(With apologies to the Grateful Dead)

I promised in my previous blog entry that I'd give an update on my trip to the Giants game. I'll keep it brief (as brief as I know how, anyway) because I'm not home yet, but writing this on my father in law's computer. Plus, I need to write it now, because once I get home, things get real busy and I may not post too often.

In a nutshell, the pregame stuff was odd and stressful.  We did battle with the rental car company (which has since been resolved...never try to rent a car with a debit card). Riding BART was indeed strange...at one point there was a fire at Embarcadero station, so our train STOPPED before going under the Bay, and eventually headed back the other way. We had to get off the train and wait for another one. We rode under the Bay (without me totally freaking out) and went to the next station. We had to try to figure out how to take a bus from there to the ballpark. We eventually got there.

While at the ballpark, almost nothing was normal. To wit:

1. The trip to the Giants Dugout Store was much cheaper than anticipated. All-Star Game stuff was slashed...I bought a jacket for $35 (regular $80), a cap for $10 ($25), and a shirt for $5 ($40). Talk about a kid in a toy store at Christmas time!

2. Free orange T-shirts given away before the game! My wife even got her hair sprayed orange.

On to the game:

3. Noah Lowry did NOT look at all like one of the league's ERA leaders. He allowed 3 runs in the first, and 6 total in 5 innings.

4. Noah Lowry DID look like one of the league's premeir hitters. He went 2 for 2 with a single and a home run. His batting average went from .057 to .074 to .093.

5. The Giants scored 6 (yes, that's six from an anemic offense) in the first inning alone, and 11 total runs on the evening. 

6. Omar Vizquel didn't field a ground ball that he should have gotten to (although it showed up in the box score as a base hit).

7. The umpires actually lost count during one of Omar Vizquel's at bats. He should have walked, but they were a ball behind in the count. On the following pitch, Omar hit a bases clearing double.

8. Kevin Frandsen, who entered mid-game for Ray Durham, hit a home run to left.

9. The bullpen had 4 scoreless innings (although Kline and Chulk did make it interesting).

However, there were a few normal things that happened. Giants fans were out in droves, showing a ton of spirit and pride in a last place team. We had great seats, sitting next to a guy who went to the same college at  which my wife got her Master's degree. The garlic fries were heavenly, the beer was expensive, and a spectacular time was had by all.

And, oh yeah...Mr. Bonds hit career homer number 761, a majestic splash hit into McCovey Cove. It is something that will stick in my mind for the rest of my life.

No, the headline doesn’t refer to the Cubs. For a change, it’s the San Francisco Giants. After four consecutive years of not making the playoffs, and three years of not being close, management has finally realized they are going to have to revamp the club.

 As I prepare to visit my father-in-law in the Bay Area, which gives me a great excuse to go to a Giants game (front row, close to the dugout, baby!), I do so knowing that it’s likely it will be the last time that I’ll see several of my favorite Giants in a San Francisco jersey.

 There are certainly, as any member of the Giants faithful can tell you, many changes that need to be made. But is it as far away as it seems? Perhaps not. I think that you can break down the Giants into four areas…and two of them need dire work. The other two? Maybe not so much.

 STARTING PITCHING

 First and foremost…what the Giants need to do here is: EXACTLY NOTHING! Don’t touch a thing. This club has, in my mind, a chance to have one of the strongest starting rotations in baseball. I’m not talking just now, either…perhaps one of the strongest rotations ever. Yes, I’m talking ’71 Orioles, ’95 Braves…they could be that good.

Before you scoff…do you really think Barry Zito will be as bad as he has been this year? Look at former A’s teammate Tim Hudson. His ERA jumped his second year in the National League, and now it’s back to just above 3.00. I can’t see why Zito won’t do the same. Once Barry starts to relax, and not press trying to justify his contract, he should settle back into the Barry Zito that the Giants thought they were signing to a multi-year contract.

If you haven’t heard already, Tim Lincecum has some very scary stuff. He’s still learning to pitch at the major league level…but he’s proving to be a quick study. Once seasoned, he’s going to be something very special.

When you look at stats for Matt Cain, forget the won-loss record. He’s received god-awful run support, and can’t count on the bullpen to hold a lead for him on the rare occasions he leaves with a lead. Cain is a quality starter, period. He’s even younger than Lincecum, and throws wicked heat. Once Cain can relax because he can count on the offense to score some runs, he’ll be excellent.

All Noah Lowry has done is quietly posted one of the best ERAs in the National League this year. I’m looking forward to watching him pitch on Friday. I’ll give you a post-game report about Mr. Lowry when I return.

BULLPEN

 Okay, here it is…even more than working over the offense, HERE is the area the Giants need to concentrate on the most. The bullpen has been dismal this season. The club needs to beg, borrow, or steal relievers, and spare no expense. As admirably as Brad Hennessey has performed, he is not a closer. He’s a good long reliever, possibly a fifth starter…but a closer he is not. Kevin Correa might be worth keeping around, but not building around. Vinnie Chulk is the Giants version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde…you never know which one you’re going to see on the mound. Steve Kline may be a fun guy to have around, but his best days are behind him. You get my drift…the Giants need to rebuild a bullpen in the worst way, instead of having a bullpen that pitches in the worst way.

INFIELD

 The first part of my infield analysis may surprise some. I say, leave the left side of the infield alone! I know, Omar Vizquel is old and not hitting like he used to, and Pedro Feliz has still not been the monster at the plate he’s been touted to be for several years. But, I do think that in terms of defense alone, those two are worth keeping. Everyone knows about Vizquel…arguably, the best defensive shortstop to ever play the game. But few outside of San Francisco realize what a highlight reel season Feliz has put together at third base. Night after night he makes ridiculously hard plays look easy. And his plate discipline HAS improved a bit…not to the extent everyone would like to see, but he is putting up decent enough numbers to keep him around.

Where the Giants need to drastically improve is on the right side of the infield. As much as I like and respect Ray Durham, Rich Aurilia, and Ryan Klesko, they are clearly not the answer. The Giants need to be younger and stronger at both positions. Kevin Frandsen is NOT the answer. Frandsen has been getting a ton of at bats this year, with the hope that he’d be ready to step into a full time starting role. It’s not going to happen. His average is floundering down around .220.  The right side  would be an ideal place to pick up a big name…if the Giants let Bonds go, they need to have another big name to keep filling the seats. I’m all for keeping Rich Aurilia around as a utility infielder, however, particularly if they also name his lovely wife Raquel as the Giants Official Celebrity Spokesbabe.

(Did you honestly think I'd pass up an opportunity to put the lovely Ms. Aurilia in my blog????) 

The catching situation needs no change. Benjie Molina has been the best acquisition of last offseason. He’s been the Giants most consistent and clutch hitter.

OUTFIELD

The several million dollar question for the Giants is, what do you do with Bonds? Barry wants to come back one more year, and I’d love to see him keep hitting balls into McCovey Cove. But if the Giants are serious about getting younger, all three outfielders (Bonds, Roberts, and Winn) are likely to be gone. While I’d personally like to see Randy Winn, one of the most underrated players in baseball, stay, if they do indeed decide to go younger…it’s already done!

The Giants need to look no further than their own forty man roster to get younger, and potentially get really GOOD in the outfield. The trio of Rajai Davis, Dan Ortmeier, and Freddy Lewis is poised and ready to turn some heads. Ortmeier, while being the least impressive of the three, also has added versatility in that he can play first base. Davis and Lewis both display blazing speed, and have shown they can hit. Lewis (currently at Fresno) hit for the cycle in a call up earlier this season. Davis was an absolute steal from the Pirates (acquired in the Matt Morris deal). The Giants future certainly could look bright in the outfield.

I’ll be away from regular computer use for a few days. Thanks in advance for reading, and I’ll get to comments eventually, if not right away.

For weeks now, the media and many of us bloggers have pondered as to where and when Barry Bonds would tie and break Hank Aaron's home run record. The feelings were nearly unanimous that the home runs should come at A####mp;T Park in San Francisco. Any where else, it was predicted, would be a disaster. Fans would boo the record falling, objects would be thrown onto the field, dogs and cats living together...mass hysteria. 

Tonight, the San Diego Padres fans proved us all wrong. Sure, they booed Bonds as he came to the plate to lead off the second inning. But, as Bonds launched number 755 into the left field bleachers, the crowd rose as one and applauded the event. Personally, I got goosebumps as he picked up his son at home plate. It was so wonderful to have the historical moment left intact, instead of marred by a disapproving crowd.

The sentiments continued. Not only did they boo their own pitcher upon walking Bonds for the third time that evening, but he received a standing ovation as he left the field for a pinch runner. And far from being the monster he's so often portrayed as, Bonds tipped his helmet to the crowd as he entered the dugout.

 Could it be that we had it all wrong the entire time? Bonds received enough votes to start in the All-Star game. That wasn't ballot-stuffing by home town Giants fans, or we would have seen Benjie Molina and Randy Wynn as starters. Perhaps he's not quite as hated as the media and many here would have us believe.

Congratulations, Barry, and go f....I mean, well done, San Diego!

PART ONE

One week ago, the Giants appeared to be on the verge of being the first team eliminated from playoff contention.

Barry Zito and Matt Cain were both winless, the Giants were floundering at the bottom of a weak division at 3-7, and the team appeared headed nowhere fast.

Fast forward to today.

While Cain is still winless, Zito has picked up his second win, Barry Bonds is crushing homers at a regular pace, and most importantly, the Giants are riding a five game win steak, and have pushed above the .500 mark.

I'm more than happy to see the Gigantes coming around. Most experts predicted the Giants to have a poor season, but I was more optimistic. Hopefully this turnaround is a sign of better things to come for the boys by the bay.

I would certainly liked to have seen more of the Giants, however. Due to a screw up at my cable company, the games were not available on Extra Innings until Wednesday. Seems they had already allotted the channels to...get this...hockey playoffs. Hockey??? There are few things I'd rather see than a hockey game. Okay, maybe a soccer game. Or Nascar. But beyond that, there isn't much. Saturday, I cringed when I saw the start time...1:00 p.m. Pacific. I knew that the Fox Channel would only be showing the Yankees/Red Sox game, because, after all, those are the only baseball teams that exist. (more about the Red Sox later). For some unkown reason, the Sunday game wasn't carried on Extra Innings, either. That being said...I STILL am glad to have the Extra Innings option...because MLB.TV, quite frankly, bites the big one.

PART TWO

A week ago, even though they hadn't played many games due to weather, the Seattle Mariners looked, surprisingly to me at least, respectable.

One week later...oh my lord, what has happened?

Well, let's start with the starting pitching.

My apologies for the above formatting issues, but the gist is this: Mariner starting pitching sucks. The injury to Hernandez is indeed unfortunate, and Washburn was at least semi-respectable, but the newcomers? Well, they're just not getting the job done. And I can't say I'm surprised, in spite of what the illustrious Mr. Bavasi wanted us to believe before the season started.

In our latest "Meet the Mariners" segment, we asked Mr. Bavasi, "what did you do before you went into baseball?"

Okay...that explains a lot.

In the series against the Angels, Richie Sexson is 0-11. But in all fairness...will SOMEONE please explain to the umpires that when you are 6' 8", your knees are higher than most other players, and what is above the knees to David Eckstein may not be a strike to Richie? It gets old watching him get called out on strikes that are clearly out of HIS strike zone.

IN OTHER NEWS:

I fully expected to see Santa Claus throw out the first pitch in this game.

I guess what it does show is that Dan "Action Dan" Harrington has been ahead of his time all these years:

One final thought: My wife verbalized something yesterday that I had been thinking. She said, "What is with A-Rod and all these homers? Is he on something?" She said it tongue in cheek, but it was a valid point. If Barry Bonds was on a tear like A-Rods (which I will grudgingly agree is nothing short of phenomenal), everyone would be pointing fingers and blaming 'roids, even though testing would have busted him long ago. But with A-Rod, everything is clean right???

Have a great and wonderful week, all!

I'm relatively new to the blogging community, but if I'd been a long termer (and showed some ability...there's always that issue), I'm sure people would be flocking to my blog on the heels of the recent Barry Bonds controversy. Those who know me know that I'm a lifelong Giants fan and a Bonds apologist. "Well, what does he have to say about THIS one????"

I've almost always had an opinion on things, whether well-researched or just off the cuff. I can recall a very heated discussion in my small-school senior government class (the year was 1975) where 2 out of 36 of us were anti-draft. I was one of the two (so, you can see, my political views were/still are closer to UltraMega's than a lot of others). I'm not normally one to keep quiet about my views, either.

Politically, there has been one issue that I have never made a stand on. I pondered and pondered over the death penalty issue. I tried, really tried, to consider both sides of the issue. And I came to the realization that, I don't have to come up with an opinion on this one. The world doesn't need my two cents worth. What I have to say about it won't make a bit of difference to anyone except perhaps someone looking for an argument. So...I abstain.

Now this latest Bonds thing. I could continue to defend perhaps the greatest hitter ever known to the game. I could turn my back on him, take down my framed and autographed Bonds picture on the wall (a gift from my wife) and take my autographed Bonds baseball off the shelf (a gift from my sons), and swear to never watch or root for him again. (For those who may think I'm not capable of that, I am...my favorite Giant was Jeff Kent before he broke his hand washing his truck while popping wheelies on his motorcycle).

But I've decided...not to decide. There are enough people out there who are already bashing away, and were even before this story broke. There are enough people who will defend him no matter what. The sports world doesn't need one more person chiming in on the issue.

I'll continue to root for the Giants. If Barry is with them, and steps to the plate, I'll root for him to hit one out. But if he's gone...I'll root for whomever is batting cleanup and playing left field. I don't have to choose...so I won't.