Results tagged ‘ Barry Bonds ’
ARRRRR (Be Eyes), Me Mateys!
April
12th and we had a birthday party hangover this Monday morning,
AT&T Park and I. But life is short so I got right back on that horse called
the Golden Gate Ferry and rode it across the bay to San Francisco and a
sumptuous lunch out on the South Beach Pier watching the fluffy clouds march
across the newly rain-scrubbed spring blue skies.
I
always liked the Pirates. They’re much like the Giants and I’m not just talking
about their color scheme of black and gold. They are a storied franchise that
has always had the underdog tag on them. They have traditionally developed
great players, both outfield sluggers (like Roberto Clemente, Willie
Stargell, Dave Parker, and Barry Bonds) and pitchers (like Bob
Friend, Elroy Face, Dock Ellis, and John Candelaria).
We also have shared significant player trades (e.g. Bill Madlock, Jason
Schmidt, and [hopefully] Freddy Sanchez).
Tonight’s
game matched the former Giants draft pick from Oregon, Brian Burres,
against the crafty Cy Young lefty Barry Zito. Barry began the game
predictably by pitching out of trouble leaving two Pirates on bases but the
Giants jumped on Brian early scoring three runs in the first inning powered by
the RBI singles of leftfielder Mark DeRosa and catcher Benji Molina.
Barry gave a run back in the second inning by giving up a one out walk to third
baseman Adam LaRoche and driven in with a single by shortstop Ronny
Cedeno.
Barry
Zito
admirably got through the next two innings in order until he gave up a pinch
hit single to John Raynor in the fifth inning who was brought in by
second baseman Akinori Iwamura on a double. But by then the game was all
but decided by two more runs in the third inning by first baseman Aubrey
Huff and Benji Molina thanks to the clutch two out double by second
baseman Juan Uribe. Third baseman Pablo Sandoval scored the
Giants’ sixth run in the fourth inning on a triple by Aubrey Huff into
Triples Alley (of course).
This
game happened over a week ago so the exact details of the game are somewhat fuzzy
to me now. I remember that my sister came out to the bleachers in the seventh
inning to talk to me about family matters and brought me back to her seats just
a dozen or so rows directly behind home plate. It is indeed rarified atmosphere
there because you can see the actual features of the players’ faces as they
stride past you towards home plate. Me, I prefer the anonymity of the distant
bleachers where you can shout as many crazy things as you want to the players
without a care. Here, in the box seats, one must watch one’s p’s and q’s lest
one receives reproachful stares from one’s disapproving seasonal neighbors
(heavens forbid).
But
I do remember Benji Molina capping the evening in the eighth inning with
a two run homer down the leftfield line. All in all, it was a nice and easy win
in this early 2010 season. We could only hope that all the Giants games would
be as efficiently played (especially down in Los Angeles and San Diego as of
late). The Giants will need to revert back to this form for their next home
stand against the formidable Cardinals and Phillies. Go Giants!
Say It IS So, Mark!
Robert
DeNiro’s face was in my living room late Monday night appearing on a television
movie about an emotionally troubled Giants fan entitled, oddly enough, “The
Fan”. And though I nostalgically watched a scene of a Giants game shot at
Candlestick Park (with the late, great Rod Beck pitching), I had to turn
it off soon thereafter because the dark character portrayed by Robert
DeNiro was disturbed me. While the character’s problems were not
primarily a product of his endemic frustrations over being a Giants fan in
general, I suspect they significantly contributed to his overall internal
turmoil based upon my personal experiences as one (a Giants fan, not a disturbed person).
This
is all by way of contrasting the interview I heard Mark McGwire give to Bob
Costas on mlb.tv earlier in the day. There were similarities in the two
personalities that left me personally troubled. Over the radio, I could almost
hear Mark’s internal demons wrestling with his conscience over an issue that
has haunted fans of American baseball lo this past decade. That dirty little
secret is: performance enhancing drugs (or “PEDs” for short). Mark made himself
the poster child of that widespread affliction when he testified before
Congress some five years ago and said, well, nothing at all about his
incredible home run records and whether or not they were related to his use of
PEDs. In his defense, Mark McGwire certainly cannot be accused of lying
to Congress that day but neither did he choose to tell the truth What
frustrated the congress people and Americans the most was that his adamant and
repeated refusals to address any questions about the use of PEDs came to
symbolize major league baseball’s refusal to address the overall problems of
PEDs that had taken over the American past time.
So
fast forward to 2010 and Mark McGwire is now finally prepared to come
clean on the issue of PEDs so that he can return to work for the St. Louis
Cardinals as a hitting coach this season. So when it is his time to come up to
the plate and answer the questions posed by Bob Costas, what does Mark
say? Essentially, the slugger said his
usage of PEDs did not affect his home run totals one iota. Say what? “Not even
a little bit?” asked Bob Costas. “Nope! It was all my natural God-given
abilities, parental-given DNA structure, and shortening my bat swing,” replied
Mark (paraphrased). “So, why did you take PEDs?” asked Bob. “To get back on the
field quicker after my injuries. I didn’t want to let my teammates down,
y’know,” was Mark’s excuse. Incredible!
This
exchange brings up a host of other questions and issues such as; Why did he
feel the need to apologize to Roger Maris‘s widow if he didn’t
cheat to break the 1961 single-season home run record? If his home runs were
unaffected by his use of PEDs, why didn’t he tell this to the grand jury and
Congress when they asked about it in the first place? Why should PEDs even be
banned if they cannot affect a person’s God-given abilities? And on… and on…
and on, etc. But what astounded me the most was upon learning the next day that
Mark McGwire and the St. Louis Cardinals had hired President George W.
Bush’s former press secretary, Ari Fleischer, over a month ago to prepare Mark
McGwire for this first public interview. Really? And this was the best they
could all come up with? PEDs have nothing whatsoever to do with a player’s
baseball statistics?
Okay,
I do not intend to bash the Bash Brother here. Like Robert DeNiro, we all have
our own personal demons we must wrestle with on a daily (if not hourly) basis.
None of us are perfect. And perhaps, over time, Mark will reflect further upon
this matter and come to modify his positions closer toward the realm of reality
as we know it. But if this is the height of the bar that is set that one must
jump over before he gets rehabilitated back into baseball’s good graces, then I
must say that the muscled-bound Barry Bonds has nothing to fear in the
future (besides, perhaps, a tainted jury pool). Sayyyy, when is Barry’s trial
going to get started anyway? And wasn’t Barry indicted some five years ago… by
George W. Bush’s attorney general, Alberto Gonzales… who was the same man that
refused to give Mark McGwire immunity… that would have allowed Mark to
more truthfully testify before Congress in the first place? Hmmmm.
On
a brighter note: The Giants did sign first baseman, Aubrey Huff, to a
one-year contract last week. I am hopeful because Aubrey has put up some
impressive offensive numbers in the past and his signing does not severely
impact the eventual development of fellow first baseman Travis Ishikawa whom I
believe has a ton of future upside. Also, this signing puts Mark DeRosa
in leftfield thereby leaving Nate Schierholtz alone in right.
This year, I am going to be Nate Schierholtz‘s biggest fan. I like
Nate’s God-given abilities, his shortened bat swing, and the fact that he has
the face and attitude of a hockey player. Hmmmm baby!
Go
Giants!
Happy New Year!
It’s
a new year, a new baseball season, and even a new name for my mlblog. I just
changed it from “A View From The Bleachers” (which I began in April last year)
because a guy from St. Louis (named 15thtee) started an mlblog three months later
entitled “A View From the Bleachers”. When I pointed this fact out to him, it
didn’t faze him a bit. He said he thought it was a cool name (even though his
blog doesn’t have anything to do with sitting in the bleachers watching
baseball games like mine does.) Well, if imitation is the most sincere form of
flattery, then I say “Thanks, 15thtee. Enjoy using my name for your blog.” This
just gives me one more reason to hate the St. Louis Cardinals. Besides, my new
name (“At AT&T Park”) will be recognized as more Giants-centric to the
casual mlblog readers.
Now
on to Giants news: Welcome back Juan Uribe! We didn’t want to see you go
in the first place. I wondered why the Giants signed him last year when he got
off to a slow start but he ended the season with a big bang. The Giants fans
really got into him last September. He’s a great guy to root for, not the least
reason being that his uncle was the semi-legendary Giants shortstop Jose
Uribe whom we got from the St. Louis Cardinals along with pitcher Dave
LaPoint, first baseman David Green, and an obscure utility player
named Gary Rajsich for the fully-legendary outfielder Jack “The
Ripper” Clark. That trade was a total bust for us except for the fact
that it was this little unknown shortstop who endeared himself to Giants fans
as a clutch hitting gamer. I still vividly remember the familiar
call-and-response chant of “OOOOOOOO…… RE-BAYYYYYYYY” reverberated through the
foggy swirls of Candlestick Park in the late night innings when Jose came to
bat for manager Roger Craig with runners on base. And the amazing thing
was that the little guy usually came through. Humm baby! It was a truly unique
phenomenon that perhaps we Giants fans can better perfect this season for his
nephew Juan.
Common
wisdom dictates that we still need a power bat at first base or in the
outfield. I fully expect this will occur sometime before spring training begins
but I am fearful that such a move will displace Nate Schierholtz out of
his position in rightfield. Of all the current Giant prospects, I believe Nate
Schierholtz has the most to offer now, both offensively and defensively.
That leaves first base as the most obvious position to fill unless Bruce
Bochy decides to use Mark DeRosa at third base and shift Pablo
Sandoval over to first (which he has already indicated that he will not
do.)
If
the Giants do go after an outfielder, the most intriguing player out there is Vladimir
Guerrero. It would be a long shot signing, for sure. Mad Vlad had an off
year in 2009 by going on the disabled list twice. He heated up in the summer
months but cooled off in September. Signing him would be like signing Randy
Johnson last year: He fills a need but cannot be counted on last the whole
year. And would he be placed in AT&T Park’s tricky right field or shifted
to left field and shaded by the centerfielder? Would he be expected to provide
a couple early offensive runs and then replaced for defensive purposes in the
late innings? Does the Big Caribbean even want to play in the cool confines of
AT&T Park? He already proved he can hit here when he won the All Star Game
home run hitting contest a few years back. But with his questionable health and
defensive abilities, it would be almost like re-signing Barry Bonds to
play leftfield next season. Hey, now THAT would be a most interesting signing!
(ha ha)
Well,
enough for now. I’ll end this by wishing all my devoted readers a very happy
2010… even 15thtee! (hee hee) Go Giants!
‘Twas The Night Before Christmas…
…and at AT&T
Park… not a free agent was calling… not even as a lark….
So Nick Johnson preferred the Big Apple and Brad
Penny the Big Arch. And no seasoned catcher worth his salt is willing to sign a
contract for just one year. In a way, that suits me just fine. I much prefer
the Giants’ “wait-and-see” attitude this year over their customary
“willy-nilly” signing of the first free agent coming down the turnpike that
gave us the likes of Edgardo Elfonzo, Ray Durham, Randy Winn, Barry Zito, Aaron
Rowand just to name a few who achieved mixed results here before. I’m willing to wait
this off-season and see what develops in the free agent market if the Giants are.
Common wisdom dictates that the Giants must acquire a
power bat or two to protect Pablo Sandoval in the middle of the batting order.
I dispute that notion for two reasons: (1) The Panda does not need protection
because he is a notoriously bad ball hitter. Many times last year, he took
pitches a foot outside and slapped them into the opposite field for hits. He is
not at all like Barry Bonds who would not offer at pitches even a few inches
off the plate and thereby broke the major league record for walks in the process. (2)
Without a primary power hitter, the Giants can still thrive as a singles
hitting team in much the way the St. Louis Cardinals were
successfully constructed in the 1980′s. If Bam Bam Meulens convinces the Giants
to become much more patient and selective at the plate next year, AT&T Park
is conducive to an offensive strategy of small ball. Adding a strong defense
and a superlative pitching staff, just averaging four runs per game for the
Giants will achieve excellent results next year.
My biggest concern is whether Aaron Rowand can dial it
down and retool his approach at the plate next year. Many times last year, I
saw him take mighty swings with spotty results. But he had his best stretch of
the season last year while batting lead off and just taking the ball up the
middle for singles and doubles. Also remember that Fred Lewis started
off the season last year red hot while batting low in the order. It was only
when Bruce Bochy promoted him to lead off that Fred’s production waned
precipitously and he never fully recovered. Perhaps he will rebound next year by
batting lower in the order. Also, Travis Ishikawa batted .349 at AT&T Park
last year while only .162 on the road. If he can improve his consistency, he would be
a valuable contributor next year.
I just heard a radio report that the Giants were
closing in on signing Juan Uribe for next year. If true, that would keep most of
last year’s team intact. I would construct the lineup in this order: Velez
(Torres); Sanchez (Burriss); Schierholz (Bowker); Sandoval (Uribe); Ishikawa
(Bowker/Guzman); Rowand (Lewis); Posey/Whitesides; Renteria (Burriss). This
presumes that Emmanuel Burriss will beat out Kevin Frandsen again next year for
a spot on the team. Of course the Giants will buy a free agent this off-season.
They cannot afford not to or risk a general uprising by its fan base. And I
expect they will wait until spring training before acquiring a short-term catcher on
the cheap. I noticed ex-Giant Eliezer Alfonzo is available. That would be a
nice reunion.
Well, the Winter Solstice has passed and now the days
are getting longer. I won’t be long until pitchers and catchers report to spring
training and it all begins anew. So until that time, stay warm and let the
visions of sugar plums dance in your heads. Merry Christmas to all and… Go Giants!
Cool, Daddy-O! Cool!
I
arrived at the ballpark at 6:30. Before the game, the daughters of Art
Rosenbaum (whom I used to read in the San Francisco Chronicle) presented prizes
to the best high school sports writers and two of them were from my old
newspaper which was pretty cool so I took a picture of that. And then came a
group of other cool looking Giants fans so I took a picture of them. And then
came the pre-game Memorial for the late Sue Burns who owned the biggest share
of the San Francisco Giants Ballclub and she seemed like a very cool lady so I
took a picture of that. And then Barry Bonds received the ceremonial first
pitch from Sue’s daughters along with Rich Aurilia and that was very cool so I
took a picture of that.
But
before the pre-game ceremonies even took place, pitchers Paul Maholm and Tim Lincecum were on the field at 7:00 doing their pre-game warm ups. As Paul Maholm
was throwing the traditional long toss with his catcher Ryan Doumit, Tim
Lincecum was going through a series of yoga exercises. Paul Maholm stole a
couple of glances at his Cy Young winning rival as he finished up and went to
the mound to begin his warm up pitches. Tim later threw a few pitches off the
mound almost as an afterthought and he was good to go. Tim Lincecum: too cool for school.
A
cool fog began to blow into AT&T Park as the game began. Pirates
centerfielder Andrew McCutchen and second baseman Delwyn Young on just four
pitches apiece. The Giants answered their initial batting bell by grounding out
to shortstop Jack Wilson twice (although right fielder Randy Winn was barely
nipped at the base if that). And then third baseman Pablo Sandoval doubled off
the centerfield wall to my right. And then, on the next pitch, catcher Benji
Molina doubled off the centerfield wall to my left. And suddenly, the Giants
were ahead 1-0.
The
Pirates began their second inning with a single to left field before Tim
Lincecum finally struck out left fielder Brandon Moss and third baseman Andy
LaRoche on just five total pitches to end the inning. The Giants then came to
bat to begin one of the quirkiest string of events I’ve ever witnessed on a
professional ballfield. Newly recalled first baseman Jesus Guzman opened the
inning with a solid single up the middle before newly recalled left fielder
Eugenio Velez followed with an identically placed high hopping grounder up the
middle that Jack Wilson got to but had skip off his glove and into centerfield
just as he was about to step on second base to begin a double play allowing
Jesus Guzman to race around that bag and on into third base just ahead of
Andrew McCutchen‘s throw. On the next pitch, second baseman Juan Uribe smashed
a one hopper down the third base line that Andy LaRoche snagged and immediately
threw home to cut down Jesus Guzman attempting to score. But Jesus saw the
throw and immediately reversed course to scramble back to the bag before
catcher Ryan Doumit could return the ball thereby filling the bases with Giants
sans any out. But on the very next pitcher, Tim Lincecum smashed an identical
one hopper down the third base line that Andy LaRoche snagged again while
stepping on the bag for a force out and then threw the ball again to Ryan
Doumit who easily put the tag on Jesus Guzman completing the double play.
But wait, the second inning was far from over. In fact, it was just starting to get interesting.
Lead off hitter, centerfielder Andres Torres, lined a 1-2 pitch toward the
right-centerfield gap that right fielder Garrett Jones and Andrew McCutchen
caught up to at the same time put then both pulled up at the same time to look
at each other and the ball screaming past them for an eventual triple and two
more runs across the plate. But then, two pitches later, Randy Will hit the
ball to the same general area but right at Garrett Jones who ran in, slid, and
bounced the ball off his glove and leg and up in the air where trailing second
baseman Delwyn Young grabbed it with his bare hand and turned to present it to
trailing umpire Dale Scott asking for an out. But Dale Scott immediately
signaled “safe” allowing Andres Torres to score another run. However, the play
continued when Randy Winn took the turn at first base too aggressively thereby
allowing Delwyn Young to throw the crazy baseball behind him to first baseman
Steve Pearce who caught it and easily put the tag on Randy Winn for the third
and final out. Two singles up the middle followed by two grounders to third base followed by two line drives to the outfield produced three runs and three outs. How symmetrical and how cool was that? After all the proverbial dust had settled, the Giants led 4-0.
Now
it was up to Tim Lincecum to protect the lead and protect he did. He struck out
two batters in each of the successive three innings. But he also walked three
Buckos in that span. In fact, he walked Brandon Moss to open the fifth inning
and then filled the count against Andy LaRoche. It was at that point I shouted
at the top off my flu-addled voice, “Let ‘em swing!” Tim turned around and
seemed to look back towards Andres Torres as if he had called to him. Was it
possible Tim actually heard me? Regardless, Brandon Moss ran for second base
when Tim Lincecum threw a 75 mph changeup for a swinging strikeout and Benji
Molina returned a heater down to shortstop Edgar Renteria who put the tag on
Brandon Moss at the bag thereby completing the double play. So it hardly
mattered then Tim Lincecum walked the next batter, Jack Wilson, because he then
struck out pitcher Paul Maholm on a 94 mph fastball, his 71st pitch
of the game, for the final out of the now official game.
The
Pirates did break through for two unearned runs against Tim Lincecum in the
sixth inning because Jesus Guzman couldn’t handle Edgar Renteria‘s errant throw
in the dirt allowing speedster Andrew McCutchen to get on base and reach third
base on Delwyn Young‘s double into centerfield causing Andres Torres and
Eugenio Velez to do a nifty slide and jump, respectively, to avoid a collision
while cutting off the ball. Both runners eventually scored on an infield
grounder and sacrifice fly increasing the score to 4-2. And there the score
stood for the remainder of the game as Tim Lincecum pitched the final three
innings with 29 pitches to just one batter over the minimum nine for the
complete game, a career-high fifteen strikeouts, and an impressive 11-3 season
record. It was truly a remarkable outing by Tim Lincecum.
It
was a thoroughly enjoyable game witnessed by the 40,000+ in the stands. We had
a lot of fun in the stands talking about the new players just called up and
heckling outfielder Andrew McCutchen. When a young Indian lady tapped me on the
shoulder and asked what did the rookie do to deserve such derision, I informed
he did nothing more than to wear a black and gold uniform and we would do the
same to the other outfielders if only they could hear us. To demonstrate the
point, I stood up and shouted to Brandon Moss who was coincidentally shading
his defense toward centerfield, “Hey Brandon! We haven’t forgotten about you!
You’re a bum, too!” Everyone laughed (including the young lady) and began
haranguing Brandon with abandon also. I just wish the batteries of my batteries
hadn’t of failed earlier or else I could have posted a few crowd shots. But
throughout the cool night, the Giants righted their ship and gained a game on
both the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a good start to a
seven game home stand. Hopefully, the Giants can keep the momentum going and
that would be very cool. Go Giants!
Love Unrequited
I don’t know why I did it. I don’t know why I got back on that ferry after work again last night. Well actually, I do know why I did it. I was in search of that sweet intoxication of a rare come-from-behind Giants victory over the hated Dodgers I had experienced the night before. I was like a junkie dragging himself out of his one room flophouse Sunday morning, down to the ally looking for Vinny and desperately promise him anything trying to duplicate the same exquisite high I felt the night before. But it never is the same. It never can be the same. It always fails. And so did the Giants last night.
Although the Giants did have their chances. Jonathan Sanchez started off the game strong, as usual. He even walked Manny Ramirez the first two times up which is smart. And we Giants fans know smart walking when we see it after watching Barry Bonds break the career base on ball records over the past dozen plus years. In fact, the game would have been scoreless to the late innings but for the bone-headed Fred Lewis error on Andre Ethier‘s line drive leading off the third inning and shortstop Juan Uribe‘s inexcusable short-armed through to first base in the fourth inning allowing Andre Ethier to score the Dodgers’ second run.
After that, the Giants pitchers began stupidly pitching to Manny Ramirez and he cracked three doubles; two while leading off an inning for which he came around to score on both those occasions (once on a bases loaded walk). Argh! Meanwhile, Juan Uribe was hitting into rally killing double plays; Travis Ishikawa was running into line drive double plays; Randy Winn was getting tagged out at the plate; Nate Schierholtz was running into inning ending double plays; and Eugenio Velez was swinging wildly with the bases loaded and the game on the line to end the Giants’ last scoring chance in the ninth inning. The Giants put sixteen runners on bases and left nine men on base during their 5-3 loss. Double argh!!
And to make matters worse, there were Dodgers fans sitting all around me. And not just nice, polite Dodgers fans but high, drunk, delusional Dodgers fans with loud voices. This one guy would get up and scream at the top of his lungs every time Matt Kemp caught a pop up or Russell Martin walked to first base. And then he would cup his hand to his ear and shout to the Giants fans behind him, “WHY CAN’T I HEAR YOU?! WHY ARE YOU SO QUIET?!” So I shouted back at him, “BECAUSE WE’RE NOT CLUELESS DODGERS FANS LIKE YOU!!!!” Luckily, he had a Giants fan friend sitting next to him who kept him somewhat in check by pounding on him whenever he got too out of hand. That was funny. But it was an ugly game on the field so it was an ugly night in the stands. Many fights broke out, many security people scurried about, and many fans were ejected. I took this picture of one being led down and out of the ballpark.
But tonight, Tim Lincecum is pitching. Revenge is in the air. I shall get there early for batting practice. And if everything goes right, I shall be rewarded with that sweet kiss of victory to which nothing else can compare because it comes at the expense of those hated, undeserving Dodgers. And maybe even those dumb Dodgers fans will finally shut up. Go Giants!
Tattered, Torn, Bloodied but Unbowed
What a long strange trip to the Southland it must have been for the Giants last week. They kind of played like they were somewhat dead and none too grateful for the experience, too. But I would hardly know since I left early in the morning after opening day on an allegorical death march of my own (or, more accurately, a death “drive” if you will) to the bottom of Death Valley National Monument itself no less. After checking into the Ridgecrest Motel 6 Wednesday night, I was able to catch a snippet of Randy Johnson giving up that horrendous three-run homer to the Brewers pitcher and absorbing a 4-2 loss. And the next day, at the Stagecoach Casino and Hotel in Beatty, Nevada, I monitored ESPN for several hours after dinner waiting for visual highlights of the Giants 7-1 victory but when they finally got to it (after all the massive coverage of the tragic passing of Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart), all I was shown was Joe Martinez taking one off the noggin from Mike Cameron‘s line drive. Everyone on the field, including Cameron himself, looked visibly shaken as the Giants trainers tended to Joe. That was unfortunate, not the least because I thought Joe looked like young Joe Nathan with great stuff. Now I wonder if he’ll ever be as effective again, especially this year. I believe a hit like that to my head would change my personality forever and some would say for the better. I hope Joe gains strength from his pain.
When I got home on Friday night and was finally able to relax to watch my second Giants game of the season, only to finally settle in and watch Barry Zito go wild in the first inning and put the Giants behind the 3-ball right off the bat. But at least he settled down and found his rhythm so I could watch the Giants claw themselves back into the game 4-2 behind the pitching of Justin Miller and Alex Hinshaw. But then they brought in the young Latin flamethrower Merkin Valdez (whom we got from the Braves in the 2002 Russell Ortiz trade?) and he proceeded to throw gasoline on the fire by letting our longtime nemesis Scott Hairston, who has hit like three quarters of his home runs with the Padres against the Giants, add to his totals upon blasting a three-run homer in the eighth inning to effectively end it. But hey, no big deal. The Giants might have been due for a little let down after the traumatic injury to Joe the day before. And Barry Zito got over his opening day, first inning jitters to show he had good stuff this year. And tomorrow was my birthday. The Giants were sure to win on my birthday.
So I had a nice cocktail, decadent (i.e. high fat) hors d’oeuvres and stuffed clams with asparagus for dinner. And then, when I settled in before the almighty tube, I discovered that my Comcast feed only offered me a meaningless Warriors game against the Utah Jazz. I’m a prisoner of a deficient cable package because of the televions feed my sub-landlord has arranged with his Uber Landlord (the circumstances for which are too complicated to explain here). So I listened to the Giants game on my radio headset. By the time the television feed was switched from end of the Warriors game in Salt Lake City to San Diego, Jonathan Sanchez‘s four inning, one run, multiple strike out gem against the Padres and their ace Jake Peavy had turned into ripe manure when he stopped pitching strike outs (seven) and started pitching base on balls (five) and couldn’t get out of the fifth inning. So my first birthday visage of the Giants was Jonathan’s long face looking out from the dugout as the Padres were proceeding to an easy 6-3 victory. And Sunday’s game remains a complete mystery to me as I spent Easter afternoon with my family out on the backyard deck of my brother’s house. I never even sought to seek the ESPN highlights of that lopsided 6-1 loss that day. But at least I know I didn’t jinx them.
On Monday, I brought my radio headset to work so I could listen to the Giants play the daytime opener in Los Angeles against the hated Dodgers. But soon after the game started, my single AAA battery began to fail. And the spare battery I thought I was keeping in my fanny pack for such an occasion turned out actually to be a used one that was totally dead. So I would listen to the game at very low volume until it faded out and then I would turn the radio off for awhile so the battery could recharge again before I turned it on to repeat the pattern again. But every time I turned it back on, the Dodgers were running around the bases and by the time they finally scored six runs in the fourth inning off of Randy Johnson, I gave up the ghost and got back to work. At least there was no game on Tuesday so I was able to regain a slight piece of my sanity and equanimity until Wednesday.
Wednesday’s game went great. Well, it didn’t start out great because young lefty Clayton Kershaw threw thirteen strikeouts and gave up just one hit (albeit a Bengie Molina‘s home run) and one walk (to Rich Aurlia who was doubled up at first because second base umpire Angel Campos was out of position and failed to make an out call on Matt Kemp‘s catch in centerfield) in just seven innings. But then the Giants went to town on the Dodgers relievers in the eighth inning culminating in a Aaron Rowand first pitch swinging (again) three run home run (again) giving us a 4-2 lead. So bring in our newly acquired set up relief men to put this baby to bed. So in came Jeremy Affeldt and Bob Howry and they spanked, and they taunted, and they shook, and they tortured that poor baby until closer Brian Wilson finally had to come in and bury the poor, battered, and bruised young thing with a bases loaded walk in the ninth inning. All personal sanity and equanimity, however slight, went back out the window that night. So it’s going to be that kind of year, huh, Giants? Okay. No problem. I can deal with it. I’ve been through this before. I’ll just have to stock up on my laughing gas supply, that’s all
Last night… gee, what happened last night? Oh yeah, my Giants game was pre-empted by the Sharks opening playoff game against the Anaheim Mighty Mighty Ducks (or so they played last night). Anyway, I listened to the Giants lose to the Dodgers on my radio headset (again) although Barry pitched well after a shaky start (again) only to take the loss (again) in part due to the fact that the Giants had a weak offense (again) and miscues in the field (again). Sound familiar? It’s déjà vu all over again, to quote the Hall of Famer Yogi Berra. And it didn’t help that the Sharks fell flat on their snouts getting shut out in the Shark Tank. (They tanked in the Tank, I guess.) Hand me down my laughing gas, mama. Oh well. This weeklong post mortem was not intended to be a bitch and moan session. I merely wanted to catch up and get current with the 2009 season in my blog before I get going to my second Giants game tonight.
Maybe tonight, I’ll wear my orange Giants fright… er, I mean rally wig and stand up in the middle of the game to sing in my unwavering falsetto voice that well known Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevaialle O’Malley Armstrong (my Lord, how many times did that woman get married?) lyrical hit “White Flag“. You know, the one that repeats the refrain “I will go down with this ship and I won’t put my hands up and surrender. There will be no white flag above my door. I’m in love and always will be.” Wouldn’t that be lovely? I’m sure it would catch Aaron Rowand‘s attention; deep knee squats and all. But it is too early to panic. I remember the year 2000 season when the Giants lost their first seven games in their new ballpark and went on to make the playoffs that year. Of course we had Barry Bonds back then but stranger things have happened. And what could be stranger than what has gone on so far? We will see trades, demotions, promotions and releases. And by the time this season ends, we will see the foundation of a Giants team that will be built upon for many years to come. So keep the faith, Giants fans! Don’t get your collective daubers down! Hummmm baby!
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