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…..


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GAMEBALL and JOKE 07/17 Giants at Pirates

Despite the frustrating loss, hard to get too upset when real life is staring an important member of the Giants Family in the face…. Yes, I keep checking the news hoping for an update, and I can only imagine what her friends and the Giants are thinking right now…..


GAMEBALL and JOKE
07/17 Giants at Pirates

GAMEBALL

SUE BURNS

I don't know Sue, but I think I know enough to really like this lady. What I DO know is from seeing her at games, from friends who know her, from the media and others, and a brief experience this spring.
First of all, every time I have gone to AT&T (SBC/ Pac Bell) Park and looked over at the people in the owner's box, there was always this older lady decked out in various shade of orange. Often right next to the Dugout, but sometimes down the aisle or a row back if Magowan or Baer were entertaining someone. I soon figured out this was Sue, and that she was the wife of Harmon. She is a fixture at the park, no… actually she is more than a fixture at the park….as she outlasted the Enron Sign, the Schwab Stock Ticker, the Webvan ad, Rusty the Mechanical Man, and even Old Navy Splash Landing or the name of the park. She is a landmark….there is the Bay Bridge, there is McCovey Cove, and there is Sue…… anyone dressed like that at every game is a diehard in my book.
Second, I have a friend who is fairly close to Sue. I will divulge things here, because I am pretty sure she isn't reading (and if she is reading, HI…come to a game soon!!). I am told that Sue is the greatest. Very caring, fun-loving, and not hung up on money and status…she is a modest people person. Additionally, I am told that the Zito signing was a Magowan's baby, and that Zito's flop lead to Magowan "retiring." Sue was instrumental in Magowan's "retirement" and she led the unanimous vote amongst the owners to "suggest retirement." No doubt who is the real queen bee of the Giants.
Next, you see the way the players, media, broadcasters, and anyone who knows her reacts when she is mentioned. You don't get that much good will in your direction for no reason. There has to be something there.
And lastly my brief brush with Sue was in Spring this year. 2nd row behind the plate in Scottsdale, I am directly across the aisle from Neukom and wife (?), and across the aisle and 1 row behind Sue. A Giants player (Monkey will remember who) got hit on the forearm by a pitch on a check swing….. the ump called it foul…..now the batter clearly didn't swing, and the ball clearly hit the batter,…I mean you could hear the FOP of ball hitting flesh… the crowd starts letting the Umpire have it…… which goes on for a few minutes…… Now Monkey doesn't like umpires to begin with and you really don't want to get her started…..everyone else in the stadium has stopped heckling…..but monkey wasn't through….. She is still going off on the umpire a full inning later, with various insults about his eye sight and competence….. You can hear this girl from 10 sections over, let alone across the aisle….. and I swear the look at Sue's face was priceless….with a big grin on her face she just looked at Monkey in amazement of her volume and persistence……she is looking over, talking to her friends, and clearly enjoying what Monkey is dishing out….. Now before I was afraid to sit near the owners because I might be too loud and interrupt the peace….but with Sue, I was now completely comfortable and might even take it up a notch or two just for her enjoyment….knowing such a powerful and influential person, can get a kick out of just being at the ball game cheering on her team is pretty freaking cool in my book…..she's just regular folks……
Anyway, whether you know it or not, she is the leader of this organization and you know that she will always want the best for her ballclub. So please get better soon Sue, and we look forward to and your Orange outfit returning to Section 121 Row AA……

Yes, I searched for about 20 min and that was the only pic I could find…..of course in the searching for Sue Burns, I found 214 pics of Magowan, 97 pics of Larry Baer, and 442 pornographic images

TIP OF THE CAP :
TIMMY
Mr All Star starter/ Cy Young had just a regular old start tonight and was dominating with the exception of 1 Homer…….I swear this kid is as automatic as it gets…..I don't even know what to say….Just lock this kid up NOW….I don't care how much he wants….it will be worth it……..

ROMO/ AFFELDT/ WILSON/ MEDDERS
5 innings, 3 Walks, 3 K's, ZERO HITS, ZERO RUNS

NATE
2 for 2 with a double and a single….Bochy….just put this kid in the goddamn lineup and quit fucking around…….

LEWIS
a walk in a PH appearance….and a nice breakup at 2nd…..you know what, he seems to be playing better when he has been riding the pine…..I really wouldn't mind seeing him as the 4th OF….of course there is that Bowker Roster crunch thingy……

FRANNY
Got a HIT!!! and it wasn't one of those line drive things he is so fond of……ok Kevin, Bouncers in the hole toward the wet spot….that's how you do it…..

WINN
Leadoff single, and heads up base running lead to the Giants only run……

SANDOVAL
Couple hits…..weren't exactly smashed…..but hits nonetheless……

JOKER

AURILIA

Yes the Giants hitters vs Pirates pitchers was the classic case of movable object versus resistible force……this wasn't a pitchers duel….it was more like watching like a coming of age movie….…..these idiots won't score but they keep trying and trying until you fall asleep …….well there was the one movie where the band geek chick throws him a bone….and the one where the Nerd gets the cheerleader…….wait… that's not the Giant's…the best they were going to get was a good dry hump, and that just leaves you frustrated a sore…..and THAT'S sounds like the Giants……
Good god, I could list about 57 different hitters here……but tonight….its Richie
5 AB…3 K's…….and really a useless piece of the past, that should be remembered fondly, not sworn at nightly……with Uribe looking like a full timer at 2nd for the time being and Franny capable backing up 3 positions, and Bowker backing up 1st…..whats the point of having him on the roster???? A right handed bat only matter's if they can actually HIT something…..of course Richie will run into one now and then just when you thought he was gone…..and of course when Sadowski comes back, Bowker or Franny will be sent down and Richie will keep getting that paycheck……but it is inevitable….Aurilia will get a mysterious injury like Grip or Woody, and then be quietly shown the door…..lets just hope its sooner rather than later……

SMACK OF THE STICK :
RENTERIA
4 for 6 of Malholm career….the one guy with good stats vs Maholm……and Edgar turned in a pitiful 0 for 6….including a pop up with Winn on 3rd and 1 out

HOWRY
Way to put it on a tee jackass…..whats that 7 for 17 allowing runs in pressure situations? Surely no room for error, and Miller being held back to follow Zito,…what choice did we have…..Hey I hear Tyler Walker and Jack Taschner are looking for work……and sorry…Herges got signed…..by the Rockies…….

MEEK
How the FUCK do you lose to a pitcher named MEEK????
Much better to lose to a Jack Armstrong, or Jack Savage, or Ted Power, or even Kevin Strikethrower



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GAMEBALL and JOKE 4/9 THURSDAY BREWERS at GIANTS

GAMEBALL and JOKE 4/9 THURSDAY BREWERS at GIANTS

GAMEBALL
JOE

Nothing quite as sobering as a brush with one's mortality…..on a day already scarred by death in Southern California, we got a small taste of disaster a little closer to home. In an eight inning garbage time assignment, Joe Martinez was struck just above the left temple by a line drive off the bat of Mike Cameron. The same Mike Cameron whose suffered his own stomach churning career threatening injury 4 years ago in San Diego. The face of Mike Cameron as he ran to first told the whole story…..the image of the ball as it bounced back towards the backstop was something no one wanted to see, the sound of the ball as it met skull was something no one wanted to hear. Joe roe to his feet and paused and then slowly lowered himself to the ground as the Giants medical crew rushed to his side. Holding gauss to his head and nose he came to his feet and was lead off the field. No real updates have been given at this point, and the fact he was able to walk off under his own power is hopefully a sign he was not severely hurt. The later report that he was not in fact bleeding from the nose is a hopeful sign, but with an organ as delicate and complex as the human brain, the extent of the injury might not be known for days or longer.
We can only hope and pray for Joe and his family….for his teammates, and for Mike Cameron that he is not hurt as badly as the sight and sound would indicate…….
So in the sprit of a positive prognosis, we give Joe todays GAMEBALL

TIP OF THE CAP
CAIN
His woes are trivial in light of the 8th inning, but nonetheless Cain was sharp and dominating for solid 6 innings, before slightly faltering in the 7th…..on a normal day this would have been worthy of a GAMEBALL…..but today he will have to settle for the win, and I am sure that win is the last thing on his mind

MOLINA
Plated the first run, scored the second and added 2 more RBI's…….
whatever Molina lacked at the plate yesterday….her certainly had today…..

LEWIS
On Base, All Day literally…..

JOKER

RITCHIE

How much venom can you muster on a day like today…..nonetheless duty calls too bad Ritchie also got the call…..our Designated Leftie Mashing Corner Infielder did all he could to TWICE ending Giants rallies with Double Plays……Ritchie couldn't do any worse if he was trying………Starting Ritchie over the hot hand Ishikawa is just a JOKE


SMACK OF THE STICK
BURRISS
For those who think that Manny should bat higher in the order, well Manny ain't helping the argument as he went 0 for 4 to remain hitless for 2009….

GIANTS FANS
I don't know what the official attendance was, but I can tell you the real attendance was likely less than 1/2 that……Sure the weather was lousy and it was an odd start time, but a few years ago…even when the Giants sucked…..you saw more people in the stands……



NOTE:
Prayers go out the friends and families of Adenhart and the others involved in the accident earlier today. This includes the allegedly drunk driver of the Mini Van, as he will be haunted by his mistake for the rest of his life. Additionally, more prayers and condolences to the friends and family of the fan killed at Angel stadium…on what has been one of the darkest days in baseball

And Another NOTE:
With all the fuss about Maple Bats being propelled in all directions, and the batted ball death of the minor league third base coach, I think something needs to be done about the safety of the pitcher…..certainly you cant dress the pitcher like a catcher, and pitchers will certainly balk at batting helmets……but I don't think it would be outlandish to add some sort of padding to the front and sides of the pitchers cap…. would weigh less than a few ounces…..and it might just cushion a blow such as the one Martinez suffered just enough to save someone's life…….




by merkin

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