First inning, no hits so far. Guess I’m an idiot.

38 Responses to “…. Penny for your thoughts”

1. +mia says:

   September 4, 2009 at 9:42 am

   This is approaching theater of the absurd. How absurd? Well this quote from the 9/04/2009 San Jose Mercury News:

   The last time a Giants pitcher had gone seven or more innings, allowed four hits or fewer, struck out at least 11 and lost was April 26, 1968, when the Dodgers defeated Ray Sadecki.

   That was forty-two seasons ago. In April 1968, Bria….er uhm Robert McNamara was still trying to figure out what the fuck had happened to his brilliant war strategy after the Tet Offensive. The Watergate break-in was still years in the future, and Tom Seaver was getting ready to match up against Bob Gibson, on May 6th in Busch Stadium in an epic 11 inning pitching duel that ended by a score of 2-1 in favor of the home team, just like last nights Giants-Phils teeth-gnasher. You can check out the Seaver-Gibson matchup for yourself.

   Same kind of mismatch. Seaver had the misfortune of facing the likes of Roger Maris, Lou Brock, Curt Flood, Tim McCarver, Stan Javier, Mike Shannon and Orlando Cepeda (yes the same Cepeda whom Stoneham traded for the above-mentioned Sadecki). Gibson had to face no such lineup, toying easily with the likes of Bud Harrelson, Ken Boswell, Art Shamsky, Ron Swaboda and other guys with career OPS in the 600s to mid 700s.

   Players like Seaver didn’t have any choice in those days. The Reserve Clause meant his ass was owned by the Mets–literally. In 1968, Andy Messerschmidt and Dave McNally were still 7 years away from being declared free agents by Arbitrator Peter Seitz forcing the owners to negotiate a contract with the players.

   Timmy got a taste of the big time last night. He saw one of his idols carve up his team with less stuff than he has. He knows the clock is running and the window of opportunity to pitch for a championship team is a small one. He threw As great as Marichal, Bonds, Perry, and McCovey were, they never won a championship. And Mac’s career spanned 4 decades. The opportunity to win a championship is elusive, especially in the free-agent era when your best players migrate to teams that:

   a) Have Money and Spend Money

   b) Primary purpose is to win championships. Even if it means biting the bullet on bad free-agent signings

   The Giants are not the only teams that make horrible mistakes in the free agent market. The Yankees and Red Sox and Angels and Dodgers have spent huge amounts on free agents that don’t work out or expire before their contracts do. Guys like Carl Pavano, Andruw Jones, Gary Matthews Jr, and so forth. The difference is that unlike Brian Sabean and the Giants, they don’t try to squeeze every last little bit of wasted dollars from guys like that in hopes that “they will come around”

   The Yankees deal with problems like Pavano and sign Sabathia. The Dodgers cut ties with Jones and sign Manny. The Angels keep Matthews in a support role and pick up Tori Hunter and Bobby Abreu. In other words they demonstrate a commitment to winning by acknowledging their mistakes and doing what is necessary to correct them. They don’t whine in the press and media how Barry Bonds and re-signing Jeff Kent would have kept the Giants from fielding a competitive team.

   And trust me on this one. Player Agents know who is committed and who isn’t. And thats the dirty nasty secret that nobody in mainstream is talking about. And that’s why unless there is a radical change very soon, we may very well have seen one the last great seasons of Sanchez, Lincecum, Cain, in the same uniform, their won loss records not-withstanding

   Reply
2. trantor says:

   September 3, 2009 at 9:12 pm

   The Giants KNOW their hitting sucks. Bochy knows. Sabean knows. Heck, the whole team knows….

   Explain this
   Giants vs. Happ top of the second.
   GarkO single, Uribe second. 2 on no outs.
   Rowand up. Bunt them over? No,
   zero runs socred
   Didn’t cost them, Penny & Co. Shut out the PHillies.

   Giants vs. Hamel
   Top of Second
   Garko Doubles.
   Uribe Bunts? No.
   Zero runs scored

   Top of 9th
   Aurillia singles (Aurilia? WTF is he doing on the team?)
   Torres pinch runs
   Pinch hitter time!
   Bunt? No
   Torres gets picked off
   Zero runs scored.

   Giants vs. Pedro
   Top of the 6th
   Velez doubles
   Renteria bunts?
   No
   Zero runs scored

   4 situations where they should have played for 75% chance of a run. Two games would have gone extra, or perhaps they score a run.

   Yes I can take it out on the Hitters, in addition to management. All year, knowing you suck, play for the one run and win a few extra. How many games would they have won playing for one run at a time, with leadoff doubles. I suspect they lead the league in NOT scoring after a lead off double.

   Reply
   • B says:

     September 4, 2009 at 10:37 am

     I’m ok with not bunting. Bunting usually lowers your expected number of runs scored. What pisses me off is Bengie Molina, he of the .281 OBP, batting cleanup. Velez and Winn playing at all. Molina playing at all, for that matter, where’s Posey? He’s better than Molina, and we’re starting his arbitration clock just to sit him on the bench. That makes NO sense at all. Fred Lewis is our 2nd best hitter, and clearly they realize he can hit at least somewhat considering they PH him for Ishikawa with the game on the line. Why isn’t he playing? We put Rich Aurilia (why is he even on the roster…?) in to pinch run the other night, talk about brutal. I went to all 3 games, one of the most depressing series I’ve ever seen. We clearly have no long term plan, no short term plan, and simply do not understand what needs to be done to make this a better hitting team. Well, at least we have Garko and Sanchez now after we gave up 2 or our top 3 pitching prospects. What’s that you say? They combined to play 1 game this series?

     Thanks Sabean.

     Reply
3. +mia says:

   September 3, 2009 at 8:43 pm

   Nah. No way at all the Giants could have used a Jermaine Dye or Jim Thome.

   Reply
4. The Other Robert says:

   September 3, 2009 at 7:10 pm

   Yeah, Uncle Joe beat me to it, but we were all thinking the same thing. Three games against the world champion Phillies. The Phils are second in runs scored and OPS in the NL and the Giants 4-5-1 pitchers in the rotation hold them to 3 runs for the entire series – and the Phils win 2 of 3 games.

   John, come out from hiding, this series summed up all your concerns. +mia, put me down for #1.

   Excuse me now while I go throw up.

   Reply
5. Uncle Joe Mccarthy says:

   September 3, 2009 at 6:21 pm

   this pitching staff surrendered 3 whole runs to the world champions…in a bandbox

   and this team came out of the series with one win

   pathetic

   neither bochy nor sabean can be allowed to stay

   and nice move, shaming molina into getting back into the lineup….that worked real well

   Reply
6. trantor says:

   September 3, 2009 at 1:34 pm

   BTW: Giovanni Carmazzi was I believe a Walsh recommended stealth pick. Insiders knew this pick was going to happen 2 months before the draft, I knew a friend of McKittrick who talked about this from like January on that year.

   Too bad he got hurt.

   As far as Sabean, we have who we have running this show. Same with Bochy.

   Neukom is a smart guy. Someone must have shown him some of the premium stat-oriented baseball sites on the web, he must be at least peripherally aware of what is going on in Boston, hopefully read Moneyball, rather than hear about it from people who didn’t get it.

   My thinking is Sabean is going to be history, but why let him know until after the season. (and after you have a replacement in sight). Never show your cards until you have to is something you learn in law school 101.

   Bochy is probably going to stay, though.

   Reply
7. scott s says:

   September 3, 2009 at 11:50 am

   OBM Gents,

   Neukom tells us that “we’re rebuilding in 09″ as of yesterday. Not a good sign. Look for Sabean to be around for a couple more years. +mia is correct about the “Bow Tie” effect. It’s cutting off the blood flow…and not just to his big head.

   We need to prove to Cain,Lincecum,Sanchez, and the rest of our young guns why they should want to stay Gigantes. Sabean, unfortunately doesn’t get it. We need to win now(this year)…or we will let maybe the best pitching staff since the 69 Orioles to slip away. We need to prove to these guys that we are “all in” and dedicated to winning championships. This should be the main goal…period. Making the yard an enjoyable theatrical event…should just be the frosting. I was saying from day one that the wild card was ours to lose…even back in May. Continuing to run Winn out against lefties…when Shierholtz is batting .395 against lefties(240 points higher) is just part of the poor mgmt logic that will prevent it from happening. Winn is all around a downgrade from Shierholtz…and +mia is correct when he says the line-up is made up by salary and justifying Sabeans moves….not necessarily the line-up that gives you the best chance of winning. I’m tired of hearing Sabean and Bochy keep saying we need to lean on our veterans…and hoping they come around to form. Most people as they age rarely return to their old form. That in itself is Sabeans greatest flaw.

   Even though Whiteside isn’t hitting…he calls a better game…and his arm changed the tide in two of the wins against the Rocks. We are 6-2 with him starting.

   It’s possible both the Rocks and Gigantes could catch the Blue Crew. It could happen.

   O’Conner is right when he say’s…”take time to enjoy the fucking ride”. Sabean or not…it’s Sept…and we’re in a stretch drive. We need to stay behind our Gigantes.

   Stay hot Timmy.

   Reply
   • +mia says:

     September 3, 2009 at 12:48 pm

     You know. I was really hoping Neukom was going to bring a fresh outlook. Other Robert gave us some excellent points that indicated he would not necessarily look upon with great favor the contract renewasl of Sabean and/or Bochy.

     But as always, Larry Baer is in the middle of all of this. He is always involved in every last detail. He is the marionette master. Neukom is there to safeguard the checkbook. He is a hands off guy more comfortable in the role of Corporate Grandpa than activist partner. Baer is there to market the organization. And if the Giants can fill up the stadium and maximize revenues and emulate the Chicago Cubs, he will have as Armando Benitez so aptly phrased it when he threw Omar Vizquel under the bus..”did my job.”

     I guess that works for some folks who look at the Giants in the same vein as going to the movies, a club, the Opera. A distraction from everyday life. Thats fine. Thats the Giants market. Being at Pacbell enjoying the “ballpark experience” while inhaling the illusion of winning laughing gas while this team refuses almost blatantly to sign difference making impact players who may or may not alienate their tony urban cheese munching maggot clientele in the process of maybe/maybe not making the difference in a pennant chase.

     It is much safer to give an obnoxiously rich contract to two guys like Rowand and Zito who appeal to the soccer mom and izod crowd, and most importantly the Bruce Jenkins of the world, than it is to sign guys with jerry curls and an attitude who hit fucking three-run bombs and have OPS in the high 900s.

     They have said so themselves many times that they have no desire to repeat the Bonds years. That they were moving on. They have no more stomach for players who have posses, handlers, pals or whatever habits, associates, family, friends, acquaintences, etc, that do not fit into their vanilla world of do not rock the boat we are all one big happy family, us and Comcast and SF Gate and Bay Area Newsgroup and Chronicle Broadcasting and NBC bay area.

     They make me want to puke they are so scared of offending people.

     Reply
     • Robert says:

       September 3, 2009 at 2:51 pm

       Consider the difference between the backgrounds of McGowan and Neukom.

       McGowan inherited his wealth and headed up a large chain of grocery stores. What sort of corporate culture does a grocery store chain have? They fight with their unionized employees to keep down wages and benefits. They negotiate with their vendors to get competative prices. They fight to get the best locations for their stores and twist the arms of the local comunities to keep their rents low. I think this skill set is remarkably well suited to getting a new stadium and maximizing profit to cost.

       Neukom earned his wealth and put together what became a 300+ man legal team representing the Microsoft Corporation since its inception in 1979. What sort of corporate culture has formed Neukom’s experience? It is one which involved taking over the competition or crushing them into bankruptcy. The competition in the field of software is fierce and because it involves a truly new type of product inovation and pioneering new types of business strategies was essential to survival. It is not the same as pricing corn on the cob lower than the grocery store down the block. Neukom started as a small share holder in the Giants and now he has aquired enough of the team to be the CEO and President. True to form.

       My point is that the mind set of these two men must be fundamentally different for them to have done so well in their respective fields. I find comfort in this change in the top management. I think Neukom is probably a LOT more competitive than McGowan, even if he looks harmless. Ask Lotus Software, Sun Microsystems or Netscape how harmless Neukom is and I think they will laugh at the question.

       Remember that neither Bochy nor Sabean’s contracts have been renewed past the end of this season. I find that to be particularly telling. We will see what happens, but I personally am confident that Neukom will not be satisfied with losing and the status quo.

       Reply
       • +mia says:

         September 3, 2009 at 5:22 pm

         I have to tell you Robert, that is the one hope I have. Your points are persuasive. I sincerely hope you are correct and that I am not. Truly.

         He did fight the The DOJ to a standstill in what many anticipated would be a slamdunk for the feds and he beat the shit out of that little fraud Jobs in a copyright infringement case….

         So we got that goin’ for us…which is nice.

         Reply
8. az9erfan says:

   September 3, 2009 at 8:13 am

   I think all the anit-Sabean people better be careful what you wish for….you only need to look over at the football team to see what happens when you get rid of stable front office people. Some of you were probably the same ones screaming for Steve Marriucci to get fired and the 9ers have sucked since. Who is better than Sabean? Who will hire him? Stop being such knee-jerk morons…

   Reply
   • B says:

     September 3, 2009 at 9:41 am

     “Some of you were probably the same ones screaming for Steve Marriucci to get fired and the 9ers have sucked since.”

     You say that like firing Mariucci had anything to do with how bad we’ve been since. Why don’t we look at the facts, when Mariucci was the coach (’97-02), we drafted the following players in the top 3 rounds of the draft (there are no exclusions from this list, round in parentheses):
     Jim Drunkenmiller (1), Marc Edwards (2), Greg Clark (3), RW McQuarters (1), Jeremy Newberry (2), Chris Ruhman (3), Reggie McGrew (1), Chike Okeafor (3), Julian Peterson (1), Ahmed Plummer (1), John Engelberger (2), Jason Webster (2), Giovanni Carmazzi (3), Jeff Ulbricht (3), Andre Carter (1), Jamie Winborn (2), Kevan Barlow (3), Mike Rumph (1), Saleem Rasheed (3).

     That’s a pretty big list of garbage. We’ve been bad ever since because the years Mariucci was there left the team completely devoid of talent (ring any bells?).

     “Who is better than Sabean?”

     Many people are better than Sabean. He doesn’t have the slightest idea how to acquire players who make an offense better. We’ve been complaining about how bad all the overpaid, underperforming veterans have been since Kent left and Bonds had to carry the load himself, but guess what? Now that Bonds is gone, despite the rhetoric that we had a new approach, we’re still doing the exact same thing, and unsurprisingly enough…failing miserably. If we still had Pedro Feliz on our team, he’d be hitting cleanup. Imagine if you could go back to ~2005 and tell your past self in 2009, you’d be wishing to have a hitter as good as Pedro Feliz. My past self probably would punch me in the face for saying that.

     It’s pathetic, and the evidence that Sabean holds us back is mounting so substantially I don’t see how even the biggest Sabean supporter doesn’t have to acknowledge it. We’ve scored the 2nd fewest runs in the NL. We have the worst OBP in baseball. We have the least amount of walks in baseball. We have the second least amount of home runs. You know what, though? There are 6 teams in the NL with worse batting averages than us, including the second best offensive team (by runs) – the Phillies. We’re also only 8th in K%.

     The point I’m making is Brian Sabean still pays for batting average, when the rest of the league realizes how importants walks, OBP, and HR’s are. If he doesn’t get it now, he never will. If we ever want to win a WS, we have to move beyond Sabean. How good will the replacement be? I don’t know, but at least it gives us a chance of hiring someone who can accomplish what we need, because Sabean sure as hell dosen’t.

     Reply
     • +mia says:

       September 3, 2009 at 11:58 am

       Self: Pedro Feliz is our best hitter
       Past Self: BLAM SOCKO THWACK SLAP PUNCH KICK KNEE STRANGLE POKE STAB AND SHOOT

       Sabean came into organized ball as a scout for the Yankees after coaching a couple of years at Tampa (DII). He was fortunate enough to have scouted Jeter, Pettit, Snow, and Rivera and has been on cruise control ever since, even bringing along former hitting coach and fellow high school teammate Joe “You’ll never get a better pitch to hit than the first one” Lefebvre for the ride.

       His insular and seemingly arrogant public personality, when it comes to discussing his failure to acquire power hitters and super stars stems more from stubborness and a decades old chip on the shoulder perhaps brought about by a fairly pedestrian pedigree.

       I cannot tell you how many high school coaches and college coaches he sounds exactly like. They are the ones who see their teams as a reflection of themselves. As opposed to the ones who see their teams as a reflection of the players. One person sees the world through a mirror. Another sees it through a window. Baseball folks are no different.

       Reply
     • az9erfan says:

       September 4, 2009 at 9:36 am

       Many people are better than Sabean…who??? Please share a name with me, and convince me the new owner is smart enough to chase and hire this person….Sabean doesn’t have the slightest idea how to aquire players who make the offense better??? Why because he cant sign Mark Texiera or Manny?? BTW….the mess the 49ers are in is all about lack of leadership, and importing sucky young talent….and most of the names you mention came in under that idiot Donahue, not Mooch…but it all stems from the top…rudderless….

       The Giants are right where they should be…as PATHETIC as thier offense is, they are in the wildcard race and we can all feel good about the future because of the rotation and the arms in the minors. Did anyone think they would contend this year?? (moron answers yes) well you are a F’n liar then….if you pitch like the Giants, and have a respectable offense, you have this year’s version of the Dodgers who are a F’n juggernaught….when you have a pitching staff like this, its better to defend and generate runs…do they do that? Not enough obviously. And yes, once again last night, our Ace went out and killed it, and we can F’n do better than 1 run…….

       I am tired of the lack of talent in the minors, I am tired of the inability to develop hitting, I am tired of losing games when your ace 1a, and 1b allow 2 runs or less, but it doesnt mean I want to run out and hire a GM who panics and signs someone else’s garbage because the fans want a HR every now and again. I am not defending the GM, his moves lately are mostly shit, when Juan Uribe is the only feather in your cap for the last 7 years, you have a problem, but again, I need to be convinced there is someone out there more capable.

       And the last thing for those who wanted Dye, are we going to the World Series?? Is that what you guys think??? With Ishikawa, Whiteside, and Velez?!??! I think perhaps everyone better chill a little….the Giants might kick some ass in a 5 game series, but they are not competing with the big boys (Yankees, Dodgers, Phillies) in a 7 game series, Jermaine Dye or not……

       Reply
       • B says:

         September 4, 2009 at 10:30 am

         Well your argument isn’t really fair. I don’t work in baseball, I don’t know who the good choices are. What I do know is I see lots of other GM’s out there capable of producing a better offense than the Giants, so it can’t be that hard to be better than Sabean. In fact, do you know how many GM’s out there have produced a better offense than the Giants this year? 28 out of the 29 other GM’s. Hell, I could do a better job than Brian Sabean. So he didn’t sign Teix, that’s ok. You know how much Orlando Hudson is making this year? $3.38M. You know how much Russell Branyan is making this year? $1.4M. You know how much Adam Dunn is making this year? $8M (2 year contract, $12M next year). Guys like that ARE available, every single year. Sabean has no idea how to value a players offensive contributions, and that’s what gets me. We constantly overpay for veterans, because we look at flashy batting averages when it’s OBP that matters. We sit Fred Lewis, he of the 2nd highest OBP on the Giants, on the bench while we run out Winn and Velez. Nevermind that Fred Lewis is apparently good enough for us to pinch hit him for Ishikawa with 2 outs RISP down by 1 in the 9th. Clearly he must be a better hitter than our 1B, yet he’s not good enough to start over Winn or Velez? Jermaine Dye is better than those players, why not trade for someone like him? Because Brian Sabean has no idea how to put an offense out there that scores runs.

         “And the last thing for those who wanted Dye, are we going to the World Series?? Is that what you guys think??? With Ishikawa, Whiteside, and Velez?!??! I think perhaps everyone better chill a little….the Giants might kick some ass in a 5 game series, but they are not competing with the big boys (Yankees, Dodgers, Phillies) in a 7 game series, Jermaine Dye or not……”

         I think you need to do some more research on the playoffs. Every team has a pretty equal chance. You may not believe it, because on paper other teams might look much better, but in a 7 game series neither team has a big advantage. This has been researched pretty extensively – the GM’s job is to get his team into the playoffs, and once there, anything can happen. If we make the playoffs, yes, we can win the World Series. You could even argue with our power pitching, bullpen, and defense, we actually have the best chance of any team in the playoffs (which still doesn’t amount to much better than 1/8 chance) to win the WS. Unfortunately, we probably won’t get to the playoffs, despite an unbelievable pitching staff, because Brian Sabean doesn’t, nor ever will, understand how to properly value a players offensive contribution.

         Reply
   • Uncle Joe Mccarthy says:

     September 3, 2009 at 12:09 pm

     i thought the firing of mooch was knee jerk

     and ive been calling for sabean to be fired since 2004, when he refused to go after vlad and gave a bs excuse of not being able to sign midlevel talent were he had signed vlad

     Reply
     • +mia says:

       September 3, 2009 at 12:22 pm

       And that was me too. I took a lot of heat from some of my baseball buds when I told ‘em “you’ll see…”.

       Reply
       • B says:

         September 3, 2009 at 12:54 pm

         The thing is, as great as it feels to rub the old “I told you so” in people’s faces…it’s so painful that the subject is the Giants sucking…

         Reply
         • +mia says:

           September 3, 2009 at 2:25 pm

           Well, I told them “….you’ll see at the time, but not “I told you so.” Being right doesn’t make me happy. Actually just the opposite when it comes to bad things happening to the fellas in orange and black. And by Orange and Black I don’t mean suits. I mean players.

           Watching the likes of Zito Rowand and the rest fail pisses me off, not happy. And its the front office that pisses me off. I’ve said over and over, the guys are who they are and all that we can expect is for them to pay attention for nine innings, take care of their bodies on and off the field and give us 100% effort and be professional for the duration

           I see the Giants as belonging to Northern California and the money guys as the executors of a long ago estate left in trust to fans and players. That is the source of my ire. That people who nobody would walk across the street to spit on save for their influence over the Giants have so much negative effect on an institution of such great tradition.

           It was no mistake that the greatest Giants of all were Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Barry Bonds. All power hitters. All pains in the asses in their day to one degree or another, but the creators of some of the best memories of hundreds of thousands of people’s lives.

           No gamer savvy vet or poetry reading nancy boy is ever going to come close to that. The current management team and ownership group seems to have forgotten that.

           Reply
9. Mark O'Connor says:

   September 3, 2009 at 6:54 am

   I read blogs because I can’t stand the pablum that passes for “sportswriting” in this universe. So keep up the rants, goddammit. And enjoy the fucking ride, too.

   Reply
   • +mia says:

     September 3, 2009 at 12:20 pm

     But But Mark! Don’t you know that sports journalists, know everything about everything–like this guy ?

     Here’s a for a little soul searching. Go back into the August 2007 archives and digest some of Johns observations. You can start here. Than contrast them with Bruce Jenkins beatific forecasts and comments.

     And then I would like somebody to explain to me why Bruce Jenkins is not called on the carpet by his bosses when a guy, albeit a fucking smart guy, who swings a fucking hammer for a living and in his spare time writes a blog, and in that blog, expresses more human insight, intellectual honesty, baseball knowledge, common sense, writing style, more compelling lines of reasoning, fact-based genuine emotion than Jenkins can ever dream of writing or saying.

     What does that tell you about the state of mainstream media? That cronyism and bullshit only exist in the Giants front office?

     It is a travesty that lazy thinking, intellectually vapid, agenda-driven piss-ants like Jenkins have been allowed to run one of this countries most precious institutions, “A Free Press” into the ground with little more credibility than the Daily Worker or Pravda.

     I consider myself really lucky that I have a place like this to come to and read the thoughts of folks who are not afraid of offending the conventional wisdom purveyors and back it up with knowledge, profanity, humor with no other desire than to see good people succeed at what they’re doing unencumbered by fucking dolts, liars, and bureacrats.

     Reply
     • Mark O'Connor says:

       September 4, 2009 at 7:08 am

       I had a student many years ago, who, when he excitedly agreed with you, would bug his eyes out, raise his fist in a power salute, and say “WORD!”

       Word!

       Reply
10. El says:

    September 3, 2009 at 6:40 am

    the worst day of the whole fucking year is the last game of the World Series.

    Agreed.
    The Hot Stove keeps us alive, but just barely.

    Randy,
    There are many lurking here who agree with you, but others have been driven mad. F’rinstance, GWB elicits the same disgust and unrelenting hatred in me as Sabean does in others.

    Sabean has fucked everything up. Everything. That the team is in contention beyond all reason just aint enough.

    Enjoy the magic.

    Reply
11. Uncle Joe Mccarthy says:

    September 3, 2009 at 12:07 am

    hey john, i think ostler is reading this blog

    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/02/SP2F19HGMO.DTL

    and if ostler is correct, in regards to dye, then sabean must really go, no matter what the outcome of this season

    Reply
12. B says:

    September 2, 2009 at 8:01 pm

    For +mia, it’s a little bit of 1, 2 and 4. For John’s post, yes John, you were wrong about Penny. However, that’s just one piece of things. Your overall view on what the Giants organization is spot on, so don’t think I disagree with you. Sabean still does not know what makes an offense score runs, and continues to run a bunch of AAA hackers out there, wasting a World Series quality pitching staff.

    Reply
13. randy says:

    September 2, 2009 at 7:16 pm

    You definitely have taken this in the spirit it was intended! Keep up the posts. (I’m leaning towards #2).

    Reply
    • +mia says:

      September 2, 2009 at 9:44 pm

      Well thanks man. I actually write to be entertaining. It comes across loud and frumpy and obnoxious but if you guys kind of remember Sam Kinnison, thats probably the closest I can give you to the way I talk and shit. Its not supposed to be serious.

      Like Scott and John, and most of the folks here it seems, my work a day world is full of serious business. Its simply how I blow off steam and try to mix in some truisms with the laughs and the teeth gnashing.

      Truth be known, most folks that I know associated with the front offices of organizations are pretty decent folks. Baseball is a funny game that way. The downside of it is that its an old boys network sometimes, but that is what most families are like too. Squabbling, fighting, laughing and so forth.

      But the one thing everybody agrees on, is that the worst day of the whole fucking year is the last game of the World Series.

      Reply
      • Dan says:

        September 3, 2009 at 9:55 am

        Dam Mia! I wish you hadn’t blown your cover and let everyone know you are
        actually not 2 first pitch swings away from a strait jacket. You were VERY entertaining
        when I imagined you pulling your hair out in a dark room in front of your tobacco stained
        lap top. Now that I know you to be sane and with a sense of humor, you are going to have to ratchet up the invective to convert me. Perhaps a treatise on the many wrongs
        wrought upon Kevin Frandsen by the Evil Idiot for starters? Luv u man.

        Reply
      • Blair Conrad says:

        September 3, 2009 at 9:58 am

        And you are very entertaining; I particularly enjoy the similes. You do seem a little more profane lately but it must be due to the tension of the season coming to it’s conclusion and knowing that this team won’t be playing after 162.

        Reply
14. randy says:

    September 2, 2009 at 6:47 pm

    Wow! What a great start for Penny. An 8 inning shutout against the powerful Champs. Could be a great pickup. The cost is nothing, and he could make the difference down the stretch.

    I have a question for the many readers of this site who do not regularly post. (I’m not much interested in what the regular posters have to say on this subject).

    When you read posts from + mia, what goes through your mind:

    1. This guy is dead on. The Giants management are the worst pieces of shit in the history of baseball, and must intentionally be trying to ruin my farvorite team, because they couldn’t possibly be this bad through pure incompetence alone. You go, + mia; or

    2. This guy is pretty funny. I don’t take him seriously, because he can’t be serious. How can a guy who claims to be a baseball fan, and a Giant’s fan to boot, really hate everything his team does on a daily basis. The more they win, the more he says he hates Sabean. He must be joking. Why else would he be motivated to spew venom nearly every day, using the most vile language to castigate his team? Boy, he is entertaining to read. You make me laugh, + mia; or

    3. What a jerk. This guy is an obnoxious bully who thinks his opinions rate above anyone else’s, to the point that if you dare disagree, he’ll jump all over you (from his keyboard, hiding behind a pen-name, not literally), calling you names and pointing out how you are a stooge of the corporate elite, unworthy of even watching a baseball game. Kiss my ass, + mia; or

    4. What a pathetic loser. His professed favorite team is in the middle of a playoff chase, has its best pitching staff since 1954, has one of the most exciting young pitchers AND infielders in the entire game, and he can’t seem to enjoy one inning of it. He thinks the Giants have no business contending because their management are morons, and can’t quite wrap his head around the fact, here on September 2, 2009, the surely are. I feel sorry for you, + mia; or

    5. None of the above.

    Just curious what you all think. (Except for you, + mia, I really don’t give a damn what you think about this).

    Reply
    • +mia says:

      September 2, 2009 at 6:58 pm

      Number 4. Yes. Definitely Number 4. 10 minutes to Wopner.

      Besides, I thought I told you to stop playing with the internet or I was going to tell your mother.

      And fuck me six ways to Sunday if Penny could pass a piss test after that effort. Fuckin’ crazy baseball LOL

      Awesome poll by the way.

      Reply
      • scott s says:

        September 2, 2009 at 8:18 pm

        +mia,

        The Gigantes may luck out on the Penny deal. He has much to prove…and he will be facing the Dodgers twice. After what Bowa said about him…I see him shutting them down. He might go 5-1 or undefeated down the stretch. His time with the Gigantes is an audition for a job and contract next year….and we will be the benefactors of his new found motivation….for next to nothing.

        Still does not excuse Sabean for not bringing in some lumber.

        Next best rant to Dennis Miller.

        Reply
    • sbtokyo says:

      September 2, 2009 at 7:25 pm

      #1 and #2 with a whiff of #4 (minus the first sentence). +Mia generally backs up their points so is a workable devil’s advocate to temper any exuberant fanaticism that creeps into my view of the team. I enjoy the posts.

      Reply
    • scott s says:

      September 2, 2009 at 8:04 pm

      Randy,

      You forgot one.

      What about…

      6. All the above

      Depending on what day you read…most of us fall into all those catagories.

      No matter what happens this year…Sabean must go.

      And by the way….I do not give a damn what anybody thinks about my postings on OBM.

      This is purely a diversion from the day to day war waging in my industry. As Unc Joe so rightly puts it…we would all be fired and pan handling for quarters if we performed like Sabean.

      Very little of the success the Gigantes are having is due to him. I do feel Uribe has been a good fit…and gets little credit.

      Reply
    • Fishchum says:

      September 3, 2009 at 8:56 am

      I’d say a combination of 1-4. A lot of his (or her’s) tirades against management are pretty well justified with regards to the signing of over-priced veterans and management’s obsession with filling the seats and keeping the club “competitive”. But some of the vitriol spewed forth can be so hate-filled it’s hard for me to take it seriously.

      All in all though, the writing here is pretty damn good, which keeps me coming back. I wouldn’t do that if the site was just a bunch of cheerleading posters rah-rah-ing every move the Giants made.

      In that vein, Scott Ostler was reporting in today’s Chron that Neukom didn’t want to shell out $2.5 million to get Jermaine Dye over here to finish out the season. I’d like to get that substantiated, but if it’s true I’ll gladly kick in a few bucks to send +mia over to 3rd & King, verify this Neukom and then string him up by his bowtie.

      Reply
    • Robert says:

      September 3, 2009 at 9:14 am

      OBM serves as an important and effective counter irritant to the constant Giants P.R. hype, MLB spin and compromised professional comentator’s blather about the Giants.

      John, +mia and others at OBM articulate frustration felt by many Giants fans, myself included. If other comentators were more honest in evaluating the Giants Baseball Club performance this blog could tone down the invective. Because the MSM is compromised and fears losing access, advertising money or their jobs we are subjected to a constant stream of sugar coated reporting.

      The regulars on OBM are often caustic in their posts, but, I am convinced, they are also knowledgeable Giants fans that care about the team. There is a degree of knowledge, insite and humor in OBM, and a lack of trolls and idiots, that, in my experience, is a rare thing.

      6. We are all of the above.

      Reply
15. Aaron B. says:

    September 2, 2009 at 6:25 pm

    This team still needs more offense…

    Reply