the sweater brigade

Wearing this brought back some good memories. I didn’t...

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 22:08:46 -0700

Wearing this brought back some good memories. I didn’t ruin it by watching today’s game.

Photo

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 15:28:16 -0700

"That was for Duane Kuiper."

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 12:24:49 -0700

"That was for Duane Kuiper.":

findtheswagger:

From Joe Posnanski:

So then I asked if he had ever asked a pitcher to retaliate for him. He said he never did, but, well, there was the Jim Bibby story. Details are hard to lock down but the story is too good to hold back: The Indians were playing the Twins, and at some point Rod Carew slashed Kuiper in a double play scenario at some point during the series. Duane was furious. He told Carew, “I’m going to come down the line and slash your achilles.” Jim Bibby calmed him down.

“Don’t worry,” Bibby said. “I’ll get him for you.”

Kuiper said, “OK, fine, you get him.” Only, Bibby did not get him. He got pulled before he had a chance to get him. If it’s the game I’m thinking, in 1977, Bibby lasted just five innings and Carew actually homered of him. Anyway, the point is Bibby didn’t get Carew that day for whatever reason, and unexpectedly that was the last time he ever faced Carew in a big league game. Bibby left Cleveland for Pittsburgh at the end of the season. So the story should be over. Kuiper basically forgot about it.

Only… one day, the Indians are facing Carew’s team, probably the Angels by then, and Carew comes over to Kuiper and says, “You little $$@$ …”

“What did I do?” Kuiper said.

And Carew said that he was playing an exhibition game in Japan. He stepped in against, yep, Jim Bibby. And suddenly he felt the jolt of a fastball pounding his side … this in an EXHIBITION GAME IN JAPAN.

And he said Jim Bibby flexed and said: “That was for Duane Kuiper.

Nobody fucks with the Duane Kuiper.

newyorker: Enter our baseball-themed cartoon caption...

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 10:55:00 -0700

newyorker:

Enter our baseball-themed cartoon caption contest

“Scrambled eggs and avocados suck, Barry.”

I met Cliff Lee yesterday. He’s a rather nice fellow. He...

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 07:17:24 -0700

I met Cliff Lee yesterday. He’s a rather nice fellow. He stopped to talk with us fans on the right field wall during batting practice, and signed a few autographs (he signed a few Giants caps, which was odd, but he obliged nonetheless).

He also taught me how to throw his cutter.

This photo was taken right before I stabbed him to death. You know, for the good of the Giants.

Presented without comment.

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 22:34:11 -0700

Presented without comment.

Happy Tuesday.

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 12:16:29 -0700

Happy Tuesday.

disconaivete: Björk reclaims whatever throne she used to have.

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 13:02:17 -0700

disconaivete:

Björk reclaims whatever throne she used to have.

Happy Father’s Day, pop.

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 10:29:22 -0700

Happy Father’s Day, pop.

Probably the best thing John Kasich will ever do.

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:44:28 -0700

Probably the best thing John Kasich will ever do.

This’ll kick in any minute now…

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 17:48:00 -0700

This’ll kick in any minute now…

I couldn’t help myself.

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 15:13:16 -0700

I couldn’t help myself.

This is Why Ryan Vogelsong is Awesome

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:16:46 -0700

His catcher in Caracas was Guillermo Rodriguez, who is a minor-league catching instructor for the Giants. He asked Vogelsong, “Have you signed with anybody (for 2011)? Do you want me to call the Giants?”

Vogelsong told Rodriguez he’d been trying to get back with the Giants since they traded him in ‘01.

The Giants didn’t call Vogelsong right away. The Dodgers did, and made him an offer. Vogelsong asked Rodriguez to contact the Giants again and relay this message, in essence: I don’t want to be a Dodger. I am a Giant. If you want me, I’ll sign for whatever you want to pay me.

My Wednesday Work Day

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:56:00 -0700

Arrived to work at 10 AM.
Spend 2 hours talking with my designer after finding out he’s a huge baseball fan.
Walked to AT&T Park for a team offsite.
Find out we’re sitting in a fully-catered suite.
Matt Cain: 9.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K, 110 pitches
Giants win.
Meet and shake hands with Will Clark in the stairwell.
Take MUNI home drunk at 6 PM.

Why can’t every work day be like this?

I Want My MLB Network

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 17:38:18 -0700

If you’re a Comcast subscriber, you may have gotten a letter in the mail asking “Are you getting the best value?” I’ve gotten two of these letters in a period of about a month, stating they are “confident [they] can find a customized package to fit [my] needs.”

Well, I want MLB Network.

The customer service rep told me that the only way he could offer me a deal would be if signed up to get the Triple Play, which requires me to get a landline. I barely talk on the phone as it is, and despite the bump in Internet speed, I’d be paying significantly more than I’m paying now for the one channel I actually want. One. Channel.

Then he said something that really boggled my mind. “If you’re still interested in the sports package, you can call our customer service number and ask them to add it to your account. It’s only $6.95.” So, essentially, Comcast is refusing to comp me $7 after they offered to “customize” my account?

It’s times like this I wish we had more competition in the cable tv market. A-la-carte programming now, dammit. I want my MLB Network.

The Giants’ “It Gets Better” video, part of the It Gets Better...

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:46:28 -0700

The Giants’ “It Gets Better” video, part of the It Gets Better Project.

More Thoughts on Buster Posey

Thu, 26 May 2011 21:23:55 -0700

We now have more information on the severity of Buster Posey’s injury: fractured left fibula and severely sprained ligaments in his ankle. Posey’s injury will require surgery, and while the team is hesitant to say Posey will miss the remainder of the 2011 season, he will be out for 6-8 weeks, at the very minimum.

Buster Posey is broken. He has youth on his side, but this is not good.

I want to reiterate what I said earlier: I don’t think Scott Cousins did anything dirty or wrong, at least not according to the rulebook. It was a clean, hard-nosed play, and if roles were reversed, I would expect Posey or any other Giants player to plow right through the opposing catcher. That’s baseball; that’s how the game is played.

But does it have to be?

This morning on KNBR, Duane Kuiper, former Major League second baseman for the Cleveland Indians and the San Francisco Giants, gave a great example of how previous baseball rules were changed in an effort to protect middle infielders:

Listen, this is a very sensitive issue for me because I got blown up at second base at least three times a week. And in those days, there weren’t a lot of rules: You could go out of the baseline, you could come in standing up. I mean, you could literally almost throw a punch going into second. And they changed the rules. And they made it a lot safer now for middle infielders. Why? Because they want to keep the players on the field. And I think Major League Baseball should take a very serious look at this, because the game has changed. Anybody who says “Well ya’ know, it’s old school,” well that’s a bunch of crap.

Every time I see the video of Pete Rose demolishing Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star Game, I think about how Fosse was never the same after that. When I have nightmares of Carlos Santana’s knee hyperextending after a crash at home plate last year, I wake up screaming about moving him to first base. Even in 2006 when Prince Fielder collided with then Giants catcher Todd Greene and separated his shoulder, I knew it was hard baseball but it still didn’t feel right.

Maybe it just didn’t hit home until now.

Believe it or not, baseball is not a contact sport. So why is the area around home plate a combat zone? First base is a force out, and you can’t crash into second or third, so why is home plate the complete opposite of how the rest of the game is played?

It’s not very often, if ever, that I agree or will quote Tim McCarver, but despite my earlier hyperbolic statements, I think it may be time for Major League Baseball to at least take a look at the McCarver Rule.

Buster Posey and the Collision Heard 'Round the World

Thu, 26 May 2011 08:51:00 -0700

Last night, after the Giants came back from a 4-run deficit to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th inning, the second-worst possible incident occurred: Buster Posey left the extra-innings game after sustaining a horrific leg injury from being run over by Florida Marlins’ utility infielder Scott Cousins at a play at the plate. You can view the play here, but honestly, I suggest you don’t. When I saw Posey clawing at the dirt in total agony, I wanted to jump through the television and help him. But I couldn’t.

Let me say right off the bat, I believe it was a clean play. Unnecessary, maybe, but it was a clean baseball play. When Nate Schierholtz collided with a Chinese catcher in the Olympics a few years ago, he was lauded as a hero. If the situation were reversed, I would’ve been upset if we had not collided with the catcher. That’s how baseball is played.

That being said, I’m coming around to the idea of a rule change.

In every other sport, there are penalties for making contact with a defenseless player. It’s time for baseball to do the same. I personally would be okay with making the rule as simple as “if a baserunner changes their angle to go directly at the catcher instead of going for the plate, the baserunner is immediately called out and ejected from the game.” It may be a little knee jerk, but it would protect defenseless catchers. I do not want to see it left to the interpretation of the umpire; I can see Major League Baseball prefacing the above rule with “if in the opinion of the umpire a player is blocking home plate, the baserunner has every right to make contact with said player,” but either way, the rule should be designed to protect the health and safety of all players.

The Giants have lost their cleanup hitter, and arguably their best position player. Amy Gutierrez is reporting that Buster has a broken leg and torn ligaments (Mychael Urban said a broken ankle, not leg, is more likely), but it’s all speculation at this point. Moves will be made, and the champions will carry on. But the only thing that could’ve been worse is if Buster Posey somehow ran into Tim Lincecum.

Should the Giants retaliate for this collision at home plate? Personally, I don’t think so. If anything, Mike Stanton should get a pitch closer than he’d like for the Marlins throwing at Cody Ross’ head. Either way, as Duane Kuiper said earlier today, you still gotta get back on the field and kick some ass.

Voicemail from my dad after Brian Wilson walks the bases loaded...

Fri, 20 May 2011 10:44:48 -0700

Voicemail from my dad after Brian Wilson walks the bases loaded with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th inning, only to be saved by a diving catch by Nate Schierholtz.

NSFW (Language).

Bill Nye Booed In Texas For Saying The Moon Reflects The Sun

Sun, 08 May 2011 09:38:55 -0700

Bill Nye Booed In Texas For Saying The Moon Reflects The Sun:

underpaidgenius:

Bill Nye, the harmless children’s edutainer known as “The Science Guy,” managed to offend a select group of adults in Waco, Texas at a presentation, when he suggested that the moon does not emit light, but instead reflects the light of the sun.

As even most elementary-school graduates know, the moon reflects the light of the sun but produces no light of its own.

But don’t tell that to the good people of Waco, who were “visibly angered by what some perceived as irreverence,” according to the Waco Tribune.

Nye was in town to participate in McLennan Community College’s Distinguished Lecture Series. He gave two lectures on such unfunny and adult topics as global warming, Mars exploration, and energy consumption.

But nothing got people as riled as when he brought up Genesis 1:16, which reads: “God made two great lights — the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.”

The lesser light, he pointed out, is not a light at all, but only a reflector.

At this point, several people in the audience stormed out in fury. One woman yelled “We believe in God!” and left with three children, thus ensuring that people across America would read about the incident and conclude that Waco is as nutty as they’d always suspected.

This story originally appeared in the Waco Tribune, but the newspaper has mysteriously pulled its story from the online version, presumably to avoid further embarrassment.

(via rotegarde)