OT: SF Giants

[6025]

My favorite baseball player of all time is Willie Mays, who only won a single World Series championship way back in 1954 when the Giants were still playing in the Polo Grounds. No one will probably bump him from being the best Giant, but with all the player movement and all, and Barry Bonds being a roider, I have to think that to Giant fans that Bochy is probably right next to Mays as the 2nd best Giant (beating out Big Mac). It would be hilarious when Bochy gets elected into the HOF if he did pick the SD logo on his plaque cap, though.

Inductees no longer get to choose, it's up to the Hall to choose. This is because Wade Boggs had a clause in his contract to choose the Devil Rays cap when he signed with Tampa Bay. Besides that, the Padres wouldn't deserve it anyway, they fucked up firing him, just like they always fuck everything up. One of the worst run FOs in baseball ever.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

What a great team. Great series. Great manager. Great final game with a ton of drama.

Time to call the Giants a dynasty.

Baseball? What's baseball?

:sigh:

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

Yeah, Bochy subscribes to the role pitching that every other manager subscribes to, but in 1998 he also had Hoffman who was 53-54 in save opportunities that year. Can't argue with those results.

And I don't recall Stewart "forcing" pitchers to pitch all 9 innings that year. Kevin Brown threw a couple of complete game shutouts and Ashby had that famous 72-pitch two hit CG, but other than those two they played the same brand of baseball all year - get to the 7th, give it to Wall, Miceli, then Hoffy in the 9th.

And don't forget that he pulled the Bumgarner routine with Kevin Brown against the Braves and it totally backfired.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

And what's "baseball"? LOL! When I was young, I could have pretty much given you the name - and uniform number - of just about every player in MLB. My nickname in High School was "Stats". Today...I couldn't name 2 players, on ANY team, in all of baseball.

Combination of OldMarine and Den60.

"You kids, get off my lawn!! We'll never maaaaake it...."

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

. I feel kind of empty regarding the baseball world. The Padres are pretty far removed from being a part of it.

Fixed.

[Bolt-O]

Inductees no longer get to choose, it's up to the Hall to choose. This is because Wade Boggs had a clause in his contract to choose the Devil Rays cap when he signed with Tampa Bay. Besides that, the Padres wouldn't deserve it anyway, they fucked up firing him, just like they always fuck everything up. One of the worst run FOs in baseball ever.

Technically, they didn't fire him, but they didn't want to pay him either, so they let him shop his services and let him off his contract. I don't disagree about the Padres front office from back then until the newest group of ownership, and maybe they are on the right track. Its tough to care about the local team when they can't realistically compete in free agency and can't hold onto guys that you can follow for a career on one team like you would with Tony Gwynn. If they catch lightning in the bottle someday with a run at the WS, I'll be on the bandwagon, but I'll spend my time in caring for a sports team with the Chargers.

[Boltx]

I only watched the World Series and a few other playoff games. Only because the Giants were playing. If its them, Dodgers, Padres and now Rockies the family will watch the games.

BTW, thought you didn't like baseball?

[6025]

Technically, they didn't fire him, but they didn't want to pay him either, so they let him shop his services and let him off his contract. I don't disagree about the Padres front office from back then until the newest group of ownership, and maybe they are on the right track. Its tough to care about the local team when they can't realistically compete in free agency and can't hold onto guys that you can follow for a career on one team like you would with Tony Gwynn. If they catch lightning in the bottle someday with a run at the WS, I'll be on the bandwagon, but I'll spend my time in caring for a sports team with the Chargers.

Bochy had one year left. They (Alderson and Moores) met him for dinner and said they would be ok if he shopped elsewhere. That's essentially firing him, who worth their salt would come back after being treated like that? (well, Towers did after going thru the same thing but he's not Bochy). It was a pissing contest that Alderson initiated. He did it to Towers and tried it with Bochy, who was having none of that shit, especially since they forced him to fire Flannery. I'll never forgive Moores for hiring that blowhard and Alderson because he came in, shit all over the place, and left.

How satisfying it must be for Bochy to actually work with an organization that knows what they're doing, and being able to win three rings WITH Flannery. The Padres organization were punked and with the exception of the Lucchino years have always been a two-bit bush league operation.

[oneinchpunch]

BTW, thought you didn't like baseball?

I don't. I like the world series/playoffs though if it involves a team that friends or family root for. Then I get to live the ups and downs with them. I root for the people I know to have their team win. Which is why I said Giants, Dodgers, Padres or Rockies.

[thelightningwill]

Yeah, Bochy subscribes to the role pitching that every other manager subscribes to, but in 1998 he also had Hoffman who was 53-54 in save opportunities that year. Can't argue with those results.

And I don't recall Stewart "forcing" pitchers to pitch all 9 innings that year. Kevin Brown threw a couple of complete game shutouts and Ashby had that famous 72-pitch two hit CG, but other than those two they played the same brand of baseball all year - get to the 7th, give it to Wall, Miceli, then Hoffy in the 9th.

Yea, if only Bochy "subscribed" to this boring brand of baseball, I would still be watching baseball. But, unfortunately, he and others, because of their success at winning games, have changed baseball for the worse. It's not just the fact that starting pitchers pitch less, but that starting fielders and hitters field and hit less. They take days off when they aren't hurt.

I still watch the Padres, but I don't watch anybody else - unless you count the Padres' opponents. And, even then, I don't really pay attention. It's background noise.

I just looked up some stats.

We had 14 complete games in 1998.

By comparison, the team that just won the World Series this year had seven.

Kevin Brown and Andy Ashby averaged about 7 innings per start in 1998.

Again, by comparison, the top two pitchers from this year's champs got about 6.3 innings per start.

[thelightningwill]

Then don't watch it. Hate that pitchers don't pitch all nine innings???......when is the last time you watched baseball. Pre- free agency? Then again it's right up there with less football players and making them play both ways.

I don't watch it. Last time I watched a game that didn't involve the Padres? I remember the Twins-Braves World Series. When was that? Way early 90s? Late 80s?
Free agency had already started - Jack Morris, the Twin, not the Tiger, was the big star. Think he made it into the 10th inning. Was a great Series.
So, not pre free agency. Pre - boring.

Yes, great comparison to my feelings about football. Perhaps I like to watch the best all-around athletes and not so much guys who are really good at a specific thing. Or maybe I'm into watching great athletes in battles of stamina.

Or maybe none of that is true. It's just shit I like. And baseball, right now, ain't shit I like.

[Savage Lizard]

Anybody but the West Yankees (aka Dodgers).