Thursday, April 26, 2012

FNG party

Angel Pagan, Ryan Theriot, and Joaquin Arias all came up big today and the Giants pulled off a win and avoided the sweep. Does anyone else hate these goddamn bandbox pop-fly stadiums? I can't wait to see the team back home playing proper baseball.
The Giants still have not made an official move in naming a starter for Friday night's series opener against San Diego, manager Bruce Bochy said Thursday prior to the series finale against the Reds.(link)
That ought to be interesting. You need real pitchers against team like the Reds in their silly ballparks (they hit five homers in the series, four off starters), but you can throw AAA guys at the Padres because they can't hit for shit.
Matt Sosnick, the agent for Eric Hacker, announced on Twitter on Wednesday night that the Giants would be purchasing the contract of his client to fill that spot in the rotation. Bochy would not confirm that announcement.(link)
Hacker is 29 and has only 8-1/3 IP of ML experience but has been in pro ball since he was 19. He was taken in the 23rd round of the 2002 draft by the Yankees and has 152 minor league starts. If today is any indication, I say bring on the FNGs!

--M.C.

8 comments:

Zo said...

What's FNG? Fucking New Guy? Doesn't that imply incompetence? Fucking Natural Gas (what I say when I look at the share price of Fidelity Select Natural Gas Fund)? Am I yet again behind the culture curve?

Brother Bob said...

MC dropped numerous FNG bombs a couple of months ago. I didn't know what it meant at first either. "Fucking" is no longer an insult, it's just an all-purpose adjective that really doesn't mean anything anymore.
Yesterday I didn't listen to the game until I got in my car to go to work and almost the first thing I hear is the call of Pagan's homer. I didn't know the score or the inning, so my first thought was "Okay, another game where we didn't get shutout." When I heard that it was the 9th and we had taken the lead I thought, "I love that Pagan guy and I always have." (That's a lie.)
But what blew me away was the job Casilla did in the bottom of the 9th. Three Ks against the top of their order! 96 MPH fastballs mixed with nasty curves. If he can do that or anything close to that on a regular basis, we have a new closer.

JC Parsons said...

Casilla is incredibly exciting and may be the answer for our closer problem. I wonder about Sergio Romo...why so little use? Is he damaged? He has unbeleivable numbers and should definitely be in the running for closer status. Hell, he has a bobblehead day soon. Shouldn't he at least be the setup guy??

M.C. O'Connor said...

Doesn't anyone use the glossary?

M.C. O'Connor said...

Segio only threw 48 IP last season and was on the DL in August. That tells me he's fragile. His career high was 62 IP (2010). He faced 17 batters in the post-season that year in 3-2/3 (6 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 4 K). I think they baby him for a reason.

Zo said...

We have a Glossary?.....

Oh,well, that's very impressive.
But, my (second) question still stands. Doesn't FNG (see urbandictionary.com) imply incompetence or someone who has not proved their worth?

JC Parsons said...

I would have to say my Bro has it right...the "f" word has become common language. I have students (and coworkers) that regularly use WTF in conversation.
When we say FNG that does not really mean anything but a newcomer.

Is it Hacker tonight?? How bizarre that we actually have to use a SIXTH starter in April. I hate these kinds of starts... if it comes down to one or two games at the end, I always look back at these starts with shame.

nomisnala said...

Too bad the loss cannot go to Jeremy Affeldt and not Hacker. Affeldt needs to work out his issues somewhere else but not in the games. Wild pitches, poor control, lack of holding a medium speed runner on second base, when our speed guy in Pagan was picked off second. I think Affeldt has cost this team several games so far, and that is Bochy's fault as Affeldt has yet to find his good stuff. The team also needs to hit with runners in scoring position.