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August 2007 Archives
08.01.2007
Post-Game 7/31: Spoilers
Giants 3, Dodgers 1: With the Giants focused on raising the next generation — at least that’s what Brian Sabean claims — it’s time to instill a core value: if you can’t win the pennant make damn sure the Dodgers don’t, either. Tonight...
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# posted by E.L.M.: 1:42AM
08.01.2007
America's Most Livable City!
P.M. UPDATE: Guess who’s among this writer’s top-eight prospects to change hands at the deadline? R-A-J-A-I Rajai Rajai Rajai! Smith writes: “Davis lacks any upside but in an organization about to enter a rebuilding mode, swapping an overpaid Morris for a...
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# posted by E.L.M.: 1:35PM
08.02.2007
The Platters that Matter, The Matters that Platter
08.03.2007
Post-Game 8/2: Dirtbags
Giants 4, Dodgers 2: Winning a series in L.A.: always nice. Larry King left the yard in the seventh inning. Dirtbag. The Giants had their own dirtbag, but the good kind: Steve Kline. A guy who’d rather grow a beard...
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# posted by E.L.M.: 2:18AM
08.03.2007
The Plugz
P.M. UPDATE: Nice news out of Chicago: Kerry Wood is back in the bigs. For those who didn’t see it earlier this year, the New York Times mag piece about Wood’s injury history is a must-read. Ten years ago, he tied...
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# posted by E.L.M.: 12:34PM
08.06.2007
Hello Henry
I was off the grid this weekend and only just now (Sunday night) saw #755. The best thing about it, other than the big fucking sigh of relief, is that Bonds hit it to left field. Which means he’s got...
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Comments (1)
# posted by E.L.M.: 2:40AM
08.06.2007
What You Want and What You Need
08.07.2007
Post-Game 8/6: Oh The Places You'll Go
08.07.2007
Barry's Armor: Brace Yourself
08.08.2007
756
Congratulations, Barry Bonds. Now let’s win the goddamn game. I went out for ten minutes to help my pregnant wife bring her laundry up the stairs, and boom. Honey, you owe me one. Bonds’s address to the crowd — watching...
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# posted by E.L.M.: 12:32AM
08.08.2007
Personal History
It’s the morning after #756, and in a certain way I’m glad I wasn’t there. My dad had our group’s tickets last night, and my uncle, his younger brother, was his guest. They grew up in the tumbling hills near Pasadena,...
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# posted by E.L.M.: 2:47PM
08.09.2007
Radio Free Lefty
UPDATE: That was quick. They patched me in after the break, asked me two “how do the fans feel?”-type questions, and said thanks very much. I was more a quick call-in than a panelist, which was disappointing. Moving on: Tim...
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# posted by E.L.M.: 2:22AM
08.10.2007
Post-Game 8/9: Blue Sweeney
08.10.2007
Jeepers Keepers
After a season like this one, the intemperate fan is quick to shout, “Flush ‘em all and start over!” In the interview I linked to yesterday, Brian Sabean didn’t bother to defend the house of straw he’s built the past three...
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# posted by E.L.M.: 5:09PM
08.11.2007
Post-Game 8/10: I Just Found Out the Name of My Best Friend
08.13.2007
Monday Quiz
The worst thing about the weekend was: A) Getting swept by the Pirates. B) Barry Zito’s “quality start.” C) Realizing the Giants best relief pitcher right now is a 31–year-old journeyman scraped off the scrap heap this winter. And the...
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Comments (9)
# posted by E.L.M.: 11:32AM
08.14.2007
Post-Games 8/13: Splitsville
08.14.2007
Under a Groove
P.M. UPDATE: The Giants have signed 1st-round draft pick Wendell Fairley, a high schooler from Mississippi. He was the team’s third pick overall and signed for $1 million. Their second pick Tim Alderson came to terms a few weeks ago,...
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# posted by E.L.M.: 3:12PM
08.15.2007
Young Blood
The Giants have officially signed their remaining first-round picks. No official dollar figures yet, though yesterday Baseball America said Fairley would get $1 million, and today BA reported Bumgarner inked for $2 million, which is slightly less than Tim Lincecum’s...
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Comments (7)
# posted by E.L.M.: 3:30PM
08.16.2007
Smiling Faces, Many Races
The Giants performance this year is made more painful by the presence of so many teams in late-season pennant races. Every division is hotly contested, often by more than two teams. It’s like hockey: if you’re not in contention this year,...
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# posted by E.L.M.: 4:01PM
08.16.2007
Post-Game 8/16: Up...Up...and Rajai!
08.17.2007
The Future: Leading Off
Our fair team is in full find-out-the-future mode, so for the first in an occasional series of baseless conjecture, let’s step through what’s in store in the lead-off slot. Shall we? Please — no, after you. My new man-crush Rajai Davis is...
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# posted by E.L.M.: 3:55PM
08.18.2007
Post-Game 8/17: Barry to the Max
08.20.2007
Post-Game 8/20: Frutti di Marlin
08.21.2007
Cubs Fans or Otter Pops?
Another mawkishly celebrated fan “nation” invades Mays Field tonight. Oh, so long suffering! Oh, so patient! Oh, so loyal and lovable! With the Cubs in town the next three days, you’ll notice an odd tint to the stands: a shade...
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Comments (5)
# posted by E.L.M.: 5:51PM
08.22.2007
Lincecum Loses It
P.M. UPDATE Lefty Rich Hill is on the mound for the Cubs tonight. Last night’s lineup of veterans did its job, so I see lots of them getting tonight off as a reward. Hm? You say they only scored one run? Ah,...
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Comments (13)
# posted by E.L.M.: 1:06PM
08.23.2007
Post-Game 8/22: Zito Past and Present
08.23.2007
Post-Game 8/23: Yes We Cain Cain
08.24.2007
Que Triste Bandera
Sad news from Boricua, my friends. The Puerto Rican winter league has cancelled its upcoming season. It’s the longest-running Latin winter league, uninterrupted since 1938, but financial problems have done it in for now. MLB is trying to cobble something...
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# posted by E.L.M.: 12:40PM
08.24.2007
First Base Barry
Jeff Fletcher of the Press Democrat asked Barry Bonds the right question at the right time and actually got an interesting answer: Bonds would be open to playing first base next year… although that might be a generous interpretation of...
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# posted by E.L.M.: 3:53PM
08.28.2007
Post-Game 8/27: Tidy
Giants 4, Rockies 1: Ten wins in the last twelve games, and the third excellent start in a row for Barry Zito. Kevin Frandsen gets the key hit, a two-run double to drive in the team’s last two runs in...
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Comments (1)
# posted by E.L.M.: 12:53AM
08.28.2007
Denker Very Much, Ned
I’ve been away from the computer and the radio the past couple days, so I just heard that the Giants completed the Mark Sweeney and Matt Morris trades. The player not-named-Rajai in the Morris deal turns out to be Steve MacFarland,...
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Comments (2)
# posted by E.L.M.: 12:58AM
08.28.2007
Free Frandsen
Last week's Challenge to a Giant went quite well. I called out Barry Zito to finish the year with an ERA lower than his career high 4.48. Last night he threw his third straight gem and is down to 4.59....
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Comments (9)
# posted by E.L.M.: 5:03PM
08.29.2007
Post-Game 8/28: Thanks, Clint
08.29.2007
Keep Hope Alive!
POST-GAME UPDATE Rockies 8, Giants 0: Noah Lowry has now entered the Rueter Zone, with more walks allowed than strikeouts. His ERA is relatively low this year because he’s been keeping the ball in the park (12 HRs) and on the...
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# posted by E.L.M.: 2:52PM
08.30.2007
Keep Hope Alive, Part 2
The end of the Giants’ six-game win streak notwithstanding, there’s a bit more spring in our collective steps around here recently. The Giants just finished a brutal stretch, 31 games in 30 days, by winning one more than they lost....
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# posted by E.L.M.: 4:27PM
08.31.2007
Pen Draggin'
My new favorite toy is Baseball Prospectus’s WXRL, a more reasonable way to measure relief pitchers’ performances. The final product of WXRL, which stands for “Win Expectation above Replacement, Lineup-adjusted,” is a straightforward number that looks like ERA — except the...
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Comments (11)
# posted by E.L.M.: 3:37PM
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