A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball

Cain has whittled his ERA down to the Jackson, Tenn area code and that’s probably enough to lock up the #5 spot in the rotation. Also, the aged J-Roll offered to play second base yesterday, further cementing his flexibility and endearing himself to an already smitten manager.

The Giants finally won another baseball game yesterday and are now only 4.0 games off the Cactus division lead!

I’m trying to figure out what the Giants are going to do with all of these infielders. Let’s look at the expected 25 and see who’s on the bubble.

The 5 Starting Pitchers are fairly obvious: Bum, Cueto, Moore, Smarge, Cain.

Relievers: Melancon, Law, Strickland, Kontos, Smith, Okert, and then either Oshich or Blach. If they carry both that would be 13 total pitchers which is probably 1 more than they carry but maybe what they decide to start with on Opening Day.

Catchers: Buster and Hundy (that’s gotta be his nickname, right?)

Outfielders: Pence, Span, Parker and Gorky’s. (This is just assuming they go 4 OF’s, it may not be the last 2 guys).

So that’s 19 guys with 6 spots left for the infield. Around the horn we go Belt, Panik, Craw and The great and all-knowing and all-powerful Nunie.

That leaves 2 spots left for Gillaspie (who I have to believe is a lock), Rollins, Hill and Specs….

Anyone see this any differently?

I don’t see how there is any way Specs makes this roster.

Where do you guys stand on baseball cards? Anyone collect them? Still have the old ones from your youth? What was your favorite part about them? Trading them had to be #1. But I was also really drawn to the personal tidbit on the back. “the first player to be traded for himself with Harry Chiti from Indians 4/27/62 and returned 6/15/62”. Stuff like that.

If I was a kid growing up now the internet would have basically ruined collecting cards for me. Memorizing the stats on the back of the card was my go-to move. Now? Stats are a click away.

And while I love that as an adult, it’s still kinda lame.

The Donger has bumped his average up to a cool .444. His OPS is stratospheric. We could be looking at a late HOF bloomer….

It is a struggle to look at spring training stats so I think I’m going to stop doing that.

Let’s just get everyone to SF healthy and go from there….

That Warrior game last night….How many wide open 3’s did Klay and Steph miss? It’s irritating that Durant goes down and they come up ant-small. I hate to say this, because I can’t stand him, but you’d never see LeBron perform like that in a game right after losing a key piece.

Matt Cain got blasted again yesterday. My question is simple: What does Cain have to show you this Spring for you to be somewhat supportive of him starting as the #5 in the rotation? Because barring a phantom injury, that’s what he’s going to be.

It’s not so easy to just say, “He’s got to have a decent start or two.” Vets, especially vet pitchers, don’t use spring training as anything more than a way to get in shape and stay healthy. A guy like Cain probably bristles at the idea of needing to prove anything against a bunch of minor leaguers and hangers on. His career spring ERA is 5.45 so don’t expect anything lower than that and likely his ERA will check in much HIGHER.

But public opinion CAN matter. The boos at AT&T absolutely played a part in the unraveling of Santiago Casilla. Cain’s constitution might be better at handling negativity from Giants fans.

Does he need to show you anything this Spring?

This Durant injury reminds me of Buster tearing up his ankle and being done for the season. Durant’s didn’t look as bad, probably won’t be as bad. But it’s going to be bad. I’ve got a bad, bad feeling about this. And if he’s gone I’m looking at the rest of the team with Patrick McCaw scurrying around out there, a washed up Matt Barnes now coming back, and I’m just not seeing or feeling the rest of this season.

At least we have baseball. March 1st. When I was  a kid I always called March 1st the beginning of Spring. Caused a few problems with me studies. I just told the teachers “that’s what the calendar says in Flavortown” and they didn’t ask any questions after that……

Just did a quick check of the spring training stats and I don’t want to overreact but my dude, The Donger, is hitting .333 and that would be good for 4th place in last year’s batting title race, only 15 points off the crowned champion…..

So let’s get to know this near-batting title holder. He’s 29 and hails from Seoul, South Korea which is a preferred place because it was Hawkeye and Trapper’s favorite weekend landing spot to unwind from the horrors of the front line back in the day. So there’s that.

But my even more favorite thing is that he’s finally started to consistently mash the ball out of the park. He hit 52 home runs over the last 2 seasons and I have no idea where that ranks in South Korean lore but it was a huge jump from the 4-7-12 he posted the previous 3 seasons. So ring the bell, it’s go-time.

He also bat flips like a motherfucker but that part of his game has been muzzled by the boring ass traditionalists of mlb. However, you can’t fully take the bat-flip out of a true bat flipper so I am hoping we see that bad boy fly high into the sky at some point this season…..

So to recap: he’s got the best nickname on the team, he’s a goddamn near batting title champion, his power is exploding and if I was GM I’d reacquire The Duffman just so I could trade his ass AGAIN for another stud pitcher and hand the 3rd base job to The Donger YESTERDAY.

The spring optimism is off the charts at The Flap today….

I found this ball in a box this morning. It’s feeling more and more like spring today.

I was only half way listening to the Cain start on Saturday as I drove up the 101 but was Mike Morse playing first base? Later that evening, a KNBR caller mentioned how statuesque Morse looked at first base as balls whizzed past him. But maybe the caller was referencing Morse going after balls down the line in LF? If any of you know, detail it in the comment section.

As much as I’m trying to muster some excitement about The Honger making a splash in spring training, there really doesn’t seem to be a place for him when the team breaks for SF. In fact, you could say that about pretty much every position on the team except possibly a left handed spot in the bullpen.

So gear up for a geared down Spring. I don’t see any new faces sticking around past March…

Another day upon us. Another day wondering how many dongs the 2nd greatest and 2nd most all-knowing Hwang will dong out of the park today.

Miller brought up an interesting point about Diggity’s main man Span yesterday—-he might not have ever fully recovered from his hip surgery from the previous off season. Said we might not have seen the true Span. Said he looks fantastic. Said this could be go-time.

Technically I now have two guys who are *mine*. Nunie and The Honger. But The Honger is actually my spring training guy. So that’s why I get two.

Who’s *your guy* in 2017? Spring training or otherwise?

Don’t say “Belt”…..

This new won’t matter to most of you guys, but KNBR fired Matt Kolsky and Vegas Joe Hughes yesterday in a stupid cost cutting move that preserved Gary Radnich and the laughing hyena known as John Lund. I know the cuts don’t directly correspond to those 2 idiots keeping their jobs but it’s just sad to see a couple of hard working younger guys get sacked while Radnich and The Laugher stay on.

I know it didn’t mean a thing but it was fun to hear Miller call the walk off yesterday. I am not a big Affeldt guy. Heard him enough on KNBR to know that all he is right now, at least when it comes to baseball, is quick sound bites and comments about the only thing he knows: relief pitching. But who knows, Kruk and Kuip got better. Remember what they were like when they first started?

http://m.giants.mlb.com/sf/video/v1225473483/cinsf-marrero-hits-threerun-walkoff-home-run

Giants play their first spring training game today. Larry Krueger on KNBR called this his favorite sports day of the year. That sounds a little over the top to me. But it’s still exciting to see the game we love starting up again.

Heard Phil Nevin and Tyler Beede interviewed this morning. Nevin comes off strong. I am leaning towards support for this change. Although really, could it have been any worse over there last year?

Young Beedah comes off polished, if not strong. Knows all the right things to say. He didn’t free style rap this time because he said the vets told him to tone that shit down. He’s got a new single out that’s not very good called “Top of the World.” You can google it if you’re interested.

During the ‘Beedah interview he said “I put on 30 pounds, developed a curve ball and increased my velocity.” Murph just goes “Hey, that sounds pretty good, pretty good.”

Yes it does…….

If I did a poll right now about who you’d rather have as the #5, Cain or Blach, I bet we’d vote 90% for Blach, right?

Why is that? Do we just not have the same intolerance for failure with Blach as we’ve got for Cain? It’s funny how failure (Cain) can grind on the fans. Blach has literally pitched one great game for us. And now we’re all behind him. Ctm.

TFLR should be fine. MRI should no damage, just inflammation. Normal spring aches and pains. I hope.

I still can’t get over the proposed changes possibly coming to baseball. Manfred is throwing the word *unilaterally* around and whenever I hear that I get a little nervous. Changing the game against the players wishes is not a road I want to go down…..

Anyway, after he sends out notice (1 year), Manfred is getting rid of the intentional 4 balls walk to first. Now the manager just *4 fingers* the batter over there. Manfred can’t be so dumb as to believe this is going to shave much time off a game. What’s that take, about 30 seconds? And it might happen once a game? I believe he’s doing this just to gauge how much outrage he’s going to have to sidestep when he gets to his larger, stupider, rule change: placing a runner at 2nd base to begin each extra inning.

THAT one had better never fly at the mlb level. I’m not sitting around watching a tightly contested game, often tied in dramatic fashion in the 9th inning, only to watch the commissioner force *Arena Baseball* on us to start the 10th. I’ve never met a single person who is engaged and focused on a ballgame for 9 innings and then all of a sudden gets restless and stressed and has to get out of there because the game hits the 10th. Plopping a freebee runner on second base to start each inning would absolutely ruin the game.

That’s never really gonna happen, right?

RIGHT?

One of my all time favorite race horses. Finally, I have become him….

The Dodgers signed Franklin Gutierrez to a cheapie deal (1 year/2.6 mil) and I’m irritated the Giants didn’t pull the trigger on this guy. Instead of stuffing his face with wedding cake and shaking hands with Morse, Bobby Evans could have paid the measly sum the Dodgers paid and got himself a legit power bat for the bench that could mash lefties.

I don’t understand the Giants obsession with trying to *minor league contract* their way to filling out the bench. They didn’t have 2.6 mil lying around?

I guarantee you Gutierrez is going to hit some important HR’s vs lefties in 2017, and some of them will probably come against us.

_____________

And this Kyrie Irving thing has got to be a joke, right? He’s just screwing with the media, right?

Here’s a book my daughter read when she was like 8. She’s long since done with it. Maybe I should send it to Kyrie?

Aaron Hill, Just Ruggiano, Mike ReMorse, Jimmy Rollins, that Korean guy whose name I can’t remember…..

Bochy has got to look at that list and snap-order his wife to saran wrap their valuables. The Giants have recommitted themselves to their comfort zone. Vets, vets and more vets.

I really hope Aaron Hill has something left. For once I’d like to see a bat on the bench that’s not a wet noodle.

Maybe this has been reported elsewhere already but I was loling on the ride into work this morning listening to the KNBR morning guys retell how Morse got his deal.

He was at Hunter Pence’s wedding and was talking to Bobby Evans over cake. Evans asked him if he had anything left in the tank and Morse gave the thumbs up. They hand shook the deal. So I guess the advanced analytics were off the table for this signing.

Also: we have signed Aaron Hill to a minor league deal. I like this move a lot. Right handed power who crushes lefties. He could be a great utility guy or a PH who could, cover your ears, HIT A PINCH HIT BOMB TO WIN A GAME.

Ready for this?

The deal is done and he’s an Art Dealer now. I’d worry more about this if his career wasn’t nearly over. Those knees are closer to 53 than 33. The velocity dipped again last year on both the FB and the SL.

I’m predicting injury and/or ineffectiveness in 2017 for Romo thus further solidifying his greatness in Giants history….

Like many of you, I am still scratching my head at this Mike Morse thing. However, I’m scratching my head looking at his one season with us in the context of his entire career. This will be his 13th season at the mlb level, and outside of his one memorable season in SF he has had ONE year of full production: 2011 when he hit 31 bombs (I know no one here cares about those) in 146 games played. He played his second most games in 2014 for us (131). How do you last so long for going on 13 seasons with only TWO decent years? That’s remarkable.

He’ll be turning 35 in March and I just can’t imagine there’s anything left in the tank. But who knows, there didn’t look like much was in the tank when he arrived here the first time.

Nothing about this will change your reality or alter your day in any way. But just *because* your mood might improve. You just might walk the earth with a little more bounce in your step.

Pitchers and catchers report today.

Who is your key to the pitching staff this year? For me, even more than Melancon, it’s THAT FUCKING LEFTY RELIEVER. He has the chance to be Jeremy Affeldt in his prime–a stud who can get both lefty and righties out. I had given up on this guy until he emerged as probably our best reliever in September last year.

The Giants gave up a lot for TFLR and there were many questions about his worth. If he can step up and be THE GUY to hand the ball to Melancon our bullpen could take the most reliable shape we’ve seen since the days of The Core Four.

If he can’t, it’s gonna be *Oh!shit!andOkert* Time and I don’t think Bochy has it in him to go through another season like 2016.

Can you guess what these 3 numbers are?

$11,500,000

$12,000,000

$12,000,000

Hmmmmm….. there’s gotta be a better way to play this game.

Why don’t I just tell you?

That’s what MadBum makes across the next 3 (THREE!) seasons. Now it’s time to cue up all the outrage over why the Giants haven’t signed him to a new deal yet……

FanFest is in the books and Gary Radnich has mercifully put the mike down. This was the best thing I saw come out of yesterday:

I was looking for a list of players who “boycotted” the event but couldn’t find anything. Maybe I should just let that go.

I don’t go to this anymore because of the crowd size but I’m always interested in seeing who bails on it (besides Flavor). In the past, Angel Pagan has regularly snubbed it. Bumgarner doesn’t come to it either and he has less of an excuse.

But whatever, I don’t really care one way or the other since I’m not going to be there. The last time I went I marveled at the size of the lines to the players. I don’t do lines. I don’t understand the payoff when you consider the amount of time invested.

FanFest is very cool for one reason: it means it’s almost here.

Baseball is almost here.

This isn’t really news anymore but I still marvel at how disrespected the home run has become. Between Chris Carter and Mark Trumbo they banged out 88 of those bad boys last year. That hard work got them a 1 year deal ($3 mil for Carter) and a 3 year deal (37 mil for Trumbo). I happen to still sit squarely in the camp that continues to respect the long ball.

Who’s gonna lead the Giants in HR’s this year? Belt? Posey? Will either hit 20?

Apparently, Brian Wilson hasn’t spoken to a single ex-teammate in the last year and nobody knew he was hatching this knuckleball plan. I think it’s awesome.  I’ve gotten past the ridiculous tantrum he threw in front of Baer and remember nothing but the best of things about him. Him standing on the hill and pointing to the sky. A fresh faced Buster racing on his horse to embrace him. Good times.

Now he wants to come back “tossing waffles” (his words). How great would it be if this actually worked? It took about 2 of his epic one liners in Brown’s column  at Yahoo before I was hooked on him again. Whoever he plays for, I would watch and root……

I’m not gonna lie, this “game” has boosted my competitive juices. I get beyond irritated when one of you instantly correctly pick out a guy from the mid freaking 80’s based on only seeing some teeth and part of one eye. I have been known to swear out loud. When my daughter is around I filter a bit and go full-McEnroe belting out a “you cannot be serious!!!!” She thinks I have mental problems.

So, believe me, I swell with pride on the rare occasion that I stump you and all your incorrect guesses end with a pathetic, shaky question mark.

Current pic:

___________________________________

I think this is the second time I got you…Bob Knepper is the other one……

Here is the pic that’s stumping you:

And here is a larger pic of this GREAT Giant. Can you get it now? Or is this still too hard little babies?!?!!?!? Muhuahahahaha!!!!!!

He even signed it for you if you’re still too fucking clueless to get it!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my. What has happened to me? I don’t feel like myself anymore. Could be time to end the game. Let’s play the rest of today and call it tonight. Here are the current standings:

Loo 21

Blade 16

Wilco 13

Diggity 11

Kat 8

Chuck 5

MacDog 3

Clown 2

The Lonliest Number: WillieD

Here are the current standings:

Loo 20

Wilco 13

Diggity 10

Blade 9

Kat 6

Chuck 4

MacDog 3

Clown 2

The Lonliest Number: WillieD

And now we have to listen to how great Tom Brady is for literally the rest of our lives. Nobody wants to talk about how stupid Kyle Shanahan is. It’s 4th and 1 and you stick Ryan in the shotgun AND a five step drop? AND he fumbles? I’ll give Brady his due because he was given opportunity and he didn’t screw it up but that was the biggest choke job in the history of sports…..

We were running fast and furious here at the Flap last night. Lots of players picked. Some incomprehensibly missed. Hints were fired off with abandon. After the dust settled, this is what the scoreboard looks like:

Loo 12

Diggity 9

Wilco 9

Blade 6

Chuck 4

Kat 3

MacDog 2

The Solo Crowd: WillieD, Clown

And now for this morning’s Name THIS Giant:

(I’m off work today so expect this place to be riddled with “Tom Brady like” opportunity)

The angst on twitter from Giants fans about Romo leaving for the Dodgers is surprising me. Who cares? He did his job here and did it well. He directly contributed to three rings. The Giants didn’t offer him a deal. He’s obviously declining. He signed with his hometown team. It’s almost another win for us since I bet he sucks this year. Nobody could do the Dodgers the way the GREAT Jason Schmidt did them. But if we’re lucky, Romo could “Schmidt” them a little. At least “Schmidt-stain” them…..

Ok, as of 7:26am PST no one has gotten the current “Name this Giant” and so I’ll leave him up with a hint: He’s a pitcher. He pitched one year for us and one year for the Angels. No other mlb appearances. His name is well remembered by me but I’m insane that way so maybe this guy will stump everyone for once.

And here are the most current standings:

Loo 12

Diggity 7

Wilco 7

Chuck 3

Blade 2

Kat, That Fucking Clown, MacDog 1

Name THIS Giant:

I’ve abandoned the shackles and limits the 70’s was putting on me and will now be pulling “Name This Giant” from any time period. The rules are simple: You get one guess. As soon as someone gets it I’ll update the standings and upload another player.

Current Standings:

Loo 7

Chuck 3

Diggity 2

WilcoJoe 2

Blade 1

Kat 1

That Clown 1

Name THIS Giant

Current Standings:

Chuck: 3

Diggity: 1

Blade: 1

Kat: 1

Loo: 1

Everyone else: 0

I can’t fire the retro Stix posts back up because….I just can’t. And we obviously need something to get the blog through to P/C’s reporting. So from here on out we will play “Name That Giant”. First one correct wins the day, I’ll keep a running tab of who’s in the lead. This obviously favors the early birds. I made today’s fairly easy, depending on how quickly this guy gets guessed will impact future croppings.

First up: Who is this?

Unless I resort to haikus, the last defense for a thread in the middle of winter is a trip to mlbtraderumors.com to see what they got cookin’. Today’s current lead headline does not inspire.

Market Notes: Profar, Utley, Francoeur, Masterson

So force yourself to comment on that headline or come up with something else.

It’s January 31st for what that’s worth….

Sometimes the way people look is how they act. If you look like a stupid, douchy pompous asshole with a head of waning hair that resembles the rough you’d see out at Palo Alto muni, there’s a good chance you act like that, too.

I would give anything to see what an interview with Jed York is like in his cabana. He and Lynch powering down the mai tais. Jed just so happy to have a friend over.

As an analyst, John Lynch couldn’t even score the top NFL games at Fox. Naturally, Jed sees him as a perfect fit for the Niners open GM spot.

At least he’s smart. He’s no Matt Millen. He’s already negotiated 6 years out of Jed’s dumb ass. But make no mistake, this is a joke hire. The deal ALONE makes it a joke hire. I don’t want to hear any nonsense about it matching Shanny’s years. Giving 2 guys with zero experience at their positions that many years, when qualified people barely get half that, is just a JOKE.

What does Lynch know about running an NFL team? He has never spent a single second working in a front office. I guess this could just hit by pure luck. But for a team desperate for reliable direction and sound leadership I don’t get this hire at all…..

Everyone’s been saying this is such a great opportunity, blank slate, tons of cap room, etc. The cold reality is that no one qualified wanted this job. That’s why Lynch is your new GM.

Our world may be collapsing before our eyes but I have good news for you. It rhymes with “No Broll”. In fact, I defy you to say No-broll-Pro-bowl 10 times as fast as you can. Try to say it ONCE as fast as you can.

Anyway, that mesmerizing ditty is on ESPN today at 5pm and when did they take that out of Hawaii? It’s in Canada now?

We’ll all be there soon enough……

New thread for the sake of a new thread. Horse racing question: Who you guys got tomorrow in the Pegasus World Cup? I recognize I’m talking to like 3 or 4 people here and at least one of them is banned from the site.

I am of the opinion that Espinoza gave Chrome a pretty bad ride in the Classic. Should have fired him earlier and not spent so much time looking over his shoulder like a crack addict.

But if Arrogate wins, I’ll give him the knowing dude head nod.

No one else has a chance.

As I scour twitter in the earliest hours looking for anything that might qualify as interesting SF Giants news, this is what popped up on my timeline:

New thread. I got tired of looking at Tito’s tired eyes. We brought Hundley on board. The Korean, too. I can’t find much enthusiasm to banter around either pick up. Glad we have them. Next.

Katie’s aunt sent me this yesterday. She lives in Reno. The text said “Guess who this former Giant is?”

This guy looks about 70ish? I’m gonna feel so dumb when one of you tell me who this is….

I still can’t get over all this Trump bullshit. I try to stay off social media. I just can’t stand his face or the little thumb that barely protrudes out of his tiny hand.

So…..football. Tomorrow. I gave out a free George Costanza 4 team parlay last week and if you didn’t make any $$$ off that don’t throw yourself off the bridge yet.

This week is easy. Atlanta annihilates Green Bay so lay those 5.5 and don’t even think twice about it. And Pitt beats NE outright. The $$$ line on that is +215.

Take both of those to the bank and no need to thank me later…..

I was listening to BamBam get interviewed on KNBR last night. Very interesting. One thing that stood out was his comments about Belt. You don’t say this publicly if it didn’t happen. BamBam said that Belt openly avoided taking hitting advice at one point telling Bambam 2 years into his big league time: “I hit .350 in the minors.” BamBam’s response: “Yes but this is the major leagues.”

Apparently that was the tipping point for Belt when it came to changing his approach to hitting and taking feedback from the coaches. I think BamBam said he started taking feedback “two and a half years in.”

I get tired of hearing Belt never changed. He did. And it was due to his stubbornness that it took so long.

Now that the annual Hall of Letdown is over let’s focus on things that matter: like our bullpen. I don’t know about you, but I’m still greatly concerned (and it’s January so I have to whip up any and all concern I can muster).

We are but a single wayward pitch away from being in the same situation we were last year. Melancon goes down, then what? I don’t understand why the Giants haven’t signed Greg Holland yet and I know he’s about to sign any day now with someone else.

We don’t have to argue the negatives of Holland, they are obvious. But he’s done the job before and what would be wrong with giving him the 8th inning till his arm fell off?

The Giants learned a good lesson last year one that, frankly, they shouldn’t have had to be taught. You can’t win without a reliable bullpen. They, more than any other team, should know this…..

This is all you need to know about how dysfunctional the 49ers are:

Today was either gonna be a poll or a haiku. Not in a very creative or introspective mood so it’s gonna be a poll. I recognize the Giants probably aren’t considering any of these 3 players and it’s possible that Bautista is re-signing with the Blue Jays as I type this. But just to get a sense of where the Flappers stand on left field, if you had to pick one of these 3 guys, who would it be….

And if none of those 3 tickle your backside, write up a haiku and enter it in the comment section…..

I am the biggest Nunie fan there is but I would gladly send him to the bench if Christian Arroyo can play. And I hope he gets a chance to earn the job in spring training. I could care less about *projections*. Nobody knows. Fangraphs projects him as a *Prado at his peak*? Keith Law basically said he could win a batting title. Frankly, we would take either. None of it matters till we see what they can do with regular at bats at this level.

I think it’s clear he’s not a power hitter. Neither is the great and all knowing Nunie. Other than lacking power, nobody knows what Arroyo would do up here. And if he’s not ready, so what? Send him back down and let the reliable Nunie take over.

Go take a look at Gary Sanchez’ minor league numbers and tell me the Yankees saw THAT coming. Keith Law probably didn’t know who that guy was when he got called up.

I will never understand all the hand wringing and worrying front offices do about the psyches of their prospects.

It’s baseball, not the battlefield. Nobody dies if you fuck up.

By the way, I offered free money a couple of days ago and I’m sure nobody took the bait:

I’m not betting but if I were, this is what I would be doing:

Seattle +4 (if the choice is Wilson or Ryan I’m going RW all day long)

Houston +16 (this is a straight *go opposite of public opinion* bet)

KC -1 (just cause I want them to win)

Dallas -4 (GB will have a hard time stopping the Dallas O)

Feel free to go oppo of all that and make some serious coin with your bookie.

As the Giants, and pretty much every other team, continue to ignore the bombastic ways of Mark Trumbo we head into a surprisingly interesting day of NFL football. Each game SHOULD be good and my rooting interest will always be against the Cowboys and for Alex Smith. Go Pack, Go Chefs.

I was fiddling around youtube looking for Bobby Murcer moments and came across the game he won after the Munson funeral. I imagine his short time in SF felt like prison to him….

Here’s a fun stat for anyone who thinks steroid use is exclusive to hitters:

No Baseball to keep the threads moving so I’ll pop up the spreads for this weekend’s playoff games. Loo, I stand with you as a Chiefs fan tomorrow.

Reminds me of this epic commercial that I can’t BELIEVE came out 20 years ago. Great googly moogly!

I’m not betting but if I were, this is what I would be doing:

Seattle +4 (if the choice is Wilson or Ryan I’m going RW all day long)

Houston +16 (this is a straight *go opposite of public opinion* bet)

KC -1 (just cause I want them to win)

Dallas -4 (GB will have a hard time stopping the Dallas O)

Feel free to go oppo of all that and make some serious coin with your bookie.

I’m fine with the Gillaspe signing. You need guys like him hanging around. And 1.4 million is pretty close to the 1.1 million the Giants gave Ishikawa. At least now we know the value the Giants put on hitting epic post season bombs.

Nunie/Gillaspe combo is my kinda approach. It doesn’t have to be an either/or. They are both major league players (although one of them is great and all knowing). My issue with the Giants is when they back up the starters with minor league replacement players…..

“he had a rake….”

lqtm……

Kind of a shame that the brilliant “he had a rake” only hastened his ejection…

Voggy still chugging along, scoring a deal with the Twins. He’ll turn 40 this year. He hasn’t made much $$$ in mlb so it’s not surprising he’s still trying to hang on. I actually think he could be a decent bullpen arm at this stage of his career. I hope he doesn’t think he can still start….

Ok, I gotta go get ready for work, take a shower. No piss in it. Just regular water. Boring.

Here’s a good tweet to sum up the USA right now:

I hope Fournette and McCaffrey watched the end of last night’s game with at least a tinge of regret. Deshaun Watson got to experience something they literally gave away: a chance to win a bowl game.

And I’m tired of hearing about how colleges use athletes and guys like Fournette and McCaffrey have to think of all the millions they would risk by playing in a bowl game. Please. No football player can be successful at the highest level if he’s scared he’s going to get hurt in a game. College football is the FOUNDATION of what they ultimately end up getting to do for work. It is the cornerstone of how they are going to make their millions. And bowl games are the essence of the sport. Play in the damn bowl game like everyone before them did. Like Deshaun Watson did.

Back in the day, on super rainy days me and my buddies would walk into Stanford Stadium through the open south gate and go play mud football on the field. I can’t remember how *illegal* it was. We never got in trouble, I think a groundskeeper might have told us to leave once or twice. But we would still get a solid hour or so to play on the field of our childhood heroes.

Deshaun Watson is the man…..