Breakfast of Champions

Pablo Sandoval, also known as Kung Fu Panda in some circles, plays for the recently crowned World Champion San Francisco Giants.  Some have noticed a severe dip in his production from last season to this season (.330 to .268 BA; 25 to 13 HR; 90 to 63 RBI).  I saw this awesome tweet from ESPN's Buster Olney today that might help explain why.

@Buster_ESPNBuster Olney

Pablo Sandoval will go into the spring training on notice. A friend saw him power down this breakfast during WS: Cheetos and Mountain Dew.

I can't even begin to describe how much this makes me laugh.  It sounds as though Timmy's habits may have caught on to some other guys who have succumbed to the munchies throughout the season.  No word yet on Sandoval's reaction to the destruction of Proposition 19.

Putting a Bow(tie) on 2010

Well, I guess that does it.  So much for the Rangers winning the World Series in their first trip.  The San Francisco Giants are your 2010 World Series Champions.  I don't know if I have it saved, but at some point during the season, I think it was on an MLB Network Radio status update midseason, I said that the Giants are a darkhorse for the World Series because of their pitching.  If they can get into the playoffs - seriously, this is what I said at the time - they have a legitimate shot of winning it all simply because of their pitching staff.  And then they scored 20 runs in the first 2 games.

While small victories are just that... small... I would also like to note that Timmy Lincecum is not going to legally be able to celebrate in his usual way, as Proposition 19 was shot down by California voters by half a million votes.  The reason: stoners weren't sensible enough to actually vote... because they were stoned.

Regardless, I think this officer of the law has the right expression as far as the Giants actually winning the Series is concerned.

World Series Wager

Pete Rose's favorite hobby, gambling on baseball, is coming into play as the World Series starts this week.  Rumor has it that the mayors of San Francisco and Arlington have put a friendly wager on the game.  In addition to a day of community service in the victor's town while wearing that team's jersey, the losing mayor is going to have to send over some food.

If the Rangers win, Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco will ship out Dungeness crab, sourdough bread, Ghirardelli chocolate and Anchor Steam beer.  If the Giants win, Mayor Robert Cluck of Arlington will ship food from a local BBQ joint called Spring Creek BBQ, reportedly the best in Texas (though, this has yet to be verified from an inside source).

Perhaps what catches my eye in all of this is the fact that Arlington's mayor's last name is Cluck.  I find it really funny that a place so steeped in the finer qualities and traditions of beef shares the last name with the noise from a chicken.

Giants Advance to World Series

I suppose to be fair, I just probably mention that the San Francisco Giants defeated the Philadelphia Phillies to advance to the World Series.  Sorry if I'm just not that excited about the Giants in the Series.  I'm really, really, not a fan of Lincecum.  Maybe I'm still a little bitter that he won the Cy Young over Wainwright (who totally deserved it more) last season, maybe I'm just not a fan of a guy who was busted for possession and didn't receive any kind of disciplinary action from the league, or maybe I just don't like the fact that an f-bomb is his go-to adjective.  Either way, congrats to the Giants, blah, blah, blah.

And, just a fun side note, Benji Molina, who was traded from the Giants to the Rangers earlier this season is officially the first person to win a World Series ring this season.  Good to see another Molina brother get a ring.

Pictures?  We don't need no stinkin' pictures.

Giants Advance to NLCS

The San Francisco Giants have advanced to the NLCS by virtue of another 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves.  One thing is for sure about this year's NLCS - there probably isn't going to be a lot of runs scored. The Giants and the Phillies have put together phenomenal pitching performances so far this postseason, led by Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum.

I think that I'll be rooting for the Phillies in this particular series.  Not so much because I like their mascot better than the Giants' mascot, but because I can't stand Tim Lincecum.  For a stoner, girly-haired, foul-mouthed pitcher, he's pretty good, but I can't root for a guy who has absolutely no control over his language.  To get an idea of what I'm talking about, you can check out this highlight from mlb.com (he's the girly-haired dude whose profanity doesn't get drowned out by the fan noise), or jump back to this post.

Why I Don't Pay Attention to Advanced Stats

Apparently baseball writer Bill James has devised some sort of thing called a "game score metric" that helps us gain a better understanding of a dominating pitching performance.  To give you an idea of how the Game Score Metric works.... well, I'm not going to take the time to explain it.  Click on this link if you really want to know what it is before going forward; however, this should tell you all you need to know - Tim Lincecum's 2-hit, 14K shutout of the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of their NLDS scored higher than Roy Halladay's 1 BB, no-hitter the day before.  That's right, once again, we see how strikeouts are overvalued by some people.  An out is an out, and it doesn't matter if it is a weak grounder to the pitcher, a strikeout, or a fly ball to the left fielder.  Guess what, they are still outs.

For this reason, I propose that we abandon the new ways of thinking when it comes to baseball stats (also known as sabremetrics).  I know how to calculate batting average and on-base percentage.  I know how to count RBIs and HRs.  I don't know, or care to know, what VORP or WAR mean.  You tell me that a fielder's UZR is better than another's, and I might mistakenly punch you for fear that you are speaking to me about hockey in Russian, and I don't need that kind of pressure from a Commie ice skater!

Tim Lincecum: Master of the English Language

Here's a short clip of Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum following the Giants victory over the Padres, which gave them the NL West crown.  Be sure to put away the kids for the next 10 seconds....



Ah, Tim Lincecum: pitcher, Cy Young Award winner, stoner, master of the English language.

Giants Win NL West

And the posts just keep comin'...

Congratulations goes out to the San Francisco Giants on their victory today over the Padres, which both gave them the NL West crown, and denied the Padres any chance to be the "feel good" story of the 2010 baseball season.

First off, here's a picture of the Giants frolicking in the field after a win this season.

And for your bonus picture, here's Giants closer Brian Wilson with a look that may qualify him as the scariest man on the planet, possible serial killer, and frequent connoisseur of bear meat.  I'm pretty sure he's up for the challenge to hunt the most dangerous game.... man....
 

So, THAT'S Why They Aren't Doctors

ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted on Tuesday: Andres Torres needed an appendectomy, and rival GMs think that is a procedure that requires major recovery time. "2-3 months," said 1 GM.


Andres Torres is the center fielder for the San Francisco Giants, a team that is in contention, but on the outside looking in.  Losing Torres would be a major blow to their playoff chances.  However...


Are rival GM's stupid?  Even I know that it doesn't take that long to recover from an appendectomy.  I'm no doctor, but for a person that is in pretty good shape (as you would expect a center fielder to be), I image it would take about a month at the longest.


Forget the fact that Torres, in a move that would make even Rob Dibble proud, had been playing for a couple games with severe pain in his abdomen, it takes a child about three weeks to heal from an appendectomy.  I imagine it wouldn't take 3x's longer for a professional athlete to do the same.

Fontenot Makes Outrageously Long Journey

The Chicago Cubs traded infielder Mike Fontenot to the San Francisco Giants last week.  Fontenot was rushed to packed up all his belongings and make the journey out to San Fran..... oh, wait...

The Cubs were playing the Giants in San Francisco at the time of the trade.  Fontenot simply stayed out at second base between the 3rd and 4th innings to make the trade official.

Lincecum Digs Deep

In a game against the Braves last week, Giants starter Tim Lincecum was starting to get a little hungry.  In the fifth inning, he stopped for a bite to eat while the Giants were batting.

Apparently, the extra fuel didn't help.  Timmy gave up what would be the winning run the next inning.

Thanks to Deadspin for the picture.

Mattingly Shows Why Yanks Hired Girardi

The Dodgers, no strangers to odd finishes this season, added another unique way to lose to their growing list this season.  You may remember their Memorial Day game against the Diamondbacks that ended in a "balk-off."  You may even remember their unfortunate demise at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim when Russell Martin was thrown out at second seconds before the tying run would have scored.  Add to that list, Rule #8.06.  What is Rule #8.06, you ask?

A professional league shall adopt the following rule pertaining to the visit of the manager or coach to the pitcher: 

 (a) This rule limits the number of trips a manager or coach may make to any one pitcher in any one inning;

(b) A second trip to the same pitcher in the same inning will cause this pitcher's automatic removal;

(c) The manager or coach is prohibited from making a second visit to the mound while the same batter is at bat, but

(d) if a pinch-hitter is substituted for this batter, the manager or coach may make a second visit to the mound, but must remove the pitcher.

A manager or coach is considered to have concluded his visit to the mound when he leaves the 18-foot circle surrounding the pitcher's rubber.

Now that you have diligently studied and memorized that rule, you won't make the same mistake as former major league baseball player, and current hitting coach for the Dodgers, Don Mattingly (who is apparently an @$$, based on accounts relayed to me by a former co-worker who played ball with Mattingly's son in high school).  Mattingly stepped off the mound, was asked a question by 1B James Loney, turned around and stepped back onto the dirt, constituting a second visit to the mound.  Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton had to be removed from the game, and George Sherrill came in without any time to do a proper warm-up in the bullpen.

Credit goes to Giants manager Bruce Bochy, who caught the amateur's blunder and brought it to the attention of the umpires.  Congratulations, Dodgers!  You suck!

Sandoval, Renteria Spooked

Giants players Pablo Sandoval and Edgar Renteria checked out of the team hotel in Milwaukee the other day because of rumors that the Pfister Hotel is haunted.  Adrian Beltre, among others, has reported hearing strange sounds in the night while staying at the hotel.

Perhaps the most haunting aspect of this entire story is the fact that Edgar Renteria is still getting paid to play baseball after all these years.