Is Cliff Lee Really That Good?

The bidding war/stalemate over Cliff Lee raises a good question.  Is he really that good?  Is he another Barry Zito waiting to happen?  Last year he was only 12-9, with a 3.18 ERA, and 4-6 with a 3.98 ERA during the second half in a Rangers uniform.  He got spanked in the World Series.  Overall, I'm glad other teams are going after him.

Catching Up

Okay, I haven't been able to catch up with what I've wanted to write. Long time Yankee PA announcer Bob Sheppard died just before the All-Star break. (I believe it's his voice announcing Roger Maris as number nine that is immortalized on the Beatles White Album) George Steinbrenner died just before the All-Star game. The National League won the game. The first half of the season was wrapped up. I was at Tim Lincecum's complete game shutout vs. the Mets. All of this I missed writing about. I still haven't dealt completely with Jason's question about instant replay in light of the perfect game blunder. Oh, and I still need to do the Giants win projection post for July 15. I better get writing.

Busy Week Fer Sure

This was such a busy week I didn't have time to post about Bob Sheppard passing away, or about George Steinbrenner passing away, or about the home run derby, or about the All-Star game... or about the Giants win projection through July 15. Things happen so fast in the blog world that Sunday is passe. Maybe I'll give it a shot this week.

Will Santa Bring A Bat To The Giants?

Good question. It may have to come from Santa.

Note To Giants' Marketing Team:

We're still in this thing.

New Profile Photo

I've added a new profile photo to my blogs. This photo was a professional headshot produced by my friend Deb Wat. The photo shoot was a very interesting process, and Deb is a true professional. Her objective for this shot was to draw me out of my element as a writer. I think it came out great, and my family and friends agree. Check out her site at Deb Wat Photography.

Micro Brewers

The Giants single A team in San Jose is called the Giants, after the parent club. The team is known as the "Little Giants." Well, if you apply this logic to the Brewers team, and Mrs. Scott did, a Brewers minor league team can be known as the "Micro Brewers." Good thinking, Mrs. Scott!

Saltalamacchia: Longest Name Ever

Friday night's Giants game vs. the Texas Rangers I saw Rangers catcher Jerrod Saltalamacchia play. He has the distinction of having the longest last name in baseball history at 14 letters. The name on the back of his jersey starts at mid back on the left and curls all the way around his shoulders and ends at mid back on the right. It looks very strange indeed. The old record of 13 was shared by a number of players, namely Todd Hollandsworth and William Van Landingham, two players I saw play for several years.

Apparently there is a kid in the minors at AAA who originally had a 13 letter name (from his father), but upon his parents' divorce he took his mother's 16 letter name as his own. If he's called up and he plays, he'll have the new record. I just love baseball trivia.

Remembering Mark Fydrich

Two in one day. What a bummer. I remember Mark Fydrich on TV when I was a boy. His crazy antics won a nation of fans. I wish he could have pitched longer in his career.

Remembering Harry Kalas

I was saddened about mid-day today at the hearing of Harry Kalas's passing. He was a true voice, not only of the Phillies, but of baseball's history. I loved his deep baritone voice, the long drawn out way he would call the game - even it's exciting points - as a reflection of yesteryear's leisurely, pastoral pace of the game.

Philly fans will surely miss him.

Remembering Nick Adenhart

I don't remember the Angels' Nick Adenhart apart from watching him pitch to maybe a batter or so the other night. I had the A's/Angels game on the TV in one room, then I heard about his death early the next morning. What a tragedy. I recall my own wife and oldest son being t-boned in an intersection by somebody who ran a red light. This occurred about four or five years ago. They were far more fortunate.

I hope the Angels are able to make it through this tough time. I'm sure the fans who attended that game are pretty freaked out, too. Sympathy to his family.

Al Davis Should Be Ball Dude For A Day

Maybe Raiders owner Al Davis could be a Giants ball dude for a day. Like down the first base line.

Why I've Come To Dislike The Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America

I've come to a point in my life where I now dislike The Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America. These were staple songs of just the average patriotism of the average American when I was a kid. The Star Spangled Banner is a tradition before the game of baseball, the national pastime. I grew up fairly conservative, and the national anthem was sung in a conservative way before a game started. Quite often, it was played by the ballpark organ and the crowd sung along as they wanted. In the 80's, the San Francisco Giants often invited odd characters to sing before the game, and they sang the national anthem in odd ways. Some of them butchered both the melody and content. Many San Franciscans approved, cheering wildly at the inappropriate times. I'm not sure if this happened across the country at non-nationally televised games, but it happened here. And not in Oakland, either.

Now, it seems to be a fad to have some "award winning recording star" butcher the song on every occasion. During this World Series, Patti Labelle got up to sing during one game. I had to change a diaper before the game started, and at about two words into it, I cut the sound. I had no idea she incinerated the song until several days later when it was a topic on sports talk radio.

I cringe in embarrassment every time I hear it before a game. I'm usually just on time at a baseball game, which means that I'm in the food or beer line, or maybe restroom, during the anthem. The Giants, ever since 9/11, have taken to playing the anthem on the radio. Not live either, but spliced in between commercial segments. It sounds so fake. I cut to an FM rock station. Then there's the Olympics. I have to hear it played about 83 times. Anything repeated that many times will result in stomach illness. So, mostly out of liking the song as a kid, I've come to dislike it as an adult.

God Bless America has similar problems. It was inserted into the 7th inning stretch by Major League Baseball just after 9/11. Now it's presence has faded to Sunday games only, with the exception that the Yankess still play it every game. If you go to the bathroom during the song, the Yankees' security will throw you out of the stadium forcefully. It doesn't belong in the 7th inning stretch. Take Me Out To The Ballgame does. God Bless America is sung first. This throws the fans off, and it disrupts a hundred year old tradition. It completely takes away from Take Me Out To The Ballgame.

Neither song belongs the way it currently exists. That's why I dislike them now. I don't listen anymore. I avoid them when I can.

Every Kid Dreams Of Playing In National League

Every kid's childhood dream. Three balls, two strikes, two outs, bases loaded, bottom of the ninth, game seven of the World Series, down three runs against the Yankees. The kid hits a grand slam to win the World Series. To beat the Yankees means to play in the National League.

Pedro Effing Feliz

Okay, I always felt that the Giants needed a quality third baseman. I was never truly unhappy with Pedro Feliz. He was okay, but I'd rather have somebody like George Brett, Mike Schmidt or A-Rod. But, wouldn't you know it, the split second the Giants delete what would have been the best hitter in their lineup, he goes out and gets the World Series winning base hit with another team. Shades of Orlando Cepeda winning the MVP and World Series the year following his trade? Well, it brings up the idea. This year's post season was so full of ex A's and Giants it was not even funny.

Baseball In The Olympics

Baseball and softball will no longer be Olympic sports after this year, according to news reports I heard. I agree with this. I don't see why baseball should be an Olympic sport anyway. It's not an athletic competition the way other Olympic sports are. When I played baseball back in school, I never thought of myself as an athlete, but I did think of the track team as athletes.

The 2008 games are marked by "controversy" anyway on the diamond. The USA and China had quite a clash going with seven bean balls, two plate collisions and three ejections. Giants up and comer Nate Schierholtz had a plate collision with catcher Yang Yang which was pretty bruising. I spoke to others at work about the game, and one said it was a travesty for relations with China, while the other said that is the way baseball is played. I lean toward the latter.

Bonds To Red Sox? (2)

Nevermind.

Fun Night At The Ballyard

I went to last night's thrashing of the Mets by the Giants. It started out with deciding to drive to the game from work. A friend was also going and had to meet his family there so he hitched a ride. Another guy who lived in the City piled in so we crossed the bridge free in the carpool lane. We got there really early. It was a guy's night out with Mike and I. My good friend Shelly bought the other two tickets long ago and brought her dad.

It was Irish heritage night, so I opted out of my usual Lagunitas IPA and had a Guiness. It was also Tim Lincecum poster night for the first 20,000. I got there in plenty of time. I bumped into Shelly in the food line just before heading down to the seats. Her dad had an open container of pop corn which lasted for quite a few innings.

There were many Mets fans in attendance, with their usual machismo style of "bragging rights start before the game" swagger. A six run first shut all of them up. Funny how that happens. Anyway, it was a typical frigid San Francisco summer night, temps in the low 50's, foggy, with wind in the 30mph's. Overall, I had quite a bit of fun, what with the Giants win and an abundance of heckling opportunities of the Mets bullpen, what with all the scoring.

Every Fifth Game

In a typical season, the best of teams win about 96 games for a winning percentage of about .600. The worst of teams lose about 96 games for a winning percentage of about .400. These winning percentages can be had in as few as five games. A record of 3-2 yields a percentage of .600 and a 2-3 record is .400. So both the best of teams and the worst of teams win two games and lose two games. The difference between the good and bad teams is what they do with the fifth game.

It is interesting that the outcome of only every fifth game makes such a huge difference in a team's season. Over 162 games, this small difference is magnified greatly.

Eugenio

Eugenio, pronounced "ay-oo-HAY-nee-oh", as far as I can see, is Spanish for "Eugene." The dad in a family I know, is sometimes called "Eugene" by his wife, who reads my blog. I know him as Gene. But the Giants have a kid playing right now named Eugenio Velez, and the Spanish pronunciation has caught on with some kind of cult following. I doubt she'll ever call him Eugenio.