GAMEBALL and JOKE 06/30 GIANTS at CARDINALS

WTF was THAT….Giants up against a tough pitcher proceed to slap the snot out of him….hell the Giants beat Carpenter so badly you would think he was an Iranian Protester (TOO SOON!!!)…..ok…lets try that again……the Giants ran over Carpenter like it was 1989 Tianamen Square…..(come on, its been 20 years…..)……But back from the land of severely bad taste……this Giants team suddenly has the look of a contender…..Sandoval anchoring the attack…..Rowand and Schierholtz stinging the ball……Renteria, Molina, Winn, and Ishi all chipping in…..hell even if Uribe does a .250 15-20 from 2nd at least he is contributing…..add to this a starting staff from hell and a solid solid bullpen….and this team gives you the feeling that something good is going to happen….and the great part is….looking at the farm, this is JUST the beginning……So smile for a moment Giants fans, no longer are we wondering about next years draft for entertainment…..heck we might glance an eye to the minors for a moment to check in…..but the Major League team is taking its rightful place….front and center…….and that’s 5-2 with 40 runs scored and 19 allowed since Sanchez was yanked from the rotation…..who knew Jonathan was holding back our offense too?

GAMEBALL and JOKE
06/30 GIANTS at CARDINALS

GAMEBALL

EDGAR

Wow this was a tough one…..could go a bunch of different ways on this.,…so lets give some love to the man who's contribution was most unexpected…..Don't look now, but Edgar looks like his bat just might be getting warm……a cute little 6 game hit streak, is accented by a much nicer looking 11 for 24 with 5 doubles and 5 runs and 9 RBI…..and tonight's 3 hit night included two for clutch 2 out hits with runners on……so good job Edgar…….I think this is actually your first GAMEBALL?????......may many more come your way……

TIP OF THE CAP :
MOLINA
Another 2 multi hit game and couple RBI's and looks like the walkless wonder is back in the productive camp….but does he really HAVE to hit cleanup everynight????

WINN
2 hits gives him 7 for his last 14….and I don’t think any of those hits were righthanded…..(but I'm too lazy to check….

ISHI
His one hit was good for a Double and an RBI…..and no K's

AFFELDT
Pulled Johnson's ass from the fire

ROMO
Pulled Affeldt's ass from the fire

WILSON
Pulled Romo's ass from the fire

JOHNSON
Shut down the Cardinals…..well……except for Pujols…..

JOKER

PUJOLS

I have never seen a hitter so locked in all the time like Pujols…..no…..wait, I HAVE seen it before……where it seemed like whoever the pitcher was, he was powerless to the bat speed, pitch recognition and pure power of this awesome hitter……but last time I saw this, it turned out it was chemically enhanced……Could this be real???? Sure it's possible, but in this "post" enhancement era, you are guilty until proven innocent, especially when you put up cartoon numbers that Pujols is putting up…..Hell Arod was a child prodigy and HE was juicing……what can we think about a 13th round Junior College afterthought who has taken major league baseball by storm……well, I really do hope he's clean, but there will always be doubts….cause how do you prove you DON'T juice……so lets just hope he doesn't get found like Michael Jackson, another 1 glove superstar who was found pumped full of drugs (allegedly)……..

and of course scroll down for the "evidence" or at least what passes for evidence these days…..and don't make me start measuring head size…..


SMACK OF THE STICK :
BOCHY
You figured he would have a lot of practice being the Manager of the Padres aka Bonds Victims for so long…..but apparently he hasn't because after Pujols looks silly to start off a game, apparently he is nails from then on…..with a line shot to 3rd, a double that left a dent in the wall, and 2 SHOTS to left…….…..WALK THE FUCKER ALREADY…..

THE 7 DWARVES
Dwarfs? Dwarves? Fuck, I don't know…..This was my buddy would always call the lineup surrounding Bonds in the post Kent era….so a year after Ludwick, Glaus, and Ankiel chipped in 89 Homers to back Pujols…….Ludwick has 11, Ankiel has 5, and the next best total is 7 from Rasmus…..thats 23 homers after Pujols…..hell the Giants have 23 homers from Rowand, Molina, and Ishikawa…….

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And here is the "evidence." Yes its ridiculous, but after all the Bonds photographic evidence I have seen, it seems apropos

GAMEBALL and JOKE 06/29 GIANTS at CARDINALS

Walk away win for the Giants, with the offense clubbing the ball and Tim mowing em down…..all in 2:06
Tim works quick and the Giants swinging from the heels…
So how do you score 10 runs in 2:06?
The Giants aren't a "free swinging" club…..they just employ a quick strike offense!!!
The Giants are running the 2 minute offense all game long and anyone who knows football knows that with 2 minutes left the offense almost always seems to click…..
So keep hacking at slop and as long as you keep putting up big numbers, we can just call it the baseball version of the Run and Shoot

And it’s a Fangraphs night again. As you can see the good folks at fangraphs were able to incorporate Tim's dominance into their calculations…..(ok, not a real graph…..)




GAMEBALL and JOKE
06/29 GIANTS at CARDINALS

GAMEBALL

TIM

Holy shit, this kid is good. Probably best said by LaRussa….."Well he's got a 2 ERA, I mean…(insert aw shucks chuckle)…..when he pitches I don't know a lot of guys (that) are gonna be excited…..It's not his talent that is most impressive, its that he pitches with it. He doesn't just fire it up there……Got that straight Mr La Russa….and he is OURS……

TIP OF THE CAP :
WINN
Double in 1st inning broke the ice and got the party started

ISHIKAWA
Had the game changing blow with a 3 run shot…..keeps whiffing at an ungodly rate, but as long as he can his some dingers and play some D, we can live with a .250 from that spot……..

RENTERIA
Base clearing double put the game away, and 3rd game in a row with an extra base hit to left……going right into the face of all the data I pulled last week…..which, is a great indicator that this years data may be more random than meaningful……hell, love it when I write someone off and they respond…….

URIBE
He was trying to jerk anything and everything, and stepped in the bucket on 1/2 his swings……of course once it a while that max effort swing makes contact, which was the weirdest swing of the night, didn’t really step in the bucket….but planted his lead foot and then slid it out to open up and crush an inside pitch……and Uribe seems to LOVE that inside pitch….and by inside, I don't mean inside 1/2 of the zone….I mean OFF THE PLATE INSIDE……

MOLINA
As Giants fandom groused about your return to the cleanup spot after Nates 4 hit day….you responded with a 3 hit day of your own…..

NATE
Ho hum….2 hits……you can do better

GIANTS FAN IN BIG MAC LAND
Got Uribe's ball, got on TV, got to see Tim's shutout, and a 10 run outburst….you got more than a season full of fun in one night, you don't have to come back to the park again this year……

JOKER

ANKIEL

Giants No Hitter……a phrase as rare as Giants World Championship…..and since 1 won't happen this year, it might actually be nice to see the other…..and the way Timmy was dealing tonight may have been the night….but Steve Blass disease survivor Ankiel broke it up with a little jam shot flare to right……which makes him fair game here……
So in this era of Juice Awareness…….in the wake of the tearing down the feel good work of McGwire……Rick Ankiel was a feel good story that make us feel good about baseball…..here was a phenom who got crushed by the pressure, and then taken down by injuries ….. only to come back reinvented as a cannon armed, ball crushing centerfielder…….and then, as he was being embraced by the baseball nation, he was outted as a Juicer…..Sure, we get all the same excuses…..rehabbing from injury, blah blah blah……some buy it, some don't…..all I know is that slugging percentage is down to about .400 and OBP is about .300……..and with numbers like that, and Rasmus breathing down your neck, you aren't going to be long for this league…..so was this a story of redemption? or perhaps just another façade of Chemical enhancement…….I hope it’s the former, but fear it’s the latter…….

SMACK OF THE STICK :
PUJOLS
Striking out Pujols might not have been a good idea, as the next two times up he TATOOED the ball…….Bochy? You watching? Walk this MF'er the next two games……period……

MORTENSEN
After Sadowski's game, the bar has been raised for debut's…..and Clayton the Card's newest wunderkind was welcomed to the league with hard hit shots and shaky defense…..

OQUENDO
I see you coaching 3rd…….Yes…..I'm still pissed about 1987…….

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GAMEBALL and JOKE 06/28 GIANTS at BREWERS

Wow, all Giants all day …. great way to bounce back from yesterday. This club could have easily folded for the sweep, but instead they looked like the dominate team…..and despite losing the series, looks like the offense might actually be finding the power it needs with 5 homers and 1 stolen homer in 3 games…….

GAMEBALL and JOKE
06/28 GIANTS at BREWERS

GAMEBALL

SADOWSKI

Welcome to the big leagues, and Ryan looked like a vet as he pounded the strike zone and was able to bear down when the Brewers were threatening. Shutting down the Brewers is no small task, as a few other Giants pitchers this year can attest. The Brewers have touched up Cain, Lincecum, Zito, and Johnson all this year.….. Add your first major league knock to the pitching performance and you get today's gameball…..and maybe even another start or two……

TIP OF THE CAP :
NATE
If not for the sparkling debut for the unlikely starting pitcher, the gameball would have gone to your sparkling new Cleanup hitter, Nate Schierholz….A day after being robbed by Cameron, Nate made sure to pull the ball to Right for the homer today……Nate had 4 hits in total, including a leadoff single to start a 2nd inning rally for the 2nd consecutive day……If Bochy has a brain (debatable), he will be hitting Nate cleanup or at least near the top of the lineup…..Nate's bat looks like the 3rd real threat in the lineup next to Rowand and Pablo……you got to stack the threats to maximize the benefit…..

WINN
Collected 2 hits in the leadoff spot, and despite his woes versus Lefties, it doesn't seem to be affecting his other side…..

RENT
Another pull double, and a hard hit pull ground out to 3rd…..maybe it's too soon to write him off??? I can hope, can't I?

SABEAN
Took a gamble on Sadowski's promotion…..and it paid off …..at least for 1 day….

CAINER
Awesome…..giving the rookie the cream pie with impeccable timing and stealth…..of course a euphoric Sadowski just rolled with it right through the interview…..

HOWRY
Mr Low Leverage pitcher…..keep him there, he seems to love it……

JOKER

WILSON

Just because I took a day off yesterday, doesn't mean you get away with that shit……
After the Giants played their nuts off to get a 2 run lead, you came in and proceeded to blow chunks all over the stadium…..after getting the 1st out of the inning, Counsell battled and got an infield single that you really couldn't do anything about……and then the wheels came off……I really have two big beefs with the way that inning broke down…..first was the Walk to Gamel…..you cannot put the tying run on, especially when you are talking about a rookie with less than 100 AB's hitting around .240 AND the top of the lineup coming around……second, the way Fielder was attacked…..Hard Stuff away and Soft Stuff in…..what the fuck??? when you throw 99MPH, you bust em hard IN and go soft away and hope he rolls over on one……you put a slider on the inside corner on a leftie???? How is that supposed to fool them….and with a Slider that moves down more than in, you are going to saw him off.….you got the velocity, yougot the makeup, if you ever want to make that leap from good to great…..you need to figure out out a changeup, or at least a 3rd pitch you can show now and then…..

SMACK OF THE STICK :
URIBE
Just because it was yesterday, doesn't mean it still isn't fresh in my mind…..sure ball took a nasty hop, and you haven'y played a whole lot of 2nd base…..but that ball doesn't get through the infield…..you HAVE to knock that down…….

SABEAN
Beat to the punch on DeRosa……The Cards got him for the handsome sum or Chris Perez and a PTBNL……JEEZ…..Perez is basically a hard throwing reliever with nice slider with some control issues……you would think that some combination of Hinshaw, Sadler, and whatever coulda gotten him….or even Merkin and a player….or even Sanchez……DeRrosa woulda been a nice fit at 2nd and/ or 3rd….and he can play 1st and OF too….Basically a pretty good hitting super utility man……

BOCHY
I don't have much a problem with the timing of Zito's hook, as I do with bringing Medders into that spot….despite that sparkling ERA, he has gone cold…..last 5 outtings he is sporting a WHIP of 2.00 with an ERA of 6…..and that doesn't include the 2 inherited runners he allowed when he came in with 2 out the other day……Quit looking at ERA Bochy, put Medders at the end of the bullpen……hell, even Merkin and Howry have better peripherals…..

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More HitF/X Doubles vs Homers....Vertical Angle and Velocity

More HitF/X Doubles vs Homers....Vertical Angle and Velocity


More Fun with HitF/X. This is data for both leagues in April.
Hey all, so I have limited time to work on this, so I will share what I have so far.
I extracted vertical angle and velocity data on HITF/X from April.
The question, whats the difference between a double and a homer?
I cleaned up what looked like bad data, but might have killed some good data along with it (horizontal angles that started outside the foul lines)
I will be doing more later when I have time.....
for now.....here's the graphs

And from before, Giants batted ball speeds click here

Offense overachievers? 71 Game Checkup

I have mentioned this before, but lets go ahead and check in on the Giants offense.....
Despite being near last in the league in runs scored, this team is actually over achieving.
Based on Tango Tiger's Linear Weights W OBA thing....which is about as advanced as it gets these days....
The Giants have actually scored 20 more runs this year than one would expect from the component parts....
WRC = 281, actual runs = 261

Or lets slice that another way.....
Compare 2008 vs 2009 through game 71.
Now the Giants had more plate appearances this time though 71 games, so for purposes of comparison I have reduced the 2008 numbers to match 2009 using plate appearances.

As you can see the runs scored is almost exactly the same.
But to get to this run total the 2009 Giants used the same amount of hits
but 2009 has 16 fewer doubles, 4 fewer homers, 42 fewer walks, 47 more strikeouts, a lower BA, lower OBP, and a lower Slugging.
So how are they scoring more runs? They are converting their chances better, with 23 fewer runners left stranded.
So this can be read a few ways.
The Giants are either lucky, clutch, incredibly well managed, or some combination of the three.
I will leave it up to you to choose which one….

GAMEBALL and JOKE 06/26 GIANTS at BREWERS

GAMEBALL and JOKE
06/26 GIANTS at BREWERS

GAMEBALL

NATE

Good old Nate is showing Giants fans that despite his pedree,. he might just be more than a AAAA player…..he fits the stereotype of Giants hitter a bit long in the tooth after spending at least a couple years in AAA….that alumni includes…..Linden, Ellison, Niekro, Ortmeier, Ransom, Torcato, and Minor….these are the Giants suspects that have passed through San Francisco the past few years, so you can forgive us if we look at "youngsters" with a suspicious eye…..heck even Nate's teammates, Lewis and Ishikawa look like they could join this peanut gallery of over the hill wannabe's…….but Nate is refusing to fall into that group, with two more hits today, including showing off his wheels on a hustle single….. You can't help but cheer for this kid…..High socks, no gloves, great wheels, a cannon for an arm, shoulders that look they were stolen from a linebacker, and all from a local high school, and college with parents who are unabashed Giants fans…..good work Nate, and everyone is hoping you can break the curse of the 25+ year old Giants "hitting prospect"

TIP OF THE CAP :
SANDOVAL
Oppo shot in the 1st inning, this kid is special….and the major reason the Giants are above .500, let alone sniffing a playoff spot……I would say he is already the 3rd best Giants hitter this decade…only behind Bonds and Kent……

SAUSAGE
Besides Pablo's homer, the sausage provided the only smile, as they almost trampled Molina to death…..that woulda looked good on a death certificate……trampled to death by processed meat…..

ELIEZER
Hey…..can't help but have a soft spot for marginal major league ex-giants….and there are a lot of them…..just noticed that Eliezer is wearing the tools of ignorance for the Pads….


JOKER

GLOVES

Sloppy sloppy….It started with Winn's misplay the 1st batter of the game, it went downhill from there…..Sandoval getting confused on the bunt, Winn not being prepared for a tag up from third, Uribe showing off his limited range in the hole, and then Uribe dropping a throw that woulda nailed Cameron……The Brewers offense didn't need any help, and when you throw this kinda shit out on the field you better have the offense to make up for it…..which of course…..is not your 2009 Giants

SMACK OF THE STICK :
BATS
Good pitching beats good hitting….right? Well, that’s not exactly what happened tonight….was more of a situation where good pitching slipped something into bad hitting's drink, then took bad hitting into a dark alley behind a dive bar, beat them with a sock full of quarters, kicked them repeatedly in the ribs, took their shoes and their wallet, and left them huddled gasping for air in a damp musty corner behind a dumpster……Good pitching did think about taking bad hitting's kidneys too, but filling a bathtub full of ice just takes took much work…….

CAIN
Good pitching beats good hitting…….but what happens when good pitching has an off day and runs into GREAT hitting……Cain was charged with the 1st game of a tough road trip versus our new Wild Card rival, the 2009 version of the Harvey's Wallbangers….. and when they weren't banging them off the wall and over the wall, they were getting walked, hitting grounders in the hole, and beating out bunt hits……

ISHI
The K watch continues…..this time they were GOOD K's at least….fooled on curves, instead of swinging through fastballs….but still 2K in 4AB ain't going to save your job

DOWNS
Midnight already???? Looks like Downs is our newest pumpkin….with an 0 fer that included a K with 2 runners in scoring position, less than 2 out, and the game in the balamce……NEXT!!!

BOCHY
Wow….hit and run with1 out and the pitcher on deck…..is Downs THAT much of a DP risk???? Lucky that Uribe was able to steal the bad, but I am sure that extra strike certainly didn't help Downs avoid the strike out

COFFEY
First of all, quit stealing Lefferts bit, second off pitchers have to run enough already….instead of sprinting to the mound, you should demand they bring back the bullpen car, one of the first emission free vehicles…and hell you can always get your running by volunteering to be a sausage

Hell that looks like one sweet ride…..no that’s not a picture of David Wells……and David, I think the slimming effect of Pinstripes has a 350 pound limit…..


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Is Renteria Cooked?

So here we are in late June in the lead for the Wild Card with the second best record in the National League. But all the warm fuzzies we get when looking the standings get counteracted by the cold reality that have a severely flawed team. Sure the pitching is the envy of 29 teams, but can we really get to the postseason without some offensive help? The flaws are obvious and the Giants' leadership is looking for a right-handed bat to help score some runs for a team who is 2nd to last in the league in scoring. Unfortunately, this midseason tune up isn't the easiest thing to do. For a clear upgrade on offense, you would need to give up some of your prized young talent…and if you go for a cheaper move, the upgrade might be so small that it might not make enough of a difference….and hell, who knows if it would even be an upgrade over what we already have in house.

So apparently a right handed bat is the target, but I can't help but wonder what happened to the right-handed bat we obtained last offseason. I see him at Shortstop almost everyday playing like a sloth in molasses. Pretty sure we didn't pay him for his gold glove pedigree, so where is that National League Silver Slugger for which we spent so richly? Well, he is putting up a line of .249/ .308/ .312…..Yes OPS geeks, that’s .620…..hell even Harold Reynolds knows Rent is stinking up the joint. So what the hell…..

"Second Half Player" right? He was this bad last year and then caught on fire!.....well, he did perform better in the second half last year, but his best months were April, August, and September, so I would think it was random more than "getting comfortable" or "warming up as the season progresses." Additionally as we go further and further back, there is no real pattern of a 2nd half surge. In 2007, his second half numbers show improvement but this is based on a torrid July and then getting hurt and missing August and some of September. 2006 Showed a dramatic fall off in the 2nd half, and 2005 and 2004 show no real difference between the two halves. Not exactly a Adam LaRochesque 2nd Half Surger…..

(FOR THOSE WHO HATE STATS SKIP AHEAD)
STATS HEAVY PART BEGINS

Lets look at the stats a little deeper. First off BABIP (batting average on balls in play).
2004 .317
2005 .318
2006 .325
2007 .375
2008 .294
2009 .289
First off….. WOW….2007 was his golden year for sure, slim chance he does that again…..this year is similar to last year, so hard to call it an outlier, although it has regressed since 2004-06. Hard to say if that is luck, skill, maybe even fewer infield hits as he gets older?

Lets look at BB and K rates
2004 6.2 %BB 13.3 %K
2005 8.1 %BB 16.1 %K
2006 9.4 %BB 14.9 %K
2007 8.5 %BB 15.6 %K
2008 6.9 %BB 12.7 %K
2009 8.1 %BB 16.0 %K
A little bit of wiggle in the data, but 2009 is hardly an outlier. Down from last year, but comparable to 2005-07. Combine that with the BABIP rate similar to 2008, and we got the worst of both worlds…..but I don't think we have found the source of his woes quite yet……

Lets look at the batted ball splits…..What does this tell us? (see bottom of post)
Well first the easy one, looking at BABIP for Groundballs, you see no trend, so loss of speed doesn't seem to be the source of BABIP decline in 2008-09. Could it be luck?

Flyball, Line Drive, Groundball splits seem to be holding steady, nothing to see here.

What jumped out right away was 2009 Flyball BA, SLG, and BABIP. Sure does look like he is either getting really unlucky on Flyballs, or he is hitting lots of easy flies…..
Also, looks like his Linedrive BA and BABIP have dropped nearly .200 points from 2006-07, going from above league average to below league average

As far as the Spray numbers (Pull vs Middle vs Oppo) looks like he maintains a pretty balanced distribution, with nothing of consequence coming from the % sprays. But when you look at the BA, SLG, and BABIP for 2008-09 Pull numbers, and 2009 Up the middle numbers, looks like he is getting killed. Again could be just luck, but maybe he is hitting a lot of weak shit when he is pulling the ball. In fact his slugging is down basically across the board.

Maybe we can explain 2009 with the ballpark???
No Chance, he is actually doing better at home
Home .258/ .333/ .317 BABIP.294
Road .239/ .281/ .308 BABIP.273

STATS HEAVY PART ENDS
(FOR THOSE WHO HATE STATS START READING AGAIN HERE)


No, personally I think what the stats are trying to tell us is two things…..
1) Renteria's power is waning; this is not just showing up in his pitiful 2 homer output, but with other Flyballs and Linedrives being turned into outs

2) This lack of power is not because he is just slapping at the ball trying to make contact, you can see this in his K% trend and the spray patterns……

So what do we do? Well, it would seem strange to me that a 32-33 year old player would suddenly lose it, but it wouldn't be unprecedented. Bonilla, Lansford, and Alomar come to mind when I think of hitters falling off the map in the 32-33 year range.

Do I think he is losing it? Yes, unfortunately…..I read these stats as a player who felt like he was losing it in 2008, and was afraid of going to 2 strikes, so started putting the ball in play more (5% more swings in 2008, then 2007). This helped his batting average but hurt his walk rate and didn't help his slugging. This year, he has gone back to his "more selective approach" but instead of success, he finds a further regression in ability.. I expect him to start swinging earlier in the count and thereby helping his BA again, but hurting his walk rate.

So how do we know if he is coming around?
Watch Renteria's power #'s.. If he suddenly starts pulling a few doubles and homers, you know things are coming around and he can be a productive hitter again. Otherwise, expect him to get more aggressive helping his superficial stats without really helping out the team.

God, I really hope I am wrong……

Splits
League BABIP Ave.233 GB.144 FB 718 LD

GAMEBALL and JOKE 06/24 GIANTS at ATHLETICS

GAMEBALL and JOKE
06/24 GIANTS at ATHLETICS

GAMEBALL

JOHNSON

Randy was out of sync early giving up three hard hit balls in the span of 4 hitters……but then Randy got his groove back, and after back to back strikeouts to end the inning Randy was on cruise control….with the A's barely threatening the rest of the game…..What was that theory about getting 300 would relax the big man???? who knows if that’s true or not, but since Win 300?
2-1 with a 3.65 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, and 1.1 BB/9
Not bad from a #3/#4 Starter…….

TIP OF THE CAP :
NATE
Hey…..Nates out there against a leftie…..well, looks like Bochy finally looked at Randy's record vs Lefties this year and figured that Nate might stand a better chance…..and Nate did a little more than stand a chance, as he answered the A's early run with a 2 run line drive off the wall in right for a Homer….yes a homer off the wall, you see playing at the Coliseum is a lot like playing wiffle ball in the backyard….where if it hits the garage above the window it’s a homer…..whereas in Oakland, if it hits the advertising its gone…..but I digress….Nate, added an line drive to right to start the 4th inning that would end Gio's night…and looks to be entrenching himself in right…which means he plays until he takes the next 0 for….and then back to the bench

ROWAND
Two more hits……keep it up, I won't get tired of typing you in here….hell you do this all season and I will even do one of those thin little goatees

RENTERIA
What the hell was that……did someone wake you? I swear I saw Edgar range up the middle and make a nice play……honest…..

DOMINGUEZ
Welcome to the organization……and belated congrats on the being named BA 1st team All American at 3rd Hey cut me some slack, I was reading the print version……

JOKER

89*

Wow….what a difference 20 years later…….after a feel good, well executed reunion at AT&T celebrating the team that brought the pennant back to San Francisco after 37 years, we get this Bizzaro world flip side celebration for the team that actually WON the World Series……. First, you had a celebration/ reunion with limited participation from the team with 12 players showing up …and Hell if Gallego and Lansford weren't working in the park at the time, they would barely have enough guys to field a team…and if that wasn't enough, in between spankings from Lincecum and Johnson, the war of words began…….Lansford and Stewart basically calling Canseco a Selfish Bastard, and then Canseco replying something about ME ME ME ME ME….screw YOU…..ME ME ME…….wow….what a feel good time that was……and I look at this now….and sure we would have LOVED the ring, but it sure is nice to look at that 1989 team with fond memories……whereas all the memories of 89 for Oakland aren't as wonderful as they should be……they would have been better served, just to let the flag fly with that "1989 World Champs" on it……rather than try to dig up and celebrate memories that have turned a bit sour……

PS Rickey was heard saying" What about Rickey? Rickey was the selfish one! Canseco was never as selfish as Rickey, why isn't everyone talking about Rickey!"

SMACK OF THE STICK :
A's MITTS
Holliday's kick of the ball gave the Giants run #3, and Gio's miscue cost a DP, and lead to runs #4, #5, and #6…..final score…..6-3…….

HOWRY
You couldn't go more than a couple outings without getting your name in print again……

RICH
2 hits = 1 more month on roster…..good work

SAVE RULE
How many people know the save rule……ok Marco does……but who else……well looks like Bochy does as well…..the 3 run rule only works with 1 or more innings pitched……less than 1 inning, its 2 runs…….1 out to go…..Giants up by 3, 1 man on……yup……subtract all inherited runners from the lead 3-1= 2 + 1 out = Save……if Wilson comes in with bases empty and a 3 run lead with 2 out in the 9th…no save……I swear this rule drives me nuts, especially when it dictates usage of your closer, which it almost invariably does…….

SPAIN
I really don't know shit about Soccer…..All I know is Landon Donavan is a pussy, and there is likely Rioting in Spain right about now……


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by merkin
Wenesday 06/24 Gameball goes to Randy and Joker goes to A's 89* , click for the detailshttp://tinyurl.com/lv6lpu #sfgiants

GAMEBALL and JOKE 06/23 GIANTS at ATHLETICS

Back from a game at the Dump…….went to the Game with my boss……who is a lovable old A's fan……last time these teams met, he wanted to place a wager on the series……I saw Lincecum and Cain in the rotation and gladly took his bet……I now have some nice photo's of a lucky A's fan wearing a bright orange Giants cap……….unfortunately that also meant he would get his chance for payback…….he also suggested we take in a game….he suggested Monday, quickly doing the math in my head I suggested Tuesday…..or Timmy Day……if I were him, I wouldn’t let me pick the game again……so cheer for the Giants extra hard tomorrow….I really don't want to know WHAT kinda A's hat he has in mind……

Got to make it short today……got to sleep and get to work in the morning……

GAMEBALL and JOKE
06/23 GIANTS at ATHLETICS

GAMEBALL

TIM!!!

The A's fans got a first hand look at the Cy Young award winner, and something tells me they really don't want to see him again……Yes kids…..the Changeup is THAT good…..Yes….the Heater is THAT good…..and yes……that was a nasty curveball on top of it…….Let's just say that I think everyone knows who the best baseball player in the bay area is……

TIP OF THE CAP :
NATE
3 hits means he gets 1 more start

RENT
What the hell, you have a bat???

MOLINA
Looking like he is finding his stroke back, I hope

SANDOVAL
And I think the A's are finding out who the best hitter in the Bay Area is…..

JOKER

A'S FANS

Now, since interleague play began I have been to probably around 15 Giants Games AT the Dump……and I have NEVER seen anything like THAT……Giants fans were at least 30-40% of the fans in attendance, and they were MUCH MUCH LOUDER than the A's fans for almost the whole game……only when the A's mounted momentary threats did you hear any stirring of the fans……only to be squashed by waves of cheers as Timmy got out of each one…….So enjoy your 20 year old victory……I will just settle for our FRESH victory

SMACK OF THE STICK :
RENT
Man…..you got bailed out bu the man in blue…..everyone in the park knew you dropped that….except for 1 man…..who made the call

ISHI
2 K's and an 0 fer

BRUCE
A Truly Laugh Out Loud moment……as Bruce was bitching and moaning about living in the past thinking about 1989……a caller brought up the 1984 Cubs…..CLASSIC……

GIANTS FANS
1989….come on, we didn't have a chance…..hell, A's #3 starter Bob Welch didn't even get to pitch…..and if you don't remember….Bob Welch was an ex-Dodger, whose nickname was "Giant Killer"

MERKIN
Yes, Renteria hit a foul ball right at me, which I did not convert…..I actually misjudged it and thought it was coming 2 rows in front of me….instead it tagged my boss and hit my arm on the rebound…….congrats to the A's fan in front of me, who then gave it to a young Giants fan……ok, not really YOUNG YOUNG….more like young hot college coed YOUNG



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More pics from tonight click here

GAMEBALL and JOKE 06/22 GIANTS at ATHLETICS

Game 1 to the boys in Green and Gold……which we all expected when we saw the pitching matchup……Sanchez vs Professional Baseball Player…….that's certainly a tough draw to overcome……so just sit back, relax and wait for Timmy Day…….

GAMEBALL and JOKE
06/22 GIANTS at ATHLETICS

GAMEBALL

ISHI

Back in the lineup with that slick glove and that uppercut stroke…..He's got the swing, he's got the power……and I will keep harping and harping on it…..now he needs to make contact…….the big change to his game in his breakout 2008 was 1) Fly Ball Rate and 2) Contact rate……..he's maintaining the Fly Ball rate……now he can just cut down on those swing and misses…….maybe it comes with time and pitch recognition…..maybe it’s a flaw in his approach…..whatever it is…..it was working today as he crushed a line drive shot to Right for a short lived lead……and more importantly to me…..0 K's……

TIP OF THE CAP :
MERKIN
Wow…..this is going to be a short list……so Mr Merkin, you are here not for your performance…..but the amusement you provided me as you tried to concentrate on pitching while clearly distracted by your wardrobe You could see him look down at his untucked shirt and think….should I stop and tuck, or should I throw……ok throw…..and then look down again, tuck a little and ….ok throw…..oh it came untucked on the other side……whatever…..ok throw…….no, got to tuck……drop the glove and tucked ……man, I swear he was paying so much attention to his shirt, that he probably completely forgot there was a man on 1st……

JOKER

SANCHEZ

As a famous Yankee Catcher once said…..it's" Déjà vu all over again"…..seems it was just five days ago we reviewed the option rule and determined that we had seen the last of Sanchez……this kid is just about as frustrating as it gets, constantly getting himself in trouble, and yet talented enough to wriggle off the hook over and over …but not forever…..You see despite all the physical talent in the word, "90% of baseball is half mental," and Sanchez is stuck on the short bus……..

SMACK OF THE STICK :
4-5-6 Hitters……
You saw it coming didn't you? Molina, Winn, Lewis…..a combined 0 for 9 with 3 K's….

ROWAND
Double clutch cost the Giants 90 feet and an out……and a double play quickly ended the only real threat this offense could muster

FRONT OFFICE
Make a move already……I can understand not wanted to trade Sanchez, but he AINT suddenly going to find it at this level with the bright lights and pressure…..send him to Fresno to straighten himself out……at this point you would hardly get anything for him in trade, not until he demonstrates the ability to throw strikes….and at this point he needs to be dismantled and fixed……band-aids ain't doing it…….

NBC
Wow…Miller, Fosse, and Krukow……a bit awkward as they tried to give equal time to both teams……never seen that situation before……but NBC gets the game and the broadcasters and the decisions…..and hell …..the broadcast booth was the only part of the game the Giants could actually come out ahead…..

MEDIA
So a few days after we reviewed the options status of Sanchez, you hear that he is out of options…..ok, wouldn't be the first time I smoked the crack pipe….and then a few days later they reverse course and let us know he HAS options….Okaaaaaaaaaaaaay……..first, Giants front office say they were misquoted…..second, how hard was it to look up…..hell, all I had to do was…..Wikipedia + Baseball Reference Game Log + Giants Transaction Archive……I will be sending my resume to Sabean tomorrow…..of course I might throw off the curve at 24 Mays Plaza……

A'S FAN
WOW….just WOW……a replica Series Trophy behind the plate….Good God, how long did that take you????? and I can't imagine going to the game and trying like hell not to break it as you shuttle back and forth to the park…….I mean, I can understand obsession…hell I put in hours and hours on this thing……but good god, even I wouldn't go that far……so many easier ways to get the message across……Hell, I would blow up a picture of the trophy…..would have the same effect……but whatever……hope you had your fun…..