Just as I'm off to the mountains for a few days, the Giants head south -- not figuratively, I hope -- for what could be the defining road trip of the year. First up: the Padres. Here's what I wrote... # continue reading
All praise to Jon Miller, once again. As noted yesterday, he immediately told the radio audience during the Teixiera Hysteria Tuesday night that the poof kicked up by Teixeira's hit could not have been chalk. Now the Chron's Henry Schulman... # continue reading
The Giants escaped with a victory last night thanks to an umpire's blown call in the top of the ninth. Everyone knew the ball Teixeira hit for a go-ahead bases-loaded double was fair. Everyone but first-base ump Tom Hallion, whose... # continue reading
...to Peter Gammons, who should be the next commissioner of baseball if he recovers. He suffered a brain aneurysm and underwent surgery this morning. According to the Boston Globe, he's expected to stay in intensive care for 10 to 12... # continue reading
Sorry, not much to say today. I was out partying Nick Swisher-style last night and can barely move. OK, not true. I never spend more than $150 a night on vodka. Also, I'm much more domestic now that I'm old... # continue reading
In honor of the Giants being at .500 for the umpteenth time this year, I present several paired items that straddle the fence of reason. On One Hand: Pedro Feliz has an on-base percentage over .300. On The Other Hand:... # continue reading
After attending the Jason Schmidt 16-strikeout game a couple weeks ago, I compiled a list of pantheonic games I've witnessed. Somehow I forgot to include Matt Cain's two-hitter against the Cubs last September. After last night, however, I wonder if... # continue reading
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Trade Bait. Here's your host...El Lefty Malo! [lonely applause, perhaps three or four pairs of hand claps, from the back of the auditorium. A fold-up chair squeaks. Someone hums "Oops I Did It Again"... # continue reading
The tweety-birds circling Mike Matheny's head have created an interesting situation for the Giants. First, Eliezer Alfonzo is getting an extended audition, splitting duties behind the plate with Todd Greene. Greene would probably get more playing time, but his shoulder... # continue reading
It's been overshadowed by the win, the Bonds blast, and Finley's 300th career home run, but let's use Matt Cain's shaky start last night to launch into a discussion of trade possibilities involving the starting rotation. I know Matt Cain... # continue reading
Old friend Russ Ortiz, still enshrined bobbleheadedly in the bathroom of The Fort Miley Marauder, was given his walking papers today by the Arizona Diamondbacks. That means Arizona will pay Russell $22 million through the end of 2008 for not... # continue reading
Oh Ray, what could have been. When the Giants signed you and Brave Brave Sir Edgard in the post-2002 gloom, spirits brightened. Yes, you helped the team avoid a moustache deficit, but you were no Jeff Kent. In this, no... # continue reading
Round two of your favorite game show, Trade Bait! I'll throw across the diamond to third base, leave Ray Durham for a later discussion, and skip shortstop entirely. Right now Vizquel is giving the Giants far more than their money's... # continue reading
Handcuffed by the Pirates two straight days, wasting fine pitching from Matt Morris and Noah Lowry, Brian Sabean finally admits that it's time to shop for offense. "I'm not going to name names, but there are spots in the field... # continue reading
With so much to talk about -- Jason Grimsley's rat-tales, Pujols' trainer, Barry and Albert's obliques, other key injuries and the trade rumors heating up -- I'm afraid I actually have to do my day job today. (Sheesh.) But I... # continue reading
No poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists. You cannot value him alone; you must set him, for contrast and... # continue reading
Billy Preston passed away today at the early age of 59. His life was short but packed with beautiful notes, much like one of my favorite solos of all-time, his organ break on I Got The Blues. In other news,... # continue reading
After yesterday's dramatic series-clinching win over the Mets -- dubbed the "biggest win of the year" by expert pinch-hitter Jamey Wright -- there was so much to discuss. Terrible clutch hitting followed by clutch hitting. Matt Morris showing a glimmer... # continue reading
When I was growing up...gosh, that phrase conjures up so many images. Walking to school backwards in the snow. Eating 5-cent hot dogs made mostly of sawdust and snout hairs. Necking in Model-A Fords. Carhops. Saber toothed tigers. The Fourth... # continue reading
