New Feature idea: Left Coast Lean's "News of the Weird". In which writers profile obscure or weird sports stories around the West Coast. For example, today's post could be titled "News of the Weird: The 49ers Are Good at Football".
Look, I don't know a lot about football. I actually find it to be pretty boring at times. So in terms of watching a full game, I'm only good for a few of those per year. But if the 49ers continue on this roll their on, I might have to start blocking out 3 hours every Sunday to sit and watch. Because I like the 49ers when the 49ers win.
It seems pretty clear that this is not just a flash in the pan. They may have struck gold with Jim Harbaugh at the helm. It's just a remarkably better team than what we've seen in the past. The 49er teams I've watched over the previous 10 years or so were broken. Like I said, I'm no football guru, so I couldn't tell you the details of the "why" or "how". But it was a horrible product. I could tell. Now, something is different. Probably lots of things. Even with them down in the 4th quarter yesterday, I was confident they would get the win. The Lions were definitely not going to score again, and the 49ers definitely were going to score again. I was pretty confident in both of these things.
Congrats to Harbaugh on the great start. I think in football, compared to the other major sports, coaching has the most direct impact on wins and losses. Both in terms of play-calling and X's-and-O's-type stuff, and in having a personality that the rest of the team is comfortable with. If the players can relate to the coach, be comfortable asking questions, and that sort of thing, the players and team will grow and you will get better execution.
As far as Handshake-gate, I thought the Lions' coach grossly overreacted.
And that, my friends, is Mike the Menace on football. Good day.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
So Who Can We Blame? - Part III
I've established that the lion's share of the blame for the disappointing 2011 season for the Giants should fall on the players. Had the hitters performed at levels that most people expected them to, things certainly would have been different. I explored the idea perhaps it was Manager Bruce Bochy who was at fault for not getting the most out of his players. There's some merit to that, but general consensus is that he was dealt too tough of a hand for much of the blame to fall on him. Given that Brian Sabean dealt Bochy his hand, how much blame can we put on Sabes and the rest of the front office?
I never believed that managers and GMs could have "good years" and "bad years". Until this year. Last year, Sabean killed it. He signed Huff, picked up Burrell, nabbed Cody Ross, and traded for Javier Lopez and Ramon Ramirez. All of these moves had SIGNIFICANT impacts leading to the 2010 World Series Championship. This year, it was quite the opposite. He gave Huff too much money. Calling Tejada a dud would be much too nice. The same goes for Orlando Cabrera. Nobody knew what the hell to do with Brandon Belt. By season's end, Jeff Keppinger (another attempt at a minor upgrade for prospects) saw his OPB dip to .300. Finally, Sabean gave up the system's top prospect in Zack Wheeler -- in a season in which the Giants finished 8 games out of first place. Sure, Beltran performed admirably when he was on the field. But his total contribution while with the Giants? 1 Win Above Replacement (WAR), according to Baseball Reference. The fact is, one player really can't make that much of a difference over 2 months. Especially one who gets injured, and Beltran was a known injury risk. Not to mention a risk to clubhouse chemistry. Taking away Shierholtz's starting job in right clearly had an effect on him. Beltran should have been relegated to left for defensive purposes alone, and to cause less of an overall disruption.
All in all, Sabean had a bad year this year. I don't think it's because he did anything differently than he normally would. It's not as if he's a player adjusting his mechanics. But in a career filled with good moves and bad moves, chances are that some of the good ones will cluster together (as in 2010), and some of the bad ones will as well (2011). Here's to hoping for a rebound in 2012.
I have one suggestion to start: the Giants front office needs to do a better job of marketing themselves. Not to fans--they've got that down pat. I'm talking about marketing the Giants to the rest of baseball. Players and agents. Get people to want to come here. I'm sick of hearing how bad of a hitter's park this is. I remember seeing stats a couple years ago showing that AT&T park was neither a pitcher's park nor a hitter's park. It was in the middle. Since then, it has probably drifted towards a pitcher's park. But let's get real: the reason for that is because opposing hitters come in here and have to face the Giants' pitching. And the Giants' hitters are, well, Giants' hitters. Get going on some PowerPoints to convince Beltran to stay. Show Jose Reyes what sort of numbers he could put up here. Focus on the gorgeous weather we have in September and October. If players don't want to play here, put together a better goddam sales pitch. I'm sick of that excuse.
I never believed that managers and GMs could have "good years" and "bad years". Until this year. Last year, Sabean killed it. He signed Huff, picked up Burrell, nabbed Cody Ross, and traded for Javier Lopez and Ramon Ramirez. All of these moves had SIGNIFICANT impacts leading to the 2010 World Series Championship. This year, it was quite the opposite. He gave Huff too much money. Calling Tejada a dud would be much too nice. The same goes for Orlando Cabrera. Nobody knew what the hell to do with Brandon Belt. By season's end, Jeff Keppinger (another attempt at a minor upgrade for prospects) saw his OPB dip to .300. Finally, Sabean gave up the system's top prospect in Zack Wheeler -- in a season in which the Giants finished 8 games out of first place. Sure, Beltran performed admirably when he was on the field. But his total contribution while with the Giants? 1 Win Above Replacement (WAR), according to Baseball Reference. The fact is, one player really can't make that much of a difference over 2 months. Especially one who gets injured, and Beltran was a known injury risk. Not to mention a risk to clubhouse chemistry. Taking away Shierholtz's starting job in right clearly had an effect on him. Beltran should have been relegated to left for defensive purposes alone, and to cause less of an overall disruption.
All in all, Sabean had a bad year this year. I don't think it's because he did anything differently than he normally would. It's not as if he's a player adjusting his mechanics. But in a career filled with good moves and bad moves, chances are that some of the good ones will cluster together (as in 2010), and some of the bad ones will as well (2011). Here's to hoping for a rebound in 2012.
I have one suggestion to start: the Giants front office needs to do a better job of marketing themselves. Not to fans--they've got that down pat. I'm talking about marketing the Giants to the rest of baseball. Players and agents. Get people to want to come here. I'm sick of hearing how bad of a hitter's park this is. I remember seeing stats a couple years ago showing that AT&T park was neither a pitcher's park nor a hitter's park. It was in the middle. Since then, it has probably drifted towards a pitcher's park. But let's get real: the reason for that is because opposing hitters come in here and have to face the Giants' pitching. And the Giants' hitters are, well, Giants' hitters. Get going on some PowerPoints to convince Beltran to stay. Show Jose Reyes what sort of numbers he could put up here. Focus on the gorgeous weather we have in September and October. If players don't want to play here, put together a better goddam sales pitch. I'm sick of that excuse.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Thursday preview and prediction for Ducks vs Bears and "Fakegate" round two!
First off I want to start with Tedford and company being upset that people and the media are bringing up a certain something that happened in last year's match up in Berkeley. Reported on SFGate this morning, there were talks about "Fakegate" and whether or not it will happen again in tomorrows game. I don't think any opposing team's players want to hear what the fans at Autzen have to think about it if they see it will their own eyes. Anyway, you guys at Cal don't need to fake being injured. You can have all the time in the world and we will still burn you.
If you want to read up on the latest injured list, see this link from the good guys over on ATQ.
Prediction:
This being the first PAC-12 game at Autzen, not surprised, the crowd is going to play a huge part in this game. The Ducks will do what they do on offense and should be able to put up some big numbers on the Cal D that hasn't been the greatest vs some other PAC -12 opponents so far this year. As for the running game, Cal did a good job in Berkeley last year so I'm sure LaMike and company want to redeem themselves this time around. The deciding factor will be how Oregon does again Allen (#1 Wide out for Cal) and the rest of their receiving core.
I see the Bears hanging in their through the first quarter and a half with the Ducks cruising to a big lead by the middle of of the third quarter.
Final score:
Oregon 48 Cal 20
Bold prediction: Cliff Harris strikes Cal again with a big first half punt return for a TD!
Go Ducks!!!
Monday, October 3, 2011
So Who Do We Blame? - Part II
In my opinion, between the 8 teams in the baseball playoffs, the World Series Trophy is pretty up for grabs. Sure, the Phillies were the powerhouse favorite coming in, but they are playing the hottest team entering the tourney in the form of the Cardinals. Plus the Brewers are the resident "sexy" pick in the NL. In the AL, Texas has been called the most complete team, the Yankees are the Yankees, the Tigers have Verlander, and the Rays (behind their starting pitching) have emerged as the consensus nobody-wants-to-face-them team.
The point to all of this, of course, is to say that had the Giants made the playoffs, they would have had a decent chance to dominate the field as they did a year ago. And the question on everybody's mind is, "Can we blame Bruce Bochy for any of this?" Baseball is America's Pastime; criticizing Bochy is the cynical Giants fan's pastime.
I've been going back and forth on this. For every point, there is a counterpoint. Here's the conversation that's been going on in my head:
Pro-Bochy Point: "You can't blame Bochy for this year. He was dealt too tough of a hand. The injuries, the poor performances, etc."
Anti-Bochy Counterpoint: "But in baseball, perhaps more than any other sport, the role of the manager is to get the most out of what he has. Did he really squeeze all he could out of that line-up?"
Point: "He certainly gave it his best. He pretty much tried everything."
Counterpoint: "Yeah. And none of it worked."
Point: "But at some point you have to blame Cody Ross for Cody Ross's poor performance. Simply put, these guys were a suck machine fueled by what must have been Tommy Lasorda's armpit sweat."
Counterpoint: "Well that was not simply put at all, but I know what you mean. They were terrible. Given that, don't you think he should have given some of the younger guys a shot?"
Point: "Oh because they really shined when they were out there. Crawford was clearly overmatched (.584 OPS) and Belt's numbers only look as good as they do (and they don't look great) because of a few outlying productive games."
Counterpoint: "Still, it's the manager's job to keep these guys motivated, and mentally ready. These hitters were obviously in their own heads. They hit .219 with runners in scoring position. That number drops to .173 with 2 out. It wasn't until they were all-but-mathematically eliminated when they started to hit and rattle off a season high 8-game-win streak."
Point: "Well then look at the pitching staff. It'd be pretty hard to say he didn't handle them well. Everybody knew their role. Nobody was overused. And they had their fair share of injuries as well."
Counterpoint: "Easy enough when all your starters go deep and your bullpen is nasty all the way through. Plus he got lucky with Vogelsong. The Zito and Sanchez situations were a mess."
Point: "Well now you're just throwing anything at the wall to see what sticks. I would like to see another manager win 86 games with this team. He was just dealt too tough of a hand."
And that's where it ends. He generally did a pretty good job. The players seem to like him, and that should not be looked over. Yes, some of his line-ups frustrated me. And some of his in-game decisions (Ex: Orlando Cabrera NOT bunting with a man on second and no outs, in what would eventually become a 1-0 loss. Bochy's explaination, "You got a professional hitter up there" DRIVES ME NUTS). And let's not forget what a dud he is when he speaks to the public. But overall, I'd say he was more right than wrong. Things could have been done differently, but with the talent he had, I think 86 wins was more than appropriate. You and me, Boch, we're cool.
The point to all of this, of course, is to say that had the Giants made the playoffs, they would have had a decent chance to dominate the field as they did a year ago. And the question on everybody's mind is, "Can we blame Bruce Bochy for any of this?" Baseball is America's Pastime; criticizing Bochy is the cynical Giants fan's pastime.
I've been going back and forth on this. For every point, there is a counterpoint. Here's the conversation that's been going on in my head:
Pro-Bochy Point: "You can't blame Bochy for this year. He was dealt too tough of a hand. The injuries, the poor performances, etc."
Anti-Bochy Counterpoint: "But in baseball, perhaps more than any other sport, the role of the manager is to get the most out of what he has. Did he really squeeze all he could out of that line-up?"
Point: "He certainly gave it his best. He pretty much tried everything."
Counterpoint: "Yeah. And none of it worked."
Point: "But at some point you have to blame Cody Ross for Cody Ross's poor performance. Simply put, these guys were a suck machine fueled by what must have been Tommy Lasorda's armpit sweat."
Counterpoint: "Well that was not simply put at all, but I know what you mean. They were terrible. Given that, don't you think he should have given some of the younger guys a shot?"
Point: "Oh because they really shined when they were out there. Crawford was clearly overmatched (.584 OPS) and Belt's numbers only look as good as they do (and they don't look great) because of a few outlying productive games."
Counterpoint: "Still, it's the manager's job to keep these guys motivated, and mentally ready. These hitters were obviously in their own heads. They hit .219 with runners in scoring position. That number drops to .173 with 2 out. It wasn't until they were all-but-mathematically eliminated when they started to hit and rattle off a season high 8-game-win streak."
Point: "Well then look at the pitching staff. It'd be pretty hard to say he didn't handle them well. Everybody knew their role. Nobody was overused. And they had their fair share of injuries as well."
Counterpoint: "Easy enough when all your starters go deep and your bullpen is nasty all the way through. Plus he got lucky with Vogelsong. The Zito and Sanchez situations were a mess."
Point: "Well now you're just throwing anything at the wall to see what sticks. I would like to see another manager win 86 games with this team. He was just dealt too tough of a hand."
And that's where it ends. He generally did a pretty good job. The players seem to like him, and that should not be looked over. Yes, some of his line-ups frustrated me. And some of his in-game decisions (Ex: Orlando Cabrera NOT bunting with a man on second and no outs, in what would eventually become a 1-0 loss. Bochy's explaination, "You got a professional hitter up there" DRIVES ME NUTS). And let's not forget what a dud he is when he speaks to the public. But overall, I'd say he was more right than wrong. Things could have been done differently, but with the talent he had, I think 86 wins was more than appropriate. You and me, Boch, we're cool.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
So Who Do We Blame? - Part I
Alas, Giants fans such as myself have to wait at least a year to have another night like this. Now that we are greedy, title-hungry, entitled fans, we need to start tossing some blame around. Barry Shiller over at the Bleacher Report writes about some under-the-radar reasons for the Giants demise. I'll focus on the more obvious, and what it all means for the future.
First, rather than using 1000 words to describe the season, I can save some time and just show this:
"No additional qualifiers". Awesome. And the one guy who did qualify was quite possibly the Least Valuable Player in the National League. That pretty much sums it up.
Injuries are the easiest, most comforting reason why the Giants only won 86 games this year. By the end of the season, the line-ups being trotted out were so far off from the Opening Day plan, it's a wonder they even got 86 out of this year. Still, that is the easy way out. Take a look at the final standings. The Giants finished a full 8 games behind the D-backs. Would a healthy Posey, Sanchez, and Sandoval be able to make all of that up? Maybe. But every team has injuries, and while the Giants were hit harder than most, the reason they didn't make the playoffs is simply a lack of talent. The veterans didn't pull their weight, and the potential-replacement younger guys were too overmatched to do any actual replacing. Injuries aren't the only reason the Giants had "No additional qualifiers". Most of the lineup wasn't good enough to play every day, forcing Bochy to mix and match, spreading the at bats all over the roster. So that's what I'm going with for my #1 reason for the disappointing season: the lack of performance from several offensive players. I'm mad at Aubrey Huff, Cody Ross, Andres Torres, of course Miguel Tejada and Aaron Rowand, and even Brandon Belt a bit for not carpe-ing the diem (in his defense, the herky-jerky handling of him by Bochean was ill-advised).
And so, looking to next year, what should the plan be? Who on this carousel of mediocrity should they bring back? The good news is, that just by doing nothing and/or maintaining their roster, the offense should improve significantly. While perfect health should not be counted on, let's assume Posey comes back for the full year, Freddy Sanchez does not go down, and Pablo will miss less time. Aubrey Huff can't do any worse, plus he'll be in a contract year, so I expect to see improvement there. If Belt sews up the hole in his swing and takes less called third strikes, he should be a staple in the line-up. So the top priority should still be keeping the pitching staff in tact, which Sabean has stated it will be.
Should they try to bring Carlos Beltran back? I say yes, if it is not more than a two-year deal at a reasonable price. He's at risk of production decline and/or injury, but he did perform admirably when healthy for the Giants (although you could argue it was too little too late). But picture the #2 through #6 spots in the line-up looking something like Sanchez, Beltran, Posey, Sandoval, Belt. That's the makings of an average offense, right there, folks. And we know what happens when the Giants keep their pitching staff in tact and put together an average offense.
And how about the pipe dream of adding Jose Reyes? What if his bat lead off before those other guys? Now I'm salivating. In all likelihood, payroll will not allow for it, but boy is Reyes a perfect fit for this team. Short Stop and the lead-off spots are HUGE holes, and the Giants should be going after these dynamic, athletic-types that their ballpark is tailored for. Someone from the Giants should lead the league in triples every year. If Reyes came aboard, I have no doubt he would. That is, if he stayed healthy. But that just makes it better! He's an injury risk, which is right up Sabean's alley!
The Giants clawed through most of the season by winning tight, low-scoring games. Unfortunately, that's not a sustainable business model. The 1-run games started to even out. You could say their negative run-differential caught up to them (they scored 8 fewer runs than they allowed, which usually translates to a sub-.500 record). But I don't think it's quite as simple as regression to the mean. You could tell they just played much worse the final two months of the season. Giving away 90 feet on both sides of the ball. And completely going into the tank offensively. They sucked, and that's about all there is to it.
First, rather than using 1000 words to describe the season, I can save some time and just show this:
Injuries are the easiest, most comforting reason why the Giants only won 86 games this year. By the end of the season, the line-ups being trotted out were so far off from the Opening Day plan, it's a wonder they even got 86 out of this year. Still, that is the easy way out. Take a look at the final standings. The Giants finished a full 8 games behind the D-backs. Would a healthy Posey, Sanchez, and Sandoval be able to make all of that up? Maybe. But every team has injuries, and while the Giants were hit harder than most, the reason they didn't make the playoffs is simply a lack of talent. The veterans didn't pull their weight, and the potential-replacement younger guys were too overmatched to do any actual replacing. Injuries aren't the only reason the Giants had "No additional qualifiers". Most of the lineup wasn't good enough to play every day, forcing Bochy to mix and match, spreading the at bats all over the roster. So that's what I'm going with for my #1 reason for the disappointing season: the lack of performance from several offensive players. I'm mad at Aubrey Huff, Cody Ross, Andres Torres, of course Miguel Tejada and Aaron Rowand, and even Brandon Belt a bit for not carpe-ing the diem (in his defense, the herky-jerky handling of him by Bochean was ill-advised).
And so, looking to next year, what should the plan be? Who on this carousel of mediocrity should they bring back? The good news is, that just by doing nothing and/or maintaining their roster, the offense should improve significantly. While perfect health should not be counted on, let's assume Posey comes back for the full year, Freddy Sanchez does not go down, and Pablo will miss less time. Aubrey Huff can't do any worse, plus he'll be in a contract year, so I expect to see improvement there. If Belt sews up the hole in his swing and takes less called third strikes, he should be a staple in the line-up. So the top priority should still be keeping the pitching staff in tact, which Sabean has stated it will be.
Should they try to bring Carlos Beltran back? I say yes, if it is not more than a two-year deal at a reasonable price. He's at risk of production decline and/or injury, but he did perform admirably when healthy for the Giants (although you could argue it was too little too late). But picture the #2 through #6 spots in the line-up looking something like Sanchez, Beltran, Posey, Sandoval, Belt. That's the makings of an average offense, right there, folks. And we know what happens when the Giants keep their pitching staff in tact and put together an average offense.
And how about the pipe dream of adding Jose Reyes? What if his bat lead off before those other guys? Now I'm salivating. In all likelihood, payroll will not allow for it, but boy is Reyes a perfect fit for this team. Short Stop and the lead-off spots are HUGE holes, and the Giants should be going after these dynamic, athletic-types that their ballpark is tailored for. Someone from the Giants should lead the league in triples every year. If Reyes came aboard, I have no doubt he would. That is, if he stayed healthy. But that just makes it better! He's an injury risk, which is right up Sabean's alley!
The Giants clawed through most of the season by winning tight, low-scoring games. Unfortunately, that's not a sustainable business model. The 1-run games started to even out. You could say their negative run-differential caught up to them (they scored 8 fewer runs than they allowed, which usually translates to a sub-.500 record). But I don't think it's quite as simple as regression to the mean. You could tell they just played much worse the final two months of the season. Giving away 90 feet on both sides of the ball. And completely going into the tank offensively. They sucked, and that's about all there is to it.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
In Other News....
A Wild Wednesday it was. Excuse me for a second while I take off my Giants Fan hat (otherwise known as a Giants hat) and put on my Baseball Fan Hat. I am so happy that I spent my afternoon/evening watching the MLB Network. 4 games to decide the final 2 postseason spots: Coming into today, the Braves and Cardinals were tied for the NL Wildcard. The Red Sox and Rays were tied for the AL Wildcard. MLB Network kept me up-to-date on all four games, which were awesomely going on at the same time.
Cardinals vs. Astros - Cards win 8-0. Not much excitement here, although the CGSO (complete game, shutout) by Chris Carpenter is noteworthy.
That game ended as the Braves were still in the late innings vs. the Phillies. So they know they had to win to stay alive and force a 1-game playoff. They head to the bottom of the 9th with a 1-run lead, but they're soon-to-be-rookie-of-the-year closer blows it. Still, with the Phillies having much less to play for and the stellar Braves bullpen, you had to think the Braves had the advantage in this extra-inning game. But in the 13th, the Phils broke through for a run. Then in the bottom of the inning, the Braves'-other-rookie-of-the-year-candidate, Freddy Freeman, grounds into a double play to end their season. Awesome.
The American League finish was even more exciting. Rays hosted the Yankees. Sox were in Baltimore. With these games going on at the same time, you could not have scripted them better. The Rays promptly fall behind 7-0. So you figure that game is over -- they'll have to hope for a Red Sox loss to force a playoff. Meanwhile, the Sox scratch out a 3-2 lead through 7 innings of exciting baseball (big hits, great defense, plays at the plate, etc). But then the rain comes. And as the Red Sox sit out the delay in their clubhouse, they watch the Rays in disbelief...
Down 7-0 in the bottom of the 8th inning, the Rays score 6. Then, down to their last strike in the 9th, PINCH HITTER Dan Johnson hits a game-tying solo home run. To extra innings we go...
Meanwhile back in Baltimore, the Sox miss opportunities to score, but still have their 1-run lead with their closer coming in to pitch the bottom of the 9th. And it all started with 2 out and nobody on. Double. Double to tie the game. And then a sinking liner that any self-respecting left-fielder would have caught. But Carl Crawford didn't. Ballgame......[side note: it really is amazing how well-timed and effective the rain delay was at syncing the games together].
By this time, the Rays and Yanks are in the bottom of the 12th. We see the fans and dugout cheer as the Red Sox score shows up as final. And 3 minutes later, Evan Longoria ends the game (and the Red Sox season) with a walk-off home run (his 2nd HR of the day, btw). The rain delay really was remarkably effective in syncing the games together.
Un-freaking-believable. In those 4 games, we had 2 go to extra innings, and 2 end in walk-off hits. Both races ended in epic collapses/comebacks. Seriously, both of these Wildcard races were all-but-mathematically decided at the start of this month. Sorry for gushing, but I just felt the need to summarize all this for the record. I love baseball. I love when the Braves lose. I love when the Red Sox lose. I LOVE BASEBALL.
Cardinals vs. Astros - Cards win 8-0. Not much excitement here, although the CGSO (complete game, shutout) by Chris Carpenter is noteworthy.
That game ended as the Braves were still in the late innings vs. the Phillies. So they know they had to win to stay alive and force a 1-game playoff. They head to the bottom of the 9th with a 1-run lead, but they're soon-to-be-rookie-of-the-year closer blows it. Still, with the Phillies having much less to play for and the stellar Braves bullpen, you had to think the Braves had the advantage in this extra-inning game. But in the 13th, the Phils broke through for a run. Then in the bottom of the inning, the Braves'-other-rookie-of-the-year-candidate, Freddy Freeman, grounds into a double play to end their season. Awesome.
The American League finish was even more exciting. Rays hosted the Yankees. Sox were in Baltimore. With these games going on at the same time, you could not have scripted them better. The Rays promptly fall behind 7-0. So you figure that game is over -- they'll have to hope for a Red Sox loss to force a playoff. Meanwhile, the Sox scratch out a 3-2 lead through 7 innings of exciting baseball (big hits, great defense, plays at the plate, etc). But then the rain comes. And as the Red Sox sit out the delay in their clubhouse, they watch the Rays in disbelief...
Down 7-0 in the bottom of the 8th inning, the Rays score 6. Then, down to their last strike in the 9th, PINCH HITTER Dan Johnson hits a game-tying solo home run. To extra innings we go...
Meanwhile back in Baltimore, the Sox miss opportunities to score, but still have their 1-run lead with their closer coming in to pitch the bottom of the 9th. And it all started with 2 out and nobody on. Double. Double to tie the game. And then a sinking liner that any self-respecting left-fielder would have caught. But Carl Crawford didn't. Ballgame......[side note: it really is amazing how well-timed and effective the rain delay was at syncing the games together].
By this time, the Rays and Yanks are in the bottom of the 12th. We see the fans and dugout cheer as the Red Sox score shows up as final. And 3 minutes later, Evan Longoria ends the game (and the Red Sox season) with a walk-off home run (his 2nd HR of the day, btw). The rain delay really was remarkably effective in syncing the games together.
Un-freaking-believable. In those 4 games, we had 2 go to extra innings, and 2 end in walk-off hits. Both races ended in epic collapses/comebacks. Seriously, both of these Wildcard races were all-but-mathematically decided at the start of this month. Sorry for gushing, but I just felt the need to summarize all this for the record. I love baseball. I love when the Braves lose. I love when the Red Sox lose. I LOVE BASEBALL.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Wait 'til Next Year Season Begins
Before this weekend, the Giants' chances of making the playoffs were about on par with a snowball's chances in hell. We don't know the exact numbers for those chances, mainly because we can't know for sure what hell is like if it exists at all. I'm not here to debate religion, though. After this weekend, the Giants' playoff chances dropped to zero. Everyone on Earth can agree to that.
No Giants fan in their right mind can be happy about how this season turned out. They under-performed, and as a result will finish a distant second in a division they clearly should have won. Along the way, they depleted the farm system and suffered major injuries which will carry questions (if not actual ailments) into next year.
I'll be trolling out my thoughts on the season and looking on to next year over the next few days. That is all.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Protect yourself at all times
Every single fighter in the history of the sweet science has word those words and likely, evey single fan in the history of the sports assumes those words are just lip service from the ref because what fighter in his or her right mind would not protect themselves in the ring?? Well, those words were put to the test this past weekend at the MGM Grand in Vegas and Victor Ortiz paid the ultimate price.
If you followed the show 24/7 on HBO leading up to this fight, you are well aware of the dramatic and emotional back story that followed Ortiz into the ring this weekend. If you don't know and are reading this right now, click on this link to read more. http://www.hbo.com/boxing#/boxing/fights/2011/09-17-floyd-mayweather-jr-vs-victor-ortiz/video/24-7-episode-4
This fight was clearly about more than two boxers climbing in the ring to fight each other, it was clearly more about personalities. On the one hand, we have an ego maniacal freak in Floyd Money Mayweather. Undefeated, bathing in cash and felony charges and on top of the world.
Then, you have a humble kid who has been through hell in his life and wants to fight in order to prove to the world that he is more important than his parents told him he was. But, his humility was tested in this fight and that headbutt he layed on Money May was dirty and what transpired moments after, was not dirty at all. Was it a cheap shot? Yes. Would Sugar Ray Leonard have done it to Larry Hagler? No. Was it as bad as Tyson chomping on Evander's ear? No, but it was legal.
At the end of the night we learned a few things. Money May will go to any lengths to win and get paid and Victor Ortiz has a lot to learn about the fight game if he wants to continue his career int he ring and the next challenge he faces is picking himself up off the canvas and learn how to recover from his own stupidity.
If you followed the show 24/7 on HBO leading up to this fight, you are well aware of the dramatic and emotional back story that followed Ortiz into the ring this weekend. If you don't know and are reading this right now, click on this link to read more. http://www.hbo.com/boxing#/boxing/fights/2011/09-17-floyd-mayweather-jr-vs-victor-ortiz/video/24-7-episode-4This fight was clearly about more than two boxers climbing in the ring to fight each other, it was clearly more about personalities. On the one hand, we have an ego maniacal freak in Floyd Money Mayweather. Undefeated, bathing in cash and felony charges and on top of the world.
Then, you have a humble kid who has been through hell in his life and wants to fight in order to prove to the world that he is more important than his parents told him he was. But, his humility was tested in this fight and that headbutt he layed on Money May was dirty and what transpired moments after, was not dirty at all. Was it a cheap shot? Yes. Would Sugar Ray Leonard have done it to Larry Hagler? No. Was it as bad as Tyson chomping on Evander's ear? No, but it was legal.
At the end of the night we learned a few things. Money May will go to any lengths to win and get paid and Victor Ortiz has a lot to learn about the fight game if he wants to continue his career int he ring and the next challenge he faces is picking himself up off the canvas and learn how to recover from his own stupidity.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Bill Neukom Out; Larry Baer In
As speculation continues on why Giants managing general partner and chief executive officer Bill Neukom is retiring, most fans will no doubt be concerned mostly with what this means for the Giants' on-field product. Since I claim that there's no bigger Giants fan than myself, let me see if I can provide some perspective:
First, on the move itself: Publicly speaking, Neukom and the rest of the Giant's front office deny that he has been "forced out". Rather, Neukom explained it as an "evolutionary process", while incoming CEO Larry Baer promised "business as usual" for the future. Nice of them to put on a rosy show, but the fact is, you don't lead a team to a World Series Championship and then find yourself announcing your surprise retirement less than a year later without having pissed some people off. There is no doubt we are missing plenty of details on why this move transpired.
As far as Giants baseball goes, I have two concerns. Both of them, more likely than not, will be rendered unwarranted. But let's get into what we do maybe-know about the power shift. According to Mark Purdy, who broke the story, the contentious issue was what to do with all the extra money that came in as a result of the World Series (by the way, the Giants won the World Series last year, so everything WILL be fine). Since last November, the Giants have basically been printing money in the form of new jerseys, "Championship Walk" bricks for sale, and the like. As they should -- to the victor goes the spoils. Purdy asserts that Neukom spent the money as he saw fit (increasing player payroll, technology for the baseball department, etc.) without informing the rest of the investing partners first. Maybe they they were just pissed that they heard about his decisions from the newspapers rather than from Neukom himself. Or maybe they disagreed with the actual decisions. If the latter is true, that concerns me a bit. Under Neukom's regime, it was clear that the Giants were trying to capitalize on their Title and strike while the iron was hot to attempt to become a powerhouse, national franchise a la the Yankees, Red Sox, and Phillies. Despite the inevitable "pink hat" fans that come with the territory, that's what I want my team to do: get rich, get even better, approach dynasty status, and become a team that the rest of the nation hates. We saw the Giants going after this when they allowed the Showtime cameras into their clubhouse, and when they traded their top prospect for Carlos Beltran (which certainly didn't work out, but I still don't blame them for trying to win while their window is open). So if this is the kind of attitude that the Executive Committee who ousted Neukom opposes, well that could be a problem. According to Purdy, they may have wanted to use this extra money as a "rainy day fund". It makes one wonder whether they are looking to maximize profits rather than wins. HOWEVER, maybe the attitude is that the rainy day comes when Lincecum and Cain reach free agency. If that is the case, I completely agree with the Exec Committee. Despite the impotent offense this year, I think the top priority for the offseason should be locking down LinceCain if either of them are willing to discuss it.
My second mild concern regards the stance of Giants ownership on the A's potential move from Oakland to San Jose. From what I've read, Neukom was a bigtime champion of the Giants' territorial rights to the South Bay. If he leaves and that stance is softened, I have a problem with it. I don't want those stinking A's down in San Jose. It's not that I'm concerned about losing fans to them. But there is a ton of corporate money down there, and I don't need the A's grabbing any of it. Other things being equal (i.e. if spent correctly), more money equals more wins, so I want it all for the Giants. Am I being unreasonable?
But I think the Giants are in good hands with Larry Baer at the helm. He's been with the team for nearly two decades. He helped in saving the team from moving to Tampa back in '93. From what I know, no one (other than our lord and savior Barry Bonds, of course) was more responsible for getting the new ballpark built in 2000. At the press conference today, he assured us that the stance on San Jose hasn't moved and that there's no reason to expect payroll to go down.
More than likely, things will remain "business as usual". So I guess what I'm saying is, sorry for wasting your time.
Farewell, Bill Neukom. I wish I paid more attention when you spoke at my 2006 graduation from the University of Puget Sound (in my defense, you hadn't become the Giants' owner yet).
First, on the move itself: Publicly speaking, Neukom and the rest of the Giant's front office deny that he has been "forced out". Rather, Neukom explained it as an "evolutionary process", while incoming CEO Larry Baer promised "business as usual" for the future. Nice of them to put on a rosy show, but the fact is, you don't lead a team to a World Series Championship and then find yourself announcing your surprise retirement less than a year later without having pissed some people off. There is no doubt we are missing plenty of details on why this move transpired.
As far as Giants baseball goes, I have two concerns. Both of them, more likely than not, will be rendered unwarranted. But let's get into what we do maybe-know about the power shift. According to Mark Purdy, who broke the story, the contentious issue was what to do with all the extra money that came in as a result of the World Series (by the way, the Giants won the World Series last year, so everything WILL be fine). Since last November, the Giants have basically been printing money in the form of new jerseys, "Championship Walk" bricks for sale, and the like. As they should -- to the victor goes the spoils. Purdy asserts that Neukom spent the money as he saw fit (increasing player payroll, technology for the baseball department, etc.) without informing the rest of the investing partners first. Maybe they they were just pissed that they heard about his decisions from the newspapers rather than from Neukom himself. Or maybe they disagreed with the actual decisions. If the latter is true, that concerns me a bit. Under Neukom's regime, it was clear that the Giants were trying to capitalize on their Title and strike while the iron was hot to attempt to become a powerhouse, national franchise a la the Yankees, Red Sox, and Phillies. Despite the inevitable "pink hat" fans that come with the territory, that's what I want my team to do: get rich, get even better, approach dynasty status, and become a team that the rest of the nation hates. We saw the Giants going after this when they allowed the Showtime cameras into their clubhouse, and when they traded their top prospect for Carlos Beltran (which certainly didn't work out, but I still don't blame them for trying to win while their window is open). So if this is the kind of attitude that the Executive Committee who ousted Neukom opposes, well that could be a problem. According to Purdy, they may have wanted to use this extra money as a "rainy day fund". It makes one wonder whether they are looking to maximize profits rather than wins. HOWEVER, maybe the attitude is that the rainy day comes when Lincecum and Cain reach free agency. If that is the case, I completely agree with the Exec Committee. Despite the impotent offense this year, I think the top priority for the offseason should be locking down LinceCain if either of them are willing to discuss it.
My second mild concern regards the stance of Giants ownership on the A's potential move from Oakland to San Jose. From what I've read, Neukom was a bigtime champion of the Giants' territorial rights to the South Bay. If he leaves and that stance is softened, I have a problem with it. I don't want those stinking A's down in San Jose. It's not that I'm concerned about losing fans to them. But there is a ton of corporate money down there, and I don't need the A's grabbing any of it. Other things being equal (i.e. if spent correctly), more money equals more wins, so I want it all for the Giants. Am I being unreasonable?
But I think the Giants are in good hands with Larry Baer at the helm. He's been with the team for nearly two decades. He helped in saving the team from moving to Tampa back in '93. From what I know, no one (other than our lord and savior Barry Bonds, of course) was more responsible for getting the new ballpark built in 2000. At the press conference today, he assured us that the stance on San Jose hasn't moved and that there's no reason to expect payroll to go down.
More than likely, things will remain "business as usual". So I guess what I'm saying is, sorry for wasting your time.
Farewell, Bill Neukom. I wish I paid more attention when you spoke at my 2006 graduation from the University of Puget Sound (in my defense, you hadn't become the Giants' owner yet).
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