Given the complete quandary of the free agent market and associated collective GM response to it, it seems to me that one of the Giant's few interests this off-season has been somewhat lost in the shuffle: Rich Aurilia. With an OBP hovering in the low 300's and SLG in the mid-400's, Richie is certainly not a stand-out offensive force. His range at SS is limited, his arm average, and his speed second only to JT Snow and Mirabelli in its lackluster display. If (or when) we sign him, it will be as a super-utility / back-up infielder, an aged veteran to perhaps mentor Frandsen and fill in if need be.

All that said, Richie was, and is still, one of my favorite Giants. One of the few baseball personalities that managed to be somewhat interesting to listen to on the Radio, Richie was always a diplomatic presence in the clubhouse - at least to the media-observer. Though slower to first than all but a few field players, Richie always looked like he was putting more effort into those strides than anyone in baseball. Watching him turn a double-play from short was second only to his (limited-range) diving line-drive shags. And, in stark contrast to several members of the Giants of 2005, he very rarely was caught flailing at a strike-3.

I, for one, welcome Rich back to the team. And here and now, standing on the shoulders of innumerable stat-heads and baseball-geeks, proudly make the following prediction:

Rich Aurilia
3B, Giants 2007
R: 68
HR: 22
RBI: 84
BA: 296
OBP: 341
SLG: 502

Great ESPN article about our boy Robby. Realizing it may be too early to rehash 2002, this story is a fabulous look at the end to a great carrer, and one true giant.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=nen

I managed to get my company seats, but may not be able to use some / any of them. I have 4 seats, + a parking pass. Seats are Club Level, on the 3rd base side of home plate. Actual seats are CL219, row I, seats 11-14. These seats are on the aisle, and offer a perfect vantage point around the screen to the batter's box. Also, you're only steps from the bar inside (in case Cain doesn't hold up to his rep).

There is a possibility that work people may need these seats, but I wanted to give you all a heads-up in case I  can't go. Tickets are $39.74 face value, Club parking pass is about $25 value (i think).

Post here if interested...

"As a precaution, the Giants brought up infielder Brian Dallimore from Fresno, taking Correia's roster spot."

http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050707&content_id=111 9055&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=sf

<sorry, don't know how to make an active hyperlink>

Should be nice to see the boy hit, and recent comments from Alou indicate that he's all for sucking while letting youngsters gain experience (as opposed to, say, just sucking).

Earlier this year, as the train-wreck of a season began to unfold, a friend of mine remarked in a moment of infinite wisdom that if we were going to suck, we had two options: We could

1. play veterans who would make the appearance of the team seem like we were trying to win, and fail; or
2. play young guys, who would be equally as bad, but perhaps a bit worse skill-wise and a bit better effort-wise.

While not a groundbreaking conclusion by any means, he added the following caveat which, though simple at first, has stuck in my brain like the image of our 300 lb. savior ending his season by tripping over dirt: The difference in the above two strategies is that if you play bad veterans, they will just suck, while if you play bad developing players, they will suck and learn something. This difference is critical, and it appears (shockingly) that the management agrees. This latest round of shuffling, the designations of Levine and Brower, the promotion of Foppert and Taschner, are glowing proclamations that there is yet a light on in the attic of the Giants management.

A while back, Grant made a post urging us all to look for that ephemeral silver lining that must exist somewhere with regards to this season, but to date I have found it elusive. No more. While this season will certainly end with 80-90 losses and a slew of ulcers for present company, this is a unique opportunity to witness a fundamental shift in a portion of our lives that governs the majority of our free time for 6 months a year, if not more. Through those glorious losses, each more spectacularly devastating than the last, the phoenix will rise - and it is a familiar one, a face not seen in SF for a long time, but one rediscovered by the Brewers, the Twins, and the Padres in recent years. As the Giants are forced, kicking and screaming, to bring up young players, to think of the future, they begin to strategize accordingly, to accept the fallen Achilles as dead, and to endeavor to use the current (albeit limited) set of resources to optimal advantage. A few young pitchers, a few guys who can post an average, a bit of speed. A pitchers park. The absence of a bopper who can clear the walls with impunity. A dwindling fan base. A need for excitement.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the resurgence of small ball.

Though losses we will reap by the bushel, look past it to the productive outs along the way. Dwell not on the fact that every team in baseball looks forward to their games in SF with a devilish grin, but on the to-be-decreasing 0-out man-on-first ending the inning at that local. And rather than lament our tragic fall from 2002 glory, look to the stolen base, the diving catch, and the infield single for solace.

And furthermore, while I'm weaving this web of Emperor's New Clothes, watch with intent this Tuesday. For in a baseless claim of holy mandate, look to Jesse Foppert, blazing forth in all his glory, to challenge Santana in an epic pitcher's duel and in that unprecedented act, to usher in the new era of Giants baseball.

Not to play into Grant's "moronic conspiracy theorist" hand here, but did any of you get the disctinct impression that there might be, uh, a small undercurrent in Bonds's latest diary entry? Say, I dunno, regarding a new trend we might see in the slugger's appearance / performance?

http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article_perspectives.jsp?ymd=20050323&content _id=974896&vkey=perspectives&fext=.jsp

Not to play into Grant's "moronic conspiracy theorist" hand here, but did any of you get the disctinct impression that there might be, uh, a small undercurrent in Bonds's latest diary entry? Say, I dunno, regarding a new trend we might see in the slugger's appearance / performance?

http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article_perspectives.jsp?ymd=20050323&content _id=974896&vkey=perspectives&fext=.jsp

Poll

Bonds's Season?

33%

Plays in 100 games; still draws 200 walks and mashes 42 dingers

3 votes

0%

Decides that sitting on the bench while collecting $18mm is a really funny slap in the face for MLB

0 votes

11%

Quickly recovers, returns with a vengence 2 weeks into the season, and rocks 59 hr, tests clean, and gives "everyone" the middle finger

1 votes

11%

Admits that yes, he did take steroids; yes, they were from Balco; yes, Balco was funded by Worldcom and Haliburton; and yes, he was present when Canseco only "kissed" madonna in her hotel room in NY

1 votes

44%

Remains injured, sullen; comes back in June as lesser 2004 Bonds

4 votes

0%

Stays out of the spotlight, then magically reappears in May -- 50 lbs lighter

0 votes

9 votes | Poll has closed

The recent rash of Bostonian emigrants in san francisco is absolutely appalling. After suffering through a world series in which the disgusting and insipid bums filled our bars and streets, watching the fall-out consisting of everyone who moved to SF from anywhere east of the Rockies sporting a B hat (which they feverishly sent through the wash 18 times on the day of purchase to make it that worn-out gray-blue color) is just too much. I find myself gazing at innocent would-be sox fans, nonchalantly sporting the above hat along with his blazer on the way to work, and realize that I'm visualizing the size of vivisections necessary to deport him back to the east coast on the backs of winged beetles.

You will hardly ever see someone brandish an L.A. hat in this city, and those that do are usually arms dealers from somewhere on Crenshaw, and thus warrant a scowl after double-checking their back is turned. But I find myself beginning to loathe the Boston gear. Not because I hate the sox -- actually, I kind of pity them now that their self-proclaimed martyr status has been revoked, condemning them to a classification akin to a slightly poorer version of their arch-nemesis. And frankly, I thought the end of the post-season was gripping, and satisfying except for the card's apparent lack of Cialis during the series.

No, it's not Boston, nor the Sox, that I despise. It is the fans, and the fact that they are taking up an inordinate proportion of the over-priced real estate in this seven mile haven. And please -- enough with those hats. You guys are worse than the instant grow Chia-angel fans in The Year That Shall Not Be Recounted.

~some inane reference to a soap box~