March 2004 Archives

That's how Brian Sabean describes Wayne Franklin, the latest member of the San Francisco Giants. Yes, just minutes ago Sabes traded two minor league pitchers, Carlos Villanueva and Glenn Woolard, for Franklin and fellow Brewer moundsman Leo Estrella. Franklin is...
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The Giants today signed three players to minor-league contracts: Dave Veres, Deivi Cruz and Mike Crudale. Cruz started in the Giants organization but never played for the big-league team. He gets on base less frequently than Neifi Perez but hits...
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Put away your shovels, for God's sake, the corpse just twitched! They aren't exactly A-Rod-for-Soriano-type deals, but the Dodgers have made two small trades this week that signal the DePodesta era has begun. The DePodestification of the Dodgers, if you...
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I was listening to the Giants game today on the drive home down highway 80 from Benecia, where the BAMSBL Royals (not my team) beat the BAMSBL White Sox (my team) 4 to 2. (By the way, my co-conspirator Elbo...
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Not only does this one win for its great name, but, bless his 18-year-old heart, the blog owner made no nod to functionality when choosing the classic, unforgettable color scheme. White-on-royal-blue makes for great pine-tar nostalgia but not sustained reading...
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I was about to sit down and write an angst-filled screed about how this could be the year the Giants, overloaded with mediocre talent and aging veterans, fall from grace (or from Barry's shoulders) and do a fine imitation of...
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A brief shout-out to my high school alma mater, which is doing its usual damage in San Francisco's public school league this year. The article mentions a scout at their latest game, which doesn't happen often. The S.F. public high...
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Those listening to the Giants-A's broadcast from Scottsdale this afternoon heard KNBR's Jon Miller talk about pitcher Tyler Walker trying to become the 9th San Francisco native to play with the Giants in the regular season. Miller named the other...
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Thanks to the Web site Fundrace.org, we can search zip codes to see who's contributed campaign funds to which presidential candidate. We can even type in individual names, such as... * Peter Magowan: Owner, SF Giants, $2,000 to George W....
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The Houston Astros just released veteran RH reliever Dave Veres. He had shoulder problems last year and missed a good chunk of time, but he says he's now healthy and has pitched well in limited spring duty with Houston. Unless...
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Momentum is building for Francisco Santos to make the roster on Opening Day. Tony Torcato is hitting well but has a bum shoulder; Cody Ransom is fielding well but is a bum at the plate. Santos apparently has more speed...
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Thirteen days until April 5, and there are a few undercurrents that could shape the composition of the opening day roster. As you might have read today, the shoulders of Jason Schmidt and Robb Nen are not feeling their freshest....
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* Los muchachos -- and I mean that in the nicest possible way -- over at Fogball are making me feel old today. * Peter Gammons needs a drool bucket. His latest slob-fest concerns Giants' prospect David Aardsma, who walks...
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Complaints about the news-free optimism of spring training are nearly as much cliché as the clichés of the optimists. So I won't bore you by whining about yet another article on Scott Eyre's new-found focus, or Matt Herges's inner calm,...
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The last two years, Brian Sabean has stressed that the Giants need to be built around pitching and defense to succeed in their spacious ballpark. There are parameters to such statements, of course. Barry Bonds' offensive value far outweighs his...
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Buster Olney of ESPN Magazine has interviewed an anonymous MLB player about steroids. (Im at a public terminal and can't open a second browser window, so no link--but it's easily accessible via the ESPN.com MLB page.) It's a good read...
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El Lefty is back from La Manzana Grande, where people ride their bicycles in 20-degree weather with Mike Piazza bobbleheads strapped to the front basket. I saw it. I also saw a guy with Albert Einstein hair walking past the...
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Even before talk of steroids, supplements and hormones became the big story of the Giants’ spring training season, one thing seemed obvious about Barry Bonds’ 2004: it would be a little quieter, in terms of production, than the past few...
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I just got back from a weekend in the Mendocino woods, a place where a man needs no laboratory to boost his testosterone levels, a place where human growth is measured in stanzas, not hormones, a place where jeans, not...
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Yes, steroids are considered fairly widespread in baseball. But the Giants seem to be ground zero. BALCO is in their backyard; Bonds is Suspected Juicer Numero Uno; Bonds' childhood buddy Greg Anderson is involved. Giambi and Sheffield both spent time...
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Steve Goldman, one of the best baseball writers in America, says of the Yankees' motley crew of second basemen (Enrique Wilson, Miguel Cairo, et al): Postpone the inevitable trade for something better. That being said, if any of this collection...
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Ex-MLB manager Bobby Valentine, now managing in Japan, blasted MLB for its steroid policy but defended Barry Bonds: "Barry Bonds does something at the plate that no other human does and it has nothing to do with steroids," Valentine said....
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