The Giants just completed their first week of the 2016 season while the Warriors wrap up their regular season on Wednesday.
The Warriors
If the Warriors win Wednesday they will break the all time NBA record for regular season wins. If they don't it will be one of the biggest upsets of the NBA season after the future San Francisco team went all out to successfully beat the San Antonio Spurs twice. These wins prove to me that the team can turn it on if need be a concern I have had during the last few weeks of the season. The big question still remains, will they be able to do it for two more months.
The Giants
The Giants won five of their seven games to take a one game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West. Ironically they could have easily won all of their games. They blew numerous opportunities against the Brewers in their one loss to Milwaukee and Tomlinson misplaying a double play ball in the 9th inning in the mud at AT&T cost the Giants Saturday's game against the Dodgers.
Eleven different Giants hit 14 home runs in the first week of the season. They are currently on a pace to hit over 360 round trippers for the season. Even the great home run hitting New York Giant teams of the late 1940s were only able to hit around 220. Last year the 'g' men hit 135. The Giants got home runs from every position except center field. Last week I wrote that Span did not show me anything. He made that statement look foolish by driving in 5 runs in the opener at Milwaukee all with two strikes and two outs. Now that showed me something! He is however off to a very slow start and I am not sure if his injury from last year is still bothering him.
Bochy batted the pitcher 8th about five times during the week. It hurt Sunday when Cueto came up with two on two out and was an easy out. In the season opener, Pagan batting 9th got on to lead off an inning. He then stole second and scored on a single by Span. A classic run.
One major goal of the Giants this year was to cut down on the use of the bull pen by having their starters go more innings. If the first week of the season is any indication that goal will not be achieved and the relief staff will be worn out by June. Just about everyone repeated the party line that spring training was too long except the restaurants and hotels in Arizona and pitching coach Dave Righetti who indicated that the starters could have used another week. Its really not fair to judge the staff after just one week. Lets give them a couple more starts then make a judgment. Its a long season that won't be over until the 2016-17 'World Champion' Warriors start practice.
The Masters
Although the play of the golfers this year left something to be desired, it is always a pleasure to watch this classic event. Brings back memories of how people use to be courteous. You might have noticed that they don't even have volunteers raising their hand to keep everyone quiet when a golfer is hitting the ball. Not needed at the Masters'!
Television
The Dodgers series was blacked out in Los Angeles by Time Warner. We were only able to see Saturday's game which was on national television. I believe the people at Time Warner must have been Dodgers fans to award them so much money for their rights. This is the reason the Dodgers can start the season with $114 million in salary being paid to players that did not start the season on the 25 man squad. In contrast the payroll for the entire Milwaukee team is $50 million for this year.
Monday, April 11, 2016
Friday, April 1, 2016
Good-bye to Arizona
The Giants
The weather was spectacular, restaurants fabulous, crowds enormous, prices like home, the Orange and Black games scary with so many bombings but Giant fans had a ball in the land of the sun. Now its time for the real games.
The Giants stole my thunder by announcing their opening 25 man roster early but I still have a few comments by position.
Infield
Belt at first was best described by Shawn Estes this spring when he said he was the streakiest hitter he had ever seen. One week he hits homers the next week he strikes out. Don't look for him to ever change.
Panic at second looks as stable as ever. Back problem has been cured. Just a solid player who knows how to play the game.
Duffy is under pressure to continue to perform at a high level and if the spring is any indication he will.
Crawford was an All Star last year at short. Can he repeat? It really depends on his health. Nagging injuries in the past has hurt his production
Adrianza and Tomilson kept their jobs over some impressive non roster invites.
Arroyo the high touted rookie is the real thing. If any of the three infielders falter look for him to be with the Giants in August.
Outfield
Pagan had a surprising good spring to win the left field job. Can he keep it up?
The centerfielder Span did not impress me
Pence in right looked great most of the spring until his last at bat in Arizona when swung at a pitch that only went 40 feet and struck out.
Blanco is the fourth outfielder although he was not overly impressive in the spring.
Parker, Hernandez and Mac Williamson will provide the Sacramento River Cats with a very solid outfield. It won't be long before one will be up with the Giants. Parker hit a couple of homers in the spring but disappointed me by striking out too much. Hernandez may be a better player then Blanco and Williamson looks like he could be the power hitting left fielder of the near future.
Posey and Brown will be the catchers with Suzac in the wings hoping his wrist heals allowing him to show his power that will be his ticket back to AT&T.
Pitchers
As we mentioned in an earlier post the Giants would start Bumgarner, Cueto, Samardzija, Peavy and Cain regardless of their efforts in the spring which for the most part left a lot to be desired. There was marked improvement in the final games in Arizona but will it be enough to prevent from getting the roof blown off with Brewer bombs at Miller field in their first three games of the season. Don't look for rookie Blackburn to be the savior. He's a nibbler. Won't throw a strike when things get tough.
Relief staff looks adequate not great. Osich is too wild and shows me nothing. Casilla is still the closer. Can he last?
Overall
This is an even year so the Giants are a cinch to win the World Series. Don't we all wish. If they do they will have to be wild card team like they have been in the past. (Thank you, Bud!) If spring training means anything, the D'Backs look like a runaway winner in the NL West.
Pitcher Batting 8th
You can never be wrong in figuring out a Giants lineup. Bochy has averaged over 125 different lineups every year. This year he plans to bat the pitcher 8th on some occasions. In the A's game last night at AT&T Duffy had hit into a double play leaving a runner at third with two outs. Crawford the number 7 hitter got a single to knock in a run. Then the pitcher Samardzija batting 8th struck out. If Melvin the A's manager understood NL baseball he would have walked Crawford and the Giants most likely would not have scored. See the problem of batting the pitcher 8th?
Other Observations
The Giants are still hoping they will get some return from Cain's $20 million a year contract. In the last two years he has four wins meaning that each win costs the Giants $10 million. However things could be worse. Remember they offered Sandoval $95 million and Pablo is now a bench warmer for the Red Sox. Oh yes, then there is Tim Lincecum. They wanted him to sign for five years but Timmy decided he would sign for two and then make a big killing later. We're still waiting for Tim to showcase major league scouts which was originally scheduled for January and its now April. Remember that's the plan Brian Wilson used successfully to take millions from the Dodgers. Speaking of beards Romo has grown a beard almost the size of Wilson's and would somebody in San Francisco please tell him its ugly!
Box Score Trash
Last night AT&T must had felt like Candlestick although that swear word was never mentioned. The pitchers looked great because the batter were too cold to swing the bats. At the wrap up after the game Kuiper mentioned that Pagan and Duffy were the hitting heroes with two hits a piece. Baloney! Pagan got two hits alright but he grounded out with two outs and two men in scoring position. Duffy batted sixth last night and with two on and none out ruined a rally by hitting into a double play. Duffy hits too many potential double play grounders to bat sixth. Duffy and Pagan were the goats not the heroes.
The Warriors
The future San Francisco team continues to amaze just about everyone. I really thought they would lose to the Jazz the other night. Arriving at 3 am after a game in Oakland they beat a hot Utah team in overtime. As Joe Lacob the owner says they are light years ahead of teams in the NBA. Who is to argue? As far ahead as the Warriors are in the NBA the 49ers are light years behind other teams in the NFL.
March Madness
On the morning of the tournament I turned on my computer and the first thing I saw was that Yale had upset Baylor killing my bracket. However my final prediction of North Carolina State beating Oklahoma in the finals is still possible. I never understood why a second bracket with the "Sweet 16" isn't started after the end of first weekend to keep interest alive in the tournament.
Surprise of the Summer --- Sharks win the Stanley Cup Playoffs!
The NFL
The NFL is always looking for new horizons and with their current philosophy I have a suggestion for them. Play a game in hell which would break all attendance records and also provide a realistic picture of their future.
Breaking News
April 1, 2016. The Giants just announced that they signed Tim Lincecum to a two year $25 million contract. Tim will start the season in Sacramento but is expected to be called up by early May.
The weather was spectacular, restaurants fabulous, crowds enormous, prices like home, the Orange and Black games scary with so many bombings but Giant fans had a ball in the land of the sun. Now its time for the real games.
The Giants stole my thunder by announcing their opening 25 man roster early but I still have a few comments by position.
Infield
Belt at first was best described by Shawn Estes this spring when he said he was the streakiest hitter he had ever seen. One week he hits homers the next week he strikes out. Don't look for him to ever change.
Panic at second looks as stable as ever. Back problem has been cured. Just a solid player who knows how to play the game.
Duffy is under pressure to continue to perform at a high level and if the spring is any indication he will.
Crawford was an All Star last year at short. Can he repeat? It really depends on his health. Nagging injuries in the past has hurt his production
Adrianza and Tomilson kept their jobs over some impressive non roster invites.
Arroyo the high touted rookie is the real thing. If any of the three infielders falter look for him to be with the Giants in August.
Outfield
Pagan had a surprising good spring to win the left field job. Can he keep it up?
The centerfielder Span did not impress me
Pence in right looked great most of the spring until his last at bat in Arizona when swung at a pitch that only went 40 feet and struck out.
Blanco is the fourth outfielder although he was not overly impressive in the spring.
Parker, Hernandez and Mac Williamson will provide the Sacramento River Cats with a very solid outfield. It won't be long before one will be up with the Giants. Parker hit a couple of homers in the spring but disappointed me by striking out too much. Hernandez may be a better player then Blanco and Williamson looks like he could be the power hitting left fielder of the near future.
Posey and Brown will be the catchers with Suzac in the wings hoping his wrist heals allowing him to show his power that will be his ticket back to AT&T.
Pitchers
As we mentioned in an earlier post the Giants would start Bumgarner, Cueto, Samardzija, Peavy and Cain regardless of their efforts in the spring which for the most part left a lot to be desired. There was marked improvement in the final games in Arizona but will it be enough to prevent from getting the roof blown off with Brewer bombs at Miller field in their first three games of the season. Don't look for rookie Blackburn to be the savior. He's a nibbler. Won't throw a strike when things get tough.
Relief staff looks adequate not great. Osich is too wild and shows me nothing. Casilla is still the closer. Can he last?
Overall
This is an even year so the Giants are a cinch to win the World Series. Don't we all wish. If they do they will have to be wild card team like they have been in the past. (Thank you, Bud!) If spring training means anything, the D'Backs look like a runaway winner in the NL West.
Pitcher Batting 8th
You can never be wrong in figuring out a Giants lineup. Bochy has averaged over 125 different lineups every year. This year he plans to bat the pitcher 8th on some occasions. In the A's game last night at AT&T Duffy had hit into a double play leaving a runner at third with two outs. Crawford the number 7 hitter got a single to knock in a run. Then the pitcher Samardzija batting 8th struck out. If Melvin the A's manager understood NL baseball he would have walked Crawford and the Giants most likely would not have scored. See the problem of batting the pitcher 8th?
Other Observations
The Giants are still hoping they will get some return from Cain's $20 million a year contract. In the last two years he has four wins meaning that each win costs the Giants $10 million. However things could be worse. Remember they offered Sandoval $95 million and Pablo is now a bench warmer for the Red Sox. Oh yes, then there is Tim Lincecum. They wanted him to sign for five years but Timmy decided he would sign for two and then make a big killing later. We're still waiting for Tim to showcase major league scouts which was originally scheduled for January and its now April. Remember that's the plan Brian Wilson used successfully to take millions from the Dodgers. Speaking of beards Romo has grown a beard almost the size of Wilson's and would somebody in San Francisco please tell him its ugly!
Box Score Trash
Last night AT&T must had felt like Candlestick although that swear word was never mentioned. The pitchers looked great because the batter were too cold to swing the bats. At the wrap up after the game Kuiper mentioned that Pagan and Duffy were the hitting heroes with two hits a piece. Baloney! Pagan got two hits alright but he grounded out with two outs and two men in scoring position. Duffy batted sixth last night and with two on and none out ruined a rally by hitting into a double play. Duffy hits too many potential double play grounders to bat sixth. Duffy and Pagan were the goats not the heroes.
The Warriors
The future San Francisco team continues to amaze just about everyone. I really thought they would lose to the Jazz the other night. Arriving at 3 am after a game in Oakland they beat a hot Utah team in overtime. As Joe Lacob the owner says they are light years ahead of teams in the NBA. Who is to argue? As far ahead as the Warriors are in the NBA the 49ers are light years behind other teams in the NFL.
March Madness
On the morning of the tournament I turned on my computer and the first thing I saw was that Yale had upset Baylor killing my bracket. However my final prediction of North Carolina State beating Oklahoma in the finals is still possible. I never understood why a second bracket with the "Sweet 16" isn't started after the end of first weekend to keep interest alive in the tournament.
Surprise of the Summer --- Sharks win the Stanley Cup Playoffs!
The NFL
The NFL is always looking for new horizons and with their current philosophy I have a suggestion for them. Play a game in hell which would break all attendance records and also provide a realistic picture of their future.
Breaking News
April 1, 2016. The Giants just announced that they signed Tim Lincecum to a two year $25 million contract. Tim will start the season in Sacramento but is expected to be called up by early May.
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