2011 is fun now...

After 2 incredibly frustrating games to begin our title defense, 2011 is fun.


With the 10-0 drubbing of the Blue Bastards on Saturday, we all exhaled an elongated sigh of relief. Like our beloved Gyros, we all needed to get off the schneid too. Just because we sit around and eat and drink alcohol while watching other people exercise on TV doesn't mean we aren't physically involved in these games. I feel better already. It's like a weight off our shoulders. Almost like when you get off the treadmill and then walk around and you feel really light and weird and fast.

Anyway, Saturday's victory did other encouraging things.

It was great to see HurriCAIN Matt still in Postseason form. He was sharp from the beginning, and ended up allowing only 5 measly hits in 6 innings with no walks.

It really is a beautiful thing that we have such good pitching. Even Sanchez on Friday with his walks and bad defense, he was still dealing pretty well.

What I liked about Saturday was the way those 10 runs were produced. It was small ball... but I like to call it "effective ball". Getting on base. Not trying to pull the ball all over the place. Singling in runs. Amazing when that works.

I was shocked to see no Sandoval or Torres in the lineup this morning. I really was. I was like, "Well Torres AND Sandoval got two hits on Friday..."

But once I stop thinking like a fantasy baseball manager and start thinking like Bochy, I'm like, oh yeah, I forgot, Torres hit .226 against lefties last year and Sandoval hit .227.

Makes sense. There are a lot of reasons to sit those two against Ted Lilly, and it's pretty obvious that Bochy wants everyone to get in, shake the excitement off and get back to business. That's why Rowand and DeRosa played (in addition to them being righties). And hey, it worked. "DeRow", all $18MM of them went 4-10 with 3 runs scored. That's what we like to see! That's why Whiteside and Schierholtz replaced Posey and Huff, Torres came in later to force Burrell out, and Panda got a random end of the game at bat.

I can't say that I'm in favor of straight L/R platoons for Torres/Panda, especially because they're both switch hitters. The Giants are very deep this year, and while professionals like Rowand and DeRosa need to get in the game, the starters need a rhythm too.


As much as I railed on Boch last season (and he deserved it), when he finally stopped moving like a slug stuck in molasses with his lineup moves, he made all the right calls. I trust him now. He got it done, and for that we should give him more benefits of the doubt. It's natural to question these things, but we all just need to remain calm.

Anyway. It was nice to see the following things:


Tejada getting two hits, knocking in two dudes, and scoring twice

He was not exactly beloved by Giants fans in the first two games at Chavez Latrine. And it's pretty easy to see why. He looked a step slow at short, and looked like a GIDP waiting to happen. The defensive lapses were ugly, but we have to remember who this guy is.

He's not the MVP he used to be. He's old balls now, but he's still a serviceable SS and a veteran bat. He hit 15 HR last year. He's not Juan Uribe, but Boo-Ribe is now dead to us, so what does that matter? You can't compare Tejada to a dead ghost.

Saturday's game gave us hope that he will be an okay short-term player for us. The range at short is a concern, but if he's horrendous and costs us games, Sabean will take care of it. It's easy to find a light-hitting SS that won't hurt you on D.

He also looks really good in a Giants uni. Come on. You know you agree.


Brandon Belt could be our second ROY in a row...

It's been a series of firsts for Brandon Belt. First hit, first walk, first stolen base, first RBIs... but most impressively, his first home run. Wow. That was just awesome on Friday night wasn't it? I don't know about you, but it gave me chills.

In only three games, Belt has answered the question I asked a couple days ago. He's not going anywhere. I know you hear the Front Office say things about their intentions with Belt, but once you see all this for yourself in meaningful games, you're like... "Whoa. This guy IS for real. And he's good NOW!"

He's so patient; so poised. His swing is beautiful. I see a little Palmeiro in that swing. Maybe a touch of Will Clark. I think I've nailed down what he looks most like.

Belt, to me anyway, really looks like John Olerud. @JohnnyUtah530 suggested that to me on Twitter Friday and he was right on. We forget how good of a pure hitter Olerud was. The helmet in the field is his real legacy unfortunately.



And I know this seems like a lazy comparison, but Belt has a similar swing to Buster Posey. While Olerud's front foot is quiet and he takes a short stride toward the pitcher, Belt's is more like "stepping in the bucket" like Posey's. And yes, you can compare the lefty Belt to the righty Posey.



And here's Buster:



I'd say Belt's mechanics are combination of Olerud/Buster and he's got a beautiful damn swing.

Anyway, there's a ton to be excited about, and to get that first W, and to do it in 10-0 style with HurriCAIN Matt pitching like an ace, well that was just Cholula on the omelet (or icing on the cake to you weirdos that eat cake a lot).

Beat LA!

Random Thoughts

-- I feel teased by the fact we only got Kruk & Kuip for the game on Friday. I love being on National TV, but no one comes close to our collection of broadcasters. They're the best.

-- Orel Hershiser, being the Dodger that he is, said on Thursday's ESPN game that Brandon Belt has "...a slow minor league bat...with only gap power."

How'd that dong to deep center look to you on Friday Orel? Or should I say ORAL. Because you suck big time. Belt rules.

-- I love how Huff made two dives in RF on Saturday and caught the second one. Karros was right to point out that he hit his face both times on the turf.

Aubrey Huff? Gamer.

-- I'm scared about Zito starting on Sunday. The guy was in a neck brace two days ago... I mean, he wasn't very good when he was healthy, what makes us all think he can be okay with a sore body/neck?

-- Zeets has the sleaziest mustache ever. Cain says it's called "The Stache". I'm down. It's heinous, but aren't all mustaches? It's entertaining to me.

-- I will write a separate article regarding our fellow fans who were assaulted by felons in the Dodger Stadium parking lot. I have to really cool down about it because I don't want to be part of an FBI investigation because of something I said in blind rage.

*Deep breaths*

BEAT LA!

I think I'm going to continue running the "Live Blogging" thing on here. I may do it every game, or I may permanently incorporate it into the site so that it's always picking up fan takes and thoughts on the Giants from Twitter or from you directly on the site.

If you're reading this on Facebook and didn't see the embedded YouTube vids above, click here to come directly to the site.

Say no to Buck & McCarver: Delay Radio

If you've read any of my stuff before, you know how much I appreciate good announcing. As Giants fans, we are especially spoiled by the likes of Mike Krukow & Duane Kuiper on TV with Dave Flemming and Hall of Famer Jon Miller on the KNBR 680 side.

The worst part about your team on national television is the lack of your home announcers. They guide you along throughout the season, experiencing the same highs and lows that you do. The goal in every sport is to make the playoffs, but don't you feel cheated once you get there because your guys aren't there to experience it with you?

In the 2010 playoffs, the San Francisco Giants have suffered through four games of Dick Stockton and Bob Brenly on TBS, and have now graduated to the worst of the worst: Joe Buck and Tim McCarver for the NLCS on FOX.

People can say what they will about the rambling nonsensical tangents of Joe Morgan, but Tim McCarver is simply the worst analyst in the country. How did I put it a couple posts ago? Oh yeah:

"Joe Buck and Tim McCarver: Ruining baseball since 1996".

Buck sounds like a depressed, blase, out of work actor with a trust fund and McCarver sounds like a senile old drunk. Fox is the worst. It wouldn't be so bad, but the KNBR feed is even further off live TV for Fox than it was for TBS. I'm talking 12 or 13 seconds ahead. I find myself only watching the TV for replays. It's truly unbelievable that in today's society with all this technology, we have to deal with this kind of mind-numbing and frustrating commentary. I swear to God I would do a better job sitting at home in my underwear doing play by play with my dog Rosie as the color commentator.

And whether or not you or your fellow fans care to admit it, I know that each and every one of you would jump at the chance to listen to your own guys, whether it is Philly fans following on WPHT 1210, Giants fans tuning into KNBR 680, or anything in between. Thanks to my desperate pleas on Twitter, I now have a solution to our problems. This may take $10 bucks and a half hour to get right, but this will improve your sports experience whenever your boys are on national TV.

---> FIRST OF ALL, YOU WILL NEED THIS PROGRAM <----

It's a small, free program that enables you to delay radio. This is the most important part. It is clean, and I assure you it is safe.

There are a number of scenarios in which you can do this. Here is the most simple one in steps:

Necessary Equipment:





-- PC, preferably a laptop for ease of use (Not sure about Mac program equivalent, sorry)

-- Physical radio tuner with headphone jack (this can be a handheld walkman/mp3 type, a clock radio, or large, Dolby Digital style receiver. As long as it has a headphone out jack and good reception of your favorite sports station, you're golden.

-- Simple "mp3 style" audio cable. You know? One of those that plugs into your iPod, then plugs into the headphone/auxiliary input in your car? The more technical term is 3.5mm stereo "mini-phone" cable.

If you have any doubts about whether you know what I'm talking about, go to Radio Shack, and read them the description. Anyone attempting this already has a clue. Something like this.

-- Speakers of some kind. These can be anything from your headphones, to your internal laptop speakers, external computer speakers, or TV soundbar. Any sort of audio component capable of receiving and then amplifying sound will do.

The rest is easy my friends.

What I did

I took a Windows laptop, an old Sony CD/Walkman with radio, then ran the audio cable from the Walkman to the computer's microphone jack-- just as you would connect an iPod to that AUX jack in your car.

Next, with the Delay program installed, you should begin to hear the radio through your computer's speakers.

Start to fool around with the delay so it will sync up properly with the TV. Unfortunately you can't really do this until the game starts, so here's a head start. For Game 2 of the 2010 NLCS, my DirecTV feed of FOX was approximately 15.4 seconds BEHIND the radio feed on KNBR. That is far too significant not to delay it.

If I were you, I'd start around there, and adjust it until you've got it down.


You may need to go into sound control to adjust your volume and "line in" level. Also, I recommend turning down your radio source to a moderate level. It is better to turn it up on the speakers you use.

That is basically it for the simple version. This will also work if you have the MLB "At Bat" App with audio. Here's where it gets really cool. Although I don't have the app, I've seen it in action. This is a viable option as well.

Take your Droid/iPhone, etc, and use it as the audio source instead of the radio and run the same process with the Delay program. Fiddle around until it's right on. There ya go.

Also, this works with home XM/Sirius radio receivers. As long as you've got a stereo 3.5mm cable that can reach from your source, to your computer, and some speakers connected to said computer, you're good to go.

This is where most of the information I used came from, and if you have any trouble with this, you can click here, and you can view the info I used. You can comment below with any questions and I'll give you a hand.

Also, if you have a more complicated scenario, you can visit the link mentioned in the last paragraph. I am merely a sleazy messenger, not a genius. Do not worship me, worship this Bote guy who put together this radio site. Although I do not require worship, I require reverence instead. I also require stories of how this has improved your quality of life during sporting events.

Just say no to Buck & McCarver!

These guys don't give up...

This is a quick late night post-- something I never do.

But this is not a recap, this is just an exuberant exaltation of a Giants fan that had to consume a couple rally cocktails to push his team over the top for the victory.


In typical Giants style, this opening match against the dysfunctional Cubs was neither enjoyable or smooth for most of the game. It began with all kinds of weirdness and ended with weirdness.

Firstly there was the unknown factor of "Jerry Garcia Night", obviously a first in the history of mankind-- let alone professional baseball. Perhaps all the burned out communists in the stands got just high enough on dope to convey just enough good vibes onto the field for the win.

To add even more weirdness to the start of the game, there was Carlos Zambrano, the human powder keg. A guy who doesn't need drugs to act like a raving psycho. It was his first start since his historically bizarre and verbally violent dugout eruption in June.

And surprisingly, he pitched fairly well. To be fair, the Gyros haven't swung the bats well since their 10-0 dismantling of Colorado last week. That's neither here nor there though. We expected the same old mantra to ring true: Giants Baseball... TORTURE!

And speaking of torture, Duane Kuiper was mysteriously absent for the entire top of the 1st inning, and part of the bottom of the inning as well (if my memory serves me right at this late hour). So instead of an emergency deployment of Dave Flemming over to the Comcast side, Mike Krukow, who we all love as a color guy, was left by himself to cover the play by play while Kuip was either puking hardcore or hitting the dumper down the hall. Crude but true, and later on, Krook so tactfully put it:

"Kuip is suffering from a little bit of the 'Southern Crud'."

The awkwardness of Krukow alone in the booth was just the beginning of a night that transitioned into a familiarly frustrating game of groundouts and Twitter outbursts by yours truly about Pablo Sandoval being a retard.

We all know how the game ended, and what happened in order for us to win... that's not what I'm here for. I'm here to accentuate the the manner in which we won.

This is a team that has fought back all year, overcoming late inning deficits in a way we're simply not used to. This team is prone to slumps and groundouts, as we all know. Interestingly enough though, they are also prone to magical comebacks complete with a seemingly new hero each time.

As they say: It's magic inside.

As I wrote in my last article, "Adversity breeds character, and character wins games in September and October."

Now I'm no Vince Lombardi or Al Michaels or anything, and I'm not much for cheesy motivational quotes, but I have to hand it to myself on that one. It's pretty damn good.

Look at what these guys did. They got their asses handed to them in Atlanta in 3 out of 4 games, then got on a 5.5 hour plane ride from Hartsfield-Jackson airport on Sunday night, only to show up huge in the 11th inning. If you don't think those guys were dog tired and came out flat because of that brutal scheduling, you're kidding yourselves.

The character that these Giants continue to show me is impressive. It was impressive when they beat Billy Wagner and the Braves the other day, and it was impressive last night when they overcame the bizarre dysfunction of the Northside Baby Bears, in addition to a foolish wave-in of Travis Ishikawa by 3rd base coach Tim Flannery.

It's as if this team is training like Rocky Balboa for a bout with Ivan Drago. They may not have a cool gym or a bunch of high tech equipment or shiny names on their roster, but they've got the will. This part of the season is like the part of the training montage in Rocky IV when they're working out in the barn and running up the snow hill in Russia.



Yes. I love Rocky IV, and will refer to it any chance I get.

Also. Do you see how much these guys like each other? Do you see the chemistry? Guys like Andy Torres, Aubrey Huff, and Pat Burrell are flat out gamers, and each has their own interesting storyline.

I swore last article that I wouldn't gush like a schoolgirl... but ah, screw it, I'm doing it anyway. What a cool win for a great group of guys. It's exciting boys and girls. Get used to it.

Tied for the Wild Card: It's a whole new ballgame

I'd like to begin by saying the following:

If it were even possible for me to love the game of baseball and the San Francisco Giants any more, well it happened.

I have re-fallen in love with this game and this team.

It's some serious man love.

What we've seen from this ragtag group of youngsters, out-of-their-prime veterans, and scrappy perfomers is simply mind boggling.

More specifically, if your brooms are still in their closets, you should really consider taking them out and bungee cording them to your mailboxes in front of your house... perhaps attach them to your roofracks of your cars as you drive around; an even more redneck version of the window flag.


5-1 on the Homestand, a sweep of the Rocks

Lincecum gave us what we needed on Friday. A true Timmy-esque shutdown job.

Zito threw the gem of his tumultuous Giants career on Saturday, going 8.1 innings of one run ball. He was truly masterful, save of course the bomb he gave up to the Hawpester in the 9th.

No one knows what Romo and Affeldt were doing in that game, but we pulled it off, and it was amazing.

Kung Fu's HR's on Friday and Saturday were incredible, especially considering his injury.

Things just looked like they were inevitably going the Giants way, even with the blowout they sustained against Arizona on Thursday and the near 9th inning meltdown on Saturday. There was a certain confidence about these guys that somehow permeated the physical and media barriers that separate us from the team. It's like exuberant confidence by osmosis.

This team is the embodiment of what the baseball gods smile upon from their perch.


Sunday Best

From the beginning of Sunday's game, I will admit, I didn't feel a good vibe. Cain did not look sharp from the get go. The abominable call at first base with Cain covering didn't help my uneasiness.

Then there were those back to back jacks from Helton and Tulo.

I was squirming in a major way at that point.

When you're only down 1 game in the Wild Card race, it seems difficult to have two season-turning plays. Of course that is generally reserved for seasons that need to be turned around.

Not in this case.

The oft-maligned Edgar Renteria, a guy making $8 million this year and next, a guy that Sabean haters target mercilessly, showed up in a big way.

Before his at bat in the 6th inning, I stared at the television graphic of his stats with serious disdain. 3 home runs.

I muttered, "This would be a great time for your 4th homer you bum."

Boom. RBI Double off the wall. Giants down 4-2. I'll take that.

The bottom of the 7th came around with the Gyros down 5-2.

One thing led to another, and Edgar came up with the sacks full of Gigantes.

Instead of saying out loud what I'd muttered an inning before, I simply thought about it; and I definitely wasn't the only one. Bases loaded, down 3? What else do you think about?

Boom, just as we were all praying for the unthinkable, there it was. Grand Salame time. He almost hit the ambulance parked behind the left field wall!

Not only did this incredibly clutch swing of the bat give us a 6-5 lead, it renewed all kinds of hopes and dreams. Naturally, it renewed our dream of winning the game and sweeping the Rockpile for a share of the wild card. More importantly though, it renewed our faith in a player who for so long this season has disappointed us in so many ways.

Renteria has not been horrible. He has had timely singles and such. He's made a couple good plays. He went after Russell Martin in a brouhaha.

His best quality, not surprisingly, is his "clutchness". Look at this magnificent table below that I've put together for you. If you are reading this in an email newsfeed, you have to click here to see it.



Don't freak out, those stats are correct. A lot of the situations overlap.

But seriously, look at those numbers. Obviously your approach at the plate is going to be different without runners on, as you'll swing aggressively, but c'mon, there's no denying that this man does his best work when it counts.

Renteria has 24 ribeye steaks this year with runners in scoring position (RISP) and two outs. That, my friends, is the definition of clutch.

The game, and more importantly the season changed today with one swing of the bat from Edgar.


Quirky game notes and observations:

-- If you didn't catch this stat on CSN or in the papers, Barry Zito is now 105-4 when he gets 4 runs of support or more.

-- Zito this year has received 1 run or less of support in 12 out of his 26 starts and has received ZERO runs of support in 9 starts. Unconscionable.

-- Zeets is 4-2 with a 1.77 ERA since the all star break. His last two starts have been against the Rocks, and has combined for 14.1 innings, 1 ER, and 11K. That's a 0.62 ERA. Yeehaw.

-- Zeets got a curtain call. Well deserved.

-- How often are we going to score 9 runs when Kung Fu goes hitless?

-- Aaron Rowand walked. Alert the media.

-- Affeldt's recovery on Sunday to escape a jam and strike out both Garrett Atkins and Carlos Gonzalez was absolutely monstrous. He was able to shake off an ugly performance in Saturday's 9th inning to throw some absolute filth up there. The backdoor curveball to punch out Atkins was disgusting, and his subsequent ring-up job of Gonzalez was enough to fire anyone up. Especially him.

If you couldn't tell he was pumped up to exorcise some mound demons in the 8th inning, well, then you were blind. He was screaming and pumping his fists in a way that would make K Rod and Papelbon look like shamed altar boys. Rock on dude.

-- Eli Whiteside? Absolute Beast. Bengie Who?

-- Ryan Rohlinger's 2 RBI single on a 1-2 pitch was absolutely huge. Busted it wide open.

-- Alex Hinshaw coming in to a huge game in the 6th inning? Not so good. Bochy, come on man... you knew better than that. If you wanted to get his feet wet for the '09 season... you accomplished that. They're so wet that he's got a case of trench foot. Not a wise substitution.

-- Anyone remember Ryan Garko and Freddy Sanchez? Our two huge acquisitions have been nowhere to be found. With Sanch on the DL and Garks mired in a slump, they've been non-existent. The very guys that were here all along are the ones winning the games. Funny how that happens.

-- Garko hasn't started since the 26th, and is 1-10 since August 24th.

-- Was it me, but did Garko's shades today look like some kind of fashion glasses? They had shiny gold stems. Almost as if they were daytripping Ray-Bans or something. WTF Garks? If you need a tip for glasses, go with the extreme orange mirrored Fred Lewis glasses or the transparent yellow/orange NRA militia glasses that Jeff Kent used to wear.

-- Speaking of Jeff Kent. Good to see that son of a bitch back at the yard in a real hat. We will never forget that you played for the Dodgers, but we will forgive you. Kent was an absolute beast for us, and is a future hall of famer. I'm glad we've all reconciled. They put his picture up on the Wall of Fame with his moustache. Excellent. True sleaze.

-- With the stakes so high, have you ever in your life seen so many mound visits between Bochy, Dave Righetti, Jim Tracy, and Bob Apodaca? I think we're talking record for a 3 game series. I swear there was a mound visit per inning. Not even including the catchers.

-- Brian Wilson threw 4 pitches to Troy Tulowitzki on Sunday. All four were 100 mph. I was counting. Pure filth.

-- If you were on a hike in Colorado and saw Todd Helton emerge from a sheer cliffside with a bloody elk carcass strung over his shoulders and a .300 Magnum elephant gun slung over his arm, would you be surprised? Mountain Man. Why he's not Coors Light's national spokesperson is beyond me.

-- Remember how Clint Barmes hurt himself a few years ago, derailing a .400 season to that point? He was carrying huge pieces of vennison up his stairs with Todd Helton and fell down. Love it.

-- New idea for a reality show. Bear Grylls, Todd Helton, and Ted Nugent shoot guns and eat wild game. That's it.

Huge series coming up. Three in Philly, three in Milwauks. It's go time boys. The road is where the playoffs are made! We come back to play the streaking Padres and the Blue Bastards de Los Angeles.


I will leave you with some inspirational quotes from Krook & Kuip from the postgame wrap on CSN.

Kuip:

"For those who proclaimed Tuesday morning that this team was dead, and it was over for them... they're gonna have to try again.

Krook:

"The clown that said that needs to eat his words."

"I've got two words to say about this weekend: I'M IN!"



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49ers fans in need of a laugh about the Crabtree situation need to click here. Hilarious.

Another heart-attacker

Nothing comes easy with these guys!

Great to see Uribe and Ishikawa going deep. I really think that Travis has gotten a fire lit under his ass since the arrival of Garks. Unfortunately, that hasn't translated into too many hits. He's still pluggin away though, and his three run dong tonight was huge.

As for Lurch Howry... well, the guy is simply a disaster right now. He threw 7 pitches, and 6 of them were balls. He was removed in the middle of an at bat with a 2-0 count. I can't remember the last time that's happened to a Giants pitcher, except when injured. The guy has absolutely derailed!

It may be time to make up an injury for Lurchy like they do for Rich Aurilia and get him on the DL. Just call it swine flu or arm fatigue, or an anxiety disorder, or strike zone-itis. Whatever... just fix this guy! He cannot find the strike zone to save his life, and is seriously down on himself. Each game is too critical to have liabilities in the bullpen. This also includes Justin Miller and Merkin Valdez, who have derailed almost as severely as of late. These three guys have combined for some absolutely ghastly statistics.

Since August 20th, Miller, Valdez, and Howry have combined for 4.1 IP, 13 ER, 11 BB, and 9 Hits. That of course comes out to a 27.00 ERA and a 4.62 WHIP.

Us fantasy freaks just threw up in our collective mouth a little bit. Good Lord. When you can't trust 43% of your bullpen, you've gotta make a roster move.

-- Despite throwing 91 pitches in the last calendar week (including 41 last night), Brian Wilson trucked himself out there again. Things were looking okay, but you could tell he didn't have his best stuff. As Kruk and Kuip pointed out, his velocity was down, and when he did reach his normal speeds, the balls were wild. Bochy had little choice but to put him out there, but I think Romo for the 9th would've been a better choice from the get go. When closers are throwing 97-100 mph for over 100 pitches in 8 days and 41 pitches within 24 hours, you're looking at a disaster. With the back of the rotation coming up, the bullpen situation is looking scary.

God forbid this happens, but what if Sanchez and Martinez bomb out in 4 or 5 innings? Who will Boch cart out there? These guys seriously look like their arms are going to fall off all at once. The only guys I'd even want to throw tomorrow are Romo and Medders. Wilson is off limits, Affeldt is effective but exhausted, and How-Merk-iller is a trainwreck.

Right now in AAA Fresno, there are a few names that jump out at you, but none have been throwing particularly well lately. Despite decent ERA's on the year, Geno Espineli, Alex Hinshaw, and Osiris Matos have all been knocked since August 16th to the tune of a 9.53 ERA.

A better bet might be to call up Kevin Pucetas or Ryan Sadowski to move into a long reliever role, despite the fact that both have been working as starters. Obviously, I'd lean toward Pucetas because of Sadowski's last outings at in the bigs.

Anyway, let's hope The Spaniard shuts down the D-Bags tomorrow.

Keep the faith. We're still in this. Tuesday's win was a huge statement. It wasn't easy or pretty, but hey, we beat one of MLB's best pitchers and were able to reload after a 14 inning demoralizing disaster. That really says something.

Get well Freddy Sanchez and Kung Fu!

Umps on the take? Russell Martin a bitch? A series to forget.

The headline there says it all.

It's truly difficult to stomach what happened in this three game disaster. Despite our triumphant middle finger of a win today in extras, it still feels like we got swept. We endured the WORST umpiring I think I've ever seen in my life over a series. It was ONE CALL AFTER ANOTHER. If Gary Darling's crew was on the take, they sure as shoot did a terrible job of hiding it... which is why I think they just suck, instead of having zero integrity or decency.

By my count, there were between 8 and 10 HUGE blown calls this weekend... the most egregious of which occurred today.

You all probably saw the games, but there were two obviously blown calls at first when Dodgers hitters should've been out-- one of which tied up the game in the 9th inning and took away Lincey's gem of a game away.

There was one questionable call that could have had Manny picked off at first (which got Bochy ejected). After A.U. Henio upended Russell Martin at home, Kung Fu was blatantly hit on the elbow by McDonald... and after the ensuing brouhaha, he ended up with a strike on him. Then, later after Pandoval did a Saturday Night Fever disco splits move to avoid a tag from Castro, he was called out, and Schierholtz appeared safe at first. Well, Gary Darling reversed the "out" call on Sandoval, but then forgot to watch first base, calling Nate the Great out.

Kruk and Kuip were livid. After the game, Krukow said it was "...absolutely the worst umpiring I've ever seen in a series... and I've seen a lot of games."

Even Greg Papa was pissed in the CSN studios.

---------------------------Quick Side Note--------------------------------

I love JT Snow and he was a great Giant. That being said, he looks worse than Obama up there reading the teleprompter. He's like a zombie on TV. Get this guy a couple of whiskey sours before he goes on. Loosen up bro, you talking about baseball on TV... I hate to say this, but you could really learn something from Bip Roberts. (I know... I can't believe I said it either.)

--------------------------End Side Note----------------------------------

Anyway, the series was pretty much a disaster, and it could've been worse, if the Giants hadn't been able to overcome the terrible umpiring, their own buffoonery in the field, and ineptitude with runners in scoring position. They left 13 guys on base. Not good.

On a more positive note, Timmy once again was the stopper we needed. I love Roy Halladay, but Lincecum is the best pitcher in baseball. The guy literally needs 2 runs to win and will give you at least 8 innings every fifth day.

I sure hope that the victory that Gary Darling & Co. cost him today doesn't leave him a couple votes shy of his second Cy Young. That would be a travesty.

Also, A.U. continues to hit. He stroked one into Mirabelli/Finley alley today and managed to score AND take out the waste of space named Russell Martin.

Yet another dirty French Canadian on the Dodgers who totally sucks. That's right. You separatist jerks are in Canada. You don't get your own country. Go back to France if you don't like it.

A.U. undercut him with gazelle-like speed and wildebeest-like power. Martin ended up on his ass in obvious discomfort. Martin should ride the bench more often, considering he only has 3 HR and 33 RBI on the year. What a loser.

On the next pitch, tempers flared when Pandoval was hit on the elbow by James McDonald. Pablo was about to Kung Fu his ass before being led away.

In a moment that made me fired up to be a Giants fan, the benches cleared and craziness ensued.

Despite no punches being thrown, it was a great moment-- one of the best this season. The crowd went nuts and went into a "Beat LA" frenzy.

The best part could have been Edgar Renteria.

Not hitting much and severely declining in range, Edgar (who wasn't playing) made a beeline for the out of control Russell Martin and attempted to take him downtown to Chinatown.

Hey, he's got the right idea. Giants fans will ease up on you when you go all out like that.

Just like Juan Uribe, who made yet ANOTHER retarded error in the field today. What did he do? He slammed a dong halfway the bleachers in left. And showed up Guillermo Mota...

Expect Mota to drill someone next time... remember he's the guy who sent Prince Fielder into a bloodlust after he nailed the burly Brewers slugger last week.

On to New York.

If I had the money, I'd be there, drunk in the stands telling all the Mets fans to go back to Jersey. (They hate that).

Quick Notes:

-- Russell Martin was wearing a jersey today that said "J. Martin" on the back. What is that about? I guess the Dodgers just suck so badly that they can't even get their own uni's right.

-- The Giants made up another injury so that they could spare the embarrassment and PR nightmare of releasing Rich Aurilia. They probably put a bunch of injuries in a hat and drew "ankle tendonitis" out. Probably more believable than "swine flu" or "lacerated tonsil."

I thought it was over a few weeks ago, and wrote a nice little piece about him that you should check out. I don't expect to see him on the field again. Sorry Rich.

-- I've said the following, out loud, about A.U. Henio twice: "He seriously looks like an alien had sex with a gazelle".

Both times, he's homered. Swear to God.

--Umpire Bill Hohn (the jerk with the moustache) who blew two plays at first base on Monday and called a terrible game behind home plate on Tuesday, has drawn the ire of Atlanta Braves fans as well. This "Bleacher Report" article rails on him too.

He's ejected 5 Atlanta Braves in two games behind the dish this season, including the mild mannered Chipper Jones and Brian McCann.

The McCann incident was particularly absurd, because "Stache" as the article calls him, "...followed B-Mac to the dugout."

-- The Mets have a spot starter brought in from the bullpen to start the series opener. Sounds good. Maybe we can tee off on the SOB.

--A third umpire of Gary Darling's crew, Bruce Dreckman, has also pissed off the masses a time or two. This article details how Dreckman is a hothead who is known to accelerate and exacerbate problems and arguments.

I say break up this hellraising crew.

-- So Bochy and Ron Wotus get tossed... what's the succession if everyone gets thrown out? I guess it would go like this: Bochy, Ron Wotus, Tim Flannery, Dave Righetti, Carney Lansford, Mark Gardner, Roberto Kelly, Billy Hayes. Then what? Player manager? Bullpen catchers? Do Zito and Cain strap on helmets and coach first and third base like kids in Little League? Would they have to forfeit? Very interesting scenario.

I tried to find something about it here in MLB's Official Rulebook, but I don't think they have anything about it. Could this ever happen?

I could've happened today.

With Bochy already tossed, it is conceivable that all of the coaching staff could have been ejected during the brawl for fighting... leaving only a flustered Roberto Kelly to manage his first game.

Kelly would have argued several of the blown calls at the insistence of Aaron Rowand, and gotten tossed. God I hope that happens someday.

It would be AWESOME.

Keep rooting against the Rockies! Onto Queens!

Sanchez for Alderson: I was pissed at first

This is the first contribution by TK, a new addition to the Dodgerhater staff.


When I first heard of the Freddy Sanchez for Tim Alderson trade I was absolutely infuriated. Why on earth are we trading away the #4 prospect in our organization-- a guy who Keith Law of ESPN recently rated as the #26 best prospect in baseball, for a player who is anything but the power bat our organization so desperately needs.

Sanchez is a guy everyone wanted, obviously a nice upgrade over Downs/Frandsen/Velez. He allows Uribe to return to his better suited utility position, but nonetheless, is a player who is tough to imagine as a true difference maker. Simply put, I felt betrayed.


At the beginning of the 2008 season, Giants Nation was disgusted with Sabean’s recent moves as a GM. The great majority wanted him out. Recently, Sabes has been regaining some of the cred that made him one of the league’s top GMs in the late 90s and early 2000s. Sabean’s recent drafts have restocked our farm system, and the free agent gems brought on board have solidified our pen (see: Affeldt, Jeremy; Medders, Brandon; Miller, Justin; Howry, Bobby). In additon, the Garko trade was a nice move as he is a right-handed power bat at a relatively cheap price (and a Stanford guy at that).

But of course, just as B-Sabes started gathering some goodwill – BOOM!!! A massive backhanded slap to the face!

I was suddenly rocked back into reality.

I mean this.

The Pittsburgh Pirates, the same team who traded us Rajai Davis for Matt Morris, while taking on all of Morris's salary, the same team who gave us Jason Schmidt for the immortal Ryan Vogelsong and Armando Rios somehow were able to get the better of the deal????

It was like we had been robbed by an old woman; our candy stolen by a baby.

All the way back to the Bonds signing, the Pirates have repeatedly been a source to supply our farm system. What gives?

In the words of Lee Corso, “Not so fast, my friends.”

Upon further review, I like this trade.



Sanchez, though only having 6 home runs on the season, does rank 5th in the NL in doubles, and carries a .296 average. This is a .296 average which is right on pace with his career .300 avg, not to mention that Sanchez was a former NL batting champ in 2006 (.344 avg.). He also carries a .776 OPS on the year, which ranks 3rd on the team behind Pandoval and the newly acquired Garks. He plays very solid defense, and my favorite, he loves to play the game and do the little things that it takes to win.

Krukow would say…


“Gamer.”

As for Alderson, he is indeed a 20-year-old in AA who is certainly holding his own with a 3.47 ERA in 72.2 innings. However, looking at the peripherals, opponents are hitting .272 on him over the season. Another subject of note is that one of his biggest compliments coming out of high school was that he was very polished. Of course meaning that it is not necessarily a surprise that he advanced quickly for a kid out of 12th grade.

Alderson has a plus curveball, but his fastball only tops off in the low 90s and he doesn’t have a changeup worth mentioning. With this in mind, I still fully expect him to make it to the big leagues and be a contributor. However, I see him more as a Mark Gardner than a Matt Cain, and this current Giants squad does not need a young Mark Gardner.

While some may argue that we could have gotten more for him in return, that is purely speculation. F-Sanch is of proven quality who will immediately help this squad this year and next-- possibly beyond. Too often do fans get overly obsessed with prospects and forget about what truly matters: winning at the big league level.

Could Alderson be the next Francisco Liriano or Joe Nathan? Sure.


But he could just as easily be the next Jesse Foppert, Kurt Ainsworth, Merkin Valdez, Nate Bump, Jason Grilli, David Aardsma, Damian Moss, etc. This is a chance of guaranteed improvement for our squad at a position of need with no clear replacement in sight while giving up a player who’s merely a projection.

Final analysis: This is a clear indication that the Sanchez trade is a win-win trade for both squads. The Giants get their hitter, while keeping their Big 3 intact (Bumgarner, Posey, Villalona). And, of course, the Pirates flip one of their best players into a quality prospect.

Alderson is not the player Giants fans wanted to give up. But I guess all we can say is that it’s just a shame Dave Littlefield isn’t around anymore.

Otherwise he might've taken Sadowski and Velez instead.

Go Giants.

--Tucker

Kruk is right: It's do or die

To quote from the movie Little Giants, this is the speech the Giants should hear right now.

Ed O'Neill: "It's do or die! Win. Or cry!"

Spike's Dad: "Go baby Go!"

And I'm not just quoting that movie because I appeared as an extra in it (true story... click here after you read the rest of the blog, I'm in the yellow shirt in the beginning during the pickup football game.)

It is seemingly the most poignant, simple movie quote that I can think of off the top of my head.

There's no need for a Billy Bob Thornton Friday Night Lights locker room speech or a Gene Hackman Hoosiers clip. Hell there's no need even to drink a bottle of red wine and listen to the theme from The Natural on repeat with your eyes closed.

It's simple. Exe-goddamn-cution at the plate. They hit one home run in 9 games.

One home run in an entire road trip.

The lines from Little Giants are a simple ultimatum made by the actor who played Al Bundy and the guy who in the movie claimed to massage his son Spike's hamstrings with evaporated milk. But they are relevant. Also, it could be symbolic because the Orange & Black are playing like "little Giants" right now and that needs to change.


Mike Krukow basically said that last night during the post game show. I don't have the quote in front of me, but it was something along the lines of: "Get your sh-- together guys. You are professional hitters. I'm not saying go out and trade the farm system and make a bunch of crazy moves. I am saying that you guys need to sack up and perform the way you're capable-- Randy Winn, Renteria, and Molina, I'm looking at you!"

Well said Kruk.

Notes: The Big Sadowski may be done with the Gyros. It was a great story and he threw a couple of great games... but as we all know... it's "what have you done for me lately?"

Well lately, the Sadmeister has thrown up ugly numbers. Last two starts: 6 1/3 innings, 11 ER, 6 BB vs. 4 K. The one night stand is over... Sorry man...

Pittsburgh series: Let's get some revenge here. Beginning with Timmy Ballgame against Paul Maholm. Tickets are $5 bucks in the bleachers. Go online and use the code GIANTSK.

Oh yeah... and here's the Little Giants clip. Skip to 5:40 in the video. Click here if you're reading this on Facebook or an Email Newsfeed.

Jon Miller & Attendance

Jon Miller: Best in the business

Most of us watch the Giants on TV and are delighted to share that experience with Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper, one of the best broadcasting tandems in baseball. I don't need to tell you how awesome they are. Their chemistry is second to none, they are hilarious, and we all enjoy listening to their homerism and baseball know-how.

However, when we're watching at home, we are missing the true genius of Jon Miller and Dave Flemming on the KNBR radio broadcasts.

Flemming, for being a young guy, is simply superb in his delivery and knowledge... he's getting better by the season because he's learning from the best in baseball: Jon Miller.

Miller's diction, knowledge, and unparalleled ability to describe even the most minute details is quite simply incredible.

We are very blessed in the Bay Area to have such excellent broadcasters. Randy Hahn, Drew Remenda, and Dan Rusanowski for the Sharks are top notch. Bob Fitzgerald, Jim Barnett, and Tim Roye are great for the Warriors. Not a huge fan of Glenn Kuiper and Ray Fosse for the A's, but they're certainly not terrible. Greg Papa does a good job with the Raiders, and Gary Plummer is an excellent radio color guy for the 49ers.

Jon Miller is on a whole 'nother level though. Just imagine his baritone voice as he described Barry Bonds's 756th homer. It is simply the most amazing literary description of anything I've ever read or heard:

"Three and two to Bonds. Everybody standing here at 24 Willie Mays Plaza. An armada of nautical craft gathered in McCovey Cove beyond the right field wall. Bonds one home run away from history. (crack of the bat) AND HE SWINGS, AND THERE'S A LONG ONE DEEP INTO RIGHT CENTER FIELD, WAY BACK THERE, IT'S GONE!!! A HOME RUN! Into the center field bleachers to the left of the 421 foot marker. An extraordinary shot to the deepest part of the yard! And Barry Bonds with 756 home runs, he has hit more home runs than anyone who has ever played the game!"

And here's Jon's call of Reuben Rivera's horrible baserunning. Gotta click on that one.

I just cannot say enough about Jon. I've said the two following things to people and actually meant them:

"I could literally listen to Jon Miller describe an almond orchard or a city sidewalk and be thoroughly entertained."

And...

"Dude, I love tunes, but if I was stranded on a desert island, all I'd need was a tape of every broadcast Jon Miller has ever done. Seriously. That's all I would need."

God bless KNBR for its "Midnight Replay" as well. They replay the day's game starting at midnight in its entirety. Many times I will set the sleep button on my radio and fall asleep to Miller and Flem.

For instance, last night, the last thing I remember was Jon Miller describing in detail how Dom DiMaggio once had a 34 game hitting streak (after Joe's mark had been set). In the game Dom's streak ended, he hit a rocketing low line drive towards his brother Joe in the outfield. Joltin' Joe made an incredible catch to save the game and end his brother's march toward 56. Just amazing stuff.

Many of the all-time greats have passed away recently, Ernie Halwell, Harry Kalas, and the like. The best radio men alive right now in my option are Bob Uecker or the Brewers, Jon Miller, and Vin Scully of the hated Dodgers.

I should hate Vin, but he is simply a legend. He does a simulcast both on TV and radio by himself in LA-- truly amazing in its own right.

That is the last compliment to any Dodger employee you'll ever read on this site.

So... anyways, appreciate what we've got here, we've got it good here in Giants land.

Attendance issues

The Giants set another AT&T low attendance mark of of 23,934 Monday night against the Nationals. The crowd looked even sparser than that on television. Granted Washington isn't a very exciting draw and it was cold as hell out there, but this is a hard thing to witness.

We all know about the economy, it is certainly a factor. Another factor is the lack of "wow" factor that Los Gigantes give us. People would show up just to see Bonds hit, and the allure of our beautiful ballpark drew even the most indifferent breed of elitist and hipster to games.

Now, it's the gamers.

Brian Murphy was talking about this on KNBR a few weeks back. He is one of the true Candlestick nostalgists out there and is a huge fan of the home field edge. He said something to the effect of, "I'd rather have 25 or 30,000 real fans out there chanting and burning Dodger pennants in the upper deck, than 41,000 fairweather non-fans out there."

I for one agree with him. Although I wasn't there on Monday, it appeared to have a Candlestick feel to it. Trash was blowing around, people were bundled up in blankets. You could hear isolated hecklers. The serenades of "What's the matter with "so and so"? HE'S A BUM!" was going on the whole game. It seemed like a throwback night, and only the most hardcore of fans show up on a Monday in blustery 52 degree weather to games.

The A's attendance situation is no laughing matter, but when you go out to the Coliseum, you'll see the same type of fanhood being exhibited. Sparse, cold, and passionate.

As for the Giants, the numbers are not what I expected. Through 15 home games last year, their average was 33,824. Guess what this year's is?

33,397.

Huh? They're drawing only 427 less fans? I was sure the figure was going to be uglier myself. The only explanation I can think of is that people with season tickets are not going to the games and are either unable to sell them or unable to give them away.

The park just seems more sparse this year, and it's more than 427 people.

The Giants are playing good baseball though, and we will continue to draw at this solid, yet unspectacular clip.

Brian Murphy and I have no problem with it at all.