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 Roger Clemens’ one-game record for strikeouts. Now he’s a one-inning reliever who’d be thrilled to be pain-free for two months.
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In honor of my favorite Mexipunk band, here are a few shout-outs to other people doing Giants-related stuff:
* High school journalism teacher Matt Johanson has written a book about his favorite Giant memories, Game of My Life. If you like it, drive over to Castro Valley High and tell him in person.
* The SFist has a contest: rename Dodger Stadium. I’m late to plug it as the Giants just ended their series at Chavez Latrine, but I think there’s still time to land that left jab. (The LAist is running a similar contest about Mays Field.)
* One of my favorite writers covering the Giants? You might be surprised: it’s Chris Haft, the former daily-paper journo who took over the sfgiants.com beat from Bulwer-Lytton Professor of Metaphor Rich Draper. Despite claims of independence from the Giants and MLB, Draper turned the gig into an ever-astounding absurd wet kiss. (This was one of my favorites: "Somebody keeps whispering in Noah Lowry's ear, and it's not like he's hearing voices. It's his own body doing the talking.")
But props to Haft, who’s managed to tell it straight without (so far) getting fired. His most recent mailbag column was more honest than a lot of local beat writers have ever been. He calls Bonds an “albatross,” he cautions those who see Feliz’s latest hot streak as a sign that Pedro has changed his horrible approach at the plate, and he says if Sabean can’t turn the Giants around in two years, he should be dismissed. Agree or disagree with those positions, you certainly can’t accuse him of kowtowing to the brass. Keep it up, Chris.
