A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball

Mostly, this feeling has to do with DFS. Contrary to popular opinion, these games aren’t always 12-10 barn burners. Yet the prices of the players who play are always (rightfully) jacked up. But not every hitter goes off. And if they do, and you have them, they’re likely over owned. But fading players in Colorado games is dangerous for obvious reasons.

And then there’s the weather……

I know most of this doesn’t affect any of you. Just wanted to get it off my chest.

How many HR’s get hit today? 3? I’ll say Blackmon, Parra and Pence go yard. Who are your 3? And remember, you only get 3. Unless you think more will get hit. Ok, go!

Giants have scored the most runs in either league this year, I’ll try to remember that if I get tempted again to post something negative about the offense. That run total figures to take a healthy add when we get to Colorado tomorrow.

Looking forward to watching Trevor Story. He’s the first rookie to ever hit 7 hr’s over any 6 game stretch in any season. That’s a wild stat. Maybe start throwing this dude some off speed stuff? Because he seems to be hammering the fastballs.

Get to Denver and rest up. A tsunami of runs is pending…..

Missing out on a golden opportunity to beat Kershaw sucks but when you consider that our offense was provided by a pitcher and a guy who hits like a pitcher we can’t really be too bummed that one didn’t get put in the bank. Our offense is not good right now.

The rain is falling this morning, it certainly doesn’t have the feel of a hitters game approaching.

Drizzle. That’s a great word. Describes our offense perfectly…..

Probably won’t be a fun game to sit through today…..

When the protagonists in the story line are named Ross Stripling and Trevor Brown, you know you have the makings for a Giants/Dodgers insta-classic. The best story lines are written by The Randoms….

But it wouldn’t have been nearly as awesome had Brown hit that bomb off the Dodgers newest rookie CPA. Admit it. Stripling’s stone faced mug in the dugout was a snap shot moment in the rivalry that will live for a long, long time. And this was another managerial gaffe by a manager of a team that has had a lot of those in the last few years. “Two-Trips” got a nickname out of his screw up. What shall we call Roberts? Davey -something…

But was it really a “managerial gaffe?” Roberts was put in an unwinnable position. The kid was on a pitch count and he wasn’t close to finishing the game. He would have probably had to let him go to AT LEAST 125 to complete the no hitter and you can’t justify doing that considering the situation—-he’s a Tommy-John *survivor*. It was cold and wet. It was his first start of the year. I mean, those are the reasons he’s on a pitch count in the first place. Dave Roberts didn’t invent the concept of the pitch count and he’s certainly not allowed to go *lone wolf* on medical science as it relates to baseball. Not in that situation anyway.

But for Giants fans, the sweetest of evenings. Dave Roberts ejecting himself out of the dugout at a rate of speed not seen since the days of George Brett was probably my 3rd favorite moment of the night after Brown’s improbable blast and the Crawford walk off.

In the box score, it was simply the 4th win of a long season yet to unfold. For Ross Stripling it was a dagger to his heart. For Giants fans, a little bit more “knowing” got added to that head nod. And for Dodger fans, they weep, collectively.

I’m not sure if I’ve been hypnotized into staid indifference with all of these Warrior wins but beating the bejezus out of the Dodgers yesterday didn’t stir the same “knowing dude head nod” reaction inside of me that it would have in years past. Is winning really getting this easy? That’s a game we would have lost in years past and not only did we win but we bent those art dealin’ chumps over the dugout out and doubled them up.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about the win. But there’s a part of me that misses the faults and the failures of pre-2010 Giant teams. I’m tired of seeing every other person I pass on the street decked out in fresh Giants gear. And I liked it when no one believed in us. Wins are sweeter and better savored when the doubters are exposed.

Which was more exciting, Mike Ivie’s grand slam or Hunter’s from yesterday?

_______________

2 Flappers, representing.

So today, the Dodgers have to actually play a team that’s conscious. That will be a new thing for them after what they’ve been doing the last 3 days. I don’t even know who’s managing the Padres these days but whoever it is did not have his team prepared to play baseball this year.

Alex Wood is just a guy, and if anyone is gonna be focused up and geeked out of his mind for an opening day start it’s Peavy. I’m a little worried about this flu bug+flight+no rest but whatever, it’s baseball it’s not like they’re running a marathon.

Another game I have to follow on gamecast. Anyone going?

Opening Day. Nothing like it.

Nice, professional win yesterday. Casilla was dominant. The hitters were better than the 2 runs they produced.

****Breaking News***** Hunter Pence’s scooter has been recovered. I don’t know what type of scumbag steals from the make-a-wish foundation, but both criminals have been arrested and the scooter is back with the foundation. Mayor Ed Lee, always a whore for attention, called a news conference to announce the recovery. He was so excited.

The Padres continue their sleep walk through the season, still runless headed into the 3rd game of the season.

It can’t be this easy, can it?

I’m still doing a slow burn about San Diego. You’re facing Kershaw, we get it, he’s tough. But to lose 15-love is just an utter lack of effort. Especially at home on opening day. A minimum expectation should be showing up and marginally competing. They didn’t do that yesterday.

I’m not sure how Padre fans feel about their team since I don’t know any Padre fans. I’ve never even met one in all my years of walking the earth.

And a quick note on Sonny Gray: he had food poisoning last June and missed a start, now he got it again? I think I’ve had food poisoning twice in my life, how did he get it twice in less than a year? And what are the odds that he keeps getting felled by it the day before a start?

But back to our team. As I was skeptical yesterday of Bumgarner I am definitely casting a wary eye towards Cueto. I still don’t understand why he was facing minor leaguers most of spring training. But with Span on pace for 810 RBI’s this season maybe we don’t need Cueto’s most dominant effort today…..

Really intrigued to see how Bumgarner does today. Vegas seems to be a bit skeptical too as the total is 7.5 (a little high for a MadBum start) and the Brewers are +157 to win. With Peralta going against a stud like Bum I would have expected them to be at least +220 to win. Even with them being at home.

But Bum sucked this spring as he tried to shake off two mysterious aches. Pitching isn’t like riding a tractor and I hope he isn’t trying to soldier-thru one or two actual injuries. I guess we’ll find out today.

Season predictions hold no interest for me anymore. Anyone can blabber out who they think will win the divisions but teams change dramatically over the course of the season and unless you put $$$$ down on it does anyone care if you’re right?

It’s great to see Loo and his tiny url’s back at it again. This morning, while making coffee in the dark, I wondered quietly to myself who was taller, Loo or his tiny url’s…..

James is back, too. Probably got stuck in a winter-long line at Costco trying to purchase bulk loads of plastic wrap. Who knows, he might actually need it this year.

Well Flappers, we’ve managed to sludge our way through another winter. No BBOTD’s, only a few haiku’s. The important thing is that we broke on through to the other side. I’ve opened back up the Eastern and Western arms of Flavor Industries. I’m looking for a few good latex salesmen.

The sun will be rising soon. It’s supposed to get near 90 here this week before temps plunge back down. A nice reminder that Summer is on it’s way and our favorite sport starts today to guide through the heat, the fresh cut grass, the bikini clad Flapperettes and all the rest of the radness that comes with this time of year…….

Baseball is back, baby! And while I don’t care about any of the teams playing today and probably won’t watch any of it, I couldn’t be more stoked.

There is something missing in my life when there’s no ballgame to be had. I try to trick myself with NFL or NBA and the daily fantasy games associated with such. Horse racing and golf are two polar opposite sports that will always have my attention. But….

Baseball, man. It’s all I ever need.

After I’m dead, have someone scribble that on my tombstone……

Now that you’ve been properly bamboozled by my mad April Uno skills, it’s time to get back to baseball.

AJ Pollock should probably be glad he got hurt yesterday. That elbow was going to give way soon enough, might as well be now as opposed to mid year. You have to wonder about the medical advice he was getting. It was bothering him all spring and all he did yesterday was try to push himself up off the ground next to home plate and it snapped. At least this way he can make it back for the end of the year playoff push that the D-backs won’t be having…….

Smarge and Peavy showing that AZ pitching lines mean nothing……

Let’s go, ready for real baseball to start!

I have paid these idiots twice now and they continue to say I haven’t paid them. Communication with customer service is now over. This happened last year too and I am DONE WITH THIS.

Custom Design for oneflapdown77.wordpress.com has expired

They start playing that tonight, I think. Three games? Or four? I haven’t checked. I don’t like baseball that is THIS CLOSE TO ME that still doesn’t count.

So I won’t be watching it.

But updates are always appreciated from those who do.

Stumbled upon this clip about the ’82 team. Some great clips in this. There’s  a part 2 I might watch later. Make sure you watch it all the way till the end and you get to meet *Americas Next Lover* lqtm. Solid gold.  ****update***** I watched Part 2. You should too. I bet there were some Flappers in those crowd shots in both videos.

Felt like posting another black and white photo from my youth. Loved this dude.

Staying in lockstep with the boredom of this 2015 spring, the Giants made the final cuts on a team that will offer few surprises opening day.

Cory Gearrin is the new face in the bullpen and Trevor Brown has probably made the club as the back up to Buster. Agent 000 will man his usual spot on the bench.

13 pitchers and a bench so thin you’re not even sure if it’s there….

For those of you who wanted “Jimmy” or someone else, I’ll let Coach Dale explain it to you.

But who cares? Baseball is almost here.

____________________

2 of my all time favs:

I read this story this morning and was as astonished that i hadn’t heard of it as much as I was with the details of the story. This is incredible.

http://www.mercurynews.com/giants/ci_29688837/san-francisco-giants-top-prospect-starting-over?source=rss

I’ve watched the clip on the internet, maybe you guys saw something additional. All I can take from this is that Bumgarner is a dick. Chill out. It’s spring time. Birds are chirping. Not every sniffle from a batter needs to be the impetus for launching you off the mound looking for a fight. Save a fight for something bigger. Or, you know, actually fight. All he ever does is strut and lean and flap around. He’s like a circa 2009 Splash blogger.

Madison Bumgarner, Jason Heyward Nearly Fight Over Misunderstanding (Video)

I’d love to see Bryce Harper try out one of his newly choreographed celebration dances after blasting one off Bumgarner. Lol. He’d get murdered.

It’s Shop Tawk Time over at the Cardinal blog and I will post the link to his article when it’s up. Daniel told me he would check in throughout the day to discuss any Cardinal/NL Central questions we might have.

http://www.cardsconclave.com/2016/03/24/playing-pepper-2016-san-francisco-giants/

As you know, I don’t have too many of those. But maybe you guys do. My first question is, why is Yadi Molina so revered in St. Louis? Is it just his WAR number? Because I don’t get it. He seems to be a player on a pretty steep decline but maybe he’s healthy now. Although for an aging catcher who seems to leave it all on the field every game he plays, I’m guessing his body is starting to wave the white flag.

How old is Adam Wainwright? Seems like he’s been around since the mid-80’s.

What’s the fallout from the Cardinals hacking into the Astros data base? Will there be a penalty? I honestly haven’t followed this since it went down.

Assuming the Cardinals are playing for one of the wild card spots, and I think everyone assumes that, what chances do you give them of getting it?

Enjoying these questions so far Daniel? lol. Sorry, these are the only ones I could come up with this early.

Maybe the Flappers will generate something…….

Thanks in advance for the Playing Pepper spot at your blog!

Not gonna lie, Hunter Pence roping the shit out of the ball last night really got me going. He showed me he’s healthy and isn’t showing that to ME all that really matters? lqtm.

I haven’t seen him in one of his girlfriend’s dumb ass gifs in at least a week. Correlation?

They say his HR got out of the park at 114 miles per hour which is 1/2 mile per hour faster than the hardest ball he hit all of last season.

_______________

Two flaps pointed skyward for San Dawg’s dad who passed away a couple of months ago……

I think Belt is going to have a great year. His last chance to turn around all you “trade Belt!” guys. Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking.

______________________

I mean, I wouldn’t say my feelings about him would NEVER change. Most fans don’t like every player on the team. But if he finally had a break out year, I’d get on board and readily admit I was one of the last ones to get on the Beat off to Belt Train.

My 2 main issues with Belt: his slumpy ass look when he fails and his passionate obsession with striking out at the worst possible times. The injuries don’t really bother me, a lot of them have been out of his control. I think I also don’t like that so many Flappers here defend him. I don’t know why that bothers me but it probably contributes to my dislike.

The dude always hits in Arizona when it doesn’t count. False promise of Spring eternal. Here’s a list of his batting averages in the first month of each season once they leave AZ:

2011: .192

2012: .278

2013: .235

2014: .255

2015: .235

So James can start re-wrapping the inside of his house in plastic if Belt shows up raking right now of the gate this year……..

Baggs wrote a piece today on the worth of Brandon Belt and the differences in opinion of how one gets to his worth.

Personally, I would not sign him to a long term deal. And not just because I don’t like him. He will be looking for Freddie Freeman money since they’re both rep’d by the same agency. I think most agents would shoot for that number, though.

I’m not going to spend the time debating his worth through the backdoor of advanced analytics since those numbers can be valuable in predicting future production and I support their use. And just because he gets hurt all the time doesn’t mean that’s something you can predict will happen in the future since the type of injuries need to be factored in and Andrew Bogut is a good example of a guy who got hurt all the time early in his career only to put weirdo injuries behind him (for the most part) once he became a Warrior (current injury not withstanding).

My argument against signing Belt is simple: he’s blocking Buster Posey. And while that line deserves a bit of an *lol* it’s mostly true. Posey’s deal isn’t going anywhere and he IS going somewhere (first base). Hopefully in the next year or two.

And I’m not interested in giving Belt 20+ mil a year to find out if he would be worth that as a left fielder.

Your thoughts?

I’ve never really let political beliefs of others bother me too much. I’m not talking about super radical shit, just whether you are a Republican, a Democrat or something else. Whatever. To each his own and I stopped getting into political debates a long time ago. Nobody EVER changes their mind.

But this Trump thing has changed all of that for me. It has exposed a large section of America that I guess I had hoped didn’t exist. I almost never run into a Trump supporter in person but when I do I think to myself “how could anyone be that stupid?” So far, it hasn’t been anyone I would actually call a friend. Even some of my friends who hate Clinton can’t bring themselves to support Trump. But for the first time in my life, I think I would have a very difficult time being friends with someone who is so mindless and brain dead.

And it got me to thinking this morning, after I read an article about Scott Idiot Baio pledging his support for Trump (does anyone really care who a washed up celebrity supports politically?) would I still be able to support a Giant who is backing Trump? If MadBum came out today and said he’s all-in on a Trump presidency, would I look at him differently when he’s on the mound?

The answer is, probably not. It’s not like I ever interact with MadBum socially. And he’s given me too many things to be happy about to ever not support his work as a pitcher for the Giants. So I have to admit that there is at least a capillary of hypocrisy running through me.

If one of my buddies ever wins a World Series as a member of the Giants and he’s dumb enough to support Donald Trump, I guess we would still be friends. I’d at least root for him to succeed during the games.

Warriors in deep tonight without 3 of their best defenders (Bogut, Iggy and Festivus). Bogut is really the only surprise. Still, after getting run ragged last night, now on no rest and without their best interior defender (and passer) I am worried about this game. The good news is that I don’t think the Spurs match up very well with Golden State. So there’s that……

Several amazing college basketball games on the slate today.

I’d love to know what LaRoche told his kid about all of this.

Trevor Brown seems to have nudged ahead of Andrew Susac for the back up catcher spot and that is this spring’s biggest surprise. Peavy loves this guy and that goes a long way with Bochy who would follow Peavy to the end of the earth.

Gotta think Gorkys Hernandez is the odds on 5th outfielder over Mac and Parker, two guys who the Giants want to have play every day. And it could be time for Kyle Blanks to wave the white flag on his feet—dude cannot stay healthy.

Peavy has shaved his ERA under 9.00 so there’s that….

This is the first year in forever that I’m not filling out brackets. DFS is just far more interesting to me than click-clacking away on dozens of Yahoo brackets. Plus, I couldn’t care less about everyone tripping over themselves to show me their brackets. I don’t care about your brackets, lol.

I also don’t care about The Smarge getting blasted yesterday. Spring training means nothing to me. I think he’s going to have a huge year for us.

Here are the guys on the 40 man with 5 years of service who are out of options:

George Kontos, Cory Gearrin, Ehire Adrianza, Hunter Strickland

I’d expect that at least 3 of them are in SF on opening day (Kontos, Gearrin and Strickland). That’s assuming Cain misses the first week and they can keep Gearrin in the bullpen.

Something probably needs to change with baseball’s concussion protocol. How in the hell do you get hit in the head, stay in the game, AND THEN go into CP once the game ends? It probably has to do with symptoms that begin later like a headache or blurred vision. But duh. If you know there are symptoms coming and you aren’t feeling them in the moments after you get hit in the head but YOU KNOW THE SYMPTOMS COULD BE COMING you have to get the guy out of there.

Remember last year after Belt got hit in the head (I think pre-game) but he played that night and as he was rounding 2nd heading to 3rd a throw from the catcher missed his head by inches? That’s how I remember it anyway. Belt might be dead now if that ball had connected with his dome.

_______________________

Sacto Kings talk. I love it. Cousins got suspended for yelling at Karl who hadn’t been defending him vigorously enough, in Boogie’s eyes, to the refs who kept whistling him for fouls.

He has come back from his suspension saying he and Karl still haven’t talked even though Karl says they have “exchanged pleasantries.”

Seriously, why is Karl sticking around for this nonsense? He’s 64 years old, he’s been the head coach for 6 NBA teams, he doesn’t have enough dough stashed away to live how ever he wants?

Because you can’t tell me he enjoys going to work and having Boogie give him death stares at practice, sit several feet away from during time outs (and not even look his way) and scream at him in public every time he snaps (which is often).

And what is Divac doing? Do SOMETHING. Trade Boogie, fire Karl, ANYTHING. Sticking your big head in the sand doesn’t seem to be working…….

He threw out a tweet yesterday and I gave it the quickest, snarkiest response possible. I would probably change it to “no. 16. 7th inning stretch”.

I love the 7th inning stretch. It’s just the perfection of baseball encapsulated into one minute. And I’m all about “take me out to the ballgame” not that silly “God Bless America” nonsense that started after 9/11.

Anyway, how would you guys answer Lurie’s tweet?

Not that this matters, but we’ve passed the *1000* team at bat point (1,176). Team is batting .250 collectively. Boring spring continues on……

I was trying to figure out a way to sum up the Goose Gossage thing and then Murph did it for me. Here is this perfect, short exchange on KNBR this morning:

Murph: “Hey, have you seen the Goose Gossage rant yet?”

Christian Arroyo: “No, I haven’t.”

M: “Do you know who Goose Gossage is?”

CA: “No.”

lqtm.

I have concerns re Pagan in LF. The guy did not look good out there a couple of times– and his throws looked like they came off a wet noodle arm. As said above, time to get Arroyo some reps in LF down in AAA…

_____________________

Snarkk’s critical assessment is more valuable, to me, than any of the blather coming out of camp/Kruk about this guy’s “positive attitude” during his “contract year.”

Look, this isn’t some young buck learning a new position who is going through some growing pains. Pagan is done. We all saw it last year and Snarkk has now confirmed it with his on-field scouting report that he did while also powering down tacos AND keeping a watchful eye on a set of double D’s that were on the verge of mayhem. Absolute, unbridled mayhem…..

That is some sweet, sweet multi tasking……

What sucks is that we probably won’t see him go until well into the season UNLESS he gets hurt. Which is actually likely. But Bochy and Sabean have so much respect for this dude, combined with probably an underlying fear of what he might do to them if they piss him off, that we will probably get a healthy dose of Pagan for a good part of 2016. Probably the same dose of Rowand we were served on the back end of his bad deal.

Pence is going to make his debut some time in the next couple of days. While I am hopeful that he’s focused up on his trade, it seems dumb ass videos aren’t satiating enough for him or his new bride.

Here’s their next venture:

http://www.csnbayarea.com/giants/getting-weird-hunter-pence-fiance-lexi-host-radio-series

Anyway, looking forward to him getting on the field. Speaking of “the field” I’m also looking forward to hearing more from Snarkk who surprised everyone with his attendance at the game last night.

Big Blanky (ok, he needs a new nickname) tied Big Mac for ST home runs at 2 yesterday. Even this early, it’s becoming clear what the plan is— If Big Blanky stays healthy he makes the team–send down Big Mac and get him some at bats till Pagan gets hurt, then bring him up.

In fact, Big Blanky will probably be the opening day starter at first base since Belt can’t hit Kershaw.

Thoughts?

Before Shark struck out Puig in the first inning, Kuip couldn’t stop marveling at his physique as he waiting in the on deck circle.

“Look at Puig! He’s huge! It looks like he borrowed somebody’s football shoulder pads!”

And then he struck out on, I think, 3 pitches.

I’ve never understood all the hype about Puig. I think fans get lulled in by his Greek god like appearance. Nobody seems to care about his 10 cent head. Or the fact that he can’t hit a slider. Or his actual production over his entire career.

If I told you he hit 46 home runs, 149 RBI’s with 25 stolen bags you might say “yup, I always expected him to put up MVP numbers.” Except that’s over the course of 3 seasons. For comparison, the perceived light hitting Brandon Crawford has 40 home runs and 196 over the same 3 seasons that Puig has played. Granted, that’s in 200+ more at bats. But no one has ever suggested that Brandon Crawford is one of the best hitters in the league.

The fall back for the Puig supporters is that he’s only 25 and under normal circumstances that would make sense. But this guy is a special kind of dumb and I think we will see a career of unfulfilled promise when it’s all said and done.

But those shoulders, man, they are magnificent!

He hit 2 bombs yesterday and the internet jizzed itself.

I like the kid too but he has nearly no shot to make the club out of spring training. MAYBE if Pagan gets injured earlier than usual he slides on to the team in a platoon role. But I hope that doesn’t happen.

He’s played exactly 54 games at AAA and hitting .249 at that level doesn’t exact qualify you for a semi-regular big league job.

He’ll start the year at AAA as planned and get as many at bats in as possible before Pagan gets hurt (or released).

But it’s exciting to think we might finally have a home grown outfielder who won’t be a proud member of The Bowker Gang…….

So what would that make him? A proud member of The Chili Davis Gang? The loneliest gang of them all……

Editor note: Chili was drafted by the Giants in the 11th round of the 1977(!) draft….

….and that’s about all for your Giants news.

Hey, Niner fans, this guy wrote a good article on why SF is fucked with this Kaep situation:

http://mweb.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/jason-la-canfora/25499842/why-the-49ers-only-trade-option-for-colin-kaepernick-is-the-rival-rams

I can’t see us doing a deal with the Rams but the rest of his case is surprisingly accurate in it’s doom and gloom.

Catch any new dumb ass Hunter Pence videos this morning? I did, will post later…..

Giants being forced to put up more netting in front of the good seats. I haven’t sat down there in years so this doesn’t really affect me. But I’m wondering if you’d be more or less likely to pay the fat dollarage to sit behind the dugout if you had to peer through thick netting.

Personally, I think this is a complete overreaction. Pay attention to the game, you will be fine.

Oakland is NOT one of the teams required to add more netting as the league decided that flying bats hitting rows and rows of empty seats is not that big of a deal…..

Horse. Shark. Peavy.

Who do you think is the most critical to the success/failure of the team this year? Assuming the other 2 meet expectations.

Before you quick-draw to Shark just remember that while he’s expected to be the #3 he doesn’t HAVE to be the #3. And really, in the regular season, 3 and 4 are pretty interchangeable. So if all 3 are healthy and meeting expectations I don’t think you could snap-call Shark as more critical to the other 2 in the march towards the 2016 post season.Any of those guys COULD be the #3/#4.

However, if Shark pulls a Timmy and sucks but keeps getting run out there every fifth day, I think that would be the most damaging to the team. You have to assume that if Horse and/or Peavy are faltering it would be due to health and they would probably get shelved in favor of Hest-by-Hest or some Blackburny-equiv.

So by that measure, Shark could do the most damage to the season if he sucks simply because he’ll be given more rope than the other 2.

Thoughts?

****Pence has inflammation, no structural damage, so that’s good—shouldn’t impact his ability to act in his girlfriend’s dumbass gifs/short films.

****The Rockies are raising the fences this year. That kinda came out of left field, didn’t it? What the hell is going on in Colorado?

****Turns out the Mets gave Cuddyer a 2 mil buyout. I thought you couldn’t do that in MLB? Anyone know the rules about this?

For me, today has always been the start of baseball season, Spring and Day Light Savings Time. And yes, that does create some day to day logistical problems…..

For some reason I’m more worried about Hunter Pence than I am Matt Cain. Or maybe I’m equally worried about them. Had I not followed Pence and his fiance all off season on Twitter I wouldn’t even be giving this foot issue a second thought. But I have too much information. I’ve seen too many bad short films and dumb gifs.

Don’t sweat it, I will shoulder the worry about Pence while you guys stress about Cain. My worry is irrational. I think. No reason for others to get dragged down by it……

Our Cardinal friend, @C70, has requested some answers to some questions for his yearly “Playing Pepper” series. I’m still reeling from the glory of Steph Curry but it seems like a good time to get back into some Giants talk. Why not Shop Talk?

What are your thoughts on the team’s offseason?  Did they do what they needed to do?

I would rank it as the best off season in recent memory. Adding two stud SP’s and legit lead off hitter was more than I thought we would do. Sabean usually hibernates during the off season and wakes up around the trade deadline so this was a nice surprise.

There’s been continuity in Giants management. Brian Sabean was GM for 18 years and is still involved, Bruce Bochy is starting his 10th season. How has that helped the product on the field?

They work very well together. That seems a boring, obvious response, but if you are an Angels fan you yearn for something so simple. I’ve been told they eat together a lot. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that’s a good thing for longevity and success.

What’s the deal with Matt Cain?  Is there reasonable hope that he can return to his pre-2013 form?

Bad time to ask this question with him on the shelf again. But no one here trusts the Giants medicos and this is the 2nd cyst he’s had removed from that elbow since November. So, my feelings fall somewhere between *no hope* and *little hope*. *Reasonable hope* is not part of my Matt Cain vocabulary.

What player do you expect to make the greatest strides this year?

We have a nice mix of veteran and youth. I’m not looking for any one player to make great strides. I’m looking for everyone to play to expectations and if that happens we will win the World Series (again). There. I said it.

What’s your projection of the team’s record and where will they finish in the division?

I’m usually pretty pessimistic about seasonal records because it amounts to a *future bet* and I don’t make those anymore. Too many things happen. The original roster can look very little like the end of the season roster and who knows what will happen to the roster of pre-season contending teams? That said, I’ll go with 98 games. Yes I am feeling gooooooood this morning!

Which team in the division do you most enjoy beating and how do you think you’ll fare against them in 2016?

Of course it’s the Art Dealers but not like I enjoyed it in the old days. Times change. I like beating the Rockies a lot because I hate all Denver teams. I’m not sure about the number of wins we have vs them. I just want to beat the piss out of them every time we play.

Thanks again Daniel! I’m sure the Flappers who contribute to the blog will chime in with their thoughts in the comment section below.

Steph musings are everywhere, why not here, too?

I don’t have to go too far to find a good comparison. Steph Curry is like Barry Bonds. The frequency of the bombs. The distance of the bombs. The way you feel as a fan watching true greatness unfold live and unscripted in front of you. Steph is unadulterated joy meeting utter disbelief.

Barry was like that, too.

There were too many moments in last night’s epic game to recall this morning. Especially this being a baseball blog and all. I still can’t believe Andre Iguodala, a bad free throw shooter, hit those 2 shots in that situation to send the game to OT. I still don’t know what Kevin Durant was doing when he got trapped. Draymond scoring 60.5 DK fantasy points with exactly 2 real points scored. And more globally thinking, I still don’t understand how Steph hits shots from so far away so consistently. He’s stretching the range of our imagination the same way he’s stretching the range of his shot. Bang. Bang. Double bang.

Barry did that, too.

He’s Steph Curry yo. He does things no one else can do.

Listening to the radio last evening, I found out Cain had a cyst removed from the same elbow, nearly the same spot, last November. This is bad no matter how the team tries to spin it.

If it were me, I’d come up with multiple contingency plans for Cain’s spot in the rotation.

Not when it comes to the Giants it isn’t. Until Matt Cain proves he’s completely healthy I am 100% considering him doubtful for the season. Timmy would be an interesting pick up but I don’t think he would want to come back as an insurance policy. Although considering the Giants medicos history as well as Cain free fall from health, I think he would be much more likely to secure a starting spot for SF than he might currently think.

I hope Lincecum isn’t forgetting the value of pitching at AT&T. Considering his situation, I would think he’d want all the help he could get.

But if the Giants have sailed ship from BTTJJ then we are looking at Hest-by-Hest and if he’s improved his stamina and conditioning I wouldn’t hate the idea of counting on him as a #5 for the year.

This is one of those situations that just can’t be about the money, right? If there’s anyone who can live off 100 million already in the bank, I have to assume it would be Tim Lincecum.

He’s got his rings, he’s got his CY’s, he’s got the dough. At this point in his life he goes to a place for comfort instead of skrilla, yes?

That’s why I will be astounded if he ends up in San Diego.

Who knows, maybe he needs the money. But it sure doesn’t seem like it. And he also doesn’t seem like one of those dumb athletes who heads off to another team/league seeking a new professional challenge and thinking the fans will love him unconditionally.

There seem to be only 2 teams that Lincecum would consider pitcher for. At this point in his career. Considering all of the things he seems to value in life.

…..because there’s nothing else to talk about.

And that’s a good thing. Discussing the bullpen on February 24th just means the rest of your team is rock solid.

So Casilla is the closer, I think that’s a given until he implodes. Romo to be the  8th inning guy, probably.

Lopez will do that “3 inning a month specialist stuff”.

That leaves Strickland, O-Shit!, Kontos and Hest-by-Hest as the long man.

If they carry a 13 (unlikely) it might be Broadway. Or would the dark horse be Ricky Romero? Or do we tease ourselves into believing that the great great Big Time Timmy Jim JIm makes a glorious return to the kingdom that he built?

Am I missing anything?

I like our bullpen a lot. Nice mix of experience and young flame throwers. And hey, if the bullpen falters the one thing I KNOW the Giants will do is go get help. They aren’t spending 165 million on 2016 salaries and complement it with a leaky bullpen that gives away games.

So, nothing to stress on here. Cautious optimism warranted…….

I thought I’d bring back an oldie but a goodie to honor David Lee who recently got bought out by the Celtics.

But today is, in fact, #fullsquadday. Everyone is supposed to be in camp except the inevitable straggler who has a visa problem.

I woke up this morning worrying about our offense. “Worry” is probably the wrong word. “Questioning” is a better one.

Panik? Show me you’re healthy. I’m skeptical of that back.

Pence? Go one day without making a stupid video with your chick. Seriously, that dude needs to take a break from her and play some baseball. She seems to be extremely high maintenance. No more movies from them unless it’s him banging her.

Crawford? Last year felt like a career year.

Pagan? I’m setting the o/u on games he plays this year at 74.

Span? He had waaaay more gray in his go-tee than I was expecting.

Belt? Wear a helmet with a full metal grill 24/7 and I might feel comfortable about him making it through the year.

Duffy? I dunno, this dude just makes me feel uncomfortable. Mostly because of that weird cat.

Buster? I like him.

42 years ago today, Tom Seaver signed a $172,000 contract making him the highest paid pitcher in history.

That is all.

Everywhere I look, college basketball. Pretty rad slate of games today. Can Duke avoid a letdown? Can the Tar Heels rebound from that improbable defeat? Speaking of rebounding, it’s time for Oklahoma to start winning again, right? And the Texas/Baylor game is going to be exciting. You wanna talk about an exciting college bball atmosphere? Score a ticket (if you can) to the Texas game today. It’s going to be crazy electric in the stands.

And in other news, Giants pitchers will play long toss and some players will carefully stretch out their obliques.

Watch the Texas/Baylor game today if you have nothing else to do. You won’t be disappointed. Same with Purdue/Indiana later this evening. Two games that are the essence of college bball.