Why Krukow's revelation nearly brought me to tears

I'm not a crier.

I'm a dude. I love baseball and beer, and Eddie Money and smoking pork shoulder for half a day, and I love football and America and hating the Dodgers.

I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a crier.

This is why I was so shocked at how absolutely emotional I became when I heard about Mike Krukow's degenerative muscle disease.

I was driving to work listening to KNBR, and I was nearly brought to tears. 

I got that weird feeling with the lump in the throat and the misty eyes. I was just plain crushed. Later in the day, I began to come to grips with my reaction and why I felt so horrible.

I just love Mike Krukow. That's what it is. I literally love the guy. I also love Duane Kuiper and Jon Miller, even Flemming.

I don't know about you guys, but these guys are a huge part of my life. I listen to them almost every day, and I can't remember a time where I didn't hear them broadcast a game 140+ days a year. Although I've never met them and they wouldn't know me from Adam, they are, in a way, family.

Kruk & Kuip are just the best. They really are. They make watching a game exponentially better. There is no better team in the world to broadcast a sport than these two, it's a fact. We're truly privileged to have our Giants games enhanced like this. 

This duo makes us laugh, they keep us positive, they keep us entertained. They were just as excited as us to win those championships. They're with us through the good times, and the horrendous ones. Hell. We can turn off the game if it becomes too much. They're the ones that are subjected to it until the end.

They're also great friends outside the booth-- just like we imagine them to be. Why don't you ask Steve Stone if he hangs out with Hawk Harrelson outside the booth. The answer would be a defeated but resounding 'no'-- probably with an extended sigh at the end.

That's why the part of CW Nevius's article about Kuiper being a "sherpa" and carrying Mike's bags for him-- because that's what teammates do-- gave me that same choked up feeling I got while I was driving. 

The idea that Mike Krukow, the funniest, most baseball loving-ist guy ever won't one day be able to toss a baseball in the booth or show someone how to throw a curveball is just plain heartbreaking. The idea that he some day soon won't be able to play golf or guitar or throw a baseball with his grandkids is just plain depressing.

No, he's not dying. No, he's not retiring from broadcasting. He's going to be okay for the most part.

It just really sucks.

Perhaps there's a bit of selfishness embedded in my feelings. 

I just recently came to terms with the fact that I didn't want anything to happen to Kruk, partially because my Giants experience wouldn't be as good. If he lost his trademark enthusiasm and humor, games just wouldn't be the same. Who would blame him if he did?

Fortunately, ol' Kruk doesn't show any signs of slowing down. In fact, it occurred to me that if there's a solitary soul in this world that could overcome such a lousy thing with flying colors, it'd be Mike Krukow.

Look at him after 13 inning games on the postgame wrap. He's still yukkin' and yakkin' with Flemming like it was the first inning, while Kuip is hilariously hunched over, ready for bed, and Miller stays as professional as possible. It's just plain remarkable.

As he told Bruce Jenkins of the Chronicle, "I'm the luckiest guy in the world - again," he said. "All I need to do is get in that room and talk baseball. It's my island. Once I get behind that chair, I am bulletproof, man. I am a young, vibrant man."

That's why I know I won't have to worry about Kruk. He's going to suck it up, the way I wouldn't be able to. He's going to keep entertaining us and keeping us positive, even when we feel like the sky is falling over some meaningless lousy road trip-- not because we want him to, but because he needs to.

It's the epitome of irony that someone who actually has the sky falling on him incrementally, to the point of an eventual wheelchair reality, won't lose the very things that have made him so beloved to so many.

And that, my friends, is why I love Mike Krukow.

Never change, Meat.

Giants simply must play better or else

As I write this, the Giants sit within striking distance of the NL West at 5.5 GB. They're still 7 games under .500, and they still aren't hitting on all cylinders, but they're alive.

With Timmy's no-hitter heading into the break and grabbing 2 of 3 to open the "so-called second half" (as Dave Flemming would put it) against Arizona, things appear to be trending in an upward fashion.

Clearly, they have their work cut out for them, with a capable Arizona team and the hyper-streaking Doyers sitting ahead of them in the standings.

Affeldt is now on the DL, resulting in more Jean Machi appearances, and the starting lineup is still mired in mediocrity, but I refuse to believe that Pablo, Pence, and Crawford will continue to hit at well below average clips.

As those three guys go, the Giants too will go.

It's clear that LF is still an issue, with 2B-turned OF Kensuke Tanaka not an overall upgrade over Andres Torres, and Francoeur still an unknown quantity. Personally, I'd like to see if a full-time Frenchy can get it going. At least he's got a cannon in LF, if nothing else.

The pitching staff is inconsistent, but is performing better than the beginning of the season.

The problem is this team has to play better with what they have before Brian Sabean can justify making any significant moves to upgrade this roster. Obviously, it's easier said than done in both respects, but it's crystal clear that this currently isn't a team that can make a run at this division without an immediate improvement from within.

Unfortunately, the whole lightning in a bottle thing that won two titles has yet to be captured, and there is no quick fix available. The theory that the Giants sold their soul to win in '10 and '12 certainly looks like there's a little merit to it as game after game, they're unable to put it all together.

As I mentioned in previous posts, this team needs an immediate infusion of pitching of some kind, and there's nothing available internally that will solve this issue right now.

As we speak, there are only 5 guys on the Fresno Grizzlies roster that have an ERA under 3. And of those 5, Jake Dunning, Sandy Rosario, and Jean Machi are already on the big league roster, and the other two guys have a combined 3 appearances. Heath Hembree if you're wondering, has 21 saves, but has an ERA hovering around 4.50. Obviously, AAA has been cashed out, and there aren't really any standouts in AA either.

Unfortunately for the Giants, the minors have little in the way of ML ready talent, and that puts the front office in a bit of a quandary.

Do they deal some A Ball level pitching prospects to get better now, in a season that is not guaranteed by any stretch? I would lean toward no.

The opportunity to add arms by taking on money for a middling prospect is likely the route that Sabean will have to go, unless the asking price for guys like Bud Norris come down.

With Zito (team option), Lincecum, Vogelsong (team option), and Chad "Gurney" Gaudin all set to hit the free agent market at the end of this season, it would behoove the Giants to make a meaningful move to secure controllable pitching that could help anchor the rotation beyond 2013.

A name that has recently surfaced as a possibility, is Kansas City's Ervin Santana (formerly of the Angels). Due to be a free agent, Santana is 6-6 with a 3.18 ERA. He should probably be available, although the Royals are apparently not ready to give up on the season yet. He's due somewhere around $5.5MM for the rest of the season.

The truth of the matter is that there isn't a ton out there in the ways of starting pitching, and the guys that are there are either really expensive prospect-wise like Jake Peavy, or really in demand.

The little wrinkle in this is that Ryan Vogelsong is supposed to be ready to go in 2-3 weeks. We can't forget how awful he was before he went down, but he's certainly capable of helping this team if he's back on track. This simple addition from within could really change the entire landscape of the pitching staff-- enabling either Vogey, Gaudin, or possibly the struggling Zito to become a reliever and bumping Machi down to Fresno.

As it stands, we can't count on that and the best solution may be to add a reliever.With the non-waiver trade deadline in less than two weeks, I fully expect that to happenr. A lefty would be optimal, but a righty like John Axford from Milwaukee would certainly fit the bill.

I know, I know, but he's only given up one earned run since May 15th.

Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Brian Wilson again, who is reportedly on track to showcase himself to teams in the next few weeks. The Giants have been reported as being interested in kicking his crazy tires once again.

It sounds like a broken record-- and it really is-- but the Giants are going to have play better with what they have rather than expecting some kind of miracle acquisition from the outside.

Are they capable of improvement? Of course, but we just haven't seen it, and they're running out of time.

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!