Monday, August 19, 2019
The New Giants
The Giants
The Giants played very exciting baseball in beating the DBacks 3 out of 4 in the series over the weekend. They have joined the baseball fraternity of home run hitters with many players we never had heard of six months ago. The Giant pre game commentators Saturday night said the lineup that night was the best they had seen with Belt hitting 7th, Crawford 8th and no Posey. Then Sunday the Giants scored 1 run in their only loss with Posey batting third and Belt fourth.
Are the Giants still in the pennant race? Almost all responses I receive say no and tell me not to get excited. If 89 wins will get the Giants into the playoffs, they can lose only 11 more games in the 12 series they play. They need to sweep at least one series and not lose more than one game in the other ones. Not impossible but with the Giants pitching very improbable.
Krukow commented Sunday that 100 pitch rule has caught up with the teams. Mike being a starting pitcher from the last century thinks the pitch count is stupid. The relief staffs have been over worked throughout baseball and the high scoring games indicate that most pitching staff now have three or four minor leaguers.
Dickerson has returned from the IL but he is not the same player. I don't know if it is his injury or if he was just red hot when he first joined the team.
The outfield of Yastrzemski, Pillar and Slater has been great not only at the plate but in the field with some great catches. Jaylin Davis the outfielder they got on trade day in his first 14 games in Sacramento is hitting. 404 which includes 8 homers and 5 doubles. He would have normally been brought up but how can you bench the regulars.
Another player they got on trade day Mauricio Dubon is playing ss hitting .302 with 2 homers. The Giants called up the River Cats ss Ablata Avelino to open the spot for Dubon. The Giants are looking to see if they have the replacement for Crawford. Replacing his bat is not difficult but even though Brandon isn't the fielder he once was, he still makes outstanding plays and will be tough to replace.
The jury is still out on second baseman Scooter Gennett. He was on IL most of the season so his hitting is below par but he has shown flashes of being a pretty good hitter. He has had a hard time laying off a 2 strike pitch in the dirt. As advertised his fielding is only adequate but he has made three big blunders on the base paths.
The 49ers
It sounds strange but anyone who watch the Denver game knows that even though the 49ers won they got slaughtered. At the beginning of training the question was who is going to be the backup qb but now the question has to be who is going to start. Garoppolo was terrible and he will have to prove something in the last two pre season games.
A few observations . . . A holding penalty on Denver called back a 50 yard gain that prevented the Broncos from scoring a TD in the first half. A big play in the game. . . The Broncos lost their 2nd string qb who was playing pretty well so that the ex Stanford Cardinal Hogan the 3rd stringer played most of the second half which help the Niners. . . When Denver scored to cut the lead to 9 in the 4th quarter, the Broncos went for 2 points with a simple buck in the middle instead of kicking the extra point to make it an 8 point game. They wanted no part of overtime. . . Coleman the 49ers starting back had a nice run on his first carry and amazingly wasn't hurt. . . Thought the Niners defense played well.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Welcome Alex
Break In
Let me welcome Alex Rodriquez from ABC Sunday Night Baseball to the fast growing Car Break In Family of San Francisco. I feel honored to have him as one of our members. The number in the group has passed 100,000 since San Francisco became a sanctuary city. Alex's break in was similar to mine losing a camera and electronics valued in the neighborhood of $500,000. According to the SF Police it is a priority. Yea, sure it is! Don't rent a car in the Blue Bag city unless you have a secure garage to park it. Take street cars, BART, Greyhound, Uber and whatever to get around.
Giants
I wrote last time if the Giants were within 3 games when Dickerson returned they would still have a. chance. They are currently 3 1/2 behind. He has not returned as I write this. The problem has become pitching. The Giants only have two starters Bumgarner and Samadzija. Smith, Watson, Moronta and Coonrod are reliable relievers. The other seven pitchers are usually on a Greyhound computing between Sacramento and San Francisco. The Giants are signing almost every pitcher released in the majors and sending them to Sacramento hoping for a baseball rebirth.
I flew to San Francisco last Wednesday with my daughter to enjoy the game from the Getty suite. The Giants were dead but the companionship was great. Since people have asked me, the Getty suite looks right down the first base line into right field.
I think the Giants made a big mistake in putting in such a large score board in centerfield. All it does is block the view of beautiful San Francisco Bay. A modernized version the old scoreboard from Seals Stadium would had sufficed. These stadiums act like babies ---my scoreboard is bigger then yours ha ha!
I was sorry to see Joe Panik leave. He was given every chance to make a comeback. He was great Giant and made some memorable plays that made the team a winner. Not sure if it was injuries or the shift that hurt his game. Glad he signed with the Mets since he is a New York native. Always thought he might end up a Yankee because of the short right field fence. Best of luck to him.
I feel sorry for Steve Duggar who hurt his shoulder at the game I attended. He was going to be the future centerfielder of the Giants. He batted in the .230s and was sent back to Sacramento and had just returned to show what he could do. I don't see him having a chance of making club next year.
To make the playoffs the Giants will most likely have to win 89 games. Since they have already lost 60 games they can only lose 13 more this season. Long odds! They need another July with 17 of 20 wins.
Home Runs
I have also been asked about all the power hitters and home runs. My thought is if you throw the ball 99 miles an hour and it gets hit it goes further. I understand that pitchers that throw at that speed usually are not as accurate with their location which can lead to more homers. Baseball used to get their horsehide for their baseballs from Bay Meadows. Since then they have found a much better quality along the Nile River next to cotton fields. But come on, you know the real reason for all these home runs is climate change. What more proof do you need that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim even had a rain out this season.
Warriors
I attempted to look at the new Chase Arena but could one get a glimpse as shown in the picture.
An attorney with me in the Getty Box told me he was really upset that his firm spent 1 million dollars on tickets for the Warriors. Heard of another company that paid a million for four years.
It is hard to imagine Chase being like Oracle and all those great fans from the East Bay. Already I hear people saying that can't afford a Warrior game.
Clay Thompson complained last year after one game saying "Where are the fans?" Well the people filling the seats will be guests of these companies and many may not know the difference between a basketball and a soccer ball.
Forty Niners
I am sure many of you who were not at Levi Stadium last Saturday night were glued to your televisions. Looked a lot like last year with the Niners pulling out an exciting suspense filled game with a win. I remember reading during the off season that Niners had so many running backs that they won't be able to use them all. Sure! They had to sign a second string back off the streets of San Jose the day of the first game. Injuries mount and is Bola injury prone since he was hurt at Ohio State last year?
Monday Night Football Pool
A few members of the blog play this game. After many years I finally won I think $150. last year. Was only a couple of point of winning top prize of $1500. You pick each Monday Night game ranking each game 17 to 1 point. Information can be obtained by emailing Mike Willis at uscsucs@sbcglobal.net
Let me welcome Alex Rodriquez from ABC Sunday Night Baseball to the fast growing Car Break In Family of San Francisco. I feel honored to have him as one of our members. The number in the group has passed 100,000 since San Francisco became a sanctuary city. Alex's break in was similar to mine losing a camera and electronics valued in the neighborhood of $500,000. According to the SF Police it is a priority. Yea, sure it is! Don't rent a car in the Blue Bag city unless you have a secure garage to park it. Take street cars, BART, Greyhound, Uber and whatever to get around.
Giants
I wrote last time if the Giants were within 3 games when Dickerson returned they would still have a. chance. They are currently 3 1/2 behind. He has not returned as I write this. The problem has become pitching. The Giants only have two starters Bumgarner and Samadzija. Smith, Watson, Moronta and Coonrod are reliable relievers. The other seven pitchers are usually on a Greyhound computing between Sacramento and San Francisco. The Giants are signing almost every pitcher released in the majors and sending them to Sacramento hoping for a baseball rebirth.
I flew to San Francisco last Wednesday with my daughter to enjoy the game from the Getty suite. The Giants were dead but the companionship was great. Since people have asked me, the Getty suite looks right down the first base line into right field.
I think the Giants made a big mistake in putting in such a large score board in centerfield. All it does is block the view of beautiful San Francisco Bay. A modernized version the old scoreboard from Seals Stadium would had sufficed. These stadiums act like babies ---my scoreboard is bigger then yours ha ha!
I was sorry to see Joe Panik leave. He was given every chance to make a comeback. He was great Giant and made some memorable plays that made the team a winner. Not sure if it was injuries or the shift that hurt his game. Glad he signed with the Mets since he is a New York native. Always thought he might end up a Yankee because of the short right field fence. Best of luck to him.
I feel sorry for Steve Duggar who hurt his shoulder at the game I attended. He was going to be the future centerfielder of the Giants. He batted in the .230s and was sent back to Sacramento and had just returned to show what he could do. I don't see him having a chance of making club next year.
To make the playoffs the Giants will most likely have to win 89 games. Since they have already lost 60 games they can only lose 13 more this season. Long odds! They need another July with 17 of 20 wins.
Home Runs
I have also been asked about all the power hitters and home runs. My thought is if you throw the ball 99 miles an hour and it gets hit it goes further. I understand that pitchers that throw at that speed usually are not as accurate with their location which can lead to more homers. Baseball used to get their horsehide for their baseballs from Bay Meadows. Since then they have found a much better quality along the Nile River next to cotton fields. But come on, you know the real reason for all these home runs is climate change. What more proof do you need that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim even had a rain out this season.
Warriors
I attempted to look at the new Chase Arena but could one get a glimpse as shown in the picture.
 |
| Homer with Chase Arena in the background |
It is hard to imagine Chase being like Oracle and all those great fans from the East Bay. Already I hear people saying that can't afford a Warrior game.
Clay Thompson complained last year after one game saying "Where are the fans?" Well the people filling the seats will be guests of these companies and many may not know the difference between a basketball and a soccer ball.
Forty Niners
I am sure many of you who were not at Levi Stadium last Saturday night were glued to your televisions. Looked a lot like last year with the Niners pulling out an exciting suspense filled game with a win. I remember reading during the off season that Niners had so many running backs that they won't be able to use them all. Sure! They had to sign a second string back off the streets of San Jose the day of the first game. Injuries mount and is Bola injury prone since he was hurt at Ohio State last year?
Monday Night Football Pool
A few members of the blog play this game. After many years I finally won I think $150. last year. Was only a couple of point of winning top prize of $1500. You pick each Monday Night game ranking each game 17 to 1 point. Information can be obtained by emailing Mike Willis at uscsucs@sbcglobal.net
Monday, August 5, 2019
Almost Impossible!
Giants
Last week I mentioned if the Giants returned from their road trip still within 3 games, they would still be in the race. Then Dickerson went on the IL and I extended my 3 games until he returns. After watching most of their games on the trip I only can conclude they don't have much pitching. A real problem!
I don't know who the Giant starters are and either do they. Samardzija has surprised and has pitched very well and has become the star of the staff. I know one blog member O'B of Moraga who is complete shock. Bumgarner is pitching on reputation. Shaun Anderson, Tyler Beede and somebody else round out the starters. Beede pitches a few good games but that is in the past and Anderson never learned how to play the game. You have heard announcers say he only made one bad pitch that cost him the game. Krukow commented a couple of weeks ago that Anderson made 6 bad pitches in four innings. He will have 2 strikes on the #8 batter in the line-up and throw a hittable pitch instead of one in the dirt. He done that more than once. I am afraid it will be too late when Cuteo is ready.
In relief they still have Smith to clean up, Moronta, Watson, Coonrod, and a few others when they are not in Sacramento. It is not their strength anymore. Since I started to write this the Giants have signed two additional relief pitchers and sent them to Sacramento. Those Greyhound buses are busy every day.
During their winning streak, two pitchers up from Sacramento Williams Jerez and Conner Menez won games back to back. We wondered why they were both sent back immediately. Could it be because they both had flowing beards and I guess Zaidi though they belonged in the gold country since they looked the part.
A couple of weeks ago Dickerson made the play of the week. He was on first with two out and the batter hits a pop up to short left field. Instead of jogging around Dickerson took off immediately and when the ball was dropped he was on his way home with the winning run. Most major league players would have been on third base especially Justin Turner of the Dodgers who is laziest runner I have seen.
I have had a series of dermatology surgeries over the past year and recently I had a growth on my wrist that was removed by a new doctor. They have expanded their staff I think just to take care of me. The doctor was from Orange County grew up a Dodger fans, went to Berkeley and then UCSF Medical School. Told me that he has many friends who are Giant fans and raved about the new Giants GM Zaidi. He also commented that the could not believe that one team could have four great announcers. He is a real baseball fan because he was well aware of the Giants stars playing in San Jose.
Zaidi brought in 8 new players on trade day to ad to the many players that have joined the Giants since he took over. So he will soon have a report card on his progress. Maybe we are getting excited too soon but they got outfielder Jaylin Davis in one of the trade day deals. A right handed hitting outfielder that in his first 10 at bats in Sacramento has 7 hits including 2 homers.
My daughter Jane, a blog member and myself will be flying to Oakland for the day to attend the Giants game on Wednesday. We will be joining a group of my high school classmates in the Getty suite at Oracle. Looking forward to the day.
I plan to write shorter blogs more frequently.
Last week I mentioned if the Giants returned from their road trip still within 3 games, they would still be in the race. Then Dickerson went on the IL and I extended my 3 games until he returns. After watching most of their games on the trip I only can conclude they don't have much pitching. A real problem!
I don't know who the Giant starters are and either do they. Samardzija has surprised and has pitched very well and has become the star of the staff. I know one blog member O'B of Moraga who is complete shock. Bumgarner is pitching on reputation. Shaun Anderson, Tyler Beede and somebody else round out the starters. Beede pitches a few good games but that is in the past and Anderson never learned how to play the game. You have heard announcers say he only made one bad pitch that cost him the game. Krukow commented a couple of weeks ago that Anderson made 6 bad pitches in four innings. He will have 2 strikes on the #8 batter in the line-up and throw a hittable pitch instead of one in the dirt. He done that more than once. I am afraid it will be too late when Cuteo is ready.
In relief they still have Smith to clean up, Moronta, Watson, Coonrod, and a few others when they are not in Sacramento. It is not their strength anymore. Since I started to write this the Giants have signed two additional relief pitchers and sent them to Sacramento. Those Greyhound buses are busy every day.
During their winning streak, two pitchers up from Sacramento Williams Jerez and Conner Menez won games back to back. We wondered why they were both sent back immediately. Could it be because they both had flowing beards and I guess Zaidi though they belonged in the gold country since they looked the part.
A couple of weeks ago Dickerson made the play of the week. He was on first with two out and the batter hits a pop up to short left field. Instead of jogging around Dickerson took off immediately and when the ball was dropped he was on his way home with the winning run. Most major league players would have been on third base especially Justin Turner of the Dodgers who is laziest runner I have seen.
I have had a series of dermatology surgeries over the past year and recently I had a growth on my wrist that was removed by a new doctor. They have expanded their staff I think just to take care of me. The doctor was from Orange County grew up a Dodger fans, went to Berkeley and then UCSF Medical School. Told me that he has many friends who are Giant fans and raved about the new Giants GM Zaidi. He also commented that the could not believe that one team could have four great announcers. He is a real baseball fan because he was well aware of the Giants stars playing in San Jose.
Zaidi brought in 8 new players on trade day to ad to the many players that have joined the Giants since he took over. So he will soon have a report card on his progress. Maybe we are getting excited too soon but they got outfielder Jaylin Davis in one of the trade day deals. A right handed hitting outfielder that in his first 10 at bats in Sacramento has 7 hits including 2 homers.
My daughter Jane, a blog member and myself will be flying to Oakland for the day to attend the Giants game on Wednesday. We will be joining a group of my high school classmates in the Getty suite at Oracle. Looking forward to the day.
I plan to write shorter blogs more frequently.
Thursday, August 1, 2019
The Shock
Giants
The Giants winning steak in July shocked everybody and led to some interesting decisions.
Trade Day
The plan to trade Bumgarner and/or Smith was destroyed by the winning streak. All of sudden the Blue Bag City team was only 2 games behind in the Wild Car race. If you trade one or both you are giving up and both the team and the fans would be very angry to say the least.
So the GM went to Plan B to keep the team competitive and build for the future. He eliminated the relief pitchers who were key to their success. Gone was Sam Dyson although very slow and deliberate did a great job. Mark Melancon went to Atlanta. In his last three or four appearances he did his job very effectively. I never had any confidence in him getting anybody out. He was being paid a $62 million contract and I can't believe the Braves picked up his contract. That alone was a great move.
Drew Pomeranz was a flop as a starter but then during the winning streak became a dominate reliever which made him trade able. The Brewers got him along with Ray Black who has been promoted for a couple of years but never really produced.
The Giants have some strong young arms to replace these relievers. But it is very doubtful if they can be as effective.
The Giants organization received eight new players. With Zaidi reputation they will be followed closely. When he was the Dodgers GM we would marvel on where these home run hitting new
Dodgers came from. One of the most interesting new Giants in my opinion was acquiring of 2nd baseman Gennett from the Reds. Recovering from injuries he has not played much this year but was the NL All Star second basemen last year.
My thought was that if the Giants were still within 3 games of the Wild Card after the Rockies series this weekend they are still in the race. However Dickerson is now on the IL for hopefully only ten days. If they are still within that 3 game games when he returns it could be an exciting September.
Without Dickerson the Giants have zero chance of making the playoff. With him they do have a shot even though slim but still possible. When a team has Crawford batting 5th you know they have a very weak lineup.
Some Quick Thoughts
I have been reading articles about some of new 49ers. I have come away with the opinion that it looks like that they are a cinch to win the NFC and move on the the Super Bowl. Do they even have to play the games?
I see that the Warriors Klay Thompson is saying that if you think the Warriors dynasty is over you are ignorant. What pain medicine are they feeding him? How can you have a dynasty when you lost? Or are the Warriors trying to sell tickets? To build for the future get a lottery pick next year.
The Giants winning steak in July shocked everybody and led to some interesting decisions.
Trade Day
The plan to trade Bumgarner and/or Smith was destroyed by the winning streak. All of sudden the Blue Bag City team was only 2 games behind in the Wild Car race. If you trade one or both you are giving up and both the team and the fans would be very angry to say the least.
So the GM went to Plan B to keep the team competitive and build for the future. He eliminated the relief pitchers who were key to their success. Gone was Sam Dyson although very slow and deliberate did a great job. Mark Melancon went to Atlanta. In his last three or four appearances he did his job very effectively. I never had any confidence in him getting anybody out. He was being paid a $62 million contract and I can't believe the Braves picked up his contract. That alone was a great move.
Drew Pomeranz was a flop as a starter but then during the winning streak became a dominate reliever which made him trade able. The Brewers got him along with Ray Black who has been promoted for a couple of years but never really produced.
The Giants have some strong young arms to replace these relievers. But it is very doubtful if they can be as effective.
The Giants organization received eight new players. With Zaidi reputation they will be followed closely. When he was the Dodgers GM we would marvel on where these home run hitting new
Dodgers came from. One of the most interesting new Giants in my opinion was acquiring of 2nd baseman Gennett from the Reds. Recovering from injuries he has not played much this year but was the NL All Star second basemen last year.
My thought was that if the Giants were still within 3 games of the Wild Card after the Rockies series this weekend they are still in the race. However Dickerson is now on the IL for hopefully only ten days. If they are still within that 3 game games when he returns it could be an exciting September.
Without Dickerson the Giants have zero chance of making the playoff. With him they do have a shot even though slim but still possible. When a team has Crawford batting 5th you know they have a very weak lineup.
Some Quick Thoughts
I have been reading articles about some of new 49ers. I have come away with the opinion that it looks like that they are a cinch to win the NFC and move on the the Super Bowl. Do they even have to play the games?
I see that the Warriors Klay Thompson is saying that if you think the Warriors dynasty is over you are ignorant. What pain medicine are they feeding him? How can you have a dynasty when you lost? Or are the Warriors trying to sell tickets? To build for the future get a lottery pick next year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)