The Dodgerhater: A San Francisco Giants Blog

Never really been in to Pagan worship...

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:16:00 +0000

Yes, yes, I know it's "Puh-GAHN" versus "Pay-GINN" but his name has always bothered me. I can't help but associate his name with a bunch of weirdos worshiping false gods and casting spells outdoors.

The funny name aside, I'm just kinda 'ehhh' on this trade.

I loved what Andres Torres brought to our team in 2010. His clutch hitting and inspiring play warmed even the frostiest heart of the most cynical Giants fan. It was simply a great story-- a story of perseverance and heart by a fringe major leaguer who overcame ADHD and marginal big league opportunities to become a late-blooming World Series contributor.

I also enjoyed his sleazy walkup music that was obviously borrowed from the soundtrack of a Puerto Rican porno. Yes, the ladies loved Andres...

But, alas, Andres regressed in 2011. He missed some time, and he just lost his stroke. It got to the point where he should no longer have been hitting right handed at all, and his lack of contact was maddening.

Regardless, his upbeat presence will be missed by teammates and fans alike.

As for Ramon Ramirez-- well he didn't have much of a presence off the field. By all accounts, he was the quietest guy on the team. But on the mound, he was pretty damned solid. He's the type that keeps his mouth shut and carries a big stick.

Although he was due a raise via arbitration, I will be sorry to see Ramirez go. He was a lot better than anyone will remember. He stepped up last year with 4 saves, had a great K/BB ratio, and was just great arm to have down in the bullpen.

I know we technically didn't need him, but going into the season with Guillermo Mota makes me a little uneasy, simply because of his age.

With Torres appearing to be in decline, the trade worked out about as evenly as it could have for both teams-- barring some horrible or amazing performances by those involved.

As for Pagan, the move confused me a little.

He arrives as another starting caliber OF onto a roster that already had Schierholtz, Huff, and Cabrera penciled in as starters.

Okay, well Pagan is thought of highly as a potential leadoff hitter. And, of course, since we need one of those, where does that leave Brandon Belt's playing time-- especially because Bochy has already confirmed that Buster will play a decent amount of first base?

I don't know what's going to happen. I think Schierholtz and Cabrera are pretty much set as starters, but between 1B and LF there is Huff, Belt, Pagan, and occasionally Posey to get time.

I think the guy who ends up suffering the most here is Brandon Belt, who still needs seasoning, but can only gain that through playing time. With all of these guys clogging up two positions, I'm almost inclined to support starting Belt in Fresno while keeping Brett Pill up with the team.

It's just kind of a weird situation.

As for Pagan-- I think we will be pleasantly surprised by the pop in his bat. He is also very streaky in that his hits seem to come in quick bunches. Couple here, three the next day, and then boom-- nothing for three games. That part concerns me, as well as his defense.

I'm just glad he has experience playing CF in the cavernous OF of Citi Field, so he will feel comfortable at AT&T.

We'll see how this whole thing shakes out, but I don't expect Pagan to be a real game-changer.

How to piss off a Giants fan: Do Nothing

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 02:01:00 +0000

Hey people. Sorry for my hiatus.

I won't go into a long soliloquy about the state of things and I can't sugarcoat my feelings:

I AM PISSED.

I am pissed that this organization has made no committment to improvement. I'm pissed that Zito will cost half a million more than he did last year, and I'm pissed that ownership refuses to eat one rough year of payroll in order to be better for a long time.

I really am disgusted.

It's not the fact that they won't wildly overspend on players that upsets me, it's the fact that they won't even try!

They never talked to Jose Reyes, they won't talk to Prince Fielder. They won't even send SO MUCH AS SEND A TEXT MESSAGE to Pujols's sleazy ass agent. There's not even so much as an illusion put forth by management that they are trying to improve the offense.

The Sanchez for Melky trade was okay, you know. I wasn't and still am not thrilled by it. I never liked Melky Cabrera and I consider him to be a fringe starter who had one decent year. I get that he's chasing a contract and yes I've heard that he's in shape, but I really don't care. Free agency may not be over, but Giants fans, if you're expecting anything more than Melky Goddamn Cabrera to help Timmy beat Kershaw, well... you're shit out of luck.

I've defended the Giants' responsible financial approach in the past. I know that their annual operating expenses include a $20MM mortgage payment for AT&T Park. That's $20MM that most other clubs don't have to worry about.

However, most other clubs didn't win a World Series in 2010 and make money HAND OVER FIST EVERY DAY SINCE THEN.

This team has the money, they choose not to spend it. There should be no confusion about that.

And yeah, absolutely, I agree that signing Lincecum and Cain long-term is the priority. Of course I get that. Pencil Cain in for at least $18MM a year and Timmy should get at least $22MM if not more. Pitching is expensive, there's no doubt about it. Pitching is also how you win day in and day out. It's our formula, and it shouldn't be messed with.

One has to think aloud though-- does Tim Lincecum WANT to stay with a team whose best improvement to an anemic offense is Melky Cabrera and a fourth OF like Ryan Ludwick to be named later? Would you sign with a team that gives you no relief from four losses to Clayton Kershaw in one year?

Seriously! Think about it. At a certain point, it's not about money or comfort or how much he likes San Francisco. If the guy doesn't get run support, he's going to lose faith in the organization.

In case you forgot, in 2011, Tim Lincecum faced Clayton Kershaw four times. Three of those games ended 2-1 and the other game was 1-0. The guy battles, and leaves his heart out there every time. What does he get?

Three runs in four games and Melky Cabrera.

With virtually the same team returning from last season, it just boggles my mind that that is an acceptable plan of attack. It was okay at the beginning of last season because we managed to win a World Series. Obviously, that didn't work out so well, and yet we're getting the same thing.

Payroll-wise, there isn't much left under their self-imposed $130MM salary cap. That payroll number, however includes the dead and decomposing weight of Aaron Rowand ($13.6MM) and Dickface Zito ($19MM).

Yes boys and girls, that is $32.6 million dollars to one guy on the road to retirement, and a second whose best accomplishment in a Giants uniform has been getting married.

As sickening as that is, it's almost over.

Rowand's money will be gone after this season. Zito's will be gone after next season. We're almost out of this.

In addition, Freddy Sanchez's $6MM will expire after this season, along with Aubrey Huff's $10MM (+$2MM buyout). As I count it, that'll be about $30MM opening up after this season.

Thirty million dollars.

Then, after the 2013 season, Zito will be gone, opening up another TWENTY million.

Based on the payroll figures and current contracts, there is just no reason why the organization couldn't sign a real hitter like Fielder or Reyes and backload the deal.

There will be more than enough money available annually to sign Timmy AND Cain for 2013 and beyond, if they'd just stomach one season of $150MM.

It's not like the 2013 crop of free agents is better than this year's either. The list is Brandon Phillips, Josh Hamilton, BJ Upton, Andre Ethier and Carlos Quentin. In addition, David Wright and Kevin Youkilis have expensive club options that may get them traded.

Are Sabean and Baer saving themselves for 2013's offseason? I just don't know. I just don't get it at all.

All I know is that the current roster is unacceptable and I've seen a minimal effort to improve the offense. We deserve more and it's just plain depressing from where I sit.

Ugh, Orlando Cabrera

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 03:11:00 +0000

Well, Sabean must've read the article I wrote 3 hours ago, because he didn't stand pat. Looks like he got the SS that everyone gets every trade deadline and someone else signs every winter to a one year deal... only to be traded again to a contender a few months later.

He's played everywhere else... why not San Francisco?

I guess one 59 year old Colombian SS helped us last year and we got a 58 year old Colombian to help us this year.

I sound bitter, I know, but I really can't help it. I wanted a REAL impact player to play short. I wanted Jose Reyes. I know it wasn't realistic, but I wanted him anyway.

Cabrera, who has now been traded for the 4th time and will be playing for his 9th team, is only MAYBE better than TeCrawfenot, and having a terrible year for the confusing Cleveland Indians. Honestly, he brings no real promise of a better tomorrow.

He's 36, is hitting just .244, and doesn't have nearly the clutch history that Edgar Renteria has.

It's one of those moves that I believe Sabean just made to make a move. It's more for the fans than the team on the field, and with jerks like me clamoring for huge moves, it doesn't surprise me.

It's possible that Cabrera's move to a team in a real pennant race might get his juices flowing, but those juices have been in decline since he left the Expos.
I hope he proves me wrong, but this is just a stupid move. On top of it, as I'm writing this, I hear that Thomas Neal is the guy we traded.

Was Neal disappointing and slow to develop? Yes, but in my opinion, the Indians just made out like complete thieves in this deal, and have a chance to get Neal on track to be the starting Major League OF that we all expected him to be.

I get making a move to shore up SS, but I just don't get this move.

Yes, I get that TeCrawfenot can't hit, but as of 2011, neither can Cabrera. The only explanation (baseball-wise) is that Cabrera has been a member of 6 playoff teams, won a World Series with Boston, and has had 163 playoff plate appearances.

But, by the same token, he's a .228 playoff hitter and has only hit over .300 in ONE out of the NINE playoff series he's taken part in ('04 ALCS w/BOS when they came back to beat NYY after being down 0-3). Even scarier is that in the lower pressure Divisional Series rounds, he's gone a combined 15-83 for a .181 career average.

Not only that, but Cabrera has grounded into 10 double plays in '11 while amassing 40 strikeouts versus only 13 walks on the year.

I really hate to run down the guy, because he's had a very respectable big league career, won a ring, and is one of only two Colombian MLB players (that I know of) in history, but it's kinda like... "Thanks, but I'll pass..."

Sabean cannot stand pat

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 22:43:00 +0000

I like the Beltran move, I really do. He's a real hitter, and he instantly made us better. I'm not going to buy a $35 #15 shirzey or anything, because it'll only get a few wears out of it before it's obsolete... I'm celebrating the move by praying for another.

Our catcher situation sucks, it really does... but there's not a lot that can be done. There's no significant upgrade available, and our pitching staff is doing well throwing to our no-hitting backup tandem of Whiteside and Stewart.

The glaring hole is at shortstop, where the sickening play continues.

The bluntly ugly truth of the matter is that Tejada sucks, Fontenot sucks, and Crawford can't hit.

Sorry. All good guys... maybe Crawford will be a serviceable starter someday, but if we're going to repeat as World Champs, this situation must be fixed.

Crawford must be sent back down. Sorry Stamos, you just haven't been able to adjust to big-league pitching as quickly as we'd all have liked. You'll get another shot in September, but if Burriss gets sent down, you need to too... neither of you are doing anything of note.

Secondly, if I see Mike Fontenot face just ONE MORE left-handed pitcher at ANY TIME, I am going to blow an effing head gasket on my truck and in my brain. In fact, as I'm writing this and looking up his splits, I don't want him facing righties either. How he looks so bad against southpaws on a regular basis (.256 avg) and somehow manages to hit .186 against righties as a full time lefty absolutely boggles my mind.

The man needs to be a pinch hitter and emergency infielder, and THAT's it.

Same with Tejada, the man is a backup at best, and I can't take it anymore.

I know our big deal was Beltran and that the Mets say that they're not looking to move Jose Reyes, but I believe now more than ever, that Sabean can't give up on getting him out of Queens forever.

If the Mets think they can keep him, they're mistaken. They're broke and in disarray. The Giants are one of the teams that can actually pay him long term if they so choose, especially with Rowand's disgraceful contract expiring after next season, Huff's contract expiring after next year, and Zito's albatross expiring after '13.

With all the success the Giants have had recently and the prime pitching staff they have assembled comes in gobs of money. They're not as rich as you think because of unfair revenue sharing and AT&T annual mortgage payments, but they're still doing as well as they ever have.

I know the urge is to keep the farm system intact and keep it rolling into the future, but the truth of the matter is that after Zack Wheeler, the desirable and/or blue chip prospect pool declined significantly.

There is no more Bumgarner or Posey, no Belt or Wheeler down there anymore.

There's speedy and impressive OF Gary Brown, a couple above-average hitting catchers, big hitting 27 year old 1B Brett Pill, a couple under-performing OFs named Neal and Kieschnick, and a surprising lefty starter named Eric Surkamp in AA-Richmond who has 140K's in 114 innings with an ERA around 2.00. And of course the typical list of middle infielders with good gloves and no bats (Adrianza, Culberson, Crawford, Noonan).

Honestly, that's about it right now. The minors ain't what they used to be because we've already harvested our crop down on the farm and sold off a lot of the rest of it.

This is why I say we go for it.

We're already better than we were at this time last season, and we somehow won it all. Filling the gaping hole at short with Reyes, and paying him long-term sounds crazy, but it is the best possible solution to our current problem of TeCrawfenot stinking it up at SS.

Check out Croix de Candlestick's workup on Eric Surkamp before this season started. He was ahead of the curve on the lefty.

There's enough to get a Reyes deal done but barely. They'll want Belt or Jonathan Sanchez, and surely that's in addition to Gary Brown and a lower level prospect like Crawford.

I say do it any way you can without giving up Belt. Do it and do it yesterday, because we have the unique opportunity to win it all again, something that hasn't happened in quite a while.

Lincecum and Cain won't be in their mid 20s forever. The time is now! It can be done without mortgaging the future, especially with an interesting crop of free agents available next offseason (Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols, Reyes, Beltran).

Anyway, sorry about this rambling rant, but I can't rest knowing that Sabean didn't take his best shot at Reyes and a back to back championship.

Hello Carlos!

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 05:09:00 +0000

The date was July 10th. It was probably sometime around 10 or 10:30pm when they started to board the flight to Sky Harbor. Timmy and Cainer were there. So was Boch and Kung Fu. Ron Wotus and the Flan Man, Righetti and B-Weez. Somewhere towards the back, Ryan Vogelsong was pinching himself, in disbelief of what he was experiencing.

It was a charter flight to Phoenix full of Giants all-stars-- both coaches and players, incredible in its own right.

The only oddity were two guys who belonged in Phoenix for the all-star festivities, but didn't really belong on that particular flight.

One was Jose Reyes, the other was Carlos Beltran.

I'm sure there were plenty of jokes thrown around on that joyous flight. Torres and Beltran were probably talking about Puerto Rico, Pablo, I'm sure, was yukking it up with Reyes, being the goofball that he is. It honestly is a flight I wish I was on. Sounds like a pretty epic scene.

Somewhere though, a bespectacled Brian Sabean was staring a hole through the back of Beltran's seat. If he could have eye-effed the hell out of him, he would have. Like a bar sleaze eyeing his prey, he thought, "I want you, and I'm gonna get you."

Sabean has made some ballsy moves in his day... trading Matt Williams probably being his most brassy balls move. This one is up there though.

The Giants certainly needed something-- someone-- to improve this struggling first place lineup. Yes that's right, a first place, defending World Champ lineup that needs an infusion of energy like a crankhead needs to buy Sudafed from a Tennessee Walgreens to trade to a dealer for a hit of ice.

Is Beltran the answer? Ehh... he's not a savior. He's an all-star hitter, a decent outfielder, and immediately improves an anemic offense. However, he's not a prototypical thumper. On most teams, he'd be a #2 power threat. With the Giants though, he's immediately the best hitter on the team, and it couldn't have come soon enough.

This Beltran deal is either brilliant, or will go down in Giants lore as being a real waste of prospect pitching. Zach Wheeler projects pretty well in the Bigs, and it is difficult to let him go. In addition, Beltran's contract stipulates that he cannot be offered arbitration after his contract expires-- meaning of course that when he leaves after this season, the Giants will receive no compensatory draft picks. He's a Type-A free agent that will net them nothing. They do not pass Go and do not collect $200--- I mean a Sandwich Pick.

This deal is riding solely on Carlos Beltran's shoulders, and Sabean has his fingers crossed that Beltran repeats his 2004 magic he displayed in Houston after being traded mid-season from Kansas City.

The Astros rented Beltran too, and he was worth it. In 90 games, he hit 23HR and drove in 53 with an OPS of .926.

That of course, was the peak of Beltran's solid career-- a contract year-- one that he parlayed into ungodly amounts of cash from the Mets.

Beltran is on the downslope of his career. He's still a great hitter, but is injury-prone and slower than he used to be. Regardless, he will help us exponentially.

The Giants lineup is unpredictable, but I'm assuming that Schierholtz and Torres will be affected the most by Beltran's arrival. I have no idea what they'll do with all this.

I do know that Andres Torres can't hit a lick right handed though. In case this has escaped you, he's hitting .121 against lefties, and I'm at the point where I think he should pull a JT Snow and only hit left handed.

Beltran's arrival means that against a righty, Torres should play CF with Ross in LF and Beltran in RF. Against a lefty, I see Schierholtz, a career .326 hitter against southpaws, playing RF with Ross and Beltran taking up the other two spots.

It is a shame that Schierholtz will lose time because he's been one of our only decent hitters in the last couple months, but he will still be able to contribute.

It's a bold move and a bold statement by trading for Beltran, but if he hits like he's capable of hitting, I don't see why we can't win it all again.

Just Say No to Zito

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:21:00 +0000

I said it yesterday on Twitter, and I'll say it again here.

I don't care if Barry Zito threw 4 perfect games in a row in he minor leagues, he's not better than Ryan Vogelsong, and he does NOT under any circumstances belong in the Giants' starting rotation (barring injury to another starer of course).

Zito is a cat that has run out of lives. Somehow though, he's still there, like a zombie that just won't die in a terrible movie.

He's a great human being, a good teammate, and a hard worker. That will endear him to people who know him and get to spend time with him, but for fans fed up with his act, it doesn't help at all.

If it wasn't for his asinine albatross of a contract, he'd have been signing minor league deals with the A's and Royals, trying to hook on with a major league club for the last 3 years. He's not a viable major league pitcher anymore.

I would rather have Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz come out of retirement, completely out of shape, and start every 5th day for the Giants than Barry Zito. In fact, I'd rather have Ryan Vogelsong than Barry Zito.

I hate kicking him when he's down, and repeatedly beating a long since dead pile of horses, but Zeets no longer has a place on this team.

The bullpen suggestion is absurd. Our bullpen is good. In fact it's really good. The only two guys in the 'pen with an ERA near 4.00 are Affeldt and Billy Mota, both who have pitched very well for most of the year. What purpose would Zito serve? We already have two lefties in the pen, and Zito had a higher ERA against lefties last year than righties. He's not a left-handed specialist. He's not a reliever, and he's not a starter. He's a man with out a use. He's useless.

Again, we're not talking about about Barry Zito the man. We're talking about Barry Zito the baseball player.

Barry Zito the man is funny, charming, philanthropic, and makes women salivate when he messes up his hair and let's gay guys photograph him for magazines. He's a great dude, and I want nothing but the best for him in his personal life.

But after his horrific second half last year, his rubbish-worthy start this season, and his overall track record in Orange & Black, he has no place on my team or in my organization.

If I'm Brian Sabean, I have a long talk with Mr. Neukom and Mr. Baer, and hammer out the most economically viable way to rid ourselves of Zeets. Any, and I mean ANY amount of money saved in a transaction ridding us of Zito is a net positive.

Would a team desperate for pitching pay 25 percent of his contract until it's completion? 20 percent? A quarter of his 2011 salary is around $4.6MM.

Surely a team could pay him that for a couple years. Maybe Washington or the Mets. Perhaps Florida or the Astros.

And you know what, if a team is desperate enough for a left-handed veteran starter, they might spring for him. They won't have to give up anything. Just take him.

And the benefit of Zito leaving is exponential.

No more dark cloud hanging over the rotation... No more "But what happens when Zito comes back?" questions to be asked.

And here's another thing. Last time I checked, $4.6MM could be used to help pay for an every day player, an expensive reliever, or used to put some goddamn backrests on our primitive bleachers.

If giving away Zito saved even 3 million, it would be a blessing.

Ryan Vogelsong thus far has been everything we wanted Zito to be this season and more. He deserves an all-star berth, and Bumgarner doesn't deserve to be rested, demoted or skipped. Zito has no place in the bullpen.

Just say no to Zito.

Well Freddy, see you next time...

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 01:11:00 +0000

The sooner you're able to say goodbye to Freddy Sanchez, the better.

Our most consistent hitter in 2011 has probably played the last effective baseball he'll play for our Giants this year.

He helped us win a World Series, he kept us afloat during dry streaks this year, but sadly, he's not going to be contributing much from here on out.

With the Buster, DeRosa, and Freddy all pretty much done this season, it seems like people have been dropping like flies. Almost everyone seems to have spent time on the shelf this year. And yet, we keep getting it done.

Hey, that's why good pitching is so important...

No, I don't know any inside information about Freddy's injury, but look, if you think he's coming back, you're kidding yourself.

The man has been a creaky hinge and a greaseless wheel since even before he was acquired from Pittsburgh. His joints don't work. He'll need some cream, clear, and some hardcore glucosamine geltabs to even sniff effective baseball this year. Hell, give him KY injections and put some Castrol High Mileage 10W-40 into his bloodstream. Anything to keep his joints intact.

When you dislocate your shoulder, screw up your capsule, etc., you're screwed. Especially when you play 2B and have to dive constantly (just like on the play in which he hurt himself). He can rehab all he wants, but it won't help. See "DeRosa, Mark" in the Giants Injury Encyclopedia ($659.99 at the Giants Dugout Store) if you want to see how un-rehabable injuries turn out when you try to play around with colored rubber bands, $70 ice packs, and electrolysis instead of going under the knife.

Frederick will be 34 at the start of next season, and unfortunately, thanks to an under-the-radar one year contract extension handed out to Freddy for no apparent reason in April, we will see Freddy back at 2B in 2012.

Honestly, I don't remember hearing about Freddy being extended for another $6MM, and I don't get it, now that I'm discussing it in this forum.

It's not like we have a ML ready 2B being blocked by F-Sanch, but it's just a strange extension that bothers me a lot. His knees and shoulders are just a friggin mess, and although I expect him to be okay to begin 2012, history dictates that we have to pencil him in for at least one DL stint.

With a 2012 free agent second base class headlined by Kelly Johnson and Omar Infante, I feel a little comforted that we already have a solid veteran option. However, we can't really rely on him to stay on the field the whole season. That scares me.

As for right now, I guess we press on with Manny Burriss and Bill Hall... neither of which excite me all that much. Hall has pop and Manny has speed... too bad they can't be combined into one person. I could go for that...

Then there's the matter of Fontenot coming back (does Crawford go back down?), Tejada getting hot (but with Panda at 3B, does Tejada play 2B for the first time?).

Will Sabean try to grab Mark Ellis from Billy Beane for a case of Corona and a scrub to be named later?

Questions abound, but there's one answer I do have: Freddy Sanchez is done for 2011.

Scott Cousins is fire, Brian Sabean is gasoline

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 21:02:00 +0000

I want this story to go away. I really do.

It's awful enough that our best position player is likely out for the year. It's pretty rotten that a USF grad and Bay Area guy trying to make it in the bigs injured him. Even worse, it's becoming a media circus and pecker measuring contest.

Am I mad that Scott Cousins took out Buster? Hell yeah I'm mad. He could have easily slid to the right, avoided the tag, and still scored the winning run. Shoulda, coulda, woulda.

It sucks. It all just sucks.

And it's going to get uglier before it gets better.

We have Brian Sabean basically vowing revenge against Cousins and the Marlins, rooting for the young Marlin to never play again. We have Buster refusing to take or return apology calls from his home plate assailant. We have the league office getting involved.

Now, we have one of my favorite young players, Logan Morrison, Cousins's teammate, firing back on satellite radio that Sabean, "...(is) ignorant... inappropriate, and he has no idea what the hell he’s talking about.”

As I said. It's getting ugly.

If you read my last story about Buster's injury, you'll know that I don't blame Cousins for his violent collision with our golden boy Posey. It's baseball, and I will stand by that. It sucks, it's sad, and we're all angry, but it's still baseball.

We would all be celebrating if Buster or Burrell had run over John Buck or Chris Iannetta to win the game, as Cousins's agent pointed out.

And it's true.

We all have a right to be pissed about it, and we are, but there really is no blame to be handed out. Should Hanley Ramirez or Mike Stanton be drilled in the ribs the next time we play them? Absolutely. Not only that, but we should drill them in their next at bat too.

Guess what. That's baseball too.

The biggest problem we all have in this is that there is no one to blame here. Cousins is the easy target. Some jerks up on their high horse-- the same pansies who don't like fighting in hockey or the tackling of quarterbacks-- want "more to be done" to protect catchers at home plate. Baloney. I don't want to hear it.

I also don't want to hear other people perched atop their tower of morality preaching down to Sabean about "losing his cool" and "not flying off the handle." Buster Posey is like a family member to a lot of people in the Giants organization, and just as if you felt like one of your own got cheapshotted, he called KNBR and vented on the air. He has the right, and if you people living in your glass houses can't take a little natural emotion from our General Manager, then maybe you'd be better off rooting for peewee soccer teams instead of Major League Baseball. I'm sorry, but I support Brian Sabean and everything he's said.

I don't necessarily agree with all of his statements, but I fully, 100% support him defending Posey, rallying the troops, and speaking from the heart. If you ask me, we need more of that in professional sports.

It was a freak thing, I don't condone it, but it's part of the game. The sooner we all accept that fact, and move on to watching our rapidly improving ballclub, the sooner we'll be able to concentrate our energy on praying for Buster's swift recovery and a repeat World Series championship.

Mark DeRosa, we hardly knew ye...

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 03:42:00 +0000

I know this is a little late, and borderline irrelevant, but I wanted to touch a little on Mark DeRosa's potentially career-ending wrist injury.

He's the type of player every team wants-- at least in theory... a versatile guy who can hit, is a hoot in the clubhouse, and is generally just a valuable piece to have on your baseball-themed chess board.

Well... that was 2008 Mark DeRosa... and to a lesser extent, 2009 Mark DeRosa.

The 2008 Mark DeRosa hit 21 dongs with 87 ribeye steaks. The 2009 Mark DeRosa, even with a little time on the DL with that stupid wrist problem hit 23 HR and 78 RBI. From 2006 to 2009, DeRo had a .291 BA. He still played all over the field. He was just a plain old good baseball player.

The Cleveland Indians of all people, saw that DeRosa's star was dimming in 2009 when they dealt him to St. Louis at midseason.

It was this trade that gave Cleveland their future closer in Chris Perez, and began the downfall of DeRo's wrist and career.

The 2 yr./ $12MM deal the Gyros gave DeRo really bothered a lot of fans. Coming off a wrist injury, was a 35 year-old without a truly good position a good idea? Many wrote off the deal as a typical Sabean move.

I liked it at the time because he's the type of player I'd love to have on my fantasy team... and real team for that matter. Unfortunately, the deal ended up being the worst contract since Dave Roberts a few years ago.

Here's a look at DeRosa's career as a Giant:

44 games, 12 runs, 24 hits, 1 HR, 13 RBI, 4 doubles, 11 walks, .224 SLG%, .178 BA, 24 K, 3 errors.

That is just plain depressing. But I bet this breakdown will make you sick.

Here's the money breakdown for Mark DeRosa's contributions:

44 Games = $272,727 per game
24 Hits = $500,000 per hit
1 HR = $12,000,000 per home run
5 XBH = $2.4 MM per extra base hit

Ugh. Gross!

Regardless of how disturbing all this is, it's not fair to Mark to put all this crap on him. There's nothing he could have done to prevent the series of wrist injuries that befell him. He's a hard worker, a dedicated guy, and to accuse him or blame him for his lack of performance isn't fair.

It's rare that I feel bad for multi-millionaires with hot wives, but you know, I do feel for Mark in this case. His career is likely over. If your wrist doesn't work, you can't swing, and if you can't swing, you're gonna be playing basketball in your backyard pool and picking your kids up from elementary school for a living.

Hey. Could be worse.

Baseball is what he loves to do. It's his livelihood, his passion, and he was pretty damn good at it. It's incredibly frustrating to be limited physically when that prevents you from doing things you enjoy. It totally sucks.

And like Barry Zito, another expensive failure, there's no one more disappointed in their Giants career than Mark DeRosa.

With all that said, it's an unfortunate end to a scrappy and solid major league career, and if Mark DeRosa isn't a coach or color analyst for a pro team within the next few years, I'd be shocked.

A dark day for Giants fans

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Thu, 26 May 2011 16:29:00 +0000

If you stayed up Wednesday night to watch the Giants' heroic comeback fall short in 12 innings, you saw it.

It was gut-wrenching. Enough to make a grown man sick and a grown woman cry.

Our boy... our GOLDEN BOY Buster Posey suffered an ugly injury at the hands of a desperate young player trying to score a winning run.

As much as I'd like to rip Cousins as being a complete dickhead, we all root for our players to run into home plate at the same brutal velocity. Anything for a run... especially a winning run in extra innings.

No, it's not Cousins' fault. It's not even baseball's fault for not treating catchers like they coddle Peyton Manning in the NFL.

What happened to Buster Posey is for lack of a better term... baseball.

That's baseball.

Early reports put Buster's prognosis as a broken ankle and a possibly damaged knee. As someone who's personally undergone two serious knee surgeries and a broken ankle surgery, I know that if both of those things are true, he's out for 3 months... MINIMUM.

A broken ankle, depending on the bone, calls for a 2 month recovery for normal people, probably about 6 weeks for athletes. If his knee is only an MCL strain, it's 3-6 weeks.

But if we're talking ACL damage, multiple ankle fractures... I mean worst case scenario. We'll see him next year... as sickening as that thought is.

There is a small, yet growing minority in the Bay Area sports community that has been questioning how long or how often Buster Posey should play catcher. After all, he's a pure hitter with a great arm, and can LITERALLY play every position on the field. Why not move him to 3B or 1B? Maybe give him a shot at SS?

Well, the answer is simple:

BECAUSE HE'S A CATCHER.

He's not JUST a catcher though. No, he's one of the best catchers in baseball. And this is his second season... and his first full one.

The list of elite catchers in this league is a short one. The first one is Joe Mauer, then it goes to Brian McCann.

Then it's probably Posey.

Sure, Yadi Molina is up there, but he's not on the same map offensively. Victor Martinez is there offensively, but nowhere close defensively.

Buster Posey is an elite player, and he's a CATCHER.

It's his best position, and he makes us better in all ways by playing such a difficult, demanding, and offensively talentless position. Unfortunately, the wear and tear of a position like this is going to make us all cringe.

I'm a proponent of day games off after night games, putting Buster at 1B on Sundays regularly, but that's about it. He belongs behind the dish.

That being said, Posey's depressing absence means Eli Whiteside will catch indefinitely. Not a very sexy option... unless of course you're writing a William Faulkner-esque novel about a guy from the Mississippi Delta ironically named Whiteside, who also has white hair before age 30.

The guy who really gets an opportunity to step up again is Brandon Belt. He's been recalled, and will probably see a lot of time out there.

I don't know what Bochy will do with this mess on our hands... whether Huff will see a couple more days off, whether Belt will see some time in the OF, or whether a better offensive solution than Whiteside is sought.

It's a mess.

It's not the end of the season. It's not the end of the world. It's just a mess.

There's very little positivity around this situation, but at least Whiteside is solid defensively and handles the pitching staff well. Plus, we're coming back and winning games even while Posey and Huff have been average.

He's a big bat, and a great player, but this is not the end of days. We get Pablo back fairly soon, and maybe Huff will get hot.

As we know from our magical 2010, you can never count out this team, and they come back from adversity all the time.

For now, we'll just hope Posey will be back by July, and keep our heads up. We have a great team, we're champions, and our group of goofballs will step up in a big way... they can't help it.

We've seen this movie before, Giants fans

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Tue, 10 May 2011 23:57:00 +0000

Firstly, apologies for not writing much in the last couple weeks. This whole "job" thing is really putting a cramp in my evening sports watching/writing.

Secondly, the last post was about the "Dynamite" video with Keenan Cahill, Weez, and Boss Ross. I'd like to clarify:

Before that video, I'd never heard of Keenan Cahill. Secondly, I didn't watch the video all the way through to see the fundraiser thing at the end. I honestly thought he was a funny little 10 year old kid. Swear to God. So, if anyone was offended by me calling him a "chubby nerd", I hope you understand that I had no clue the kid had a disease or that he was an internet sensation. Obviously I should do more research on amusing internet videos. Now that that's out of the way...

The Giants, are well... still the Giants.

As the title says, we've seen all of this before:

-- Our proven veteran SS sucks major ass (Tejada instead of Renteria)

-- DeRosa's wrist is hurt (although he's in Tuesday night's lineup)

-- Pablo's contributions are missing (this time due to injury, rather than retardation)

-- Highly paid players struggling to start the year (Huff)

-- Zito contributing absolutely nothing in exchange for the Gross Domestic Product of Micronesia

-- Unexpected contributions from players expected to do nothing (Rowand, Fontenot)

-- A total random career minor leaguer making a major impact (Vogelsong instead of Torres)

-- Timmy is Timmy

-- A bunch of improbable comeback wins out of nowhere

It honestly goes on and on, and frickin on.

But hey, this is why we watch, and why we love these guys.

With a sweep of Colorads this past weekend, I really think things are starting to get better... at least I feel like consistency is setting in.

The early injuries to Brian Wilson, Sandoval, DeRosa, Ross, and Torres have really thrown a crazy ass monkey wrench into the unpredictable, yet well-oiled machine that is the San Francisco Giants.

Ross's Sunday offensive outburst and Wilson's rediscovered groove only lend credence to my theory.

Throw in Bumgarner and his last three starts (5 ER in past 3 starts after 16 ER in his first 4), and I think this team is trending in the right direction.

Huff is still struggling, Buster hasn't hit his stride, and Burrell is still a massive question mark, but overall, this team is making me feel more comfortable about life.

The emergence of Mike Fontenot as a serviceable SS and bizzarely-- as a decent 3rd place hitter, means the totally washed up Miguel Tejada can now join Mark DeRosa on the bench as one half of the righty-righty, sub-par backup-infielding $12.5MM combo known as DeJada.

Suddenly this whole Jose Reyes for Zach Wheeler nonsense sounds better.

Speaking of which...

Myke Urban single-handedly blew the Reyes "interest" and "internal discussion" thing totally out of frickin proportion.

I have had internal discussions about marrying Scarlett Johansson and taking Taylor Swift out to dinner too.

The point being...

OF COURSE THE GIANTS BRASS HAS TALKED ABOUT JOSE REYES. HE'S IN THE LAST YEAR OF AN EFFING CONTRACT AND HE'S A TOP 30 PLAYER. HE'S A WELL-DOCUMENTED TRADE PIECE OF A BANKRUPT, USELESS TEAM.

That being said, excellent job getting your name out there Myke. And I really do like him as a Bay Area sports personality... but look...

Jose Reyes is an injury-prone, money-hungry luxury item. Not only does he run on premium fuel, but when you buy him, his warranty only lasts 12,000 miles, you pay a $6,000 gas guzzler tax, his floormats run $600 apeice, and they nail you with a bogus California emissions fee.

It's like yeah, I'd love to buy a 500hp, $200K Aston Martin DBS convertible, but if I have to give up my high speed internet, and DVR service (Zach Wheeler) and have no guarantee of keeping the car long-term, I'm gonna opt for a $43k Dodger Challenger with 470hp.

You catch my drift?

Anyway, as I said, we've seen this all before, and we can't freak out about anything. This is a slightly different version of the same team we know and love. The frustrations will be there, the illogical struggles and surprising comebacks will continue.

As I said so many times last season: just sit back, and enjoy the ride. It's gonna take a while.

Brian Wilson, Cody Ross, & I Don't Even...

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 23:16:00 +0000

I don't know what this is. I don't know who this chubby nerd is, and I've never heard this song, but I am amused, and you are too. If you can't see this video, click here to come directly to the site.

I see B-Weez & Boss Ross entertained themselves while on the DL.

Stay Hot Pablo Sandoval!

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 00:04:00 +0000

Stay hot Pablo Sandoval. Please God, stay hot.

Seriously. Stay hot. Stay in control of your at bats, and stay in control of your eating and everything else.

If exponentially more tail being thrown at him and 4 HR in April aren't enough to keep him on the path to All-Stardom, I don't know what will.

Pretty amazing that we could win a World Series in a year when a guy we counted on so much to contribute consistently frustrated us.

He's hitting now like he did two years ago. He's lining the ball from both sides of the plate, he's nimbler at third base, and those shoestring swing-throughs last year are once again singles and doubles.

I am just so damn proud of him, and it means so much to the Giants on and off the field that Panda is successful.

He sells merchandise, to the tune of millions of dollars annually. He makes Giants fans out of little girls that might ordinarily not care about baseball. Any player that creates lifelong Giants fans is a goddamn golden goose.

So much about his blazing hot start and new physique really depends on Pablo himself.

Teams and pitchers will reevaluate their scouting reports and readjust to him. Will Pablo be able to adjust on the fly? He wasn't able to do that last year when they threw him nothing but junk.

It certainly looks like Pablo is a new man at the plate, as I'm seeing him take pitches he'd have swung at last year, and making contact with pitches he'd have swung through last year.

And it's not so much that he's even seeing a bunch more pitches per plate appearance. With this year's small sample size, he's seeing 3.8 pitches per plate appearance, compared to 3.4 all of last year. It's an increase, but he's still his free-swinging self.

Honestly, the percentages haven't changed much AT ALL. I looked through all the Fangraphs nerd percentage stats, and found that he's actually swinging at 68% of pitches in the strike zone, a full 10% less than he did last year. He's swinging at nearly the exact rate of pitches outside the zone as he did last year. So honestly... how is this success happening?

It's not contact percentage. Nope. He's actually slightly down from last year.

In fact, nearly all his percentages and numbers are exactly the same except for his success at the dish.

I honestly didn't expect to find any of these results. I expected a correlation; something that jumped out. I got nothing.

The only things-- and I mean the ONLY things-- that the stats and percentages show about his behavior is that he's having success. His BABIP (Batting Avg. on Balls in Play) is at .359... and that is very, very good. Last year, he hit .291 with BABIP.

He's striking out at a slightly higher rate, walking at a slightly lower rate. None of it makes sense...

UNLESS...

Camp Panda actually worked, and it really WAS his physical conditioning that prevented him from success in 2010.

Practice, dedication, and a more physically fit Pablo Sandoval are the only differences between this year and last. He lost 40+ lbs. and that really is substantial.

Pick up 5 gallons of milk, or one of those big 45 lb. plate weights at the gymnasium. It's significant.

As a fat guy apologist, I didn't believe his weight had as much to do with his struggles as his simple inability to focus and calm down at the plate. I advocated for Adderall, the thing that made Andres Torres into a top 30 outfielder.

I don't know if he's on St. John's Wart or Ginko, or Ritalin, or just chicken breasts, but it's frickin working, and he needs to continue.

If you're one of these skinny jerks with rapid metabolisms, then screw you. But seriously, I know how hard it is to lose 40 lbs and how much self-control is necessary to maintain the a diet like that.

It's really tough, especially when you love to eat. So I definitely understand what Pablo's accomplished and the type of dedication it requires to get it off and keep it off. It's almost harder to keep it off than it was to lose it in the first place.

With gourmet clubhouse spreads of God-knows-what greeting the Panda at every game in every city, there is a danger of regression. It's almost like as if Josh Hamilton was greeted by an alcohol and drug buffet before and after every game. Seriously. That's not a joke. It's not supposed to be funny. It's true and it's the same.

The early success of Pablo Sandoval has been up there with Aaron Rowand's production as the best story of April. And I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. These two guys love the game and want so badly to succeed, and they finally are.

Since there is no statistical evidence as to why Pablo is doing so well, I can come to no other conclusion other than this:

His conditioning and newfound dedication to improvement has led to success. Let that be a lesson to all of us, and STAY HOT PABLO SANDOVAL.

Timmy, Burrell, Machine, & Buster Burrell

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 22:55:00 +0000

I haven't written a ton about actual baseball observations thus far in the young 2011 season, mainly because I've been waiting for stories to develop on their own. Here's what I'm thinking about:

Timmy's velocity is up!

We've all noticed some not-so-subtle changes in our ace, Timmy Lincecum. He's more confident and badass than he's ever been. With 2 Cy Youngs and a World Series ring, he could retire a happy man tomorrow. But he's getting better.

Last season, he really learned how to PITCH. And despite his scary-bad August, 2010 was the most important year to date for our boy. He learned how to work through mechanical problems, and how to pitch to contact instead of always trying to blow people away with swing and miss stuff.

With his fastball topping out pretty much at 93, he had to make his changeup filthier and his speeds change more drastically. Tim Lincecum has become a complete pitcher... which is crazy to say, because the automatic question is, "Well what the hell was he before?"

With a new dedication to working out his lower body and weight lifting throughout the winter, Timmy looks stronger, stouter, and he's got his 95 fastball back. Take a look at what Fangraphs put together --->

So far Timmy's categories are up across the board and his fastball's average velocity is up 1.5 mph.I know it's early, but everything from K/9 (10.24) to his BB/9 rate (1.86) have improved, and although it's only 3 starts, I attribute his improvements to his maturation as a pitcher and newfound dedication to strength-training his lower body.

I mean, the guy just looks stronger. Plus he's got the high socks. That helps aerodynamically or something...

Pat the Bat's scary start

I love Pat Burrell. Sorry. He's my boy.

That being said, his start to this season is really freaking me out. I like the 4 homers. Those are really cool, but he's been all or nothing early, and he seems to be a bit bewildered as to what is going on... simply by looking at his body language and reactions to his many swings and misses thus far.

Take this Fangraphs nerdery for what it is...

Burrell's career stats have him striking out about 25-30% of the time, depending on the year. As for other career percentages, since 2006, The Machine has averaged basically an 80% contact percentage. Meaning when he swings, 8 out of 10 times he makes contact. That's pretty damn good.

Early on this year, Burrell's contact percentage is sitting at 69%, down a full 10% from last season. In the same vein, Burrell has struck out in 42% of his 2011 at bats, a full 14% increase over his average 2010.

So yeah, look, Pat's a great dude and a good sleaze. I love rooting for him, he was a great guy when I met him, but I'm concerned about these trends. He's K'd 15 times in 44 plate appearances, and hasn't exactly been great in LF.

Hey people start slow, I get that, but these trends and percentages are scary.

The Real Machine

I know this is an epic failure on my part, but I just saw the Nic Cage movie 8MM a couple weeks ago. Now I heard something about Pat Burrell's leather-clad sex pervert costume and Brian Wilson's schtick being derived from 8MM. Never saw it, didn't investigate.

After seeing the movie, I'm a little less apt to think it's so hilarious. Sleazy? Yes. Amusing? Yes.

But the movie, if you haven't seen it is about Nic Cage being hired to see whether this lady's late husband really owned a real snuff film. And if you don't know what a snuff film is, well here is the Urban Dictionary definition.

Basically, some sickos make a snuff film for some sick rich guy, and the tape turns out to be real. The character that did the "snuffing" in the 8MM film was known only as "Machine" and basically wore the same costume that Burrell parades around in the infamous Brian Wilson/Chris Rose interview.

So look, take all that for what it's worth, but I think if half the people who laughed and joked about the whole Machine thing knew what the reference was from, they might think twice about who they talk about it with, you know?

I think it's entertaining and amusing, but you know... pretty borderline stuff, and I should've been all over it, but hey, it happens.

Former Giant Buster Burrell...

Yep. Buster Burrell was a real guy, and he was a former Giant. Not only that, but he was a catcher!

What are the chances that one team has had two Busters that played catcher... let alone that the guy's name was BUSTER BURRELL! AHAHAHA!

Poor Buster's career was a short one, but he got his first taste of the majors in 1891 with the New York Giants. In his one season with the G-Men, Buster Burrell had 5 hits in 57 plate appearances with 1 run, 1 RBI, and 2 SB. He also committed 14 errors in 15 games behind the plate.

Granted, baseball was barely a sport in 1891, but this guy wasn't very good, even for 1890s standards.

He has his own Wikipedia page and his description is as follows:

Frank Andrew Burrell (December 22, 1866 in Weymouth, MA - May 8, 1962), is a former professional baseball player who played catcher from 1891-1897 for the New York Giants and Brooklyn Grooms/Bridegrooms.

AND LISTEN TO THIS. THE BROOKLYN BRIDEGROOMS BECAME THE DODGERS! AHAHAHAHAHA!

BRIDEGROOMS!

We have to spread the word about this historical fact!

And I may begin referring to the Dodgers as the Brides from time to time.

Faces of Evil: The Bryan Stow Attack

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 00:30:00 +0000

We all love the game we call baseball. Many of us love sports in general. We enjoy competition, and it's merely human nature. Since the beginning of man, people have been finding ways to prove their worth against others. Competition and rivalry brings out the best in some and the worst in others.

It's been said that it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game. I believe that applies to fans of organized sport as well.

While I do not agree that the outcome of sport takes lower priority over sportsmanship, I agree that the way a fanbase conducts itself in general influences widespread opinion, and the way opposing fans treat them during interactions.

With that being said, I delayed writing this article by over week purposely. The attack on Giants fan Bryan Stow following opening night in Los Angeles enraged me. It enraged me to the point where I was worried about what I might say on this site, which is read by enough people to make me think twice about what I write.

What happened to Stow, a vicious and unprovoked attack, is one of the most cowardly acts in the history of American professional sports. No one deserves to be beaten because of what they believe or who they are. And although we may not all get along or share the beliefs or lifestyles of others, that doesn't give anyone the right to attack anyone physically.

I'm pretty realistic about this stuff. There are some people that simply look for fights. People get drunk and obnoxious. Idiots feel tough in a group and pop off to the stadium's cheering minority. It's part of the game, and it's part of the cross section of any society-- especially when it comes to sporting events. I get that. There are bad apples everywhere; morons in every walk of life.

I also know what Dodger Stadium is like. I've been there many times, beginning as a young kid with my dad. I've been lucky enough to be to a lot of different ballparks and arenas over the years, including the East Coast, and although I'm by no means an expert on these topics, I can tell you what I know to be factual.

Most Dodger fans are not despicable criminals like Stow's assailants. A lot of them are just like you or me... save of course the obvious fact that they are unfortunate to have been born in the worst part of our beautiful state with parents misguided enough to raise them as Dodger fans. Hey, nobody's perfect.

There is an element as Dodger Stadium however, that is unlike anything else you'll see at professional sporting events. The Oakland Coliseum for Raider games is the closest thing you'll find to the criminal element at Chavez Ravine.

There is no coincidence in the tie between the former Los Angeles Raiders and Dodgers, their rough element of fans, and the fact that opposing fans rightfully have their heads on a swivel at these games.

LA's gang culture exploded in the 1980s and 90s. The rise of rap and hip hop stars and groups like Ice Cube, NWA, etc. gave a lot of these criminal groups a public identity to attach itself to. The ESPN/Ice Cube 30 for 30 documentary "Straight Outta LA" detailed this.

Gangs began attaching themselves to The LA Raiders, their colors and clothing becoming associated with thug life and the rough street lifestyle that suddenly became glamorous. Long story short, the LA Coliseum became a dangerous place, a place dangerous enough where players didn't want their families in the crowd and opposing gang members frequently fought in public.

The reason I bring up the Raiders and their thuggish fans in the 80's and 90's is that once Al Davis moved the team back North to Oakland, this culture no longer had a local team to attach itself to.

Sure, they like the Lakers, but the Lakers have 20,000 seats, and it has always been a tough ticket. The NBA in LA is reserved for celebrities and people with money.

What's left? The Kings? No. Street toughs don't like hockey. USC football? Ehh, to a certain extent, but what does this rough element have in common with the University of Spoiled children? Not much.

That left the Dodgers... now a magnet for LA's thriving thug element.

These days, if this element of bad apples wants to go to a game for a reasonable price and hang out with their kind, they go to Chavez Latrine to cheer on people like Matt Kemp and Casey Blake, primarily filling the outfield pavilion sections (left field being the most notorious).

Most of these thugs don't care about the game. They care about getting drunk and talking smack. Paralleling the gang mindset of "us against them" and strength in numbers, it's a perfect public place for them to assemble.

Now I'm not saying that all of these bad apples are all in organized criminal street gangs, because that would be inaccurate. It's the lifestyle and mindset of "I'm tough, these are my homeboys, this is our hood, and this is my team."

That's just as dangerous as anything else.

And I know this is ALWAYS a very touchy topic, and some people can't handle having discussions about this without dismissing valid arguments, but there unfortunately is a racial element to this subject.

I won't harp on this, but I will state that there is a stereotype of what a "scary" Dodger fan looks like. Again, it's not everyone, and there are tons of exceptions to every rule, but the stereotype of the rough Hispanic Dodger fan looking for a fight is not a stereotype for no reason.

The gang population of the greater LA County area is estimated to be as high as 85,000. It is a huge problem to say the least.

Again, it's not mostly gang members intimidating people at Dodgers games, but there is a gang culture in Los Angeles that has influenced large amounts of young people, whether they do illegal things or not.

There is simply an element and culture of aggressive inhumanity and rudeness by some Dodger fans that cannot be ignored.

Take the account of Giants fan Teresa, who attended Opening Day in Los Angeles, the same game that resulted in Bryan Stow fighting for his life:

"I sat in LF (Pavilion) at Dodger Stadium on Opening Night. I went alone (came from Fresno). Beforehand, I gave some thought to how I would conduct myself and what I would wear because I am very aware of the hostile nature of Dodger Stadium. Everyone with a Giants hat or jersey was loudly booed wherever they went by large groups of people. While in the stands, one man got really bossy. He demanded that I stand when Vin Scully was introduced. I didn't. But the second time he yelled at me, I did what he said because it scared me. (He told me to take off my visor for God Bless America.)

I left in the 8th inning because I had a bus to catch and I also had no interest in being around if the Giants lost. There was a bad vibe in the stands. No one would converse with me because of my Giants visor and t-shirt. People were plain rude. In the 3rd or 4th inning, I was yelled at by a woman for sitting in the wrong row. I moved down one. I realized I had forgotten my water bottle under the bench and asked her husband to pass it to me. He refused. He moved his leg and said, "You get it." It was such a strange evening. I will never go back."

Booing Giants fans I understand. Fine. I boo Dodgers fans too. That's not a big deal. But just the fact that people can't feel safe in the stands at a baseball game is just unacceptable.

This isn't football, or European soccer, Thai kickboxing, or that game that they play in Afghanistan in Rambo III where they drag the goat carcass around. This is baseball, in America.

It's just extremely discouraging.

People just go there to have a good time and root for their team. For some Dodger fans, that apparently entails yelling at women and children, throwing things at men, and purveying a general sense of irreverence and mob-style intimidation.

Just look at what they have to do to keep the peace in the Dodger Stadium parking lot. Once you park, you have to leave your car and immediately go into the ballpark. Drinking alcohol of any kind is prohibited, and you will be asked to dump it out or asked to leave if you refuse any of their bullying.

This happened to me only last year in a game against Pittsburgh. I was sitting with 3 other college students that all looked like me. We were in a Honda Pilot with the windows rolled up, and we were listening to Paul Simon while drinking a Coors Light.

We were badgered, harassed, and had our beers poured out by parking lot Nazis, then told we couldn't even smoke a cigarette outside the car. We had to go in, or we'd be asked to leave.

Where were these parking lot Nazis while Bryan Stow was getting his skull bounced against the pavement?

I suppose they were busy harassing peaceful groups of people enjoying the fact that baseball was back for another exciting year.

Do I blame them for the no-tolerance policy? No. I get it.

In 2010, there were 132 arrests at Dodger Stadium during Opening Day. 132! That is just unfathomable to me.

I guess the crackdown has had some effect as ONLY 25 people were arrested this year.

I'm waiting for that number to increase to 27.

The pieces of human garbage that attacked Bryan Stow don't deserve to live. They really don't. If they think that sucker punching and kicking a father of two until he nearly died is acceptable behavior, then they are better off dead.

Unfortunately, we don't live in a society anymore where people who do bad things are always punished. I like to think that even if people like these two get away with stuff like this during their lifetime, that they will burn for an eternity in hell.

And if you don't believe in heaven or hell, at least start believing in hell, because if those guys just get to live out their pathetic, violent lives, then die and don't have to pay for their crimes, then there really is no justice in the world (or afterworld for that matter).

I'm not giving up hope that someone will finger these two scumbags, but honestly, these guys could be anywhere. It's like finding a needle in a haystack even in the parking lot, let alone a metropolitan area of nearly 9 million, where they could easily blend in.

As angry as we are as Giants fans. We absolutely cannot retaliate against Dodger fans or anything else. We are the San Francisco Giants and we are Giants Nation. WE DON'T DO THESE THINGS TO OTHER PEOPLE. We ARE better than Dodger fans as a group.

Any person that decides to start a fight or causes any harm to one of these people is also causing harm to other Giants fans in the court of public opinion. Just with poor Bryan Stow and how his story was plastered over the national sports and news media, so will any signs of violent retaliation by Giants fans.

The microscope is on AT&T Park for this series.

Although two wrongs feels right, it unfortunately isn't always the best thing to do.

The best thing we can do to get our justice and vengeance is to send our thoughts and prayers to Bryan Stow and his family, make a donation to help pay his mounting medical bills if we are able, conduct ourselves with the class that makes us better than Dodger fans, and for God's sake, sweep these bastards on the field.

Consider the plea from Stow's cousin:

"We would like to use this as a rallying cry to stop unnecessary violence in our greatest pastime and all other sports, not only here but abroad. This would be one of the greatest gifts you could give to us, especially Bryan. So I ask for one last thing on behalf of Bryan -- that we all enjoy a safe and competitive and exciting year of baseball and a successful Giants home-opening weekend at AT&T Park."

I don't know Bryan Stow, but he was a Giants fan. He is one of us. He is just a guy who's day job is to save lives as a paramedic, and his night job is to raise his children. His life will never be the same, and I hope that no one that considers themselves a Giants fan will change anyone else's life in that manner.

On that note, I hate the Dodgers possibly more than I ever have, and I will always hold this incident against them and their fans, deserving or not. Everything about them makes me sick, but when I begin to get angry I remember two things:

1) We won the World Series & they suck

2) We are a better fanbase of classy individuals who would never do anything like that.

On that note...

BEAT LA!

TO HELP SUPPORT BRYAN STOW PLEASE VISIT SUPPORT4STOW.BLOGSPOT.COM

__

Buster & Belt B2B ROY? It's happened... a lot

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 23:29:00 +0000

Are we jumping ahead of ourselves here? Absolutely. Is 4 games a good sample size for determining anything--except whose mustache and new tattoos you like/don't like? No.

And yet, Brandon Belt has us salivating. Salivating like we first did over Lincecum, Cain and Posey. Belt has us thinking possible dynasty. And I don't think anyone can blame us. We're fans, still high as kites from our Championship Season, and we're damn excited.

Not only are we rewarded by receiving some more press, coverage, bragging rights, and a shiny trophy, but it's as if we received a Christmas bonus or something. We knew we wanted Belt. We did research, we dropped our hints around our parents, but knew it was a long shot to get such a valuable present.

But when Christm-- I mean Opening Day Eve came along, we snuck a peek in a closet we weren't supposed to sneak peeks in-- and sure enough, behind the ties and ugly summer shirts the shape was unmistakable; it was Brandon Belt.

It was the greatest thing ever. Even when the Giants unwrapped him on Opening Day against LA, we were still surprised that it was real, and he was all ours.

Okay, enough gushing like a school girl.

The prospect of having Back to Back Rookies of the Year is definitely an exciting one. Let's for a minute just assume Belt plays the season the way he's played the first series. Let's say I don't know, 23 HR, 74 RBI, and a .285 average with great defense. We'll just assume that gets it done.

When I began to think of B2B ROYs, I had to do a little research about how many times that has happened. I was pretty surprised by what I found...

Years	Team	Name

1952, 1953	Brooklyn Dodgers	Joe Black
		Jim Gilliam
1954, 1955	St. Louis Cardinals	Wally Moon
		Bill Virdon
1958, 1959	Washington Senators	Albie Pearson
		Bob Allison
1958, 1959	San Francisco Giants	Orlando Cepeda
		Willie McCovey
1961, 1962	Chicago Cubs	Billy Williams
		Ken Hubbs
1979-1982	Los Angeles Blue Bastards	Rick Sutcliffe
		Steve Howe
		Fernando Valenzuela
		Steve Sax
1983, 1984	New York Mets	Darryl Strawberry
		Dwight Gooden
1985, 1986	St. Louis Cardinals	Vince Coleman
		Todd Worrell
1986, 1987, 1988	Oakland Athletics	Jose Canseco
		Mark McGwire
		Walt Weiss
1992-1996	Los Angeles Blue Bastards	Eric Karros
		Mike Piazza
		Raul Mondesi
		Hideo Nomo
		Todd Hollandsworth
2000, 2001	Seattle Mariners	Kaz Sasaki
		Ichiro Suzuki
2004, 2005	Oakland Athletics	Bobby Crosby
		Huston Street

Are you as surprised as I am at how many repeat ROY selections have occurred? I am especially appalled by the fact that the Doyers once had 4 ROYs in a row and then broke their own record with 5 in a row! It does comfort me however, that most of those guys sucked, and despite having 5 ROYs in a row in the 1990s, the Blue Bastards still did nothing of note, and still haven't.

And if you're wondering who has the most ROYs in history, this is how it breaks down:

Blue Bastards (12), Oakland (7), Yankees (7), Cincinnati (7), St. Louis (6), Baltimore (6), Boston (6), Minnesota (5), White Sox (5), Cubs (5), Philadelphia (4), Mets (4), Kansas City (4), Cleveland (4), Detroit (4), and the rest have 3 or fewer.

A lot of the names also jump out at me. You're like, "How in the hell was Todd Hollandsworth a ROY???"

I remember him more for playing center field with a goddamn Cherry Tootsie Pop in his mouth than being a Rookie of the Year...

Simply baffling.

The Giants if you're wondering, had 5 Rookies of the Year, 6 if you count Willie Mays who was ROY on the Giants when they still played in New York. But if you give the Giants 6, you have to count the 2 extra ROYs the Brooklyn Dodgers had. GROSS.

Giants Rookies of the Year:

1951: Willie Mays (NY)

1958: Orlando Cepeda

1959: Willie McCovey

1973: Gary Matthews, Sr.

1975: John "The Count" Montefusco

2010: Buster Posey

Anyway, besides a little bit of a history lesson, this shows us that back to back ROYs have happened fairly frequently. So that gives me even more hope that Belt will be able to do it.

Buster & Belt have a chance to be the first Giants to win B2B ROYs in 52 long years. Pretty cool stuff.

If you missed my take on Belt's swing and who it reminds me of, I included it below.

It's been a series of firsts for Brandon Belt. First hit, first walk, first stolen base, first RBIs... but most impressively, his first home run. Wow. That was just awesome on Friday night wasn't it? I don't know about you, but it gave me chills.

In only three games, Belt has answered the question I asked a couple days ago. He's not going anywhere. I know you hear the Front Office say things about their intentions with Belt, but once you see all this for yourself in meaningful games, you're like... "Whoa. This guy IS for real. And he's good NOW!"

He's so patient; so poised. His swing is beautiful. I see a little Palmeiro in that swing. Maybe a touch of Will Clark. I think I've nailed down what he looks most like.

Belt, to me anyway, really looks like John Olerud. @JohnnyUtah530 suggested that to me on Twitter Friday and he was right on. We forget how good of a pure hitter Olerud was. The helmet in the field is his real legacy unfortunately.

And I know this seems like a lazy comparison, but Belt has a similar swing to Buster Posey. While Olerud's front foot is quiet and he takes a short stride toward the pitcher, Belt's is more like "stepping in the bucket" like Posey's. And yes, you can compare the lefty Belt to the righty Posey.

And here's Buster:

I'd say Belt's mechanics are combination of Olerud/Buster and he's got a beautiful damn swing.

If you can't see the YouTube videos above, come directly to the site by clicking here.

2011 is fun now...

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 22:42:00 +0000

After 2 incredibly frustrating games to begin our title defense, 2011 is fun.

With the 10-0 drubbing of the Blue Bastards on Saturday, we all exhaled an elongated sigh of relief. Like our beloved Gyros, we all needed to get off the schneid too. Just because we sit around and eat and drink alcohol while watching other people exercise on TV doesn't mean we aren't physically involved in these games. I feel better already. It's like a weight off our shoulders. Almost like when you get off the treadmill and then walk around and you feel really light and weird and fast.

Anyway, Saturday's victory did other encouraging things.

It was great to see HurriCAIN Matt still in Postseason form. He was sharp from the beginning, and ended up allowing only 5 measly hits in 6 innings with no walks.

It really is a beautiful thing that we have such good pitching. Even Sanchez on Friday with his walks and bad defense, he was still dealing pretty well.

What I liked about Saturday was the way those 10 runs were produced. It was small ball... but I like to call it "effective ball". Getting on base. Not trying to pull the ball all over the place. Singling in runs. Amazing when that works.

I was shocked to see no Sandoval or Torres in the lineup this morning. I really was. I was like, "Well Torres AND Sandoval got two hits on Friday..."

But once I stop thinking like a fantasy baseball manager and start thinking like Bochy, I'm like, oh yeah, I forgot, Torres hit .226 against lefties last year and Sandoval hit .227.

Makes sense. There are a lot of reasons to sit those two against Ted Lilly, and it's pretty obvious that Bochy wants everyone to get in, shake the excitement off and get back to business. That's why Rowand and DeRosa played (in addition to them being righties). And hey, it worked. "DeRow", all $18MM of them went 4-10 with 3 runs scored. That's what we like to see! That's why Whiteside and Schierholtz replaced Posey and Huff, Torres came in later to force Burrell out, and Panda got a random end of the game at bat.

I can't say that I'm in favor of straight L/R platoons for Torres/Panda, especially because they're both switch hitters. The Giants are very deep this year, and while professionals like Rowand and DeRosa need to get in the game, the starters need a rhythm too.

As much as I railed on Boch last season (and he deserved it), when he finally stopped moving like a slug stuck in molasses with his lineup moves, he made all the right calls. I trust him now. He got it done, and for that we should give him more benefits of the doubt. It's natural to question these things, but we all just need to remain calm.

Anyway. It was nice to see the following things:

Tejada getting two hits, knocking in two dudes, and scoring twice

He was not exactly beloved by Giants fans in the first two games at Chavez Latrine. And it's pretty easy to see why. He looked a step slow at short, and looked like a GIDP waiting to happen. The defensive lapses were ugly, but we have to remember who this guy is.

He's not the MVP he used to be. He's old balls now, but he's still a serviceable SS and a veteran bat. He hit 15 HR last year. He's not Juan Uribe, but Boo-Ribe is now dead to us, so what does that matter? You can't compare Tejada to a dead ghost.

Saturday's game gave us hope that he will be an okay short-term player for us. The range at short is a concern, but if he's horrendous and costs us games, Sabean will take care of it. It's easy to find a light-hitting SS that won't hurt you on D.

He also looks really good in a Giants uni. Come on. You know you agree.

Brandon Belt could be our second ROY in a row...

It's been a series of firsts for Brandon Belt. First hit, first walk, first stolen base, first RBIs... but most impressively, his first home run. Wow. That was just awesome on Friday night wasn't it? I don't know about you, but it gave me chills.

In only three games, Belt has answered the question I asked a couple days ago. He's not going anywhere. I know you hear the Front Office say things about their intentions with Belt, but once you see all this for yourself in meaningful games, you're like... "Whoa. This guy IS for real. And he's good NOW!"

He's so patient; so poised. His swing is beautiful. I see a little Palmeiro in that swing. Maybe a touch of Will Clark. I think I've nailed down what he looks most like.

Belt, to me anyway, really looks like John Olerud. @JohnnyUtah530 suggested that to me on Twitter Friday and he was right on. We forget how good of a pure hitter Olerud was. The helmet in the field is his real legacy unfortunately.

And I know this seems like a lazy comparison, but Belt has a similar swing to Buster Posey. While Olerud's front foot is quiet and he takes a short stride toward the pitcher, Belt's is more like "stepping in the bucket" like Posey's. And yes, you can compare the lefty Belt to the righty Posey.

And here's Buster:

I'd say Belt's mechanics are combination of Olerud/Buster and he's got a beautiful damn swing.

Anyway, there's a ton to be excited about, and to get that first W, and to do it in 10-0 style with HurriCAIN Matt pitching like an ace, well that was just Cholula on the omelet (or icing on the cake to you weirdos that eat cake a lot).

Beat LA!

Random Thoughts

-- I feel teased by the fact we only got Kruk & Kuip for the game on Friday. I love being on National TV, but no one comes close to our collection of broadcasters. They're the best.

-- Orel Hershiser, being the Dodger that he is, said on Thursday's ESPN game that Brandon Belt has "...a slow minor league bat...with only gap power."

How'd that dong to deep center look to you on Friday Orel? Or should I say ORAL. Because you suck big time. Belt rules.

-- I love how Huff made two dives in RF on Saturday and caught the second one. Karros was right to point out that he hit his face both times on the turf.

Aubrey Huff? Gamer.

-- I'm scared about Zito starting on Sunday. The guy was in a neck brace two days ago... I mean, he wasn't very good when he was healthy, what makes us all think he can be okay with a sore body/neck?

-- Zeets has the sleaziest mustache ever. Cain says it's called "The Stache". I'm down. It's heinous, but aren't all mustaches? It's entertaining to me.

-- I will write a separate article regarding our fellow fans who were assaulted by felons in the Dodger Stadium parking lot. I have to really cool down about it because I don't want to be part of an FBI investigation because of something I said in blind rage.

*Deep breaths*

BEAT LA!

I think I'm going to continue running the "Live Blogging" thing on here. I may do it every game, or I may permanently incorporate it into the site so that it's always picking up fan takes and thoughts on the Giants from Twitter or from you directly on the site.

If you're reading this on Facebook and didn't see the embedded YouTube vids above, click here to come directly to the site.

Real time live blogging tonight!

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 09:29:00 +0000

I haven't tried this before but this is a cool new way to see what everyone is saying about the Giants during the game. You'd be surprised how awesome it is when you're getting a bunch of different fan viewpoints during the game. Definitely enhances it. Soooo. Here is the window. It will go live at 7:00 PM Pacific. I have included about 15 good Giants fans that I talk to on Twitter, if you'd like your twitterings to appear on the live blog, tag it with #BeatLA and it should show up! Hope this is fun!

Giants - Blue Bastards: Game 2

Click here to open this in a new window

Brian Wilson and his Beard Bracket

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 19:05:00 +0000

Brian Wilson has his own beard bracket for March Madness. I don't think he's shaving that bird's nest any time soon. Haha. From his website:

I don't know who half the sleazes are in this competition, but I definitely just voted for Chuck Norris in the Orange Beard division.

It still hasn't advanced past the first round, so get into the scene.

Zito gets himself into a wreck

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 06:57:00 +0000

Looks like another guy might be injured before the season starts.

According to Hank Schulman of the Chronicle, Barry Zito was in a two car auto accident in West Hollywood. We don't know if he was boozing, or how badly he was hurt, but he definitely was in a pretty happening area... on Sunset Blvd.

Right now all we know is that he was taken to Cedars-Sinai, where they take all the famous jerks in LA.

Let's hope he's okay... or maybe he'll get Henry Rowengartner syndrome and throw 98. Hey it could happen!

The Bonds Trial is Asinine & You Know it

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 02:59:00 +0000

Barry Bonds is a lot of things... a baseball player, father, and polarizing figure.

He is also a surly, mean guy that makes even the douchiest ambulance-chasing news reporter look like a sympathetic figure.

There are a lot of people that flat out DO NOT like the guy... and I get that. But the Bonds perjury trial has reached a pinnacle of asininity.

The Federal government doesn't enjoy being made a fool of... and I get that. The basis of our legal system is people telling the truth. The fear of God is enough for most people to tell it the way it really happened, but for the select few that are able to lie to entire courtrooms, punishment should come.

Look I get it. Barry probably lied. But you know what? I don't give a shit.

Neither do you. And neither does the Chinese lady on Sacramento Street cutting the heads off live chickens Or the douchebag hedge fund guy with the expense account walking down New Montgomery with a $7.00 coffee in hand and $300 silk tie fluttering in the San Francisco breeze. 95% of Giants fans don't approve of this trial, and I'd be willing to bet that nearly as many taxpayers, baseball fans or not, feel the same way.

And unless this dog and pony show is part of President Obama's economic stimulus package, spending millions of taxpayer dollars on this absurd trial is not only irresponsible, but in direct conflict with what the population wants.

This isn't about Bonds lying. This is about the government and IRS agent Jeff Novitzky not looking like idiots. They were the ones that spent a minimum of $6MM on this trial (although the figure could be as high at $60MM including BALCO investigation).

Imagine how bad it'd look if they spent all that money and they only managed to slap a couple dudes on the wrist, and let Adolf Hitl---- I MEAN Barry Bonds off on an acquittal.

I remarked on Twitter at the beginning of this trial, "I wonder when this pissing contest is going to turn into a shitting contest."

It already has. The prosecution, the defense, Novitzky and his powertripping IRS bretheren-- every one of them comes to the courtroom with a ruler, measuring their johnsons every chance they get.

It's just ridiculous.

Imagine what that money could've been spent on! How about solving murders? Maybe funding a Boys & Girls club in the inner city. Beautifying parks. Painting the Golden Gate Bridge to save Fastrak users 50 cents to cross it for 6 months.

Instead, they're going after a guy with everything they've got just to save face. The government is already a wasteful laughing stock, I'm pretty sure knowing when to walk away from an unnecessary money pit of a trial would be seen as a small step in the right direction.

And lest we forget, as Giants fans, what Barry Bonds did for us:

-- He with Peter Magowan saved this franchise from moving to St. Petersburg, Florida and becoming the Devil Rays

-- He always gave us hope when he came up to bat, even when we were down by a seemingly insurmountable lead
-- His presence on the roster made us relevant every year

-- He, with Willie Mays, were two of the 3 greatest baseball players of all time, and were both Giants, through and through. Not even the Yankees can say they that.

-- He always put people in the seats, even when the team sucked

-- Even when opposing teams took the bat out of his hands, he started rallies from first base

His biggest contribution however, was that he had a huge part in our stadium known as AT&T Park being financed and built.

Without Bonds, would the Giants have been able to secure the massive financing needed to privately build our jewel of a ballpark? Probably not. Without Bonds, would the right field wall be as close as it is? Would there be a "Splash Hit" counter? Would people be floating in McCovey Cove? Would there even be a McCovey Cove?

As much of an asshole as Barry was to teammates, the press, and fans, he truly was the best thing to happen to the Giants since Mays. Without the guarantee of people in the stands for years, the loans to Magowan and Company would have been extremely risky. From there, the options would've been to move to San Jose, desperately seek public assistance for a new park, or relocate to another area for good.

And that nice, burgeoning area known as China Basin? That new UCSF complex wouldn't be down there. Neither would those nice condos or Momo's or any of that. The man may be a bad person, a liar, and totally unlikeable, but what he's done for the Giants organization, us fans, the game of baseball, and the City of San Francisco is totally immeasurable.

I will never forget what he did for our fine organization and neither should you. This trial is asinine and it shouldn't be happening. They should've reached a plea deal 2 years ago. Put the guy on probation for 10 years, make him pay $500,000 toward court fees, and let this be over with.

With opening day around the corner, we shouldn't be talking about this.

Free Barry!

Belt stays in the bigs, but for how long?

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 01:57:00 +0000

Firstly, I'm sorry for being a slacker. I haven't written much all winter. Truthfully, up until now, I haven't really found anything worth writing about. We basically had the same team coming back after we won it all. I was just basking in our championship's glow, wishing the offseason would never end.

The big news heading into Thursday's opener in Chavez Latrine is that our newest golden goose Brandon Belt has made the roster, leaving Travis Ishikawa the odd man out and his future as a Giant in limbo.

Ishi is a solid backup player, so if he doesn't wind up in Fresno, either by his own doing or otherwise, he will probably find himself backing up a defensive liability somewhere in the majors.

As for Belt, I can't say I'm surprised that he made it. The injury to RF Cody Ross to begin the year basically opened up a spot for Belt to show he belongs. Our newest lanky Texan first baseman (Huff being the other) did everything right in Arizona. His .282/.338/.479 line was excellent, as were his 3 dongs and 13 ribeye steaks, which were good for 2nd on the team-- both categories tied with Pablo Sandoval (another good sign).

The real question remains... is Belt here for good? When Ross Returns, does Huff move back to 1B? Then what? Does Belt get sent to Fresno to play every day?

The Giants have never wavered with their blue chippers recently. When Bumgarner and Posey were called up, even two years ago in September, they stayed on the roster. Sending young guys up and down is not ideal, but then again, it's less than ideal to have Belt spending time riding pine when he could be playing every day as a member of the Grizzlies.

As I see it, there are three scenarios:

1) Belt beasts around and makes himself indispensable, giving Bochy yet another good problem to have.

2) Pat Burrell struggles to find his stroke early on, Ross comes back, and Huff moves to LF, leaving Belt at 1B, at bare minimum against right-handers.

3) An unfortunate injury occurs to one of our OFs, leaving Belt in the same scenario he's in now.

If I had to wager an educated guess, and that's what I'm not paid to do on this site, I'd say that Belt meets and/or exceeds all of our expectations. This guy has done nothing but crush pitching at every level since entering the minor leagues. This meteoric rise is no fluke, and he's shown repeatedly that he belongs at the highest level. And there's no level higher than starting first baseman for the WORLD EFFING CHAMPIONS.

Godspeed Belt. Godspeed.

Fanfest is this Saturday, See you there!

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 20:03:00 +0000

Who else will be at Fanfest this Saturday? It should be a great time. Hope to see you guys there!

Brian Wilson, the... ahem... Seaman...

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:05:00 +0000

In case you missed Brian Wilson's appearance on George Lopez tonight... Here it is in its entirety. Yes, he is dressed as a Sea Captain... and yes he touches on Thai massages and dry humping in the bullpen. Good Lord.

If you are reading this on Facebook or via Email newsfeed, click here to see the video.

Tejada to the Giants: Let's get weird...

noreply@blogger.com (DP) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 01:41:00 +0000

This is completely unexpected. Miguel Tejada will be a San Francisco Giant... perhaps coming full circle across the bay from where he began his impressive career.

I didn't see this one coming. I said it yesterday. I thought Bartlett was the guy, especially with Ryan Theriot being dealt to the Cards and taking them out of the running. What does this mean?

Well, it's another $6.5MM alotted to another old guy with limited range to play SS. It really shows how desperate the SS market is when Tejada is being penciled in to play out there. That's $17.5 committed to Huff & Tejada thus far (for 2011) this offseason, with questions remaining about Panda, left field, and raises due via arbitration to Jon Sanchez, Cody Ross, Mike Fontenot, and Andres Torres.

We'll get into that later. Let's talk Tejada.

Assuming he will play the majority of his games at short, which he did last year after being traded to San Diego, we could certainly do worse. However, the man is damn near 40 and if the hot corner is manned by the Tai Chi Sloth (formerly Kung Fu Panda) or Mark DeRosa, I could see a lot of balls hit to the left side of the infield escaping into left.

Certainly Tejada can play 3rd, and has done so recently, but that would likely mean Tai Chi Sloth's days as a Giant would be numbered. Obviously then, a Jason Bartlett would still be necessary. Let's assume that doesn't happen.

It's a short-term fix for the SS position, and also a motivational tool in management's ongoing effort to get Sandoval's ass into gear. DeRosa's return to the active roster means theoretically, we wouldn't need Sandoval... something that better get his juices going-- hopefully not too much fruit juice though because of all the high fructose corn syrup added to them.

All accounts have Tejada as the Giants new SS, a role he played better than 3B last year interestingly... Here's how Tejada & Uribe compared in 2010.

It's really not a huge dropoff, save for HRs and 3B defense... but as I've pointed out, 3B really doesn't matter too much.

I'm not crazy about Tejada as our starting SS, but with limited options available, the move at least keeps us around the same level of production out of the position as 2010.

Annnnddddd... our dream of a "big bat" is one more veteran contract further away.