Sunday, July 24, 2016
The July Swoon
Baseball
It really is ironic. The New York Times writes a beautiful article about Brandon Crawford being the best defensive player in baseball on the day he arrives in New York and then he makes three errors in one game at Yankee Stadium. Brandon Belt after being the final player elected to the All Star game goes on an eight game hitting slump losing close to 30 points on his batting average bringing back memories of the Brandon we use to know. It all started in the first game at San Diego. I believe Belt struck out four and maybe five times in the game. Two of the K's were called strikes that were nowhere near the plate frustrating Belt who got tossed from the game for the first time in his career.
This is the reason I have opposed instant replay. More mistakes are made on balls and strikes then on plays at first base. The game isn't perfect and calls missed on the bases weren't worth contacting New York to the brandy drinking umpires. That was before I began to realize that five or six calls were being overturned by replay not just one or two a game. So I have changed my mind. I would certainly change the system that had to have been developed by Ivy League grads. Hire three trained college kids at $15. an hour to watch a monitor in the press box. They watch the replay and make a decision with 45 seconds. Calls that look different from five or six angles are time consuming an if a play is that close and it can't be determined immediately on the monitor go with the umpire's call. I understand the purpose of replay from the beginning was to correct the obvious errors.
Giants
Injuries are part of the game and there are other teams worse off then the Giants. The loss of Duffy at third and Panic at second really shows defensively when they don't play. Plays that they make look routine aren't always made by others. Pence is missed because he is a threat at the plate. Pagan, Blanco and Span don't scare any pitcher. In fact the scout that recommended the Giants sign Span should be fired. Months ago I wrote that Span had shown me nothing. He still hasn't either at the plate or in the field.
The Giants had come from an eight run deficit against Boston and looked like they would take the lead when they loaded the bases with none out. Mac Williamson who had already hit a 3-run homer in the game was due up. But heaven forbid a right hander was brought into pitch. Can't have Williamson face a right hander. So Bochy decides to have left hand hitting Blanco bat for Williamson. He hits into a double play first to home that kills the rally and denies the Giants any chance for a historic comeback. After the game Bochy was asked why he bated Blanco and he answers because he is our best pinch hitter. The question really was why did you pinch hit in the firstplace. Michael Urban on CSBA talk show after the game trying to defend Bochy said that he probably looked at Williamson's .229 batting average like Blanco .247 was earth shattering.
The Giants were very lucky to win one game on the trip. They have to thank the Yankee manager for the victory. He reminded me of Frank Robinson when he managed the Giants. Its the last of the 10th inning and the Yankees have runners on first and second with none out. He has Ellsbury one of the better hitters on team bunt the runners along. Then the Giants walk Beltran the best hitter on the team. The Yankees took the bat right out of the hands of their two best hitters. Bases loaded and the Yankees .230 hitting clean up man pops to left and the number 5 batters flies to right. No runs. Giants eventually win in 12 innings thanks to Mac Williamson timely hit. Frank Robinson used a similar strategy. The number 4 and 5 hitters get on base with none out. The #6 batter bunts them along and #7 batter is walked to load the bases with one out Who batted 8th for the Giants? If you been around you remember it was Johnny LeMaster who was a great fielder but got about two hits a week and then the pitcher was an easy out. Frank used to have his #3 batter bunt after the two leadoff men got on base that forced the bat out the cleanup hitter hands which normally led to the #5 hitting into a double play. If you read my blogs in the past you know that I have called Frank Robinson the worst manager in Giants history. Those that read this page know I am death against giving a team an out to get a runner to third with one out.
Is Pence ready to come back? I think his leg is so fragile that even when he comes back he won't last long. Hate to say but that's the way I see it. I would start Pence in right, Pagan in center and Williamson in left. It won't happen. The Giants have too much invested in Span to bench him and Pagan would have a tantrum if benched. So Williamson sits, Parker is sent to Sacramento and the Giants continue to struggle.
Will the Giants trade Parker to get a pitcher like they traded Duvall to the Reds for a pitcher last year and he ends up in the homerun hitting contest?
Tim Lincecum gave up 8 earned runs yesterday in 1.1 innings raising his ERA to 8.70 for the season. But once a Giant always a Giant. My neighbor attended an Angel game recently in which Timmy started. Angel Stadium is usually a sea of red but he told me that orange and black could be seen through out the crowd.
The NBA
The NBA has moved the All Star Game thanks to a new law that discriminates against men who want to go into little girl bathrooms. Steph Curry was participating in a celebrity golf tournament in Tahoe and was contacted by CSBA for his reaction. Curry said he was disappointed with the decision. They were hoping he say that the law is wrong the game should be moved. But he didn't If I was Curry I would have excused my self and said I have to go to the bathroom. We spend millions of our tax dollars on the Secret Service to protect a guy who tells us what bathrooms we can use. Oh what a country!
Olympics
Warriors players Durant, Thompson and Green are practicing for the Olympics. Take a break play golf instead. Curry is the smart one. Lets hope the games are not known as the Zika Games. They could be known as the Toilet Games because they don't work in the Olympic Village, or the Drug Games because of the Russian athletes or maybe the Sex Games since three times more condoms were ordered for this year then the last games.
49ers
Jed York did take the lead against No Carolina by sending a letter to the governor. I was hoping he would say that the Niners would forfeit the game to the Panthers because of the bill. It would be a lot easier to forfeit the game then lose 50-0.
I see the 49er fans are still complaining about the heat. The new Miami Stadium has the same problem and now they are adding a canopy over the stadium.. Niner fans according to an article are asking for the same thing. If your a season ticket holder don't sell your $250. ticket on Stub Hub for $5. because someone will show up. Just don't show or sell your tickets so the stadium is half empty.
Las Vegas has the 49ers an underdog in every game they play. They are honest because money is involved. Do you really think the Niners can go 0-16? Or is 3-13 more realistic?
I noticed one of the voices of the 49ers was fired because of age according to the suit. It says York wants to have young appearance around the offices. If this is true it helps explains why the Niners are so screwed up from top to bottom and why a friend of mine who had not missed a home game since 1951 wasn't even offered tickets to the New Orleans Super Bowl.
The Giants 8 game lead has now been cut to 3.
Friday, July 15, 2016
The Parades Are Over!
The June Disappointments
It s been over two months since I sent a blog. For those that missed it I apologize but time is very precious these days because of my wife's health condition. Even had a hard time remembering my password.
Parade lovers were certainly disappointed when the planned San Jose and Oakland celebrations were cancelled with both the Sharks and Warriors losing in the finals. They didn't have to wait long with many parades on the 4th of July but for the Warrior and Shark fans its a long 12 months.
It was the first trip to the Stanley Cup for the Sharks. Lets hope it doesn't take another 25 years for the next one. Hockey is hard to figure. Making the one right trade and getting hot late in the season seems to be the success formula which is not easy to achieve. The Sharks were beaten by a better team.
The Warriors are a different story. They were the first team in NBA history to blow a 3-1 series lead and lose. The possible reasons are still making big news in the Bay Area. The team peaked in November. The continued press about how the Warriors were lucky to win in 2015 was a big incentive to roll through the league. They all but killed themselves to break the NBA season record of 73 wins. The players said at the time if they didn't win the championship it meant nothing. Kerr won't let it happen again. Face value for final game tickets I understand ran $800. for not the best seat in the house. Wait until they move to San Francisco. That price will be a daily occurrence.
Teams in any sport that blow a championship series like the Warriors did never recover. Look at the 49ers after blowing their Super Bowl game. The Warriors are different. They will have many new players next year including All Pro Durant which makes them odds on favorite to win it all. Don't go to Vegas yet! I don't believe they are as good as the 2016 team especially when they have one or two key injuries.
If I was Kerr, after winning 42 pre-playoff games which is enough to make the playoffs I would not play a starter over 28 minutes in any game. If possible I would limit the starters to six games in any two week period. All I heard last year was home court advantage. A lot of good it did the Warriors when they were hurt and tired. I would rather play the final game on the road anytime with a healthy fresh team.
The USA Olympic basketball team will have a lot of familiar names including Green if he is not in jail, Thompson, Durant and now former Warrior Barnes. Hard to figure how he made the squad. The
squad will also have Carmelo Anthony who will ruin the team. If Thompson passes the ball to him he will never see it back. If the USA doesn't bring back the gold it most likely can be blamed on Anthony. He ruined the Knicks.
Laughing all the way to the bank is Barnes. He turned down 16 million from the Warriors last year and then has a so so season and that's being very kind and now he will earn 24 million playing for Dallas.
I was fortunate enough to get a sneak preview of the Warrior uniforms that will be used when they move to San Francisco in 2023. You have seen the Warriors' 'the City' uniforms with the Golden Gate Bridge on the jersey. Then in recent years they featured the new Bay Bridge since the team plays in Oakland. The 2023 jerseys will feature the Wall of China for obvious reasons.
El Nino vs High Pressure
This war ended about a month ago with high pressure winning big time in southern California. El Nino only scored two touchdowns the entire winter. They needed at least eight to win. The draught is not noticeable in Irvine because we use re-cycled water to keep everything pretty green. It was tough keeping toilet flushes to three during a 24 hour period. Have to admit I cheated a few times and went to the local gas station. I did win two honorable mentions awards from the state for ideas on how to save water. Especially with her illness, my wife loves her bourbon and water before dinner so we changed to a lighter Canadian whiskey so we could cut back on the water needed. I also like to use 10 -11 cubes of ice in my drinks and to do my part I cut back to between 8 and 9.
Giants
If you look back on my blog a couple months you will discover that everything I said about the Giants is true. I said they would have the best record in the league at the All Star break and would leading the NL West by at least 6 games. Its an election year so I though I would join the crowd and lie like the rest of them.
Giant fans are worried about the relief staff. They should be. However getting Romo back to be an effective 8th inning reliever is a giant step. I continually hear about the inconsistency of the young relievers. That is true but Konkos, Lopez and Strickland are not the pitchers they have been in past years. They need to get Guerin back and acquire a left handed reliever if at possible.
Although Bumgarner, Cueto and Belt are having outstanding seasons, the team's MVP to date is Crawford. Besides being an absolute magician in the field he is leading the team in RBI's and if you follow the Giants closely you know he has come through time and time again. Most of the players can't get a runner in from third with none out and Crawford has bailed them out many times. Consider he was batting 7th at the start of the season. An RBI from that spot is a bonus. Then Pence got hurt and they moved Crawford to 5th and he has delivered like an All Start he should have been.
Around 2008 I proposed a change in the All Star game voting. If they had adopted my system Crawford most likely would have been on the team this year. If you missed it I will repeat the idea. It is patterned after the electoral college. I would divide the county into five areas, West, South, Midwest, East and Northeast. Players winning the election in each of those areas would receive 5 points with 3 point for second and 1 point for third. The players and the media would also have their voting section making a total of seven separate counts.. This would eliminate the Cub fans from stuffing the ballot box like this year because the Cub players would only receive 5 points for winning their area. Ties would be broken by total popular vote. I understand politics got into the picture. There is a move in this country led by the current governor of California to eliminate electoral college and have the President elected by popular vote so they can more easily count votes from Mexico.
In San Francisco one keeps hearing about the injuries on the Giants. Believe me they are a healthy team compared to many others like the Angels and Dodgers. Imagine if the Giants lost their top four starters. Where would they be? That's what happen to the Angels.
I don't remember growing up a baseball fan with so many injuries. Perhaps I missed that detail but now we live in a time of Sports Medicine and everybody gets hurt. The press glows at the fact that players come to spring training in shape and that they worked out all winter. Then they still get injured. Perhaps going back to the old days where the players drank beer all winter and came to spring training 10 lbs. over weight and used the spring to get in shape. That might be the best way!
I noticed that the National Organization for Father's Day the NOFD got their wish from major league baseball and teams wore special uniforms liked like they did on Mothers Day. Threatening a discrimination law suit helped. The color used for Mothers Day was a pink and feminine blue was used for Fathers Day. I thought the Giants uniforms on those days were horrible. Ivy League grads know how to answer SAT questions but designing uniforms is not one of their strengths
I have been using a newcomputer for the past few months. Just want to let you know that Windows 10 is the sh__s. Excuse the French. I didn't listen to my daughter who urged me to get a Mac.
Thought and Prayers
Our loyal Texas blog member Russ J wife Susie suffered a very severe stroke a couple of months ago. The doctors at the Dallas hospital were amazed that they saved her life. Recovery is slow but I understand progress is being made. Our thought and prayers are with them during this time. The success of the Rangers this year I am sure has helped make some days a little brighter.
Many of you knew Jim Breslin who was blog member and a trusted and wonderful friend for the past sixty years who passed away a couple of weeks ago. He will be missed by many. Our prayers and thoughts go to his wife Bridgit and his family. May his souls and all the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen
It s been over two months since I sent a blog. For those that missed it I apologize but time is very precious these days because of my wife's health condition. Even had a hard time remembering my password.
Parade lovers were certainly disappointed when the planned San Jose and Oakland celebrations were cancelled with both the Sharks and Warriors losing in the finals. They didn't have to wait long with many parades on the 4th of July but for the Warrior and Shark fans its a long 12 months.
It was the first trip to the Stanley Cup for the Sharks. Lets hope it doesn't take another 25 years for the next one. Hockey is hard to figure. Making the one right trade and getting hot late in the season seems to be the success formula which is not easy to achieve. The Sharks were beaten by a better team.
The Warriors are a different story. They were the first team in NBA history to blow a 3-1 series lead and lose. The possible reasons are still making big news in the Bay Area. The team peaked in November. The continued press about how the Warriors were lucky to win in 2015 was a big incentive to roll through the league. They all but killed themselves to break the NBA season record of 73 wins. The players said at the time if they didn't win the championship it meant nothing. Kerr won't let it happen again. Face value for final game tickets I understand ran $800. for not the best seat in the house. Wait until they move to San Francisco. That price will be a daily occurrence.
Teams in any sport that blow a championship series like the Warriors did never recover. Look at the 49ers after blowing their Super Bowl game. The Warriors are different. They will have many new players next year including All Pro Durant which makes them odds on favorite to win it all. Don't go to Vegas yet! I don't believe they are as good as the 2016 team especially when they have one or two key injuries.
If I was Kerr, after winning 42 pre-playoff games which is enough to make the playoffs I would not play a starter over 28 minutes in any game. If possible I would limit the starters to six games in any two week period. All I heard last year was home court advantage. A lot of good it did the Warriors when they were hurt and tired. I would rather play the final game on the road anytime with a healthy fresh team.
The USA Olympic basketball team will have a lot of familiar names including Green if he is not in jail, Thompson, Durant and now former Warrior Barnes. Hard to figure how he made the squad. The
squad will also have Carmelo Anthony who will ruin the team. If Thompson passes the ball to him he will never see it back. If the USA doesn't bring back the gold it most likely can be blamed on Anthony. He ruined the Knicks.
Laughing all the way to the bank is Barnes. He turned down 16 million from the Warriors last year and then has a so so season and that's being very kind and now he will earn 24 million playing for Dallas.
I was fortunate enough to get a sneak preview of the Warrior uniforms that will be used when they move to San Francisco in 2023. You have seen the Warriors' 'the City' uniforms with the Golden Gate Bridge on the jersey. Then in recent years they featured the new Bay Bridge since the team plays in Oakland. The 2023 jerseys will feature the Wall of China for obvious reasons.
El Nino vs High Pressure
This war ended about a month ago with high pressure winning big time in southern California. El Nino only scored two touchdowns the entire winter. They needed at least eight to win. The draught is not noticeable in Irvine because we use re-cycled water to keep everything pretty green. It was tough keeping toilet flushes to three during a 24 hour period. Have to admit I cheated a few times and went to the local gas station. I did win two honorable mentions awards from the state for ideas on how to save water. Especially with her illness, my wife loves her bourbon and water before dinner so we changed to a lighter Canadian whiskey so we could cut back on the water needed. I also like to use 10 -11 cubes of ice in my drinks and to do my part I cut back to between 8 and 9.
Giants
If you look back on my blog a couple months you will discover that everything I said about the Giants is true. I said they would have the best record in the league at the All Star break and would leading the NL West by at least 6 games. Its an election year so I though I would join the crowd and lie like the rest of them.
Giant fans are worried about the relief staff. They should be. However getting Romo back to be an effective 8th inning reliever is a giant step. I continually hear about the inconsistency of the young relievers. That is true but Konkos, Lopez and Strickland are not the pitchers they have been in past years. They need to get Guerin back and acquire a left handed reliever if at possible.
Although Bumgarner, Cueto and Belt are having outstanding seasons, the team's MVP to date is Crawford. Besides being an absolute magician in the field he is leading the team in RBI's and if you follow the Giants closely you know he has come through time and time again. Most of the players can't get a runner in from third with none out and Crawford has bailed them out many times. Consider he was batting 7th at the start of the season. An RBI from that spot is a bonus. Then Pence got hurt and they moved Crawford to 5th and he has delivered like an All Start he should have been.
Around 2008 I proposed a change in the All Star game voting. If they had adopted my system Crawford most likely would have been on the team this year. If you missed it I will repeat the idea. It is patterned after the electoral college. I would divide the county into five areas, West, South, Midwest, East and Northeast. Players winning the election in each of those areas would receive 5 points with 3 point for second and 1 point for third. The players and the media would also have their voting section making a total of seven separate counts.. This would eliminate the Cub fans from stuffing the ballot box like this year because the Cub players would only receive 5 points for winning their area. Ties would be broken by total popular vote. I understand politics got into the picture. There is a move in this country led by the current governor of California to eliminate electoral college and have the President elected by popular vote so they can more easily count votes from Mexico.
In San Francisco one keeps hearing about the injuries on the Giants. Believe me they are a healthy team compared to many others like the Angels and Dodgers. Imagine if the Giants lost their top four starters. Where would they be? That's what happen to the Angels.
I don't remember growing up a baseball fan with so many injuries. Perhaps I missed that detail but now we live in a time of Sports Medicine and everybody gets hurt. The press glows at the fact that players come to spring training in shape and that they worked out all winter. Then they still get injured. Perhaps going back to the old days where the players drank beer all winter and came to spring training 10 lbs. over weight and used the spring to get in shape. That might be the best way!
I noticed that the National Organization for Father's Day the NOFD got their wish from major league baseball and teams wore special uniforms liked like they did on Mothers Day. Threatening a discrimination law suit helped. The color used for Mothers Day was a pink and feminine blue was used for Fathers Day. I thought the Giants uniforms on those days were horrible. Ivy League grads know how to answer SAT questions but designing uniforms is not one of their strengths
I have been using a newcomputer for the past few months. Just want to let you know that Windows 10 is the sh__s. Excuse the French. I didn't listen to my daughter who urged me to get a Mac.
Thought and Prayers
Our loyal Texas blog member Russ J wife Susie suffered a very severe stroke a couple of months ago. The doctors at the Dallas hospital were amazed that they saved her life. Recovery is slow but I understand progress is being made. Our thought and prayers are with them during this time. The success of the Rangers this year I am sure has helped make some days a little brighter.
Many of you knew Jim Breslin who was blog member and a trusted and wonderful friend for the past sixty years who passed away a couple of weeks ago. He will be missed by many. Our prayers and thoughts go to his wife Bridgit and his family. May his souls and all the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen
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