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What's Wrong with Aaron Rowand?

NASA scientists capture the first-known picture of a metaphor. Aaron Rowand represents himself in the picture, but he also stands for his career. The wall has a double meaning as both a wall and a wall.

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

NASA scientists capture the first-known picture of a metaphor. Aaron Rowand represents himself in the picture, but he also stands for his career. The wall has a double meaning as both a wall and a wall.

Aaron Rowand.

You just clenched your fists, didn’t you? Nice guy. Plays hard. Dives a lot. Now he’s the proud winner of the Benitez/Feliz Award (or, as the kids say, a Beneezie) for his current role as an organizational scapegoat. Where Benitez represented a misjudgment of character, and where Feliz represented a dismissal of the importance of on-base percentage, Rowand represents the “long-term deal to a 30-year-old player” gag of which management used to be so fond.

The Problem

He’s swinging like he needs glasses, and that isn’t hyperbole or a serious attempt at a diagnosis – it’s just the best way to describe a guy who’s swinging like he isn’t seeing pitches. He’s chasing breaking balls all over the strike zone, and he can’t catch up to fastballs. But he isn’t striking out a lot more than usual, even compared to his good years. It’s likely that this is just how he hits when he isn’t having one of his 20+ homer seasons.

Could it be a string of bad luck?

He’s been bad for almost a year now, but the company line was that Rowand was fighting through injuries last year. If that was the case, then we’re trying to extrapolate data from just over 100 at-bats, which is never a good idea. So maybe he’s just been unlucky, right? Probably not, unfortunately. His batting average on balls put in play is a little lower than his career average, but not by a crazy amount. Rowand’s hitting fewer line drives than normal, too.

Diagnosis

Uh, beats me. One thing that does stand out, though, is his infield fly ball percentage. Over 27% of the balls he hits in the air don’t leave the infield. That number is insane, and far above where it usually is for Rowand. While it’s tempting to write that off as a fluke, it might be more indicative of a problem with his swing.

Moises Alou’s swing, which relied on crazy-quick wrists, is the kind of swing that would allow Alou to hit until he’s 50 if he weren’t so dinged up. His legs might have ached, and his body might have been aging, but the wrists were helping him crank out productive seasons. I wonder if Rowand is the exact opposite – his bizarre stance can’t help him get to the ball quicker, and maybe it’s the kind of thing that would actually hasten his decline. Playing the outfield like the Kool-Aid pitcher on meth probably hasn’t helped his body, either.

There are three years and $36M left on Aaron Rowand’s contract. Good grief. He’s still one of the only hitters on the 40-man-roster who’s less than five years removed from being a legitimate middle-of-the-order hitter, but it’s silly to expect that kind of return to form. We’ll have to treat him with Zito gloves, praying he returns to being a useful player instead of an All-Star. I’ll hold out some hope for “useful,” which would mean that he hits a little bit more than he has so far this year while playing a fantastic center field. That fantastic defense didn’t show up last year, and the nnumbers are even worse this year so far. And when we ask "what's wrong," it's worth noting that he isn't that far off of his career pace, which is kind of a terrifying thought.

So we're worrying about Aaron Rowand’s contract more than Barry Zito’s now. This is like tasting human flesh – there’s no going back from this one. Go Giants?

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Community Projection: Aaron Rowand

Mar 2009 by Grant - 94 comments

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Comments

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THIS IS THE YEAR AARON ROWAND EARNS RESPECT!

Matt Cain: He'll save children, but not the Dodger children.
PABLO SANDOVAL AM STEAL DEATH, DESTROYER OF WORLDS.

by jponry on May 18, 2009 1:23 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

AARON NEEDS TO LEARN HOW TO WIN!

"Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher?" / Adopted brother of the AnVil

by SoFa King Mike on May 18, 2009 1:42 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Mini Hijack:

For some reason, I really want a Lexus.

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
Kevin Frandsen, back with the big team!

by WalrusMan on May 18, 2009 3:17 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Well depends how she treats you.

/ rimshot

Where is my beer & chili dog?

by daveinexile on May 18, 2009 3:19 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Fancy Toyota

by chilibean_3 on May 18, 2009 3:33 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Fancy Feast

Where is my beer & chili dog?

by daveinexile on May 18, 2009 4:09 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Moveable Feast

Tommy Lasorda HATES GIANTSBOARD.COM
Cut and Pasted Blog redundancy can be a good thing
Say Hey! Say Who? Say Willie, that Giant Kid is Great!

by merkin on May 18, 2009 4:24 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Mmmm....
Feast of San Gennaro

"One percent of ballplayers are leaders of men. The other ninety-nine percent are followers of women."-John McGraw, NY Giants Baseball Club

My adopted son Matt Downs . Ranked as the 24th best prospect in the Giants farm system by Baseball America !!

by nvsfg on May 18, 2009 4:55 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I think this one is Gennaro

…JP reference anyone?

Rafael Rodriguez: Your number 8 organizational prospect before stepping a foot on American soil and has "looked just super so far," according to Felipe Alou. "He has some bat speed and the ball comes off the bat pretty well" - K.Law.

by BrianBokake on May 18, 2009 8:13 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I get JP references!

by Natto on May 19, 2009 12:25 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

ahhhhhhhhhhh

nothing like the scent of New Jersey BO and sausage and peppers wafting up into the Village from Mulberry St.

Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti. "I treat Timmy differently from most pitchers: I leave him alone."

card carrying Bochy Hatter

by natteringnabob on May 18, 2009 8:43 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

My car emergency has gone down now, but I’m still looking at either a 2009 Civic, Cobalt, or some older cheapy car.

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
Kevin Frandsen, back with the big team!

by WalrusMan on May 18, 2009 3:39 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

/speeds by Walrus in elitist car

"Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher?" / Adopted brother of the AnVil

by SoFa King Mike on May 18, 2009 4:02 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Can’t go wrong with a Honda or Toyota. I didn’t like the Cobalt much but a good amount of people do.

by chilibean_3 on May 18, 2009 4:09 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

No on Cobalt. Just no. Not when you could get a Corolla or Civic for a similar price.

by Grant on May 18, 2009 4:21 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

When you look at numbers concerning performance the Cobalt is more than pretty decent. I didn’t like driving it, didn’t like the looks and, yes, didn’t feel it was worth the price.

by chilibean_3 on May 18, 2009 4:24 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Here is a table of the Cobalt SS compared to some other cars in it’s price range. As far as base Cobalt against Civic or Corolla? I’d go with the Civic unless you can find a Corolla XRS somewhere. Boy, those were fun to drive.

by chilibean_3 on May 18, 2009 4:43 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

What I said below

I said before looking at that chart. 0-60 in under 6 seconds!?!?!?!?! Jesus Christ!

Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs

by bondslegend on May 18, 2009 7:04 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Of course I haven’t even been out to test drive any, just doing some research so far. The Civic sedans drive quite nice (my mom has one) so I’m guessing the coupes do as well.

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
Kevin Frandsen, back with the big team!

by WalrusMan on May 18, 2009 4:54 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Civic SI coupes are nimble little things, very fun.

by chilibean_3 on May 18, 2009 5:06 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

My wife’s rental after the accident was a Cobalt, and it was a clunky drive. I have a Corolla S, and it felt like the difference between a Yugo and a BMW, and it’s not like the Corolla’s anything special.

by Grant on May 18, 2009 5:18 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Specs aren't the whole story

you don’t get that “shittieness quotient” that all domestic cars have compared to their “foreign” counterparts. A chevy just feels like a cheap piece of shit to be in, even if it does go as fast as a Honda on paper. Which car do you want to live with every day? Gotta be the Honda or Toyota.

Or BMW.

Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs

by bondslegend on May 18, 2009 7:03 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

When I got a car a couple summers ago, it was down to the Cobalt and the Nissan Versa. There was just something that was off with the Cobalt. For instance, the stick wasn’t quite long enough. It was just things like that. I’m quite happy with the Versa (even though Walrus is looking for something bigger).

Joe Martinez: My fingers are crossed and my palms are together for you.
When it's all said and done, America will be remembered for three things: The Bill of Rights, jazz, and baseball.

by cornball on May 18, 2009 7:16 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

When I was at a Chevy dealership looking at the Cobalt I noticed that the body panels didn’t fit together right. I pointed it out to the salesman and he pretty much shrugged and said “It’s a Chevy, what are you going to do?”

by chilibean_3 on May 19, 2009 8:37 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Or Nissan

Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs

by bondslegend on May 19, 2009 9:27 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

The only reason why I was looking at the Cobalt is that it’s base model is similar in features to the second tier of the Civics for a bit less cost even.

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
Kevin Frandsen, back with the big team!

by WalrusMan on May 18, 2009 4:53 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I’d go with this if you can afford it.. They start at 22K

Volvo c30. One of top rated Small Cars for 2009. We have an S40, and have owned it for 5 years. All Maintenance covered for the first 40K. No issues what so ever in the five years we have owned it. . It’s a freakin rocket and a blast to drive. The c30 is basically the “cool, hip” version of the S40 sedan. Check it out and build one on Volvo.com

"One percent of ballplayers are leaders of men. The other ninety-nine percent are followers of women."-John McGraw, NY Giants Baseball Club

My adopted son Matt Downs . Ranked as the 24th best prospect in the Giants farm system by Baseball America !!

by nvsfg on May 18, 2009 7:34 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

So pretty.

Joe Martinez: My fingers are crossed and my palms are together for you.
When it's all said and done, America will be remembered for three things: The Bill of Rights, jazz, and baseball.

by cornball on May 18, 2009 8:22 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

uhhhh love

and i don’t even know how to drive

by shanghaijim on May 18, 2009 8:41 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

*DROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL*

God I freaking love new volvos so much

Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs

by bondslegend on May 18, 2009 8:47 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Love the Volvo

Got the wagon now for 15 years, will eventually have to get a new car but not willingly.

Krazy Krab despised in the 20th century and beloved in the 21st century. Hey it only took over 20 years, so don't give up hope.

by timmeh on May 19, 2009 2:08 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Please don’t get the Cobalt. I’ve sold cars for over 8 years and I’ll tell you the cobalt is one of the worst cars I’ve encountered. They’re the disposable camera of automobiles. Civic, Mazda3, Huyndai Elantra, Corolla, Impreza, Sentra and Jetta are all better options. Basically if it’s something that rental companies buy in bulk, you don’t want it.

by Hammaker Party of 8 on May 18, 2009 8:06 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

No American-made recommendations?

Insanity is just a state of mind.

by giants9107 on May 18, 2009 9:13 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I have one

Ford, since it’s the only one not being managed by the government. Unless you like your maintenance contract to be taken over by the Department of Energy.

30k service: $30,000,000,000.

Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti. "I treat Timmy differently from most pitchers: I leave him alone."

card carrying Bochy Hatter

by natteringnabob on May 18, 2009 9:29 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

When they make a decent car,

then maybe they’ll be worth a recommendation. Also: most of those “foreign” cars are more american-made than ford or chevy.

Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs

by bondslegend on May 18, 2009 10:29 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

this

"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on May 19, 2009 7:19 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Pretty much this.

The Pontiac GX8 would have been nice. Just when they were starting to figure things out the decades of terrible car design caught up.

Certain years and versions of the Focus are nice, but I really wish we got the Euro version here.

by chilibean_3 on May 19, 2009 8:41 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

…but I really wish we got the Euro version here.

The Cabriolet ?

or hard top sedan ?

"One percent of ballplayers are leaders of men. The other ninety-nine percent are followers of women."-John McGraw, NY Giants Baseball Club

My adopted son Matt Downs . Ranked as the 24th best prospect in the Giants farm system by Baseball America !!

by nvsfg on May 19, 2009 9:13 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

BTW, what’s really wrong with Aaron Rowand is that there are more posts about cars in this thread than about Rowand.

/Cars.Fun to talk about

//Rowand. Not so much.

"One percent of ballplayers are leaders of men. The other ninety-nine percent are followers of women."-John McGraw, NY Giants Baseball Club

My adopted son Matt Downs . Ranked as the 24th best prospect in the Giants farm system by Baseball America !!

by nvsfg on May 19, 2009 9:16 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

oooo i love the euro fords so much

if they brought us that focus, their fiesta, and the mondeo, Ford would be doing gangbusters. Why in the world do they not do this?

Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs

by bondslegend on May 19, 2009 9:31 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Because we have different regulations here and they would have to change everything from the body to the engine. So we get the hunk of junks they have now.

That Euro Focus is just sweet. It has an Evo X thing going on in the front giving it a nice look.

by chilibean_3 on May 19, 2009 10:27 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

>: (
A lot of fun cars will be going away.

by chilibean_3 on May 19, 2009 11:32 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

STUPID HIPPIE LIBERALS

Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs

by bondslegend on May 19, 2009 12:11 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

But Cars Like this are already here..

GIS for Fisker Karma. Plug In Hybrid. You and I just can’t afford them. Yet.

"One percent of ballplayers are leaders of men. The other ninety-nine percent are followers of women."-John McGraw, NY Giants Baseball Club

My adopted son Matt Downs . Ranked as the 24th best prospect in the Giants farm system by Baseball America !!

by nvsfg on May 19, 2009 12:30 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yummy

the tesla’s cool too, but wow on that one. Even better

Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs

by bondslegend on May 19, 2009 5:28 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I get that

but do they really have to change the way the cars look so drastically?

Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs

by bondslegend on May 19, 2009 12:13 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I don’t know if it has to be this drastic, but a guy who worked on some of the modeling for the new Focus said that even small things like the Euro design of the headlights aren’t allowed by U.S. regulations.

It’s frustrating.

by chilibean_3 on May 19, 2009 12:53 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Wow. Why the hell don’t they sell those here? Those would instantly be the most-looking small cars on the road. I mean, goddamn!

Joe Martinez: My fingers are crossed and my palms are together for you.
When it's all said and done, America will be remembered for three things: The Bill of Rights, jazz, and baseball.

by cornball on May 19, 2009 9:54 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

The Car&Driver 2011 Award for Most-Looking Small Car

Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit... Maybe.

by Mayor of 311 on May 19, 2009 9:55 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Haha, I should have said best-looking.

Joe Martinez: My fingers are crossed and my palms are together for you.
When it's all said and done, America will be remembered for three things: The Bill of Rights, jazz, and baseball.

by cornball on May 19, 2009 9:56 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

The GX8 woulda been fine

but why did they not just give us the vauxhall monaro, change the badging and call it a day? I don’t get why they had to ugly it up and dumb down the performance. I guess that’s why they’re gone.

Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs

by bondslegend on May 19, 2009 9:30 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I suppose the Fusion would be my “American-Made” Recommendation. I think the new Dodge Ram is amazing and the malibu is a good car, but in the class he’s looking there’s really nothing competitive with the foreign cars. I would never sell a Caliber, Sebring, Cobalt, Avenger to anyone I care about. Heck, I felt guilty selling them to strangers.

by Hammaker Party of 8 on May 18, 2009 10:30 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Point taken. Although if you want to be a good salesman, then stop feeling that guilt.

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
Kevin Frandsen, back with the big team!

by WalrusMan on May 18, 2009 10:40 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I actually dont have to worry about it anymore. I quit in August. I had guilt, but at the same time I always understood my job and did it really well. I always rationalized it as it is my job was to sell the cars we had in stock and for as much money as possible, it was the customers job to be informed and get the best deal possible. From that point, it was a matter of who did their job better.

by Hammaker Party of 8 on May 18, 2009 11:02 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I spent my school years working for a Toyota dealership. It really solidified my hatred for salepeople. All the good ones are the scummiest bunch of scums I’ve ever met.

by chilibean_3 on May 19, 2009 8:43 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

A friend of mine's a good salesman

and isn’t scummy, he’s just REAALLLLYYY sappy when dealing w/ customers. Still annoying, but he’s very successful.

Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs

by bondslegend on May 19, 2009 9:31 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah, it’s a really fine line you have to walk as a salesperson. I caught a lot of heat while a salesperson cause I wasnt willing to lie to customers. But it was put up with cause I did well anyways. I was willing to do my job and make money but not in a way that made me unable to sleep at night. Here’s the story of the deal that changed me: I got a call from someone who was stranded broken down about 2 hrs away at a rest stop. I came and picked them up, and we sent a tow truck to pick up their Jeep Cherokee. We looked around and found a Wrangler that they liked. We really played hardball and stuck it to them knowing that they were in a really bad spot. Then as I was delivering the Wrangler to them, I took off the top for them, and their 3 year old was in the back seat and he let his balloon go that I had filled with helium for him. And his dad says “Timmy, why’d you do that?” And the boy replies “I gived it to Jesus”. I couldv’e cried right there cause I had just made over $1000 bucks off these folks, which is a big commission, and theyre just good people. I was 18 and had been in the business about 4 months, but that was the turning point in the way I conducted myself on the lot.

by Hammaker Party of 8 on May 19, 2009 9:32 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

…and after Jesus got the balloon, he hit .360 for Fresno.

I worked at a Toyota dealership for almost eight years (from 15 to 23), and there were good guys and bad guys, just like everywhere else in life.

When I went back to buy a Corolla, the sales manager gave it to me at cost, no questions asked. The finance manager tried to screw me seventeen different ways, even though he knew that I’d watched his scummery for three years. My bonuses as a Customer Relations Manager were tied to survey scores, which meant that this jackface had already cost me thousands of dollars in my life. And he still tried to sell me magical fabric protection fairies, getting angry when I refuesd.

by Grant on May 20, 2009 12:08 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

No, you really need this magical anti theft sticker.

by chilibean_3 on May 20, 2009 12:33 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Almost every good salesperson I met from our family of dealerships and other dealerships were scumbags while working and in their personal life. If you are a car salesperson there is a 95% chance I dislike you and have no desire to associate myself with you. DIAF.

by chilibean_3 on May 20, 2009 12:43 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

+1 for Hondas

Mine is crap but is still going at 229K miles. I swear you can drive the early 90s Hondas off a cliff and survive.

"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on May 19, 2009 7:19 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

+1 Again

My Honda is about to hit 200K and still going strong.

by paboperfecto on May 19, 2009 9:41 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I dated a girl who sold her mid-80s Honda when it hit about 360K. The engine had never been worked on, besides tune-ups. 360K.

Joe Martinez: My fingers are crossed and my palms are together for you.
When it's all said and done, America will be remembered for three things: The Bill of Rights, jazz, and baseball.

by cornball on May 19, 2009 9:55 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

the alternator went out last month but otherwise that’s the only issue I’ve had with it. We bought it from a couple who sold it after they bought a Benz. When they sold it to us it had about 180K on it, in 2003. I’ve only been driving it for a year and I’ve already put a lot of miles on the thing.

"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on May 19, 2009 10:03 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

My fiances 02 honda engine/trans went out at 80k (car was bought after a accident and she also wrecked it pretty good at one point) Honda replaced the engine/trans for free! They are a great comapny and take their product very seriously

Minor White > Ansel Adams

by say hey nation on May 19, 2009 10:07 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I wonder why they’re so successful…

Joe Martinez: My fingers are crossed and my palms are together for you.
When it's all said and done, America will be remembered for three things: The Bill of Rights, jazz, and baseball.

by cornball on May 19, 2009 10:39 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

+1

I’ve had a Honda coupe for 13-14 years. Do the maintenance and drive with in its abilities and it is probably the most reliable ride I ever been around. That includes a ‘52 Chevy pickup truck the one grandparent had and an old VW bus that made the rounds thought multiple family members. Both of those were built before the era of the electronic things started cluttering up under the hood.

Where is my beer & chili dog?

by daveinexile on May 19, 2009 11:36 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

This post scared me, I didn’t realize he still had 3 years and 36 mil on his contract…AFTER THIS YEAR IS OVER!!! That sucks. Like really bad.

by Mrbasepaul on May 18, 2009 1:24 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Diagnosis

Uh, beats me.

This is where I am as well.

Playing the outfield like the Kool-Aid pitcher on meth probably hasn’t helped his body, either.

Tee Hee.

by scout6 on May 18, 2009 1:25 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

OH YEAH!

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on May 18, 2009 1:52 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

"One percent of ballplayers are leaders of men. The other ninety-nine percent are followers of women."-John McGraw, NY Giants Baseball Club

My adopted son Matt Downs . Ranked as the 24th best prospect in the Giants farm system by Baseball America !!

by nvsfg on May 18, 2009 4:00 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

He’s killing Scrappy Doo. He couldn’t possibly be that evil.

by Natto on May 18, 2009 4:07 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I think that’s a “Dodger Dog”, not Scrappy Doo.

I believe Scrappy is actually Rowand’s doppleganger.

"One percent of ballplayers are leaders of men. The other ninety-nine percent are followers of women."-John McGraw, NY Giants Baseball Club

My adopted son Matt Downs . Ranked as the 24th best prospect in the Giants farm system by Baseball America !!

by nvsfg on May 18, 2009 4:14 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Why is he so angry?!

by chilibean_3 on May 18, 2009 4:10 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Because he is on fire.

by Lars The Wanderer on May 18, 2009 4:11 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Then use that bowl of water to help put out the flames, stupid! Don’t just throw it on the ground.

by chilibean_3 on May 18, 2009 4:12 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Water is useless without the magic Kool Aid powder :-)

"One percent of ballplayers are leaders of men. The other ninety-nine percent are followers of women."-John McGraw, NY Giants Baseball Club

My adopted son Matt Downs . Ranked as the 24th best prospect in the Giants farm system by Baseball America !!

by nvsfg on May 18, 2009 4:15 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

OH YEAH!

NO! NOT Oh yeah! You better clean this shit up before my dad gets home!

I hate Dane Cook but that was a funny bit.

Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs

by bondslegend on May 18, 2009 7:05 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Dane Cook was funny for about 15 seconds, then it was all bad

Not so proud adoptive parent of the set-up man.
This is definitely not Howry do it!

by CB30 on May 18, 2009 7:26 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah, this

Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs

by bondslegend on May 18, 2009 7:33 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-SxO9vYxSo
Definitely Dane Cook deserves this imitation

Proud leader of the Lunatic Fringe breaking off from the Lunatic Fringe of McCovey Chronicles

by TexasRanger on May 18, 2009 10:11 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Oh god LOL

I didn’t know madtv was capable of doing something that funny. Thanks for that.

Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs

by bondslegend on May 18, 2009 10:30 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Haha you’re welcome, I showed this to a dane cook fan earlier and he almost wet himself, that guy does such a spot dane

Proud leader of the Lunatic Fringe breaking off from the Lunatic Fringe of McCovey Chronicles

by TexasRanger on May 18, 2009 10:34 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

WhoTF is Dane Cook anyway?

I’ve heard his name, and I’ve heard he’s a comedian, but I actually have no idea who he is or what he’s done. A few of my friends, in total disbelief that I didn’t know who he was, told me that I was lucky. Apparently he’s almost as unfunny as Carlos Mencia. I guess when it comes to Dane Cook, ignorance really is bliss.

by bondo on May 19, 2009 1:35 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

He's a comedian

who was pretty funny when he firrrrrst started, but then he got so retardedly popular that he turned into what you’d expect a ridiculously popular guy to be- a total douchebag. He also steals material from other, funnier comedians.

Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs

by bondslegend on May 19, 2009 2:05 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

It amazes me how fast the world turned on him. To steal a bit from Kevin Smith, it was like the Pauly Shore phenomenon. One day everyone’s like “Yeah, the Weasssssel….” and then the next day: “MAN, FUCK PAULY SHORE!”

It was like that with Dane Cook too.

by The Double Deuce on May 19, 2009 10:35 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Probably because they went from novelties that were ok in small doses to being blown into something more than they ever should have been.

by chilibean_3 on May 19, 2009 10:42 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah, agreed. I thought Dane’s first special on Comedy Central was great, and you could tell the audience had NO FUCKING CLUE who he was or what was going on. Then suddenyl somewhere along the line, he became really crazily popular out of nowhere, and you’d walk down the street and hear like sorority girls doing his bits. Then he did those movies with Jessica Simpson and Alba, and it was all over.

by The Double Deuce on May 19, 2009 10:46 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Any time you do a comedy show in Madison Square Garden

and your name isn’t “George Carlin”, then there’s a problem.

Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs

by bondslegend on May 19, 2009 12:15 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

He's a bum!?

Did I do that right?

by chilibean_3 on May 18, 2009 1:26 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Glad I searched the page

for the word bum first. I was going to throw this same basic joke out there.

What’s the matter with player X? He’s a bum is the single worst cheer I’ve ever heard at a Giants game.

I'm thinking but nothing's happening.

by JRPhillips on May 18, 2009 5:35 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I love that cheer. I have heard that that the origin of that cheer actually comes from Dodger fans when they were in Brooklyn. They used to use it to “call out” their own guys in the 1930’s.

"One percent of ballplayers are leaders of men. The other ninety-nine percent are followers of women."-John McGraw, NY Giants Baseball Club

My adopted son Matt Downs . Ranked as the 24th best prospect in the Giants farm system by Baseball America !!

by nvsfg on May 18, 2009 7:40 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I’m waiting for Korean player Bum Ho Lee to play in the big leagues.

by SFGuy on May 19, 2009 12:23 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

link fail

Randy Winn is going to catch that. And he'll do it real classy-like too.

by oldjacket on May 18, 2009 1:28 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

x2

18-15 - Giants Series Record: 8-2-2, 7-0 at home

Adopted Giant: Daryl "Dealio" Maday - 2.17 ERA, .211 BAA in Norwich through 29 IP.

by rhys on May 18, 2009 1:35 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

YOU’RE WELCOME GRANT

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
Kevin Frandsen, back with the big team!

by WalrusMan on May 18, 2009 3:25 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

So, what you're saying is...

Rowand needs to start peeing on his hands.

by The Double Deuce on May 18, 2009 1:29 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

If he doesn’t, somebody else should.

Meet my new son: Sundrendy Windster, coming soon to a minor league near you.

by EliminateMe on May 18, 2009 2:07 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Alou, presumably.

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on May 18, 2009 2:34 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Moises is still a FA, isn't he?

Sign him to be Rowand’s personal “Urinary Consultant”?

by The Double Deuce on May 18, 2009 2:43 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Nah, we can save some money and just use his dad.

by Natto on May 18, 2009 3:03 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

/visualizes bizarre Flomax advertising campaign featuring Senior Alou & Errant Throwin’

/barfs

Charlie Hayes ate my homework

by glenallen hill's waterpipe on May 18, 2009 3:33 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Rowand better hope Zito starts pitching like a bum again to distract us. There’s probably a better chance of that happening than him turning it around at the plate.

by Missing Barry on May 18, 2009 1:32 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

I think you just solved the problem...

maybe Rowand shouldturn around and face the catcher and ump while he batting, will probably up his OBP.

Minor White > Ansel Adams

by say hey nation on May 18, 2009 1:34 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

He should just lean into every pitch inside.

HE’S A GAMER.

by The Double Deuce on May 18, 2009 1:35 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

What is wrong with Aaron Rowand is that he sucks at baseball. He is going to continue to suck at baseball for the duration of his contract.

What the real question should be is: What are the Giants prepared to do about Aaron Rowand sucking at baseball?

I know every team hates to eat contracts. In Rowands case, it needs to be considered seriously.

by Lars The Wanderer on May 18, 2009 1:36 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Exhibit 1A) Adam Eaton
Exhibit 1B) Geoff Jenkins

That is alot of fail!

Minor White > Ansel Adams

by say hey nation on May 18, 2009 1:37 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Rowand is a bad starter. He is not, however, a bad 4th OF. In a perfect world we could just replace him with a better starting OF.

Merkin Valdez? Manuel Mateo? A rose by any other name...

by rotorueter on May 18, 2009 1:39 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

we have a lot of 4th OFs.

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on May 18, 2009 1:53 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Off the top of my head the best available Cf next winter is Crisp. Interested?

Where is my beer & chili dog?

by daveinexile on May 18, 2009 1:43 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

as a matter of fact i am, we might as well have sick defense if our offense will suck anyway

Proud leader of the Lunatic Fringe breaking off from the Lunatic Fringe of McCovey Chronicles

by TexasRanger on May 18, 2009 3:17 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Right now I am Luke warm, at best, to the idea. He will be 31 next season ( Yes, that is a warning bell) and frankly I would like to see how he holds up for longer than a couple months in K.C. If he does anything like his 24 UZR ’07 season I could get on board real fast.

Where is my beer & chili dog?

by daveinexile on May 18, 2009 3:31 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Luke Warm?

Is he a lefty? GIANTS BRAS

Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti. "I treat Timmy differently from most pitchers: I leave him alone."

card carrying Bochy Hatter

by natteringnabob on May 18, 2009 8:46 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

well played sir.

/ golf clap

Where is my beer & chili dog?

by daveinexile on May 19, 2009 11:38 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Rather have Mike Cameron

Aaron King is still my homeboy... iffy mechanics and all

If Dustin Pedroia played in Seattle, not many people would be talking about him.

by baetown415 on May 18, 2009 5:56 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I love Mike Camron.

 I also think the ’10 version of him would have his legs fall off if he had to try and play 100+ games of CF in the NL West (Mays Field, PetCo, Coors, and Evils have a lot of ground to cover), that is just my opinion mind you.

I also think Rowand’s glove work would be better if he didn’t have to (or need to) cover as much ground, again another opinion.

Where is my beer & chili dog?

by daveinexile on May 19, 2009 11:44 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Seems to be borne out by the numbers I saw. I remember seeing something last year that Rowand was top 5 in MLB in % plays made in zone, and bottom 5 in plays made out of zone.

Sharlon Schoop - de favoriete Nederlandse honkbalspeler van McCovey Chronicles.
You always have to be one step ahead of your drunk friends
--Daisy Owl

by Viliphied on May 19, 2009 11:47 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

We could slide Winn over, give right to Nate, and let Winn either build up his trade value as a CF, or just keep him for the year. Then, if we trade him, let Rowand play again, or a prospect, because if we trade Winn, we’re probably out of contention anyway.

Insanity is just a state of mind.

by giants9107 on May 18, 2009 2:14 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Xanthan hit the nail square on the head. This franchise is paying $60MM for Marvin Benard II. The sadder part of things is they are going to give #2 more rope than #1 had when we started to decline.

Poll question does Rowand in Cf of 2010 look worse the Roberts Cf experiment in ’07?

Where is my beer & chili dog?

by daveinexile on May 18, 2009 1:37 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

I read this as “Xanthan hit the nail with his head” and was all ready to make some witty comment but then re-read this. So no witty comment.

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
Kevin Frandsen, back with the big team!

by WalrusMan on May 18, 2009 3:33 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

The one time i don’t have post riddled with bad grammar….

Where is my beer & chili dog?

by daveinexile on May 18, 2009 3:41 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

So it’s like your usual posts.

by Natto on May 18, 2009 3:51 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

IF THAT WERE A MOTION PICTURE BY THE BROTHERS COEN IT WOULD BE ENTITLED BURN AFTER READING

Meet my new son: Sundrendy Windster, coming soon to a minor league near you.

by EliminateMe on May 18, 2009 4:24 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

IF THAT WERE AN ACTOR IT WOULD BE JAMES COBURN

GROUGTHINK ALERT
Chatterbalks dot com: Still with jokes. Now with updates.

by groug on May 18, 2009 5:23 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

IF THAT WERE HOMER SIMPSON’S BOSS IT WOULD BE MONTGOMERY BURN

by Natto on May 18, 2009 5:32 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I wanna play too!

IF THAT WAS A FESTIVAL IN NORTHERN NEVADA FAMOUS FOR DECORATED HALF NAKED PEOPLE HOPPED UP ON DRUGS IT WOULD BE BURNING MAN

(did I do that right?)

Tommy Lasorda HATES GIANTSBOARD.COM
Cut and Pasted Blog redundancy can be a good thing
Say Hey! Say Who? Say Willie, that Giant Kid is Great!

by merkin on May 18, 2009 6:07 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

IF THAT WERE A CIVIL WAR GENERAL IT WOULD BE GENERAL BURNSIDE

Not so proud adoptive parent of the set-up man.
This is definitely not Howry do it!

by CB30 on May 18, 2009 6:28 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

IF THAT WERE A DOCUMENTARIAN IT WOULD BE KEN BURNS

GROUGTHINK ALERT
Chatterbalks dot com: Still with jokes. Now with updates.

by groug on May 18, 2009 6:34 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

IF THAT WERE A STAR DEFENSEMAN FOR THE MINNESOTA WILD IT WOULD BE BRENT BURNS

Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs

by bondslegend on May 18, 2009 7:08 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

If it were a Scottish poet, it would be Robert Burn(s)

Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit... Maybe.

by Mayor of 311 on May 18, 2009 8:31 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

NEEDS CAPS

Not so proud adoptive parent of the set-up man.
This is definitely not Howry do it!

by CB30 on May 18, 2009 8:48 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

IF IT WERE AN SD SYMPTOM IT WOULD BE A BURNING SENSATION

by scout6 on May 18, 2009 9:09 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

IF IT WERE A COLLEGE IN THE SEC IT WOULD BE AUBURN

GROUGTHINK ALERT
Chatterbalks dot com: Still with jokes. Now with updates.

by groug on May 18, 2009 9:12 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Thats a good one

IF IT WERE A PIECE OF LAB EQUIPMENT IT WOULD BE A BUNSEN BURNER

Not so proud adoptive parent of the set-up man.
This is definitely not Howry do it!

by CB30 on May 18, 2009 9:53 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

IF I WERE A LEFTY WITH A CAREER RECORD OF 101-102 I’D BE JARROD WASHBURN

Giant Dirtbags: John Bowker, Steve Hammond. MIA List: Todd Jennings, Brian Anderson
Wronghanded Affeldt pitches right

by Giant among Angels on May 18, 2009 9:55 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

IF I WERE A DAM NEVER BUILT I WOULD HAVE BEEN ALONG THE RAVINE OF AUBURN

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
Kevin Frandsen, back with the big team!

by WalrusMan on May 18, 2009 10:14 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

IF IT WERE LYRICS TO A DISCO HIT IT WOULD BE “BURN, BABY BURN”

by scout6 on May 18, 2009 10:37 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

IF IT WERE RICH AURILIA IT WOULD BE BURNT TOAST

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on May 18, 2009 10:38 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

IF IT WERE A SHITTY DOUCHEBAG PLAYER ON THE DIAMONDBACKS IT WOULD BE ERIC “BURNES”

by scout6 on May 18, 2009 10:40 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

IF IT WERE A SHOW I’VE NEVER SEEN IT WOULD BE BURN NOTICE

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
Kevin Frandsen, back with the big team!

by WalrusMan on May 18, 2009 10:41 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

IF IT WERE A PLACE IN NEW JERSEY IT WOULD BE NEW BRUNSWICK

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on May 18, 2009 10:42 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

OH FUCK

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on May 18, 2009 10:42 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

YOU RUINED IT

Not so proud adoptive parent of the set-up man.
This is definitely not Howry do it!

by CB30 on May 18, 2009 10:44 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

6 HOURS OF WORK, GONE!

by scout6 on May 18, 2009 10:45 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

DON’T WORRY I TOOK CARE OF IT.

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
Kevin Frandsen, back with the big team!

by WalrusMan on May 18, 2009 10:46 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

OW MY RIGHT SHOULDER

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
Kevin Frandsen, back with the big team!

by WalrusMan on May 18, 2009 10:47 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I read this at work this morning. I had to go out into the warehouse and laugh.

"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on May 19, 2009 7:25 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

IF IT WERE A DOS COMMAND IT WOULD BE BRUN

Tommy Lasorda HATES GIANTSBOARD.COM
Cut and Pasted Blog redundancy can be a good thing
Say Hey! Say Who? Say Willie, that Giant Kid is Great!

by merkin on May 19, 2009 12:39 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I know you are but what am I?

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
Kevin Frandsen, back with the big team!

by WalrusMan on May 18, 2009 4:54 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

“When you’re a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. " Our GM and Manager however are not hammers. :-\

"One percent of ballplayers are leaders of men. The other ninety-nine percent are followers of women."-John McGraw, NY Giants Baseball Club

My adopted son Matt Downs . Ranked as the 24th best prospect in the Giants farm system by Baseball America !!

by nvsfg on May 18, 2009 4:06 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

At least they are dropping him in the order. I was at the game last night. He should have caught that ball in the first. Cain might have not thrown so many pitches because instead of getting that first guy out, he was greeted by his defense letting him down (again), which couldn’t have helped his concentration after the first three games of this series. I won’t even say anything about his doubleplay

Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

by WilliamVanLandingham on May 18, 2009 1:37 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

On a rebuilding team dropping a vet into the bottom third is a drawback. For then there is 1 less low pressure spot for a kid to break into the league at or for some ne slumping to go take a bit of pressure off them tell they get things straightened out again.

Where is my beer & chili dog?

by daveinexile on May 18, 2009 1:43 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I'll say something about his double play

When your team is holding onto a precarious lead against a team that’s won the first three games of the series, and you’ve got the bases loaded with one out in the late innings, you need to get the goddamn fucking ball out of the fucking infield. Jesus, even a bunt at that point would only create a single out. The drummer from Dep Leppard would have made better contact with that ball than Rowand did.

"Are we bad? No. But right now, we are." Boulderskull, 4.16.09

by Kitspool on May 18, 2009 1:54 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

101% agree. Mathematically impossible, you say? Oh, no, my friends.

And… wait… there was one other thing about that GIDP… hmmm…. oh, yeah: it was on the first f&#king pitch, motherf^cker! Future generations will call the first pitch GIDP the “Giant.”

Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit... Maybe.

by Mayor of 311 on May 18, 2009 1:57 PM PDT up reply actions   1 recs

The one-pitch outs were killing me last night, and not just with Rowand. I think it took Pelfrey a bit over 30 pitches to get through the first three innings. It should be sobering to this team that their starting pitchers usually have longer ABs than their power hitters.

"Are we bad? No. But right now, we are." Boulderskull, 4.16.09

by Kitspool on May 18, 2009 2:02 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Quite right.

How big of a head case is Pelfrey not to have realized how well he was actually doing against the Giants? He is the love child of Shawn Estes and Trevor Wilson.

Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit... Maybe.

by Mayor of 311 on May 18, 2009 2:05 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

What kills me about that is that Vet’s are the worst offenders. Only Renteria and Winn will occasionally put together a 6+ pitch P.A. with any frequency. Yet the Big Head keeps on putting them in the lineup. How bad is it? Even with Lewis’ issues it is worth noting that Molinia is the only Vet with a higher SLG.

Where is my beer & chili dog?

by daveinexile on May 18, 2009 2:14 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I think Velez swung at the first pitch in every at bat he had.

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on May 19, 2009 11:40 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yes.

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on May 18, 2009 6:23 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yes its demoralizing for a team.

Giant Dirtbags: John Bowker, Steve Hammond. MIA List: Todd Jennings, Brian Anderson
Wronghanded Affeldt pitches right

by Giant among Angels on May 18, 2009 9:57 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Rowand lack's Joe Morgan's 6th tool: A Brain

what makes this so frustrating is that we all know that it is a double play situation. We all know there is a sinkerballer on the mound. We all know that he is going to try to get Rowand to swing at a sinkerball to GIDP. And we all know that he wants to do it in as few pitches as possible. and we’re all NOT professional baseball players, and yet we see what’s coming.

Hell, if Rowand would have GIDP after a long at bat in which he worked the count and fouled pitches off, etc I still would have been upset, but not nearly as upset after he did it on the first pitch. It just shows the guy isn’t being smart. He isn’t using his brain and realizing what the situation is. IF we know it, so should he. That he fails to do so as often as he does is what pisses me off.

For the Giants to win games, they need to much better at situational baseball than they are. It’s amazing that the front office drafts, develops and signs as free agents such brain-dead slop hackers (and hires hitting coaches and managers who preach it) when they know that they don’t have a lot of room for error offensively and when their stated strategy is small-ball. It just boggles the mind.

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on May 19, 2009 11:48 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I think this is unfair.

Hitting a baseball is hard. The approach must be ingrained, or you are going to be way late even on Grant’s 72 mph meatballs.

He can go up there thinking “swing” or “take” or mostly likely NOT THINK AT ALL he is going to be reacting to what he sees unconsciously. I think it’s possibly to change the training, but it cannot be done instantaneously. Rowand – like EVERY OTHER BALLPLAYER ABOVE JUNIOR HIGH is going to swing at a pitch he thinks he likes. Now, he many be less discriminating than we like, and he certainly (like everyone) can get fooled on a pitch, but you are sitting back in your living room saying “no dp no dp no dp” (TWSS) and he is up there trying to get on base. He failed. He’s going to fail again. The best players fail 60% of the time.

Think about it – if all you had to do to avoid hitting into a DP with a sinkerballer on the mound was to “decide not to swing at the first pitch” then sinkerballers wouldn’t have a job.

FIRE BRIAN SABEAN... UNLESS HE KEEPS DRAFTING WELL. .. AND SIGNS UNDERRATED PLAYERS LIKE AFFELDT OR PHELPS. .. OR ALRIGHT WHO'S PLAYING WITH THE ALIEN MIND-SWITCHING RAY?
-------
PARPG- Indy post-apocalyptic roleplaying game currently in early planning stages.

by zenbitz on May 19, 2009 12:25 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I’m not saying it’s easy to hit a baseball. I’m saying that if Rowand thinks “sinkerball is coming” and gets it and tries to pull it, the results will be a ground ball, likely a double play, which is precisely why the Mets walked Nate ahead of Rowand. That is what’s so obvious. He shouldn’t want to hit a groundball in that situation. He should avoid it if he can. A flyball to the OF would have plated a run. A double play ends the inning.

The point of working the count is to get the best pitch possible to hit as hard as possible as far as possible. Maybe Pelfrey never gives in, but we’ll never know because Rowand swung at the first pitch and did exactly what Pelfrey wanted. yeah, maybe he got fooled, but if he had seen a few more pitches the likelihood of that would have decreased as well.

And again, as I said, maybe he would have eventually hit into the double play anyway, but that he did it on the first pitch was much more frustrating than if he had seen some pitches first and then GIDP. Hell, Pelfrey might have balked again. We just don’t know.

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on May 19, 2009 12:44 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

He shouldn’t want to hit a groundball in that situation. He should avoid it if he can. A flyball to the OF would have plated a run. A double play ends the inning.

I don’t understand. You think he was trying to hit a ground ball? Well, he wasn’t. It’s just hard not to. Even 2007 Bonds, who – I guarantee you – was always trying to put the ball in the air, was hitting groundballs 40% of the time.

For the Giants to win games, they need to much better at situational baseball than they are. It’s amazing that the front office drafts, develops and signs as free agents such brain-dead slop hackers (and hires hitting coaches and managers who preach it) when they know that they don’t have a lot of room for error offensively and when their stated strategy is small-ball. It just boggles the mind.

All of last year you heard all kinds people – fans, announcers – rant about how that’s the Giants’ problem – they can’t hit in the clutch. They just can’t manage to capitalize on opportunities. They get the runner to second, but then they can’t drive him in.

2008 Giants:
Overall: .262/.321/.382.
With RISP: 260/.338/.370.

Hey, that’s practically identical. So, maybe we weren’t bad at situational hitting. Maybe we were just bad at hitting. Maybe it just looked like we’re bad at situational hitting because that strikeout hurt quite a bit more when there was a runner on 3rd base, or because it was easier to be angry at player for not moving the runner over than for just being bad at hitting a baseball. Who knows.

If the Giants want to score more runs, they need better hitters. They won’t get to the playoffs with the hit-and-run.

And, while I hate watching hackers as much as you do (probably more), I still can’t stand it when people assume that hacker = stupid. Billy Beane walked 11 times in 350 career PA’s – Is he “brain-dead” too?

Adoptive parent of Noah Lowry. Because he was awesome once, and, goddammit, he shall be awesome once again!

I hope.

by Cookyman on May 19, 2009 1:43 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

oh that that too.

FIRE BRIAN SABEAN... UNLESS HE KEEPS DRAFTING WELL. .. AND SIGNS UNDERRATED PLAYERS LIKE AFFELDT OR PHELPS. .. OR ALRIGHT WHO'S PLAYING WITH THE ALIEN MIND-SWITCHING RAY?
-------
PARPG- Indy post-apocalyptic roleplaying game currently in early planning stages.

by zenbitz on May 19, 2009 3:01 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

so maybe he isn't thinking "sinkerball is coming"

maybe that’s how you get fooled. Maybe he is just up there, you know, HITTING. He sees a pitch. Might be a sinker, might not, it’s not like he has more than 100 milliseconds to decide.

Since obviously, the whole point of a sinker is that it looks like a freaking fat pitch. Also, Pelfrey doesn’t throw a sinker, at least not by pitch f/x. He throws a slider, which does break about 5" below his fast ball/change. He also throws nearly 80% fastballs. His groundball rate, is however, 50% over his career which is certainly among the league leaders… but given the number of fastballs he throws, he must be getting most of those GBs on the fastball, not the breaking ball.

Which in turn, leads me to conclude that you have no idea what you are talking about regarding Rowand ability or inability to hit into a 1st pitch DP off of Pelfrey… only that we agree that it sucks, and Rowand is pretty sucky as well.

FIRE BRIAN SABEAN... UNLESS HE KEEPS DRAFTING WELL. .. AND SIGNS UNDERRATED PLAYERS LIKE AFFELDT OR PHELPS. .. OR ALRIGHT WHO'S PLAYING WITH THE ALIEN MIND-SWITCHING RAY?
-------
PARPG- Indy post-apocalyptic roleplaying game currently in early planning stages.

by zenbitz on May 19, 2009 3:21 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Starters who throw 80% fastballs don’t actually throw fastballs – they throw sinkers, or cutters, or the Livan Hernandez Crapball*. And I don’t think that pitch f/x even has a sinkerball option. Anyway, Pelfrey is a sinkerballer.

*©.

Adoptive parent of Noah Lowry. Because he was awesome once, and, goddammit, he shall be awesome once again!

I hope.

by Cookyman on May 19, 2009 3:33 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

A drummer from Spinal Tap would have done better as well.

Where is my beer & chili dog?

by daveinexile on May 18, 2009 1:58 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I forgot that Aaron Rowand exists. Whenever I look at centerfield, I see nothing.

by Natto on May 18, 2009 1:38 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Whenever I look at your posts, I see nothing.

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
Kevin Frandsen, back with the big team!

by WalrusMan on May 18, 2009 3:35 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Mechanics

I think it is the stance. I think he is losing the ball when he goes from that upright stance into his load.

by toofruss on May 18, 2009 1:38 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

As pointed out yesterday, he practices that ridiculous stance. Lansford needs to kick him in the ass everytime he stands like that until he learns a more practical stance.

It's my blarg! Quick Pitch

by can of corn on May 18, 2009 1:39 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I think that being able to hit and take a dump while in the same position is the essence of practicality.

19-18 - Giants Series Record: 8-3-2, 7-1 at home

Adopted Giant: Daryl "Dealio" Maday - 2.29 ERA, .211 BAA, 5.1 K/9 in Norwich through 35 1/3 IP.

by rhys on May 18, 2009 1:43 PM PDT up reply actions   2 recs

Ass?

No, right in the nads. That’s the kind of negative reinforcement that gets results. And Carney is just the guy to deliver it, too.

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

by Skaldheim on May 18, 2009 1:43 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Kicking people in the nads is too Pierzynski-ish for me.

by The Double Deuce on May 18, 2009 1:51 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

KICK HIM IN THE ROWNADS

Duane Kuiper: Hall Of Fame broadcaster.

by Johnny Disaster on May 18, 2009 5:50 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

rownad gota go

Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs

by bondslegend on May 18, 2009 8:09 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I'm unconvinced that Lansford is much of a coach at all. I don't see any results.

Which isn’t to say that that’s a fair assessment of his efforts/abilities, nor is it to disqualify him from kicking Rowand in the ass.

Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit... Maybe.

by Mayor of 311 on May 18, 2009 2:03 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I haven’t seen the stats, but it seems that the team is swinging at a higher percentage of first pitches than last season. You’d think that there would be SOME plate discipline among these guys and that the hitting coach would be the one telling them how to do that better.

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on May 18, 2009 2:36 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Seems to me that I read something earlier in the season about the vets advising the young players to take a hack at the first pitch in an AB, since that’s probably the best one they’d see. This is lame. Plus, I would hope that a decent batting coach would actually be responsible for developing the young players. I can’t help but think that either our coaching is horrendous or there’s some sort of lame-hitting virus going around the team.

It's my blarg! Quick Pitch

by can of corn on May 18, 2009 4:31 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

well, probably a bit of both. It’s not like Carney has a lot to work with. As far as I can tell, they’ve done a good job getting Sandoval on track and that’s it. I’m not sure what they told Burriss, but he’s been watchable lately. Everyone else is bleh. They’ve totally messed up Lewis.

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on May 18, 2009 4:45 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I blame Bochy for Lewis. Constantly switching spots in the order is tough, but when you are trying to establish yourself in the league and are asked to have a different plate approach everyday is ridiculous.

Giant Dirtbags: John Bowker, Steve Hammond. MIA List: Todd Jennings, Brian Anderson
Wronghanded Affeldt pitches right

by Giant among Angels on May 18, 2009 10:04 PM PDT up reply actions   1 recs

I belong in this line.

Where is my beer & chili dog?

by daveinexile on May 19, 2009 11:46 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

that’s a great point. Trying to make him a heart of the order power hitter is just a mistake by having him swing earlier in the count just doesn’t make much sense for him.

Lewis certainly needs to do a better job of shortening his swing and protecting with 2 strikes, but that doesn’t mean he needs to stop working the count and doing what he can to get a good pitch to hit hard and/or just get on base via the walk.

I like Fred. He had great potential and he can get better still by being more consistent, but at his age, what we’re seeing is probably what we’re gonna get out of the guy. He’ll never be a 20+ homerun guy on this team, which is fine if he’s the leadoff guy who gets on base and uses his speed to steal some bags and score some runs.

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on May 19, 2009 11:54 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

It almost seems like an organizational philosophy.

Pedro Feliz this season: 120 AB, 15 BB, .308 AVG, .380 OBP. And I know, small sample size, but he was never close to that kind of BB rate as a Giant.

Osiris, lord of the dead, and relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants.

by neurofarm on May 18, 2009 6:15 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Exactly. Spot on today.

Giant Dirtbags: John Bowker, Steve Hammond. MIA List: Todd Jennings, Brian Anderson
Wronghanded Affeldt pitches right

by Giant among Angels on May 18, 2009 10:01 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

He says he's worried too much about mechanics.

From Extra Baggs on Saturday:

After Friday night’s failures, Rowand confessed that he couldn’t sleep. He sat in the dugout after his ground out stranded Winn and he realized something: If he’d tried to predict how the pitcher would approach him, he would’ve been 100 percent correct. He would’ve been looking for the right pitches. But he was so worried about his stance, his hands, his weight shift, etc., that he wasn’t focused on the top priority in the batter’s box — thinking about and reacting to the little white ball.

So late that night, he decided to flush everything.

"I’m starting over today," he told me, roughly an hour before the first pitch. "I’m simplifying everything."

It’s a bit of a magic tweak moment, but heck, at this point I’ll take any small scrap of hope that lets me believe Rowand can again be an average hitter.

Meet my new son: Sundrendy Windster, coming soon to a minor league near you.

by EliminateMe on May 18, 2009 2:22 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

So late that night, he decided to flush everything.

TMI

by The Double Deuce on May 18, 2009 2:35 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

lol Nasty Shit.

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on May 18, 2009 2:37 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

if you don't flush after a nasty shit

Then you’re a terrible human being.

"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on May 18, 2009 2:45 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Courtesy flush.

It's my blarg! Quick Pitch

by can of corn on May 18, 2009 4:31 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah. The good news:
“I’m starting over today,” he told me, roughly an hour before the first pitch. “I’m simplifying everything.”

The bad news:

He’s not starting with his baseball playing.

Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit... Maybe.

by Mayor of 311 on May 18, 2009 2:38 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Alright I don’t know when this came out and what games I watched. So if he’s simplifying everything, wouldn’t that mean that he just goes up there in a regular stance? Is he?

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
Kevin Frandsen, back with the big team!

by WalrusMan on May 18, 2009 3:36 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Supposedly as of Saturday’s game.

I read it to mean concentrating more on the pitcher and the ball and less on what his hands and body is (or is not) doing.

Where is my beer & chili dog?

by daveinexile on May 18, 2009 3:39 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

but seriously, this is the problem:

Manager Bruce Bochy met with Rowand recently and asked him to consider cutting down on his early hitting; we asked Rowand if he’d agree to that.

"I don’t know," he said. "Maybe a little."

how about take the manager’s advice, dumbass?

or maybe the problem is with Bochy. If the players won’t listen to him, he’s of even less use to this team.

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on May 18, 2009 2:39 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

depends on what he’s saying –
besides
would you listen to anything Bochy said?

by Merope on May 18, 2009 2:41 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

of course, I wouldn’t. but he’s not my boss.

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on May 18, 2009 2:58 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Not really Rowand’s boss either. It’s not like he could fire him.

Adoptive parent of Noah Lowry. Because he was awesome once, and, goddammit, he shall be awesome once again!

I hope.

by Cookyman on May 19, 2009 7:30 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

that’s true.

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on May 19, 2009 11:54 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

He should just get rid of that batting stance...

Even when I saw him batting in Philly, I’d think “what the hell is wrong with this guy?”.

by AmorVincitOmnia on May 18, 2009 3:36 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Our grizzled veteran mind-fucking himself like a rook. Yeah!

Giant Dirtbags: John Bowker, Steve Hammond. MIA List: Todd Jennings, Brian Anderson
Wronghanded Affeldt pitches right

by Giant among Angels on May 18, 2009 10:08 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

His stance kills me. Also, he doesn’t look very limber to me, like he almost needs to stretch more and become more flexible.

Giant Dirtbags: John Bowker, Steve Hammond. MIA List: Todd Jennings, Brian Anderson
Wronghanded Affeldt pitches right

by Giant among Angels on May 18, 2009 10:00 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

He was 3-4 against Johan Santana two days ago

Small sample size? That’s 4 whole AB’s there!!

19-18 - Giants Series Record: 8-3-2, 7-1 at home

Adopted Giant: Daryl "Dealio" Maday - 2.29 ERA, .211 BAA, 5.1 K/9 in Norwich through 35 1/3 IP.

by rhys on May 18, 2009 1:40 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Hey!

This tastes like human flesh!

FIRE BRIAN SABEAN... UNLESS HE KEEPS DRAFTING WELL. .. AND SIGNS UNDERRATED PLAYERS LIKE AFFELDT OR PHELPS. .. OR ALRIGHT WHO'S PLAYING WITH THE ALIEN MIND-SWITCHING RAY?
-------
PARPG- Indy post-apocalyptic roleplaying game currently in early planning stages.

by zenbitz on May 18, 2009 1:44 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

19-18 - Giants Series Record: 8-3-2, 7-1 at home

Adopted Giant: Daryl "Dealio" Maday - 2.29 ERA, .211 BAA, 5.1 K/9 in Norwich through 35 1/3 IP.

by rhys on May 18, 2009 1:45 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Give a man human flesh,

feed him for a day;
teach him to hunt human beings,
feed him for a lifetime

by VidaWantsYourCar on May 18, 2009 1:46 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

"Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher?" / Adopted brother of the AnVil

by SoFa King Mike on May 18, 2009 1:45 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Give him a long break, a la Red Sox with David Ortiz

I actually give the Red Sox some credit for giving Ortiz 5 days off— that is a pretty gutsy thing to do in an intense media market (read: ESPN) and in a business in which these things are looked at like “admitting weakness,” as if the USSR will launch missiles from Cuba if they sense that any sports franchise is trying to address a problem.

I think it would be a good idea to give him a couple consecutive series off, have him work with a good batting coach & together they should watch video of Rowand’s better days and also maybe some approaches of batters of comparable size/strength. He doesn’t have to become Barry Bonds, but he SHOULD be able to drive balls to the outfield for hits, and do so regularly.

And hey— in all seriousness, a vision test might be in order. I can’t remember what player it was a few years ago, but he was inexplicably performing below par, had a vision test, was discovered to need vision correction, and rebounded quickly. (Roos Ortiz? Shawn Estes? Damn this stupid brain.)

Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit... Maybe.

by Mayor of 311 on May 18, 2009 1:47 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

It was Roos, I think. At least I’m pretty sure he was the one who got the Lasik. Kruk & Kuip kept talking about Lasik for weeks afterward. sometimes i think (whispers) they drink in the booth …

by shanghaijim on May 18, 2009 1:52 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

And even better is Rowand can take an extended break and not be subject to furious media masturbation a la ESPN.

"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on May 18, 2009 2:46 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Without the range or quick accurate arm at least....


Hey, not bad for MSPaint

Tommy Lasorda HATES GIANTSBOARD.COM
Cut and Pasted Blog redundancy can be a good thing
Say Hey! Say Who? Say Willie, that Giant Kid is Great!

by merkin on May 18, 2009 1:55 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

yes. Rowand makes me wish Shinjo was here instead.

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal
Official Sponsor of the 1997 San Francisco Giants

by nostocksjustbonds on May 18, 2009 1:58 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

at least Shinjo’s defense was fun to watch.

I only have a signature because I recognize everyone else by their sigs, not their usernames..

by lmaozedong on May 18, 2009 2:16 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I wish I could have seen Shinjo lowered from the rafters to take center field in Japan

by Classy_Argonaut on May 18, 2009 4:33 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

even in Japan

wearing a jersey that says “Nippon Ham” is weird.

I wonder if it says “Chico’s Bail Bonds” on the back.

Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti. "I treat Timmy differently from most pitchers: I leave him alone."

card carrying Bochy Hatter

by natteringnabob on May 18, 2009 8:49 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I still wish the jerseys said Ham Fighters

Formerly Revolution1 || Status: Worried that Giants are going to sell my wall of Ks to Johnsonville Sausages || Barry Zito: Throws Canyons Mildly Half-OK

by GiantBrass on May 18, 2009 11:14 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

maybe

if Egypt fields a WBC team sometime

Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti. "I treat Timmy differently from most pitchers: I leave him alone."

card carrying Bochy Hatter

by natteringnabob on May 19, 2009 3:51 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yea not too bad.

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
Kevin Frandsen, back with the big team!

by WalrusMan on May 18, 2009 3:37 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I am going to go out on a limb here

He is who we though he is.

I spent about 10 minutes on fangraphs… and it’s pretty clear that the dude is just a hacker. Not a super braindead Caribbean hacker, but he does have a 6% lifetime walk rate, which is meh. (Note that it’s higher with the Giants… along witth the K rate).

But still – he seems like a poster DIPS boy. When his BABIP is high, he hits .300. When he hits lots of fly balls, he ends up with 20+ HRs. His LD% is down in 2009, but I don’t really feel his stats-to-date are meaningful… at all.

So, carry on.

FIRE BRIAN SABEAN... UNLESS HE KEEPS DRAFTING WELL. .. AND SIGNS UNDERRATED PLAYERS LIKE AFFELDT OR PHELPS. .. OR ALRIGHT WHO'S PLAYING WITH THE ALIEN MIND-SWITCHING RAY?
-------
PARPG- Indy post-apocalyptic roleplaying game currently in early planning stages.

by zenbitz on May 18, 2009 1:58 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

But why can’t a be wrong about a bad thing?

Where is my beer & chili dog?

by daveinexile on May 18, 2009 2:02 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

his ground balls are up,too.

but really, he had bad stretches like this in both of his good seasons, 2004/2007

FIRE BRIAN SABEAN... UNLESS HE KEEPS DRAFTING WELL. .. AND SIGNS UNDERRATED PLAYERS LIKE AFFELDT OR PHELPS. .. OR ALRIGHT WHO'S PLAYING WITH THE ALIEN MIND-SWITCHING RAY?
-------
PARPG- Indy post-apocalyptic roleplaying game currently in early planning stages.

by zenbitz on May 18, 2009 2:11 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yup
He is who we thought he was.

That’s the phrase that came to my mind as well. For the most part we all were pretty unimpressed by the Rowand signing when it came down. Coming into 2008, Rowand’s career was that of a mostly mediocre hitter, with two years where his numbers spiked. I think most of us had those two productive seasons pegged for anomalies. Unfortunately, when Brian Sabean falls in love, he falls hard. And Aaron Rowand was exactly the kind of player who was bound to set Sabes’ heart aflutter. A gritty, gamer, centerfielder, and a clubhouse leader/character guy to boot. Sabes had on his “Gamer Goggles”, and saw a guy who, if he wasn’t going to repeat his 2004 and 2007 seasons every year, would at least be a sort of 20-25 HR, .280-.290, 80-90 RBI’s kind of hitter. I doubt there are many of us on this board who shared that kind of optimism.

Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher??

by tobias on May 18, 2009 6:13 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

we all were pretty unimpressed by the Rowand signing when it came down

I remembered the sentiment more like “well, if we’re going to throw that money at someone, better at Rowand than at Dave Roberts or Michael Tucker or Terrence Long”.

I agree the McCoven wasn’t as convinced as Sabean that he would hit like he was still in Philly, but I don’t think this level of crapulence was really expected. For example, I expected he would remember to occasionally throw to second base.

Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti. "I treat Timmy differently from most pitchers: I leave him alone."

card carrying Bochy Hatter

by natteringnabob on May 18, 2009 8:51 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Most of us were pretty "meh" at best...
I remembered the sentiment more like "well, if we’re going to throw that money at someone, better at Rowand than at Dave Roberts or Michael Tucker or Terrence Long".

See, I’m not sure if I would even describe the above as “faint praise”, but I don’t think it quite captures the general sentiment of the McCoven.

By the way, here’s what I said…

I will agree that defensively, Rowand has been quite a bit worse than I expected.

Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher??

by tobias on May 19, 2009 6:00 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Also

His signing was obviously a knee-jerk reaction to the bad publicity of the Bonds era, which is pretty stupid to begin with. Give me a player who can hit 30 bombs and drive in 100 runs and he can torture kittens, for all I care.

by Norm Median on May 18, 2009 2:19 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I’m not being serious. I would be gravely offended if a player tortured a kitten or full grown cat. Puppies or dogs, on the other hand, are totally fine.

by Norm Median on May 18, 2009 2:21 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

There's a Steven Lynch song called Kill a Kitten

Even as I find animal abuse to be abhorrent and heartbreaking, the song is pretty funny.

"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on May 18, 2009 2:48 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

that song

is hilarious.

“killing kittens isn’t easy
and if the thought makes you feel queasy
grab a pitchfork from the shed
and kill a puppy dog instead”

“I wonder why PETA keeps sending you all this hate mail”

Sharlon Schoop - de favoriete Nederlandse honkbalspeler van McCovey Chronicles.
You always have to be one step ahead of your drunk friends
--Daisy Owl

by Viliphied on May 18, 2009 3:51 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

reminds me of Tom Lehrer, “Posioning Pigeons in the Park.”

Randy Winn is going to catch that. And he'll do it real classy-like too.

by oldjacket on May 18, 2009 9:05 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I just heard Tom Lehrer’s stuff this weekend and I died laughing. It’s so hateful and warped, so of course it’s right up my alley.

"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on May 19, 2009 7:27 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Cows With Guns is my favorite.

GROUGTHINK ALERT
Chatterbalks dot com: Still with jokes. Now with updates.

by groug on May 19, 2009 12:39 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I quote the bible for that's where it's written

If ye loveth Jesus ye must kill a kitten

"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on May 19, 2009 7:26 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

StePHen (OMG NERD) Lynch = win

So disturbing but so funny

Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs

by bondslegend on May 18, 2009 8:56 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

spelling fail

But yes hilarious and wrong. But mostly hilarious.

"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on May 19, 2009 7:27 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I thought only girls liked cats?

STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.

by UnleashTheGore on May 18, 2009 2:58 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

don’t forget the brothers in The City

GROUGTHINK ALERT
Chatterbalks dot com: Still with jokes. Now with updates.

by groug on May 18, 2009 3:12 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Heh…funny thing is, that does kinda look like me!

by Lars The Wanderer on May 18, 2009 5:34 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

So why are you laying there with that long haired leopard speedoed dude?

Tommy Lasorda HATES GIANTSBOARD.COM
Cut and Pasted Blog redundancy can be a good thing
Say Hey! Say Who? Say Willie, that Giant Kid is Great!

by merkin on May 18, 2009 6:09 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Strictly for the money.

by Lars The Wanderer on May 18, 2009 6:19 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I for one respect that.

by shanghaijim on May 18, 2009 6:43 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Glad you have your priorities straight.

/ tip cap

Where is my beer & chili dog?

by daveinexile on May 19, 2009 11:48 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Looks under-Photoshopped

Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit... Maybe.

by Mayor of 311 on May 18, 2009 3:46 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Big n Beardy

Randy Winn is going to catch that. And he'll do it real classy-like too.

by oldjacket on May 18, 2009 9:59 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

This is exactly what I thought of the Rowand signing. I new we where going to sign him when the offseason started that year, and was against it by all means. I also wanted us to sign Andruw Jones, so I figure it could be worse.

by shaolinironlion on May 18, 2009 4:08 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

In 3 years

Aaron Rowand will be the most over paid 4th outfielder in the league me thinks.

Seriously, has anyone seen my adopted brother?