October 2006 Archives

The Giants have their manager in place and it's time to clamber aboard the free-agent merry-go-round. While I was away this weekend, the first filers stepped forward. Who the Giants should and shouldn't try to sign, well, we've beaten that...
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Spend a few days in San Francisco and you're sure to notice the weather coming from the west. Usually that means banks of fog borne on a brisk wind, quite often in mid-summer when tourists come to California expecting hot...
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I wasn't really rooting for the Cardinals, but now I'm definitely not rooting for Jeff Suppan....
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Unless Brian Sabean is a lad insane, or at least one who pushes things to the edge, the Giants' managerial search is down to four candidates: Mets coach Manny Acta, Angels pitching coach Bud Black, Padres lame-duck manager Bruce Bochy,...
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Everyone's in a lather about Kenny Rogers's muddy hand, but BP's Derek Jacques takes issue with a body part from the other team: When will someone stop Ronnie Belliard from doing that disturbing thing with his tongue, where he starts...
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Yadier Molina and Jeff Suppan the heroes of the NLCS? As Billy Beane once said, "My shit doesn't work in the playoffs." It's a relevant point as we head into an off-season of major changes for the Giants. All the...
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Since the phrases "Game Six" and "Shea Stadium" are the cosmic punchline to one of baseball's sickest jokes, we might as well get more baseball-related bad taste out on the table. First, this. Then these guys. (Thanks to Elbo for...
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No time today for a proper salute to St. Stan of Conte, the man who held the Giants together with cat gut and glue all these years. He's leaving the organization, so let's send him off with a caption...
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This morning brings reports that the Giants are interested in talking to Bruce Bochy, the Padre manager who has permission to shop himself around. First question: Why is the Padres front office practically pushing Bochy out the door, stopping short...
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That's one insufferable Fox broadcaster down, three more to go. Steve Lyons: hacking at slop nightly. We can also rejoice that Lou Piniella is about to be hired by the Chicago Cubs, according to reports, for no other reason than...
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Not much time today, but here's a link to a post by Jon Weisman, who despite being a Dodger fan is an excellent writer. Weisman looks back on his own assessment of the post-2004 free-agent starting pitchers and shows that...
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We all know how thin the upcoming free agent class is. Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Lee and (probably) Aramis Ramirez are the best young(ish) sluggers; Barry Zito and Jason Schmidt are the best starting pitchers. Doesn't exactly make you want to...
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It looks like Cory Lidle was the pilot of the plane that crashed into a Manhattan apartment building today....
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Now that the playoffs are down to four teams, with the big bad $200 million Yankees bounced and waiting for the next Steinbrenner fecal tempest to rain down upon them, let us commence the comparing of the payrolls. It's become...
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I just received an e-mail from a Yankee-loving guy in my company's New York headquarters. He sends out a daily "budget" that tells the reporters which stories are in our paper's daily lineup. He's a funny guy, and once in...
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No cable in the Malo household, so this first week of playoffs I've been dipping in and out of the radio broadcasts whenever possible. A few thoughts: * Ted Robinson is much better than I remember him from his Giants...
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A ribald comedy of errors, whereupon the Managing General of the Fighting Giants of San Francisco stumbles higgeldy-piggeldy into the wrong chatting room, expecting to parlay with the local and regional fanatic base of his black-and-orange equipage. Without further ado......
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The playoffs began four innings ago, and already Frank Thomas has gone deep. ¡Viva El Gran Dolor! Here's my quick-hit list of things I want from this year's playoffs, in verse: Dodger Humiliation, Big Hurt Vindication, A Santana No-Hitter, Steinbrenner...
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Today, we start a series of goodbyes to Giants we have known, loved, cursed, and cheered, often all at the same time. First up: Felipe Alou. Anyone who spends 50 years in the major leagues deserves our respect. (Except Tommy...
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