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Foward-Thinking Nostalgia Hour

It’s hard to believe, but after writing close to 400,000 words about bad Giants teams over the past few years, I was starting to get a little burned out on Giants baseball. This marginal prospect almost excites me…this veteran might be tradable…this reliever has a good arm, but he can’t seem to get outs…this starting pitcher needs to find his consistency…. It’s been the same stupid script for years, and it always ends in this tangy concoction of forced indifference, depression, and rage. Then the offseason comes, a few stupid moves get made, and the cycle starts over. At least Bill Murray was able to learn how to play the piano when he was stuck in his time loop.

Last night, Comcast Sports Net Bay Area Net Sportsnet replayed the broadcast of the division clincher from 2000. While it might seem like this kind of nostalgia would be a twist of the knife, it was actually comforting. I was at the game, and I remember Luis Gonzalez’s body language when the Giants took the lead in the bottom of the eighth. He wanted to be somewhere else. Anywhere else. The crowd was absolutely geeked, waiting for the last out and a division title. The Pac Bell crowd was always underrated due to the overblown "crab cakes ‘n’ chardonnay" stereotype. The 5,000 fans from Candlestick were still there, but they were just reinforced with 35,000 additional fans. Even if 15% of those additional fans were cell-phone yabbering weenies, the crowd was still a boisterous, knowledgeable bunch.

The game was a reminder that the focus doesn’t always need to be championship, championship, championship. Which is convenient, as the Giants generally don’t win those. But a good team that doesn’t win it all still keeps you entertained for 162 games before breaking your heart in the last five or seven. I miss that. We were spoiled. It was a good run.

Everything could go wrong with this current bunch, sure. Pablo Sandoval could fade just as quickly as he emerged. Travis Ishikawa’s great minor league season could be an echo of the great-yet-overdue minor league triumphs of Todd Linden and Calvin Murray. Emmanuel Burriss might not sustain a decent on-base percentage. Barry Zito might not join The New Traveling Wilburys, and he might not have to leave the team to go on a 43-city tour.

But I can kind of visualize how the team can start giving us wire-to-wire excitement again. The organizational veteranophilia that was killing a lot of us really did go away after the trade deadline. Jose Castillo was dumped, Omar Vizquel was benched, and a care package of prospects came up and actually played. Buster Posey is signed and doing well, and the organization has two of the best pitching prospects in baseball again. The Giants aren’t going to have the best record in the majors any time soon, but I can see how this bunch could give us a poor man’s 1986 in the next couple of years.

And for some reason, the memory of a Bonds-driven juggernaut combined with the news that the Giants are finally going to handle Burriss in a normal way to make me feel less burned out about Giants baseball. The light at the end of the tunnel might be coming from Tommy Lasorda’s tanning booth in hell, but at least I’m in a better frame of mind at the end of this season than I was last season.

Poll
Wait, did the "tanning booth from hell"-line even make sense?
Yep.
46 votes
Nope.
46 votes
Seriously, if you're going to start worrying about if your jokes make sense, you're just going to get burned out again. That would be a lot of worrying.
109 votes

201 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs  |  Comment 41 comments

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*sniff*

Adopted brother of the AnVil / GIANTSPACE™ returns!

by SoFa King Mike on Sep 5, 2008 12:11 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

oh

and I didn’t know they made tanning booths that big. I guess only in the Third Circle of Hades

Adopted brother of the AnVil / GIANTSPACE™ returns!

by SoFa King Mike on Sep 5, 2008 12:17 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I remember it like it was yesterday.

Make me proud again Hen

by AndYourBirdCanSing on Sep 5, 2008 12:21 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

HAPPY BARRY!

Matt Cain: He'll save children, but not the Dodger children.

by jponry on Sep 5, 2008 12:56 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

wow Nen sure served up a meatball there.

STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.

by UnleashTheGore on Sep 5, 2008 1:27 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

DFA him!

It's my blarg! Quick Pitch

by can of corn on Sep 5, 2008 3:08 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

INT. AT&T PARK - BRIAN SABEAN'S OFFICE - NIGHT

Halfway through a re-broadcast of the Giants 2000 NL West Clincher — and a bottle of Glenlivet — Brian Sabean mourns for glory days gone by, softly fingering a tattered photo of Ellis Burks as he sorrowfully croons his favorite 80’s power ballad by Cinderella.

Sabes Sings Cinderella

"I been waitin' a long time for this! I been waitin' since the f**kin' amateurs!" --WILL "THE THRILL" CLARK

by Josh from Hollywood on Sep 5, 2008 1:52 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

he did WHAT to that tattered photo of Burks?!?

by ExcuseMeSwing on Sep 5, 2008 1:54 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

This?

Adopted brother of the AnVil / GIANTSPACE™ returns!

by SoFa King Mike on Sep 5, 2008 2:14 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I'm SO happy

you added “photo of”

STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.

by UnleashTheGore on Sep 5, 2008 2:32 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Overheard at Omar's opening last night

Sabes: “What do the little dots mean?” “Really?!”

Only funny if youre an art/gallery geek who knows that they
cover the price with a little adhesive dot when a piece has
been sold—and they were selling well.

Also spotted: Omar (duh), Kevin Frandsen, Pete and Debbie.

by bgunn on Sep 5, 2008 2:33 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Omar talked to me and my gf for about 5 minutes about his art. He was really grand and charismatic about everything he said. His paintings and drawings were actually really good.

Saw Richie and Racquel at the beginning. They actually remembered us from Boston, which was cool.

Cammy Blackstone was there. Didn’t see her at first, but I heard an two annoying voices, then I turned around and saw the Mummy talking to Amy G chopping it up. BTW Amy G, in real life, looks so disproportionate with her tiny head on top of her tall, husky body. I have to say she’s really snooty.

Adopted brother of the AnVil / GIANTSPACE™ returns!

by SoFa King Mike on Sep 5, 2008 2:46 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Saw Richie and Racquel at the beginning

She’s great…I have all her CDs.

by bgunn on Sep 5, 2008 2:51 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

he really asked that, haha?

Adoptive Parent of Francisco Peguero. He can throw, he can run, he can hit(fastballs), and he's Dominican. What else do you need to know?

by haverecords on Sep 5, 2008 3:59 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Loudly. So much so that whoever answered went unheard from where we were.

by bgunn on Sep 5, 2008 4:09 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Was Debbie Magowan lit up like an old Christmas tree?

"He called the sh** POOP!" -- Adam Sandler

by JRPhillips on Sep 5, 2008 4:28 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Sabean has a tattoo of Ellis Burks on his finger?

Zooperstars, they quack me up!

by Goofus on Sep 5, 2008 4:32 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I wasn't there!

but I enjoyed it from the comfort of my living room.

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal

by nostocksjustbonds on Sep 5, 2008 2:16 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

:(

Billy Hayes: His job is better than yours.

by delorean on Sep 5, 2008 12:14 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

I was there too

Near the left field foul pole. Incredible game. I’ve never heard “Smoke on the Water” played that loud, before or since.

Remember that Bonds led the guys back out onto the field for a victory lap? That was awesome.

Happy days will come again.

No, really, I have updated my blog this year: http://skaldheim.livejournal.com/tag/baseball

by Skaldheim on Sep 5, 2008 12:44 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Smoke on the Water

Best ever use of an adjective as a noun!

    But some stupid with a flare gun
    Burned the place to the ground

by bgunn on Sep 5, 2008 2:49 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I have to think rock-bottom is behind us at this point. It’ll only get better.

by rotorueter on Sep 5, 2008 12:47 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

I am quite pleasantly surprised

I had just about given up on ever seeing actually youngsters playing consistently for the Giants. I have finally seen it. I finally believe it.

That’s encouraging. The Giants are still a ways away, but I can see light as well.

And, dude, which is it? Tanning booth in hell or tanning booth from hell? Make up your mind!

Only 835 games until the end of Zito's contract

by thehavenot on Sep 5, 2008 12:52 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

I had just about given up on ever seeing actually youngsters playing consistently for the Giants. I have finally seen it.

It’s glorious, isn’t it?

Neglectful father of David Quinowski

by marcello on Sep 5, 2008 1:40 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Couldn't have said it better myself

But a good team that doesn’t win it all still keeps you entertained for 162 games before breaking your heart in the last five or seven. I miss that. We were spoiled. It was a good run.

I’ve also heard, that as a baseball fan, all you can really ask for is to have a legitimate shot in September and I don’t think that the Giants are too far away from that.

Giants! Giants! HELP US GOD!

by j14 on Sep 5, 2008 1:02 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Thanks

for putting things in perspective. In 5 years we’ll be thinking, “Wow, remember how bad this team used to be?” The past three years will seem like a distant memory.

STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.

by UnleashTheGore on Sep 5, 2008 1:27 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

This season...

This may serve as an introduction of sorts, but the coolest thing that happened this season was when my wife said “I’m just going to have fun this season.”

The back story: I was feeling not unlike Grant writes in this entry, but at the beginning of the season (during spring training actually). I had been visiting this site mostly to get minor league updates (thanks Steve S—I dont think that gets said enough around here), but started to read the diarys (old format) and Grant’s posts. This was probably around the Tim Kawasaki Lincecum Trade bruhaha.

Anyway, I discovered alot of serious, sensible Giants fans in these parts who realistically predicted what I knew—this team was gonna suck. The malaise was tangible, and for the 1st time since I became a Giants fan (1986) I no longer quipped that I think the Gs would win the World Series, and that anyone wearing Orange and Black was one of the best 25 players in the game.

I had become a realist—thanks jerks. What was worse, ticket prices doubled (the contract that capped interim price increases expired after the 07 season); it was going to be expensive to watch Ray Durham ply his trade for 85 games. People that sit near us were expressing concern that selling tix was going to be difficult.

The first homestand was depressing. We had just lost badly to somebody, and we were walking across the bridge to Lot A and it happened…the wife says “I’m just going to have fun this season.”

Before you knew it, Ray was gone, the Jeep filthy with preGame peanut shells and bottle caps, and the ticket book filled with more empty than paper. She was right—the season turned out to be fun. Filled with Bocock jokes, Lincecum gems, Pablito/Pabloso debates, Zito-cursing, the draft, the managing general partner swap, our circle of friends we know only from the park, and so many other things that remind me why we love to take so many three-hour vacations at the Pac.

This season is always the best—until next season.

by bgunn on Sep 5, 2008 1:30 PM PDT reply actions   1 recs

tl;dr

but this was a fine way to end it

This season is always the best—until next season.

Billy Hayes: His job is better than yours.

by delorean on Sep 5, 2008 2:17 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

tl, or nle?

(or dijbym?)

¿Julio is tourist in San Francisco? Harper's Bizarre!

by hairball on Sep 5, 2008 3:34 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

ntl;r

I r’d and I enjoyed r’ing it.

Like Barry Zito, I'm mildly half-OK.

by EliminateMe on Sep 5, 2008 2:34 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Diaries?

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
How is my adopted son almost twice as old as I am? Nevermind...Go Omar! Warm the Bench!

by WalrusMan on Sep 5, 2008 4:29 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

They were Fan Posts, before Fan Shots were Fan Posts

Zooperstars, they quack me up!

by Goofus on Sep 5, 2008 4:36 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Heh… Bocock.

Farewell, Ray. We'll miss your smile and your sugar. Welcome, Steve Hammond "Eggs". Throw strikes.
comics | cartoons | Nattowear

by Natto on Sep 5, 2008 4:57 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I don’t get it.

by chilibean_3 on Sep 5, 2008 6:07 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

It’s a Firefly reference.

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on Sep 5, 2008 10:03 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Which episode was that from?

Trent Kline: Decentish. Also, my website is called ChatterBalks Dot Com. It's not being updated right now. Hope for more at your own risk.

by groug on Sep 6, 2008 12:02 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Strangely enough, it’s also from the one where Mal pretends to believe in god again and they all go to the dinosaur planet.

Who’d have thought?

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on Sep 6, 2008 12:25 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Murray on the move... Murray on the move...

Man, that guy could play some center field. Too bad he couldn’t hit a lick.

Anagram of "Giants pitcher Matt Cain" = TRAGIC MAN, ISN'T PATHETIC

by Stuttering John Tamargo on Sep 5, 2008 2:36 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

I’m picturing Tommy Lasorda in a tanning booth strapped to the front of a giant steam locomotive, which is hurtling down the tunnel towards me. That image doesn’t reflect my oddly optimistic this season/last season mindset, but there it is.

by Johnny Disaster on Sep 5, 2008 3:18 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

I have just visualized Tommy’s train veering off onto a heretofore unseen track switch and plunging off the side of a mountain, so at least I feel a little better about that…

by Johnny Disaster on Sep 5, 2008 3:19 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

fuckin lasorda...

couldn’t hit track switch if he fell outta a train.

by bgunn on Sep 5, 2008 3:39 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

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