NL West race: September 5, 2010

SDP 76-59 [0-4 in SEPT] 
SFG 75-61 [2-1 in SEPT] (1.5 GB)
COL 72-64 [3-2 in SEPT] (4.5 GB)

MLB.com: Slipping Padres drop 10th straight ballgame

In an attempt to breathe new life into a suddenly reeling ballclub, the Padres turned to the music of Michael Jackson, which echoed through PETCO Park as each San Diego batter stepped to the plate. But even the upbeat tunes of the King of Pop couldn’t snap the Padres out of their recent funk.

San Diego’s season-worst losing streak reached 10 games on Sunday, as the Padres were swept by the Rockies after dropping a 4-2 decision in front of a crowd of 23,250.

Giants vs. Dodgers @8:00 EST

MLB.com: Rockies aid playoff climb by sweeping Padres

Pina: Buster Posey: Baseball’s Most Important Player

Are you just going to ignore the 210 lb Giant squatting in America’s living room?

The steroid era is beginning to close—although how can we ever be 100 percent sure—and those famously associated are aging and rapidly mutating into irrelevance. Those who are actually clean—Derek Jeter is 36, Chipper Jones is 38 and after tearing his ACL looks to have played his last inning, and Ken Griffey Jr. already retired, at the age of 40, in June—won’t be around with hard hats and shovels to help in the rebuilding process.

Posey comes into the league at a time when you’d have to be clinically insane to stick HGH, or whatever undetectable cosmetic drug is now new on the market, in your body. The top shelf prospects coming up from this year forward won’t face the same level of scrutiny as the generation before them. The likes of Joe Mauer and Dustin Pedroia should crawl from the rubble unscathed, but they’re in a very small minority. The sport is just beginning to emerge from an incredibly scandalous and damaging decade; players like Posey are exactly what the sport needs—the talented, young, and undoubtedly clean talents.

In a game that values the statistic, these guys are giving MLB executives all the more reason to market them as the new face of the league. They should be in commercials and made household names as quickly as possible. They’re performing on the field, now they need to be in America’s living room.

NL West race: September 4, 2010

SDP 76-58 [0-3 in SEPT] 
SFG 75-61 [2-1 in SEPT] (2 GB)

MLB.com: Missed chances lead to ninth straight loss

It’s been that kind of stretch for the Padres, who saw their season-high losing skid extend to nine games after dropping a 6-2 decision to the Rockies in front of 26,168 at PETCO Park.

MLB.com: Giants’ late lumber cuts West gap to two

Relying exclusively on power, the Giants belted four home runs, including Juan Uribe’s go-ahead clout in the ninth inning, to escape with a 5-4 victory Saturday night over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

NL Wildcard race: September 4, 2010

PHI 78-58 [4-0 in SEPT] 
SFG 75-61 [2-1 in SEPT] (3 GB)

MLB.com: Phils survive homers to overtake Brewers
MLB.com: Giants’ late lumber cuts West gap to two

NL West race: September 3, 2010

SDP 76-57 [0-2 in SEPT] 
SFG 74-61 [1-1 in SEPT] (3 GB)

MLB.com: Skid reaches eight at hands of Rockies

Jason Giambi and Troy Tulowitzki each hit a two-run homer to lift Colorado to a 4-3 victory over the Padres before a crowd of 21,877 at PETCO Park and hand San Diego its eighth consecutive loss.

MLB.com: Second-half struggles continue for Zito

Known for performing impressively in the season’s second half, Zito lost his seventh consecutive decision. And the Giants began their crucial three-city, 10-game trip with a misstep as they fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2.

NL Wild Card race: September 3, 2010

PHI 77-58 [3-0 in SEPT] 
SFG 74-61 [1-1 in SEPT] (3 GB)

MLB.com: Hamels’ gem helps Phillies knock out Crew
MLB.com: Second-half struggles continue for Zito

Isaacs: A personal view of a ‘Shot Heard ‘Round the World’

Stan “who may be the only reporter who covered that game for a New York paper who’s still alive” Isaacs remembers…

And then there was the laughable promotion by MasterCard in 2002 to select the greatest moments in baseball history. MasterCard was more interested in numbers than in fashioning an authentic list. So it was that most of the events people voted on were not moments; they occurred mostly in the post-television age; and were events likely to draw votes in certain quarters, i.e. listing Ichiro Suzuki’s outstanding 2001 rookie season as a way of attracting votes from Japan. Yes, Japanese citizens were eligible to vote.

The Thomson-Branca moment did not make the final top ten. Cal Ripken’s feat of playing in the most consecutive games (that’s a lot of “moments”) was voted No. 1. Baseball was made to look ridiculous anew for selling out to a commercial entity.

As the contest drew to an end, the MasterCard people sent Thomson and Branca on a round of radio talks to promote the contest. That night they were at Shea Stadium to appear on a Mets’ pre-game show. I was in the Mets clubhouse and watched Branca, a regular visitor to the Mets because manager Bobby Valentine was his son-in-law, leading Thomson around, introducing him to players.

I was in Valentine’s office where the talk got around to the MasterCard promotion. Branca vented his anger. “It’s ridiculous that our moment is not high in the running.” he said. “Was Suzuki a moment? Was Ripken a moment?”

I could hardly suppress a smile. Here was Branca—the victim of a day that has lived in infamy for him, for the Dodgers and their fans—angry that his “moment” was not being awarded with the votes of the fans. Ah, baseball.

NL Wildcard race: September 2, 2010

PHI 76-58 [2-0 in SEPT] 
SFG 74-60 [1-0 in SEPT] (2 GB)

MLB.com: Utley’s slam lets Phils break free

SF Chronicle: Tim Lincecum’s struggles continue

No wins, five losses and a 7.82 ERA. That was Lincecum’s August after he allowed four runs over six innings in a 6-0 loss to the Diamondbacks, only the third shutout by Arizona pitching all year.
...
There was an odd twist to this defeat, the notion that Arizona hitters might have gotten some extra help from Lincecum and Posey tipping pitches and/or location.
...
After the homer, Giants TV cameras showed Drew in the Diamondbacks dugout demonstrating Lincecum’s delivery and explaining something to teammates, including LaRoche. Later, broadcasters showed Drew standing on second base appearing to send signals to LaRoche at the plate.

The first shot implied Lincecum was doing altering his motion to betray pitch selection. The second implied that Posey was tipping signs or location.

Either way, the D’backs hammered Lincecum some more.

Or they were just mocking the Giants’ orange unis (ugly then, ugly now).

Former Major League Baseball player Cal McLish dies at 84

Farewell, Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish. Each and every one of you.

Cal McLish, an Anadarko native who played 15 seasons in the majors and had the longest full name in MLB history, died Thursday morning. He was 84.

His full name was Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish, a name his father gave him when his mother told John McLish that he could name his son.

“There were eight kids in the family, and I was No. 7, and my dad didn’t get to name one of them before me. So he evidently tried to catch up,” McLish told The Oklahoman in 1999.

MLB.com: Votto ends Reds’ wild win over Giants

A seemingly smooth getaway day became a wild adventure for the Reds as they blew a nine-run lead but escaped with a 12-11 win in 12 innings over the Giants at AT&T Park on Wednesday.

Joey Votto slugged two home runs, but those were a distant memory come the 12th. It was Votto’s slow rolling RBI single through the right side that scored Miguel Cairo with the winning run.

Another 10-1 lead blown, although the Reds (who gave up 38 runs in the three game series) managed to hold on and win the game.  Giants ace reliever Barry Zito pitched the 12th and took the loss.

Weird 24 hours (Phils/Astros last night, Rockies/Braves, this one).

Kinney, Hodge Earn 50-Game Suspensions

Two players tested positive for an amphetamine and earned 50-game suspensions.

The Kinney in question is Matt Kinney, who spent parts of five years in the majors, most recently 2005. The Hodge is Mets’ minor leaguer Lachlan Hodge.

Marlins Let Cody Ross Go to Giants on Waiver Claim

Cody, Cody: We’ve all been sheltered from the cold…till now.

The Giants got center fielder Cody Ross from the Marlins, who allowed him to go via a waiver claim on Sunday. It was unclear immediately if the Giants claimed Ross because they wanted him or because they wanted to block him from going to the Padres, who needed a center fielder after Tony Gwynn Jr.‘s injury.

The Marlins apparently were happy to let Ross, and the remaining $750,000 of his salary, go to the Giants. They recalled Cameron Maybin, who will presumably become their everyday center fielder.

The Giants did not have a need for Ross, because center fielder Andres Torres has been one of their most productive players, hitting .283 with 12 homers and 49 RBI. However, Torres has struggled against left-handed pitchers, so the right-handed hitting Ross could platoon.

Posey’s fundamental mistakes

Thank God the Giants have that well known catcher Mike Krukow behind the mike to point them out.

Baggarly: Suddenly San Francisco Giants reeling and getting rocked

Chuck Barry and you end up with too much panda business.

The Giants have lost three consecutive games for the first time since they broke a seven-game slide July 3. And not to suggest they are panicking, but their manager already is using the dreaded “there’s a lot of baseball left” cliché.

“We’re back to where we were a couple months ago,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “We came out of that. We’ll come out of this. “... There’s a lot of baseball left. This team has been resilient. But we’re going to have to bounce back here really quick.”

...The Giants have made concessions to their defense all season in search of more run production, but for all the joking about water buffaloes in the outfield, their lack of athleticism hasn’t hurt them too badly.

But they have committed at least one error in five consecutive games—seven overall. Third baseman Pablo Sandoval is noticeably slower than a year ago, and shortstop Juan Uribe isn’t blessed with great range, either.

...Should the Giants play with a little anger?

“Oh, sure, I think you should play mad,” Bochy said. “But under control. You can get in that press mode, and we’ve got a couple guys going hard now.”

MLB: Timely lunch may have brought Burrell to SF

Didn’t Burroughs write a book about this?

Pat Burrell’s renaissance with the Giants could be just another example of the maxim that timing is everything.

Four days after the Rays designated Burrell for assignment on May 15, the Giants began a two-game series at Arizona. Burrell, who happens to make his offseason home in the Phoenix-area community of Scottsdale, had lunch during the Giants’ visit with center fielder Aaron Rowand, his former Philadelphia teammate, and first baseman-outfielder Aubrey Huff, a contemporary of his at the University of Miami.

On May 29, the Giants signed Burrell to a Minor League contract. They brought him to the Majors from Triple-A Fresno on June 4, and since then, he has helped stimulate San Francisco’s offense.

Asked if he and Huff lobbied Giants management to sign Burrell, Rowand said with mock gravity, “I’m not privileged to divulge that information.”

Bobby Thomson, who hit the ‘shot heard ‘round the world’ home run for the Giants, dies at 86

The man who hit the most famous home run in baseball history is gone.

Bobby Thomson, whose “shot heard ‘round the world” capped a best-of-three playoff and the Giants’ miracle comeback to win the 1951 National League pennant over the Dodgers, died Monday night at his home in Savannah, Georgia. He died peacefully according to his daughter Megan Thomson Armstrong. He had been in declining health for years. He was 86.

Of baseball’s historic walk-off home runs - Bill Mazeroski’s in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, Joe Carter’s in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series, Carlton Fisk’s in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series - Thomson’s shot off of Ralph Branca into the left-field seats of the Polo Grounds on Oct. 3, 1951, will always be regarded as the granddaddy of them al. The dramatic blast capped the Giants’ incredible charge to the pennant after they had trailed the Dodgers by 13 1/2 games as late as Aug. 11. Beginning on Aug. 12, the Giants won 16 straight games and went 37-7 down the stretch to force a tie with the Dodgers at season’s end. In the playoff series that ensued, the Giants won the first game, 3-1, on a two-run fourth-inning homer by Thomson off Branca and the Dodgers came back to win the second game, 10-0, behind the six-hit pitching of Clem Labine.

Baggarly: Huff credits Burrell for his blossoming as Huff Daddy

Pat the uhh, laughable bat.

You knew Huff’s next story about Burrell would be good. He prefaced it by saying, “Awww, I’m sure Pat won’t care if I tell this.”

“After two weeks at Miami, I wanted to go home,” Huff said. “So my mom flies out, trying to convince me to stay. I was living with two seniors and they ragged me, too. I just didn’t understand all this baseball ragging nonsense. She’s in my room one night and I’m sitting on my bed and she’s telling me to give it another two weeks.

“Anyway, there’s a knock on the door, and before I can even get off the bed, Pat comes barging in with a six-pack in his hand, dripping wet, buck naked.

“So I jumped up and shut the door. Coming from Texas, these things didn’t happen. I said, ‘See what I’m dealing with here, mom?’

“She just started laughing and said, ‘Actually, Aubrey, that’s pretty darn funny.’

“I thought, ‘My God, if my mom can laugh at this, why can’t I?’ “

Tim Lincecum: “I can’t keep searching. I’ve just gotta go out and pitch.” | Extra Baggs

On going back to his previous windup:

“That wasn’t really a factor other than wrapping your head around doing too many things to fix things. That’s what I’ve been doing the last few outings. It’s getting back to simplifying things and trying to be as optimistic as possible.”

“I’ve become a big thinker. That’s just the way I am. Brain never stops working. You start focusing on the wrong things, or the negatives and they start to manifest and build up on each other.

“I can’t keep searching. I’ve just gotta go out and pitch.”

[better].

San Francisco Giants close to completing trade for Jose Guillen

According to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes, the Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants are close to completing a trade for Jose Guillen. Rojas adds that if the trade is completed in time, Guillen will play Friday versus the San Diego Padres.

...One of the bigger problems with Guillen is the personality that he brings to the table, so buyer beware. Last week, an executive close to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated said “no contender” should take Guillen because his personality and clubhouse reputation may be the second worst to Milton Bradley.

Guillen, 34, was hitting .255/.314/.429 this season for the Royals.

Thanks to Gabriel’s Son, Len.

EVT: Scottsdale baseball bar memorabilia heads for auction

The former owner of a popular Scottsdale steakhouse once known as “The Best Baseball Bar in America” is ready to let go of many items that once covered its walls and paid homage to legends of the national pastime who frequented the spot.

Gwen Briley, whose late husband Charlie Briley owned the Pink Pony Steakhouse and Saloon in Old Town Scottsdale for 60 years, has sold the business, liquidating its contents.

...

Among the items featured in the auction: watercolor caricatures of the players, baseball personalities and Scottsdale’s early residents who were regulars inside “The Pony,” rendered by Walt Disney artist Don Barclay. There’s also vintage and autographed photographs, a Chicago Cubs jacket that broadcaster Harry Caray gave to Charlie and Gwen Briley, a San Francisco Giants jacket given to the Brileys by former Giants owner Horace Stoneham, a game-worn Randy Johnson Arizona Diamondbacks jersey, the wooden wine barrels once inside the bar and a copper moonshine still Charlie Briley brought from Scottsville, Ky., where he was born.

Farewell, Pink Pony.

SportTicker: Giants acquire infielder Fontenot from Cubs

The San Francisco Giants looked only as far as the visitor’s clubhouse to add infield depth, acquiring Mike Fontenot from the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night.

Fontenot was still in Cubs gear just more than two hours before game time, ready to make the short walk across the ballpark - all of about 500 feet. He was available for the Giants off the bench.

San Francisco sent speedy Class-A center fielder Evan Crawford to the Cubs, who weren’t sure yet at which level Crawford would play.

MLB.com: Giants pick up infielder Fontenot from Cubs

Crawford, 22, was the Giants’ ninth-round selection in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft. He was hitting .255 with four home runs, 29 RBIs and 24 stolen bases in 109 games for San Francisco’s Class A Augusta affiliate.

Kazoo record at Cubs game turns out to be a dud

Kazoophony, indeed.

The Giants attempted a Guinness World Record on Monday with 7,000 kazoo-playing fans performing “Take Me Out To the Ballgame” during the Seventh Inning Stretch.

The idea was hatched in conjunction with Jerry Garcia Tribute Night on the 15th anniversary of the death of the Grateful Dead frontman. Celebrity Deadhead Bill Walton led the effort, along with Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, who were perched atop of the Cubs dugout.

The promotion turned out to be a dud, since the only kazoos anyone could hear were the ones from Walton and Hart, who played theirs into microphones.

The BOOK Blog: Tango: Backlash against blogger’s stance on service time

Murray Chass: Posing as a blogger blogging about Posey or something.

Blogger Murray Chass takes it on the chin, and, more importantly, does what all good bloggers do: they give a platform to those who disagree with him.

The issue is not that teams are manipulating service time to the effect that they lose out on a handful of games in 2010 so that they get a full season of games in 2016 from Buster Posey and other similar players.  No, the issue is that the teams have not found it necessary to publicly tell its fanbase that.

Given the outcry against Chass, it seems that the fanbase understands the tradeoff of a few games in 2010 for a full season in 2016.  The fans are… smart!  So, why can’t the MLB front offices simply come out and… acknowledge the intelligence of its fanbase and… agree with them!

Can’t they simply say: “You know, I know, and Buster knows that he was ready to start here in 2010.  But, we also want him to play here in 2016.  The CBA allows that, the MLB and MLBPA negotiated in good faith for that CBA to allow that, and the players accept that they gained elsewhere in order to give that concession to MLB teams.  So, we are leveraging that to the benefit of this team and its fans.  The cost to Buster is made up elsewhere in that CBA.”

Mitchell: Jim Rice, Andre Dawson and that Other Guy

A Taste of Jack Clark…

This player is Jack Clark who nobody thinks should be in the Hall of Fame.  Clark was a very good player who had trouble staying healthy, played for a lot of different teams and hit everywhere he went.  His career counting numbers are diminished by injury as he only played in 150 games or more three times.  Additionally, he played all but the last two years of his career, when he was with the Red Sox, in parks that were unfriendly to right handed power hitters.  Clark’s legacy with the San Francisco Giants, the team with which he started and played more than half his career, is confusing because after he was traded, he was replaced as the best hitter on the team by the similarly named Will Clark.  The Giants enjoyed almost twenty years of great offense in the middle of their lineup provided by Clarks, but it was from two different players.

Because Clark played for many different teams, stayed in small media markets until the end of his career, did not hit for a very high batting average, and other than during his stint with the Cardinals was never in the post-season, he is an easy player to overlook.  However, he was great hitter who still ranks 45th, coincidentally in a tie with the aforementioned Will Clark, for career OPS+ among players with 7,500 or more at bats.  He was certainly a better hitter than Rice or Dawson, but Clark did not last as long or stay as healthy as either of them.  Clark, despite being at least as good as Rice and Dawson with the bat, is an archetypal member of the Hall of Very Good, but not a real candidate for Cooperstown.  Clark is rightfully on the outside looking in to the Hall of Fame, which only underscores how strange it is that two of his contemporaries, who were no better, are in.

Hal Lanier has fond memories of Willie Mays

This trumps last week’s…“Hugues Aufray has fond memories of Bob Dylan”.

A mere 11 years younger than Mays, Lanier later became a teammate and close friend of the Hall of Fame outfielder with the San Francisco Giants.

“My first meeting with Willie in the Giants’ organization was in spring training 1962,” Lanier said. “The first word out of his mouth was “Maxie!” I don’t think he knew my first name.”

Lanier said Mays was generous with passing along his baseball acumen. “Willie really took care of me when I first came up to the major leagues. He sat me down and told me what pitchers threw ahead in the count, behind in the count,” said Lanier. “Even when I was with the Yankees and he was with the Mets at that time, he still got me things other players didn’t get.”

When Lanier cracked his first major league home run early in his career, Mays made a postgame remark that the Giants had added yet another power hitter to their potent lineup.

“I think he jinxed me,” Lanier said with a chuckle. “I only hit one more the rest of the season and not many more after that.”

Mays ranks fourth on the all-time list with 660 home runs. Lanier finished with eight.

SF Giants to add Rich Aurilia and Shawn Estes to Wall of Fame

Enough with this Tommy Toms tomfoolery! Let him in!

On Saturday, July 31, the San Francisco Giants will honor two of the team’s legends—Rich Aurilia and Shawn Estes.

The two players will be added to the Giants Wall of Fame, which is located outside the ballpark on King Street between Second and Third Streets.

Aurilia, who spent 12 seasons with the Giants (1995-2003, 2007-2009), had a .275 BA with 232 doubles, 143 home runs, and 574 RBI. The infielder was also an All-Star in 2001 and is currently a Giants Analyst for CSN.

Lefty pitcher Estes played for the Giants for seven seasons (1995-2001) where he earned a 64-50 record with a 4.25 ERA. He was an All-Star in 1997.

With the addition of Aurilia and Estes, the Giants Wall of Fame will contain bronze plaques of 46 Giants legends. Those who have been honored have played at least nine seasons for San Francisco or five seasons with at least one All-Star selection as a Giant.

WEEI: Jim Rice on The Big Show: Red Sox need hitting

It’s menace melodrama thrilled with mighty voting mystery and suspense…SEE…“JOURNEY INTO TEH FEAR!”

Talking about the chances of players linked to steroids, Rice said: “With Roger [Clemens] ... steroids or not, he’s a teammate. He’s going to be my friend regardless. But I think anytime that you come out and say that — when they have evidence, that’s when I have a different understanding. But right now, I don’t have any understanding at all. You’re going by hearsay. I actually want to see the results.

“But I think it has a lot to do with upcoming guys right now, with the writers and what they think because they’re the ones that are voting. It’s going to be tough to get guys in there when you know that their time is coming up when you say, ‘Hey, this guy was in the scandal.’ Here’s the thing I think we’re running into right now. Bonds was a Hall of Famer before he was taking all these enhanced drugs. Maybe he was, we don’t know.”

As for former teammate Dwight Evans’ chances, Rice was not optimistic. “I don’t know. I don’t think so,” Rice said. “I think it has a lot to do with the guys talking about his impact. Just sitting there, I’m still a rookie, you talk about guys, you’re talking about certain guys — Dwight’s name came up and they were talking about impact. Was Dwight an impact on the Red Sox team? Was he an impact on the league? You go by numbers and then you have to look at longevity. ... I’m just glad that I’m not in a situation where I’ve got to vote on guys like that.”

As for the Red Sox’ needs at the trade deadline, Rice said the team should focus on hitting. “For me, I’m going to go out and get an everyday ballplayer. Pitchers only pitch every fifth day, and he’s only going to throw about 103 pitches. You have guys right now, but you’re bringing pitchers in sort of in the midst of this swing right now. It’s pretty tough. ... I don’t think it’s the pitching, I think it’s the hitting more than anything with the Red Sox.”

Brian Wilson fined $1,000 for orange shoes

Minutes ago, closer Brian Wilson was sitting by his locker using a black marker to color half of the orange shoes he wore in the All-Star Game and in saving last night’s win. The league fined Wilson $1,000 for wearing non-conforming shoes and was told that half of each shoe had to be black.

...

The American League did not complain about the shoes at the All-Star Game, but Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez did. He called them “too flashy.”

Wilson’s response was pointed and hilarious. “Too flashy. I didn’t know that’s in the rulebook. Oh it’s not in the rulebook. The fact that he thinks these shoes throw 97 to 100 with cut might be a little far fetched. I guess we should have these checked as performance-enhancing shoes.”

Air Sharpies, he calls them.

San Francisco Giants Pitcher Tim Lincecum joins Red Bull

It’s better than Golden Leaf!

San Francisco Giants pitcher and a two-time winner of the Cy Young award for the best pitchers in Major League Baseball, Tim Lincecum, has joined the athlete roster of top performers at Red Bull.

He already has a license to blow hitters away and by joining the Red Bull family, Tim Lincecum also now has a license to take flight. While in LA to play the Dodgers, Lincecum christened his Red Bull wings by stepping into a wind tunnel at Universal CityWalk for a few aerobatic manoeuvres.

In officially announcing his partnership with Red Bull, the two-time defending National League Cy Young award winner had this to say. “I’ve always been impressed by the innovative spirit of Red Bull and how they push the limits. I look forward to putting my new wings to use both on and off the field.”