GAMEBALL and JOKER 07/21 GIANTS at BRAVES

The Giants had their heads handed to them by the Braves for a second consecutive night, continuing the slide which has left the Giants 1-4 and outscored 36-13 in their last 5 games. The Giants has now slipped behind the still surging Rockies for 3rd in the Division and 2nd in the Wild Card and good feelings Giants fans had going into the break are starting to evaporate. Remember this team? This is starting to remind me of that team that struggled vs the Mets at home, got swept in San Diego, in Mid May. Remember that team? They finally started to hit the ball in Seattle and then came home to sweep the Braves and take a series from the Cardinals…..The good news is that despite the poor showing today, the Giants are not nearly as bad as they have looked the past few days and they will certainly fare better in the coming weeks. The bad news, is they aren't nearly as good as they have looked through most of June, and they will go into a funk now and then. The next 5 games are critical to the Giants playoff hopes…. not only does that mark the end of the series in Colorado that could either buoy or sink the Giants playoff hopes but also by the time 5 days left before the trade deadline. At that point more teams should have decided if they are contenders or pretenders and the prices for some much needed help may actually become more reasonable as teams try to shuffle unneeded players and/ or contracts off before they are stuck with them for the year. Who knows which way the Giants go and which way the market goes, but lets hope whatever happens….. Sabean doesn't do something stupid just for the sake of doing something…..

GAMEBALL and JOKER 07/21 GIANTS at BRAVES

GAMEBALL

RICHIE

Too bad about that "infected toe," that must really be hurting for you to go on the DL….. Funny how you couldn't tell you were hurt…..I imagine all that sitting on the bench must be murder on that toe…..but seriously, this is the same deal that happened to Woody and Grip before they were given their final walking papers….the Giants use t he DL as sort of an airlock to retirement….think of it as the Recycle Bin on your Desktop….you hit delete…..but its still there in case you made a terrible mistake……but you leave it there long enough….and eventually it just goes away……so congratulations on your pre-retirement Rich, and soon Giants fans can just cheer when they hear you name, instead of complaining about your roster spot……


TIP OF THE CAP :
DOWNS
Thought his moment in the sun was over didn't ya? Closed the book on his Major League line, and figured,"At least he got a cup of coffee," which is better than most of us can say…..but no.., Downs is back and was involved in a run scoring play for the Giants…..honest….. but the true reason he is here is somehow he managed to leapfrog Frandsen in the organizational depth chart…. which leads me to believe that the organization saw Kevin hanging out with Zito and Wilson and came to the conclusion that Kevin was also a douche…..MLB has a strict 2 douche per team limit

BULLPEN
Wasn't the prettiest of performances, but 4 1/3rd scoreless is 4 1/3 scoreless….of course that's only 3 1/2 scoreless in Euros…….

ISHIKAWA
Went a full 4 AB's without a K….

JOKER

SADOWSKI

OOooooo, that’s gotta smart…..Belt high sinkers versus a hot hitting Atlanta team is one way to get that ERA back to where it should have been in the first place…..never gifted with velocity or control, Ryan relies upon luck and incomplete scouting reports….It was a good story for a couple of starts, and the kid does have a good head on his shoulders, but he is not major league caliber…..a minor league walk rate of 3.9 per 9 doesn't bode well for a sinkerballer…and his 2009 number of 3.8 shows he hasn't refined that control much quite yet…..maybe the Majors brings the best out of him, but after watching his last two outings it looks like he brought that same level of control to the Majors with him……

SMACK OF THE STICK :
TIM TIMMONS
The worst call in a Giants I can remember this year (I am sure I am forgetting something), Timmons told his kids to look for him on ESPN, so when Escobar made a leaping turn at 2nd, he figured this was his chance……punching Ishikawa out while he was 3 steps past the bag and the ball was still in the dirt 2 feet from Kotchmans' glove….or at least that’s how I remember it……

FRONT OFFICE
What the fuck is going on here….ok, I don't buy the bullshit…..Uribe is going back to his backup role, so you want Downs getting playing time instead of Frandsen…what….huh? here is the quote that Baggs got from Bochy…. “When Frandsen came up, we needed help up the middle,” Bochy said. “This is more of where Downsie is going to get playing time at second. He’s been very consistent with his play and at-bats. He had three hits the other day. We’ll see if we can’t get some offense going here.”…I read that 3 times and here is the translation…..Downs sucks less than Frandsen……here is the REAL Beauty…..NOW Edgar is out a few days, and Franny is in AAA and Aurilia is on the DL…..we have no backups at 3rd, SS, or 2nd….and Franny can't come back unless someone hits the DL……So that means Edgar or someone is going to be forced to the DL and Franny comes RIGHT back…..OR Bowker probably gets sent down for a middle infielder…..Burriss hurt….Looking at non-1st basemen on the 40 man, that leaves……Rohlinger…..Bocock … or EUGENIO VELEZ….. They couldn't have done this on purpose unless they are even more retarded than we thought……so does that mean the organization didn't know about Edgar's wrist????? Dude, would be nice to know this shit before we screw ourselves on the pre-deadline roster shuffle…..


SHARE VIA FACEBOOK

SHARE VIA TWITTER

GB and JK ARCHIVES AT THE GIANTS BOARD BLOG

GAMEBALL and JOKE 07/08 MARLINS at GIANTS

Sorry for the delay folks, got pulled away for Pablo related stuff…..

My friends, we have an unprecedented opportunity ahead of us. We have a chance to elect, not just a Giants Player, not just a Popular Athlete, but a man who truly appreciates his good fortune and understands that WE the FANS make the game. Sure Pablo is dynamic on the field, but he is also boisterous, fun loving and most of all respectful to the fans. You can see how humble this guy is in his interviews, and how respectful he is…despite his less than perfect English is always willing to talk to the media and the fans. Just think of the pride we will feel when we see Pablo with that SF Cap on his head in t he All Star Game, knowing you played a small part….. And better yet, Pablo will know that HIS LOYAL GIANTS FRIENDS helped put him there, and that my friends goes a long way in building Player/ Fan loyalty……

So tomorrow…..do your fellow fans a favor. Pack a sack lunch or whatever…and spend at least a solid 20 minutes of your lunch hour at your desk with your 9 Key Number Pad plugging away…still enough time to get fed, and you can help make that final push before the 1 PM Pacific Deadline…………Just think, we usually get about 150-200 hits on this …....if we all vote about 10x a minute for 20 min….that's like 30-40,000 votes…..could be the difference but first……click here and vote a few times will ya?


OK, enough sermoning, lets get to the meat of the matter……

GAMEBALL and JOKE
07/08 MARLINS at GIANTS

GAMEBALL

SADOWSKI

ICK….I think I liked the shaving cream face better…..Sure we all had dreams of Sadowski perhaps coming out of nowhere to break that 25 scoreless inning debut record…..but his lucky charm wore off, but I can hardly say that the glass slipper doesn't fit….Ryan pitched pretty well, despite a few walks….The Marlins had the book on the kid and he still was able to battle through the walks and defensive lapses to get into the 6th inning and giving the Giants a chance to win IF he has a little offense behind him…..what more can you ask from a #5 starter? So lets give the kid his due, his ball is moving around and time will tell if he sticks, but for the time being…..he is buying time for the blue chippers to marinate in the minors a little first……..

TIP OF THE CAP :
WINN
Winn made a nice throw to the plate to nail run #2

PABLO
Because we love you unconditionally, you big hairy man…..well, as long as you don't suck…….

TIMMY
For pitching tomorrow (Slim Pickens today!)

BURRISS
For clearing a space on the 40 man roster…..ouch……hope you get better soon

BOWKER
Welcome back to the show…..from Schulman here

JOKER

ISHIKAWA

OK Folks, I give up……Travis was my boy, I admit…..Loved him since I got to meet him in spring training back in '06….. Charismatic, HUGE POWERFUL LEGS (god I sound gay, not that there is anything wrong with that) slick glove, a position player full of promise in a mostly barren farm system….. and then after last years surge, and his great spring training, I thought this was the year………NOPE…….the power stroke from 2008 is there, but its just a tease…..the guy needs serious work on his swing…. I am no coach but even I can see him jerking his head off the ball…. Never seen so many swing through on balls it looks like he was going to cream….so today, not much in the way of offense, and then a ball ruled a hit that you SHOULDA had that lead to run #2. No that’s it, I have had it…..and I am thinking so have the Giants front office……so Bowker, did you bring your 1st baseman's mitt???

SMACK OF THE STICK :
FRANNY
Oh Boy…..looks like you ran out of hard hit balls right at people……with Uribe and Renteria stroking the ball, you got to play like Nate did to get a shot…..a pop up, and 24 bouncer, and a "semi hard hit grounder" ain't going to do it……life ain't fair kid, and its hit or sit………



VICTORINO
Yesterday we reviewed the Puppy Kicking and Baby Hating….. but today brings new revelations…. Victorino is always at the ready for a good hump….yup, he basically is advertising in SI that he likes to fuck…… sure, who doesn't like a good fuck now and then, but what happened to being tasteful? You don't advertise it, unless its your message board buddy and you want to get your dates to pose erotically and then send the pictures of your conquests to your benevolent Admin… you don't put that out in national magazines for kids et al to read……… Yes friends….Shane Victorino your Haphazardly Humping Hawaiian……



SHARE VIA FACEBOOK

SHARE VIA TWITTER

GB and JK ARCHIVES AT THE GIANTS BOARD BLOG


So hope you enjoyed tonight and every night…..and go ahead and vote a few more times watching the news, sports, or that secret pleasure reality show your friends would laugh at if they knew……and if you needed one more reason to vote, Pablo signed my Girlfriend….yes, I yelled "HEY PANDA, SIGN MY GF" and pantomimed holding her up…was good for a laugh and smile from Pablo, and sure enough he came over and signed her……see below……



AND DON’T FORGET, JUST 20 MIN AT LUNCH TOMORROW
DEADLINE IS 1PM, Thanks!

GAMEBALL and JOKE 07/03 ASTROS at GIANTS

OOooooOOOooooooo YEAH…………..Home cooking was tasting mighty good tonight my friends and the Giants were feasting early and often.....The Giants were not only hitting the snot out of the ball, they also seemed to get every bloops and break and call as sort of a karmic justice for everything that went wrong the last two days in St Louis……And everything was working……defense was solid, offense was mashing, and the out of nowhere Sadowski was dealing…….what a great turnaround from the end of the road trip and a great way to start off this big homestand……

And hell, just for shits and giggles, lets look at the Fangraphs thing
Clicking graph sends you to Fangraphs…..

Holy shit……so basically after the score hit 9-0, the win probability hit 99%.......

GAMEBALL and JOKE
07/03 ASTROS at GIANTS

GAMEBALL

SADOWSKI

Wow….don't know what to say…..this kid remains perfect with no runs allowed……and so far he is getting insane support from the offense…..in 13 major league innings, the Giants have score 18 runs while he is in the game, and 20 runs in the two games he has started,,,,,,talk about your low pressure situations…….but despite the heavy support you really have to hand it to this kid as it would easy to lose focus ….but Sadowski has remained focused and kept the opposition off the board completely…….oh yeah, if you were watching on NBC….that speed gun was HOT about 3MPH or so……so Ryan may walk on water, but he doesn’t throw 94…….

TIP OF THE CAP :
24 OTHER GIANTS
You know what, its fucking Xmas in July, everybody on the roster and even a few who are not get a tip of the Cap….so from Lewis and Wilson….to Panda and Nate……from Howry and Aurilia…….to Cain and Timmy……the Giants game was one big freaking party and I feel nothing but love for everything Orange and Black….here is a to a great second half, and who needs a Right Handed bat when you put 13 up on the board…..

SANDOVAL
Gets a special shout out as he got the ball rolling with a MONSTER shot to triples alley for a Dinger

NATE/ RENT
3 hits each kept the Astros on their heels

SANCHEZ
Looks pretty comfortable in the pen….if he keeps this up, keep him there…..we can use another leftie who can deal…..a pen can never be too deep…..

GIANTS FANS
Way to pack the yard….sure fireworks night, but still….nice to see the yard full again……

JOKER

MANNY

Welcome back you selfish bastard…..extremely gifted as a hitter, but such a pain in the ass that the Red Sox sent you packing and that was BEFORE the steroid circus…….so you were dumb enough to get caught by a drug testing program so loose that Amy Winehouse could avoid testing positive and then suspended for 50 games…..during the suspension I heard you were sent to Single A for rehab, when NA was the more appropriate rehab choice…. and now, after your team has been rolling with the best record in the majors and your replacement tore up a storm….you return to fuck up the chemistry, play shitty defense, and perhaps even take a leak in the Gatorade just for laughs……so good luck Manny, may you sell many wigs and t shirts……lets just hope that your young fans understand that Steroids are bad for you, and men with Nappy ass dreadlocks prefer blunts to needles…

SMACK OF THE STICK :
JUAN PIERRE
Everyone's favorite wanna be midget goes back to the bench to watch the Manny show up close and sulk…..

MANNYWOOD
I am sure there are many Dodger fans that are appalled at Manny, and would prefer to see him hit the road….but I hardly think they are the majority, and certainly they aren't sitting in the Left Field Pavilion where Manny Mania is alive and well after a 50 game hiatus……And yes Dodgers marketing may have pulled back a little from Manny, but he is hardly disowned, they still sell the Wigs and Manny Bobblehead night is still planned, and I hear they just added a Manny Muscle Suit Night……so kids can don their wigs, inflate the suit and look just like Manny…..and the beauty is that the muscles are just as real as Manny's too…..



SHARE VIA FACEBOOK

SHARE VIA TWITTER

GB and JK ARCHIVES AT THE GIANTS BOARD BLOG

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…..

SHARE VIA FACEBOOK

SHARE VIA TWITTER

SHARE, AND BUZZ UP THE BLOG