GAMEBALL and JOKER 08/04 GIANTS at ASTROS

Giants break out on the ROAD FINALLY…. you couldn't pick a more unlikely location (well besides 2009 Petco)….the Giants had lost 7 of 8 and 9 of 13 in Minute Maid Park which included a 4 game sweep in 2008…..and after last nights woes you would think the Giants were cursed by the weird angles, the glare from the windows in left and maybe even that dumbass choo choo train (yes, I said choo choo)…..but those demons seemed to be gone in the first innings after the Giants rallied for a 2 out run on a Double by the much maligned Molina. And then in the bottom of the 1st just as it seemed that Tejada has a Crawford Homer, Velez snuck around the corner of the stands that jut out into left to make an easy catch for the third out to win the 1st inning……

GAMEBALL and JOKER 08/04 GIANTS at ASTROS

GAMEBALL

SANCHEZ

Sanchez got over a personal hurdle as well today, breaking his 9 game road losing streak…in fact this was his best road game ever with a game score of 74 and his 3rd best game score ever. After a shaky 1st inning where he threatened to fall apart quickly, Sanchez was filthy nasty dirty mowing through the Astros never letting a runner past 1st base and facing just 1 batter over the minimum from the 2nd to the 7th, but then with a fat lead and after walking 2 runners in the 8th he was pulled with 102 pitches on the counter and a job well done……after his performance last week versus the Phillies and today versus the Astros it looks to me like Sanchez's magic bag has a few beans left in his bag……he seems to cruise as long as unstressed……I am really looking forward to how he fares in the pressure cooker of the Dodger series on Monday…..tensions will be high for sure, and if he can walk away from that game with a head of steam, we just may have one hell of a #4 starter……

TIP OF THE CAP :
MOLINA
The proud backstop heard the whispers of criticism become open talk of moving him from his cleanup throne, and he responded…..nothing like the threat of losing your rung on the ladder to get your tired old fat ass in gear……First 2 out double to plate Sandoval in the first, then Molina would add 2 more hits plus a long fly ball to center and it making me think we should talk about Molina's suck in the press more often

VELEZ
Man, its hard to get a gameball these days, but Eugenio is making a run at it everyday….and today he was a hit machine again with 3 more hits and of course that catch in left…..which looked easy, but could have become an adventure…..

ROWAND
Made his own bid for the gameball with big hits in 3rd and 5th……

The MOLE/ The PANDA
Back to Back Homers for the Giants for the first time since 1987…..or at least it feels like it……

MILLER
A starting pitchers best friend…..2 on 0 out….and nobody scores…..way to keep the Sanchez line clean……

JOAQUIN
Welcome to the bigs, and now back to Norwich????? Nah, give this kid a taste of Fresno…….

JOKER

BIP

The stupidity began before the game as Bip announced the Giants had left 19 runners on base last night…..WTF that doesn't sound right, and he made me go back and check…. It was 10 runners, you can't just add up individual player LOB and say its team LOB…ok so math isn't his strong suit…..too bad his other two weaknesses are public speaking and baseball analysis……innocently enough he made a comment about focusing on an inning and outscoring an opponent….silly but harmless on its own…..but somehow this became the "THEME" of the night…..Where the fuck did THAT come from…. did Bip sit up last night and say to himself….."You know what, I need a THEME….hey, lets talk about the game like it’s a 9 round boxing match!!! Damn I am such a fucking genius!!!"……nah, don't think he actually is capable of forethought…..honestly, he started babbling and babbled himself into a corner……and as he mixed his WINNING INNING bullshit, with the "Heh Heh Heh" annoying ass laugh responses to Kuiper…you would think someone would say SOMETHING to keep him from digging this hole…….I mean, Kuiper must hear this shit…..but then again, Bip is job security…….
And trying to be fair for a moment, we are spoiled with Kruk, Kuip, Flem, and Miller…..most of baseball has dumbass announcers…..Bip is no different than dozens of broadcasters spewing crap on the airwaves nightly…..I mean, think about it…..its like when you got out of College…..there attractive co-ed population you saw every day was like 15 chicks deep...... so many good looking females, you're view of the world got warped…..and then you graduate, and were working with middle aged women named Marge with secretary spread, and cankles……where did all the hot chicks go???…..after a while you appreciate Carla the slightly overweight intern with a cute face and nice voice you wouldn't have looked twice at in your college days……well…..There are lots of Bips and Marges out there, so enjoy the Co-eds when you can…..and maybe someday Bip might even be good enough to be a Carla…..

SMACK OF THE STICK :
GALLARDO
Brewers "ace" got blown out of the box by the Dodgers……with 7 runs in 5 1/3....thanks for the help, Jackass/......

MOYER
Same goes for the Moyer, getting pulverized by the Rocks




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GAMEBALL

ISHIKAWA

Finally, the guy who the Giants hung their first base hopes on this year came through with a 4 hit day including a 3 run BLAST above the bricks in triple's alley….a glimpse of that untapped power that had everyone waiting…… After a solid AA/AAA season, an impressive late season audition, and a spectacular spring, the Giants decided to stand pat at 1st and give Ishi a try….especially in light of the Sandoval 3rd base experiment…..with the Pablo experiment looking good so far (if his arm is ok) the everyone has gotten frustrated by Ishikawa's struggles…where has that line drive power bat gone????? I've said it before….the swing is there, but he is having a hell of a time making contact……I mean, I can't remember seeing so many swing throughs…..and not the slider off the plate, or the behind on the fastball swing through….I mean fastball down the pipe, swing right on time….make no contact swing though that can make a hitter look back and wonder if he has a hole in his bat…….seems like his pitch recognition is good enough……but something weird is going on here…..maybe he is pulling his head off, moving his head around…maybe even "blinking too much"……I don’t know…..all I know is he is good looking and slick with the glove around first…….
all he has to do is hi 260 with a 350 obp and 15 HR and teenage girls all around the Bay Area won't get enough of little Ishi T-Shirts, Ishi Bears, Ishi Pins, etc……..

TIP OF THE CAP :
FLANNERY
Often unnoticed until they screw up, 3rd base coach is a thankless job…..so its about time we showed some appreciation for the animated guitar man…..taking chances that paid off….2x in a pivotal inning

SANCHEZ
5 innings of 2 hit 1 walk baseball…..had it come apart after scoring from 1st on a double….but hey….I'll take this as a positive sign

MILLER/MEDDERS
From obscurity to …..well…..obscurity…..these two guys have been GOLD for the Giants….mixing pitches, keeping the Giants in games, bailing starting pitchers out from early exits…..gotta love it….and they cost very little, and help keep the Giants from turning some of their high value minor league arms into fast track bullpen help ALA Sanchez a couple years back…….

AFFELDT
Wicked…..if Wilson ever loses his job…..I know someone who can get the job done…..

ROWAND/ WINN
As Krukow would say……Stay hot….

RENTERIA
Welcome back and nice to see the stick warm up as well…..

JOKER

BIP

In post game, I quote
"That inning once again he start starts blinking out there, he was starting to get a little tired, he has just scored I believe, from second base on a uh uh uh long single, and I think he started to get tired, he went out there and labored a little bit I saw him starting to blink which means he's starting to think again, and then he started walking guys, gave up a triple, a couple walks, and a base hit, before you know it Bochy was out there talking to him 'Say hey you know what, come on in and sit down, you had a good day'"
What the FUCK was that???
BLINKING?????
Ok, to be fair lets put this into context. I guess they had a pregame segment (which thankfully I missed) about how Sanchez thinks too much, and when he thinks he starts thinking too much, he starts blinking too much…..
Now to illustrate this phenomenon…..they used STILL pictures of Sanchez….."here on the left he is focused, and on the right he is thinking……(looked like a slight squint to me at best)…..
Good god, are you serious????
And even if it's true…HOW THE HELL COULD YOU SEE THAT???? day game, eyes under the hat…..and it certainly wasn't on the TV feed……
Sorry folks, I don't believe that BIP saw a damn thing….if he was even slightly paying attention he might have noticed that Sanchez scored from 1st on a double…..not 2nd on a long single "he believes"……or maybe he was staring too deeply into Sanchez's eyes to notice……


SMACK OF THE STICK :
KNBR
Good god….I spent a couple hours on the road in post game as was "Treated" to SPORTSPHONE 680…….yes…its baseball so I will listen (part of the addiction) but good god these people are stupid…..now sure, I hear a couple good calls now and then, but at that point anything that resembles a rational thought sticks out like a sore thumb……do they screen out anyone with a high IQ????......I am so tempted to call, but I would probably realize just the fact I am on the radio I would lose like 75 IQ points…..
Hey at least it wasn't Damon Bruce, who is even more retarded than some of the callers…..