September 2008 Archives

I’m back from vacation with a ton of stuff to report and comment on, but I’m blazing away at work. To start, I’ll comment on one small part of the state-of-the-Giants conference the brass held yesterday: the decision to retain Bruce Bochy and his...
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Great win to finally knock off Maddux for the first time in, what, five years? Bengie Molina, PLODAG, a homer, four ribbies and, make note, behind the plate to catch a Barry Zito gem after Pablo Sandoval seemed to become...
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I fly East tomorrow for my first visit to the Hall of Fame. I can’t wait, nor can Papa Malo — now more accurately Abuelo Malo — whose 70th birthday is the occasion for our trip. I’ll spend plenty of...
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I gulped when I saw tonight's lineup: Velez LFMy impure thoughts were a jinx. Velez's horrific misplay in the sixth on Upton's line drive scored two runs and cost the Giants the game. What's worse, one of the runners who...
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Henry Schulman of the Chron reports in today’s rag that under new Giants managing partner Bill Neukom & Co., Brian Sabean’s job is safe for another year. According to this site, his current contract runs through ‘09, and the team has an...
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With the obligatory sympathy to Matt Cain, who once again last night got the now-trademarked Matt Cain Treatment, I prefer to note Pablo Sandoval’s performance. Of the Giants’ four measly singles against the dominant Dan Haren, Sandoval had two and...
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Too bad the Giants aren’t publicly traded, because I have a tip for you. Buy. The national media hasn’t caught on yet, and the stock is a bargain. The farm system is productive, the young pitching is performing above expectations,...
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Oh, the bittersweet Saturday night angst. In case you were backpacking in Madagascar this weekend, Tim Lincecum threw his first major league complete game, a 7-0 shutout. To do so he threw 138 pitches, the most in MLB the past...
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I was all set to run a post on the Giants’ run of good health this year. It hasn’t been a spotless record — Correia’s oblique, Rowand’s broken ribs (but no DL time), Vizquel’s knee and the lost years for Frandsen...
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I hesitate to call a manager a bonehead when I probably don’t have access to all the facts, but, oh, what the hell: Putting Adam Dunn in right field yesterday was a huge bonehead move by Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin....
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A nifty win last night, indeed. It’s always nice to spoil a division rival’s appetite, as reportedly the D-Backs couldn’t bring themselves to eat after the game. Speaking of pouting, a couple of Giants are unhappy about their playing time. Kevin...
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Quick notes on this busy day: * The Merc's Baggarly crunches numbers on his blog and shows that Conor Gillaspie will earn a pro-rated major-league salary for his September callup -- about $66,000, on top of his nearly $1 million...
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Brian Sabean gabbed it up this weekend about Emmanuel Burriss, saying next year’s shortstop gig is the 23–year-old rookie’s to lose. I recently opined that Ivan Ochoa was better suited to start next year because of his stellar D, and...
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As in, good golly Miss Molly, the Giants just called up their #2 draft pick Conor Gillaspie, the fastest a draftee has reached the majors in club history. So he must have been absolutely killing the ball in his few...
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* I’ll be in the 1–3–8 tonight, gettin’ my Correia on. A couple things to note: He’s two innings away from his career high, which he set last year. His left-right splits this year are interesting; his K/BB ratio against...
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ESPN’s Jayson Stark tells us the Giants have scouted the crap out of Adrian Beltre this summer. (Link tip to MLB Trade Rumors.) He also says the Mariners will insist on a quality starting pitcher in return, even though Beltre will...
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Congratulations to Scott McClain, who hit his first major league home run at the age of 36. Here's the video clip. Now he's tied with Duane Kuiper, who nearly spit out a lung on the call. I get a little...
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The Giants were shut out at Coors Field Monday by mediocre veteran Jorge De La Rosa, and they scored four runs in two games with human punching bag Livan Hernandez on the mound. What’s the over/under on hits and runs against...
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Back from the boonies, and I'm scanning the box scores and game recaps. Ugh. It looks like everyone deserves some blame for the four-game losing streak: the starters and relievers in Cincy, the hitters in today's weakfest at Coors Field.With...
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