This blog is dedicated first and foremost to the San Francisco Giants. Secondly it is devoted to the smearing and ripping of the most disgusting franchise in professional sports: The Los Angeles Dodgers.
You've got Manny Machado being a dick against the A's multiple times, the Red Sox and Rays having an "unwritten rule" pissing contest, and now, twice in a few games, two different teams have intentionally drilled two of the Giants' best hitters.
Things are different than they used to be, that's for sure.
In the old days.. like 10 years ago... you used to be able to hit their guy after they hit yours. Then both sides would get a warning, and that would be that. Now a guy could be tossed immediately for an HBP without obvious intent (Bud Norris) or inexplicably allowed to stay in the game after an obvious beanball (David Price). You never know how umpires will deal with things these days.
What should've happened on Sunday after Wheeler hit Pence for no reason, is we hit one of their guys. On Monday, some no-name nutsac Washington reliever hits Morse for no reason. We should've hit Werth or LaRoche, or whomever. That's the way this should work.
And FYI, I'm not tossing around hitting someone with a 90+ mph fastball lightly. The fact remains that they did it first, this isn't tiddlywinks or some sissy 12 year-olds' soccer league in Mill Valley. This is the big leagues.
If they want to take umbrage at being disciplined within the diamond and want to throw hands, let hands be thrown, and you sort it out later. Baseball is a man's game, and if you allow people to take an inch without consequence, they'll take a mile, and you'll still have bruised ribs.
Unfortunately, you never know how self-policing in baseball will go these days.
Now you've got veteran umpires parading around creating umpshows and young umpires trying to assert control by wildly tossing around warnings and ejecting everyone in sight for protecting teammates.
The Giants have never been much on brawling or retaliation, but they have also not been a team that instigates things. I honestly can't name any events off the top of my head when we've had a pitcher purposefully hit someone out of the blue. I also can't name too many egregious in-game celebrations, dickhead Puigesque bat flips, or violations of unwritten rules.
To me, the Giants play the game the right way, and have so for years. I'm biased yes, but we're the good guys.
In fact, we're very good. 20 games over .500 good.
And that my friends, is why there's a giant target on their backs.
They're winning too much, smiling too much, and having too much fun for Zack Wheeler and the loser Mets or Aaron Barrett and the Gnats to handle.
Wheeler I suppose I get. He was beaten by the team that traded him, and he didn't like it. Okay, well next time be better. Don't drill someone in the ribs. That's called being poor sport and an asshole. It's immature, and Hunter Pence and I won't forget it.
Judging by this story though, this wasn't the first, and won't be the last time Zack Wheeler is involved in some sort of brouhaha. He managed to stir up "ethnic tensions" in the minors by drilling his own teammate. Maybe I don't mind the Beltran/Wheeler swap so much after all.
As for the Nationals, I don't know what Barrett was doing, and neither does Morse. For a guy who openly recounted fond memories to the D.C. media yesterday about his time with the Nats, he sure as heck couldn't understand why he was hit. You could see him afterwards in the dugout talking to Posey, staring out at the field with his face scrunched up into confusion.
Well, I'll answer your question sir. They hit you because you're good.
What I do know, is that Barrett clearly acted on his own accord or on behalf of a teammate. There's zero chance manager Matt Williams would call for a beanball out of the blue. He's better than that, and we all know it.
With Madison Bumgarner the only guy on the roster (RIP Eli Whiteside) that openly shows some will and fire to confront the forces of evil, he will likely be the only one who will do anything about the open season that has been declared on Giants hitters.
Bumgarner fears no evil.
Bruce Bochy can talk about how he didn't like these HBPs and Krukow can promise retribution from the booth, but we all know nothing will happen, and the Giants will do nothing. They never really have.
What they will do though is keep winning, and likely take the high road-- something I would be unable to do. More power to them though.
Yes, yes, I know it's "Puh-GAHN" versus "Pay-GINN" but his name has always bothered me. I can't help but associate his name with a bunch of weirdos worshiping false gods and casting spells outdoors.
The funny name aside, I'm just kinda 'ehhh' on this trade.
I loved what Andres Torres brought to our team in 2010. His clutch hitting and inspiring play warmed even the frostiest heart of the most cynical Giants fan. It was simply a great story-- a story of perseverance and heart by a fringe major leaguer who overcame ADHD and marginal big league opportunities to become a late-blooming World Series contributor. I also enjoyed his sleazy walkup music that was obviously borrowed from the soundtrack of a Puerto Rican porno. Yes, the ladies loved Andres...
But, alas, Andres regressed in 2011. He missed some time, and he just lost his stroke. It got to the point where he should no longer have been hitting right handed at all, and his lack of contact was maddening.
Regardless, his upbeat presence will be missed by teammates and fans alike.
As for Ramon Ramirez-- well he didn't have much of a presence off the field. By all accounts, he was the quietest guy on the team. But on the mound, he was pretty damned solid. He's the type that keeps his mouth shut and carries a big stick. Although he was due a raise via arbitration, I will be sorry to see Ramirez go. He was a lot better than anyone will remember. He stepped up last year with 4 saves, had a great K/BB ratio, and was just great arm to have down in the bullpen.
I know we technically didn't need him, but going into the season with Guillermo Mota makes me a little uneasy, simply because of his age.
With Torres appearing to be in decline, the trade worked out about as evenly as it could have for both teams-- barring some horrible or amazing performances by those involved. As for Pagan, the move confused me a little.
He arrives as another starting caliber OF onto a roster that already had Schierholtz, Huff, and Cabrera penciled in as starters.
Okay, well Pagan is thought of highly as a potential leadoff hitter. And, of course, since we need one of those, where does that leave Brandon Belt's playing time-- especially because Bochy has already confirmed that Buster will play a decent amount of first base?
I don't know what's going to happen. I think Schierholtz and Cabrera are pretty much set as starters, but between 1B and LF there is Huff, Belt, Pagan, and occasionally Posey to get time.
I think the guy who ends up suffering the most here is Brandon Belt, who still needs seasoning, but can only gain that through playing time. With all of these guys clogging up two positions, I'm almost inclined to support starting Belt in Fresno while keeping Brett Pill up with the team.
It's just kind of a weird situation.
As for Pagan-- I think we will be pleasantly surprised by the pop in his bat. He is also very streaky in that his hits seem to come in quick bunches. Couple here, three the next day, and then boom-- nothing for three games. That part concerns me, as well as his defense.
I'm just glad he has experience playing CF in the cavernous OF of Citi Field, so he will feel comfortable at AT&T.
We'll see how this whole thing shakes out, but I don't expect Pagan to be a real game-changer.
The date was July 10th. It was probably sometime around 10 or 10:30pm when they started to board the flight to Sky Harbor. Timmy and Cainer were there. So was Boch and Kung Fu. Ron Wotus and the Flan Man, Righetti and B-Weez. Somewhere towards the back, Ryan Vogelsong was pinching himself, in disbelief of what he was experiencing.
It was a charter flight to Phoenix full of Giants all-stars-- both coaches and players, incredible in its own right.
The only oddity were two guys who belonged in Phoenix for the all-star festivities, but didn't really belong on that particular flight.
One was Jose Reyes, the other was Carlos Beltran.
I'm sure there were plenty of jokes thrown around on that joyous flight. Torres and Beltran were probably talking about Puerto Rico, Pablo, I'm sure, was yukking it up with Reyes, being the goofball that he is. It honestly is a flight I wish I was on. Sounds like a pretty epic scene.
Somewhere though, a bespectacled Brian Sabean was staring a hole through the back of Beltran's seat. If he could have eye-effed the hell out of him, he would have. Like a bar sleaze eyeing his prey, he thought, "I want you, and I'm gonna get you."
Sabean has made some ballsy moves in his day... trading Matt Williams probably being his most brassy balls move. This one is up there though.
The Giants certainly needed something-- someone-- to improve this struggling first place lineup. Yes that's right, a first place, defending World Champ lineup that needs an infusion of energy like a crankhead needs to buy Sudafed from a Tennessee Walgreens to trade to a dealer for a hit of ice.
Is Beltran the answer? Ehh... he's not a savior. He's an all-star hitter, a decent outfielder, and immediately improves an anemic offense. However, he's not a prototypical thumper. On most teams, he'd be a #2 power threat. With the Giants though, he's immediately the best hitter on the team, and it couldn't have come soon enough. This Beltran deal is either brilliant, or will go down in Giants lore as being a real waste of prospect pitching. Zach Wheeler projects pretty well in the Bigs, and it is difficult to let him go. In addition, Beltran's contract stipulates that he cannot be offered arbitration after his contract expires-- meaning of course that when he leaves after this season, the Giants will receive no compensatory draft picks. He's a Type-A free agent that will net them nothing. They do not pass Go and do not collect $200--- I mean a Sandwich Pick.
This deal is riding solely on Carlos Beltran's shoulders, and Sabean has his fingers crossed that Beltran repeats his 2004 magic he displayed in Houston after being traded mid-season from Kansas City.
The Astros rented Beltran too, and he was worth it. In 90 games, he hit 23HR and drove in 53 with an OPS of .926.
That of course, was the peak of Beltran's solid career-- a contract year-- one that he parlayed into ungodly amounts of cash from the Mets.
Beltran is on the downslope of his career. He's still a great hitter, but is injury-prone and slower than he used to be. Regardless, he will help us exponentially.
The Giants lineup is unpredictable, but I'm assuming that Schierholtz and Torres will be affected the most by Beltran's arrival. I have no idea what they'll do with all this.
I do know that Andres Torres can't hit a lick right handed though. In case this has escaped you, he's hitting .121 against lefties, and I'm at the point where I think he should pull a JT Snow and only hit left handed.
Beltran's arrival means that against a righty, Torres should play CF with Ross in LF and Beltran in RF. Against a lefty, I see Schierholtz, a career .326 hitter against southpaws, playing RF with Ross and Beltran taking up the other two spots.
It is a shame that Schierholtz will lose time because he's been one of our only decent hitters in the last couple months, but he will still be able to contribute.
It's a bold move and a bold statement by trading for Beltran, but if he hits like he's capable of hitting, I don't see why we can't win it all again.
I don't even want to write about this... I really don't.
What can I say, there is no honor among thieves and no loyalty in professional sports. I'm not just talking about the players either. There is a lack of loyalty at the management level as well.
As the hangover from our World Series victory begins to subside, we've experienced our first wakeup call. It was one of those shrill hotel room wake up calls that angers the hell out of you because it's just so goddamn unpleasant.
Why Uribe? Why the Dodgers? WHY! WHY!
I mean, yes, the money was excessive, and yes the Dodgers will regret giving him 3 years and $21MM, but the fact that we lost a key player to our hated, disgusting arch rivals is just unacceptable.
The Giants get a compensatory draft pick out of it because they offered Uribe, a Type B free agent, salary arbitration, but that doesn't lessen the sting of losing such a well-rounded player.
He is an above-average shortstop, an above-average hitter, and is the type of lineup and clubhouse glue that got us our first World Championship in San Francisco. He was just nearly as important as Aubrey Huff, who in my opinion got $2-3MM more per year than was necessary.
I understand why Uribe took the money. Money is good, and this will be his last chance to score a multi-year deal like this, I just wish the Giants would've tried harder to keep him. To me, it just sounds like they let him go... and that's a tough pill to swallow for fans like me who become so attached to players.
Now we'll have to see our beloved Uuuu-Ribe do his patented jazz hands in Dodger Blue, a thought that makes me seriously nauseous.
It's not quite Johnny Damon bolting Boston for Pinstripes but that's what it feels like. The last such thing we saw was Jason Schmidt signing for huge dollars with the Dodgers... a move that hamstrung them for years.
I will never be able to root for Uribe again, which is unfortunate. In addition, he will suffer horrible effects from the traitor's curse he brought upon himself. Like Schmidt did, Uribe will toil in both injury, mediocrity, malaise, or all 3. It is not that I wish this on him, it is just what will happen. His fate is sealed, and there's nothing he or anyone can do about it.
As for our shortstop options now... the market is not very attractive, hence the big contract for the newly hexed Juan Uribe. Here are the available shortstops, thanks as always for the ever-handy MLB Trade Rumors
Orlando Cabrera (36) - Type B, not offered arb Juan Castro (39) Craig Counsell (40) Bobby Crosby (31) Adam Everett (34) Cristian Guzman (33) Jerry Hairston Jr. (35) Cesar Izturis (31) Derek Jeter (37) - Type A, not offered arb Julio Lugo (35) Nick Punto (33) Edgar Renteria (34) Miguel Tejada (37) - Type A, not offered arb
That, my friends is one ugly list. The only people on that list that deserve a starting role are Derek Jeter, Miguel Tejada, maybe Nick Punto and possibly Izturis simply because of his defense.
Derek Jeter's agent has been contacted by the Giants, but he will not be signing with us. If Jeter and his camp even entertain a phone call from Brian Sabean, it will be solely to drive up his price with the Yankees and it will turn into a one-sided pissing contest. So forget Jeter. It's not worth thinking about.
Tejada is old balls as well, and although he can still hit, I wouldn't want him necessarily as an every day SS at age 37.
Basically, our options are in house guys like Manny Burriss (not a viable option), Brandon Crawford (who hit .241 in AA and is not close to being ready with the bat), or to make a trade.
See, this is why I wanted Uribe back... it's ugly out there. The trade options include Jason Bartlett, who the Giants have discussed with Tampa Bay, and possibly Jose Reyes of the Mets, who will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. Bartlett is the more likely scenario, but he's only a slightly above average player.
Bartlett will likely make $5MM via arbitration this year and Tampa has little use for him at that salary with Reid Brignac ready to step into a full-time gig.
There are other teams eying Bartlett, but that probably won't drive his price up too much. He is a good defender, gets on base at a decent rate, and won't hurt you, but he also can't hit it out or do anything spectacular. Although he a Bay Area native with ties to Mountain View and Stockton... so there's that.
As for Jose Reyes, he's a name I've heard floated recently. The Mets, who've dealt with Reyes's creaky hamstrings, occasional brilliance, and general disappointment, perhaps are ready to move on... especially with his pending free agency in '12 and totally new regime in place.
With Jonathan Sanchez likely available, this may be an intriguing deal to explore... And in case you're wondering, Sanchez becomes expendable due to the fact that Dan Runzler is being groomed as a starter.
He's said it multiple times on the air, and usually, the description is plenty apt. This team isn't nearly as frustrating as version 20.09, in fact, not even close. The fact is, we're not going to win every game. The sign of a good team is that we are in every game, every night. The opportunity to win is half the battle, and the other half is doing a little bit better than a tie game.
Hey look, those two walkoff losses to the Mets were absolutely killer, and the one where Romo blew ANOTHER game on Sunday would've been a gut-wrencher after the previous two games. But look at the bright side. How about John Bowker coming up huge with a pinch hit dong off of one of the best closers in baseball?
I've said it before multiple times, and I will continue to say it:
"THIS TEAM NEVER GIVES UP, AND IT'S CAPABLE OF COMING BACK FROM ANYTHING."
I mean, last season we were giving up in the 6th inning with 4-1 deficits staring us in the collective face. This season? We're good to go. We can tie this thing up! We can win this thing! It's just sooooooo much better.
And how about some more positive stuff. Some guy named Aaron Rowand did as much for the success of this Florida/New York road trip as the starting pitching staff. He really did. He hit a huge homer in Florida, made multiple run-saving catches, and hit the biggest go-ahead roundtripper of the season on Sunday when the team needed it the most. I know he's been only a first half player for us, but he's hitting .321 with 17 RBI. That's all we ever wanted for the $60MM, man...
Things are fairly solid around here. Not amazing, not terrible, but pretty, kinda, alright, and sorta good. As frustrating and torturous as Romo/Runzler have been at times, in conjunction with Wellemeyer, the "Other Jonathan Sanchez" in a couple starts, and Kung Fu's retarded slump, at the end of the day, you need to look at the big picture, and the manner in which that big picture is being filled in.
Anyway....
Notes/Musings:
Huffing & Puffing
Aubrey Huff is an absolute gamer. The guy has played a solid 1B. And for you Sabermetric jerks, you can even believe it, because he's sporting a 4.0 UZR/150 rating. See, I coulda told you he was playing a good first base by watching how he plays the game and the fact that he only has one error, but since I used an obscure statistical formulated index average thingy, now we can agree. End of side rant.
What I really love about Huff is that he is simply a ballplayer, a gamer, the type of guy who knows where to be, what to do, and you can tell that he is not the most gifted athlete in the land, but the guy who gets absolutely the most out of his abilities by giving his all. He's chasing after foul pop ups, covering second base when Uribe/Downs/Rowand can't make a catch. It's just good to see. The most encouraging sign about Huff is that he's really driving the ball. Unfortunately, he's driving the ball to right-center most of the time in AT&T, Citi, and the Ghost of Joe Robbie Fields/Stadium. In all honesty, this guy has hit around 9 or 10 yahtzee shots thus far, but only a handful have made it out due to whatever cavernous outfield he happens to be swinging at.
Plus, whenever he has to run 180 feet at a time, it is absolutely hilarious. It's like he just ran a drunken marathon. All the Joe Eighteen Packs watching him can relate.
Romo has to go...
You ain't gotta go home, but you can't stay here bro. We all like you Serge, but you're losing games for us. If Row doesn't hit one out, you could've ruined another game Sunday in cahoots with your boy Runzler. Is this what we're doing now? You two are like the anti-win squad right now. Runzler sets the table with like 3 walks, then you serve up a hairy meatball for a dong?
It certainly seems that way lately, which is why I could've just KILLED Bochy when he brought you in on Sunday. I was like "Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!". Sure enough... well. You know what happened. This site isn't about recaps, remember? There are rumblings that Romo may be sent to Fresno for a little while to regain his slider's snap, and maybe rest a little while. I find it hard to believe that the guy already has a tired arm, as we are what, like, 6 games into the season? However, he has been used a lot, and many times in high-pressure situations. As we know, this team doesn't do anything the easy way. He'll continue to be an important part of the team, but obviously his workload and stress level have to be reduced.
And as some of you will recall, I wrote an article earlier this season stating that indeed, the Romo/Runzler tandem was the key to the overall success and health of the bullpen. If they suck, we're screwed. Hell it made MLBTradeRumors. They know good stuff when they see it.
The Sanchez Sitch
I bet you haven't seen the word "Sitch" in print since the last TMZ article you read about Jersey Shore. Well. I'm bringing it back before Season 2 in a non-Mike Sorrentino sort of context.
This particular sitch involves a dude owed $12MM over this season and next, which is not looking like a very good scene right now. Honestly, we might as well be paying "The Situation" instead of Freddy Sanchez right now, because at least we'd get some entertainment value out of him. For all we know, Freddy Sanchez is going to the gym, tanning, and doing his laundry every day on Neukom's dime.
In all seriousness though, We've got an interesting couple of decisions to make once F-Sanch returns in a week or two. The common suggestion is that with our hundreds of mega-super-ultra utility men (sounds like a Japanese animation show that gives 8 year olds seizures), Bochy can just rotate guys in and out to give a guy a day off or play situational matchups. More realistically, Matt Downs is actually hitting. Yeah. He's actually hitting to the tune of a .359 average and a .459 on base %. He's obviously not gonna win a batting title, and we don't know if the Tuscaloosa native will ever be a fulltime starter in this league, but my vote is for delaying Sanchez's arrival until Downs cools off at least.
But then what about when Renteria comes back? I'm still not ready to throw him away like gross 4 day old Chinese food. I still believe he's capable of being 70% of the Renteria of old. Groin pulls are nagging things.
The only thing about that is that now Uribe and Huff are in danger of losing AB's, while the .350+ hitting Downs is sent to Fresno or deep in "Bochy's Hole of No Return" like poor Johnny Bowker from next door.
It's quite the conundrum indeed. I expect to be frustrated by the outcome.
Panda & DeRosa... WTF?
DeRosa's struggles are frustrating. As we know, he's making good money, and all the Debbie Downer's out there who ripped the signing from the beginning are jumping around and clicking their heels like a prospector on angel dust. Well, forget you guys. The sample size is not nearly big enough to declare anything. It's just one of those deep funks... and not the good kind of funk like Earth Wind & Fire.
He's pressing, and that usually never works out. He had a multi-hit game in Florida, which was encouraging, but success overall has been eluding Marky Mark. I think perhaps he's the guy who could benefit from a couple days off and some hardcore video sessions.
Hey... that's not what I meant. I meant reviewing his at bats! Get your heads out of the gutter.
As for Kung Fu, well, he's a frustrating dude. It just looks like opposing pitchers are beginning to figure him out a bit. They're throwing high fastballs at him, and he's swinging at them (as usual). It's unfortunate that such a simple thing is having success with such a talented swinger. He's another guy who needs to ride the pine for a game or two, to get his head right.
But as Krook said, "He's a hack, and he's gotta hack his way out of this."
Pablo is 3 for his last 39 and is hitting only .231 from the right side. Cause for concern, yes. Freak out session? Not yet.
Knock knock joke!
Knock Knock. Who's There? Orange. Orange Who? Orange you glad we don't have Oliver Perez? That guy sucks big time! One of the worst contracts in baseball history. 3 years, $36MM. You think Sabean is bad? How about Omar Minaya. Guy should be fired immediately.
And the NY Post is hilarious. "HOMEWRECKER". HAHA.
My favorite Jason Siegel quote from "I Love You Man" pretty much sums up the Phillies series. (More on this at the end of the post)
It's like, really? Are we really doing this crap again?
We all know the stats. We gave up 3 runs in 3 games, and we lost two of them. Unreal. Totally unreal. The road is not a good place for the Gyros.
It's a serious problem when we can't score three runs a game. Seriously, if we average three runs a game in that series, we sweep. Aggghhhghgh!
A nice wall post I received on Facebook yesterday from Kevin C.:
"Phils win 2 out of 3 by scoring 3 runs total. New idea for Kuiper/Krukow... Yell "goaaaalllll!!!!"-- like they do in soccer-- whenever the Giants score a run."
God... it's soooo true.
It's even more upsetting when we're getting shut out by an over-the-hill Pedro Martinez. I know that he's one of MLB's all-time greats, but the man is old balls and he was picked up off the dung heap because no one else wanted him. Either he's got a lot in the tank, or we're pathetic. Maybe a little of both.
Also, with each wasted Lincecum start, Timmy is in danger of falling significantly behind in the Cy Young Wins race. His numbers are sick, but the wins need to be there. He can't win one with 14 or 15 wins.
Let's just put this Philly series behind us. Gotta move forward, gotta keep the faith that the bats will awaken. We're getting Freddy Sanchez back soon, which is much needed. More importantly though, we've gotta get Pandoval back. He's been hitting like an injured man. I have to believe that if it were earlier in the season, he'd have already been on the DL. This whole "playing through pain" thing may be worsening his injury. It's a fine line.
But what choice do we have? None. He has to play until he can't walk. We have no choice. At the same time though, we may not have a Kung Fu at better than 75-80% for the rest of the season.
In his past 4 games, he's gone 1-12 with zero RBI. That's the difference when the margins are so thin.
"Dude. Shane Victorino looks like a bobblehead with that new helmet."
So true.
The helmets are designed withstand impacts up to 100 mph, while the current helmets are technically rated to take a pitch of only 70 mph. While no one on this side of Timmy Wakefield is throwing 70, the new helmets are simply laughable.
They're oversized, jagged, distracting, and seriously look like some kind of headgear more suited to a "specially-abled" hemophiliac that rides the short bus on his way to some sort of social interaction therapy.
Jeff Francoeur, a cool dude, said of them, "No, I am absolutely not wearing that. I could care less what they say, I'm not wearing it. There's got to be a way to have a more protective helmet without all that padding. It's brutal. We're going to look like a bunch of clowns out there." (MLB.com)
Krook & Kuip are with Frenchie and the Flyin' Hawaiian on this one. After Victoreenz went 0-2 in that monstrosity, he switched back to his old helmet, which prompted some good ol' Krook & Kuip banter, in which they both not-so-subtly made fun of the new helmets and would have refused to wear them.
Kuip remarked, "I might wear it while I was hitting, but then I'd switch back to the other one if I got on base."
Krook jabbed at the helmets, saying the players would fight it and they might wear it in 15 years at best.
Regardless of the safety thing, baseball players don't want to look silly. They want to look cool, they want to feel cool. They are actually very vain creatures. Hence the jewlery hanging out of the jerseys, unnecessary wrist bands, eye black at night, etc.
They will fight these stupid-looking helmets until they get drilled in the head like David Wright, who has no problem with being safe after getting nailed by a Matt Cain fastball a few weeks back.
NEWS UPDATE:
David Wright has reverted to his old batting helmet, saying, "It's just not comfortable. The last thing I need to be worrying about in the box is trying to shove it on my head." (NY Daily News)
So, there you go Rawlings/MLB. Improve this thing or they won't wear it.
On to Milwaukee, Zito vs. Suppan today. It's go time.
A little Dodgerhater mojo If you haven't seen I Love You Man, you're missing out. My favorite aspect of the movie's awesomeness is the dedication that Peter and Sydney (Paul Rudd and Siegel) have for the legendary band Rush.
Rush has been one of my favorite bands since I first heard them years ago. I think it's only appropriate to include these inspirational lyrics from my favorite song, "Limelight."
All the world's indeed a stage And we are merely players Performers and portrayers Each another's audience Outside the gilded cage
Living in the limelight The universal dream For those who wish to seem Those who wish to be Must put aside the alienation Get on with the fascination The real relation The underlying theme
The Giants are in the limelight. The players and us fans dare to dream, and it's time to lock it up, Jobin.
Despite the split in New York, it just didn't feel very satisfying. I suppose that's what splits will do to you...
A few observations on the Mets and Citi Field first though:
--The Mets are a team in shambles. Injuries have just racked this squad and you can tell its players are just barely hanging onto relevance. With David Wright now out for awhile, they simply have no one out there to lead the replacements. I've always loved Jeff Francoeur and Gary Sheffield, but neither are real leaders.
Then again, were Delgado, Jose Reyes, or Carlos Beltran?
Oh yeah, I forgot, this has been why they've collapsed year after year.
--I've always thought Mets manager Jerry Manuel to be somewhat of a dunce. He stabbed Willie Randolph in the back last year, and Manuel was dopey with the White Sox too. I never cared for him. But now... well now, I've really got a reason.
He also once said,"I don't like to rely on stats." So flip a coin, Jerry.
Whether or not Manuel ordered the two retaliatory bean balls or whether the artist formerly known as Johan Santana did that on his own accord... pretty classless moves overall. That goes back to the culture and leadership of the Mets. That is on Jerry Manuel.
Matt Cain is not malicious, and he never would have hit anyone in the head on purpose, especially a class act like David Wright. To hit both Sandoval and Bengie was blatant and unacceptable-- not to mention totally unwarranted.
Absolutely moronic and classless.
--Citi Field looks, well... how do I put this?
Lame.
It looks like a futuristic version of old Shea Stadium. There are no background views, ridiculous wind tunnels, too much foul territory, and unhappy fans. There is zero about this stadium on television that makes it stand out. It's something like a bland version of Philadelphia and Washington. The best part about this stadium are the colorful ads. Seriously. The old school Pepsi sign is my favorite thing.
The trademarks of all new stadiums are the architectural styling, bold lines, and skyline backdrops. There are subtle and bold examples of this. Pittsburgh has a great view of the city, San Diego has the old brick building, Houston has the hill in center and the train tracks, Cincy has the riverboat smoke stacks, Milwaukee has the Bernie Brewer Slide. Hell, even the refurbished Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City looks better than Citi Field.
New York City has so many things to work with, and they just blew it. Like Nationals Park in D.C., there is nothing about this place that stands out. It honestly looks depressing in there. I see a nearly totally enclosed, cavernous, nearly Three Rivers Stadium-esque ballpark with bizarre dimensions.
Pathetic.
--As for the Giants, it was a so-so effort. Granted, the 10-1 win on Monday as well as the 10th inning win on Saturday felt good. It's just the other times when we can't put any offense together that just drag us down. Let's hope the awakening that occurred in the series finale can carry over into Cincinnata (that's how they say it).
-- Stay hot A.U. Velez! He's hitting .500 in the past two games with 2 runs and 2 RBI. He's now hitting .306 on the season.
I've been one of his harshest, most vulgar critics, but he's slowly but surely winning me over. He seems to be somehow getting how to hit. His plate discipline is greatly improved, and he's currently impersonating an offensive catalyst. Imagine that... a real leadoff hitter.
I would like to see him more active as a base stealer though. Despite his speed, he's only attempted to steal 3 times, being caught once.
--Bochy will have to make some decisions about the outfield. With A.U. and Nate The Great ripping the balls all over the place, how can they be kept out of the lineup? Randy Winn needs to sit. We are in a Wild Card race here, and despite his 4/9 stretch over the past two games, he should be the odd man out. All Schierholtz does is hit, and his arm is Francoeur-like. It's a sin not to start him every day. -- Did you know, Randy Winn's real name is Dwight Randolph Winn?
-- Did you also know that D.R. Winn (Doctor Winn anyone?) is making $9.6 million dollars this season?
-- Did you know that Noah Lowry is being paid $4.5 million this season?
-- Did you know that when we released Dave Roberts earlier this year, we were required to continue paying him his $6.5 million dollar salary? -- Aaron Rowand, Randy Winn, Noah Lowry, and Dave Roberts cost the Giants a total of $32.6 million this season alone. The stats we got from these four guys (obviously Rowand and Winn as of Sunday): .264 avg, 101 runs, 11 HR, 89 RBI, 14 SB.
That would be a really nice season for Matt Kemp or Bobby Abreu. Doesn't that just make your stomach churn?
-- Happy Lincecum day everyone! Homer Bailey is on the mound for the Reds on Tuesday. If you were ever going to bet on baseball... this would be the game.
--Breaking news as I'm writing this. Stephen Strasburg signs with the Nats for just under $16 million. Awesome. I'm so glad they didn't give him more. Eff you Scott Boras. -- The Giants also signed the 6th overall pick, RHP Zack Wheeler. They gave him just under $3.3 million. Wheeler, out of HS in Georgia, had a 0.54 ERA in his senior season. He steps into the system void left by the trades of Scott Barnes and Timmy Alderson. Godspeed young Wheeler. Godspeed.
What should've happened on Sunday after Wheeler hit Pence for no reason, is we hit one of their guys. On Monday, some no-name nutsac Washington reliever hits Morse for no reason. We should've hit Werth or LaRoche, or whomever. That's the way this should work. 
