Category Archives: San Francisco Giants

Letterman on Sandoval

Posted on February 20, 2015 | Leave a comment

Back in 2011 the Pablo Sandoval reported to Spring Training in Arizona looking much like, well, a Panda Bear,  to the chagrin of the powers that be for the SF Giants.

The Panda belongs to the Boston Red Sox now and is no longer the problem of Bruce Bochy and the San Francisco Giants.  I get that.  But I’ve had so many searches on my blog today looking for for  David Letterman’s Top 10 List on Pablo Sandoval that aired last night,  I had to dig it up and view it myself.

I never personally cared about Pablo’s weight while he was with the Giants because to tell you the truth it didn’t seem to slow him down much.  He wasn’t hitting as well, but he could sure round the bases at top speed when he needed to and he dove and caught most of the in-flight balls and grounders that headed his way towards third base.  He never lost the fan base, they loved him, even though the press rode him pretty hard about it.

So now it appears the Panda’s put on another few pounds and it’s going to be interesting to see how the Red Sox organization deals with it.   I wonder if there’s a “Panda Pounds” clause in his new contract?

Because, honestly, if he keeps his stats and numbers up, who cares?

 

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Posted in A1 Baseball, General, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants

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MADISON BUMGARNER ~ Sudden and Out of Nowhere?

Posted on December 8, 2014 | Leave a comment

Madison Bumgarner can add another accolade to his growing collection.  Sports Illustrated named him the 2014 Sportsman of the Year and with good reason.   But I’ll disagree with one statement in the article:

……his Sportsman candidacy was so sudden and seemingly out of nowhere ……

Madison Bumgarner, South Caldwell H.S. North Carolina

Madison Bumgarner, South Caldwell H.S. North Carolina

If you’re a San Francisco Giants fan, you’ll get this.   Affectionately known as “Mad Bum” he’s been on the fans radar since he was drafted  as a 1st round pick back in 2007 where he’d already made a name for himself.

” In his junior season, he had a 12–2 record, an 0.99 earned run average (ERA), and 120 strikeouts in 84 innings pitched as he led his team to a runner-up in the 2006 4A State Championship. Next season, he went 11–2 with a 1.05 ERA and 143 strikeouts in 86 innings while this time helping his team win the 2007 4A State Championship.  He batted .424 with 11 home runs and 38 runs batted in. He was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the playoffs and the Gatorade North Carolina Player of the Year.”  Courtesy of Wikipedia.

One of my favorite quotes was back in 2010 when asked about being a rookie and pitching in his first World Series, Mad Bum said something to the effect “Well, I don’t know, I pitched in the High School State Championships and we won, so I don’t see how it can be much different that that.”  You’ve gotta love the humility and innocence of that statement.

In 2013, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association included him on its “100 To Remember” male athletes list, which included Michael Jordan, Carl Eller,  and Jim Beatty.

And this year Madison Bumgarner hit two grand slam home runs in regular season, and mid-season, at one point, had a batting average better than half of his teammates.  Another argument against the DH rule, in my hunble opinion of course.

Not bad for a country boy from North Carolina, but “sudden and seemingly out of nowhere” isn’t something San Francisco Giants fans would probably use to describe him.

Congratulations Madison Bumgarner!  You wear the honor well.

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted in A1 Baseball, San Francisco Giants

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Gotta Love those Kansas City Fans!

Posted on November 28, 2014 | Leave a comment

httLxEqVHyJnM4p://youtu.be/

World Series 2014 ~ The gift that keeps on giving.  What a wonderful holiday season treat.  And it’s not just the Kansas City Symphony conductor that’s the delight here, but also the music he chose to perform.  Being a former marching band saxophone player I’ve always treasured John Philip Souza’s music,which usually brings me to an emotional state, but somehow I can’t remember hearing this very special piece titled, “The National Game”.  This thoughtful and entertaining YouTube video performance was  brought to my attention by one of my blogroll partners “Fanside’sHaydon Kane”.   Hope you enjoy the video ~ truly one of a kind!

 

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Posted in A1 Baseball, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants

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Nationals’ Matt Williams selected as NL Manager of the Year

Posted on November 12, 2014 | Leave a comment
Bruce Bochy, SF Giants Manager of the Year IMHO

Bruce Bochy, SF Giants Manager of the Year IMHO

What’s going on with this Manager of the Year thing anyhow? Granted, it’s for performance BEFORE the Post Season, but, I mean, seriously even before post season you have to admit the only one individual manager that really stands out is Bruce Bochy, who everyone expected and l might add, hoped, that he’d choke same as they expected in 2010 and 2012. Either the BWAA voters are basing this on popularity or east coast bias or they’re completely incompetent. We can forgive them for giving Boche only ONE FIRST PLACE VOTE back in 2010. He took us all by surprise back then, but, seriously, it’s 2014 and we’re not in Kansas anymore folks. This award is a joke!!

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Veterans Day and Every Day ….. Thank You!

Posted on November 11, 2014 | Leave a comment

Note:  This is a re-post of my 2014 Veteran’s Day Blog.

Arlington National Cemetery

“But the mainstay of the big leagues was the reservoir of 4-Fs – males of draft age who had been rejected on physical grounds by the Armed Forces. Not since harem attendants had gone out of style were men’s physical deficiencies so highly prized. Ulcers, hearing defects, and torn cartilages were coveted by team owners.” – Frank Graham, Jr. in Farewell to Heroes (1981)

This and the following list of Hall of Fame Members Courtesy of  Baseball Almanac.

Baseball Hall of Fame Members  who Served in the Armed Forces.
The Civil War  
Morgan Bulkeley United States Army
World War I
Grover Alexander  United States Army
Happy Chandler United States Army Continue reading →

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Posted in A1 Baseball, General, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals

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MLB SALARIES ~ DID THEY GET WHAT THEY PAID FOR?

Posted on October 31, 2014 | Leave a comment

scales of justice 2Here’s a list of the 2014 salaries for the Major League Baseball teams.  You can get a look at the individual player salaries from USA Today’s website.  Individual rankings are interesting because you have to look past 65 players to get to the Royal’s top paid player, James Shields at #66.  To find the highest paid “active” player on the Giants roster you’ll go to #29 for Tim Lineceum and further down to #89 for Buster Posey.   But the real surprise was Madison Bumgarner who’s way down the list at #271.  I’ll bet that’s going to change in the near future huh?   Of course, you have to look at the total number of years in the individual contracts to see what the actual value is.

So the question is “Did they get what they paid for?”  I’d say the Kansas City Royals management is feeling pretty good about themselves right now, ranking #18 out of 30 for highest salaries and still  producing the top American League team in the nation.

RANK TEAM CURRENT DIFF AVG SALARY
1 Dodgers $241,128,402 $ – $7,778,335
2 Yankees $208,830,659 $ – $8,031,948
3 Phillies $179,521,056 $ – $5,791,001
4 Tigers $163,078,526 $ – $5,824,233
5 Red Sox $154,380,395 $ – $5,717,792
6 Giants $148,239,158 $ – $5,490,339
7 Nationals $134,366,735 $ – $4,798,811
8 Rangers $132,491,596 $ – $4,140,362
9 Blue Jays $129,427,700 $ – $4,793,618
10 Angels $128,046,500 $ – $4,415,396
11 Reds $112,378,771 $ – $3,405,417
12 Diamondbacks $111,798,833 $ – $3,726,627
13 Cardinals $108,020,360 $ – $3,857,870
14 Orioles $105,084,121 $ – $3,389,810
15 Brewers $102,724,338 $ – $3,804,605
16 Rockies $99,579,071 $ – $3,688,113
17 Braves $97,855,673 $ – $3,156,634
18 Royals $90,481,500 $ – $3,351,166
19 Padres $89,881,695 $ – $2,899,409
20 White Sox $89,551,982 $ – $3,316,740
21 Mariners $89,539,642 $ – $3,087,573
22 Twins $84,912,500 $ – $3,396,500
23 Mets $84,281,011 $ – $3,121,518
24 Indians $82,500,800 $ – $3,055,585
25 Rays $82,035,490 $ – $2,828,810
26 Pirates $77,845,999 $ – $2,883,185
27 Athletics $77,220,900 $ – $2,490,996
28 Cubs $74,546,356 $ – $2,662,369
29 Astros $44,985,800 $ – $1,606,635
30 Marlins $41,836,900 $ – $1,549,514

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Posted in A1 Baseball, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins, General, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals

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“GAME ON” ~ The Truth comes Out!

Posted on October 21, 2014 | Leave a comment
The Royal Giants

The Royal Giants

“I’m a baseball fan first, and a Giants fan second”. You’ve heard it over and over again right here on this blog and no matter what anyone says I meant it. I meant it when I said it, and I mean it now, but to tell you the truth this World Series stuff was getting right down to the wire when I realized I knew everything about the Giants and nothing about the Royals. Due diligence required I take a crash course in Royalspedia and I’ve been doing my best.

For example, I know the Kansas City Royals team are faster than lightening, I mean, not just the runners, but the entire team. Even the mascot. Scary stuff. Well, maybe not the mascot so much. But they lead all of Major League Baseball in stolen bases and they even run to first base on a walk. They also have not only one, but three starters in a lights-out bullpen.   And all week long I’ve been playing that “Kansas City Here I Come” song in my head.  It won’t go away, just over and over again.

So now that I’m feeling a little more knowledgeable about the  Kansas City Royals It sort of gives me a sense of kinship with both teams  and I’m appreciating the true competitive nature of this series, something that was eluding me before.

Bum & Morse

Bum & Morse

But this morning I’m hearing that the Giants have named Michael Morse as the Designated Hitter for the series and I’m just a little in shock.  For some reason I’ve had this feeling all along the DH should be Madison Bumgarner.  Not to take anything away from Morse who should, by all accounts, be named the happiest most fun-loving and most cordial of all the Giants team members.  He’s my pick for Mr. Congeniality anyhow.

But imagine if Bum were to pitch a no-hitter and hit a grand slam in the same game…….and in a World Series game to boot, the thought of the thrill of it is overwhelming!  And it could happen!  But not if he’s warming the bench on offense.

So there it is.  The lady’s gonna politely clap for a Royal good play,  but her fingers will always be crossed for that  Giant triumph.

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Posted in Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants

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“Those Classy Cardinals” Not the fans ……Not this year…..

Posted on October 17, 2014 | 3 comments
Ishikawa Game Ending HR

Ishikawa Game Ending HR

Wow!  After reveling in happiness of the Giants really, really long-shot of making it,once again to the World Series, I was very quickly yanked back to reality this morning when a respected website brought my attention to “way too many” tweets posted by some very misguided Cardinal fans last night.   Maybe it’s the sign of the times, the state of our country, the desperate need to find something good in our lives.  Whatever the reason, it doesn’t reflect well on the St Louis Cardinal fans.

Those Classy Cards

Those Classy Cards

Back in 2011 I posted a blog about “Those Classy Cardinals” and I meant it.  It was one of my favorite postings.  They’d been voted the best fans in Major League Baseball and there was a reason for it.  They were knowledgeable and they were polite and they were one of my favorite teams. Busch Stadium has been on my bucket list of places to visit ever since.   My least favorite team was the Phillies and it was also because of the fans.  They were nasty and hateful not only in their tweets and blogs but also when you visited their stadium as evidenced by the Giants entry into the playoffs and their treatment of Tim Lincecum and others.

This is worse.  I’ve always tried to make this a kid-friendly blog because, after all, isn’t that what baseball’s all about?  But I’m sure not above linking to it and here it is in case you want a dose of early morning reality, “Baseball’s Best Fans“.  Yeah, right.

This World Series is historic in that it’s the first World Series that will be played by two Wild Card teams each with under 90 wins in the regular season.  I’m a baseball fan first, and a SF Giants fan second.  And,to tell you the truth, I know squat about the Kansas City Royals.  But no matter how the series goes, the best team, for this year, in this series, is going to win.  And not because the umpires made a bad call or the pitcher(s) weren’t spot on, or someone’s out on the DL.  It’s because the best team always wins.  And if you’re such a sorry individual you can’t take it and it’s too much for you because it wasn’t your team who prevailed, well suck it up.  This is baseball and it’s not for the faint of heart.  It’s for the love of the game ……whether you like it or not.

GO GIANTS AND GO ROYALS!  May the best team win ….. and they will.

Note:  To clarify that last paragraph.  The tweets that were posted on that site, and there were hundreds of them, were so vile, so full of hatred and bigotry, and spewed such filth it made them almost unintelligible.  You would almost have to have read it to understand my response.  However, the powers-that-be took the blog down within minutes of my posting so that it’s no longer available, and that’s a good thing.   I’m even a little embarrassed that I tried to share it with you in the first place, it was that bad.

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Posted in A1 Baseball, A4 Uncategorized, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals

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Madison Bumgarner’s big error not all his fault

Posted on October 7, 2014 | Leave a comment
Bums Error to 3rd

Bums Error to 3rd

Photo Courtesy JEFF CHIU/AP

Classy guy this Madison Bumgarner.  I read the article this morning from Baggs about why in the world Bumgarner, with his 20 straight games – no- runs stat this year, would throw the ball away with such purpose and intensity ending in such disastrous results.

This article explains it well. Evidently his catcher, Buster Posey, yelled “three, three, three” at him and since Buster calls the shots and usually knows best, Bum instinctively threw it to third, or at least threw it AT third. When asked what Buster was yelling at him, he refused to incriminate Buster, instead saying you’ll have to ask Buster about that.

In the end Bum’s classic response; ” Doesn’t matter. He didn’t tell me to throw it to left field”. Class act you say? And I’d say you’re probably right.  And now on to Game 4.

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Giants vs Nats Game 2…..If only!

Posted on October 5, 2014 | Leave a comment
Baseball Surprises!

Baseball Surprises!

Take a look at Matthew Pouliot’s Hardball Talk take on the 18 inning playoff game between the Nats and the Giants yesterday.  Matt’s saying, basically,  the Nats would have won if they’d left Zimmerman in the game in the 9th.

Well, this is the most ridiculous post I’ve ever read on Hardball or pretty much anywhere.  If only.  If only…..woulda, coulda, shoulda.  Poor dears.  Are you nuts? If only Sandoval had gotten a two run homer in the 3rd.  If only Zimmerman had another 3 strikeouts, if only Hudson had pitched a no-hitter.  If only Posey had been safe at the plate, ……. yada, yada, yada.

This is baseball and  “if only’s” don’t count. The Giants won because they outlasted the Nats.  Pretty simple really.  Someone had to win.

Now on to Game 3 at AT&T Park and may the best team win. Oh, and by the way, congratulations to the SF Giants for their Game 2 win over the Washington Nats because it’s baseball and someone had to win. In my humble opinion, of course!

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Posted in A1 Baseball, General, San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals

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Mad Bum Out of the Box and, Please … No More Bunts!

Posted on September 24, 2014 | Leave a comment
Madison Bumgarner , the Pitcher

Madison Bumgarner , the Pitcher

Madison Bumgarner, The Hitter! (Photo Courtesy Getty Images)

Madison Bumgarner, The Hitter! (Photo Courtesy Getty Images)

I love this guy! What about this? To Bruce Bochy: How about putting Bum in left field on his days off?  That will get him in the line-up and God knows we can sure use him. AND NO MORE BUNTING PLEASE!

Madison Bumgarner’s a cowboy, down on the farm, strong as an ox type guy. He can do this. And it probably wouldn’t hurt to let him get that pitch count up there a little more either.

I mean, seriously, we’re getting down to the wire here and it’s never too late to think outside the box.  Just saying …….

And take a look at another take on the subject from Hardball Talk.  Great stuff!

 

 

 

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Video: Yasiel Puig made a fantastic throw last night to nail Brandon Belt at the plate

Posted on September 23, 2014 | Leave a comment

That Pesky Puig just won’t go away. I was trying to explain this play to someone today, but nothing I could say did it justice.  It was just one of those plays dreams are made of.  Thanks to Hardball talk here’s an instant replay ….. if MLB will let us use it for awhile and not delete it.

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Posted in A1 Baseball, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants

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