Casey Blake Is A ******
There was a time not too long ago I actually verbalized that I wouldn’t
mind seeing Casey Blake in a Giants uniform at some point down the
road. The guy is clutch, handles his business over in the corner and
just reminds me of an all around old school type ball player. This all
changed yesterday when I got wind that he mocked Brian Wilson’s victory
gesture.
At the end of each successful save Wilson crosses his
arms and points upward. This is both a testament to his religious faith
and a gesture to his late father. It is not to showboat, and it is not to show anyone up. He turns his back and faces his team.
Casey
Blake and Wilson had been going at it all weekend. It started with a 13
Pitch war that ended with Wilson the victor via strikeout. Casey then
tied things up yesterday taking Wilson deep to tie up the game in
extra innings. Brian came back and secured the win after Randy Winn
came through with a 2 run single in the 13th.
After he clears
the bases Casey took it upon himself to sit in the dugout and mock
Wilson. Classy…but then again he is a Dodger.
Here’s my beef:
If you’re gonna pull crap like that at least have the stones to do in
front of the guy, and not sitting behind your teammates buried in your
dugout thinking in you’re in a safe place to be the funny guy at the
expense of someone else. In this case…at the expense of someone
else’s faith and deceased father.
Of course I guess I can
understand why Casey did it the way he did it. He’s a ***** and this is
Brian Wilson. Brian is slightly crazy and would beat Casey Blake’s
bitch *** up and down Dodger Stadium. This is Brian Wilson who can
throw 102mph gas down inside. Well…thanks to the wonderful world of
technology someone took this picture and sent it to Wilson’s cell phone.
As
you might imagine….Brian Wilson is not a happy camper. And I bet
Casey is not looking forward to August 10th which is the next time the
Dodgers and Giants meet up. They’ll be at AT&T Park…and I’m
willing to bet Wilson is gonna have a little something for ya.
www.texrants.blogspot.com
What The Hell Barry?
Where did that come from? The curve ball, the slider, the command, even the velocity to some extent….it was all there. To top it off you were just mean. For the fifth time in your career you didn’t walk anyone. You had the Travolta strut and a bizarre southern accent during the post game interview. You were calling for appeals with authority. For six and two thirds you put on a clinic, you had that curve-ball, that ridiculous F’ing curve ball that hangs up near the skull and drops in the zone at the last second. When Bochy pulled the plug you were pissed….which is a far cry from looking defeated which is all the emotion I’ve seen out of you this year.
Well Barry, it’s about g***amned time.
There are quite a few fans out there that think Bochy should have left him in, and whether he was going by the book or had some underlying reverse psychology going on is neither here nor there. It was the right thing to do. Zito has fallen apart too many times this season. Why risk it? End it on a high note and hope to god he carries that chip on his shoulder back to AT&T park where he has to face the Cubs, who are on an absolute tear. Can you imagine the ramifications if he stayed in and LOST?!?!?! Anybody who has seen him pitch this year knows that it is a scenario that is not all that far fetched.
I have to give Barry props. My hat is officially tipped in his direction. But, we’re still looking ar 3-11. This was one game and one game only. It was his best start as a Giant and hopefully the spark that will ignite Zito. There is nothing I would like to see more than Zito going out there and collectively shutting down and shutting up the nay-sayers, the haters, and people like me who write smart *** meaningless blogs about him.
Good on ya Barry. Keep it up. Please….for the love of God…keep it up.
Dear Barry,
to say this. I put a lot of thought into it and I’ve decided there is no
delicate way to put this – you need to stop for the time being. I don’t mean
skip a rotation, or take a leave on the DL for a few weeks, I mean you need to
get down to Fresno for the remainder of the season. It is in the best interest
of everybody involved; the fans, the team, and yourself.
I don’t know
what happened Barry. I used to marvel at your stuff. There was a time not so
long ago that your curve ball was the undisputed champ of major league baseball.
You had the kind of stuff that caused relapses for recovering alcoholics and
would perpetuate insomnia for hitters all over the league. Now….not so much.
As a matter of fact, you’re not even close.
No one knows what is really
going on with you except for you. Whether it’s mental, physical or perhaps a
little bit of both. Your drop in velocity and shoulder movement suggests that
you might have something bothering you in the aforementioned shoulder. If it’s
not hurting you much right now….it soon will be. Zito
Mechanics
Sabian assures us that you’re hitting your targets in
the bullpen, but admits to what everyone else knows, that once you hit the field
you fall apart. I’ve been in the yard for the past two performances and it’s
getting ugly Barry. Friday you gave us hope by pitching two of your best innings
of the season. The crowd was buzzing. We wanted to cheer our ***** off for you,
and deep down we still do – but the eventual collapse was inevitable.
Wednesday’s game the fans desperation turned towards pure disgust and borderline
hatred.
home this year Barry, and it sure as hell isn’t going to do you any good. I wish
the fans at AT&T Park would turn that emotion into something positive. The
fan participation in actually rooting for the team has been lacking this year.
They seem to funnel their energy into cell phone conversations, imported beer
and complaining … but now they have a new sense of purpose. Unfortunately it
is serving up a huge plate of hater-tots on you Barry.
I know this can’t
be easy on you and honestly I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes … actually?
I’m going to retract that. For a $126 million dollar contract I’ll take my
chances. That’s the thing Barry, it always comes down to the money doesn’t
it? I know you’re working your a** off Barry. I know you want to fix this.
Unfortunately, I can’t feel any sympathy for you. You took the money Barry and
quite frankly we feel ripped off. Do the right thing. I’m not asking nor
expecting you to take a pay cut, but I think you need to come to terms with the
fact that for now you need to take a walk and try again next March. Just think
about it OK? No pressure. I hear Fresno is lovely this time of
year.
The Draft Pick Is In….
…and I might just have to change my shorts from all the excitement. The magic of the MLB draft can only be rivaled by the pure adrenaline rush of skydiving, bear wrestling or full contact yahtzee. The Giants this year had the dubious honor of choosing 5th all around and the general consensus seemed to be focused on getting a guy with a big bat. In my opinion the two biggest holes in the Giants overall game is the bullpen and the lack of a 30 plus home run guy in the lineup. All the reports that I, as I’m sure many of you, read pre-season at some point brought up the Bonds hangover. As it turns out, we certainly miss his bat, but that’s about it.
So we had the opportunity to sign a guy who could help fill in that gap…and his name was Justin Smoak. A smooth swinging switch hitter, with a scouted potential to be 35-40 homer guy in the bigs. As a matter of fact here’s his scouting report:
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| Hitting Ability: | Smoak has a real and easy swing and gets coverage through the entire hitting area. |
| Power: | He’s got plus power now and in the future, from both sides of the plate. He could be a 35-40 homer guy at the big-league level. |
| Running Speed: | He’s below average, with heavy legs. He’s a bit stiff and knock-kneed. |
| Base running: | Thanks to some good instincts, he’s not quite a base clogger. |
| Arm Strength: | He’s got an average arm, but it’s good enough for first base. |
| Fielding: | He’s not bad around the base with good hands. |
| Range: | The lack of footspeed and heavy lower half provide very limited range. |
| Physical Description: | Smoak has a large frame with a thick lower half. His upper body is pretty loose and moves easily. |
| Medical Update: | Healthy. |
| Strengths: | The bat, both for average and power, from both sides of the plate. |
| Weaknesses: | Below-average speed and he’s limited defensively to first base. |
| Summary: | There are a number of top-notch college first basemen in this year’s class and Smoak is right at the top of the list. That’s because he’s got a smooth and easy swing that generates plenty of power from both sides of the plate. This isn’t college power; it will translate just fine to the pro game. He can’t run and is limited to first base defensively, but there will be more than enough bat to make up for those shortcomings. |
But we decided to let this guy slip away and the Rangers took him for the 11th round pick. Who did we pick? A kid named Buster Posey who is a short stop turned catcher out of Florida. Here’s his report:
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| Hitting Ability: | Posey has advanced hitting skills, uses the big part of the field. He’s got a good approach and knowledge of the strike zone. |
| Power: | He’s mostly gap-to-gap, but he shows occasional power to the pull side. He could develop into a 10-15 homer kind of guy. |
| Running Speed: | He’s more athletic than most catchers, but he’s still a slightly below-average runner. |
| Base running: | While he doesn’t have the foot speed to be a good runner, he does have decent instincts. |
| Arm Strength: | He shows a decent arm in practice, but it doesn’t play as average in the game. |
| Fielding: | Orginally a shortstop, he’s a little behind in things like shifting behind the plate. |
| Range: | He does have quick footwork and should improve in this area the more he catches. |
| Physical Description: | Posey is a little big in the hips and will have to work hard to maintain his lower half. |
| Medical Update: | Healthy. |
| Strengths: | He’s a highly sought-after package, a catcher who’ll be able to stay behind the plate and has a chance to hit. |
| Weaknesses: | He’s got a lack of experience behind the plate. He just needs to catch more to learn the nuances of the position. |
| Summary: | College catchers who can stay at the position and can hit are always a hot commodity and Posey will be no exception. He’s got a great approach with the bat and has a little power. As a converted shortstop, he’s still a little raw behind the plate, but all the tools are there for him to be just fine and help ensure he gets drafted fairly early. |
Granted this kid is good. He has potential…but we have Molina, Holms and a handful of others catchers in the farm system what in the hell are they thinking? I don’t get it, and understand that this is based purely on my opinion of where the Giants are as a team.
They have the talent to contend. There are kinks to work out and a bullpen to napalm but the chemistry is there. Rowand, in my opinion, is the best thing to happen to this team in a long time. The right man at the right time. He replaces the bourgeois d@uche-waffle that was Bonds and brings a sense of leadership & maturity to the clubhouse that was sorely needed. Rowand is a guy that is respected by his peers and looked up to by the up and comers…but he is a teammate to all above all else. He sets the bar for this team. But like I said we miss Barry’s bat and Rowand for a great a player as he is, will never be hitting more than 20+ homers a year.
We have a had a lot of 1 run games this season. Games, that many of which, could have been decided if we had that guy. That guy meaning the Utley’s, the Berkman’s, the A-rod’s of the game. The guy that if you get him up, especially with as many guys as the Giants have left on base this year, you have the very real potential to blow the game wide open. I think Justin Smoak was potentially that guy and would have been an appropriate addition to the Giants game plan over the next few years. But alas…..twas not to be.
So now I will wish the best for Buster Posey and continue to pray for Bowker to be the powerhouse we all know he can be…well all hope he can be anyway.
Till Next Time.
Tex
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