September 2003 Archives

Just got back from sec. 138, where the sun was strong, the breeze was cool and Conine had something the matter with him. Jason Schmidt was brilliant, looking like a veteran pitcher who doesn't need strikeouts to dominate. Lots of...
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I am not, by nature or by nurture, a religious man. I do not take the name of deities sacredly, and for this, many in this world would no doubt turn away from the words to which I am about...
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Willis vs. Fonzie. Richie could also play a key role, given how hot he was in September, but he's never fared well against Beckett....
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Jack McKeon is already saying the Marlins won't be giving Barry anything to hit in the Division Series. And ESPN's Buster Olney has just declared that the #1 matchup to watch in the playoffs will be between the Marlins'...
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When, just after the Astros roll over like fat pugs for the Milwaukee Brewer's Yeasts and lose the NL Central, closer Billy Wagner says, "I hope I will be here. I hope things change. I know my contract allows...
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Notes from a final tune-up weekend... The girlfriend and I sat in gorgeous sunshine Saturday afternoon and watched two impressive rookies on the mound. J-Will looked strong, and looked uncannily like Livan Hernandez at his peak. Incredible mix of...
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*I'm not too worried about the whole home-field advantage thing, because I think the Cubs will knock off the Braves in four games. *I think Mark Redman might prevail over Kirk Rueter in Game Three, but otherwise I like...
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As my mom always says, if you can't write good things about your own team, find another team to trash. As I type this tonight, all is quiet on the Giants front, so a quick scan of the scoreboard...
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I almost snarfed my coffee this morning when I looked up and saw that the Chicago Cubs, clinging to a one-game lead in the NL Central, were sending Shawn Estes to the mound. The same Estes that hadn't started...
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For his second start in a row, the Giants backed Sidney Ponson with their second stringers, and again lost the game. It doesn't really bother me because the Giants have already clinched their division, but unfortunately it made for...
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From a classified ad posted on Craig's List: TRADE TIX- Jesus Christ Superstar for GIANTS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reply to: anon-16732932@craigslist.org Date: 2003-09-24, 12:49PM Would like to trade 2 tickets for Jesus Christ Superstar at the Orpheum, Sunday, Oct. 12 @...
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I found this with one of Peter Gammons' columns. I've added 2003 and a couple other missing trades, plus some snarky comments in bold. Looks like the Giants have traded one young player who's gone on to establish himself:...
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There hasn't been much room for hand-wringing or tooth-gnashing or general foreboding for Giants fans these days. Even Jimmy from Sacktown hasn't made any "Richie Macho" jabs in several weeks. It's quiet...too...quiet. Creeeaaaaak. Makes the hair on my back,...
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Along with a mushy little tribute to Felipe Alou, this week's Gammons column on ESPN.com reports that P-Mag, aka the General Managing Partner, aka Peter "It's Safeway or the Highway" Magowan, won't be spending on "major free agents" this...
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One of the true delights of having season tickets in the Pac Bell bleachers (Section 138, Row 3, just close enough so my Mom, who goes to a few games a year, can see Barry's "nice tushie") is the...
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Jimmy from Sacktown, a former colleague of mine and a perpetual pessimist, got a hold of a classic piece of Giants angst (all the sweeter because of Brian Johnson two days later), not to mention a tiny gem of...
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My favorite part of September baseball, other than watching the Dodgers eat pounds and pounds of annual manure as they fizzle toward the end of another underachieving, Rupert-Murdoch-is-my-daddy season...wait, where was I going with this sentence? Oh yes. My...
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How many people, in and out of the Giants' dugout, have confidence in Felix Rodriguez? Amazingly, he has a 2.30 ERA since the All-Star Break, though he's only pitched 15-2/3 innings. That 10/12 BB/K ratio isn't dazzling anyone, though,...
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I just found out there's another Giants-related blog run by a lefty: The Southpaw. (I've added a link in my list to the right.) I don't know how malo he is; or if he's a she. But as George...
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No, it's not a sexual maneuver performed by hotel-bar groupies, and it's not the nickname of an up and coming star. The "A-hed," in journalism parlance, is the Park Ave. of newspaper real estate: the fourth column on the...
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Ozzie Smith and I have always had a love-hate relationship. It must have started when I was a teenager watching the Giants and Cards battle each other in the mid-80s, and I'd stare darts at Ozzie through the TV....
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Ah, yes, how could I have forgotten? Elbo, your question whether nicknames count or not, it doesn't apply to Bonser, because he legally changed his name to Boof a couple years ago. This kid sounds nuttier than a Fidrych....
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*After spending a few days at a remote location in Alpine County (elevation 7300 feet), far from a television and out of KNBR's broadcast range, I rewarded myself with a trip to section 139 last night. (In the highlight...
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All of a sudden, ESPN.com is squawking that Barry Bonds is likely going to retire after this year. The front MLB page is dedicated to the notion, with some Insider article that I'm too cheap to pay $5 a...
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A couple thoughts after the Giants extra-inning win today over the Brewer's Yeasts: 1) Hermanson should be the 4th starter in the playoffs. I don't know if Alou will go with four, or simply go Schmidt, Ponson, and Woody,...
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After their big comeback win Friday, the Marlins pounded Russ Ortiz tonight (in front of 40,000 fans, to boot) to beat Atlanta again, with the D-Train picking up win #13. On the phlip side, the Phils are phading phast,...
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Termell Sledge: Pretty good. Coco Crisp: You makin' that up? Marquis Grissom: Old-school, very cool. What do these three baseball players have in common? They're not all major leaguers: Sledge is currently in the Expos' farm system. They are...
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A-Ron, Son of Ron, follows up with a few words: "with a heavy heart... the true birth of simple, stripped down, real-deal american rock and roll died this morning. play yourself some cash today - it feels good. i...
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So there we were, carousing at the Hockey Haven, me, Laz, Elbo and The Boss, where, as if in some self-parody of a sitcom about wild and crazy guys in the Outer Richmond, we slump steadily on our barstools...
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In today's Chron, Henry Schulman writes about two Giants making adjustments. Kirk Rueter, after three months without a win and several weeks on the DL, finally had a great start last night, vintage Woody stuff: tons of ground balls,...
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from the Giants' official Web site: It hasn't been publicized, and to Giants infielder Neifi Perez, it doesn't have to be, but to underprivileged children in his native Dominican Republic, he is Señor Zapato -- Mr. Shoe. Prior to...
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Thanks, Elbo, for the Lefty Eye on the Young Guy(s). And I also appreciate the image of Jayson Stark wetting himself. It should happen more often so he spends more time changing his underwear and less time writing. That...
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All five rookies got decisions in last night's West Coast experiment. Duchscherer (A's) : WP, 7 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 K Bootcheck (Angels): LP, 3.1 IP, 8 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 3 K, 3...
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While youthful starters Kevin Correia and Ben Howard lock horns as the Giants visit San Diego tonight, I'll be keeping one eye on the matchup in Oakland, because the A's have yet another young starter joining their ranks. Justin...
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"Indeed, each of the Giants' past 13 wins was settled by one or two runs... This trait should help the Giants in the postseason, when close games ordinarily rule the day." - John Shea, in today's SF Chronicle. People...
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Item #2,457 on my list of Why I Hate Joe Angel: Sunday's ballgame on the radio, driving around my neighborhood, having a world of trouble finding a parking spot because of that pinga Opera en el Parque. (Hey pallie,...
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According to the Giants official site, the team is on the verge of making the playoffs in back to back years for the first time since 1936-1937....
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Both I and Lefty Malo Elbo play in an S.F. Bay Area men's baseball league, which provides us with a limitless font of funny stories (the center fielder who dropped trou and pissed against the outfield fence during a...
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Can you believe the SFChronicle's Web site used those four words tonight? Barry hasn't homered in six whole games. Six! Can you believe he's only done that twice before this year? Once in early-to-mid-May, and once as July spilled...
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I just got back from Pac Bell, where Arizona won its first game in S.F. this year, thanks in large part to a horrible umpire's call on diving catch in CF by Grissom. The catch should have ended the...
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Entering the stretch run, there are traditionally two main subjects of conversation among baseball fans: pennant races and awards races. The pennant races, with the wild card possibilities (perhaps the only thing Bud Selig has ever done right), are...
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Compiled by Ken Rosenthal of the Sporting News -- which, by the way, after months of threadbare daily Web coverage, has given up and merged with Fox Sports. Blech. It's bad enough being forced to watch the baseball post-season...
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What is a Lefty Malo? For readers who don't speak Spanish, "Malo" is bad or evil, and "Lefty" is someone who primarily uses the left hand for various purposes, like brushing teeth, or fingerpainting, or, as is the case...
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OK, because I'm a horrible, terrible, no-good very-bad baseball geek, I'm already looking forward to the winter's maneuverings. For instance: what will the starting rotation 2004 look like? Barring blockbuster trades or injuries, Schmidt, Williams, Foppert, Rueter will be...
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This is becoming the All-Bonds Blog, but these days, why write about anyone else? Except L. Paul Bremer, of course. But Bremer isn't winning too many games in extra innings. We were talking about Bonds' effect on the structure...
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Flash update on Marquis Grissom minus Barry: I isolated all the games in 2003 in which Grissom appeared and Barry didn't. (I think there were 24.) In those games, Grissom hit a respectable .271 (23-for-85), although that's 29 points...
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Regarding Bonds' ability to change the way opponents play the Giants, and therefore his value to the team (as in Most Valuable Player, an award he deserves for plenty of reasons other than sentimental ones), one need look no...
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