A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball

Usually don’t miss news like this but just saw that Fernando died at 63 years old. Damn, that’s young. I remember when he came on to the scene and even as a young kid I thought to myself “this guy’s gonna be a problem.” Gotta think this boosts LA’s chances a little at least from a karma standpoint.

And the good news there is that I think I’ve got most of you rooting for the Yankees with me. Are there any Flappers out there with the gall to admit publicly they’re rooting for LA?

One of the final conversations I had with Katie’s grandpa George was about Juan Soto. I was telling him about the signing and he smiled. As I watched that ball sail deep into the night I couldn’t help but feel a little sad that he’s missing all this. Biggest Yankee fan I ever knew.

Disappointed that Cleveland won but can’t argue with the exciting moments they offered. Gonna find out what that NY team is made of after giving that one away.

Two games today! Two big games. Yanks/Dodgers look like they’re on a collision course. That’s cool with me especially if NY wins….

Vogt did a hell of a job managing that game, he stopped the bleeding and gave his team a shot. But it wasn’t to be, they made a couple of little league mistakes and in the end that team just can’t hit or, frankly, pitch (starters anyway). Come on, they had Alex Cobb opening for them. LOL. And then their supposed *Ace got smacked around by Yankee hitters. Brace yourselves gentlemen, the New York Yankees will be back in the World Series this year. And I know one Yankee fan who is thrilled to pieces. Georgie Boy has got to be over the moon about this year so far…..

Everyone should relax about all this “evil empire” stuff. They have a fantastic and storied history. And it’s not like they’re out there buying World Series trophies. Shit, they haven’t even been to the World Series since 2009. Think about how long ago 2010 was. And they were last there a year before that.

I think I want to see a Dodgers/Yankees World Series. I know that’s disgusting to some of you but I hate Cleveland and who wouldn’t want to see LA lose another World Series?

Still can’t believe the Niners are in first place after all of the nonsense so far this year. They should EASILY be 5-1.

Only 1 baseball game today. Obviously a Mets fan now.

Well, that sucked. If they Padres were going to throw out that type of conceited hubris it would have been a better look to score at least 1 run over the last 24 innings. Preferably more but shit how bout even 1? Pathetic peetering out by a team I actually really started to like.

Huge game for Detroit today, bright and early 10am. They have Skubal going and look good because of that but that dude has been so lights out lately it wouldn’t surprise me if he took a step back today. And what terrible timing that would be for this magical team.

Either way, GO TIGERS!!!!!!!

Stix has returned! And it’s great to hear from him. I’d argue against some of these points, for instance he’s ignoring the magical run the Tigers are on (as well as KC for that matter). But I’ll never miss a chance to pass on what’s going on in this man’s garden.

I’m in Oregon for a couple of days. Go Niners tonight! Not trying to be a bad fan but I think Seattle wins tonight and Niners -3.5 is a joke (IMO)

Carstie Clausen	Wed, Oct 9, 9:34 PM (8 hours ago)
to me

 Frankly, my Dears, I’m sick and tired of the hoo-ha constantly insulting one’s intelligence when they  consistently cheer on the two most moneyed and media-pets as featured by MLB.com.  The LaBumbos and the Evil Empire are the darlings of the most powerful media barons in the country.  Big demographics and oodles of boodle to buy up the most talented players on the market…mostly involving free-agency…is a vivid description of our flailing and failing world of baseball.  Small market teams are continually forced to ferret up occasional and rare winning seasons.  Baseball is becoming as corrupted as the gambler-infested NFL and NBA.  

 Perhaps this negative development reflects attitudinal changes by a large proportion of the deliberately dumbed-down American people.  The process began over a century ago when the most invidious of all the Robber Barons massively funded a college of education at Columbia University.  Then came the Boobtoob, which Newton Minnow pinioned as “The Great Wasteland”.  How many native-born Americans are even somewhat acquainted with a foreign language?  Achievement testing in the school systems are on a downward spiral in most basic subjects.

 Once upon a time, when I was not anywhere near my current octogenarian status, a large proportion of Americans favored the underdog.  Nowadays?  It’s all about the superstars, particularly power-hitters, who get all the raves.  Teamwork?  Who the hell cares? 

Media massaging the Big Money and Big Media teams has become the norm.  The subtle nuances of the greatest game ever developed are relegated to just a handful of genuine fans.  MLB is attempting to “catch up” with the media pressure cooked pair of pro sports entities.

  Where are the sandlot games?  Where are stickball games on the streets of Manhattan, where Willie Mays delighted in playing with the kids…just for fun.  Where has fun gone?  Nowadays its all hyper-organized and made up of all too many players who get all built up doing artificial exercises in some gym.  Gone are the days when Bob Feller trained himself to pitch by hours of throwing balls at the barn wall…that after pitching bundles of hay during the summer months.

 Result of all that over-training?  Injuries galore.  Imagine that 16 inning game where two of the greatest pitchers of the 20th Century, Milwaukee’s Warren Spahn and San Francisco’s Juan Marichal each threw FIFTEEN shutout innings, before the late #24 broke up that unmatchable match with a solo-shot homerun.  Today, some pussified hurlers somehow manage to go six whole innings before the relief corps takes over.  Logan Webb was a rare exception by actually hurling more than 200 innings.  If memory holds, Gaylord Perry had at least once pitched over 300 I.P.

 MLB baseball is a fading mess and it will be on the verge of terminal if the World Series features the two most primped-up and promoted teams in the game…the Yank-Me’s and the LAbumbos.  Rigged?  In a matter of speaking…yes.  Salary caps, both up-cycle and Po-boy down franchises should both be sanctioned in order to restore some measure of even-handedness to the game.  Oh, and I still like the idea that made the Green Bay Packers a very frequent contender.  That team is NOT owned by some richie who as often as not uses their business as tax write-offs.  Yeah, hundreds if not thousands of Wisconsin folks have ownership shares in that team.  Fuck the Googenheimers and all that ilk.  Bring the game back to WE the People.  Make MLB at least somewhat equitable. Well publicized fan boycotts might open the floodgates just a tad.  Likely won’t happen though.  All too many Americans slump in their couches with mugs full of potato chips and  aluminum canned suds, seeking entertainment after a hard day at the orfice and that followed by bumper to bumper rat-races as suburbanites yearn for comfort in that nice cozy couch.

 Yeah, well thanks for reading my rant.  As the Northwoods was blessed by an unusually mild winter; my five days of the week putting an average of 6 hours per day working with #2 spade, wheelbarrow, 22” Huskvarna push mower on about two acres of up and down terrain, engaging overgrown tree species with a couple of chainsaws and staying on my feet most of the while in restoring the old homestead…after a too long hiatus ensconced in Club Fed…where the old place had mostly gone to seed.  Would have had a really nice harvest this go-round as three of the four major gardens are now back in production…except for pocket-gophers gobbling up the potato and onion crops and drought conditions over the past couple months negating much of the plantings.  However, carrots, beets and parsnips have thrived, as have volunteer tomatillos, a middle yard a carpet of oregano and some squash plants.  Uh, huh, weather’s getting strange and right now all that FEMA $$$ got squandered on the migrants while middle Appalachia folks are getting lessoned on living…or dying…like the people in Gaza.

 Sanity is a precious possession.  These are times which “try men’s souls”, as per Thomas Paine with his Common Sense pamphlet.  It’s gonna get worse before it gets better.  Stay strong.  Huge positive changes are simmering beneath the surface.  We WILL emerge from the terminal state of the 6,000 Kali Yuga cycle.  Perhaps the 2024 World Series will be the last gasp of the collapsing cycle.

 Will the Giants come alive in Twenty-Five?  The kids are alright…big contingent this year and more in the pipeline.  Buster will bust his balls to make it happen.  A quality shortstop and maybe one more quality reliever could fill out the roster.  This year’s edition never were able to go on a tear and stay relevant.  They never really jelled as a team.  But most of the leftovers are gone now.  Fundamental baseball is of essence on Willie Mays Field…and on the road.  Contributions from each and every player creates a team which believes in itself.  Plating those RISPs is the key to a winning offense.  THAT was SF’s #1 failure in ’24.  Melvin and his coaching staff will need to focus on RBIs…and advancing those runners to make the machine run.  With Snell returning on say a three year contract at $125M, with mutual 4th year options and the staff could be excellent.  Enough now in the pipeline to develop a very good staff…even if Snell gets snapped up by one of the usual suspects.

 Quality pitching, decent down the middle defense and timely hitting = winning baseball.  Make it happen capn.

What an exciting day of baseball. I missed most of it but still, it looked like it was exciting.

Regarding the Niners and Salah. I don’t see that happening. I doubt he’d even want to come back here especially mid season. And I don’t see Lynch making that move. A move like that wreaks of desperation and guys like Lynch and Kyle don’t operate that way. Plus, I think everyone in the org really likes Sorenson. And it’s not like he’s just some rando, he’s been with the team a few years.

I’d be shocked if they did this.

Another disgusting, horrific loss. Two 10 point 4th quarter leads blown in 3 weeks. Kyle’s penchant for losing leads in the 4th quarter is well documented. I like him but at some point you have to ask, is he trying to win the game or just do enough so he doesn’t lose it?

Fun baseball games yesterday. Disappointed in SD who had the lead and gave it away pretty quickly. A good reason to not build your team around 1 superstar: Judge can’t seem to hit a baseball in the post season. I don’t know if it’s mental or what. But he’s a good example of a disappearing superstar in the most important time of the season. I know they won they game but not because of him (though he did make a good catch in the first inning). My point is, we don’t need to go after 1 big free agent guy. A better way to insulate yourself against a guy who makes a billion dollars but disappears in the post season might be to just stock up with as many “Matt Chapman’s” as you can.

All eyes turn back to the NFL today. No feeling at all about this Niner game. Could see it going either way.

4 games today, no duds. Some might argue the KC/NY game could be a little duddy but KC is like a low-key Tigers team. Who knows what is gonna happen there? I’m here for ALL of it.

Astros and Braves eliminated. I’m really getting on board with these Padres but they obviously suffered a big blow yesterday with the loss of Musgrove. Detroit is the real story though and if you back up 10 feet and squint at the tv they’ll look like the 2010 Giants. Happy for their fans. Win another series. Why not?

What an exciting day of baseball that was. I wasn’t there obviously but that roar from the crowd when Tatis blasted that monster into space must have been fun to be a part of. The Tigers continue their magical journey even though they seem to be punting today’s game.

Good riddance. Couldn’t be any happier with this news and Bozo, that fucking clown, gets credit for calling out this CHUMP on Day 1. Nice foresight, my man. I have no idea if Buster can do this but whatever, let’s see what he’s got. I hope he hires competent people to put around him.

Skubal going today! Tiger fans call him Scoobie. Let’s see him striking out those Cheatin’ Stros like a madman and Detroit wins Game 1 in a shocker.

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.

Mercifully, this season will be ending (at least for the Giants). There are some awful nice stories out there led by what the Tigers did. I’ll definitely follow the post season even though I don’t really have a team (besides Detroit). Did the Willie Mac winner get announced and I just missed it? Or is that today?

Speaking of today….Niners.

And if we win them both we accomplish the unthinkable. .500!!!!! Oh how excited the fan base will be. Farhan, showered with an extension leading us, in perpetuity.

Weird having them be the final series of the year. This year sucked.

Chappy’s “Quest for 30” seems to have stalled out. Now all that remains is our “Drive to .500!” Can we get there? This is so exciting to watch play out. 🙂

Can Chappy get to 30? That’s about all that’s left to root for this year. 30 would be nice though.

Remember all that stuff I said about preferring football over baseball? Man, forget all that, lol. That was one of the worst losses I can remember watching. In any sport. As much as I don’t trust Moody he’s become serviceable and I’m not gonna hold missing a 55 yarder against him. But Bell can suck a dick. And why is WIshnowsky considered one of the best punters in the league if he’s going to hit a line drive punt in such an obvious situation to put air under it? Agree with everything Chuck said about our D on the last thread. D-Co gotta go. There’s too much talent on that D to play like that.

I don’t know when this began, maybe 3-4 years ago? But football became more fun for me to watch than baseball. It was never that way growing up as a kid. Who knows, maybe I’ve given into the short attention span that’s taken over the youth of today, their brains changed and shaped forever by the memes, gifs and “try not to laugh” videos that last 2 seconds per scene. There is something to be said about the shows we watched as kids not to mention the books we read, how we processed information, how we learned….

Anyway, I digress.

Go Niners!

Was talking to my dad yesterday and he was like “what’s all this Tigers stuff?” So I get that Tigers mania probably isn’t going to take off at the blog. But I still think it’s cool. Dead locked with the Twins with 9 to play.

Hey, it’s something to follow at least. And I am definitely rooting for them. They’re gonna have their hands full with Baltimore but yet, why not?

Watching these Tigers games really isn’t that bad. They remind me a little of the 2010 Giants in terms of how hard they try, they never seem to care if they’re down, their bullpen is nails–every guy that comes out of that pen is slinging darts.

Tigers to make the post season? Why not?

…well, not for us we are a million miles back in that race, too. But look at the divisional races. They’re all basically over. No close ones.

Tigers won in extra innings. They’re only a game and a half back.

As little as I care about baseball and the Giants right now it’s the exact opposite of how Chris Castellani is experiencing this Tigers ride. It was a long time ago, but I think I was acting a little bit like this guy back in September of 2010…..

Give the kid a break. He deserves one. Let’s see Detroit make the post season.

Times are tough in the Bay Area these days if you’re a sports fan. We no longer celebrate wins for the Giants, only if they score runs. And that Niner game, man, the thing that sucks ass about football is you gotta wait a week to get that shit feeling out of your mouth. Purdy looked like he was almost trying to throw into double coverage every play. And Aiyuk? LOL. Dude wants to be paid like Lamb and Jefferson who are streaking all over the field with the ball and he’s a goddamn fucking ghost.

I’m not following this team at all right now but if my threads are any indication did we just get shutout for the third time in a row? When was the last time that happened to an SF team?

I wonder if Zaidi’s gonna fire Melvin with 3 games left in the season as he did last year to save his job. Is there anything this buffoon can do to save his job? And don’t think I forgot who the Flapper was who called bullshit on this guy from the start: That fucking clown. Bozo peeked behind the curtain on Day 1 and saw nothing there……

Yikes. Glad we are not still in the race or last night might have pissed me off a little. Nice job by Birddog pitching 5 strong.

Fitz and Yaz killing it at the top, Bailey with 3 hits and Snell leading the way. Two months ago when Farhan declared we have *the best* rotation in MLB (lqtm) this was the type of game he was hoping for. Win the rest of your games and there’s a decent chance you snag the last wild card spot. Make it so.

Exciting Niner game and fulfilling win. Hope that’s the last game I have to watch on streameast. I don’t mind it but the TV is better than my laptop. Streameast is great for The Red Zone. Giants still playing?

As DirectTV and Disney continue to diddle themselves I have come to accept that I will have to watch the Niner game tonight on Streameast. This sucks ass.

Well, at least we have an NFL Sunday to get excited for! Niners tomorrow. I have absolutely no feel for what they’ll do this year. They got all their guys back but it’s just been a sludge of negative press all Summer. Maybe they rise above it but it sure doesn’t feel that way right now.

Just noticed we lost last night. That’s how little interest I have right now. Been up for 2 hours and just thought to check the scores to see how we did last night. If you lose my interest I can only imagine how long ago you lost the more casual fan’s interest. Farhan has to go.

Nice to see Bailey show signs of a pulse. His meteoric plummet to the bottom of the barrel has been breath taking to watch.

Regarding Chapman, who has easily been our best most complete hitter this year, if you don’t like this signing just admit you don’t give a shit about defense and team chemistry and we can move on. He’s led the team in doubles, HR’s, runs scored, RBI’s, total bases, WAR (by a mile, and he’s 8th in ALL OF MLB) and 2nd in SB’s. And he’s not some fucking flash in the pan that Farhan finds and that so many here love to jack off to. He’s got a proven track record. If you want to complain about his batting average why don’t you try taking a time machine back to 1986 and find someone who gives a shit.

Just suck it up and embrace a complete player. We need them desperately. Fuck the back end of the contract. This is just the start. If Chapman is still our best player next year and the year after that (and he’s EASILY our best player this year) we are fucked and you can aim your venom at management. Leave our best player alone.

Unlike many of you who thought he would leave I thought he would stay. And I’m glad he is. Chappy signed a 151 million dollar 6 year deal last night. And while that contract is definitely going to have a bit of a “Longo” feel to it on the back end, Chappy is great piece to build around. And we can’t have shitty boring players at every position forever, right?

Happy to have him on board going forward.

I don’t know if Dirty Harry is hurt or just gassed or maybe he’s just not very good. Either way, shut him down. And at the end of the season, hopefully, Farhan gets shut down, too. Six years is enough. I know Giants ownership doesn’t care one way or the other. So if that’s the case, they shouldn’t mind shit canning him. Who knows, maybe they get lucky with the next guy.

Sounds like the Trent Williams deal is done. Thank God. And for us on the west coast we need the NFL to start, badly. I hope the Niners have a magic wand because they literally pay everyone everything. Not sure how that’s going to work out next year when Purdy gets his BAG.

One more run at the Super Bowl sounds good enough for me. LFG.

The Niners March back to the Super Bowl has taken some serious hits lately. The Aiyuk fiasco. Like, if you were gonna bend over and give him 30 mil a year why not do that a month ago so he could have gotten ready for the season? Trent Williams still unsigned (I think, he was unsigned when I left the Bay Area yesterday). And now our fucking #1 pick getting shot in the chest in SF. Something so high profile is not going unnoticed by athletes and their families across all sports. SF was already viewed as a shithole in decline. A lawless land. And you can argue against that but that is the PERCEPTION. And it will continue to affect how people view The City. Mayor Breed is probably the worst mayor SF has ever had.

Rib cook off was fantastic. Gonna pay the price in El Bano this morning.

Gotta pop into Reno for a couple of days. Rib cook off later today. We beat the Marlins last night.

It appears the answer is to sink, gents. Tough year.

Six and half games out of the final wild card spot. Is it white flag time gents? Are we really not going to get meaningful games in September?

I’ll be honest, I had never heard of McCray before he got called up. I don’t really follow our prospects though. Did Farhan just wake up one day and look at the slow and weak team he built and say “Ok time to throw the McCray dart”? Remember, we only got Ramos because Slater got hurt and Fitzgerald got a shot because Ahmed got hurt right? Or was that cause Luciano couldn’t field? I can’t remember.

They’re pretty good. But it’s baseball and I could totally see us wasting the Brewers because that’s the exact opposite of what everyone thinks is gonna happen.

The Giants flagshit NFBCsportsBA had a tweet yesterday about this *ominous* MRI for Ray and I thought “oh shit” he’s blown out his arm. And then you read the article and it’s just a tender hammy. LOL. Who cares? He’ll be fine next year and hopefully he is able to solidify a spot in the rotation. The tweet suggested that our playoff chances are somehow ruined to which is said “Playoffs? PLAYOFFS!!! PLAYOFFS? Are you kidding?”

Amidst all the hoopla of the Travers I missed it that Snarkk was at this game. Got a pic to share my man? Thorpedo Anna ran her heart out. What a race. What a race horse.

Ray Ray for a little revenge revenge today. Let’s go!