Thursday, July 31, 2003

 

Last episode, on "Skaldheim...."

"Damien Moss? If he didn't stink so much, he'd actually be pretty good."

And now, today's episode of "Skaldheim...."

Damien Moss? Not our problem anymore.

Today, Giants general manager Brian Sabean traded a walking gas can and a broken scapula for one of the best pitchers in the American League. Okay, there was a minor leaguer involved that no one's heard of, too.

What's not to like about this trade? The Giants have a chance to win the World Series this year. Sure, Ainsworth might turn into a great pitcher someday. But this is about winning now. Your playoff rotation is now Schmidt, Ponson, Reuter, Williams, and Foppert. That's a hell of a lot better that Schmidt, Reuter, Williams, Foppert, and Moss.

Great job by Sabes, as usual.

GIANTS MAGIC NUMBER: 43.

Jefferson 7:38 PM

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Tuesday, July 29, 2003

 

Matt Clement is a stud. Damien Moss? If he didn't stink so much, he'd actually be pretty good.

At least the Diamondbacks flailed, failed, and lost once again.

GIANTS MAGIC NUMBER: 45.

Jefferson 7:57 PM

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Monday, July 28, 2003

 

The Giants are off today, but the Diamondbacks were defeated by the Florida Marlins today.

GIANTS MAGIC NUMBER: 46.

I will be in Windows 2000 classes all week again, so I probably won't have much time to post.

Jefferson 7:05 PM

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Sunday, July 27, 2003

 

Just got back from Pac Bell Park, where the Giants defeated the Padres 6-2. This finishes an 11-game homestand where the Giants won 10 games.

Here's my highlights of the day:

* Having lunch before the game at the Acme Chophouse. Dawn and I had fresh oysters from Marin County as an appetizer. She had a beet & goat cheese salad, and I had the special--soft-shelled crab sandwich which was incredible. For dessert, we shared some cantaloupe sorbet. Great service, as usual.

* Seats in the back row of section 320. Back row? Yeah, back row. We were behind home plate, had a great view, were in the shade, and weren't all that far from the action. I'll take the back row of section 320 any old time.

* Mascots, mascots everywhere. Today is Lou Seal's 7th "birthday," and the Giants celebrated by inviting over a bunch of other mascots. Any time you get Stomper, SJ Sharkie, the Phillie Phanatic, whatever the blue thing the Devil Rays sent over was, and a bunch of other fuzzy guys chasing each other all over the field, I'm a happy man.

* Jesse Foppert winning his second straight decision, and looking great doing it. Seven strikeouts and only two walks in 6 2/3 innings. Solid progress by the rookie.

* Andres Galarraga, age 42, going 2-3 with 4 RBI.

* Barry Bonds, age 39, turning in two great plays in the outfield, and mixing in two walks, a double, and a run.

* Pedro Feliz, age 28, hitting a solo home run just over the centerfield wall. I've grown to like this kid far beyond what his production warrants. I've even dubbed him "The Little Cat," because he and Galarraga seem like a set.

* Matt Herges, age 30, putting in a solid two-inning relief appearance. This guy looks to be another trademark Brian Sabean acquisition--just the right guy for just the right spot, rather than a big name to make the sportstalk callers happy.

* Neifi Perez, age 30, DNP.

* The Dodgers beating the Diamondbacks 1-0, giving the Giants an 11-game lead in the West.

Is it time to start making plans for playoff parties yet? You betcha. Sure, sure, it could fall apart. In fact, Ray Ratto has a made a convenient list of all the ways the season could fall apart. (Hint: one of them involves Barry becoming a nun.) But I think I'll take my chances....

GIANTS MAGIC NUMBER: 47.

Jefferson 5:41 PM

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Friday, July 25, 2003

 

It seems that Barry Bonds' superheroic victory over space, time, physics and the Arizona Diamondbacks yesterday has raised him to yet another level. It's been about 24 hours since his amazing ninth inning, and since then, it's been the main topic of conversation everywhere I've looked.

But sadly, the celebration for Bonds was short. Very shortly after the game, he left the clubhouse to go to the hospital where his father Bobby is being treated for cancer. Apparently the elder Bonds' health is deteroirating even further. Barry Bonds has left the squad to be at his father's bedside, and may be gone for a few days. We send our best wishes for a speedy recovery for Bobby Bonds. Prolonged illnesses are always hell for the patient, and sometimes worse for the patient's loved ones.

Jefferson 4:32 PM

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Thursday, July 24, 2003

 

Barry. Freaking. Bonds.

Words fail me.

Jefferson 3:41 PM

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Happy Birthday, Barry Bonds!

Bonds is now 39. Bonds is the best hitter in major league baseball. The best hitter in major league baseball is 39. Think about that for a minute.

Over his entire career, Barry Bonds has a .296 AVG, .431 OPS, .600 SLG.

Here's the numbers for just the last four seasons:

2000 (age 35-36): .306/.440/.688
2001 (age 36-37): .328/.515/.863
2002 (age 37-38): .370/.582/.799
2003 (age 38-39): .327/.501/.731

At a time when most guys are losing it, and losing it bad, Barry is in the prime of his career. You have to wonder how many more years he can keep this up. Five? Six? Can you imagine him playing until he's 45, and still being productive? Sick.

Jefferson 10:56 AM

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Over at The Miniatures Page, of all places, a member from across the Atlantic asked what we thought about soccer. This is what I posted:

"Think about soccer?

That'd be a first.

Face it. If the United States hasn't fallen in love with soccer yet, despite two men's pro leagues, one women's pro league, two World Cups (including a women's championship), Pele, millions and millions of immigrants from soccer-loving countries, and widespread youth leagues, IT NEVER WILL.

We just don't like it. Sorry. Nothing personal."

As you all might have guessed, I'd rather watch the San Francisco Giants take a 10-game lead over the Snakes.

Jefferson 9:06 AM

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Wednesday, July 23, 2003

 

Giants fans, you may now officially get psyched.

A couple months ago, this was a good team that wasn't beating good teams. During the last month, they're now a great team that is beating everybody. Since June 23, the boys are:

2-1 vs. Los Angeles
2-1 vs. Oakland
5-1 vs. St. Louis
4-1 vs. Arizona
2-1 vs. San Diego
4-2 vs. Colorado

With the exception of San Diego, these are all decent to good teams. This is the kind of play you want to see, if you want your team to return to the World Series.

Even more amazing, this is happening while the pitching staff is getting dinged, nicked, bruised or ending up in medical journals. As one guy falters, someone else steps up. Ainsworth breaks a shoulder blade? No problem, Jerome Williams starts tossing shutouts. Damien Moss spontaneously combusts? Plug in Brower, he'll toss six innings of one-run ball for you--maybe even twice. Reuter feels a twinge in his elbow? Moss comes back and kicks Curt Schilling's ass. You have to love it.

Of course, now that I've posted this, Jim Brower will end up doing a gas can impersonation tonight. But so what? If he does, we're still 8 games up on the Snakes.

Life is good.

Jefferson 12:49 PM

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Tuesday, July 22, 2003

 

Want the new Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 rules for free? For real? Yes! Just download the free System Reference Document from Wizards of the Coast. Thanks to the Open Gaming License, you can get the rules for free. Buying the new books will cost you a fat $90.

Myself, I'm not too sure I like the changes in the revision, so I'll be reading over the SRD before I buy the new rulebooks.

Jefferson 4:16 PM

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Monday, July 21, 2003

 

I may have mentioned Voros McCracken's work before. He published a groundbreaking study a couple of years ago that seemed to indicate that pitchers have no real ability to affect batting average on balls in play. After he crunched all the pitching stats for a few seasons, he concluded that pitchers succeed by controlling walks, strikeouts, and homers. But once the batter hit the ball, it was really the batter's skill that determined what happened.

This struck a lot of people as nonsensical. Good pitching beats good hitting, doesn't it?

Tom Tippett over at Diamond Mind Baseball decided to do a much larger study, using all pitching data since 1913. His conclusion? Pitchers have far more control over walks and strikeouts, but they still do influence batting average on balls in play. In fact, some pitchers have quite a lot of control over that. You can read Tippett's fascinating study here.

So Kirk Reuter, you're off the hook! (But you're still on the shelf.)

This study comes as a bit of a relief to me. If McCracken's hypothesis was right, then my favorite baseball event, the no-hitter, doesn't mean much as a measure of skill. But since it appears to be incorrect, then no-hitters still mean something.

Jefferson 5:59 PM

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