Why am I even reading this crap? How could we possibly have an interest in a 37 year old "neverwas" that always manages to give up a bomb in key situations? This guy is gonna make Howery look like Cy Young....

All I know is who ever gets this guy better do a complete MRI on his neck. Seriously, how much punishment can the human neck withstand from all those years of snapping his head to the outfield wall to watch another one leave the yard?

Just say NO..... Please?

Well Im not going to say the Giants mailed it in, instead it seemed more like they used UPS instead. Quicker and more efficient that way.

Well I'll sign in and see how this works out. Your first fan blog AAA Fresno style. I'll try not to look as bad as the Giants did last night...... I certainly won't bog you down with a ton of stats, numbers and  play by play, because there really isn't much to tell. But a few thoughts.

1. What a great night... Fantastic!! A wonderful thing for the city of Fresno. It really was a party like atmosphere and all 14,000+ that turned out (Largest crowd to ever see a baseball game in the City of Fresno) had a great time and all was great..... all accept for the Giants anyway.

2. Minch looked like a Million bucks, Zito looked like.... well.. like Zito. You know its going to be a long night when you struggle to get out of the first against your AAA club. Minch looked "Marble Smooth" as the Fresno Bee said in this mornings paper, and I would tend to agree. Not allowing any earned runs.  Minch was quoted as saying after the game "I would have loved to have stayed out there"...... Ummmmmm sorry Pat, I don't think the big club was having any part of being shut out last night, but thanks for the gem nonetheless.

3. Rowand apparently has been hanging around Kruk these days and has adopted one of Kruks old catch phrases.... "Shinburger". Well that sammach kept AR out of the line up last night. A MAJOR disappointment to all that attended.

4. Scott McClain: How does this guy slip though our system? Every game I hear this guy announced over the PA for the starting line up in Fresno, I shake my head. This guy has done nothing but MASH everywhere he's been. 30+ bombs the last 3 years for Fresno and Sacramento, plays a decent 1st base, and twice the PCL player of the year.... This guy gets out of bed in the morning hitting bombs!!! Now I know there are a ton of Ortty fans out there, and yea, he deserves a look, but the look this spring as been less than stellar. But watching him last night look like a fool in the latter part of the game against Sergio Romo (who was named the new Grizzlies Closer) made me wonder (for about the 15000th time out loud) why does Scott not even get a sniff?

Those of you that want to join the Scott McClain fan club..... sign in here!!

5. Lastly..... My camera took a dump (it probably didn't help that I spilled my pre- game Bud Light on it). So I went to the ol reliable backup. The Blackberry Pearl. Now these aren't the cleanest pictures in the world, but I wanted to throw up a couple of pictures to those of you that are not familiar with "The Chuck" as I affectionately like to call it. Chuckchansi Park (named after one of our local Indian gaming donation centers) really is a wonderful facility. It normally seats about 12,000 but last night they piled an extra 2k worth of standing room only tickets. It sits in the middle of downtown Fresno that is undergoing a major revitalization. My business (handicapped accessible transportation solutions business) is a part of that revitalization. I'm proud of what the city has accomplished thus far, but there is still more to come. I highly recommend that if you happen to be in the Central Valley this summer that you stop by and take in a game.... Nothing beats a minor league game in this park in the summer time.

Here's a few pics of the evening... once again sorry for the quality.

Pic 1: This is the view as you step out on to the concourse.... As you can see, it really is something to behold for a little ol cow town like ours.

Pic 2:

via img.photobucket.com

Zito was throwing some long toss before the game. This is just after he threw one that sailed about 10 feet over Molina's head and into the stands. Gardner (also a Fresno native) just kinda shook his head like "its going to be a long night".

Pic 3: 

this is what it looked like just as the first pitch got underway.... they packed um in last night in a big way. You almost couldn't move. My buddy Java Jeff was finally able to get some Chicken Strips with one out in the top of the ninth.

Pic 4:

via img.photobucket.com

Little pregame pepper going on here, but the guy in the Zito jersey poses another question.... Why is Zito's number a non roster invitee number? Well I guess he's living up to his number this spring.... although there have been some NRI's that have had a hell of a lot better springs.

Well hope you all enjoyed this little jaunt through Fresburgh..... I'll try to fill you in from time to time on all the latest things going on down here. Hopefully next time my camera doesn't take a crap so I can get you some decent shots of the Tecate Girls..... mmmmmm Smokin!!! Once again my apologies on that.

Thanks for reading

H

I just got through reading Brute's minor league camp updates (really great stuff) and saw that a great deal of you really are hungry for getting updates from the minors. Well I'm about 8 blocks from the home of the AAA Grizzlies where I work, and have season tix and attend a ton of games.  I'm fairly in touch with a number of people in the organization (I market my business with them) and get a chance to talk a lot of baseball.  I know I'm not near the writer most of you are, but if there is enough show of hands, I'll try and keep you all updated on the goings on here in Fresno maybe once a week or so.

Your call.....

It started out innocently enough. Logging into MLB.com from time to time to see what if any news would come out of San Fransisco on the latest signings. But it seemed.....empty. There just was never enough. I would watch that wimpy little turd that would host the hot stove show on MLB TV, but when that was over all I could do was roll my eyes thinking, "when has that 4 eyed little nerd ever picked up a bat"....the days went on, nothing... I started scouring the internet looking for answers.... a thirst had come over me like no other... I. NEED. KNOWLEDGE.... I. NEED. TO. KNOW....

I needed to know what kind of tires was Brian kicking. I needed to know if there was a chance out there that a magical third baseman would fly out of Boch's enormous butt..I needed to know if there was a chance that we would never see Ray Durham in a Giants uni again, giving Franny a chance and a new, young knight in shining armor would appear at first....

Every morning I'd run to the computer, looking at site after site, hoping that in the middle of the night somehow, someway, the tooth fairy had delivered us a corner infielder.... PLEASE GOD LET THERE BE SOMETHING!!!!!

But alas, nothing....

nothing but Santana rumors and two broken down third basemen swapping crappy cities....

I need help, friends....

Or at least a deal....

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080111&content_id=2343991&vkey=news_min&fext=. jsp&c_id=min&partnered=rss_min

Paging Mr. Sabian, please come back to the Tire Department, your vehicle is ready!!

Ok, we can dream right?

Lets just suppose in some strange world somebody got a bug up their ass and picked up the phone and made it perfectly clear that Licecain is completely out of the question... and lets just dream about maybe throwing a couple of names out... Oh I dunno, maybe a Sanchez/Lowery.. A Freddie Lewis.... and to fill in their need for a first basemen, we'll eat a little Richie for a year or two...

Bring in a 30 HR young first baseman and the following season after a BRILLIANT year lock the guy up till 2010....

ya.... I know, these "Newbies" on these blog boards, all they ever do is dream.....

....wish I had a tire.

Your thoughts?