baseball and stuff...

5.6 magnitude earthquake out of Alum Rock!

2007-10-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

AHHHHHHH!

8:16 p.m.
still here at work with two others and I just freaked out! I felt like yelling, crying, huddling all at once! I'm here in burlingame and it felt like a pretty solid shake, for a loooong while, then it went into a rolling motion for even longer! Looks like it was a 5.6 magnitude out of alum rock. hope you are all well.

I don't have my cellie with me so i'm especially nervous! Seriously, this was a very scary earthquake. I hope people in the South Bay are okay...

http://pasadena.wr.usgs.gov/shake/ca/index.html

Best team vs. Best pitcher in the bigs!

2007-06-04T23:32:00.000-07:00

Wow. What an incredible game tonight at McAfee Coliseum. The Oakland Athletics' Dan Haren started against MLB's winningest team, the Boston Red Sox. *(Haren's ERA: 1.70 *at gametime tonight, he was touted as the MLB Pitching ERA leader, but it looks like San Diego's Peavy has the actual title at 1.68). Haren was absolutely solid tonight, having retired 14 consecutive hitters at one point.

And, not only does Mark Ellis hit for the cycle tonight for the first time in his career (only made possible in extra innings! whew...), but Eric Chavez' bat lit up in the bottom of the 11th with his walk-off homer.

In Giants news, what about Klesko's homerun reaction today in Philadelphia - classic!

Fred Lewis, I dub thee Player of the Day!

2007-05-13T17:53:00.000-07:00

Rookie Fred Lewis hit for the cycle in Colorado today! His Double, then Homerun, and subsequent Triple all went opposite. It was a sight to behold.

An unlikely hero tonight...

2007-05-05T00:20:00.000-07:00

Ok, no triples. Not even any homeruns. But we saw some great baseball tonight, complete with an SF Giants WIN, intense 2-out rallies, stolen bases, clutch pinch-hits, dropped flyballs... and it was an absolutely gorgeous night at the ballpark.

Eliezer Alfonzo was our unlikely hero tonight with an absolutely clutch pinch-hit 3-run double in the 7th! And this was after his 3-for-3 performance last night!

Brad Hennessey looked so strong, in relief, tonight. Slick and solid. And while I'm more prone to despise our opponents for their abilities, there are some players that I just can't seem to hate. Jamie Moyer, for example - I still really enjoy watching him pitch. He just made some of our guys look like fools at the plate (though some of those pitiful plate appearances weren't so much about Moyer's skill, but the G-Men's sloppiness). Another guy on my "despise-him-so-much-I-respect-him" list (!?!) is Jimmy Rollins - crazy sneaky quick. I hate it... but can't help but love it at the same time.

I can't wait to be at the ballpark again. The field was absolutely magical from 33 rows behind the Giants dugout. And thanks to Full Throttle for the free Giants blanket tonight!

Rest up for Sunday, Lincecum!

What's Better Than a Triple?

2007-05-04T01:32:00.000-07:00

An RBI Triple!!! Catcher Eliezer Alfonzo's triple in the 6th inning, drove in Randy Winn for our final run (It's a good thing Bengie Molina sat out tonight. There's no way he could've legged out a triple. I'm really in no position to criticize, but Molina is seriously one of the slowest base runners I've ever seen. No disrespect Bengie but I'm just tellin' it like it is).

So what's even better than an RBI Triple??? A TWO-RUN RBI TRIPLE! The Phillies Short-stop, and East Bay native, Jimmy Rollins, had his share of triples tonight - TWO triples within two innings (A 2-run RBI 3B in the 2nd inning, and another 3B in the 4th). That would've been a sight to behold. Just the thought of it gives me chills. He's also the NL leader in multi-hit games.

Tonight's final score: Phillies 9, Giants 7. You're goin' down this weekend Phillies - but thanks for some great baseball during this 4 game series!!!

And... CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS!!!

What's more thrilling - a Triple or a Homerun?

2007-05-03T01:47:00.000-07:00

TRIPLES baby!!! They're so few and far-between and such a beautiful sight to behold especially in a park such as ours. Not too many men can leg it out fast enough, but every once in a while we're blessed with a stand-up triple! I've said it once and I'll say it again - Dave Roberts is the one to watch this season. He keeps me on the edge of my seat - such great, quick energy.

Ahhh, it was so glorious watching his lead-off stand-up triple yesterday. Check this out:

- This was Robert's 4th triple this year; No doubles.
- His last 4 hits against the Rockies - ALL Triples!

*Today was also the anniversary of Bonds' very first Splash Hit into McCovey Cove (May 1, 2000)

"I'm beginning to believe!"

2007-05-01T00:19:00.000-07:00

As EM stated in a text message dated April 26, 10:53 p.m., I'm beginning to believe, too!

The G-Men sweep LA, in LA, for the first time in 5 years! In terms of runs scored, they were pretty tight games. But... as great as that sweep felt, it felt "almost" just as bad to turn around and get swept by the DBacks. All three games in Arizona were incredibly tight (within one run) but we snapped out of our winning streak big-time.

I'm so miserable with my "expanded basic" cable tv plan, because I can no longer watch any of the games televised on FSN+ - I am so frustrated that I can't even watch my G-Men after a hard day at work... Thank goodness for midnight baseball on KNBR and for our awesome broadcasters, Kruk and Kuip, Dave Flemming and Jon Miller!

Bay Area Sports!

2007-04-19T00:35:00.000-07:00

What a BIG day for Bay Area Sports!

SF Giants win in 12 innings against the Cards;
Oakland A's win against the Angels;
SJ Sharks win against the Nashville Predators;
And the Golden State Warriors beat the Portland Blazers to advance to the playoffs for the first time in 13 years!

Keep the faith...

2007-04-09T23:34:00.000-07:00

I am so frustrated with the way our season has started. Not only have we been severely out-pitched by SD and LA; But when you see Cain on the mound go through six hitless innings, with no run support whatsoever, you know it's not just our opponent's pitching giving us trouble.

Wake up, bats! Our rotation and bullpen need you!

Tonight was also the Oakland A's home opener vs. the Chicago White Sox. Despite having their healthy ace, Rich Harden, on the hill vs. Chicago's Jose Contreras (ERA 63.00!) and the White Sox's 4-23 record in Oakland since 2001 and a sold-out audience at McAfee Coliseum, Chicago took tonight's win, 4-1.

On a positive note, I'd like to consider what the A's skipper, Bob Geren, had to say after tonight's home opener: "...it generally takes an offense a month or so to define itself."

At the rate things are going, it can only get better.

In the clouds...

2007-04-06T23:40:00.000-07:00

Literally.

We were seated beyond nosebleed seats in the park tonight. My friend lost feeling in his toes tonight as we sat back and watched the fog roll in from all angles. Surreal.

I arrived early to catch some batting practice. But something caught my attention down the first base line, at the visiting bullpen. Just beyond Nomar Garciaparra signing autographs and shaking hands, was something vaguely familiar. I could recognize that pitching stance and follow-through from across the park. Yup, it was my Schmidttie... in Dodger Blue. Nearly broke my heart. He's still #29 and boy was he still bringin' it. Unfortunately, for my G-Men, he's still got it.

He maintained his cool despite the brutal heckling from up above in the Arcade section. But, every once in a while, you'd hear a small voice squeak through - "We still love you Schmidttie," and "We miss you Schmidttie."

The wounds are still too fresh for me. He's a Dodger for goodness sake. He looks horrible in blue. And the back of his neck does not look good with a sunburn/tan! He is, officially, the enemy. Sigh...

Brad Penny. Takahashi Saito. Ouch. We need Ortiz and Zito to be on top of their game this weekend.

Saturday: Lowe vs. Ortiz
Sunday: Wolf vs. Zito

Oakland A's @ LAA: Vlad Guerrero unleashed a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 7th. That was the difference in tonight's final score, 5-2 Angels.

Sweet Victory

2007-04-05T23:52:00.000-07:00

Congratulations on your first win as SF Giants Manager, Bruce Bochy!

Whew. I was sitting in front of a Padres fan tonight and he had a broom with him. For a split second before the game (and in the top of the 9th!), I was worried we might be swept by the Pads tonight. *At least I was able to talk quality baseball with him. San Diego fans aren't as shallow and stupid as Dodger fans - heehee.

We had a magical 5th inning RBI Fest! Ray Durham was due for some clutch hitting so I just knew he had to deliver some goods tonight - it came in the form of a 2-run single. And thanks to a clumsy fluke by the Pads' Kouzmanoff and Greene (stumbling over each other and letting a routine popup drop), Rich Aurilia drove another run in. Klesko had a 3-4 night, bringing in one final run for the inning.

Other notables:
- Barry's 1st inning RBI 2B got us on the board fast!
- 6 straight-up solid innings by Morris;
- Incredible offense AND defense by Dave Roberts (just what the Giants need);
- I want to see more of Jonathan Sanchez;
- The Giles' boys can't stay hitless against our pitching in any game. I knew it was too good to be true when they approached the plate in the 9th;
- I was scared as heck to see Cameron's opportunity to face Benitez in the 9th, but it's good to know that, statistically, Cameron has not been too successful against Benitez;
- 5 Star rating by Guest Services in the Bleacher section tonight. They were so cool, funny, sweet and in great control of the crowd.

Oakland A's notes:
- Piazza launched a 9th inning homerun (the winning run!); Kendall ended the game by throwing out someone on 2nd from homeplate, against the Angels tonight. *Maybe I'm a simpleton (or still bitter from the '02 World Series), but I absolutely love that Piazza took K-Rod yard!!! Oakland ties up their record 2-2.

Penny vs. Lowry tomorrow night - I can't wait!!! BEAT LA! BEAT LA!

Fireworks Night at the park

2007-04-05T00:22:00.000-07:00

There were fireworks after the game tonight, and throughout the game, but the G-Men just couldn't get us a win on day 2 of Opening Week.

We were blessed with some great defense by Bonds in LF, and a two out, 2-2, solo homer to ensure that, at the very least, we would not be shutout again! He looked so good tonight - agile, smart AB's workin' the count, and just solid.

Check out some of these great factoids:
- 20 homers behind all-time leader Hank Aaron;
- Chris Young became the 435th pitcher to surrender a Bonds homer;
- Bonds "vaulted atop the franchise's runs-scored list in San Francisco annals with 1,481, surpassing his godfather, Willie Mays;"
-Bonds career home run total against San Diego: 86 - his most against any team.

But mostly, I have to say, Dave Robert's triple had my heart thumping! He is lightning. And he just runs the bases so efficiently. I love watching him play.

I wanted a win for Cain tonight. And, despite giving up two long balls to SD tonight, I still really like his stuff.

And, thanks for the RBI Pedro - I'll consider it as redemption for yesterday's horrible error.

Let's get out of this losing "streak" fast!

*Also noteworthy: Oakland's Rich Harden threw seven shutout innings on the road in Seattle. And an awesome 5 RBI night for Mark Ellis. A's 1st Win of the season. Go A's!

Happy New Baseball Year!

2007-04-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

It was a perfect, sunny, clear, Opening Day at phone company park and we had a power outage - We had 2 Barrys and that just wasn't enough to light up the G-Men's bats today. To quote MLB.com, "...it was a perfect Opening Day. Until the game began."

But, boy was it glorious to be in the park again! It was a perfect day, perfect crowd and plenty of good baseball. The ceremonies began with an introduction of past All Star G-Men and it was incredible. I'm a newbie, so I was nearly drawn to tears when Robb Nen came on to the field, despite the fact that he was among other larger-than-life legends, including: Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Will Clark, Felipe Alou, Vida Blue, Mike Krukow, Kevin Mitchell, Gaylord Perry, Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal... In all, "27 of the 44 All-Stars to have represented the Giants in one or more All-Star Games attended the Opening Day ceremonies."

I can't believe we were actually blessed with an awesome stolen base from Bonds today (by a wide margin!)- I cherish these rare moments (after hitting a 2-out single to left in the 1st inning). I'm just glad he's looking much healthier at the beginning of this season than he did in the beginning of '06.

Ray Durham was showin' some gLove today and I sure hope he stays healthy. I've got my eye on Dave Roberts, though. I have great expectations and am looking forward to his energy. I'm also glad I can wear my Aurilia gear again. And, it goes without saying, I've always loved watching Russ Ortiz on the mound - he looks even better when he's in black & orange! I'm looking forward to more great memories with him. Plus, I think it's been under-appreciated, but Randy Winn has some pretty smart at-bats. I hope he stays sharp.

While I agree with a fellow Giants fan's sentiment - "Well, we can't win 'em all," I was hoping today's loss wasn't accompanied with some of these San Diego highlights:

- Catcher Josh Bard hit his first career 4-hit game against us today;
- SD's Ace, Jake Peavy, looked real solid;
- SD shut us out on opening day...

To my G-Men:
- No more errors, Feliz. We really cannot afford them, especially in crucial innings;
- And Zito, I'm keepin' the faith. Keep it real and BRING IT! I know you can...

I'm at the park every night during opening week, except for Sunday (I'm still workin' on gettin' some tickets!). And yes, I will be hissing at Schmidttie during Dodger weekend.

Give me some Glovin'!

2007-04-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

SF Giants Depth Chart

Our 2007 Rotation:
Zito
Cain
Morris
Lowry
Ortiz

The Bullpen:
Benitez (CL)
Kline
Correia
Chulk
Taschner
Sanchez
Hennessey

C: Molina, Alfonzo
1B: Aurilia, Klesko, Niekro
2B: Durham, Frandsen, Aurilia
3B: Vizquel, Frandsen, Aurilia
SS: Feliz, Aurilia, Frandsen
LF: Blonds, Klesko, Linden
CF: Roberts, Linden, Winn
RF: Winn, Linden

It's Opening Day tomorrow at phone company park and I can barely sit still. I know this year it won't be all about the pitching for me. Aside from my original Barry, I feel like it's gonna be all about Dave Roberts. I'm so excited with what he brings to the game and what he'll bring to our club.

From his bio and career highlights:
"One of baseball's top base stealers and established leadoff hitters signed 3-year deal with San Francisco Dec. 2, 2006...renowned for his baserunning acumen, ranks 4th in majors with 195 stolen bases since 2002 - his 1st full ML season"

And, it goes without saying that I'm just as excited about Zito, and the return of Aurilia and Ortiz. I'm barely warming up to Alonzo and Molina behind homeplate but I need to watch them a bit more to see how well they mesh with our rotation/bullpen.

It's a funny/weird vibe, but I just don't get the impression that there's much team chemistry yet. But I'm reassured with the likes of Bochy and Zito - seriously, it can't be that bad with these two stand-up guys in the dugout. Good energy.

I miss my G-Men. I'm at the park tomorrow morning as soon as the gates open to catch some bp. Zito vs. Peavy (SD) - it's gonna be a great battle!

gatepath.freepledge.com

2006-12-07T10:44:00.000-08:00

Shop • Donate • Feel Good

2006-11-26T11:40:00.000-08:00

It's all about the pitching...

2006-06-13T23:36:00.000-07:00

Noteworthy performances:

Oakland A's Joe Blanton goes for 8 strong innings in the season opener against the Seattle Mariners in Oakland. And, Huston Street gets out of a crazy bases-loaded situation in the 9th! Tonight's win brings them only a 1/2 game out of 1st in the AL West (behind Texas).

It's gettin brutal in the NL West - for the SF Giants atleast! Jared Wright was knocked out of the park in the 1st inning tonight, against the DBacks in AZ, but I really really like his stuff. Concern: I feel like all our opponents are able to read him as the game/season progresses. Aside from Wright, though, I can't recall specific outings, but I know I saw Accardo in a relief (?) situation a couple weeks back (?) and I was stunned - he had some crazy powerful control and I honestly didn't know who I was watching - he was like a whole new pitcher.

I'm getting really worried about all the pressure on our Ace, Jason Schmidt. He is gonna have to carry us through to the postseason, and I just hope he still has enough in him to get through an Orange October!

Tonight was Barry's first game back in exactly 7 days. He definitely hasn't looked as 'sharp' as in year's past, and I miss it, BUT... as far as I'm concerned, he still brings so much to the game. I am thoroughly intrigued with how his mere presence in the lineup, alone, affects the dynamics of the game, the broadcast, the energy... sidethought: I thought I was hallucinating when tonight's camera flashed to the Giants dugout, before first pitch, and could've sworn I saw Barry waving to the camera!?! trippy. It's refreshing not feeling like everyone around me is just watching him, with bated breath, waiting for another long ball. I seriously just want him to get a hit, get on base, score a run, and show me some glovin out there in LF! Plus, awesome defensive plays like the one today, when he robbed the DBack's Eric Byrnes of a homer... sigh... that's my Barry.

Travis Ishikawa seems so comfortable in the Bigs - like he's been up from the minors for 5 years already! He seriously looks pretty solid and his mechanics are only further solidified with his seemingly calm, cool mentality/attitude.

I'm at the ballpark next Tuesday, against the Angels, so it'll be difficult for me, but I will promise not to heckle any Angels fans in the park (well, atleast not to the point of violence... hehe).

I smell an Orange October...

2006-05-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

whew, it's been so long, but I'm finally getting out to the ballpark and making time for my SF Giants this season.

I'm keepin a close eye out on our rotation and bullpen. Schmidttie is just BRINGIN IT. I missed Opening Day for the first time in a few years, but my first game back was phenomenal. The Cubs were in town and I was 6 rows away from our bullpen. Schmidt was starting and he was amazing. He still had some heat in the 9th inning and looked SOLID throughout the game. Matheny and Finley have been great to watch. And Vizquel and Feliz will never cease to amaze me! But, ofcourse, my big guy, Bonds, really brings the game to a whole new level. He is absolutely choking with every at-bat, hung on #713, but atleast he's squeezed in a few awesome clutch hits since that last longball in Philly. The Bay Bridge series is in Oakland this week, so it'll be a great weekend!

Our last series in Houston was great - Feliz' bat is hot and Finley's our very own Triple machine! I watched when Barry was hit and it was so disappointing to see/hear the reaction from those ignorant Houston fans (yes, I am allowed to stereotype all people from Houston, and Texas, by extension, because this opinion is based on 38,000+ people! hehe).

Came across this article by "Betting Fool" of sfgate.com - here are some snippets:

Houston, I have a problem: Your fans suck
Betting Fool, SFGate
Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Sharks fans, you are off the hook. So to speak.
Clueless Astros fans set a new low on Tuesday, cheering a 90-mph fastball (slider, my butt) directed at a man's head.

Stone him! Burn the witch! Nice.

...There is nothing positive or legit about Astros fans and very little to like about the city of Houston. Enron, hellish traffic, awful weather, a horrible college football program and drum-roll please . . . No Reggie Bush!

The Astros have never won anything, going to the World Series last year only to be swept. The Oilers left town, eventually replaced by the awful Texans.

What's that, the Rockets won NBA titles? Why yes they did, when the NBA was at an all-time low. Along with the Baltimore Ravens in football and the Arizona Diamondbacks in baseball, the Rockets were some of the worst world champions -- ever.

Dallas is classy and cool, San Antonio is funky, charming, historic and has maybe the best Mexican food on the planet. Austin is outrageous tunes and tons of fun.

Houston? The town smells bad. Maybe it's because it's always wet or hot. The worst stop on the PGA Tour is in Houston, sponsored by a greedy oil company...

You'd think the local Houston media wouldn't jump on the anti-Bonds bandwagon to the extent the fans did when Russ Springer appeared to go after Bonds, with a horsehide weapon.

If you thought that, you'd be wrong.

From the Houston Chronicle: "Astros reliever Russ Springer delivered a blow Tuesday night for every major-league pitcher Barry Bonds might have cheated with the help of steroids and every fan he might have spurned throughout the years. Just in case there's any doubt what America thinks of Bonds, the crowd of 35,286 delivered a standing ovation after Springer drilled Bonds with a pitch in the fifth inning."

What utter garbage.

First of all, Russ Springer is a clown, a nobody, confused with other unimportant players like Russ Davis and Dennis Springer. Where does this journeyman nimrod get off "delivering a blow" for anyone?

Does Bonds get to "deliver" anything against all the pitchers who used steroids? If he did, there would be some seam prints on some foreheads.

As for "what America thinks," how does the writer know that Houston speaks for America? If Houston speaks for America, I'm moving to Canada -- by Friday.

Did you realize that Springer also delivered a blow for "every fan" Bonds has spurned? With one gutless head-high fastball, that nimrod did more for baseball than Mother Teresa did for the poor in 20 years.

Speaking of 20 years ago, my most vivid memory of Astros' fans is the noise they made only when the giant animated hands went into action on the Astrodome scoreboard..."

And ofcourse, an update from our classy friends at mlb.com...

05/18/2006 8:41 PM ET
Giants decline to start hit-batter battle
Team takes the high road in incident with Astros
By Gene Duffey / Special to MLB.com

excerpt: "Instead of throwing at the Astros, the Giants completely outplayed them on Wednesday, 10-1, to complete a sweep of the three-game series in Houston.

Bonds did not play in the third game.

"Sweeping them hurts more than anything," said right-hander Matt Morris, who pitched eight innings to earn the win.

The Giants outscored Houston 34-5 in the series, scoring in the first inning of every game and never trailing in any of the three games."

Two words: LAST LAUGH!

Baseball 2005 - preview (well, atleast for the NL West!)

2005-01-11T23:46:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm slowly trying to soak in all the player moves and came across a nifty little article by Chris Haft of Mercury News.

Despite the awesome additions of SS Omar Vizquel, Closer Armando Benitez, C Mike Matheny, Outfielder Moises Alou & Left-hander Jeff Fassero, I seriously think our division can be a potentially tight race!

These are some of my fears...

Los Angeles:
-It'll be great to 'hiss' at Jeff Kent again when L.A.'s in town, but he did pretty well last year with the Astros, with constant clutch hitting (.289 in 2004 and he led the club with 107 RBI);
- J.D. Drew. I think he is just gonna explode in 2005. Here's what he did last year, in his 7th year of play with the Atlanta Braves: .305 AVG, 31 HR, 93 RBI.
>>>Granted, the Dodgers lost 3B Adrian Beltre to Seattle (Beltre went crazy in 2004, hitting 48 HR, batting .334 with 121 RBI), and lost Steve Finley (in his late 30's, Finley was still able to pull of some good numbers in 2004: .271 AVG, 36 HR, 96 RBI), BUT... Kent & Drew will bring a lot to the field

Arizona Diamondbacks:
- Key losses, but I'm worried about ANY team with RHP Russ Ortiz in their rotation!
- Plus, Troy Glaus, Royce Clayton and Craig Counsell in the infield - YIKES!
- Oh, and did I mention the unhealthy fear of Russ Ortiz!

Not so worried about the San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies, but I'm still keepin my eye on the Pads' Jake Peavy (in 2004, 15-6, with a 2.27 ERA).

Ok, back to my boys...

Pedro Feliz. I'm expecting even more out of this guy. No set position, but what a clutch utility guy. I seriously think he's played every position but 1 and 2! That's versatility - and he's played each position with veteran-like awareness and confidence, IMHO. His body type and swing changed dramatically from the 2003 season to 2004.

Edgardo Alfonzo has been hard at work apparently. According to Rich Draper of MLB.com, he's shed nearly 18 lbs. in the offseason and has played solid Winter ball in his native Venezuela. You go, boy! I want my money's worth this season!

Ok, all for now.
-o

New Year's Eve weekend Movie Marathon

2005-01-03T01:19:00.000-08:00

Happy 2005!

Manchurian Candidate (Denzel Washington)
Chronicles of Riddick (Vin Diesel)
Twilight Samurai (Hiroyuki Sanada)
Surviving Christmas (Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini)
Collateral Damage (Jamie Foxx, Tom Cruise)
Bourne Supremacy (Matt Damon)
Meet the Fockers (Ben Stiller, Robert DeNiro)

Why do they show explicit movie previews for an R-rated movie, preceding a PG-13 movie? I just don't get it.

I can't wait for these following movies, too!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, July 2005 (my favorites, Tim Burton, Danny Elfman, Johnny Depp, aaaahhhh)

Batman Begins, June 17, 2005

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous

all for now.

2004-11-10T00:50:00.000-08:00

The late Celedonio Madrid with his wife, Filomena Madrid in Barrio Boy-utan, Bauang, La Union, Philippines.

Onwards...

2004-11-10T00:43:00.000-08:00

Ok, very quickly, some baseball catch-up: Go Boston! Woohoo! I'm convinced A-Rod broke the curse in the ALCS. Not only did Boston win the World Series for the first time since 1918, but they broke records in the process! Unbelievable. More baseball to follow.

all for now,
-o

Red October!

2004-10-22T21:32:00.000-07:00

WOW. The ALCS and NLCS were absolutely monumental! Hot Hot Hot Baseball! I'm looking forward to the World Series Game 1 on Saturday, 10/23/20004. I'll be at a dinner party, but rest assured, I'll find a way to watch it! So far, these are the pitching probables:

Saturday, 10/23, Boston: Woody Williams (StL) vs. Tim Wakefield (Bos)
Sunday, 10/24, Boston: Jason Marquis (StL) vs Curt Schilling (Bos)
Tuesday, 10/26, St. Louis: Pedro Martinez (Bos) vs. Matt Morris (StL)
Wednesday, 10/27, St. Louis: Derek Lowe (Bos) vs. Jeff Suppan (StL)
Thursday, 10/28, St. Louis:
Saturday, 10/30, Boston:
Sunday, 10/31, Boston:

Unlucky 13

2004-10-19T21:16:00.000-07:00

Boston Red Sox 4, NY Yankees 2. It was historical...and it was because #13, Alex Rodriguez, singlehandedly lifted the curse tonight - I'm convinced Boston will advance. I could not believe the stunt A-Rod tried to pull by not only trying to swipe the ball out of Boston pitcher Bronson Arroyo's hand as he approached 1B in the 8th, BUT he also had the nerve to try and talk the umps into believing that his 'interfering swipe' was actually a natural part of his running motion. The replays CLEARLY showed it was definitely an intentional attempt at interference. That was so disheartening to see someone like A-Rod trying to get away with something like that. I mean, in that situation, of course, as a player, you're gonna try and just go with the initial call for the sake of the RBI and advancing to 2nd, BUT as soon as the umpires revise/correct their call, he could've just been visibly upset, maybe throw his arms up in frustration or somethin - he didn't have to go the length and try to make like that was his regular running motion. Karma, A-Rod, Karma...

ALCS Game 7 resumes tomorrow night at 5:19 pm PST, w/probable starting pitchers, Wakefield vs. Brown
The NLCS Series resumes with Game 6 in St. Louis, with Matt Morris (!) on the hill vs. the Houston Astros' Pete Munro.

Celedonio Madrid 04/16/1912 - 10/13/2004

2004-10-13T21:35:00.000-07:00

We just received news that my Grandfather, Celedonio Madrid ("Lolo Doniong") has passed away. Lolo Doniong was 92 years "young" and is survived by his wife, Filomena ("Lola Luming"), his three children, Artemio Madrid, EduardoMadrid, & Aida Alabanza; eleven grandchildren, Adea, Noel, Olma & Maya Madrid, Carmen Ponce, Edgardo, Edmund & Christina Madrid, Paolo, Noel & Ian Alabanza; And twelve great-grandchildren, Jamee & Julee Sarmiento, Eduardo, Alex & Pedro Ponce, Michael & January Madrid, Maggie & Mary Mirt, and three Alabanza granddaughters on the way.

A funeral mass and rosary will be held on Saturday, October 23 in Barrio Boy-utan, Bauang, La Union, Philippines.

2004-10-11T23:24:00.000-07:00

October Baseball... It is gonna be HOT!

I'm still sore with the Houston Astros for 'taking' the Wild Card slot from us in their win against the Colorado Rockies earlier this month (I use that term lightly, since the SF Giants actually 'gave' it away with that horrible loss against Steve Finley and his Dodgers. sigh...)

So, after tonight's huge win against the Atlanta Braves, the Houston Astros advance to the NL Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. I don't see how the Astros could possibly contend against the Cards, but there's a side of me that will always go for the underdog, in some small manner. This is the Astros first time in the post-season. Game 1 is on Wednesday night.

Then, we've got the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees in game one of the ALCS tomorrow night! Curt Schilling's on the hill against NY's Mike Mussina. I really really like Mussina's stuff but I'm pulling for Schilling all the way!

It's been difficult revisiting any aspect of this past SF Giants season, but I finally started catching up on some local news articles regarding the G-Men. Here are some noteworthy, entertaining articles I've come across:

wrt to doing something about Barry Bonds seeing more pitches, Scott Ostler of the SF Chronicle suggests Rogaine for MLB Managers and a new rule, the DNW - the Designated non-Walker! Hilarious.

Barry Barry Barry - Mark Camps of the SF Chronicle discusses how "Bonds not only smashed records, he also lapped the field".

Help Wanted - Bruce Jenkins discusses how the Giants need "Genuine authority batting behind Bonds"

Alas, Waiting-for-Boof outlines the five stages of grief for all the fans in his 10/03/2004 entry. I'm glad I'm not the only one that openly expresses their desire to hit Steve Finley. "Counting on the Rockies" - a new catch phrase for Giants fans...

-o

2004-10-03T01:19:00.000-07:00

In mourning... I've got the bullpen blues.

2004-10-01T22:58:00.000-07:00

The G-men had a huge win tonight. Kirk "Woody" Reuter went 7 innings strong, followed by reliever, Jim Brower and closer, Dustin Hermanson. Hermanson had a huge outing, successfully securing the win. Whew... that felt sooooo goood. 2B Ray Durham and 1B J.T. Snow both went yard tonight! We only have two more games in the regular season - both in Dodger Stadium. Tomorrow, we have Brett Tomko on the hill. Then, the regular season concludes with our Ace, Jason Schmidt, on Sunday!

The Houston Astros beat the Colorado Rockies tonight in Houston and the Chicago Cubs lost, at home, to the Atlanta Braves, so we're tied with Houston for the Wild Card slot and two games back from the NL West division-leading Dodgers.

The Oakland A's took a very bad beating tonight at the Coliseum against that Anaheim team. Pyuck - I don't even want to mention their names on my blog...

G - o - o - o G - I - A - N - T - S!

2004-10-01T22:57:00.000-07:00

Wonder Woman Kelsey and Jaden the Barbarian (my godson!) are celebrating their upcoming birthdays this weekend (9th and 2nd, respectively) - Happy Birthday you superheroes!

2004-09-25T17:54:00.000-07:00

WOOHOOOOO! P - E - D- R - O - F -E - L - I - Z!!!

2004-09-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

The G-men are seriously breakin my heart... Our bullpen absolutely unraveled, giving up 5 runs in the top of the 9th inning to lose our lead, after Schmiddtie had thrown a gem into the 7th.

Ok, here's a crazy statistic - It's bottom of the 1st, Game 1 of a 3-game series vs. the Dodgers at SBC Park [Brad Hennessey started off the top of the inning, with 25 y.o. Adrian Beltre hitting a bases-clearing, 2-run double (Beltre currently leads the leagues with 47 HRs)]. After Ray Durham leads off with a solo homer, followed by Pedro Feliz's base hit, Bonds is up at bat. He draws a 4-pitch walk, his 114th Intentional Walk of the SEASON! To put that in perspective - there are currently only 22 active players who have atleast 100 Intentional Walks in their CAREERS! I can't even fathom what Bonds could do if they only pitched to him...

2004-09-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

.5 game back in the NL West... woohoo

2004-09-17T00:07:00.000-07:00

Check out baby Dominic James Sarmiento with his older brother, Dean! Welcome to the world, Dominic...

2004-09-16T23:34:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! The Giants WIN over the Milwaukee Brewers tonight bring them only 2 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West and a 1/2 game ahead of the Cubs in the Wild Card race.

Barry didn't hit #700 in Milwaukee - he's saving it for SBC Park! BUT... he went 3 for 3 with a walk in tonights shutout game in Milwaukee! I didn't get to watch the game but did see highlights - absolutely CLUTCH and power hitting. And Pedro Feliz is really steppin up with his defense.

Bay Area Ball, in general, is so hot right now. The Oakland A's remain 2 games up, over the Anaheim Angels, in the AL West Race. Pitcher Rich Harden is 7-1 since the All Star Break and Bobby Crosby is my top pick for Rookie of the Year, for sure!

Restaurant Review - 2 weeks ago, Dean and I had dinner at Amarin Thai on Castro Street in Mountain View before Salsa class. Absolutely exquisite dinner and ambiance.

I've already reviewed Barracuda Restaurant on Primrose Avenue in Burlingame, but had a chance to revisit for Dean's first time there last week and had the most awesome dish - Salmon Curry... mmmmm... This time, I had dessert, Ghirardelli Chocolate Souffle and it was scrumdillyumptious. I was so full after dinner, but as soon as we left, I was already thinking of the next time I would have that Salmon Curry.

2004-08-28T02:20:00.000-07:00

In keeping with tradition, I'll begin with some baseball talk...

Barry Bonds hit homerun #36, a 3-run opposite field blast, on the 3-1 pitch vs. Jared Wright of the Atlanta Braves today. He got the Giants on board, with a 3-0 lead. Soon after, the Braves tied it up, then scored two more to win the game, 5-3. sigh... Barry seriously needs offensive support and I am seriously losing faith in our rotation and bullpen.

Today, was an absolute scorcher in Burlingame! I took a quick afternoon walk with my friend, Rachel, at work today and it was too much to bear - we couldn't wait to get back to the air-conditioned office and just sit motionless...

Ok, now on to the FUN stuff - It's week 2 of Salsa class dancing in San Jose (YMCA on The Alameda). I simply can't put, into words, how much I enjoy dancing. It's always great fun to have a competent and fun lead during Salsa, and Dean is definitely a great lead. The Instructor is a fiesty energetic lady, Lisa King, who has a devoted following. So far, Salsa dancing has been coupled with great dining...

Last week, Dean and I had dinner at the new Straits Restaurant just down the street from my place in Burlingame, the night before my first Salsa class in years! Absolutely exquisite meal AND dessert! It was a beautiful, pleasant night and the Singaporean cuisine was perfect, though I'm told they 'skimped' on our order of fried calamari which I actually thought was quite huge! I ordered "Ikan Pangang" (salmon filet topped with pureed fresh chili, lemongrass, garlic and onion wrapped in banana leaves and grilled) - It was to-die-for and more than I was expecting after having read its description on their website. For dessert, Dean opted for the Lava cake (chocolate), while I stuck to my traditional "banana fritter" faire (gotta have my breaded and fried bananas when it's available!).

Tonight, after Salsa class, Lisa mentioned an Ethiopian restaurant she frequently visits after classes on Friday nights, so we headed over to "Queen of Sheba" right on The Alameda, just a little ways from the YMCA building. It's attached to a motel and serves as the "hotel diner" for travelers, so the menu is quite unique - Hamburgers, fries, then straight-up authentic Ethiopian cuisine just a few pages down! This was my first time eating Ethiopian food, so I was absolutely excited to try something new AND something I've always wanted to try, but kept putting off. The owner was so patient and welcoming and gracious. He offered to serve our three separate orders, family style, on one huge plate and gave us rice, along with the standard Ethiopian bread, "Injera" (a spongy, crepelike texture). Lisa had her separate order of cabbage and potatoes. Dean ordered a spicy, dried beef dish (mixed with Injera); Connie ordered another mild dish of beef strips; I ordered a saucy Chicken dish which I absolutely loved. I'm craving for the flavor already. It was a great meal, interesting conversation and great laughs. I will definitely return (no ambiance whatsoever, but great cuisine). All for now,
-o

2004-07-19T22:50:00.000-07:00

Baseball, what else...

John Miller reports that Arizona Diamondback's "Big Unit" Randy Johnson had mentioned to Giants' Ace Jason Schmidt and Super Barry that "...it would be great to be back in the Bay Area..." Boy, when its a huge rumor like this, I'm very naive and prone to turning it into FACT! Can you imagine the possibilities!?!

Rich Aurilia, released by the AL Seattle Mariners on July 10, was picked up by the San Diego Padres! (Yes, he'll be with the team when they're at SBC Park on Wednesday and Thursday this week!) This is wonderful news cuz I just absolutely love Aurilia's game (on and off the field). He hasn't had a very good year with the Mariners (I believe his BA was at .241, 4 homers and 28 RBI), but gettin back to the NL and with a hot team like the Pads may be just what he needed. Plus, I'm happy I'll get to see him play. I'm hopeful in visiting Petco Park this season.

Restaurant Reviews:

Barracuda, Burlingame at 347 Primrose Road (Contemporary Japanese Cuisine) - excellent ambiance, decent prices and excellent portions. I had lunch here on a weekday and it was QUIET! Arrived right at opening time, 11:30 a.m. and was seated immediately and received timely service after placing our orders. It is ALWAYS bustling at dinnertime. Great variety on the menu and I absolutely loved the tasty fried calamari appetizer with a hint of ginger sauce lightly sprinkled atop the entire order. Sushi bar available. Their take-home menu lists their url as www.barracudasushi.com, but I think they're still building it...

Okazu Ya, San Francisco on Taraval (and 28th) (Japanese) - EXCELLENT and timely service, superb customer service, great prices for the portions, extensive "specials" list (from appetizers to dishes). Dinner on a Monday night and it was PACKED. They are closed on Tuesdays, but open at the Noriega location (the Taraval location is supposedly 'better'). The clientele this evening consisted of obvious regulars and locals. Seated immediately. Order taken promptly. Food served fresh and quickly. Glasses of water refilled! (always a plus in my book). I've heard great things about their specials menu, incl. a soft shell crab appetizer, Trout and Chilean Sea Bass dinners. There are a couple of different Okazu Ya's in the city but I'm unclear if their popularity extends beyond SF.

Pho Van, Portland at 1919 SE 82nd and 1012 NW Glisan in the Pearl District (Vietnamese) - One of the things I miss MOST in Portland! Absolutely exquisite menu, including desserts! Their spring rolls are to-die-for. I'm sure I might be able to find a comparable Vietnamese restaurant in the Bay Area, but Pho Van is just one of those places I will be sure to go out of my way to visit when I'm in Portland - just like I would visit Burgerville (during the 'right' season: January - March) for those absolutely yummy Chocolate Hazelnut milkshakes (and don't forget the Cheeseburgers which use authentic local Tillamook Sharp Cheddar)! My perfect day in Portland would include: a Portland Beavers game at PGE Park, Powell's Book Store, Pho Van, Burgerville and sales tax-free shopping baby!

2004-07-15T00:25:00.000-07:00

Julee's 7 today! Happy Birthday girl! We had a Rolling Pin donut fest, in lieu of a birthday cake!

Baseball News - John Shea, Chronicle Staff Writer reports that the Giants are likely to host the 2007 All-Star Game. Maybe I can afford to be a season ticket holder by then!

Reading Rich Draper's article reminds me of how much I miss Joe Nathan in our pen.

Good stuff here, by Andrew Baggarly, Staff Writer of the Oakland Tribune. He effectively sums up Five things that have gone right, and Five things that have gone wrong, thus far. Just reminded me that it's all about perspective - I was all freaked out about our affinity for grounding into those darn double play balls, but just knowing that others have done the same, collectively, as a team, calms me down a bit. Also, regardless of how poorly we did earlier this season, we're still in contention for the division at this point. And, really, it's not all about the win percentage - just get us to the postseason again, and anything's possible - two wildcard teams have won in the past two years, so it really is all about just gettin to the postseason, and steppin it up once we get that opportunity again. I can practically taste it...

Oh, and Mulder rocks my world. Oh, and Bobby Crosby and Tom Glavine. and...
-o

2004-07-06T21:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day everyone! A few shout outs to some very important children, pre-teens and teens in my life!...

JaS'Intermediate Hula class has advanced to the International Dance Challenge Western Regional Finals to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada between July 31 - August 1st! You go, J - I'm so proud of your hard work, determination and dedication.

MagM celebrated her 7th birthday in June and concluded another successful year of dance classes with a stellar performance at her annual recital. Her recital costume resembled a pair of pants I once owned in high school - yes, the tiger striped ones.

JuS will be celebrating her 7th birthday this weekend and devoted her creative energy to designing her very own invitation cover. She also concluded another successful year of hula classes with an awesome performance at her annual recital.

MarM, once again, outshined everyone else, with her glorious smile and dimples, as she danced her way into the audience's hearts with her moving performance at the annual recital. Maggie and Mary are also currently taking swimming lessons and Mary goes into each lesson with her usual "no fear" attitude, as expected. I think she could wrestle a shark if given the opportunity.

Kirk R. has been invited to participate in this year's Junior National Young Leader's Conference. This prestigious program will bring him to the National Museum of American History, the U.S. Capitol, and our nation's monuments and memorials this Summer! I guess my dream of getting him into Big League Baseball will have to sit on the backburner! He's clearly losing focus.

Kelsey R. has made it into her school district's GATE Program! Woohoo! She needed to score atleast 95%, and she scored 98%! Because the bare minimum is just not enough for our little brainiac!

Baseball News:

Noah Lowry returned to AAA Fresno to get in more innings under his belt, and David Aardsma returned to the minors, just today, to make space on the roster for our LHP Jason Christiansen. I'm glad to have Christiansen back in our arsenal, but I can't wait for the day when we bring up our younger reserves from AAA to come together in the Bigs: Lowry, Aardsma, Kevin Correia, Cody Ransom, Damon Minor, Jason Ellison, Lance Niekro, Todd Linden, Tony Torcato... I'd be happy just seeing Lowry and Ransom getting regular play in the Bigs in the coming year!

I was at the Giants vs. Oakland A's game last Friday, July 2nd. I had awesome Premium Lower Box seats, from two of my coworker/friends, as a birthday gift! Ofcourse, I was seated immediately beside two of the most die-hard A's fans I've ever had the privilege of meeting! I actually really like both ball clubs, but have sworn, in secrecy, to loathe Oakland for their past World Series 'behavior' against the Giants! That night, it was Reuter vs. Redman and it was a bit painful to watch - I'm not all about the speed, but both of these pitchers were - two - of - the - slowest - pitchers - I've - ever - experienced! Anyway, no game could really be bad from section 126, row 24 in SBC park...

BUT... the Giants WIN added so much more to the whole experience. Ofcourse, Barry went opposite to Left-Center, putting us ahead of the A's and it was something to behold. #680 baby! Absolutely perfect swing... There were some ugly A's fans chanting "Let's Go Balco", but for me, it all boils down to respecting the game and being a decent person - First, of all, it really is not about the bulk - It's all about the bat speed baby. And Secondly, despite your belief in a certain subject matter, that type of chanting was just inappropriate, in my humble opinion (But this is comin from the type of person that wouldn't disrespect Sammy Sosa about the alleged corked bat incident, even if the Giants met him at the World Series). I'll be the first to admit that I may be too soft for baseball, though - I still miss our Fall 2001 centerfielder, Calvin Murray, #8... and Shawon Dunston, and David Bell and Andres Galarraga... sigh...

2004-06-07T20:51:00.000-07:00

So much catchin up to do! Let's start with today's win in Colorado. It was the last of a four-game series up in the mile high city and boy does it feel good to win this series. It brings the Giants to 29-28 this season. Onwards, for a four-game series at Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay's skipper, Lou Piniella, claims "we're not in a pennant race, so we're gonna pitch to him (Barry)".

Hitting: Bonds was brought in as a PH in the 7th and was intentionally walked - that's his 43rd IBB - no one else in the bigs has 10. Put that in perspective. My man, Pedro Feliz had a two-homer game today - his 3rd multi-HR game of his career. I swear his form looks completely different than last year. He has seriously put on some muscle mass and looks more solid.

Prospects: Tuesday, June 01 Lance Niekro (1B, 6'3", 213 lbs., 25 y.o.) hit one out of PGE Park in Portland, Oregon last week, when the Giants AAA affiliate, the Fresno Grizzlies visited the Portland Beavers (the SD Padress AAA affiliate). If you've ever been to PGE Park, you'll know that it must have been a mammoth hit to get out of the park, over the fence in Left field, and into the street!

Also, at this same game, before he was called up, Cody Ransom went deep (10 HRs on the season in AAA). Sources tell me that this has been said about him... "Ransom would be one of the top five defensive shortstops in the majors if he ever played." Laurence Miedema of the Mercury News reports on Ransom's capabilities.

2004-05-18T23:38:00.000-07:00

Schmiddtie! My man threw a complete, one-hit, shutout tonight in Chicago! He's got his control and velocity back baby! And thirteen strikes out - woohoo. Offensively, our boys have still got to step up (we only scored one run tonight). These days, any win will do, whether it's by one run or a landslide, I'll take it!

Randy Johnson - this man just absolutely DOMINATES when he's on the mound. He pitched a perfect game against Atlanta, of all teams, with thirteen strikeouts and the last batter he faced, struck out on a 96mph cutter! For a 40-year old man, that is serious velocity and power! I was just so happy to see his teammates so excited for him - I feel like our Giants clubhouse just doesn't have that energy right now...

NEWS: Community Gatepath, the largest nonprofit serving individuals with disabilities in San Mateo County, will celebrate Community Night at SBC Park on Wednesday, June 23, when the Giants take on the Dodgers! It's a 7:15pm start time. The Centerfield Bleacher tickets will be sold for $11.00 each. For more info., feel free to contact info@gatepath.com

2004-05-17T23:38:00.000-07:00

Sad statistic of the day - giants GIDP for Sunday's game = 2. that brings it to 48 double plays for the year, which is ten more than the total number of games they've played so far. David Bush of sfchronicle.com reports..."they're on pace for 205 - the ML record is 174." We're also the only NL team that has not thrown a shutout.

Nen - Damian Esper, a contributor to mlb.com, reports that Nen, once again, was sent home (S. CA) to take a month off from throwing and rehab. Apparently, he still felt pain in his throwing arm after some throwing/catching sessions. Esper has some cool tidbits in his "Odds and Ends" section... I was particularly scared to read about his report that "the giants have not had consecutive losing months since 96, when they were under .500 in each of the final five months in that season"... yikes.

More about Nen... Henry Schulman, Chronicle Staff Writer reports on Nen's passion for the game... ""It's just the passion for the game. I want to go out and play," he said, adding he will fight "until my body tells me I can't do it anymore."

2004-05-14T00:37:00.000-07:00

Brian Murphy of the Chronicle solicited some thoughts about the Giants' pitching rotation in today's Brian Sabean show on KNBR. One of the key things Sabean mentions is how Reuter, Tomko and Hermanson have to get to the point where they can get through 6+ innings. They've consistently been strong for only about 5 innings, which is extremely taxing on our bullpen... Sabean goes on to say that no bullpen, regardless of how strong it is, could handle that load.

Also, Murphy brought up a great point - what do we do about Barry, considering these outstanding numbers: something like 54 walks w/29 intentional this year, so far. Maybe... he should be bumped up to the three-spot and force pitchers to face him in the first inning. Sabean reiterated that regardless of the lineup, Bonds will always be walked, but there may be some flexibility with regards to lining up Grisson, Bonds and Feliz in the future...

My humble opinion... I have always liked Feliz's stuff - his spirit, energy, skills. But, he gets way too 'hungry' with his ABs. It never fails, he will always swing at the first pitch no matter how horrible it looks. The good thing is he absolutely works the count, when he's focused.

2004-05-13T20:54:00.000-07:00

Few notes:

I was at last night's game vs. the Phillies - arrived late but in time to see Pedro Feliz's second homerun which came back to earth, past the halfway mark up the LF bleachers! He'll see more ABs this year, as reported by David Bush, an SF Chronicle staff writer. Happy Birthday Felipe Alou!

Also, our winning Ace, Jason Schmidt hit his 3rd career homerun - the last time a giants pitcher hit a homerun was in September 2003 (Russ Ortiz).

Barry needs his rest - he was definitely not his strong imposing self at the plate last night and his swings/approach appeared really odd and off-balance with every AB.

Vida Blue - I was so excited to meet Vida Blue at my office yesterday afternoon! Absolutely a nice, easy-going, casual guy. He was assisting us with our Disabilities Awareness campaign in the public school system. He was an animated reader and was awesome with the 5th graders who were very receptive to our efforts. A big thank you to Vida!

2004-05-02T23:41:00.000-07:00

Lucky 8 - I've always appreciated Yorvit Torrealba's energy and everything he brings to the game. For someone who hasn't seen much playtime yet, he was immediately HOT in today's game. He hit his first career grand slam with the first pitch he saw today! Then, goes on to hit the game-winning walk-off double in the 11th against the reigning World Championship Marlins. It was a huge win, all-around. And those pesky Marlins stayed in it, to the very end.

Rich Draper, from MLB.com reports that Bonds has 22 intentional walks this season. ..."Taking the bat out of a super-duper-megaslugger like Bonds does make sense. It's not cheating, not illegal. Besides, given an opportunity to swing this season, he has merely hit .463 with 10 homers, a 1.111 slugging percentage, 22 RBIs and a .526 mark over his last 18 games. Putting his walks into perspective, the second-ranking team in the Majors, Atlanta, has 12 intentional free passes..."

Also, MLB.com radio interviewed Felipe Alou recently. Alou reports that Nen has recently thrown the best he has in the past 18 months. Further, he went on to talk about Barry's mental discipline and recalls a stretch of time last season where Barry only received two hittable pitches within a week, and he sent both of those pitches out of the yard...

Community Gatepath All Stars
We didn't take home the win this past week, but we still looked like WINNERS out there! I'm breaking from tradition, to mention this loss, because I can't keep all this PRIDE to myself!

Highlights:
It was her time to Shine - T.H. brought in 3 runs on 3 hits, with 2RBI - But that's not all - She nearly went for the cycle, hitting a single, a double and triple - If we had one more inning of playtime, I'd bet my money on a homerun, given her hitting pace this season!

Offense:
C.C. hit a powerful single in the 5th inning - so powerful, she had enough time to stare at us in the dugout, and chat us up, BEFORE she safely reached base!
2B: Mitch, Teresa, Alex, Patty, John
3B: Teresa, Alex
*No Homeruns tonight, but our pitcher, A.L., nearly hit one out of the park in Left field (unfortunately, it was beautifully relayed in to home plate, preventing him from scoring a run, by a milli-second!).

Defense:
J.H. showed "mad skillz" as he nearly broke the sound barrier, leaping, fully extended (a witness says he was completely horizontal *he was the witness), into the stratosphere, making the play, catching our opponent’s absolutely mammoth hit out towards left centerfield.

Mitch: 2-4 (2B), 1 run
Teresa: 3-4 (2B, 3B), 3 runs, RBI (2)
Alex: 2-4 (2B, 3B), run, RBI (2)
Patty: 2-4 (2B), 2 runs, RBI (2)
John: 3-4 (2B), run, RBI
Nancy: 2-4, RBI
Chris (Pam’s guest): 2-4, RBI
Pam: Our #1 recruiting agent!
Mark (Pam’s guest): 2-3, run
Cathy: 1-3 (Additional defense notes: our Catcher made two crucial plays at home plate, preventing our opponents from scoring two runs!)

2004-05-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

Woohoo - Friday night's 12-9 win over the Marlins was just what we needed! I didn't catch the game at all since I was volunteering at Community Gatepath's Annual Gala fundraiser at the Westin SFO, but rest assured, I was keepin up with the scores via cellphone. Dallimore and Feliz make me a believer again...

Still some concerns, though...sigh...
The Sacramento Bee's Marcos Breton expresses my frustrations well in his article dated Wednesday, 04/28/04, in which he states that the 2004 Giants have been dubbed as "Barry Bonds and the Seven Dwarfs."

"...Ask the Giants about how Bonds is batting near .500 and almost .200 points higher than the next-best hitter in the Giants' lineup, how Bonds' slugging average is higher than that of teammates Neifi Pérez, J.T Snow, Pierzynski and Alfonzo combined, and they get understandably uncomfortable."

2004-04-29T22:47:00.000-07:00

Bonds, Bonds, Bonds #668 baby (Bobby Bonds with 332 career HRs + Barry Bonds' 668 career HRs = 1,000).

Paul Lo Duca on intentionally walking Bonds...
"As a fan, you want to say to your grandkid, I saw the best baseball player -- maybe ever -- and I saw him hit an 800-foot home run," L.A. catcher Paul Lo Duca told Dodgers reporters. "But we come to the ballpark to win. If that's what it takes for us to win, we'll do it."

Today was another horrible loss to the reigning World Championship Florida Marlins at SBC Park (Final 4-3, Marlins), but boy was I glad to hear about Bonds 2-2 afternoon (Single, Intentional Walk, HR, Walk)! I love seeing him get pitches.

I was at last night's game, the last in a 3-series game vs. ATL and it was just incredible to witness how our opponents approach Barry's game. Some advances, right before or during Barry's AB, freeing up a base, and there's no doubt about it - no questions asked - he is intentionally walked. Unbelievable.

Later in the game, by sheer luck, a friend of a friend was able to hook us up with two seats down in the Field Club level behind home plate - sec. 112, row J, seat 10 - that's where I was... Absolutley different perspective down there. The Braves' Wise and our own Neifi Perez were dwarfed by the Super-sized likes of Andruw Jones and Barry Bonds. Marcus Giles looked even smaller. It's way different actually hearing the ball hit the catcher's mitt, hearing the crack of the bat when contact is made. My view was lookin right down the 3B line - a well pulled ball by a Rightie, which ordinarily appears to be a straight line-drive, actually works off the spin of the pitch and has a pretty significant curvepath, before it gets toward 3B. Pretty trippy. I can only dream of experiencing that again.

A few observations: Tomko looked good, real good. He pitched into the 7th, facing three batters in that inning. ATL's DeWayne Wise hit a double to right, scoring a run following Michael Hessman's double to right. Then Rafael Furcal hits a rocket single towards Barry and Hessman advances to 3B. At this exact point, I was at the edge of my seat, convinced that Felipe Alou could not only hear me, but sense my pleading heart, to please please please pull Tomko NOW! Remember, at this point, there are still ZERO Outs in the inning, and we're "ONLY" up 10-4 at the moment (usually, that would be a real good cushion to work with, but I know better from what I've experienced so far, this season!); I swear it felt like eternity just watching and waiting for Alou to move that foot from the top step of the dugout onto the field - I was obsessed with his foot movement.

At long last, movement on to the field. I immediately stood up to give Tomko props - those around me said he didn't 'deserve' a standing ovation, but I was pretty enthusiastic on applauding Alou's intuition and workin quickly to get Tomko out of that bad situation.

Tyler Walker was brought in from the bullpen, and he looked good, nice and solid - confident on the mound. He faced only two batters, but they were good battles - he struck out Marcus Giles swinging.

After that, Scott Eyre was brought in to face J.D. Drew - buh bye (flyout to right). Felix Rodriguez and Matt Herges closed it out (Herges gave up a single to Furcal, who scored a run off of Mark DeRosa's following double). Ahhh, a win nonetheless... they're so rare and precious right now.

Tomorrow will be Kevin Correia on the hill vs. Alameda's own Dontrelle Willis of the Florida Marlins - I predict it will be a good battle. I'm still not too confident in Correia's stuff - he seems to get shaken up easily. But... when he's on, he is ON.

2004-04-27T00:38:00.000-07:00

Losing my religion... It's been tough staying passionate about watching the games but I have to say, I've got alot of good vibes that inspire me to keep the faith about my boys.

Tonight's 3-2 defeat over the Braves was a great boost. Schmidttie was ON! And as much as I love J.T. Snow, and as equally frustrated as I've been about Alfonzo, I have to say that I would not mind seeing Pedro Feliz playin 3rd (or ANYWHERE, for that matter!) regularly. He looks like he's totally changed his game and approach. He gets a little eager and too hungry, sometimes, at the plate, but you have to totally respect his passion and energy. He looks way more robust and solid than his lean, slick physique of last season.

I know it's politically incorrect to say this, but at the rate things are goin right now, I'm thinkin more of our guys could use a little injection of sumtin sumtin for a boost! They look so flat right now. Every one of them (including Barry - and you can't blame him) look so down! I hate to be harsh, but they seriously need some energy pumped into their game.

I was wondering why Alou kept Jerome Williams in Saturday night's game after that line-drive made solid impact with his pitching arm shoulder blade. But we absolutely needed Williams to eat up as many innings as possible with Hermanson's late scratch for Sunday's game.

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...

The Mercury News reported that Victor Conte Jr., the man at the center of a federal steroid investigation, told agents he had furnished steroids to Bonds.

"It's too bad that whoever in the government continues to leak this information is allowed to do it,'' Michael Rains, Bonds' attorney, told the Los Angeles Times. "It indicates to me that this isn't about trying to seek justice. . . . They are still trying to sensationalize the case.''

Bonds has denied taking steroids, as have the other athletes named in the reports. None of them has been charged.

2004-04-21T23:33:00.000-07:00

Three words - After sitting through that absolutely horrendous Padres at Giants game tonight, I have only three words - SABEAN, DO SOMETHING! We were shut out for goodness sake. Ok, so my faith in Aardsma didn't pan out - yet. He was sent down to AAA Fresno today. The optimist in me says "...well, atleast, he wasn't sent down to AA..." I'm still faithful as ever to Schmidttie. My confidence in his comeback is still not shaken. But, I am eager to see Nen again. And I know everyone's gettin on J.T. Snow's case but I have to admit I thoroughly enjoy watching his game, from his swing to his defensive prowess - he has such great form. It's always nice to see Jay Witasick again - no longer a giant but I'll always appreciate his fastball. And I've had good vibes about Jake Peavey and still do. ok, onto some Good News...

Community Gatepath All Stars - "Revenge is a dish best served cold"... and SWEET! Yes, it was sweet revenge as the All Stars had a rematch with our Game 1 opponents, the Etrade SKS Sluggers! Our inaugural game was pretty painful, having been our only loss, thus far. But, Tuesday night, we got right into it, with our bats swinging and showin some GLOVE. They had some power-hitters on their team (including two power lefties and a Barry Bondsian rightie!), but we had bigger gloves, keeping them down to three runs, and we were just hitting to all the right places.

We didn't have our regular lineup, but thanks to our well-connected players, our offense didn't suffer one bit (a HUGE thanks to Pam & Teresa for bringing in some big guns!). Our pitcher, Alex Lin, took home the win again - also, going 3-for-4 with an absolutely mammoth Double in our most offensive 2nd inning.

Some other highlights:

E.Y. , a guest player, almost hit an airplane coming into SFO, when he hit a TRIPLE in the top of the 5th inning;
M.H., and J.C., other guest players, had awesome at-bats, going 4-for-4, bringing in 3 runs a piece;

Now back to the regular lineup... It was a crazy RBI-fest for T.H., N.S. and A.L.! (Teresa also used her smart baserunning skills to bring in our first run in the 1st inning; and, she practically owned the 3rd baseline - by the last inning, Etrade's Shortstop was even backing up the 3rd basemen to prepare for Teresa's power line drives!), Our very own C.C., played 2B last night and sustained a minor injury when a well-hit ball took a mad hop right into her ankle - we don't expect any less of her, though (no pressure, Cathy). And J.R.managed to score a run for every time he got on base.

Thanks, again, to our audience - we always appreciate you! And, a HUGE round of applause to Tuesday night's winning lineup:

J.R.
T.H.
A.L.
N.S.
E.Y.
O.M.
M.H.
P.L.
J.C.
C.C.

Final Score: 18-3, CG All Stars in the WIN column! Woohoo!

2004-04-18T23:44:00.000-07:00

Sunday, Bloody Sunday - My brother-in-law, Marcus, said it best - "It's a hard time to be a Giants fan". Aside from this last series with the Dodgers, overall, I'm feelin like there's definitely a sense of 'mediocrity' in the 2004 Giants (whew... I said it... I can't believe I said it. I take it back).

The Giants were swept by the Dodgers, in our homefield for goodness' sake, for the first time in four years. Un-freakin-believable. And, in a game where Bonds homers twice - sigh - his past few homers have been so crucial - either tying it up, closing the gap, or bringin us ahead. And for what. Absolutely painful. Tomko took a major beating today and I couldn't help but cower down in shame, on his behalf. Everyone kept sayin "this isn't the same Dodgers team" and that we should "watch out for them," but apparently, we were playin like they were the same ol' beatable Dodgers. They just played smart ball and they were hittin us like crazy. And Dave Roberts... and Beltre, Encarnacion and Bradley... and frickin Gagne (his last pitch to Grissom was a 70mph curveball for heaven's sake) - I just watched the last 3 innings in awe. I was absolutely dumbfounded. Bonds kept gettin us back in the race, with his two homers (followed by his initial at-bat, which scored our first run) and the rest of the team couldn't do anything about it. I know Bonds insists that he is not "carrying the team", but I'm sorry, numbers speak louder than words - I know it's early in the season, but the man currently has a .500 batting average with a .638 OBP.

We're 4 games back of the Dodgers in the NL West. What keeps me hopeful and faithful to my boys - the prospects for Dave Aardsma; Bonds seeing more pitches; Jason Schmidt, Neifi Perez and Pedro Feliz. Oh, and Grissom, Durham, Tucker, Hammonds and Pierzynski. Plus, how could I ever lose faith in J.T. Snow. Wait a minute - that's the whole starting lineup, isn't it! I just gotta believe...

Baseball Trivia: This is the fourth time that Bonds and Sosa have had a multi-HR game on the same day. The last time was in Sept. 2001.

On the homefront - Today was MDQ's Christening and reception. Great fun and as usual, Great Food! Miles looks straightup like his dad! Also, my cousin's wife, Virna, announced that she is currently 8 weeks pregnant with their fourth child due ca. November 19. Congratulations everyone!
-o

2004-04-16T21:51:00.000-07:00

Bottom of the 9th, 1 on, 1 out, and it's Gagne vs. Bonds. Absolutely intense. Barry unleashed #662 in Right Centerfield, which was preceded by a mammoth foul ball splash hit into McCovey Cove. I'm just so glad he's seein pitches to hit.

We lost this one by one run (Final 3-2, L.A.), but it was good to see our Ace on the mound again. Props to O. Perez, though. His pitching nearly shut us out. Thank you, Barry!

-o

2004-04-16T16:38:00.000-07:00

Schmidttie baby - It's Jason Schmidt's 2004 debut tonight and I'm so excited! We're currently 1 game back in the NL West

Jonathan Okanes of the Contra Costa Times reports: "The Giants treaded water for the first week and a half of the season without Schmidt. He missed only what was equivalent to two starts, and the Giants are 5-4. His return should be a major boost for the Giants, not only because of what he can do on the mound but because of the peace of mind knowing the most lethal weapon in the starting rotation's arsenal is back.

"Everybody is more relaxed with him back, knowing he will be there every five days," Giants manager Felipe Alou said. "The starting rotation grows taller with him. It's not because the other guys will feel better, but because of having a guy of that stature every five days."

S.F. Pitching probables for this weekend vs. the Dodgers include:
Friday, game 1: Jason Schmidt
Saturday, game 2: Kirk "Woody" Reuter
Sunday, game 3: Two sources say either Jerome Williams or Brett Tomko

2004-04-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

Community Gatepath All Stars - yesterday night was our softball team's return to regular play in the San Mateo Co-Ed League after two weeks w/o any softball games. I'm still nursing the right calf muscle strain but I'm hopeful in getting some playtime by next week. We played the Fiery Daemons, who have always given us a great competitive game in past seasons. Many of our players have great luck at Joinville Field, and despite having to fill in some last-minute slots with reserve players, it all worked out perfectly. It was the game we all dreamed of - down by 5 in the 4th inning and ultimately tying it up in the bottom of the 6th and closing it out with a huge WIN! Absolutely clutch pitching and hitting with RISP (Runners in scoring position) on our end! Our opponents were pretty solid and consistent, offensively, but were pretty lousy at fielding, which worked to our benefit through many plays. I have to give a shout out to last night's lineup:
J.R., Jr. (SS)
T.H.(LF): 5-5, 3B, 5 Runs, 3RBI
A.L. (P): 3-4, 2B(2)
P.H. (2B): 4-4
J.H. (1B): 1-4 :*with a clutch 2B!
N.S. (3B)
Adam D. (sub) (CF): 4-4 *with awesome speed and defensive prowess, catching six balls bombed way out into CenterField! he made it look so easy...
P.L. (RF): a.k.a. "wheels"...
C.C. (C): 1-4, but... the most absolutely clutch hit in the bottom of the 6th to keep us alive!

Defense Notes:
Smoke was coming out of P's glove when she caught an absolute rocket line-drive right to her at 2B; Adam absolutely owned Centerfield, and then some... some acrobatic moves, precision and power-throwing; Nancy made an absolutely crucial catch giving our opponents a FoulOut.

661 baby... - talk about "kayak karma" out on McCovey Cove - what about Larry Ellison catching both HR balls (660 and 661)!? Good for him. And the Houston Astros and San Diego Padres had better simmah down with their negativity and strong attitudes against the SF Giants request to hold a minor celebration at the plate, incl. Willie Mays, if Barry were to hit #660 at their fields - Willie Mays is a Hall of Famer for goodness sake - Let the man do what he wants to do. Don't hate - Appreciate. They'd better recognize... Bad Karma, is all I'm sayin...

Can't wait for this weekend's L.A. Series! Welcome back, Schmidttie!!! He's expected to start on Friday night's game, which will be preceded by a celebration of Barry's #660 and honoring Willie Mays.

2004-04-09T02:08:00.000-07:00

Ouch. I didn't get to finish watching the giants game tonight, but when I saw them bring in Aardsma, I was feelin pretty good & confident that we'd milk Grissom's homer for a sure extra-innings win. I haven't seen enough replays, but from what I did see in the top of the 6th, Bonds was clearly robbed of #660 - props to Payton, though, for the incredible timing (that ball sure looked like it was way above that yellow line, just right off the centerfield fence AND Payton had major air and was fully extended). And what is up with Khalil Greene - craaaazy. I'm definitely gonna keep an eye on that guy. He's definitely gonna give us problems.

A few other Giants tidbits:
- We have got to "unleash" Pedro Feliz and just "let him loose". Mad skills, crazy energy, motivation and enthusiasm, versatility and absolutely clutch ABs;
- I'm still in shock over Neifi Perez's 4-4 night in Houston. He sure is making it easier to be without Rich Aurilia (I still miss Richie, though... Remember, I still miss CF Calvin Murray, #8, from the '01 season. Baseball and sentimentality just don't mesh well);
- I totally called Grissom's homerun. I really feel strongly about him this year - he is gonna shine. Same with Michael Tucker

2004-04-08T19:38:00.000-07:00

I've been down and out for the sfgiants and oakland a's opening week, but i was finally able to sit up and watch most of the game yesterday - game 3 vs. houston astros - clemens vs. bonds. I'm still trying to get over the first strike three call on bonds - way on the outside corner and up until that point, the ref. behind the plate was totally NOT designating previous pitches in that exact same location a strike. frustrating, but boy was it good to see the rocket pitch to bonds in his 2nd AB. Unfortunately, (and per Harold Reynold (ESPN), I think he's gonna see an unbelievable amount of intentional BBs again. clemens was absolutely lit. The Astros will seriously give us a good run this year. I also predict the same of the SD Padres.

I didnt' get to see any of it, but I heard about Dave Aardsma's first outing (and WIN, to boot!) on game 2 vs. the Astros. I've had my eyes on him since he retired 15 of 16 batters he faced in the last College World Series. I really didn't think they would've brought him up this quickly, to the BIG GAME, but boy did he fit right in.

Still nursing the muscle sprain on my right calf, but I'm lookin to get some game time with my company's team, the Community Gatepath All Stars, this coming Tuesday. We're in the CoEd Industrial League for the City of San Mateo and had an absolutely awesome Game 2. I'm also signed up with a CoEd League with the SF Presidio Softball League, but was out for most of the season, except for one game. All for now.
-o