Tag Archives: astros

October 18, 2012 · 9:10 pm

Beware the Ides of March and of October

If you’re looking for someone to innumerate all the reasons that long-haired hippie needs to be traded rightthisverymoment, I cannot oblige.  There have been mutterings in Giants-fandom-land for a few days now, but it got really noisy this evening and the calls for firings and releases and trades began to surface in earnest.  Tonight was an ugly game.  No two ways about that.  Key players – ones who we were looking at to carry us through the postseason – have not performed.  Seeing your team go down 8-3 in the championship series is a terrible feeling.

But.  Let’s step back for a moment.

I think we were all a little, “Beware the ides of March!” this spring.  I heard more than a few of you saying this was going to be a bad season to make the Astros seem all peachy (okay, maybe not that, but still).  I certainly did not see the Giants going to the NLCS.  This makes them the second best team in the National League, technically, and probably third best in the Majors, assuming they’re better than the Yankees at the moment.  (Dear Lord, please say yes, please say yes.)

They’re not playing like that right now.  And them being as successful as they have been doesn’t mean this offseason couldn’t include a good deal of overhaul and even if it doesn’t, we’re free to throw out whatever we want.  But they have been successful.  Very successful.

And you know what?  If tomorrow is the Giants last game of 2012, I hope it’s a good one and I hope we have a good time watching it.  There will always be another baseball season.  This one, I know, has surpassed my expectations and hopes for it.  That said… let’s do this, Barry Zito.  Let’s do this.

Also, pro tip, for any of you who happen to be fabulously wealthy Cardinals fans who come to the game decked out in suits.  You plan ahead, right?  You know you’re coming to the game?  So why on earth would you wear a brown suit when you know you’re going to be sporting all the red gear?  Don’t, people.  Don’t.

In tonight’s Joe Buck scoop, Jack White’s Blunderbuss is available for download online!  Unlike most albums, you know, which you have to go pick up to listen to on your turntable.

Diamond Girl

About these ads

5 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

August 30, 2012 · 4:29 pm

If the Whole Borrowing-and-Transporting-Coors-Field Thing Falls Through…

I’m just going to link to this video and be done with it.  Because it never gets old.  (I would know.  I’ve watched it an undisclosed but definitely embarrassing number of times.)

Actually, I lied.  I have one more thing to say.  Joaquin Arias.  He has the highest batting average in the Majors in August and it’s… August 30th.  Yeah.  I would say “you can’t predict baseball”, except you’d all predict me saying that and it would kind of defeat the point.

Lastly, if the whole borrowing-and-transporting-Coors-Field thing falls through, we could always go for Minute Maid Park.  I mean, Hunter Pence seems to like it there.

Diamond Girl

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

August 28, 2012 · 12:34 pm

Say Hello to the Gullible Giants!

The word is that Guillermo Mota is on a plane to join the Giants in Houston.  I mean, he might not actually be on the plane anymore, because Houston’s pretty close, but the point is: he’s a-coming back.  Yep.

I’m pretty ambiguous on this front.  I don’t have a problem with them bringing him back post-PEDs.  I don’t think it’ll solve any problems, but I’m not against it, either.  Still, I am a little disturbed by their claim (which MLB officially agrees with) that they believe his whole daughter’s-cough-syrup defense.  Granted, the specifics of the case aren’t public and there may have been really overwhelming evidence, but still… I have a hard time believing it.  By “Hard time” I mean, “Who am I kidding, I don’t believe it at all.”

What I am wondering, though, is what else I could get the Giant to believe.  This could be fun!  Say hello the Gullible Giants.  Here are a few other things they believe:

The cough syrup defense is looking increasingly plausible, actually.

Diamond Girl

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , ,

August 27, 2012 · 6:56 pm

The Dodgers Blockbuster Is Like… Blockbuster

I took a lot of photos of my blood orange San Pellegrino and it was absolutely delicious and then I Instagramed the photos and it tasted even better, because Instagram is weird like that, but the point is: none of that helped.  Sadly, I am actually writing today to recall any advice I may have given yesterday.  And I don’t even have any new advice.  (Which is kind of pathetic.)  Why?  Because I’ve come to a realization.  A disappointing realization, but a realization all the same.  Here it is:

Nothing helps with the stress of ohmygodTimLincecumispitching.

I will give you a moment to recover from the mind = blown thing.

Ready?  Okay.  Yeah.  I was pretty shocked too.  I’ve gotten pretty good, over the years, at eating pickles and painting my nails and making frappuccino cupcakes and all that stuff that relieves the stress of the Giants being… stressful, for lack of a better word.  I thought the San Pellegrino was going to help.  But it didn’t.  And if the best drink on earth (other than black coffee, of course) can’t help then absolutely nothing can.

We will just have to suffer.  And bite our nails.  And not have excuses to make cupcakes based on Starbucks drinks, which is probably the saddest part of all.

Still, the obvious brilliance of the Dodgers blockbuster deal is turning out a bit like Blockbuster the movie store, ‘member that?  Didn’t turn out so well.  I mean, yes, A-Gon hit the ball a billion miles in his first at-bat, but then Josh Beckett kindly gave it right back, allowing a homer to the first batter he faced in his first start in Dodger Blue.  As of this moment, the Dodgers are losing 1-0 to the Rockies (I laughed uncontrollably at the writing of that) and the Giants are still two games up on ‘em.  Heading to Minute Maid Park.  Things don’t look so dismal after all.

Diamond Girl

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , ,

June 14, 2012 · 11:27 am

A Black-and-White World and a Technicolor Baseball Game

Beyond all of the rivalries and the noise, I like to think we all become baseball fans for the same reason.  We become baseball fans for moments, however rare, that put the rest of the world in black-and-white while the baseball field is full Technicolor.  We become baseball fans because when something like that happens – the connection to the other fans, to the players, to what is happening before our eyes – is very tangible and very, very magical.  Those moments get lodged inside of you and through losing seasons, through August blowouts, through crushing walk-off wins down the stretch, those moments are keeping you a fan, even if you don’t know it.

Last night, Matt Cain pitched the 22nd perfect game in the history of Major League Baseball and the first in Giants franchise history.  27 up, 27 down.

I don’t have any fabulous story for where I was when it happened. I was where I usually am during games:  in my bedroom, snuggled up to my radio.  As it got really close, I turned on the video stream from MLB.com and even my long-suffering sister who has very little interest in baseball, other than being unequivocally convinced that Rickie Weeks is actually named Wiki Leaks, was cheering and biting her nails.  I truly believe Cain is a player no one can root against and in a career of high points, including zero earned runs in the 2010 postseason, this was the highest point of all.

I cried about baseball for the first time since Bengie Molina was traded – because, seriously, that was heartbreaking – but this time it was happy tears.  Because while Gregor Blanco dove in the outfield like gravity did not exist and Matt Cain threw the final pitch into Buster Posey’s glove, there was just the game, statistically the best Giants game ever ever, and there is nothing better than that.

I will never forget it, as I am inclined to think none of us ever will.  A tip of the white beanie to Matt Cain who is perfect, now and always.

Diamond Girl

p.s.  Also, it was totally the sunglasses.  These things are way lucky.  I don’t believe us fans can bring bad luck, but good luck?  Heck yes.  You’re welcome, Matt Cain, history books and Bud Selig.

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , ,