March 6, 2013 · 6:35 pm

Gelato and Goats

Fortified with horchata and ready to go.  What’s been happening, peoples?

The World Baseball Classic has overshadowed Spring Training in some ways because, seriously, there are few things more fun than watching teams from around the world play baseball.  Not to mention that the final game of the WBC is going to be hosted right here in San Francisco at AT&T Park (well, hello, it wasn’t going to be at Candlestick), which is pretty darn exciting.

I haven’t watched much of it yet, because they play at sort of, er, odd hours and that would interrupt my late-night-must-clean-the-entire-house-before-I-go-to sleep sessions.  I’m not very patriotic at all when it comes to sports (which might be why no one ever wants to watch the Olympics with me?) so I’m rooting for Team Italy.  I was rooting for Team Australia, but they got eliminated, sadly.  Team Australia was actually just the Oakland Athletics, as some people have helpfully pointed out on Twitter.  And Team Italy, I don’t know, maybe they’ll give me free gelato/pizza/Italian soda/caprese pasta/mint green Fiat or something along those lines if they win it all?  Girl can dream.

Back in Arizona, the Giants are 4-5 plus three ties – I dare you not to smile while writing those words – but no one’s that concerned with records.  I’ve heard you crazy superstitious people say that a good Spring Training record means a terrible regular season, complete with ex-American Idol contestants singing concerts at your stadium and a goat hanging out in the stands.  But the Giants had the best record in the Cactus League in 2010 and everything turned out okay that year, so have at it, Kansas City and Baltimore.

Worst case scenario, I mean, goats aren’t that bad.  I fed some the other day and they were positively nice.  I’ll bring the celery if the Royals and Orioles pay for the plane tickets.

Ex-American Idol contestants, however, are that bad.

Diamond Girl

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March 1, 2013 · 9:54 pm

Eggplant and A Bruce Bochy Revelation

So I was eating eggplant this evening, which was really good, and kind of thinking about things and Angel Pagan’s hair (Bay Area Sports Guy says it’s mullet-y, but I can’t decide if I believe that or not) and then I realized I hadn’t blogged in a week and so that was the end of the eggplant and time to blog.

Ahem.

Spring Training’s been pretty sleepy so far, with a whole bunch of ties, which would be nice and football-y, except there’s no David Beckham involved.  So not all that nice at all.  Brock Bond has not been sleepy at all and he got Bruce Bochy to say, “He’s going to get some playing time,” which is pretty much a revelation when you consider Bochy’s usual, “Mmm something about a platoon mmm probably get back to me in like 25 years and maybe I’ll give you a straight answer.”

Kind of mind-blowing, if you think about it.

One of the things that surprises me each year about Spring Training –and evidently I have the memory of a goldfish because I don’t, you know, remember year to year –is that they let the media speak to the players while games are still going on.  It’s a bit like when they grab the players at breaks in basketball games, in that a) it’s freaky b) it’s uninformative.  As far as I can tell they only interview baseball players who aren’t coming back into the game, which is different.  But still.

Let’s all pause for a moment now to reflect on the brilliance of Yu Darvish, who made his 2013 debut a few day ago.

Also, remember how he has Ranger-themed headphones?!

On an unrelated note, happy 40th birthday to The Dark Side of the Moon!  I know people like to listen to it while watching The Wizard of Oz, but has anyone tried it with Star Wars because I think it would blow your mind.

Diamond Girl

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February 22, 2013 · 8:26 pm

This Just In: The Yankees Are Still the Best

“In short, the record shows that there is only one Evil Empire in baseball and it is the New York Yankees,” wrote the judges. “Accordingly, we find that [the Yankees] have a protectable trademark right in the term . . . as used in connection with baseball.”

Yankees: Yes, We’re ‘Evil’: http://on.wsj.com/13w2xkx

Happy Friday, everyone!

Diamond Girl

p.s.  To be clear, I mean the best in that THEY FOUGHT FOR THE TRADEMARK TO “EVIL EMPIRE” which is – let’s face it – pretty great.  My loyalties are still orange and black and I have not sold my soul to the pinstriped devil.  (Yet.  Any day now!)

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February 20, 2013 · 7:11 pm

The Giants Had a HIMYM Marathon with Microwave Popcorn Today

Apparently the universe is a football fan.  (Or is the universe a plural?  The universe are footballs fans?)

Snow at Spring Training

Photo/@mlbPeteMcCarthy on Twitter

This was the scene at Spring Training in Arizona this morning with some rain and some hail and some, um, snow?  I have a hard time wrapping by head around that, but pictures or it didn’t happen doesn’t really apply because there are pictures.  Lots of pictures.  Bored beat writers at Spring Training love taking photos, you know.

Anyway, it sounds like the Giants sort of kicked it and did baseball related things indoors, which I assume means a How I Met Your Mother marathon and microwave popcorn.

Closer by committee is garnering some eyerolls but I mean it did work when these guys a World Series last year, so I don’t think it’s time to panic just yet.  The closer situation may become apparent in unexpected ways once they start playing games or something.

Madison Bumgarner thinks you should get your girlfriend/wife/imaginary girlfriend a baby calf for Valentine’s Day and also he hit Javier Lopez in the hand with a pitch and bruised him pretty badly.  Lopez is out for a few days, but should be back pretty soon.  Whether or not girlfriend/wife/imaginary girlfriend will ever be back after receiving that gift is anyone’s guess.

Diamond Girl

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February 13, 2013 · 8:23 pm

I Mapped It.

Spring Training!  Finally a bit of news to get us off hair and weight… news like Tim Lincecum and Buster Posey’s seemingly media constructed feud is now over (yay?) and they shook hands after they were done with their first bullpen session.  So.   I guess that’s good.

I would just like to note, though, that if the alleged rift – Craig Calcaterra’s words, not mine – is for reals, I am Team Timmy because a) I’m a hipster like that b) if it came down to it, Buster has babies and Timmy has a dog.  The dog would probably win in an entirely theoretical showdown.

Tim Lincecum with speech bubble

Seriously, though, I don’t exactly doubt there’s some truth to the rumor.  It wouldn’t be surprising, in light of all the circumstances.  But Lincecum and Posey are both professionals and probably pretty hell-bent on winning, so what I doubt is that it’s really going to get in the way of anything.

Everyone’s said pretty much the same thing to the media: that they’re really excited to be defending the championship, especially without the pesky people from the reality show following them around.  Speaking of which, did J-Sanch every have a meltdown camera, like I predicted?  I think I stopped watching the show halfway through or so.  But if I missed a bona fide J-Sanch meltdown, I’ll be crushed.

Over in Surprise, Yu Darvish is taking AJ Pierzynski out to McDonalds, to help with their whole catcher-pitcher bonding thing.  I’m not, ahem, a huge Pierzynski fan but that is completely fabulous.   I mean, I’d obviously vote for Chipotle, but still.  I sort of see Yu as a white rice/black beans/steak/fajitas/sour cream kind of guy, you know?  And I’d tell him to watch Pierzynski with the guacamole, because sometimes they’re sort of stingy there and charge you for the extra guacamole.  Sounds like Yu’s paying, so…

Chipotle’s also 2.0 miles from Surprise Stadium, whereas McDonalds is 2.5 miles.


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I mapped it.  Not enthusiastic about this idea at all.

Diamond Girl

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