The Giants got their asses handed to them this weekend in San Diego. The Padres won a close, hard-fought pitchers duel, a close, see-saw slugfest, and one-sided Sunday beat-down. Ryan Vogelsong has yet to find his dominating October form and continues to be vexed by the long ball (7 HR in 30 IP so far). The failure was not exclusive to anyone in particular: there was poor fielding, bad pitching, and punchless hitting aplenty. The whole team has contributed to the five-game losing streak. The Giants worst month in 2012 was July. They went 12-12, losing five in a row (their longest of the season) from the 25th to the 30th. That included a three-game sweep at AT&T by the Dodgers by the combined score of 19-3! There's nothing to panic about here, of course. It's April. But there's lots to whine about. Five losses in a row stinks, no matter how you look at it.
I know I'm grumpy about the Giants losing, but I find myself almost unable to tolerate Mike Krukow on the CSN telecasts anymore. I realize he is a beloved figure in our world, but his constant repetition of the same stupid phrases ("down in the squ-aat, puttin' down the signs" or "getting greased up in the 'pen" or "I wanna get that, I wanna get that") and his inane, tiresome commentary about fans in the stands ("there's a gamer" or "they wear the colors well") are grating on my nerves so badly I sometimes have to leave the room. Add in his long-running pitching idiocy ("he's got a base to play with" and "there's anger behind that fastball") and his non-stop, hyperactive babbling and I'm worn out. I don't know if I can take it for another season. The radio guys are sooooo much better, and Duane Kuiper has, at least, the good sense to shut up now and again. It's TV, man, you don't have to read the stats on the screen to us! And I'm truly sick of the endless, lingering camera shots of people in Panda hats, people eating, little kids looking lost, yuppies playing on their goddamn meThings™, phony fans in costumes, and perfectly normal people becoming crazed loons because a foul ball gets close to them. Don't get me wrong--I'm thrilled the Giants have the best team in their San Francisco history going right now. It's a lot of fucking fun. But the clowns that populate my screen every night are enough to make me gag. It's not a ballgame, it's an event, and I don't need to watch a bunch of attention whores madly scrambling for their ten seconds of screen time. Sure, I dug the goofy celebrations for Opening Day and whatnot, what Giants fan couldn't appreciate what they've done these last few years? I remember those dark, cold nights at Candlestick when the team sucked and the fans stayed away and I don't want that ever again. But at least we could watch the game back then, and the broadcasts, even with goobers like Gary Park (may he requiescat in pacem), mostly focused on the action. It's a brave new world, I know, I'm embarrassed to be ranting like a cranky old-timer. If I ever see Kruk in person I'll probably make a fool of myself begging him to take some bloody Adderall before he goes on the air. I guess I'll just have to tune in to KNBR (via GameDay Audio) more often, or watch with the sound off. The radio, alas, is not synchronized to the TV, and is, in fact, a pitch or two ahead, most infuriating.
Like I said, I'm grumpy about the Giants. They've been lousy this weekend, and it's put me in a foul frame of mind. Appy polly loggies, then, me buckos, for subjecting you to this. At least I didn't subject you to recaps of the last two games, that would have been worse.
C'mon, Giants--pick it up!!
--M.C.
6 comments:
Nice rant. It would be nice for Krukow to tone it back. He really has taken it over the top. And the attention seeking costume crowd "its an event not a game" do grind, but as you say, thats the cost of success.
Cain at Chase. A tad nervous, hope our horse finds his groove. And it'd be nice for the mental errors to stop. Tighten up your game Gigantes!
Thanks, I had to get that off my chest. When the Giants lose 5 in a row I get cranky, like I said. I realize that Kruk and Kuip are better than 99.99% of the telecast teams out there, but that just tells you more about TV 'journalism' than K & K.
Funny how last year Cain and Vogie were the most boringly predictable and consistent guys. This year? It's a struggle. Maybe tonight the club can snap the streak and get a big win.
Krokow is absolutely not the problem. But I understand the crankiness. We have played ourselves into at least 3 of the last 5 losses, and that is not good. The Pads are not making errors, we are making costly ones. Our offense is there, or not, just at the wrong times. I realize that Andres Torres has skills that help the Giants, but twice now recently, he has been a defensive liability. That can't continue.
The Krukism I like the least is how he says "Refreshing Beer" in the Coors ad. I suppose it's required in his contract by now. And the "Squat" line gets old but, c'mon , you gotta love it.
As long-time Giants fans we have extraordinarily high standards for our broadcasters. From the immortal Hodges & Simmons, to Hank Greenwald and Jon Miller, we've had it good.
My personal all-time least favorite was Ron Fairly. Not just because of his lame announcing but also because I couldn't take one more fucking story about the Montreal Fucking Expos.
I find that they have held back on criticizing the ump when he makes a bad call. Living on the east coast and listening to other teams, I do not hear the restraint that Kruk and Kuip have when criticizing the umps. I suspect that they were so bad a few years ago, that the league had the giants have them tone down their criticisms. I think all those fans with their halloween costumes at the games, help make the management richer and more willing to spend money on the team. As I grow older I get less cranky and more tolerant of all the little things that fray your nerves that you posted about. A brutal 5 game losing streak, and we do not know if it is over or not. I see giants pitchers toss pitches, and watch homers being hit. The giants hit a home run here and there, but way too few long balls. I still think it was a big mistake not so sign Beltran. It is good to have a long ball threat in the middle of the lineup.
I think of myself as a tolerant guy. I do. But Kruk has pushed me over the edge. It's all because the Giants are losing, of course. If they win five in a row I'll be penning posts a-plenty, all filled with Krukovian wit and insight.
Well, maybe not. I just won't get as irritated.
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