GAMEBALL and JOKER ==> GIANTS at NATIONALS 07/09

GAMEBALL and JOKER ==> GIANTS at NATIONALS 07/09

GAMEBALL

TRAVIS

Travis……this guy is the cockroach of Giants first base prospects……usually they come and go quicker than the Fiddle Faddle and Choco Taco stash in Timmy's locker after a couple bong loads ….but Travis has gone from prospect to suspect to prospect to 4A player to starter to pinch hitter and is still on the roster……and actually flourishing in his role of pinch hitter and spot starter….Travis is looking relaxed at the plate and who knows why……I can't imagine that’s its easier coming off the bench…..and who knows what he does in full time play…..but with 2 hits tonight he is hitting .345 with a 939 OPS….with pretty even splits between starting and subbing……could he do the same playing full time???? well, with Torres and Uribe out and Nate relegated to the nether regions of the 25 man, we may just see a few more starts for Ishi…..

TIP OF THE CAP :
TORRES
All he does is score runs in the first inning ….with 16 of 46 runs scored in the first….…and sometimes he drive in himself

CAVS OWNER
Nice Letter…..Mix in a couple F Bombs, and you can sub for me sometime…..

FRANDSEN
Doing well in a small sample size with the Angels…..and a small dart thrown at the "Vets" in the Giants clubhouse that didn't like him being outspoken,….I like to think he is talking about Rowand……

JOKER

SABEAN

I'm not one that enjoys rehashing the past…..but I do it all the time anyway……so as the Giants get their asses handed to them by Adam Dunn…yes the same Adam Dunn that plays the outfield like a manatee with down syndrome, but he also a force in the middle of the lineup with an OPS of .900+ only every fucking year….and guess what, he played about 40% of the time at 1st in 2009 and in 2010 he's a full time first baseman and loving it……I flash back to the offseason of 2008-2009…..where we had the whole….I talked to him, I never talked to him….he won't play first, never asked about playing first……what the fuck was that all about…..you don't FUCKING ASK him if he is open to it, you MAKE AN OFFER and mention he might play some first….. if he takes the offer or counter offers, then great……if he ignores you then forget it……but just blowing the whole thing off cause you supposedly talked to someone that didn't want to play first……I doubt he talked to anyone, probably had Bobby Evans email the agent and ask if he liked playing first or some shit……so as Dunn blisters Cain to the right center alley, I can only think of how many more games we could have won last year, and which Giants prospects Sabean is considering on trading to get him this year…..fucking jackass…..

SMACK OF THE STICK :
CAIN
Well……got the shit kicked out of him by Dunn as mentioned……but also gave the Nats their first run with that Jamarcus Russell Spiral to Pat Burrell in the 1st….and then with the Mighty Strasburg on the verge of being lifted, he got a big time nibble going in the 6th after a Dunn Rocket…..with back to back walks and a bloop leading to a couple runs……and then of course the hinges came off in the 7th….

BOCHY
You know, did you really need to leave Cain out there to be devoured? That can't be good for the kid…..he got lucky to get out of the 6th on a throw behind the runner at 1st, and then the first 2 runners in the 7th got on base……and then a couple outs later ……BOOOM…….8 runs…..thats always good for the confidence……

TORRES
Torres has had a reputation of getting his wheels banged up……and groin tightness is actually worse than it sounds…..cause this means we get more Rowand……

HINSHAW
Well……6-8 weeks for Runzler?....that sucks……now Affeldt is the lone leftie in the pen, and the door might open for Hinshaw……but lets hope not, cause he is walking like 15 batters an inning in AAA….

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(The fine print: There will be cussing and bad taste. This is written with the heat of the moment feel you may have during the game, with rational thought sprinkled in now and then. This is entertainment folks, sure there is a lot of truth and I am a genius, but this is all about having a laugh and enjoying the ride…….now lets go heckle Jeff Kent in when he gets inducted to Cooperstown..)




by merkin

GAMEBALL and JOKER--> CARDS at GIANTS 04/25

Got stuff to do, so maybe a little shorter than usual

GAMEBALL and JOKER--> CARDS at GIANTS 04/25

GAMEBALL

TORRES

Put this guy at the top of the lineup and let him go a few games……after his late heroics on Saturday Andres collected 3 hits and made a couple long ranging plays look easy is his start on Sunday…. is there any doubt he would do better than Rowand? ok, maybe not as marketable, but remember Rowand is a .250 hitter with marginal power and low OBP….and Andres has MUCH more range than Captain Gamer……GAMEBALL for the midget boy….

TIP OF THE CAP :
PABLO
3 Hit Day, Good Panda, have some pie

NATE
2 hits…..

PEN
4 scoreless…..nice…..have some of Pablo's Pie, just keep your hand away from his mouth…….

JOKER

SABEAN

OK, Brian…… If its broke…..fix it……don't sit around an hope that Zito's Magic Ass Unicorn is going to solve your problems…… Pitching staff is dealing, the West is up for grabs…..hitters are stinkin up the joint…….get those calls in NOW…..sure teams are reluctant to trade this early in the year, but you better lay some groundwork down NOW…..of course come September we will get some non factor incremental bullshit for some genuine value pieces……good god you are a fucking JOKER…..

SMACK OF THE STICK :
BOCHY
3 guys with multi hit games… too bad those hits were spread out on opposite ends of the lineup and resulted in NADA runs ….pathetic

VELEZ/RENTERIA/DEROSA/ISHIKAWA
You all suck….

TIMMY
Good god, Penny was nasty…. and the one thing that stood out to me was….. I think Timmy showed him that changeup….. not a standard changeup, but a hard moving change with that "modified split" grip…..check this out Changeup Speed went from 85.7 to 88.5…. Vertical movement went from 6.7 to 4.5 (dropping 2.2 more inches) this is a harder change that drops more…. This "modified split' is likely easier to throw, and more deceptive and consistent…..and he's throwing it 30.4% of the time with about 47% offspeed, compared with 7% changeup and less than 30% offspeed in 2009… Tim, couldn't you wait until he was resigned before teaching him something so nasty?

MERKIN
Pujols Joker + Pojols 1st inning Game Winning Homer…..shit, I guess that is undeniable proof, big time major league stars are reading this now…..Wow, didn't realize the reach I had…..I need to be more careful what I write about……and since you are reading this….Mr Pujols…..can you send me an autographed ball please….I am your biggest fan…..and by the way, I got a line on some primo HGH if you are interested…..that is unless McGuire hasn't already hooked you up……

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(The fine print: There will be cussing and bad taste. This is written with the heat of the moment feel you may have during the game, with rational though sprinkled in now and then. This is entertainment folks, sure there is a lot of truth and I am a genius, but this is all about having a laugh and enjoying the ride…….now lets go heckle Jeff Kent in when he gets inducted to Cooperstown..)




by merkin

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 07/24 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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