Perhaps Something

From Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:

nothing: one of no interest, value, or consequence

That's what Brian Sabean did. Squat. Diddely. Cero. Nada. Zilch. There are two ways to look at this trade deadline fiasco. The first way is to place all the blame squarely on B.S.'s shoulders. He was the one who gave all of the Giants' "veterans" expensive contracts. Some players who were shuffled around the league today probably weren't of the same caliber, but had shorter or less expensive (or both) contracts. Morgan Ensberg, a Pedro-esque player but with a 1-year $4.35 million contract, was traded to the Padres. Pedro, a 1-year $5.1 million player, was traded nowhere. Sabean also gave Matt Morris a 3-year $27 million contract, and although this year's pitcher market was quite depleted and some contending teams needed to round out the back of their rotation, no one came a'knocking. You could look at it another way.

Just when I wrote that, I checked out McCovey Chronicles, and there are comments that Matt Morris was traded to the Pirates for Rajai Davis and another player. I'll report more on this when I dig up some details.

Rajai Davis is another speedy outfielder. He bats right-handed (used to be a switch-hitter) and gets on base consistently. He could be an okay player on the Giants, but he adds to the plethora of outfielders. Unless these outfielders are off the team somehow, the outfield would consist of: Bonds, Winn, Roberts, Ort, Freddie, and Schierholtz. Someone's got to go.

Some details on the trade:

• Giants dump nearly $10 million to spend this year.
• Giants don't have to send any money to the Pirates.
• Giants get one additional player TBA later.

Since Morris is now a Pirate, the Giants will need a pitcher for Saturday's game and every other 5-6 days. Russ Ortiz? Is he healthy enough to pitch on such short notice? Dirty Sanchez? He's been having some problems lately as a reliever. Maybe they'll call someone up from AAA. Or Timmy could pitch his days and on Morris' days. He and his arm are more than capable.

BEAT LA

Lowry (11-7, 3.40 ERA) versus Penny (13-1, 2.51) tonight. Hopefully the Giants offense keeps it up tonight, but Brad Penny probably will not make it easy pitch it back to where it was the first half of the season. Oblivion. Happy thoughts, now.

I'm not really sure if Barry is playing tonight. I've read inklings he might not, but there was an off-day on Monday.

Go Lowry, go Giants, BEAT LA!

RIP Bill Walsh

Today, the 49ers organization and the sport of football have lost a truly great man. Bill Walsh, one of the most innovative and greatest coaches ever in the sport, passed away at the age of 75 after a 3 year battle with leukemia. He was known as "The Genius," known for the creation of the West Coast offense, and especially known for the resurrection of the San Francisco 49ers. He took a team that had won only 2 games in 1978, and created a Super Bowl Champion in 3 seasons. He had an keen eye for recognizing talent. He took a player's talent and elevated it and the player to the next level. He motivated them and pushed for more. He molded Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, and other great players, all of whom became beloved 49er legends. With these players, Walsh took the team to 3 Super Bowl victories. He put San Francisco back on the map and re-established one of the greatest football franchises.

So here's to Bill Walsh. We'll dedicated the 6th one to you.

The Dilemma

With Barry hitting only 754 during the homestand and the looming series with the Evils and the Padres, the Giants are stuck between a rock and a hard place: should Barry play, or should he sit to increase the chances of hitting 755 and 756 at home? If he plays less than 2 games during the entire 6 game road trip, Arizona and other wild card teams would be extremely unhappy. If he plays more than 2 games, it's much more likely that 755 and 756 end up in the hands of the malicious cannibals they call Dodgers/Padres fans. Here's what Steve Kline had to say:

"He could hit it in our bullpen, and one of us can catch it and give the ball back to him," San Francisco reliever Steve Kline said. "I'm afraid some Dodger fan might jump down there and try to stab me. Who knows what kind of weapons they might carry. They're rough."

Here's the list of options Barry and the Giants could take:

• Who cares about the other contending teams? Sit him out the entire trip.
• Play him. He'll bunt every time up though.
• Play him. Hit some dingers, preferably in the general direction of Giants fans.
• Vanish. Mysteriously go on the bereavement list for 6 days.

I think I'll go with option 3. Even Evils and Padres fans can appreciate some history, right? Or am I expecting too much from them?

It Was Nice While it Lasted

It seemed like only yesterday that the Giants were on a four game winning streak. Oh right, it was yesterday. I guess I can't complain, seeing as

• they finished the homestand on a 4-3 record
• they came back from 2 games down to tie the series with the Braves
• they took 2 of 3 from the Marlins
• the offense (finally) ignited and got 2-out-hits
• Matt Cain did not lose
• Barry hit 754
• Sweeney moved into 2nd on the all time pinch hit list with 151
• Mays Field actually felt alive
• the 1987 NLC team ceremony was awesome

A few things could have gone better

• Matty Mo got 8 strikeouts, but got tagged with 6 earned runs
• it doesn't seem like he has trade value anymore
• Blownetiz induced a DP ball after he walked Bengie. He made it out of the inning unscathed. I wanted to throw a doughnut at him (Blownetiz, not Bengie).
• Despite winning 4 games in a row, the Giants are still 13 games under .500. How's that for some irony.

And, the burning question that remains

• Did this 4 game winning streak and the newfound offense turn some teams' heads this way? Dave Roberts raised his BA by 40+ points in a mere 2 weeks, (insert contending team here)! You know you want these veterans!
  

754

History


In


The


Making

Discrepancy

The Giants-Marlins series begins tonight at 7:15 with Zito on the mound. Um, yeah, Zito. It's funny how the excitement factor drops so dramatically from Timmy's starts to Zito's. At least for me anyway, but many Giants fans are disappointed in his performance so far. He had a strong start against the Cubs, but then reverted into first-half form against the Brewers. In almost all of his starts this season, his fastball's velocity dropped (low to mid 80s) and his normally potent curveball became batting practice. Please, please, please, Zito, please be the second half pitcher that you allegedly are.

Maybe I lied about the excitement factor for this particular series. Guess who's back?


It's Mando Time!


It's Marlin Mando Time!

He gave up the game-winning, walk-off, 3-run HR to Eric Byrnes last night. Check out the sequence of events:


Thank God for Randy Messenger

Bonds will be in the lineup tonight. He hasn't faced Rick Vanden Hurk, a rookie, before, but he can take advantage of that. If the game's close enough, maybe he'll face Armando and hit one off him. In any case, I can't wait to hear the crowd when Mando takes the mound. I have a pretty good idea of what it will sound like.

Thanks to Natto at McCovey Chronicles for the Mando pic.

Gooden Back to the Bay?

From Pree on HoopsWorld:

According to an informed league source, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors have recently had discussions about a possible Drew Gooden trade...
The Warriors possess a $9.9-million traded player exception that they received in the Draft Night deal for Jason Richardson. Should they send the TPE to Cleveland for Gooden, the Cavaliers will immediately be freed from Gooden's $6.4-million salary for next season, increasing the likelihood of bringing back their own free agents, Varejao and Pavlovic.

Upside:

• Gooden brings the much-needed rebounding to the Warriors. In the 06-07 season with the Cavs, he grabbed about 8.5 boards per 28 minutes.
• He's a Bay Area product.
  
• He's a post player. Given the streaky 3-point shooting that makes the Warriors so fun (and painful) to watch, it'd be a welcome addition to dump the ball to Gooden for some easy baskets.

Downside:

• He doesn't have a Foyle-esque contract, but it is quite hefty. He makes $8 million a year for the next 2 years.
• Despite being a good rebounder and a 6'10", 250 lb. body, he does not block shots (0.3/game) or play good defense. The Cavs gave up 100.5 pts/100 possessions when he was on the floor, and only 99.2 pts/100 possessions when he was off the floor.
• He will take playing time away from Wright. Nellie already has an extremely short leash on rookies, so why compound that?
• The Warriors will not be able to give extensions to Andris/Monta next year without hitting lux tax.

I'd much rather resign Barnes. Although Barnes rebounds at a lesser clip that Gooden, he is able to play all 5 positions under Nellieball and is already accustomed to the "organized chaos". Since Mullin is letting the market decide Barnes' price, his services will cost a fraction of Gooden's price.

I Call Your Bluff: Where Will Pietrus Go?

From Tim Kawakami's site:

I heard from a member of the Mickael Pietrus camp a few hours ago, and he calmly but firmly thwacked at my conclusion that his client inevitably will have to accept the facts and sign the Warriors’ $3.47M qualifying offer.

And he really protested my stance (blogged last night) that the Pietrus camp realizes it has zero realistic option and is resigned to accepting the one-year contract with the Warriors.

Pietrus’ agent said that there has been outside interest, that the Warriors have turned down sign-and-trade deals that would’ve helped them, and that there could still be interest out there in his client–Miami and Cleveland (and possibly Dallas) being the teams at the forefront of that situation, I believe.

Now I'm not sure if Happy Walters is telling the truth or saving face. It seems much more likely that Pietrus has not received any offers, or at least lukewarm ones that are not unlike what the Warriors are offering him. Miami and Dallas would be hitting the lux tax if they offered Pietrus what he wants.

The Warriors, especially Mullin, deserve to be commended for taking a stance on a 1 year, $3.5 million offer. This is taking into account the past blunders (re: Dunleavy, Mike; Murphy, Troy; Foyle, Adonal) Mullin has made. Nellie has taught him well, and it looks like he could be one of the shrewdest GMs in the game. Well, maybe we won't go that far yet, but at least he's playing his way, instead of letting the players play him.

The offer sums up what Mullin expects/gets:

• Pietrus has to improve. Otherwise, he'd look like a bum on the FA market next year.
• The Warriors get an cheap, expiring contract as trade bait.
• Rebounding is a slightly lesser problem, perimeter defending is strengthened, and offense off the bench.

It's a win-win situation for the Warriors.

The Sky is Falling!

Giants 4
Braves 2
WP: Lincecum
LP: Carlyle

The Giants win 2 in a row. Wait, the Giants win 2 in a row. The Giants win 2 in a row. The Giants win 2 in a row. With both efficient pitching and a good offense. That's not every day a Giants fan gets to say that.


Even Barry can't believe how well the game went
TFRJ's favorite Enchanter wasn't at his best today, but still pitched well enough to keep the Giants in the game and eventually win. He was tagged for 6 hits, 5 of them XBH, including a 2-run HR by Francoeur to put the Braves up 2-0. He struck out 5, walked 2, and induced a double play ball to end the 2 run fourth inning. Timmy's fastball was in the mid to upper 90s and topped out at 99 mph if I recall correctly. His change was still as wicked as ever, but his curve was slightly inconsistent. He left a big time hanger to Francoeur for that homer, and a few others that turned into doubles. The Enchanter earned himself another quality start, another win (6-2 overall), and yet another team's respect.


Work of art

The Giants also had other good vibes going their way. The offense played quality baseball, especially during the 5th and 6th innings. Just look at the play-by-play:



Big hits by Pedro and Klesko to start the rallies, perfectly executed sac bunt by Timmy, clutch RBI hits with 2 outs by Roberts, Durham, and Vizquel, just fundamental baseball all around. These are flashes of what this this team could have been in the beginning of the season: good pitching with enough offense to get by. Hopefully this good baseball continues.

Bonds didn't hit 754. He's had a load of popups lately, including 2 tonight, going 1-4 with a double. Bonds says he isn't overswinging, but I'm not sure why his swings are resulting in popups. His July numbers aren't pretty, but on the flip side, let's just keep dragging Selig around a bit.

K-Franny has a mini-milestone. After singling off Villarreal, he stole his first big league base.

The bullpen also had a good night. Correia got 2 to fly out (heart attack outs though) and struck out one. Tasch struck out 2, and Vinnie Chulk finished out the inning by K'ing Francoeur. Hennessey pitched a quiet 9th inning, allowing no hits or walks, and added another save to his resume (8-10 this year).


Great game, Giants! Keep it up!

Some pre-game cute stuff: The Giants had a Father-Daughter-Son softball/wiffleball game... Barry pulled 6 year old Cole Roberts' (Dave Roberts' son) loose tooth.

4:05 First Pitch = Fun With Shadows

You're asking for it with a 4:05 first pitch. By 5, Mays Field will be getting pretty funky.

Remember the last time Timmy pitched with shadows? If you don't, ask the Milwaukee Brewers. I'm sure they'd be glad to tell you. Could this be a career strikeout game for him? *cue the Van Halen Lincecum song from KNBR* Timmy's one of the few bright spots for this Giants team, he's one of the reasons I get out of bed on a day-to-day basis, he's one of the players every person feels so compelled to watch. I've been enchanted, have you?


This blog's weapon of choice: flamethrower with a compatible change.
Barry's back in the lineup tonight, so he can vent his frustrations about the Schilling and Costas remarks on a baseball in the form of 754. That's right, just let it all out. He's facing a guy he hasn't seen before, Buddy Carlyle, so there'll be some good at bats to watch. Then again, with the shadows, it would be tricky to get 754.

Winning: It's a Mental Thing

Can't touch this

Giants 2
Braves 1
WP: Lowry
LP: James

There's nothing like a pitcher's semi-duel capped off with a win.

Noah Lowry showed why he has the most wins of the starting rotation last night. The lefty went 8 solid innings, scattered 7 hits, and gave up only 1 run. He induced 3 double play balls, giving him 23 total for the year, good for most in the NL and Top 5 in the league. Lowry's curveball and slider were his most effective pitches throughout the night, creating plenty of easy groundouts. He hit his spots nicely with his mid-80's fastball and ever present change also. It's quite odd, seeing as Lowry's been pitching like Giants fans want Zito to pitch. He might not have any heaters, but he can hit his spots and get guys out with the soft stuff.

Richie, Pedro, and Hennessey has good nights also. Aurilia hit the eventual game-winning home run. He put a balanced swing on it and drove it down the left field line. With the way the wind was blowing last night, I was pretty surprised it wasn't blown foul. As Rich said on the post game wrap, he might have had some good luck thanks to a hug from Woody.


Bye bye baby!

When I saw that Pedro was batting cleanup, I laughed. It's a testament to the sorry state of affairs the Giants are in when Pedro is in the 4th hole. Still, he has the hot bat and went 2-4 with an RBI single. Please keep it up Petey!

Giants' wins never come easy, except in the occasional blowout. It looked like we were in for another long one when Hennessey gave up a leadoff double to Francoeur. Winn made a very nice play to keep it a double, since Francoeur lifted the ball into Triples Alley. Hennessey got Diaz to groundout, but Francoeur moved over to third. These kind of ballgames test a closer, especially one with only 8 save chances on the year, and Hennessey responded beautifully. He got both Saltalamacchia and Johnson to strike out swinging to end the game. The fans went nuts over at Mays Field, and so did I. Great game, Giants.


I'll buy you a bottle of Hennessy, Hennessey. Great save baby!

Staving Off the HR Record?

Barry most likely isn't playing tonight, so I guess Selig's just gonna have to wait another day. Barry's currently riding a 3-37 slump excluding his 2 HRs in Chicago, so it probably won't matter anyway. Rod from Fitz & Brooks on KNBR was suggesting that Barry should prolong it just to make Selig suffer. Hey, the man said he'd follow Barry when he hits 755-756, so why not drag him along for all the road games?


Drag him to LA and SD for a while, come back to SF, then break the record while playing the Pirates. Nice.

Noah Lowry's on the mound tonight. He's appearing in his 100th big league game, so congrats to you, Noah! He's currently leading all Giants pitchers with 10 wins. Let's keep going, man.


Atta babe. Happy 100th!

Soul Crusher

Haha Selig, why don't you sit in the stands like a man?
Braves: 7
Giants: 5
WP: Moylan
LP: Sanchez

What can I say? Textbook Giants loss.

1. Starting pitcher, although good in the beginning of the season, gives up 4 runs in 6 innings.
2. Offense cannot get anything done, even with runners on the corners with 1 out. Fails to bring runners home, and then GiDP 3 separate times over the course of the game.
3. Opponent's starting pitcher gets chance to close and shutout game, but somehow loses control, walks 2, gives up a hit which results in a run.
4. Offense starts rally, ties the game.
5. Game remains tied for 4 extra innings.
6. Relief pitcher gets the first opponent player out, but then loses control, walks one, gives up a hit, throws a wild pitch, and allows 3 runs to score.
7. Offense rallies again, gets bases loaded, but manage only 1 run.
8. Lose.

It was quite depressing, but there were some bright spots in the form of Randy Messenger and Pete Happy. Messenger threw 3 innings of relief, giving up 1 hit and 2 walks but K'ing one. He has 4 good pitches that he used and hit his spots effectively last night. Pedro went 2-5 with 3 RBIs. He had a nice offensive game, but sorry, he's got to go. He hits well when he's on a mini-hot streak, but looks horrible at the plate when he's cold. Still, nice game Pedro.

Happy Birthday Barry!

Happy 43rd, big guy!

Here's wishing you a whole lot more long bombs (hopefully tonight!) and a long life! I'll be sending you a whole lot of TFRJ love, and it looks like the commish decided to give you a birthday present too, because apparently he's coming to witness history. Well, it's not like you, me, or any other Giants fan cares nor will it make a difference.

Hopefully there will be a party tonight in the form of a win. Matty Mo will be facing the Braves Tim Hudson, who's been having a good year (10-5, 3.24 ERA). Morris has had a string of bad starts, 0-3 in the last 6 with an 8.35 ERA. He gave up 5 earned runs in 4.2 in his last start in Chicago, culminating in a Giants loss 9-8. We'll see if Morris has it straightened out by tonight.

Watch for Bonds. He has a knack for doing big things on big nights...

Bonds vs. RHP Hudson: .474 (9-for-19), 4 HR, 6 RBI, 6 BB

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12 and Counting...

Braves 4
Giants 2
WP: Smoltz
LP: Cain

Matt Cain needs a hug. Or a Nolan Ryan rookie card to remind him that even one of the greatest pitchers suffered a 10-14 record and couldn't find the strike zone for a while.

Cain was hit for the 4th start in a row, giving up 4 runs in 4.1 innings. Most of the damage was done by 3 walks and bases-clearing double in the first inning. While the ump was probably squeezing him, Cain could not locate with his fastball, normally the best of his pitches. Since nothing seemed wrong with his mechanics last night, I'm guessing something has gone wrong in his head. The lack of run support or his 3-12 record could be leading him to be too fine with his pitches. Hopefully he talks with someone and realizes that he shouldn't worry if guys might hit him if he pounds the zone.


Keep yo' chin up, kid.

Though the Giants offense probably couldn't get hits even if a Little League pitcher was facing them, John Smoltz was impressive on the mound. His slider was nasty, causing Ryno and Ray-Ray to strike out on pitches that skimmed the dirt. He was efficient as always, going 7 innings on 84 pitches.

Two bright spots of the Giants team was the bullpen and Mark Sweeney. Special Agent Jack Taschner and Dirty Sanchez combined for 4.2 innings of shutout ball. Taschner allowed one hit, one walk, and K'd one on 2.2 innings of work. No one on the Braves offense seemed to pick up on his fastball. Sanchez gave up 1 hit but struck out 2 over 2.0 innings of work.



In the 7th inning, Sweeney hit a double to center, giving him his 150th career pinch hit and tying Manny Mota for 2nd on the all-time list. He moved to third on Omar's single and scored on K-Franny's double play grounder. Sweeney trails only Lenny Harris for most pinch hits (212).

Break Out Your Good Luck Charms

Because Cainer desperately needs some good luck, well wishes, and run support thrown his way. He's only had 3.72 runs per start, good for 9th lowest run-support in the NL. Hopefully he eats up innings tomorrow, since he hasn't gotten past the 6th inning in his last 3 starts. He'll be facing the future HoFer John Smoltz, who just got back from the DL. If you're looking for a possible pitcher's duel, this game is your best bet.

Tomorrow (Monday) marks the start of a 7 game homestand for the Giants, playing the Braves for 4, and the Marlins for 3.

If you're looking for Bonds to break the record, watch all the games this entire week. It will be symbolic if he ties and/or breaks it during the Braves series, because, as you know, the Braves was Aaron's old team. Also, this coming Tuesday is BLB's 43rd birthday, so I and many other Giants fans are hoping for something big on that day.

Bonds' career vs. Smoltz: .297 (19-for-64), 8 HR, 14 RBI, 20 BB, 14 K

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Your Guide to C-Speak

Here's a comprehensive list of terms and names I'll be using throughout the seasons. I'll constantly be updating with different sports versions.

Baseball:

• The Enchanter: Tim Lincecum. Young Giants rookie pitcher with a blazing heater, and nasty curve, and a wicked split/change-up.
  
• Cainer: Matt Cain. Young Giants pitcher with the stuff capable of a shutout or no-hitter. Unfortunately this season, the Giants offense sadistically seem to refuse to give him run support. He got 2 or fewer runs in the last 13 of 19 games.
• BLB: Barry Lamar Bonds. No explanation necessary.
• Matty Mo: Matt Morris. The veteran of the Giants starting rotation. Started off fantastically, but somehow petered off over the course of the season. He's the most valuable trade bait.
• Dirty Sanchez: Young lefty relief pitcher. Has some nasty sliders and breaking balls in his arsenal to strike guys out. If you see how his pitches cut across the plate, you'll mos. def. think "dirty".
• "Sid-DOWN!" or "Eat it": My spin-off of Mike Krukow's famous "Grab some pine, meat" catchphrase. "Eat it" is also used when a player openly defies general knowledge.

Basketball

• Boom Dizzle or BD: Baron Davis. Leader of the Golden State Warriors.
• Dubs: Shortened form of W, which is short for Warriors.
• Jax: Stephen Jackson. The hothead of the team, but a crucial hothead.
  
• TMNT: Al Harrington. He looks like a Ninja Turtle.
• Il Tiratore: Italian for "The Sharpshooter", "The Sniper", or "The Gunman". My nickname for the young Italian rookie who shot the lights out of Summer League, Marco Belinelli.
  

Welcome to The Front Row Johnson

No, this isn't an usher greeting a fan who bought $110+ Section 115 Field Club seats for a Giants-Dodgers game at Mays Field. Here's the real background on the origin of this blog's name:

FRONT-ROW JOHNSON n. A home run that lands in the first row of seats. Origin: Don Robinson, who pitched for the Giants in 1987-91, used "Johnson'' as an all-purpose suffix, often for no reason at all. Krukow said, "If Don Robinson wanted you to hand him the ball bag, he would say, 'Hand me that ball-bag-Johnson right there.' '' No matter how nonsensical, it crept into Krukow's vocabulary.

As for me, I'm just a long time Bay Area sports fan. My name is Catherine and I'm a Giants, 49ers, Warriors, Sharks, and once-they-come-back Earthquakes fan, but I started out as a bleeding black-and-orange kid. I remember the very first sports game ever my dad took me to: Giants vs. Dodgers (aka Bums or Evils on this blog) at the 'Stick. Sadly, I don't remember much of the actual game, but I do remember one thing loud and clear: the "Beat LA" chants reverberating throughout the stadium. I was hooked. From learning to throw a fastball, to a Jason Schmidt poster, to bouncing off the walls during the 2002 playoff run, I'm a diehard Giant.

Everything else just naturally branched off from there.

The Front Row is a conglomeration of the sole (so-lay) of the Bay Area. The soul and the awesome, as Isaac Sopoaga defines the Samoan word.

So here I am, writing on my very first blog which hopefully will be as fun for you (and me) as catching a front-row Johnson.

Feel free to shoot an email: frontrowjohnson@gmail.com