It is always good to have a backup plan. After watching the last two games of the Cub series it would seem to me that Giants would not go too wrong by implementing my Plan B. It is a very simple plan. Make us an offer we can't refuse!
Homer Sweeney
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Saturday, July 27, 2013
My Plan for the Giants
When new ownership took over the Dodgers and pledged unlimited resources to win the Giants ignored it saying we have to run our own team. They better not ignore it anymore and take a good look at their budget. That's the first step.
How the Giants won last year with out much power is still a mystery to me other then the fact great pitching covers many sins. The great pitching is gone meaning that the Giants top two needs are pitching and power hitting.
The needs are easy to determine but fixing them is another story and may be impossible at least for a couple of years. However, I would not dismantle the team and would build from the strengths they do have. These suggestions I believe are reasonable.
The number one needs is a power hitting left fielder. The answer this year was signing Torres. They need a left fielder that can scare people. Vida Blue has said on a number of occasions in the pre-game show that the Giants lineup does not scare him. A power hitter in the lineup makes everybody better. Then you can afford to have a first baseman that hits only ten home runs
A power hitter makes Pence a better hitter. He has always hit well when he has good hitters around him. He wants to play with the Giants so I think they can sign him for the future even though some teams may out bid them. Pagan has been signed for years to play center field and his absence from the lineup has hurt the team this year.
Next years pitching staff has Cain and Bumgardner to anchor them. Hopefully Vogelsong and Goudain can pitch adequately. Zito will be gone and so will Lincecum most likely. They will need to obtain a fifth starter and up grade their relief staff.
The infield is under contract so will probably remain the same. Belt has been a big disappointment but there only choice is to move Sandoval or Posey to first full time. Pill proved that he is not the answer. Scudaro with a bad back will be at second, Crawford at short even though his play has dropped off in recent weeks. Arias will most likely be signed by another team to be a shortstop. I am not sure if Arias played everyday that he would be better then Crawford.
When Sandoval hits the Giants are a different team. They need him. He has to be told how he has let the team down this year by being out of shape which has caused injuries, poor fielding and lack of power hitting. We knew this year he would be out of shape because he was the MVP of the World Series even though he was way over weight. Major league teams have to take chances and the Giants will need to continue to take a chance with Sandoval.
Posey will continue to be the catcher and one of the best players in the league and perhaps Sanchez has learned his lesson and will report in shape this year and not turn into another Sandoval.
Homer Sweeney
How the Giants won last year with out much power is still a mystery to me other then the fact great pitching covers many sins. The great pitching is gone meaning that the Giants top two needs are pitching and power hitting.
The needs are easy to determine but fixing them is another story and may be impossible at least for a couple of years. However, I would not dismantle the team and would build from the strengths they do have. These suggestions I believe are reasonable.
The number one needs is a power hitting left fielder. The answer this year was signing Torres. They need a left fielder that can scare people. Vida Blue has said on a number of occasions in the pre-game show that the Giants lineup does not scare him. A power hitter in the lineup makes everybody better. Then you can afford to have a first baseman that hits only ten home runs
A power hitter makes Pence a better hitter. He has always hit well when he has good hitters around him. He wants to play with the Giants so I think they can sign him for the future even though some teams may out bid them. Pagan has been signed for years to play center field and his absence from the lineup has hurt the team this year.
Next years pitching staff has Cain and Bumgardner to anchor them. Hopefully Vogelsong and Goudain can pitch adequately. Zito will be gone and so will Lincecum most likely. They will need to obtain a fifth starter and up grade their relief staff.
The infield is under contract so will probably remain the same. Belt has been a big disappointment but there only choice is to move Sandoval or Posey to first full time. Pill proved that he is not the answer. Scudaro with a bad back will be at second, Crawford at short even though his play has dropped off in recent weeks. Arias will most likely be signed by another team to be a shortstop. I am not sure if Arias played everyday that he would be better then Crawford.
When Sandoval hits the Giants are a different team. They need him. He has to be told how he has let the team down this year by being out of shape which has caused injuries, poor fielding and lack of power hitting. We knew this year he would be out of shape because he was the MVP of the World Series even though he was way over weight. Major league teams have to take chances and the Giants will need to continue to take a chance with Sandoval.
Posey will continue to be the catcher and one of the best players in the league and perhaps Sanchez has learned his lesson and will report in shape this year and not turn into another Sandoval.
Homer Sweeney
One Game Out
The Giants are now only one game out of last place in the NL West thanks to another loss this time to the Chicago Cubs in the ninth inning. Belt was the goat both on the base paths and in the field. It was just a bad game. No it wasn't! Belt has been playing lousy for quite awhile dropping relay throws forgetting to get his cut off position in addition to not hitting much with power. The magic elimination number is now 21. Twenty-one more losses in the next sixty games and it will be impossible for the Giants to win the West.
Friday, July 26, 2013
More Porn!
We can't escape it - - -porn is everywhere. Since Chronicle Live has been replaced by a Yahoo show it has gone down hill reflecting the Yahoo mind set. Yesterday the show publicized Karri Walsh and the upcoming beach volleyball season showing her poising nude for ESPN a leading porn magazine.. We all have seen scenes of women playing beach volleyball and I remember very well Kelly Rippa when she was with Regis saying on their show that the required beach volleyball attire was certainly the work of 'dirty old men.' A Catholic prophecy from the 16th century said that in the 20th century woman would lose their modesty.
Homer Sweeney
Homer Sweeney
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Now It's 22!
It was almost a miracle that the Giants were able to take one game out of seven from the Cincinnati Reds this season. It was a slaughter! The Giants elimination number is now 22 and it really might be a low as 18 the way the Dodgers continue to win.
Other Sports: Kent Brazemore had a little fun with ESPN during the Summer League Championship game by writing 499 on his shoes which represents the fact that ESPN rated him number 499 out 500 players in the NBA. Brazemore stared last summer and played well when asked this year for the Warriors proving again why ESPN has to deal in porn to stay in business. Their knowledge of sports is over rated big time!
I read that the 49ers opened practice. What have they been doing all year?
Homer Sweeney
Other Sports: Kent Brazemore had a little fun with ESPN during the Summer League Championship game by writing 499 on his shoes which represents the fact that ESPN rated him number 499 out 500 players in the NBA. Brazemore stared last summer and played well when asked this year for the Warriors proving again why ESPN has to deal in porn to stay in business. Their knowledge of sports is over rated big time!
I read that the 49ers opened practice. What have they been doing all year?
Homer Sweeney
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Elimination Number Now 24
Let's be honest neither the DBacks nor the Giants looked like world beaters this past weekend in a three game series won by the Giants 2 games to 1. The Dodgers won three more and if they keep it up the NL West will be over before any trade is made making the Giants elimination number more like 10 then 24. . .. If Pablo is still with the Giants next year the team plans on changing his number from 48 to 02 to better reflect his count at the plate. . . The Giant announcers K & K made a very interesting comment in the game Sunday. They cannot believe how many hitters take the 2-0 pitch instead like in the past taking a good cut at what should be a pretty good pitch to hit. This is just another reason the games are so long trying to get the pitch count up on the opposing pitcher. . . Jeremy Affeldt got hurt again and this time he will be out probably to the end of the season. That's a real blow since the Giants relief staff has been very weak. At least Jeremy will have more time to promote his book. . . Thanks to ESPN we again get to see the Red Sox and Yankees on national TV. The miracle is the fact that it is not raining in Boston.
Homer Sweeney
Homer Sweeney
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Becoming a Giant Fan
The 1951 New York Giants the National League champions were 13 1/2 games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers with 45 games to play. The 2013 team finds themselves 5 1/2 games out with 67 to play. There is still time for the '13 Giants since history has shown that anything can happen in a pennant race. The Giants elimination number for this season is 25 while in 1951 it was 8. The Giants won 37 of those last 45 games to tie Brooklyn on the last day that led to the playoffs with Bobby Thompson hitting the famous home run heard around the world. I remember being at Kezar Stadium waiting for the start of a 49er game and updates of Giant game were being spread among the crowd until finally the word came that the Giants had won and tied Brooklyn for first place. The Giants excited San Franciscan's even before they moved west. From that point on I was a Giant fan.
Homer Sweeney
Homer Sweeney
Friday, July 19, 2013
Further Thoughts Following the All Star Game
I was most impressed with Chris Davis of the Orioles the way he handled the home run derby and batted during the All Star game. I remember well when he was with Texas a home run he hit in an Arizona spring training game that was crushed over the center field wall . . . TV didn't show it but the internet has the teen age kid running on the field at the All Star game. The Mets ground crew really nailed him with a beautiful tackle. Now the idiot faces one year in jail and $6,000 fine. If it happened in SF the judge would probably would leave him off easy since his lawyer would tell the judge the poor kid thinks he has four fathers and five mothers. . . Thanks to Bud Selig baseball instant replay is a joke and everybody knows it. Umpires running under the stands to view a hit to see if it is a home run or not with the score already 10-0. Baseball games are not won or lost by a missed play at first or second or a home run call. Most games are decided by the home plate umpire on the two strike pitch. The batter hands are tied when the ump call a ball low an outside strike two and it happens in many games. . . ESPN EPSY Awards were given out this week in sports answer to being just as phoney as everyone else. The best team was the Miami Heat. Are you kidding me,! The Miami Heat was a a team with one player a guy named James that won the NBA title for them. The San Francisco Giants should have been the award winner of the year because they didn't have the best players but showed tremendous spirit and desire a mark of a great team. Colin Kaepernick also won an ESPY. You think the 49ers won the Super Bowl instead of Kaepernick loosing it! Now they need to get him a new helmet two sizes larger so it will fit. . . . Just when I thought ESPN could not sink any lower they hire back Keith Olbermann an Ivy League graduate that lets everybody know he is smarter then everyone else. Too bad he sounds like an idiot and that's why he has been fired so many times. A lesson for parent's if you wish your children to grow up and learn to get fired send them to an Ivy League school Teaching attitude is not their strong point. That's why most of their graduates end up working for the US Government a noble organization that very few trusts. Today's news is a perfect example. Remember during the Obama Care discussions it was said by the President and the head of HHS plus others that everyone could keep their health insurance and doctor. Now HHS is saying maybe one can keep their doctor and insurance.. . Just returned from viewing the traveling Vietnam War Memorial which is in Irvine this week. That war is another prime example of how not to trust the US Government that many learned the hard way.
Homer Sweeney
Homer Sweeney
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
The All Star Game
The 2013 All Star game honored our servicemen and women who have given so much for this country. The game also honored Mariano Rivera for his achievements during his great career. Bruce Bochy must have thought he was managing the Giants with the National League managing only three hits in their 3-0 loss. Jim Leyland managed to win so that the AL could have the home field advantage in the World Series. He hopes he was doing it for his Tigers but I am afraid it will the Oakland A's that will be representing the AL in the series. In recent years ever since Tony La Russa introduced the idea one inning only for pitchers the game has been dominated by pitching. Tonight it was even more difficult for the hitters with a very pitcher friendly umpire calling the strikes. Was all that voting really worth it?
Homer Sweeney
Homer Sweeney
1946 A Great All Star Game
The year 1946 saw the return of all of our servicemen and women who risked their lives to destroy one tyrant but unfortunately by their efforts assisted in the advancement of another. The baseball players returned and the year 1946 from the majors to the San Francisco Seals was great. The Seals drew over 700,000 people for the season featuring two future major league all stars Ferris Fain and Larry Jansen.
The 1946 All Star game was exciting for me because the game was broadcast by Mel Allen on the radio direct from Fenway Park sponsored by Gillette Blue Blades. Ted Williams the great Red Sox slugger was the story. In the last of the eighth inning he hit one of Rip Sewell's 'Eephus pitch' well into the bleachers sending the crowd into a frenzy. The 'eephjus pitch' looked like a pitch one would see in a slow pitch softball game.
Today it is hard to imagine:
- that one of the starters from tonight's game in New York even playing the eighth inning. Most of them by that time will be on a plane.
- that Gillette would sponsor major league baseball today with so many player looking like complete slobs one trying to out do the other.
- that there will ever be another all star like Ted Williams. Ted hit .406 in 1941 and then missed the next three seasons in the prime of his career fighting World War II as a Captain in the Marine Corp. He played six games in 1952 before being called to fight the Korean War to help stop the tyrant of Word War II the US supported who was getting too powerful and then he finally returned to the Red Sox for the last month in 1953 season.
Homer Sweeney
Monday, July 15, 2013
My Opinions
These are strictly my opinion and I know they cross generation lines but so what!
ESPN did a horrible job of covering the home run derby. They played favorites which was obvious. Poor Alvarez of the Pirates hardly got a tumble. When he was up they were interviewing other people and hardly even mentioned him. Poor Pittsburgh still doesn't get any respect. I guess he wouldn't pose in the nude for ESPN's pron sports magazine. The winner Cepedes from the A's is hitting.225 this year a real surprise and disappointment. I thought he would tear the league a part. Harper reminds me of the guy in the commercial getting a haircut an the gal leaves her job in the middle of the haircut. That's what his hair looks like. In this day of no opinions I am sure his team mates with the Nationals make him feel good by saying how 'cute' his hair looks. The Giants nomination for the derby Tanaka was not chosen.
It was easy to tell the derby was being played in New York. The Mets play at Citi Field which should really be called Taxpayer Field for the bailouts the bank received from the taxpayer compliments of our elected representatives who love to take money from the citizens to give to their cronies. Then last night the winner of the derby got a GM Truck. Another taxpayer bailout. I believe at last count the taxpayers have lost about 11 billion dollars on the deal. By the way have you noticed how the price of all new cars have soared every since the US Government got involved. The fix is in.
The Giants have a little over 40% of their schedule remaining and cannot afford to lose more then 25 games. We know that they have been a disappointment to date and here is my opinion on some of the players.
What happen to the starting pitching? It is obvious that the longer season, the short off season and the World Baseball Congress all did not help. The failure of the starters led to demise of the relief staff because they had to pitch too much. And just maybe their arms have had it. NFL running backs can take only so many hits while major league pitchers only have so many split fingers in their arms.
1st base - I have been a supporter of Belt since he joined the Giants. Now I believe he is the Looney of the Giants. He will hit around.250 with 12 home runs win a few games but over all not be good enough to play his position in the majors Looney was a failure as the first baseman for Dodgers until Tampa Bay took a gamble on him.
2nd base - Scurato is in the the All Star game. He had an all star part of the season last year with the Giants and that is the reason he was chosen by Bochy this year. His batting average is still good but his clutch hitting has not been like his amazing season last year. His fielding has been very poor at second base. Secretly the Giants which they could play Abreau everyday to see if he can handle the job.
3rd base - Over weight out of shape and often injured. It happens every year but when he hits the Giants win when he doesn't they don 't. It's that simple. Pablo is a major disappointment. He is very immature and I am not sure he will every grow up.
Shorstop - Crawford slumped recently partly because of his injured hand but overall has done a very good job for the Giants. The Giants should consider playing Arias against some left handed pitchers.
Outfield - The loss of Pagan made a poor outfield worse. The Giants refuse to pay for a left fielder that can scare a few people like Cuddyer who they probably could have had as a free agent. Pence started great but has slumped. He supports other hitters very well but he slumps when the team slumps.
Catcher - Posey has done the job but he can't carry the team himself. Sanchez ruined his season by not reporting to spring training in shape and 'Q' has done an adequate job filling in.
The foundation is still there but a serious reevaluation of the team is needed now. My recommendations will follow in the near future. I am sure Brian Sabean would wish I would hurry.
Homer Sweeney
ESPN did a horrible job of covering the home run derby. They played favorites which was obvious. Poor Alvarez of the Pirates hardly got a tumble. When he was up they were interviewing other people and hardly even mentioned him. Poor Pittsburgh still doesn't get any respect. I guess he wouldn't pose in the nude for ESPN's pron sports magazine. The winner Cepedes from the A's is hitting.225 this year a real surprise and disappointment. I thought he would tear the league a part. Harper reminds me of the guy in the commercial getting a haircut an the gal leaves her job in the middle of the haircut. That's what his hair looks like. In this day of no opinions I am sure his team mates with the Nationals make him feel good by saying how 'cute' his hair looks. The Giants nomination for the derby Tanaka was not chosen.
It was easy to tell the derby was being played in New York. The Mets play at Citi Field which should really be called Taxpayer Field for the bailouts the bank received from the taxpayer compliments of our elected representatives who love to take money from the citizens to give to their cronies. Then last night the winner of the derby got a GM Truck. Another taxpayer bailout. I believe at last count the taxpayers have lost about 11 billion dollars on the deal. By the way have you noticed how the price of all new cars have soared every since the US Government got involved. The fix is in.
The Giants have a little over 40% of their schedule remaining and cannot afford to lose more then 25 games. We know that they have been a disappointment to date and here is my opinion on some of the players.
What happen to the starting pitching? It is obvious that the longer season, the short off season and the World Baseball Congress all did not help. The failure of the starters led to demise of the relief staff because they had to pitch too much. And just maybe their arms have had it. NFL running backs can take only so many hits while major league pitchers only have so many split fingers in their arms.
1st base - I have been a supporter of Belt since he joined the Giants. Now I believe he is the Looney of the Giants. He will hit around.250 with 12 home runs win a few games but over all not be good enough to play his position in the majors Looney was a failure as the first baseman for Dodgers until Tampa Bay took a gamble on him.
2nd base - Scurato is in the the All Star game. He had an all star part of the season last year with the Giants and that is the reason he was chosen by Bochy this year. His batting average is still good but his clutch hitting has not been like his amazing season last year. His fielding has been very poor at second base. Secretly the Giants which they could play Abreau everyday to see if he can handle the job.
3rd base - Over weight out of shape and often injured. It happens every year but when he hits the Giants win when he doesn't they don 't. It's that simple. Pablo is a major disappointment. He is very immature and I am not sure he will every grow up.
Shorstop - Crawford slumped recently partly because of his injured hand but overall has done a very good job for the Giants. The Giants should consider playing Arias against some left handed pitchers.
Outfield - The loss of Pagan made a poor outfield worse. The Giants refuse to pay for a left fielder that can scare a few people like Cuddyer who they probably could have had as a free agent. Pence started great but has slumped. He supports other hitters very well but he slumps when the team slumps.
Catcher - Posey has done the job but he can't carry the team himself. Sanchez ruined his season by not reporting to spring training in shape and 'Q' has done an adequate job filling in.
The foundation is still there but a serious reevaluation of the team is needed now. My recommendations will follow in the near future. I am sure Brian Sabean would wish I would hurry.
Homer Sweeney
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Back To Reality
Tim Lincecum pitched a no hitter Saturday night to highlight the Giants series win over the San Diego Padres. The questions still remain regarding Lincecum. Is he a starter, a reliever or should the Giants trade him? Will he be able to pitch effectively again this year after throwing 148 pitches Saturday? Speaking of not pitching I did not hear one word about Cain. Does he have a bad arm and the Giants aren't talking? We should hear Friday after the All Star game break. The real lesson is don't give long term contracts to players unless you are going to have an unlimited budget like the Yankees and Dodgers.
Do the Giants still have a chance to win the NL West? Yes, but is it reality? Baseball experts feel you need 90 wins at least to win a division. But it can be done with 86. To win 86 games the Giants would have to win 43 of their remaining 68 games playing at .630 clip to accomplish the goal. To keep track draw a poster with numbers 1 to 25 and when the Giants lose a game cross out a number starting with 25 and work backwards.
The Padres tied a major league record by having four different uniforms for a four game series.
Homer Sweeney
Do the Giants still have a chance to win the NL West? Yes, but is it reality? Baseball experts feel you need 90 wins at least to win a division. But it can be done with 86. To win 86 games the Giants would have to win 43 of their remaining 68 games playing at .630 clip to accomplish the goal. To keep track draw a poster with numbers 1 to 25 and when the Giants lose a game cross out a number starting with 25 and work backwards.
The Padres tied a major league record by having four different uniforms for a four game series.
Homer Sweeney
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Sellers, Stupid, Porn and Dairy Farms
It was great while it lasted! It's now time for the Giants to begin retooling for next year. Three more losses this time to the Mets should have been the final blow. Who will the Giants dump? Stay tuned to find out. One piece of advice is make sure that the Giants get a solid prospect or player in return.
The Zack Wheeler trade came back to haunt the Giants today. It was mentioned that if Posey did not get hurt in 2011 they may have never made the trade for Beltran because they might not have needed that additional bat that had been lacking during the season. Isn't it ironic that Giants did not sign Beltran at the end of that season and now he the starting all star for the National League.
The Giants continue to play stupid baseball. Scutaro was batting third for Giants Tuesday and he came up to the plate with two on and none out. He bunts! Why? The number three batter is suppose to knock in runs. Sandoval eventually grounded out bringing in one run but the chance to score a few runs was again wasted. If I was Bochey I would inform Scurado not to bunt unless he is told to do so if he wants to play regularly.
Colin Kaerpernick the spoiled 49er QB has been in the news lately poising for the leading sports porn magazine ESPN and then got caught wearing a Miami Dolphins hat. You think he won the Super Bowl instead of blowing it!
The Warriors continue to wheel and deal and make headlines. Did they make the right decisions? I hope their logo is not a sign. Today when I did my daily walk around the nearby lake I wore an old 'The City' 't' shirt with probably the most famous bridge in the world , the Golden Gate Bridge across the front. Now they have the new Bay Bridge tower as an emblem representing one the biggest fiascoes of all time. The 1989 earthquake happened almost 25 years ago and the span was determined to be unsafe. Twenty-five years later still no new bridge. If they built bridges in the 1930's like they do today Marin County would still be full of dairy farms.
Homer Sweeney
The Zack Wheeler trade came back to haunt the Giants today. It was mentioned that if Posey did not get hurt in 2011 they may have never made the trade for Beltran because they might not have needed that additional bat that had been lacking during the season. Isn't it ironic that Giants did not sign Beltran at the end of that season and now he the starting all star for the National League.
The Giants continue to play stupid baseball. Scutaro was batting third for Giants Tuesday and he came up to the plate with two on and none out. He bunts! Why? The number three batter is suppose to knock in runs. Sandoval eventually grounded out bringing in one run but the chance to score a few runs was again wasted. If I was Bochey I would inform Scurado not to bunt unless he is told to do so if he wants to play regularly.
Colin Kaerpernick the spoiled 49er QB has been in the news lately poising for the leading sports porn magazine ESPN and then got caught wearing a Miami Dolphins hat. You think he won the Super Bowl instead of blowing it!
The Warriors continue to wheel and deal and make headlines. Did they make the right decisions? I hope their logo is not a sign. Today when I did my daily walk around the nearby lake I wore an old 'The City' 't' shirt with probably the most famous bridge in the world , the Golden Gate Bridge across the front. Now they have the new Bay Bridge tower as an emblem representing one the biggest fiascoes of all time. The 1989 earthquake happened almost 25 years ago and the span was determined to be unsafe. Twenty-five years later still no new bridge. If they built bridges in the 1930's like they do today Marin County would still be full of dairy farms.
Homer Sweeney
Sunday, July 7, 2013
The Giants, the All Stars, the NBA and Fantasy Football
The first game of the Dodger series was a night mare. Urbie who hit 24 homers for the Giants in 2010 and when he left for the Dodgers with a 3 year 21 million dollar contact I feared the worst. The Giants were paying him around 2 million. It didn't happened until last Friday when Juan had 7 rbi's and killed the Giants. . .The big story Saturday was that the Giants hit out of order in the first inning costing them a run. Vince Scully told a story that in 1950 the Cubs were playing the Dodgers and a Cub hit bases loaded double in the ninth inning to win the game. The Dodgers waited until the ninth inning to complain to the umpire that the Cubs were hitting out of order. What timing!
Vince Scully also mentioned that he did not recognize Sandoval because he had gained so much weight and he describes Pablo as wobbling down to first base. The Giants told us that he was losing weight during his DL stint. The Giants sound like the US Government -- one lie after another.
The Giants lost a tough game Sunday to lose the series proving again that they need some type of hitter with some pop. The baseball world keeps referring to the Giants miracle win in the playoffs last year. Maybe the entire season was a miracle.
The American and National League have chosen most of their All Star squads of 34 players to play one game. All they need is nineteen. I would rather see the Giant players get rest but Scurado deserves to go on his great play last year and his good play this year when his 37 year old back is not acting up. The recent slump by the team even turned off the Giant all star voters. The game is being played at Citi Field home of the New York Mets that should really be named Taxpayer Field for obvious reasons.
The Dodger shortstop Hanley Ramirez is on a terror. Years ago when he started with the Florida Marlins most people said that if they had to start a new team he would be their first choice. He did everything. Then he slumped for years and was finally delt to the Dodgers were he has not been that great either. But now he is hitting the cover off the ball. Looks suspicious? It does to me.
Both the Giants and Dodgers made bids for Miami pitcher Ricky Nolasco. He was traded to the Dodgers not because they had better minor league players to offer but they include $5 million the Giants did not have in their budget. Remember when the Dodger new ownership took over and they announced that money was no object. The Giant brass responded by saying we can't worry about the Dodgers we have to run our own team. We all would like to believe that you can't buy a championship. The Dodgers may prove us wrong this year although I don't think they have the pitching to win it all.
Have the Warriors improved themselves? The best good news is that they did not sign Dwight Howard who sounds great on ESPN radio but wait to his team loses a few games. He's a bum!. The Warriors were thrilled to sign Andre Iguodala who played last year for Denver. They lost a couple players that never played much but also ended up losing Landry and Jack who as I remember were always playing late in the fourth quarter and were very instrumental in many the teams victories. How are they going to make this up? The Warriors are dreaming. They look good on paper but injuries will prevent them from returning to the playoffs next year.
Many of my friends are frantically reviewing the players in the NFL to pick their fantasy teams. Just a reminder to take into consideration how many games these players will not play because they might be in jail something that most experts do not take into consideration.
Homer Sweeney
Vince Scully also mentioned that he did not recognize Sandoval because he had gained so much weight and he describes Pablo as wobbling down to first base. The Giants told us that he was losing weight during his DL stint. The Giants sound like the US Government -- one lie after another.
The Giants lost a tough game Sunday to lose the series proving again that they need some type of hitter with some pop. The baseball world keeps referring to the Giants miracle win in the playoffs last year. Maybe the entire season was a miracle.
The American and National League have chosen most of their All Star squads of 34 players to play one game. All they need is nineteen. I would rather see the Giant players get rest but Scurado deserves to go on his great play last year and his good play this year when his 37 year old back is not acting up. The recent slump by the team even turned off the Giant all star voters. The game is being played at Citi Field home of the New York Mets that should really be named Taxpayer Field for obvious reasons.
The Dodger shortstop Hanley Ramirez is on a terror. Years ago when he started with the Florida Marlins most people said that if they had to start a new team he would be their first choice. He did everything. Then he slumped for years and was finally delt to the Dodgers were he has not been that great either. But now he is hitting the cover off the ball. Looks suspicious? It does to me.
Both the Giants and Dodgers made bids for Miami pitcher Ricky Nolasco. He was traded to the Dodgers not because they had better minor league players to offer but they include $5 million the Giants did not have in their budget. Remember when the Dodger new ownership took over and they announced that money was no object. The Giant brass responded by saying we can't worry about the Dodgers we have to run our own team. We all would like to believe that you can't buy a championship. The Dodgers may prove us wrong this year although I don't think they have the pitching to win it all.
Have the Warriors improved themselves? The best good news is that they did not sign Dwight Howard who sounds great on ESPN radio but wait to his team loses a few games. He's a bum!. The Warriors were thrilled to sign Andre Iguodala who played last year for Denver. They lost a couple players that never played much but also ended up losing Landry and Jack who as I remember were always playing late in the fourth quarter and were very instrumental in many the teams victories. How are they going to make this up? The Warriors are dreaming. They look good on paper but injuries will prevent them from returning to the playoffs next year.
Many of my friends are frantically reviewing the players in the NFL to pick their fantasy teams. Just a reminder to take into consideration how many games these players will not play because they might be in jail something that most experts do not take into consideration.
Homer Sweeney
Friday, July 5, 2013
BART and Baggarly
Andrew Baggarly who does a great job covering the Giants mentioned this stat which is astounding --- Crawford, Sandoval, Blanco 1 for 73 and add to this Pence 2 for 25. Help!
Just heard that BART has called off their strike for 30 days. This will make my daughter Jane very happy. Her family together with friends are planning a trip to SF to see the Giants over the July 20 weekend. They normally fly Jet Blue out of Long Beach to Oakland, hop on Bart to SF and this time they are staying at the Embarcadero Hyatt Regency a few steps from BART and within walking distance for most people to AT&T. Trip saved! However if I was running BART I would not let the BART workers back until an agreement is reached. The same problem will occur again in 30 days. The George Soros led SEIU strike to hold daily passengers hostage failed.
Homer Sweeney
Just heard that BART has called off their strike for 30 days. This will make my daughter Jane very happy. Her family together with friends are planning a trip to SF to see the Giants over the July 20 weekend. They normally fly Jet Blue out of Long Beach to Oakland, hop on Bart to SF and this time they are staying at the Embarcadero Hyatt Regency a few steps from BART and within walking distance for most people to AT&T. Trip saved! However if I was running BART I would not let the BART workers back until an agreement is reached. The same problem will occur again in 30 days. The George Soros led SEIU strike to hold daily passengers hostage failed.
Homer Sweeney
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Rain Saves the 4th!
The rains came on the 4th of July preventing the Giants from losing four straight to the Reds. Thanks to a two run homer by Abreau the Giants forced Cincinnati to go eleven inning to win the third game of the series which saw sixteen Giants strike outs.
History Repeats: Last year we wrote our concerns about Blanco when he went 0 for two months during the summer. He's doing the same thing this year. We also wrote at the beginning of this year that when Sandoval goes on the DL you not only lose him for those fifteen days but for the weeks following. The ads are out for Giant fans to get ten new email addresses so they can jam the ballot box voting for the Panda to be the All Star third baseman for the National League. Voting like this and not having a rule that starters must play nine innings makes a mockery of game We chronicled last year how the votes should be counted similar to electoral votes so that one city cannot take control of the game. The good news is that the Giants will have their best pitchers going against the surging Dodgers.. .
Baseball Fan: Speaking of the Dodgers one of my daughters friends is an avid Los Angeles fan. She traveled back to New York to see the Dodgers play in Yankee Stadium. The game was rained out and a friend had given her very good seats for a game in Philadelphia the next day. No problem. She attended the make up game the next day at Yankee Stadium and then drove to Philadelphia and got to the game in the sixth inning. Fortunately for her the game went 12 innings that made the trip more worthwhile before driving on to DC to see that Nationals play. Now that's a fan! She would have a ball in Arizona during spring training Incidentally she thought Yankee Stadium was fantastic.
History Repeats: Last year we wrote our concerns about Blanco when he went 0 for two months during the summer. He's doing the same thing this year. We also wrote at the beginning of this year that when Sandoval goes on the DL you not only lose him for those fifteen days but for the weeks following. The ads are out for Giant fans to get ten new email addresses so they can jam the ballot box voting for the Panda to be the All Star third baseman for the National League. Voting like this and not having a rule that starters must play nine innings makes a mockery of game We chronicled last year how the votes should be counted similar to electoral votes so that one city cannot take control of the game. The good news is that the Giants will have their best pitchers going against the surging Dodgers.. .
Baseball Fan: Speaking of the Dodgers one of my daughters friends is an avid Los Angeles fan. She traveled back to New York to see the Dodgers play in Yankee Stadium. The game was rained out and a friend had given her very good seats for a game in Philadelphia the next day. No problem. She attended the make up game the next day at Yankee Stadium and then drove to Philadelphia and got to the game in the sixth inning. Fortunately for her the game went 12 innings that made the trip more worthwhile before driving on to DC to see that Nationals play. Now that's a fan! She would have a ball in Arizona during spring training Incidentally she thought Yankee Stadium was fantastic.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Embarrassing
The Giants were no hit and dropped into last place in the NL West. They have had two hits in two games against the Reds one a double by a pitcher the other a home run by Belt that would have been an out in most major league parks. The Orange and Black are being mentioned in many trade talks which I hope are to build the team for next year. A Bleacher Report recently mentioned that the Giants do not have one player in the minors that is marked to have a future in the majors. Good luck Sabean!
Homer Sweeney
Homer Sweeney
Monday, July 1, 2013
Rain Comes Late
It poured in Cincinnati tonight after the Reds had taken a commanding 8-1 lead cancelling the games after six innings saving the Giants bull pen but if the rain had come two hours earlier it could have prevented another Giant loss. Watching games at AT&T you regularly hear the statement that a long drive would have been a home run in most any stadium in the majors. Tonight Belt hit a home run that would have been an out in most parks.
During the rain delay we watched part of the Mets DBacks game. The Mets had the winning run on second in the ninth inning and a pitch got away from the catcher with runner advancing to third but the runner on first whose run meant nothing tried to go to second and was thrown out. Inning over. These players get paid hugh salaries and don't understand the game. It's really amazing that one can be so stupid and still earn millions. There's hope for everyone. Just develop a skill whether it's hitting baseballs or fixing pipes. P.S. In the 13th inning Gibson the Arizona manager intentionally walked the winning run on base and it cost him.
Homer Sweeney
During the rain delay we watched part of the Mets DBacks game. The Mets had the winning run on second in the ninth inning and a pitch got away from the catcher with runner advancing to third but the runner on first whose run meant nothing tried to go to second and was thrown out. Inning over. These players get paid hugh salaries and don't understand the game. It's really amazing that one can be so stupid and still earn millions. There's hope for everyone. Just develop a skill whether it's hitting baseballs or fixing pipes. P.S. In the 13th inning Gibson the Arizona manager intentionally walked the winning run on base and it cost him.
Homer Sweeney
Wimbleton
It's been 58 years since I attended Wimbledon to see American stars like Tony Trabert play but that's not the big news. The puzzling question is where are today's American male tennis stars who were eliminated from the All England Championships by the end of the second round. Just look around America and you'll see one soccer field after another and very few tennis courts. Is that clue enough. There playing soccer! People are still taught and believe the propaganda that the US won World War II.
Homer Sweeney
Homer Sweeney
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