanton, Judge and Sanchez—144 home runs in 2017. Lol.

Let’s just check in on what a dumbass Chris Mish is. There are MANY sideways, misguided tweets from him but I don’t want to clog up the thread. Here are some examples from just yesterday. Guys like this are what’s wrong with reporting on the internet…..

This is such an idiotic time of the year. We are bound to all these twitter rumors, swayed by hot tips from guys I’ve never heard of. Who is “Chris Mish?” And why don’t our own beat guys ever seem to break any news? Anyway, there seems to be a lot of misinformation out there.

If the Giants don’t get Stanton or Ohtani how realistic is JD Martinez? And who wants him at 250 mil?

How ’bout no one? Does that do anything for ya? The idea that the Giants know how to or will engage in a re-build is nonsense. They will never do that. Should they do it? Absolutely. But knowing how to do something and doing it are two totally different things.

I want everyone here to be honest: if we get Stanton admit you will be ecstatic. Regardless of the hit to the farm system or the fractured future payroll, after watching Belt walk and Posey go the other way nearly every at bat last year, there has to be a little piece of you that would be totally stoked if we got Big Dick Stanton.

Admit it.

Two is a pipe dream. But this should all be getting wrapped up soon. Then it’ll be back to answering *Dave O’Gorman* requests.

If I had the choice of either of them I’d probably choose Ohtani just because he won’t break anything—farm system, bank, etc. The problem with Ohtani is that he thinks he’s Babe Ruth. I am not down with the 2-way game till I see it happen again in my lifetime. MLB baseball is hard. Pick the position you want to play and spend all of your time trying to master it. This “I’m a pitcher and a hitter” thing is a no-go for me as I believe the desire to play both will dull his production on the hill and in the box. So if he’d pick one position and stick with that I would prefer Ohtani over Stanton.

Since he isn’t going to do that, I want Stanton. The farm system already sucks, if we only have to give up Arroyo and we keep the teenager (think about how pathetic it is that we’re like “uh oh, not the teenager!”) then the bare-est bones of the shittiest of systems remains on life support. At least it wouldn’t be completely deceased.

And the payroll? Fuck the payroll. It’s already ballooned let’s balloon it some more. Not our $$$$$.

RPAD Time: 12/5/10

Jayson Werth

Based on their actions, there is at least one thing we can can assume about the Giants: they are at least acknowledging that “the Giants way” needs some tinkering. By going after BOTH Stanton and Ohtani they are admitting that they cannot keep up with today’s new game without more power.

Whether they get either of them is another story. They will be stuck if they fail. This is really about the best we can hope for out of them. It’s just not realistic to think they can or know how to start the tank process and hunker down for years of sucking and stockpiling the farm system.

If you give me Stanton I can realistically get behind us being a lot better next year. That’s not a confident rallying cry but it’s better than what we went through last season.

I can’t do that again.

RPAD Time: I remember being more positive about Melancon than this. In hindsight, he was damaged goods when we got him, it was never in the cards for him to give us at least 1-2 years of high-quality closer contribution. And if we don’t get a lot better real quick it he won’t make a difference even if he’s healthy next year. Good #freeStix post, too.

Closing In

Still sorting out my Stanton thoughts. On one hand, it is completely pathetic (and a perceived easy way out) to offer up multiple good players AND agree to take on all that money. It would be easier to tolerate if the team would just admit they made massive mistakes with the long term deals Belt and Craw got. But whatever, the “its not my $$$” reasoning plays well here….

On the other hand who wouldn’t want Stanton in the middle of their line up? Assuming health, he instantly makes us better. And since I have zero faith in Sabean and Evans to go into full rebuild mode, this might be the only chance we get to improve the team enough to not finish in last place next year.

And at this point, I think I’d take that…..

Really interested to see how Aaron Boone ends up doing in his Yankee managerial career. I can’t remember a baseball team that was good that hired someone as manager who had absolutely no experience. It should tell us a lot about how difficult the job is (something I’ve wondered about after watching Bochy look like a genius with good players and an idiot with bad ones).

The Warriors did nearly the same thing with Steve Kerr and look how that turned out.

My Aaron Boone story is actually a Bob Boone story. When I was 8 my tee ball manager took us to a Giants game at Candlestick and he knew Bob Boone and arranged a meet and greet in the parking lot after the game. I don’t remember a single thing about that meeting except Boone’s lady was standing next to him. She was tiny and I was able to look down her blouse. She wasn’t wearing a bra and i was getting two eye fulls of nipple. First titties I ever saw live.

I remember being so happy.

🙂

I’m tired of all this Mike Stanton talk. He’s not worth the booty that’s getting kicked around. He’s a better fit in LA or St. Louis. Not that I’d be bummed if we got him. If he’s in an SF uni I’ll get excited. And it’s not like he has all the leverage here. If the Marlins decide they prefer the Giants package over the Cardinals all they have to do is say “Go to SF or we’ll keep you, strip the entire team down and you’ll finish last for the rest of your career.” If he cares about winning, he won’t stay in Florida.

I guess that’s not a huge amount of leverage against Stanton but it’s something. And if the Giants actually offered Panik, Instagram Boy and Shaw AND agreed to take on a quarter of a billion dollars I have to assume that’s the best offer the Marlins will get.

Stay tuned.

RPAD Time:

Great pic in this one.

Bye Bye Bee-Wheezy

I still don’t understand why Yusmeiro Petit isn’t a Giant. This guy was nails for us out of the bullpen—a bullpen that has not been nails since he left. He’s affordable, he’s reliable and now he’s in Oakland. While guys like Derek Law and Tyler Beede “instagram” their way through their careers, Petit just keeps his nose to the grind and works. I wish we had him and more guys like him in our bullpen….

RPAD Time:

lol, check out the vote results…(I still have no idea who Bartlett is)

https://oneflapdown77.com/2010/11/30/good-bye-uribe-now-who-is-our-ss-for-2011/

I’m not a Beatles fan at all so maybe those who are wouldn’t be surprised by this. 1969 was the last time all 4 were photographed together?

Well, now that we’ve closed the book on Dave O’Gorman’s urgent request from Cambodia, we can move on to other more pressing things. These two pictures showed up back2back in my twitter timeline and I thought they were cool. That’s it for today:

RPAD Time:

https://oneflapdown77.com/2014/11/28/having-the-right-blood/

Late November is not known as good time to harvest interesting threads. As I was sitting here in the dark trying to come up with a different way to spin Stanton not ever coming to the Giants I noticed a 25th comment on the last thread pop up. This was it. Please help this guy out if you can and maybe he’ll tell us more about Cambodia. Dave O’Gorman is a good reminder of why baseball fans are the best…. either that or maybe the nightlife in Cambodia ain’t what it used to be. 🙂

I’m on the other side of the world in Cambodia and I’ve been watching some old regular season baseball games on YouTube. Can someone recommend a regular season Giants home game from any year before 2017 — without telling me the exact outcome or spoiling why they’d recommend it — that I can watch in its entirety on that platform this evening? Just a date and year, home games only please. Thanks!

RPAD Time. Four years ago. No reason for it, just liked the Panda for Cespedes rumor:

https://oneflapdown77.com/2013/11/27/reaction-to-bruce-jenkins-interview/

Well that wraps up a pretty uneventful holiday weekend. I did knock in an eagle from 165 yards out on the 9th hole at The Boulders (south course)—that resulted in some unadulterated hoopla, let me tell you.

But on the baseball front things are quiet.

Cardinal and Dubs both won. Today the Niners stretch their win streak to 2.

RPAD Time. I don’t even remember who *Bartlett* is.

https://oneflapdown77.com/2010/11/26/derek-jeter/

Today is Thanksgiving and I’m flying out of here in a couple of hours. I won’t be bringing my laptop as I try to lessen the likelihood that TSA will screw with me. The ultimate dream is to one day walk on to a plane with no carry on, shirtless, wearing nothing but a speedo and flip flops. Scan that, bitches. And “helllloooo!!!!!” adjacent seatmate.

So today is the last Flap post till Sun. Find something in this darkening world to be thankful for and I’ll catch you guys on the flip side….

The local radioheads kept filling the airwaves with hopeful Stanton wishes. They stand by their claim that the main selling point from the Giants camp is their ability to take on the contract of both Stanton and Gordon. This doesn’t make any sense to me. With the team up against the lux cap already, and with other teams with big cash way below it, how is this *advantage SF?*

I am for bringing all of these guys aboard. I know I’ve been back and forth on this. But I’m already tired of completely wasted years like the one we just went through. If we pay a few more guys too much money, who cares? We’re already doing that. And it’s not like the brass is going to suddenly wake up and decide a tear down is the way to go. So I want them to get as good as they can get with new, expensive players. And if we add Gordon and Stanton and lose Panik (really, Joe is like a healthier version of Duffy) and Bum and Cueto bounce back, who’s to say we can’t compete for a WC spot next year.

I’ll take that. With nothing in the pipeline, another year of narrowly avoiding 100 losses is of no interest to me……

RPAD Time:

A nice Thanksgiving day retro from 2012

https://oneflapdown77.com/2012/11/22/happy-thanksgiving-flappers/

We always hear about the 40 man roster, mostly as it relates to moves we can’t make because of it. The 40 man does nothing but hamstrings and inhibits. It’s an obstructor. I almost never look at it. GM’s always speak of it in near hushed, hallowed tones……

Here’s a look at recent Giant moves regarding the 40 man:

I’ve heard of two of those guys…

What in the fuck was someone or something named “Engelb Vielma” doing on the 40 man? His name reads like a sleepy Trump tweet. #covfefe

RPAD Time:

11/21/11

https://oneflapdown77.com/2011/11/21/candlestick-park-left-field-bleachers/

launch angle on point:

I appreciate Blade’s post about *the wilderness years*, I really do. But I just can’t bite the bullet. I don’t want to bite the bullet. We only have so many years left as fans, I don’t want to spend them watching Belt walk and Posey deftly go the other way every game.

Simply put, I don’t trust the Giants brass to do a tank job tear down. Besides having never done it before and having no idea how to do it, it’s something they would never do. And because of the first part of the last sentence, that’s probably a good thing…..

So I’ll keep shining those 3 beauties on the mantle and celebrate whatever new deck chairs they put out on the main breezeway. Cain? I guess, sure. Stanton? Ditto. Billy Ham? Yes please.

Any team except the one we had to watch last year. Eat money. Cut guys. I don’t give a shit. Just find a way to get rid of the rotting core….

And trading Bumgarner should be goal #1. I’m assuming he’ll have to come out of the blocks solid next year. But by mid season, and we are toiling in last place, it would be a fantastic time to trade a legend like Bum who would still be controllable for the 2019 season. I have to believe a contending team would overpay for Bum at the deadline next season…..

RPAD Time:

Ah, Big Game memories….

https://oneflapdown77.com/2010/11/20/big-game-day/

LoAfter reading this, I’m off Cain. For some reason I thought he was younger. Unless he wants a 2 year/40mil deal, I’m happy to have him sign elsewhere.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/11/free-agent-profile-lorenzo-cain.html

RPAD Time:

And 3 years later, I’m excited to get him. Funny how things change.

https://oneflapdown77.com/2014/11/19/dumb-off-season-deals/

And now I will spend the morning celebrating another Big Game victory followed by ANOTHER celebration this afternnoon: Niners on a bye, no loss today. That’s a victory, too.

Loo and MacDog today at a football game in NY

Looking at all those retro threads makes me realize how stupid hot stove talk is. We spent a lot of time voting on and discussing guys who either never came here or who just plain sucked the following year. Therefore I’m just gonna throw 2 flaps in the air and say RIP to Malcolm Young, the heart and soul of one of my favorite bands of all time…..

There’s no way I could pick a favorite song…..

Big Game this weekend. My enthusiasm for the Big Game has waned over the years. Surprised Stanford is 16 point favorites. Both teams have something to play for and 16 points is a lot.

Ah, another week of sucking off the sweet teat of victory. Niners bye ensures it…..

RPAD Time:

From 2012. Another example of spending too much time evaluating shit in November.

https://oneflapdown77.com/2012/11/17/if-the-crazy-horse-rides-off-into-the-insane-sunset/