July 2006 Archives

2:36pm PT: Trade Wrap Best deal of the week: Rangers getting Carlos Lee. Not only did they upgrade from Mench to Lee, they acquired Brewers farmhand Nelson Cruz, a guy who could replace Lee if he walks this winter. Second...
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It's raining in Pittsburgh, a diluvean drench that mocks the Giants and their soggy bats, and it really can't get worse. Sure, the team has hit a bad stretch of luck, facing Walter Johnson, Tom Seaver and Steve Carlton on...
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I just saw this item: The rumor mill says three National League West teams -- Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco -- are interested in veteran pitcher Greg Maddux. -- Daily Southtown Now I've been around the block enough...
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No, my children, this is not one of Aesop's timeless fables. This is a story about the Giants' last two games, sloppy, ugly games that splattered a big squishy splork of mud on the once bright and shiny fender of...
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At first I thought the headline was from the Onion: Tomko excited about his new role in bullpen for Dodgers. But it's true. "We started talking about it the first week I got hurt," Tomko said. "I could have stayed...
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According to the box score, Matt Morris just pitched his worst game of the year: 2 1/3 innings, 7 hits, 7 earned runs. I happened to watch, and although he never looked comfortable on the mound, his line doesn't reflect...
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Conventional wisdom holds that Brian Sabean's trade record is all sparkle and glitter until 2003 but since then the man has been lying face down in an alley, a lump on his head and his pockets turned inside-out. I submit...
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I warned you. I go away for a few days, and Brian Sabean makes deals. It's happened before, and the results were not pretty. Last week I was in New York, dodging severe thunderstorms; listening to Yankees fans explain why...
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Excuse me, does anyone here speak Krukow? That's a pretty sweet AB right there, although the writer left out a few gems. Let's fill in the blanks....
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Just got back from the crapyard where the San Crapcisco Crapants just lost to the Crap crap crap crap double fucking crap. Jason Schmidt pitched like crap, Chad Santos fielded ground balls like crap, Moises Alou and everyone else hit...
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Now that Lance Niekro and Jason Ellison have been banished to Fresno, replaced by Chad Santos and Todd Linden, it's more obvious than ever that the Giants need a right-handed power-hitting first baseman. Chad Santos hits lefty and cannot hit...
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...and don't be no drag. Todd Linden is back in The Show, folks. He immediately gave me a warm fuzzy circa-2005 feeling by striking out on three pitches tonight. Jason Ellison is off the roster, perhaps to be traded, perhaps...
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The Giants' second half of the season has gotten off to a great start, and they don't even play until tonight. Last night in the Dodgers-Cardinals game, Grady Little let Odalis Perez pitch to Albert Pujols in the bottom of...
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As you might notice, I don't blog much about Barry Bonds's off-field troubles and allegations. Being a Libra, I tend to fall in the middle between the rabid Bonds defenders and the rabid Bonds haters, which doesn't make for scintillating...
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Somewhere between Bud Selig's 2002 tie-game brain melt and Jayson Stark's soul-numbing recap of yesterday's home run derby, I completely lost interest in the All-Star Game. Everybody, do it with me: The Bud Shrug! Exactly how I feel, Bud. Eh....
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All in all, the Giants entering the All-Star break a game above .500 and only 3.5 games back isn't a bad place to be. We all know that teams in far worse positions at this point have come roaring back....
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I'm a few games late, as the Giants just played their 86th game of the year. But it's never too late for kudos, as they say in Thessaloniki. (Or is that "kudo"?) Here are my picks for team MVPs, broken...
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As I mentioned yesterday, the Giants' ability to acquire a big bat for the pennant race will hinge on their willingness to trade pitching. Yesterday, the baseline was set for the current market value of a back-of-the-rotation starter when the...
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There are eleven teams that have nearly zero chance of a playoff run: Tampa Bay, Baltimore, Cleveland, Kansas City, the Cubs, Pittsburgh, and the entire NL East except the Mets. These teams probably hold the key to the Giants playoff...
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