No, that is not the name of the this month's featured product at your local cannabis dispensery. My lovely bride and I took a short trip through the amazing Mendocino coastline yesterday. The scenery was as perfect as Buster Posey's swing. Glorious chilly fog followed by sunny warmth, followed by another bank of fog. Everything was groovy...except maybe those clown announcers (JT has nothing but cliches and Hank was only OK so why should miniHank be any better?). Oh yeah, and the hour traffic jam through Petaluma wasn't so nifty either.
But the game was sweet. Tim Lincecum came through with a gritty performance: 8 innings, 9 hits (ties season high but no homers), 2 runs, 1 walk and 5 strikeouts. Another quality start, 15 0f 21, I think. The only really damaging blow was a 2 RBI double by their fricking pitcher!! Timmeh got some help in the 8th from yet another snake mistake but basically he was super tough. Not a ton of strikeouts, which I know worries folk but I sense an attempt to lower his pitch count and walks by pitching for more contact. Tim is going to have to adjust back to the league and I think we will start to see that happen soon. Maybe he'll become a Maddux clone...never know with the Freak.
Of course, the big story continues to be that Buster kid. He's passed Orlando and heading for Willie Mac. His plate discipline gets me HOT! Don't forget to give Sabean all the credit...if he didn't unload Molina, we would still be on BusterWatch.
16 comments:
Spell that 'Mendocino' please.
thanks wcw, I must still be asleep...
The Giants win 4 from the dbacks, as well we should given that they have made plenty of mistakes. Not too many teams have a guy that hits for the cycle in a losing game. This is a team we should beat, and there were a number of times this weekend that the Giants climbed out of holes they dug for themselves without damage. Next up, Florida, another good team, then the smog-suckers at home. Tough scheduling ahead. In August, the Giants have to play Atlanta, Philly and St. Louis in those cities. Drink plenty of liquids! Also, the puds. We need to beat those guys head to head. Screw the media and their "wild card" talk. We are three games behind this morning and have plenty of time to chip away at the lead. One game a week, that's all I ask! You have to really like the pitching we are getting on the whole, whether Tim has "dropped off" or not. He was tough when he needed to be and kept the Giants in the game until they could figure out a little offense. By the way, why were you going through Petaluma to return to your home from Mendocino?
ps. It is hard to follow the DG JT combo on the radio. JT is better than FP, but that is not saying much. He is not near relaxed enough, way to eager to add "insight." Also, although DG's play calling is OK, I think their voices are too similar to make the overall broadcast enjoyable. And after listening to Jon Miller before his departure to Cooperstown, I do not agree with MOC at all. I think Jon mostly calls the game and does so in a fairly relaxed straightforward manner. When he does make a foray into a story, it is usually pretty amusing. If you do not like Jon Miller, be careful what you wish for. Ron Fairly is still out there.
Tim was amazing. The Snakes were patient early, and took good swings, got base hits, and . . . and nothing. Tim didn't walk people, didn't make any big mistakes, kept throwing strikes, and ultimately just overwhelmed them when the game was touch-and-go. He really does seem to call up "something extra" in tight spots and get the big outs. The peripheral numbers don't suggest it but he was really impressive last night.
Buster Posey is The Second Coming:
.371/.407/.579
I was dropping Robyn off for a week long dance class in Albany. I ended the day in Sactown @ the in-laws. That is where I sit, planning to leave for home soon. I guess...vacation hell.
As I have mentioned, I can not fathom MOC's attitude toward Miller. I guess he is just spoiled. The other day when Uribe hit the grand slam, whatshisname made the absolute worst call of all time. I think he wasn't sure it went out or something. I can't wait til Miller is back.
I used to think of Ron Fairly as Ron "Make That.." Fairly, because of how often he'd have to correct himself, or more likely some little voice in his ear telling him to correct himself.
We've been blessed with many great announcers. Remember Al Michaels? He was damn good at it, before he went on to bigger and better things.
Back to the game... Lincecum will always be an above-average pitcher unless his little arm explodes, because he understands what he's doing. No, he will not win the Cy Young award again this year. Perhaps he will never win it again. But he might.
Is this schpilkas I'm feeling? Like, wow, we're good, we're really good? What if we stay good, make the playoffs and then, then guys like Renteria and FSanchez find some of their former greatness, and all of the starting pitchers can keep their cool and deliver the goods? Then what?
If you think FSanchez and Renteria are going to contribute, then it is more like dementia than schpilkas. But we are still going all the way.
And Tim might still win the Cy...consider if he duplicates the first month, which is obviously possible.
I like Miller. I believe I have complimented him many times in this forum. I just dared to criticize his penchant for verbosity. I grew up with baseball on the radio. I even remember Russ Hodges (just barely). Lon Simmons will always be my favorite. Miller is a hell of a lot funnier than Simmons, but Simmons was never a star, and never overwhelmed events with his personality. I find that aspect of Miller to be annoying and tiresome. None of today's announcers are calm enough--except maybe Kuip, but he's on TV and that don't count. Simmons let the pace and rhythm of the game set the tone of the broadcast. Today's guys think THEY are the show, and I'm sorry, they are just the MEANS to experience the game, NOT the game itself. I'm happy we have Miller, we are very lucky, but that doesn't mean I have to fawn over him.
Are there any other Giants in the Hall of Fame that you don't fawn over?
I'm just askin'
The Hall of Fame doesn't mean much to me. Kind of like awards, especially those voted on by sports-writers and their ilk. I could really care less who wins the popularity contests and who doesn't. I watch baseball for the games, and because I like watching ballplayers do their peculiar thing. The rest is peripheral. I'm stuck with the media's filter--it's not of my making, and not how I watch the game. So I don't get too attached to the deliverymen, and hope fervently for deliverymen that make me fail to notice them.
I should add that I more often listen to the radio. And Kuip does do radio, he is still laid back. Just as Jon Miller is goofier on ESPN than he is on local telecasts, he is also less goofy on radio than on tv. I think the reason is because he assumes that on tv, you can see the action and do not need a detailed description. So he goes elsewhere. As I said, calling the game on radio, he is very straightforward. Now, I have a story about a guy in a Ban-lon shirt that got caught in the rain that I would like to tell you for about four innings.............
I do, however, agree with MOC on his Timmehness. He does seem to have a knack for looking like crap (for him) and then be still pitching in the seventh or eighth inning with only a run or two given up.
If this is crappeh Timmeh, that's pretty magical. Even in what appears to be a down season, he is still among the best pitchers in MLB. Players go up and down so I expect the scales to even up.
"Hank was just OK??" You must have been partaking of the Mendo. Hank is one of the all time greats, right up there with Lon Simmons and John Miller. That you don't get it is absurd.
@MOC I noticed you didn't answer my question. Are any of the Giants in the HOF, no matter how they were selected, not worthy of being fawned over. Besides Miller. Perry, maybe...he was a cheater after all.
@JM Quite the moniker you got there. Nice to meet a Hank fan, never have before. Good announcer but I didn't think he generated much excitement. Guess I was wrong.
I've never seen any Giant--or any ballplayer--better than Barry Bonds.
That's my hall-of-fame. I could care less what goes on in Cooperstown.
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