Results tagged ‘ sf ’
I Come to a Slightly Obvious Realization and the Verdict on Hobo-Chic Is In
Why did I not blog this weekend?
a) I knew there was some possibility I would alienate my Giants fan readers with my Brauny doting and Nyjer Morgan apologist-ness.
b) Well, I was sort of sleeping most of time.
c) I was watching girls-night movies like 10 Things I Hate About You and Winter’s Bone (you figure out which one of those doesn’t make sense in the sentence).
d) Because we had a lovely 13 hour power outage. During which I decided I was going to open a rival company because PG&E goes out way too much and they have terrible costumer service to boot but then realized I don’t really exactly know what they do, so I might need to do some research before I pursue this line of work.
Anyhow!
This series reminded me why I do really love it when the Giants face the Brewers. They were tight, well-matched games with players I love on both sides and Ryan absolutely tore it up in the two games he played (he sat on Friday) but San Francisco still took the series.
It made me wish they played more often- this is the last of two series they played this year – and I actually started to create a pitch to convince Major League Baseball that Milwaukee is totally in the west and that’s the realignment we need. But after a while I decided that was not a purposeful way of spending my time so I just sat back and enjoyed the ballgame.
The Giants looked good. Like, really good. And I came to a realization that I am a fan of good teams. Now that weirded me out. We all know the Giants were good last year and everything but that had the vague makings of a fluke. Whatever happens this year, it’s July 24th and they’re making a serious run of this. They are that team that opposing teams maybe aren’t so stoked about facing. Before you give me the, Late to the party, sister, line, realize that I grew up with a notion that the Giants were kind of lame. And for a good part of my pretty short life, they have been. These days, they feel like something akin to a perennial pennant contender.
The offense isn’t exactly rockin’ (what else is new?), but the pitching is and they are totally winning ballgames.
So if you don’t mind I’ll just check out a few more of these modern-day-version-of-something high school movies, sit back and marinate in Ryan Braun home runs and the fact that I am a fan of the defending World Champions. This is all starting to freak me out to the point that I want to become a full time Pirates fan, but then I remember the Pirates are actually good and I end up somewhere on the other side of freaked out.
Catch y’all later. I hope we meet the Crew again in the playoffs. And I hope the dress code is strict for the whole White House thing today. Sorry, Wilson. I’m thinking more boho-chic than hobo-chic.
Diamond Girl
p.s. I think Nyjer Morgan was really, truly, actually doing the Tony Plush sign.
p.p.s. Nope, me and my “I Love U, Ryan Braun” sign were not there. I Object to $26 standing room tickets with a capital O.
Well, We Had That Coming
So that’s how it feels to be walked off against!
I don’t know about you, but I prefer walking off ourselves.
Still, didn’t we sort of have it coming after walking off against everyone else?
The irony was, of course, that Vogelsong was starting for the Giants and Zito for Fresno on the same night. Ryan was good, Barry was fine. The Giants seem to be giving the “take your sweet time” message to Zito, but he’s not buying it and claims to be all ready to go.
I think the Giants just have no idea what to do with him.
Even if he came back as a reliever, they’d have to get rid of someone in a somewhat stellar bullpen. Santiago Casilla is on the front of my mind (he, you know, let in the winning hit last night) but his ERA is at 1.80, so that’s unfair.
There’s simply isn’t room.
Not to mention that Barry is the polar opposite of a reliever. I don’t doubt that he’d try his best, I just doubt he’d do it well. If this were a youth play (I’ve done my fair share) they’d “split the role”. It’s maddening, but nobody’s feelings are hurt, right? So Zito could take four innings and then Vogey could take four and then a bullpen guy could take the ninth. The rest of the bullpen would be all rested for the next day. Takes teamwork to a whole new level.
In all seriousness, I am stumped. Sometimes this team feels like a maze/wreck.
Until we play the A’s. Then I see how good we have it. It’s good for my soul.
Speaking of which… I keep trying to figure out why I feel like we’re going into a big series. This is Interleague Play (read: meaningless. Yes, I said that, Selig.) against the last place A’s. I think it’s because a) There is really something of a Bay Area rivalry b) They’re a team I’m familiar with which always scares me because I know what to look for and c) It’s now or never for Oakland. Not really. It’s June. But it’s now or not for a while. The A’s are only six games back and I, for one, still think they have a lot in them. Check out this little gem of an interview with Billy Beane. They have spirit, they just need a little breath of air to get ‘em going.
And just in case you were wondering, since this is the FAQ during every Bay Bridge series? No, the Giants do not stay in hotels. Or fly from SFO to OAK. But they do get meal money. So that they can go out on the town in Oakland, I guess. It’s a really exciting city. I totally want to go out on the town there.
Sarcasm, people. Sarcasm.
Diamond Girl
3 + 3 = 3 Wins + Mandatory Low Point In Trailer When Main Character Cries Or Almost Cries If He Is Tough Guy Brad Pitt So He Can’t Actually Cry
I don’t drop “Baseball Gods” a whole lot. But when people hit triples, they always feel like little gifts from Baseball Heaven. And has anyone else noticed that they do tend to come to people who really, really need them?
Like Pat Burrell who is rumored to be the odd man out later this year and Eli Whiteside who has, well, big shoes to fill. And he isn’t really fillin’ them. Then Billy Hall’s (am I coining Billy?) magical half hour with Bam Bam seems to have paid off, which comes at a nice time when Freddy pessimism is at a 2011 high. I am all for the holistic, natural approach and have (some amount of) total confidence that the shoulder can heal on its own but it’s good to have some, ahem, backup.
Which means that this night of three basers notched MadBum his third win of the year and a 3.21 ERA. Sometimes I have the urge to bang the heads of the offense together but then I remember that they do things like hit key triples and I go to my punching bag (laptop keyboard) instead.
We are on our way to sweeping the Diamondbacks, which is a phrase I would have been petrified to utter a few days ago. This is good.
Zito is moving up in the world and will be starting in AAA Fresno tonight. I guess this must be his first time pitching for the Grizzlies and I think he’ll fit in. No snarky-ness there. Barry and Chuckchansi Park just seem like a match made in heaven. Still, I’d be lying if I said I don’t feel like the clock is ticking down to doomsday.
The first Moneyball movie trailer hit the web yesterday my skepticism about it is fading.
I think it looks really good, actually. The hairdresser captured Billy Beane’s vaguely volumized hair perfectly and even if they look nothing alike otherwise (yeah, that’s a big cause of mine) they do kind of make the same expressions.
And am I the only one who thinks doing this looks incredibly fun? Even if that is the mandatory Low Point In Trailer When Main Character Cries (Or Almost Cries If He Is Tough Guy Brad Pitt So He Can’t Actually Cry). So I don’t think it’s supposed to look fun. But it does.
Someone else commented that the field looks suspiciously dark in this walk scene and why doesn’t the stadium have any lights?
True.
I will be in the theater opening day, I think. I’ve only done that for one other movie, Takers, and it was unwarranted. That was a terrible movie (not to mention Hayden Christensen’s character was the first of the bank robbers to die, which tempted me to demand my $8 back, but that seemed petty). I have hope, though. I kind of think this might be my first baseball movie love.
Diamond Girl
p.s. Congratulations to former Giant/Grizzly Jesus Guzman on his call-up to San Diego!
I remember seeing him during his two weeks up at AT&T Park in 2009 and enjoying watching him play. Wishing him much success. I mean, some success. Enough for him to have a happy career but the Padres to keep on their last place, sub-.500 ways.
5 Best Tim Lincecum Moments
Yesterday was a strange day. I forgot there was a Giants game. I think I actually forgot the Giants existed. Somewhere around the fourth hour of The Fellowship of the Ring director’s cut at AMC Theaters, it all came back to me. But I was too engrossed to care.
Evidently, the Giants squeezed out a win against the Diamondbacks in this as-super-important-as-June-series-get series. Since I spent the evening a several realities away, I’ll leave the breakdown of that game to others.
I woke up to see happy birthday messages to Tim Lincecum everywhere. Which reminded me…
He signed that ball for me last June 15th and the whole crowd of autograph seekers sang Happy Birthday to him. It was loads of fun. So in honor of his big day coming around again, I’ve made a list of my personal top 5 favorite Tim Lincecum moments.
5. August and Beyond
In 2010, Timmy faced adversity… but it was storybook adversity. The kind where there’s a clean, simple problem with a clean, simple, perfect ending. Sure, it didn’t feel that way while it was going on. But looking back? Couldn’t really have gone down better.
4. A Day In The Life
I absolutely loved this Comcast SportsNet show. It didn’t feel overly rehearsed or corny but it wasn’t boring either. It was just a nice little slice-of-life. Well done.
3. The Kiss
Remember her? The girl who said she wanted her first kiss from Tim Lincecum? And he totally gave it to her. Too sweet.
2. Beanies Galore
The beanies have gone rather MIA recently. But remember when he wore them all the time? To his first Cy Young press conference even? Those were the days. I love ‘em.
1. 15 Strikeouts
Everyone has baseball games they attended that they will never, ever forget. Timmy’s career high 15 strikeouts against the Pittsburgh Pirates is one of those for me. Orange K after orange K going up on the wall and him just never slowing down.
Happy Birthday, Timmy. You’re named The Franchise for a reason.
Diamond Girl
p.s. Can my cake which won me the Ultimate Tim Lincecum Fan award get an honorable mention? I think there’s, you know, a striking resemblance.
</aaMay I Respectfully Suggest a Few Things to Jonathan Sanchez?
The San Francisco Chronicle’s story about yesterday’s Giants was titled “Giants finally get a break”. The sentiment is widespread. Which is why every time I look at the National League West standings I have an Am I really reading this right? moment. The Giants are in first place, a game ahead of the Diamondbacks. Sure, part of it is that the West in not a strong division this year, so far (Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles and San Diego are all 5-5 in their last 10, the Giants are 6-4). But you also can’t deny that despite the fact that they look like a limping AAA team at times, they do win ballgames. Which is, of course, the bottom line.
Jonathan Sanchez is the quintessential example of this and I spent yesterday evening with more forehead rubbing. He let in two runs over 6 innings. He gave them a chance to win and they did. So I’m not complaining. But he felt like a train wreck while he was at it. May I respectfully suggest that he cuts the drama classes from his extracurriculars and tapes this up next to his bed?
You can never repeat the basics too many times, right?
Being a baseball fan is a full time job. This, you know. Being a Giants fan? Sort of a life’s work. So the day off is nice. Still, I don’t envy the players. They’re headed to Arizona, where the highs over the coming three days are 104°, 107° and 105° respectively. Could mean good news for Aubrey, but I, for one, am glad Foul Weather Timmy will be on the bench until the Oakland series.
And to Todd Coffey and his unfortunate capris?
We all have bad fashion moments. And we all know players aren’t responsible for their own uniforms. That delivered with a meaningful look to all the Eugenio Velez haters out there.
Diamond Girl
Maybe There’ll Be a Walk-Off Win Tonight. Total Shot In the Dark. And Baseball Players Shouldn’t Design Clothes. And Other Facts of Life.
So does anyone else remember the moment in the Charlie in the Chocolate Factory movie where they’re in the Great Glass Elevator and they fly over a hospital room? Willy Wonka says, “This is the Puppet Hospital and Burn Center. It’s… relatively new.” And then he gives his uncomfortable little laugh. The reactions?
I’m the Mike Teevee’s father in the equation. Every time a Giant gets injured, I make that expression. The, Are you kidding me, you weirdos?
Freddy is on my top 3 favorite Giants list. I consider him a constant and a sparkplug and the kind of guy who would keep us sane during the injury insanity. Five seconds and one Brandon Phillips hit later, he’s on the DL.
Maybe we should get the Giants their own hospital…?
Brian Sabean wasted no time in picking up a new second baseman, fueling the “this is really bad” fire. Bill Hall is the guy, recently designated for assignment from Huston with nearly identical numbers to Pat Burrell, when he came to the Giants last year. I went to Hall’s Wikipedia and saw the following Awards Highlights.
- Good Guy Award- 2006
- Michael Harrison Award (Community Service)- 2004,2006
- Unsung Hero Award- 2005
- Pitched a 1-2-3 inning as a utility player- 5/28/2010
Huh. I love Good Guys. And the Wiki piece fails to mention that he was the Brewers Team MVP in 2006. Looking at pictures of him in that Brewers uniform is acclimating me to the idea of having him in a Giants uniform. He is reportedly available to play today in what may be a walk of win (total shot in the dark, there).
No matter what, I just hope Aubrey plays games, from now on, in head to toe armor.
(Props to the brilliant person at www.arewestillcool.com who mocked this up.)
I also have to say something about the line of Giant-designed jerseys that came out yesterday. I’m not sure what to say. Except that I will not be going out to buy one. They’re hilarious, a little ego-maniacal and I feel like this might be a good time to break out an old blog I wrote but never posted called Baseball Players Shouldn’t Design Clothes and Other Facts of Life.
I mean, really? The font? The faded edges of the corny image?
Diamond Girl
If You Look Up “Stoic” In The Dictionary, You’ll See a Picture of Madison. And Sequined Rangers Flip Flops, If You’re Lucky.
Here’s the breakdown of Madison Bumgarner’s season, so far (with a tip of the cap to the people at www.csnbayarea.com who figure out statistics).
13 Starts
2 wins, 8 losses
3.25 ERA
The Giants have had three runs or less in ten of those starts
Two runs or less, in nine of them
One run or less in six of them
In five of them?
None.
As a Giants fan, what part of that is surprising? That he had actually had a whole fraction of a Major League season where he got some support.
And that he is unshakably stoic through the whole thing, à la Matt Cain. He talks to the press every five days with a vaguely amused expression and his NorCarolina drawl and somehow makes you feel a little better about resigning yourself to the fact that he’s that starter on the team right now; the one who the first place team can’t just muster a few runs for. Eventually, they’ll snap out of it. If World Series winning/parade/celebrity-hood didn’t initiate you into Giantville, Madison, this should.
The real highlight of last night was, in my opinion, the return of Edgar.
Even in Cincinnati red (I think our colors suited him way better, for the record) he looked and acted and felt like a Giant. He was injured a good chunk of the time and we all had plenty of complaints about him, but he was a World Series hero. And his August 30th, 2009 grand slam against the Rockies is one I will never, ever forget. It was the catalyst moment in that sorta-kinda playoff run and watching it again gives me goosebumps. You can watch it here.
I feel like we’re overdue for a warm-weather (another sorta-kinda there) offensive outburst tonight. Anyone with me on that?
Diamond Girl
p.s. Would you buy clothes from this guy? Would you buy anything from this guy? (Even besides the the fact that I wouldn’t buy shirts that say “Designated Kisser” from anyone.)
If you’re looking for a fashionable, summery, feminine way and ever so mildly classy way to show your fandom, try these awesome sequined Rangers flip flops from the official MLB shop. I am in love.
Jose Who? Five Things I Love About Brandon Crawford
Last year, the only rookie everyone talked about was Buster Posey. He, uh, panned out. This year, it was all Brandon Belt. And as much as I like and respect Belt- and the season is still young, he hasn’t screamed, Impact! Who has? The one I lovingly branded (pun intended) The Other Brandon. I may be speaking too soon, but I think if anyone takes us all the way, it’ll be him. When Tejada started to be an obvious problem at short, the name Jose Reyes kept popping up.
Jose who?
We have a shortstop.
From, Single A. Who hit a triple that was as close to perfection as anyone comes on a baseball field? Keep Jose, Mets. It would be weird to see him wearing other colors anyway. This coming from a rabid 2007 fan of yours.
And Matt Cain’s game wasn’t perfect, but it was a beauty. Five hits, one run, complete game win. ‘Nuff said.
Anyway, since I can’t get over Crawford, I have made a list of five things I love about him. Besides his obvious baseball chops. Read on.
5. The Hair.
I think he works hard at it. It pays off.
The best part? Curly hair doesn’t seem to equal curly brains, because…
4. He’s Got Brains
You know how people always go ga-ga over actresses or models who graduated college? Granted, many more baseball players graduate but for whatever reason his major is on his Wikipedia article and it’s physiological science. I don’t quite know what that means but it sounds brainy. Interesting.
3. He Signs…
…autographs. Because he remembers being in the position of wanting ‘em. I don’t begrudge players who don’t like to sign, but I do give points to people who go out there and do it.
2. FISU World Champion
Whenever I hear about an MLBer who’s had success in another league, I am intrigued. I know Nate Schierholtz competed in Beijing and that’s always been one of my main associations with him. Crawford was on the US team when it won FISU World Championship in Havana. Which means he’s ready to be a champion again, right?
1. He’s Toolsy
Fine, just kidding. I’ve been watching the draft for three days but that doesn’t mean I use that word. He’s just a flat out ballplayer. I don’t know of any other way to say it.
I think good things are in the team’s future. But speaking of shortstops? I really hugely miss Edgar Renteria. So these next few days may be emotionally difficult. Bear with me, okay?
Diamond Girl
p.s. If I’ve failed to mention that I want a name like Conor Gillaspie, I will say it now. I want a name like Conor Gillaspie.
127 Hours? You Got Nothing On Me.
Okay, you have something on me. But not a whole lot. After watching 3 ½ hours of the draft and a 4 hour, 29 minute Giants game I had just enough mental capacity to squeak out, Yes, I would like a saltwater taffy. My arms are, thankfully, still connected to my shoulders, though.
Now that the hangover is starting to wear off, I am ready to break it all down. It was a great baseball day.
The first round of the draft is good and bad. The five minutes in between each pick give the hosts time to break down each player and even interview a few of them. I had a good sense of just about all the 33 players who were picked. The compensation round, with a minute in between each one, was a little bit painful because the hosts were talking just as much, but with no time, and the representatives who announced the picks instead of Selig didn’t seem really suited to public speaking. Today, it’s all audio, no show, and it’s going down so fast I can’t keep up. It’s good and bad. I dig the brevity, but it’s so impersonal.
The people who stood out to me in the draft? (Disclaimer: I know nothing about any of these people. These are just guys who happened to stand out to me. )
Number 1, overall, was Gerrit Cole who’s reportedly Brandon Crawford’s sister’s boyfriend. Keeping this in the family, are we?
Number 3, Trevor Bauer, went to the Diamondbacks. He’s being called Tim Lincecum 2.0, both because his motion is similar and he’s known for his quirky personality. I was kind of pumped to have him in the NL West until Andrew Baggarly suggested that he could potentially come to the Majors in late 2011, if the Arizona is making a playoff run. Against the Giants. Forget it. I wish he was in Kansas or something.
Speaking of Kansas! The sweet story of the first round was Bubba Starling, a KC kid who was drafted by the same team. The media was eating it up. I was much more interested in Brandon Nimmo, the highest draftee ever from Wyoming (11th, to the Mets) and Jose Fernandez “Bunny Tales: Behind Closed Doors at the Playboy Mansion(14th, to the Marlins) who is a Cuban defector, who has already faced a lot of adversity to get here. I am calling a majorly successful career for him. He seems to have a head on his shoulders.
Oakland had the 18th pick and they went with Sonny Gray, a right handed pitcher who I fell in love with after a minute long feature by MLB Network. A) He’s 5”11. At first claimed to be 6”0, then 5”11 ½. I love little guys. B) He sings. He was in High School Musical. C) He has a contagious smile and seems comfortable in front of a camera. The only thing that put me off was his affinity for the movie Sandlot. I hated that movie. I know that’s a terrible baseball fan sin, but it’s true. Sorry.
And then the Rangers pick at 37th, Zach Cone, intrigued me because he was the only guy in the whole draft whose photo was not of him in a baseball uniform. He was wearing a suit. Interesting. You know how Teen Vogue does “style icons of the future”? I have an inkling that he could be a baseball style icon of the future. At least he’s off to a good start.
Then, of course, the important one. Our newest Giant. Joe Panik, a shortstop “with power” out of St. John’s University. Other than his hard nose (thanks, Baseball America! Useful info.) and his unfortunate (well, fortunate for the people who write headlines) last name, I don’t know a whole lot about him. Except that I’m not panicking- sorry, I had to- and he deserves a nice big hug and welcome to this family. Bye-bye, Brandon Crawford. You were fun while you lasted but we have a new shortstop now! Just kidding.
I’m at 650 words here and so my analysis of the game is going to be sort of second round draft-ish. I.e., fast. Timmy’s 1000th strikeout, while glowing and exciting, was overshadowed in my eyes by eight beautiful shutout innings from the bullpen, the birthday boy (Jeremy Affeldt) swinging for Mars and then getting a walk and, of course, the eventual walk-off hit by Freddy Sanchez. He is so underrated it’s not even funny. I love him to death and am reconciling myself to a summer of walk off wins. Could be worse, right?
Now it’s time to plug in my earbuds and get back to the grainy audio of the 500th round. Draft week is too much fun. Congratulations to all who have been picked.
Diamond Girl
I Am Irrationally Excited…
…about the draft tonight. And all the gossip. I even watched a painfully boring, but still kind of interesting video about the top 50 prospects and I have popcorn waiting to be popped in expectance of the show at 4 PT. MLB says this is the deepest draft ever and Jon Daniels/Kip Fagg seem to imply the opposite. I can’t decide who I believe. Probably the Rangers. Neither the Giants nor the Rangers are picking anytime near the beginning, but I do have a Pirates soft spot, so first overall should be fun (but shame on you, people who leak who’s going to be picked. It takes away all the suspense!). You know what won’t be fun?
The coming weeks in Giants rotation news.
I’m scared. I really am.
With every beautiful Vogelsong start that makes me warm and fuzzy I am reminded that Zito and his pesky foot are getting a little closer to being better and that at some point (sooner rather than later?) Sabes et al. are going to have some choices to make. They say they are going to “get creative”. I say, if that includes glue and feathers then Zito should definitely get the call. If it includes pitching? I vote for Vogey.
Or maybe the A’s are in need of starting pitching and the Giants will eat the cash, get rid of him and I can still see him sometimes. Is that selfish? Don’t answer that question. Really, I don’t think it would be smart (or viable) for Giants to get rid of him. It’s called “insurance”, my friends, (not to mention piles of cash) and with our injury luck that rotation doesn’t feel safe. So I’ll just have to sit tight and wait until they decide to put their creativity on display (in a case? On a table? Mounted on the wall? Anyone’s guess.).
The bats aren’t exactly on fire, but they’re doing a decent job and the team seems dead set on looking only forward, which I am loving. The Nationals, who are in last place, nine games out, are coming to town tomorrow and Arizona is ever-so-vaguely skidding so now seems like a good time heat up.
Even though here in the Bay Area we are all walking around under a ceiling of fog in winter coats. That has got to make it a little harder to play baseball.
Diamond Girl
p.s. I don’t mean to be a fawning fan girl. I really don’t. But aren’t Brandon Crawford and his fiancé the cutest couple ever?
sfdiamondgirl
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