West Coast Bias » San Francisco Giants

The Greatest Rivalry in Sports (Not Named NYY vs. BOS)

WCBias — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 23:35:00 +0000

I grew up almost exactly halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, which means I could have conceivably been raised a Giants fan, had my father been less of a man. Luckily for myself and everyone else things turned out the way that they did and I cried tears of joy when Gibby hit his jack and booed Barry Bonds at every opportunity (except when he was on my fantasy team and when I was on the same flight coming back from Phoenix). The map to the right shows just how close that cut-off between NorCal and SoCal really is though, doesn’t it? And why does the Giants area of influence look like Chile?

The Dodgers are getting ready to welcome big Brad Penny back into the mix tonight and hope his two month hiatus was enough to overcome his serious case of suck-itis. We’ll also get to see the much anticipated Manny vs. Barry Zito match-up, which seems to be tilted slightly in favor of Manny at this point.

The Dodgers will miss Tiny Tim this trip (but will draw Matt Cain on Sunday afternoon) which means that despite playing the Giants repeatedly over these months they have tangled with Lincecum only once on the season (and that was back on April second). Weird, don’t you think?

Dodgers v. Giants, An Exercise in Sarcasm

WCBias — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 04:34:00 +0000

That’s my buddy Zach over on the right. He is currently getting his PhD. in molecularbiowhateveritis so you would think he is smart but he is without a doubt one of God’s saddest creatures, a San Francisco Giants fan. I called him the other day asking about parking at a venue in San Francisco (G Slim is going up to see Bloc Party at the Fillmore) but of course never heard back from him. During tonight’s game though, my trusty old Samsung kept beeping away with text messages from our old friend Zach. The following is a blow by blow account of the game:

3rd Inning, Giants lead 2-0
Zach: Hey, Whatcha doing?
4th Inning, Giants lead 7-0
Zach: You uh, seen any ball games lately?
BG: Laugh while you can asshat. We have you right where we want you.

5th Inning, Dodgers explode for 5
Zach: F.
BG: That was 10% karma, 90% Kevin Correia remembering he is Kevin Correia.
Zach: Yeah but I’m pretty sure it was karma that reminded him.

6th Inning, Giants lead 7-5
Zach: You are in trouble now. Here comes our bullpen.
Andruw Jones singles in a run.
BG: He is so clutch. You just cannot pitch to Andruw when the game is on the line.
Zach: Exactly, never underestimate the heart of a champion.

7th Inning, Tyler Walker on the hill
BG: Does Tyler Walker frost his tips?
Zach: No. Met him at a bar once. Dude is almost albino. Nice work by JT getting tossed.

9th Inning, B. Wilson comes in to shut LA Down
Zach: THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT, THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT

No comeback for that one. Still one game back and stuck in Italics. Nice.

How do you have a job: John Kruk?

Slim — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:05:00 +0000

, I like John Kruk, but like Charles Barkley, it’s only a matter of time before he says something crazy on camera.
Like on Monday night during a one of the rain delays when ESPN had no other option but to show bonus coverage of the Giants-Nationals game.

Between innings, Kruk said San Francisco manager “Bruce Bochy deserves some consideration for Coach of the Year: because the Giants are what, seven-games under .500?”

Huh? Since when does seven-games under warrant anything but the hot seat?
Yeah, the Giants roster is putrid, but seven-games under isn’t exactly overachieving.
You’re better than that JK.

T-Shirt of the Week: Go to Hell Baseball

Slim — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 00:09:00 +0000

The Free Barry Campaign has already begun. … One of Barry Bonds’ long lost fans shows his support of the slugger Friday at the federal courthouse in San Francisco, where Bonds renewed his claims of innocence in pleading not guilty to 15 federal charges of lying to a grand jury about his performance-enhancing drugs. Bonds, who I was worried had gone missing there for a minute, goes to court in March … possibly for a chance to play the next contestant on BG’s “Name That Criminal.”
AP Photo/Marcio Jose

Stop the presses! Barry Zero wins

Slim — Sat, 24 May 2008 02:37:00 +0000

Call it the WCBias karma, call it freaking luck, call it the sun even shines on a former Gaucho once in a blue moon.
Barry “Zero” Zito earned his first win of the season after eight straight losses, and a slump-busting blog entry by yours truly today, pitching the San Francisco Giants past the Florida Marlins 8-2.
Zito (1-8) allowed a run and three hits in six-plus innings innings.
It’s his first win since Sept. 30, 2007, when he beat the Dodgers in the season finale.
Even better, it’s his 12th win in 43 starts for the Giants. Let me see, that’s works out to be about $10.5 million a start. What a bargain those Barrys end up being for the Giants.

From Hero to Zero

Slim — Fri, 23 May 2008 21:10:00 +0000

We’ve heard of He Hate Me. But He Hate Z?

Even Giants fans are hatin’ on Barry Zero, I mean Zito, who last year signed the worst contract in the history of mankind and has yet to win a game for San Francisco this season.
Zito, who went to UCSB with our boy BG for a year before bouncing around to Pierce College and then USC, fell to 0-8 with a loss to the Chicago White Sox last weekend at AT&T Ballpark (pictured).

Zito, who won the Cy Young in 2002 if you can believe that, takes his “unblemished” record and 6.25 ERA to NL East-leading Florida tonight.

The former Gaucho is trying to become the first Big League pitcher in five years to start the year with nine consecutive losses. Detroit’s Mike Maroth was horrid enough to bang the Naughty Nine in 2003.

As it stands right now, Zito is the first Giants pitcher to open a season 0-8 since Jesse Burkett in 1890. That’s some exclusive company. Who says Zito isn’t worth $126 million?

Giants Fall 60 Games Out of First, Hire Hillary Clinton As Special Advisor

BG — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:51:00 +0000

In a stunning move, Brian Sabean and the Giants have hired long shot presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton as a Special Advisor to the team. Following up on Sabean’s outrageous claims last week that the Giants can compete and win this year, Sabean stated at his hastily assembled press conference, “We here in San Francisco have a long history of self-delusion and abject stubbornness. We stood by our Joe Nathan and Franky Liariano trade for Pierzynski. We stood by and watched as Barry’s head grew until he resembled Mr. Potato Head and swore that nothing strange was going on. We feel Hillary Clinton’s complete lack of touch with reality will fit in perfectly with our clubhouse makeup and we look forward to seeing what she will bring to the table.”

On a conference call from Nova Scotia, where Clinton is campaigning in an effort to have it annexed to the US so they can seat one-half of a Super Delegate, Clinton announced her support for Sabean’s overall plan for rebuilding the Giants. “Just like [Sabean], I have a very strong commitment to refusing to admit mistakes and doing irrevocable harm to something I supposedly support. I am proud to be a member of this storied franchise and, God willing, vow to solemnly run it directly into the ground.”

It was unclear what Clinton’s exact role with the team would be or when she would begin her tenure but Clinton hinted that she would likely join the team after she has eventually given up on her hopeless quest of the presidency, so likely by mid-2011. She also alluded to possibly using her husband, former President Bill Clinton as a hitting coach. “Can’t be any worse than whoever they have in there at the moment,” Clinton was quoted as saying.

They're called fanatics for a reason

Slim — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:03:00 +0000

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Pinhead, taking in Sunday’s game at San Francisco’s AT&T Ballpark. I guess when you’re a Giants fans, you collect pins instead of wins. Add your caption in the comments section below.

Life after Barry Bonds sucks

Slim — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:59:00 +0000

Visiting AT&T Ballpark on Sunday for the first time this season, it became obvious the San Francisco Giants missed Barry Bonds before I even stepped foot in the stadium. Here are a few snapshots about what I’m talking about (photos by BSlim):

Without Barry: McCovey Cove was a ghost town.

With Barry: McCovey Cove was a fire hazard.Without Barry: Look at all the empty green seats and that out-of-place No. 40 in left field.

With Barry: Butts were in the seats. So what if those asses were bruised from steroid injections.

Without Barry: The left fielder is Dan Ortmeier, who has yet to hit a home run this season and tripped over the bullpen mound (which hasn’t moved in years) and took the header that allowed the White Sox to turn a 6-6 game into a 9-6 laugher on Sunday.

With Barry: No hustle in left field, which means that ball would’ve fallen in for an easy single. Barry would’ve walked over, picked it up, lobbed it to the cutoff man and kept at least one of the runners on â€“ and kept Ortmeier from making a fool out of himself.

I’ve looked everywhere for the video of Ortmeier’s face plant, but haven’t been able to find it. If you find the clip, or a photo, send me the link. I’m guessing nobody’s posted it because nobody watched the game. Even the fans at the ballpark were more interested in the final minutes of Game 7 of the Celtics-Cavs series than the Giants game, which was tied 6-6 and about to be decided on Ortmeier’s gaff when a majority of the fans at AT&T were huddled around the TVs at the sportsbars.

But I guess you’ll have to take my word on it, because Barry wasn’t there and nobody seemed to care.

Giant letdown still fun for lil' one

Slim — Mon, 19 May 2008 04:50:00 +0000

Well, my daughter’s first baseball game wasn’t a bust after all.
Sure, it started sloooow, but San Francisco Giants starter Matt Cain did take a no-hitter into the fifth. Problem was, nobody noticed â€“ not even the sportswriter in the fam â€“ because it was, well, Matt Cain.
Then Matt Cain became Matt Cain again and the Giants came crashing back to reality as three White Sox in a span of seven hitters went yard at windy AT&T Ballpark, where the hometown boys were swept away with a 13-8 Chicago victory.
Yep, after four-plus innings of no-hit ball, Cain gave up four bombs over the next three â€“ including TWO to ORLANDO CABRERA (double his season total coming in).
In all, there were five homers to the left-field bleachers, but little Payton failed to come up with a souvenier. Then again, either did her dad, who was in line waiting for a $10 beer for four of the five longballs.
So that’s that. Payton’s 1 and she’s already taken in a ballgame from the cheap seats (and the 21 runs on 25 hits gave her plenty to cheer for). I didn’t watch my first game until I was 11, so she’s got that going for her â€“ even if it was the lowly Giants, who have now lost five straight and haven’t won a series this month.
Now that their wonderful 10-game homestand has come to a close, they’re off on an 11-day trip through Colorado, Florida and Arizona. And Kevin Correia is going on the DL.
Brutal, brutal, brutal.
And there are still plenty of lowlights remaining from our weekend in SanFran, so stay tuned.