GAMEBALL and JOKER 07/31 PHILLIES at GIANTS

Maybe its just me, but after the Giants ripped off 5 in a row, and we came upon the Sadowski v the Phillies + Cliff Lee and actually hung around until the later innings….I am not taking this loss too hard….of course it helps when you know that Timmy day is just around the Corner…..and really, would have loved to win this one but the Phillies are relieved to get a W before the weekend……

GAMEBALL and JOKER 07/31 PHILLIES at GIANTS

GAMEBALL

MERKIN

Was pumping fastball after fastball and found the strike zone enough to put up two scoreless frames…..this kid has some nasty stuff and he can find the strike zone like he did tonight he could be a useful piece as this team tries to sneak into the playoffs…..

TIP OF THE CAP :
VELEZ
Didn't dive for his "nice plays" tonight and is looking more comfortable in Left and Center than he ever did at 2nd…..hope his bat stays hot, we can use the help

URIBE
Broke up the no-hiter, and got the shutout breaking Sac Fly

ROWAND
Man, this dude is the Cliché' gamer…..you can just see this guy is playing is big time pain…..i would pay money to see Rowand and Matheny in a fist fight….

ROMO
Solid outing….looks like the lynchpin of the middle relief corps is back on track…..

JOKER

AFFELDT

Mr 28 appearances without a run was handed a bad situation and made it worse……Jeremy had NOTHING coming out of the pen…..balls bouncing balls hitting players……just plain ugly …..he allowed the double steal and then proceeded to hit a batter on a 3 ball count……then walked in a run on a 4 pitch walk…..and then when he did finally find the zone, he gave up another 2 runs and the close game became out of hand……Affeldt is not just the most important reliever on this staff, he is the 3rd most important pitcher on the roster….lets hope tonight was just an abreation and not a return back to the mean for Jeremy who had been so good so many times……

SMACK OF THE STICK :
MEDDERS
The Giants were hanging tough against a very strong opponent…just laying in the weeds looking to scratch out a couple runs…..then the 4 pitch leadoff walk to Rollins then a 4 pitch walk to Utley with 1 down set the stage for the to go from a 1 run deficit to a 4 run deficit…..our a mountain to claim for an offensively challenged team versus the reigning AL Cy Young…..

SADOWSKI
Was squeezed a bit, but this kid is a mirage…..decent stuff, good head and decent control. does not add up to success…..if he can shave corners he might have a chance…..but right now it would make sense for the Giants to start looking elsewhere….Randy's spot in the rotation is a big key to our success, as ugly as Randy was at times (insert ugly joke here) the Giants were 10-7 in his starts….including 4 in a row before his injury…..time to see if Martinez or Pucetas can catch lightning in a bottle…..

BATS
Sure, what are these guys supposed to do versus a pitcher of Lee's caliber…..but you HAVE to do better than 1 hit in 7 innings…..this is the kind of pitcher we would face in the playoffs if we can make it that far…..you need to at least work a count and get to the pen….oh yeah……this IS the Giants I am talking about

A's fans
Sorry folks, head to head Friday night…….not good for Oakland
Giants Attendance = 33,934 (97.7% of average 2009 attendance 34,733)
Athletics Attendance = 12,151 (68.6% of average 2009 attendance 17,717)
Kinda sad, looks like Giants game effects A's games more than the other way around……
And if you are thinking the opponent had a big influence…
Blue Jays ave Road = 26,101
Phillies ave Road = 29,655
Sure, the opponent had something to do with it, but 12,000 fans???? Sounds like a last place team attendance……in 1978…….

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GAMEBALL and JOKER 07/30 PHILLIES at GIANTS

OK, folks these games and trades and work is killing me….came from game….so fun…. but I am tired……so really quick one…..you won't feel a thing

BTW Torres hurt himself in the 1st inning, but they don't show it on TV…..Velez hit the foul down the line and as Torress tries to stop rounding third he hits a slick patch and slips and grabs his hammy…..plays 1 more inning and then gone…..didn't look bad, like a full running sprint blow out, more like a tweak….hope I am right……

GAMEBALL and JOKER 07/30 PHILLIES at GIANTS

GAMEBALL

PANDA

Played like all star

TIP OF THE CAP :
VELEZ
Plays like major leaguer….except in Right

SANCHEZ
Pitches like good pitcher, until he get rattled

HOWRY
We invented a new stat today….HS = Howry Save….when you protect a lead of 5 runs or more……..

ME
Cause I kick ass….

MONKEY
Cause she gave me stuff and I think she likes me


JOKER

UTLEY

FUCKING AWESOME……the heckling of Utley began in the warm-ups for the 4th….when Utley airmailed a warmup to Feliz that ended up in the dugout……Then when he mishandled the throw from Feliz we were really going off…..(why did Feliz get the E?)…..And then the bullshit at home got more jeers and then his next E has us going again…..Phillies fans nearby tried to get an EAGLES???? chant going, but they were out matched by volume and coordination of heckles……good stuff……BTW, did I mention we were 1st row infield…..I am guessing he heard us…….

SMACK OF THE STICK :
LOPEZ
When we weren't on Utley's ass, we were on Lopez……revolving around the fact that the Phillies love him so much that they got Cliff Lee to replace him…..and that he would look good in an Iron Pigs Uniform (AAA Philly)…..was almost as fun as Utley

WALKER
Fat and sweaty gonna get himself in trouble throwing up that high…..

MANUEL
Tried a couple Don Rickels line during a quiet in between innings moment……and went with the So Much Skin around your Neck, looks like you are wearing a scarf…..
OK, folks time to sleep…..




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GAMEBALL and JOKER 07/29 PIRATES at GIANTS

I like to be a little different than most things you can read on the web. I mean, why would you come here to read this if you could get the same shit 100 different places on the interweb. So while the rest of the world is focusing on what we gave up, I want to take a minute and take a look at what we got….Looking at the numbers, Freddy is hard to get a read on, He has played full time for 3 1/2 years now…. and in the past 3 1/2 years he has 1 great year and 1 not so great with 1 1/2 pretty good years including 2009. When you look at the internal numbers again, all over the place…..GB/FB ratios back and forth, pitches per PA back and forth…..his current numbers seem to be a nice fit for the average of the last 4 years, so I will start there. Everyone focuses on the high BA low OBP, but one thing I am not hearing is the doubles…..this kid looks like a doubles machine with 28 doubles already, and averaging 40 Doubles for the 3 years previous…..this gives him a wOBA of 336 which is similar to Uggla, Phillips, Barmes, Kennedy, and Felipe Lopez…..basically just about Major League Average, and basically 2x the run value the Giants have gotten out of 2nd base so far this year….. A solid upgrade for sure, and combined with Garko we should expect our horrible offense to improve….. to something like not so bad.,….so Giants fans, enjoy your brand spanking new "Not So Bad" Offense!!!

GAMEBALL and JOKER 07/29 PIRATES at GIANTS

GAMEBALL

CAIN

Far from not so bad…..Matty is a fucking OX of a pitcher (ok yehyeh, lets try it) dominating a depleted Pirates team peppering the strike zone with 4 pitches and never let a runner past second…..hosed on the win just like old times, but I don't think Cain is complaining as he has always been the consummate team guy and I see the Giants brought home the W……and Mr Cain moved past Haren and Carpenter into the NL Lead for ERA with 2.17…….already leading in W's Cain could get 2 jewels of the pitching triple crown, while Tim is running away with the Strikeout lead third Jewel…..and for those worries about his velocity….Cain was crusing building velocity as the game progressed…..topping about at 95 about 37 fastballs deep into the game, and he broke 94 MPH 10 different times, 8 of those coming in the later innings…..see graph of Fastball Velocity on bottom of write up

TIP OF THE CAP :
WILSON
Looking like a world beater for the second outing in a row…..keep it rolling, we are gonna need you if we wanna stay in the hunt…..

VELEZ
May not be the 2nd baseman of the future or even the Centerfielder…..but he might just end up as the 4th OF, backup UT infielder on a team hungry for offense…..and the way he is swinging the bat right now, the Giants need to find a place for this kid

WINN
Brought home the game winner……that’s good for something right?

JOKER

SABES

OMG WHAT IS SABES THINKING!!!..I usually like to suspend most rational thought and write with some emotion…… … I could just pile on like 95% of the interweb….. but you got that everywhere else right now ….lets take a different tack………..and actually address the question……what IS he thinking….why do the Media, Board Posters, BA and BP readers, Bloggers and basically the entire world of "know it all" baseball "outsiders" think Sabes should be taken out back and maimed……well, I have a few thoughts on this matter…….first of all, I am a baseball outsider as well, so most of this is pure conjecture…….

1) Scouting of other teams yields limited information which is likely overvalued…. The Indians are scouting the Giants, the Giants are Scouting the Pirates, the Pirates are Scouting the Mariners…..you hear this shit all the time….so what does it mean??? Well, you got some keen baseball observers trying to break down what kind of player goes with the reports and numbers they have seen…..but really how much can they see in a handful of games??? many players can look good one day and bad the next….all the scout sees it a snapshot of the player that may not be complete and does not tell you how consistent a player is….which happens to be important for a game like baseball…..just think of what Randy Winn must look like on a cold streak……or Rowand…..

2) We don't know how the Giants org valued Alderson……pretty sure the Giants knew what they had in Alderson……he is no Lincecum….he is no Cain…..he is not even a Bumgarner……the Giants have a good track record with evaluation of pitchers….and yes Liriano was the exception, but he wasn't healthy and wasn't as advanced as Alderson is now…..just 20 and you never know what he will become, but the Giants must have not thought he was THAT special……

3) We don't know how negotiation went…..Sanchez was the best 2nd baseman on the market, and the Giants and Twins were both desperate for help….the loser of this potential bidding war might be left with the scraps……who knows how this broke down…..the Pirates may have asked for Alderson, or they would continue to shop Sanchez hoping for a better offer…the mindset for the Giants could have been that Sanchez was the best fit by far…….and I may not know much about negotiation, but I do know if the match is perfect you can go over market just to make sure you get the deal done…..

4) We like Orlando Hudson……..yes, we do….one hell of a player…..but hindsight is 20/20 and we forget three things…. Hudson was coming off a serious wrist injury, the Giants didn't expect to contend and 2009 was the year to develop Frandsen or Burriss, and most importantly…..Hudson would cost us our 2009 2nd round draft pick, Thomas Joseph

5) There are other forces as work than baseball…….Deals are not made in a vacuum, the GM could be under orders from the owners to make a move to improve the team today…the season ticket base has been dwindling, the Giants have suffered losing seasons for 4 years……the added Salary could be an investment in rebuilding the season ticket base for next year…..and the commercials on TV may be a clue…."They are In It" was the tagline……

6) Infatuation with the unknown…….especially in the age where the average fan can read all they want about the Minor Leagues, and even the draft gets TV coverage, these kids are pure unspoiled commodities that have yet to disappoint us….I mean, what can a 20 year old do….if he does great, then we celebrate….if he does shitty, well he's just 20…..its a no lose proposition……what we don't see if the attrition rate for these top prospects……in our minds eye they all make the show and win the series in 2012….in reality, we are lucky if 25% of these kids make an impact……

So that’s my $0.02, yes I too am disappointed at the cost for Sanchez…..but the die is cast and its win now…so go ahead and curse Sabeans name….but.then lets go ahead and welcome Freddy, and you can still cheer for Alderson from afar…..

SMACK OF THE STICK :
FRANDSEN
Ouch, looks like you are never getting a chance to be a full timer with the Giants…..and the Pirates aren't gonna be your savior either……

RENTERIA
Ouch…the man with the slowest release in the west, has a boo boo in his arm…..and its more of a hindrance "at the plate than in the field"….could have fooled me….

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Cain's fastball velocity, only Fastballs shown

GAMEBALL and JOKER 07/28 PIRATES at GIANTS

GARKO? You sure about that Merkin……

By now most of you have read 100 different takes on the Garko Trade…. from the Rose Colored Glasses Homers talking about RBI men, to the Calculus Professors discussing VORP, WAR, BABIP, OPS, and UZR….. but I know most of you are waiting for ME to tell you what to believe….. Well folks, here's the way ME sees it…. Garko is a hitter with power…. not a power hitter, so don't even think like that…..if you look at the basic numbers he has been similar to Conor Jackson, and you wouldn't call him a power hitter…… Now talk of a platoon with Ishikawa is off base as far as I can tell… if you look at platoon splits look at as much data as you can get….for Garko look at career splits….for Ishikawa look at Minor and Major league data ….neither player has a large platoon split and looks like Garko is doing more damage versus Righthanders than Ishikawa….I have read some people to say this was a silly trade as the downgrade from Ishikawa's defense offsets most of the gain from Garko's offense…..I call bullshit on this one, I mean I love a good glove man as much as the next guy but how bad can Garko be? Does Garko like to play first blindfolded without a glove or something? He's a fucking 1st baseman, which means if you can scoop and can catch anything within falling distance you are doing your job….. those sweet plays Ishikawa makes are nice, but not 20 runs a year nice…and heck, you can always Double Switch with the lead (hear that Bochy?)…So I hear Garko is slower than molasses….gimme a break, I have been watching Molina and Mark Sweeney for 4 years…..from what little I can see in highlights and video he is slow, but not ridiculous…..and only 6 DP's all year…..and a career 23.7 PA with men on/ DP compared with a 22.6 PA NL Average, 22.9 PA Giants Average and 14.4 PA Molina Average ……so he is an offensive upgrade, how much of an upgrade is he?? Well, I consulted my ouija board my crystal ball and my magical slide rule of truth, and Garko is worth 0.144 more runs per game or about 1 run per week…..and that’s assuming Ishi can keep his numbers where they are, which is not a given….and think about it…..how many times have you found yourself late in the game thinking, "If the Giants could have scored 0.144 more runs in the 6th inning, we would have won this game." Well fret no more, cause Garko is here and he may not be the savior…. but he is already showing dividends…..just tonight the Giants beat the Pirates 3.022 to 2.878…..

GAMEBALL and JOKER 07/28 PIRATES at GIANTS

GAMEBALL

AFFELDT

Hey, Affeldt has been well….money…..forget the 27 innings….that's 28 appearances without run…..that's fucking ridiculous…..some may say its easier to pitch 27 scoreless innings in relief, because you can come in with 1 or 2 outs already in the book and get pulled quick if you are in trouble….I submit to you that its HARDER in relief….28 times he warmed up in 12 different bullpens and had his stuff…….28 times he jogged to 12 different bullpens and was able to immediately find his groove…..I think of pitching like a golf swing, its about repetition, muscle memory, and feel…..If you play golf picture this in your mind….when you step out there on the first tee you are still getting into the feel of the day and have to break the ice mentally and physically….Affeldt just stepped up to the 1st tee 28 times and nailed drives right down the pipe…..chipped it up to the green…..and then drained the putt…..if you don't play golf… don't start…..its hard and expensive and time consuming……So here is your gameball Mr Affeldt, interesting celebration in the dugout, but to each his own, personally I prefer celebrating by taking a super soaker to any neighborhood cats I can find, but to each his own……

TIP OF THE CAP :
VELEZ
Tough one to be sure, but had to give the nod to Affeldt for the streak…..but Velez was the offense for the Giants today…..separated from the Giants coaching staff long enough that he remembered how to hit, and obviously loving the Major League per diem (just think of all the bird seed you can eat no Eugenio)…..we will forgive the miscue on the grounder…..and the scorer ruled it a hit anyway, and if its good enough for him……

LEWIS
What the fuck???? Again, good bat, bad glove syndrome strikes……ever get the feeling that Giants are the Land of Misfit Toys???

GARKO
Hit the ball hard twice…showed a nice stretch and scoop…...and actually CHOKED UP on the bat…..what is this little league?????

WILSON
We get on your ass when you make it tough, might as well tip the cap here when you make is easy…..and now, do the same thing 27 more times in a row and I promise we might like you too….

ZITO
Wasn't pretty at times, but it works for me… and BTW….Stadium gun showed 89 MPH for one pitch……Pitch F/X (independent of TV radar readings) Concurs…..so that means either there was a tear in the space time continuum…..or Zito is juicing…..you decide…..

BOCHY
GENIUS!!! Zito in between Cain and Lincecum? Contrasting styles help Zito out???? nope, that’s not the point…..Lincecum = Rested Pen, Zito = Tired Pen, Cain = Rested Pen…..hey, its not rocket science…..

JOKER

PANDA?

OMG, what the fuck happened……ok, I have been as guilty of the Pandazation of the 2009 Giants as anyone, perhaps even more guilty…..but what has it become….. it has grown out of control people, we have panda's for sale, people dressing as Pandas all over the park…..and now, sadly we have children who have never heard of Peter Criss inadvertently reviving the Catman look…..Heck, look at the kid……all he needs is a couple whiskers and a leather vest and I am pretty sure there are a couple stores on Folsom that could help him out……So kid……bust out the soap, and stick to hard plastic masks……anything else….well…hell, even Gay people thinks that’s way too Gay….

(click on thumbnail for larger photo, if you dare)



SMACK OF THE STICK :
GARKO
What the fuck kinda name is this???? Sounds like a European Small Forward who can pass and shoot threes…..

UMPS
How many fucking missed calls is that now…..like 4 is 2 days? at least???? so why did we get the AAAA crew??? I don't care how good he is at AAA, until they show they can call a game in the Majors, its just numbers…..

ISLAND of MISFIT TOYS
Ok, back to this thing……what a weird collection of players…..they are like the rejects with uneven buttons at the factory outlet……
Timmy too small
Randy too tall
Molina too slow
Panda too fat
Velez too skinny
Bowker with tiny arms
Schierholtz with the HUGE shoulders
Zito with the Nintentedo curve and the Buddist head
Sanchez with the nasty stuff and no head
Sadowski with the soft skull
Lewis with the sweet swing and butter fingers
Ishikawa with the sweet glove at an offensive position
Winn with the slappy hack from both side and noooooodle arm
Rowand taking a crap at the plate
Affeldt well…..hes a strange strange man
Romo, everything this kid does is crooked…..
Wilson….well…..52 cards short of a deck…….
Torres the old man with wheels and way too much energy…..
Now Garko, Stanford grad looks like a caveman,.,,
I could probably go on, but you get the drift…..
If you could take the best attributes from some of these players and combine them into a starting 9 you could have 9 hall of famers……


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GAMEBALL and JOKER 07/27 PIRATES at GIANTS

Will have to make it quick as I need to get to sleep. First off hats off to the McCovey Chronicles crowd, nice to meet everyone and sorry if I didn't say hi…. second off…..well
it was a great night at the ball yard……if you weren't there, you should have been….the place was as electric as I have seen in a while…..G-Fans know what's up….you could hear people talking about the Rockies lost all throughout the park…..this was our chance to get back into it……..

GAMEBALL and JOKER 07/27 PIRATES at GIANTS

GAMEBALL

TIMMY

FUCK YEAH…..kid makes me wanna get up and dance…. thankfully I decided some screaming, fist pumps into the air and high fiving strangers was more appropriate….after the Giants put up 4 you knew Tim was going to bring it home……but what we didn't expect was 15 K's and 9 innings, basically taking the team onto his back and bringing it home for the W…….

TIP OF THE CAP :
SUE
I am sure it didn't really feel real until they got home and saw her family and that empty seat next to the dugout….nice tribute, nice patches….all very tasteful……

SABEAN
At the end of the day, I kicked a few tires and I approve of this trade…..period….end of story……Maybe Garko blows chunks and maybe Barnes wins 6 Cy Youngs, but today I will go on the record liking this trade……he got a decent bat with some pop, for a pretty good prospect….. makes sense for both sides…Garko was nothing special to the Indians and Barnes was nothing special to the Giants…..both become pieces in play for the other team…..some people may think the Giants gave up too much, but the Giants needed the deal NOW where the Indians could wait for the offseason…..so if the Giants overpaid a little, that’s just the price of doing business…..and honestly, I thought we would need to give up more than Barnes for a piece like Garko

GIANTS
Timmy on a Monday vs the Pirates draws 40K…..BECAUSE THE $5 tickets……good job Giants, and they got $5 tickets Tuesday Wednesday and $10 tickets for the Phillies Series…..they will come to the game at the drop of the hat if you make it affordable…..times are tough, if the Giants want a packed house, keep running the super deals….heck I got some nice lower box for $58 a pair…..

SANDOVAL
3 Hits including a 2 out double to set up the first run….

TORRES
Triple to plate 2….

MOLINA
Double Sailed over McCutchen's head for the 1st run of the game…..

BONDS
Looking good, and so was the new lady on the arm…..yowza!

VELEZ????
Obviously our new Left Fielder…..and the chopper in the 2nd was just what the doctor ordered……

JOKER

JONES

What the fuck….what a weird 2nd inning…..first Guzman hits a line drive than looked like it was going to castrate Maholm…. the Velez hits a sky high chopper that shorthops through SS Jack Wilson and Guzman gets lucky taking 3rd…….The next hitter Uribe hits a grounder to 3rd, Guzman takes 5 steps and draws a throw to home and then u turns and easily makes it back to 3rd to load the bases……you following me so far???? …..Tim hits into the 5-2 DP and then a wild pitch sets up 2nd and 3rd……..And NOW the fun begins…….Torress hits a ball to Right Center…..RF Garrett Jones closes in, then slows up and looks for McCutchen who is a good 20 feet away…..Garret goes chasing after the ball he shoulda caught in the first place, and Torres ends up with a 2 RBI Triple…..but the play of the game…..a shallow fly to right, hits off Jones Glove, Leg, and Foot and then comes back to the infield to be caught ON THE FLY by 2nd baseman Young…..OUT…..but the umps miss the play and say it hit the ground…..and the official scorer misses it and calls it a hit……wrong on both counts…….

SMACK OF THE STICK :
GUZMAN
Right Handed 1st Baseman???? sorry Jesus……back to Fresno you go…..

BOWKER
Wow that was quick…..guess you can resume your triple crown chase…..

DOWNS
Back to Fresneck, and this time….stay there…..

FRANDSEN
Apparently was the player to be named later, but the Indians decided they hated him too and refused to take him from the Giants

GRABOW
What the hell????? You can't figure out how to replace your divots??? Calling in 47 people from the grounds crew to rebuild the mound???? Just fucking scrap some dirt over with your shoe and step on it…..or are you too special to get dirty…..fucker…..

BATS
Good feelings…..but really the Giants Bats only scored 1 run …..the other 3 came on assists from the Pirates……better get out of that fuck soon kids…..


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GAMEBALL and JOKER 07/25 GIANTS at ROCKIES

Pathetic…. perhaps the best word to describe the Giants offense today….down by 3 early, you could almost hear the Giants fans everywhere losing interest in the game and planning the rest of their Saturday Night….. without any single bat in the lineup even remotely warm, it might as well have been 30 to Nothing, as the Giants were hard pressed to score even 2 runs ….in fact the only time the Giants have scored more than three on this trip was the 3 Doubles in an inning versus the Pirates…..and the bumbling throw the ball everywhere game versus the Braves……this is a team with 2 great starters, and great young hitter showing his age, a sparkling leftie reliever…and a hodge podge of Vets past their prime, and inconsistent talented youth……the Giants will hang around this race, but right now then need either A LOT of help with the offense or A LOT of luck…..I know the first one ain't happening, maybe we will get lucky…..and speaking of lucky, the Giants still have a chance to end this series on an up note and tied for the Wild Card…….if I am Ryan Sadowski, I am paying for Rueter's plane ticket and hotel stay…..he needs that horseshoe back if he stands a chance tomorrow……

GAMEBALL and JOKER 07/25 GIANTS at ROCKIES

GAMEBALL

MILLER

Ick…..on a day without heroes lets take a moment to give some love to Miller. In the role of 1st line mop up, Miller has done one hellova job for the Giants placing 5th in Win Probability Added, and 4th (ahead of Medders) in Win Expectancy independent of situation……So what the fuck did I just say???? Well, basically the most Valuable pitchers on the Giants staff have been Lincecum, Cain, and Affeldt…..with Medders in 4th and Miller in 5th….However, this is mostly due to how Medders and Miller have been used…..Medders has been used in more pressure situations that Miller which non-stat heads can see with their eyeballs and stat heads can see by calculating their Average Leverage indexes which are 1.058 for Medders and 0.609 for Miller. So why are we talking about Miller???? Well Miller did a good job of limiting the damage today, and his performance this year is worthy of acknowledgement…..and if you feel like geeking out you can read Baseball Ref on WPA and here Fangraphs on WPA and RE24 and of course The Bookor you could just smile and nod and let me get back to graphing my daily commute Gas Mileage and seeing if it correlates to what kind of food I eat at Breakfast and Lunch…….

TIP OF THE CAP :
SANDOVAL
Well… he can't do it all by himself……and despite 2 doubles and an RBI….Sandoval was little threat being surrounded by a 2 for 16 in the 1 and 2 and 4 and 5 slots…….and did a good job at 1st……

DOUG EDDINGS
The weirdest umpire out there…..first off all, its like he thinks he is trying out for the team as he throws BB's to the pitcher as if to show off his arm……and this isn't the only time this guy forgets he is an umpire…..When Rags goes the visit the mound in the third….Eddings just doesn't break up the meeting, he actually stays after the meeting is breaking up and has a few words with Sanchez and then pats him on the belly as if to say….GO GET EM KID…….and then in the 6th, when he breaks up another meeting, he puts his arm around Bengie as if he wants to snuggle…..man, this guy is one weird son of a bitch …and in case you forgot….Eddings was the Ump that made the AJ Pierzinski 3rd strike in the dirt call versus the Angels in the playoffs not the first time he put himself in the spotlight and certainly not the last…….this guy is a piece of work…..so next time you hear about a weird play involving the ump, see if its Eddings……

JOKER

SANCHEZ

When I was young I met this beautiful girl visiting from the Netherlands. raven black hair, steel blue eyes, fair smooth skin….enough to make a young boy ache with desire……As I tried to woo her, I did everything my young mind could think of to impress her….. embarrassing myself for her amusement…. making her feel beautiful and desirable, whatever I could do to charm this beauty……but alas, "at the end of the day" my purpose was nothing but entertainment and her own fragile ego………her face is etched upon my memory….I still often think of this beauty named Jonathan Sanchez…..oh yes….she would throw me a bone now and then, a peck on the cheek, and nice warm somewhat naughty snuggle, a no hitter, but I never got what I really wanted….and that was a reliable shut down left handed starter that I could see in my minds eye…..years later as my life progressed, I realized how foolish I was to be led on so easily by such beauty…..but then again, perhaps that part of the human condition, wanting to see what we want to see……

SMACK OF THE STICK :
DOWNS
I am trying to chill out on this kid, as I can't make him the Joker everynight…..but that’s the sad part….I really COULD make him the Joker everynight…..I really can't remember a Giants hitter that made me literally start spewing profanity every time they come to the plate…..I mean I know he is on the roster and in the lineup, but the shock of seeing him come to the plate 3-4 times a game just sets me off….if you sat next to me today, you were treated to such gems as…..
"Fuck, its like having two pitchers in the lineup"
"Goddamn it, he is making Burriss look good"
"What the fuck, does he have a hit this MONTH????"

BOCHY
You really have to TRY to make lineups as bad as we have had this year…..here are some more stats to chew on…….
Besides the pitchers spot…..
Worst OBP? #2 spot with .297 then #4 spot with .302
Best SLG? #7 spot with .477
Best OPS? #7 spot with .808
Worst OPS? #2 spot with .625 then #6 with .651 then #5 with .650
Literally, you could get a better lineup by putting Pablo at the #3 spot and then choosing the rest at random…….in fact…. I will try that now……
excel random number generator to determine batting order and playing time
Renteria SS
Ishikawa 1B
Sandoval 3B
Uribe 2B
Schierholtz RF
Lewis LF
Torres CF
Whiteside C
Pitcher
OK guys, go get em!

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GAMEBALL and JOKER 07/24 GIANTS at ROCKIES

Now that’s more like it….the Giants limped into the "Big Series" in Colorado after narrowly escaping Atlanta with the season intact. And in the 1st game of the series in a pitching matchup they should win…..they cobbled together enough offense and held off the Rockies threats for the BIG W and some new confidence heading into game 2……

GAMEBALL and JOKER 07/24 GIANTS at ROCKIES

GAMEBALL

CAIN

Hell Yeah, if there is such a thing as a throwback pitcher, Cain is it…..Battling every time at the plate, running all out and diving when needed….Cain had half the infield on his jersey by the forth inning….This kid needs a nickname…..Cainer or Matty or any play on his name is just goofy…..Bulldog, taken…. Bull, too cliché…Shotgun, funny and it bothers him..…but no, what's big and strong and reliable…..nothing flashy, just serious and gets the work done…….I don't know I throw it out there for you…..all I know as long as he is called "winner" Cain will be happy…..

TIP OF THE CAP :
LEWIS
I don't know what got into Lewis, but he looked like the player that broke on the scene back in 2007…..the time warp was so powerful he almost duplicated his Mile High Cycle falling just a Homer short….reaching base all 4 times to the plate Lewis WAS the offense tonight…..he would have been in the running for gameball if it wasn't for a run scoring misplay in left,….. of course he had to mix that in just so we didn't fear the invasion of the Body Snachers

NATE
Finally got the Giants first homer of the 2nd half….and any offense is good offense for this team

MOLINA
Run scoring hit and run single and the 2009 Giants classic…..run scoring DP……

AFFELDT
Glad to see someone in the pen is dealing……and amazing consistency from out of the pen……just amazing……

WINN/ ISHI/ URIBE/ DOWNS
Each made solid plays in the field…

SANDOVAL
Made 2…count em…..2 diving stabs down the line and twirled and came up firing both times to nail the runner……I tell you right now, this is my favorite play in baseball…..and its so fucking fun to convert if you are the 3rd baseman….when you come up to fire its like your body just uncoils a rifle shot to 1st……..love it…… ….the kid is a good 3rd base man now….. and Bochy, don't move him to 1st and don't ever fucking take Pablo out for "defensive purposes" again

JOKER

SABEAN

This isn't the time to make a big splash as you need to keep your best and brightest prospects churning and humming….. but a minor tweak to this roster could go a long way if you get lucky, and with the wealth of young talent in the Majors and Minors, it wouldn't take much to get a 1/2 way decent piece to add to this team….. Look at LaRoche, Felipe Lopez and Betancourt all basically shuffled off for table scraps….And Lugo and Duncan swapped for each other….. these is the level of player you should be looking at…..a spare part with a major league bat that just might actually get hot…..I don't know….what about Belliard in Washington….. he has a line drive right handed bat languishing on the bench….or Wiggington in Baltimore, another right handed bat with past success….these guys can play a few different infield positions, and give you options at 2nd, 1st and 3rd…and the best part…..you can probably get one of them for nearly nothing….so get off your ass and get it done …….and I bet you my season tickets that they would hit better than Downs' .180…..

SMACK OF THE STICK :
SELIG
So a source close to the Blue Jays tells Bud that Halladay won't be dealt….What the FUCK???? have you ever heard of a commissioner coming out and basically saying something that amounts to tampering on the radio for everyone to hear???? I bet the Blue Jays really appreciated the help….perhaps teams will take the Blue Jays less seriously and focus on Cliff Lee or Jarrod Washburn….or maybe the Phillies will panic and up the offer to the Jays just to seal the deal….I don't know….all I know is you are a neutral official of baseball….keep your yap shut…….

WINN/ ISHI/ URIBE/ DOWNS
Helpless at the plate…0 for 14 with 3 K's

SANDOVAL
Bone head running play….almost led to a DP…..The ball was going foul until Pablo handed them the out at the plate……



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GAMEBALL and JOKER 07/23 GIANTS at BRAVES

BIG WIN…..and you hear it all the time, but today was a big one for the records and for the psyche…..avoiding the sweep is a huge lift to an otherwise fucked up visit to Atlanta….but it also put the stop to what could be the beginning of a BIG slide……a 3 game slide is nothing….as the Giants have had a 6 game slide and two 4 game slides already this season…..and even though they have been outclassed the entire roadtrip, they have only fallen 3 games off the All Star Break mark…..not great, but considering how bad they have looked, and how tough the competition has played this could have easily been a 0-7 trip…..now comes the fun part……Visiting the Rockies…..with Cain vs Hammel in a game that is just as big as today……first you want to get off to a good start after flopping in the openers in Pittsburg and Atlanta….second, it’s the best pitching matchup for the Giants…..after Cain it’s a crap shoot with Sanchez and Sadowski in Coors……

GAMEBALL and JOKER 07/23 GIANTS at BRAVES

GAMEBALL

ZITO

Baseball is a funny game…. and "what have you done for me lately" is in full operation……so forget the pre all star break Zito, and embrace the "New Zito"…..the twitterless Zito was effective in his second start in a row….not especially sharp, and maybe a little lucky……but I tell you one thing, he was making the pitches when he needed to and that curve had a nice tight snap to it, looking like the plus plus pitch we marveled at from across the bay…..

TIP OF THE CAP :
NATE
With Bowker and Lewis threatening his job, Nate gave us a nice performance with a great play up against the wall in right, then a come backer to knock Mike Gonzales from the game and a hustle score from 2nd on a bunt to take the lead….. Nate with 3 hits in total including 2 off lefties

ISHIKAWA
Goodness gracious….3 hits including a hustle bunt and no strikeouts……keep the contact going kid, making contact is 1/2 the battle…..

URIBE
Hustles down the line and then the header on the ball for the lead……if you get hit in the head with the ball, you should get an RBI…..just my opinion…….and then another hustle play trying to take third leads to another errant throw and a run……

WINN
Warming up again with a 2 out hit to pick up Bowker and Downs……

LEWIS/ SANDOVAL
1st inning walk / Double got the Giants on the board early…..and for this team that’s a big deal…..

JOKER

DOWNS

This kid is the Sadowski of 2nd base… and neither kid shouldn’t be here….. some quick early success followed by the realization that his minor league track record tells the story….not a BAD player, but not a Major Leaguer either…..easy to like, carries himself with maturity…..both players may make the Majors as a useful piece someday, but both players are miscast in the starting roles they currently occupy and there are better alternatives in the minors…….you may know that I am no Franny lover, but the kid has done nothing but hit hit hit in the minors and despite his lack of power and speed, has an uncanny knack for putting the bat on the ball and contact is 1/2 the battle……so either the Giants have some grand plan in motion (unlikely), or they could be outmaneuvered by a 14 year old with a copy of Baseball Digest (more likely)……

SMACK OF THE STICK :
MOLINA
Took a fat 0 for 5…..despite having a few hard hit balls……I will give him a quick smack just for hacking…..but I am thinking this 0 for 5 coulda been a 3 for 5 with a little better luck

ESCOBAR
Oh man, despite this kids scorching hot bat, he really set the stage for the Giants win…..after his homer in his first AB, he took a juicy changeup just above the belt for ball 4…and started walking to 1st….too bad the UMP called it a strike… as Escobar telegraphed his feelings with body language, he really must have gotten under the umps skin……then in the 6th with the game in the balance, Escobar took a full count belt high curve for strike three setting up a strike em out throw em out DP…..the pitch was close for sure, but you KNOW after the BS complaining earlier in the game, the umpire was FORCED to stick to his guns and call that pitch as well……live and learn kid, 2 strikes means protect….if you are looking for a walk in that situation, more often than not you can turn tail and head back to the dugout……..


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