When I am emotional I write.    I humbly submit:

An ode to the 2010 San Francisco Giants

Oh ye band of brothers

Unlikely giants of the game

Bits of bone, muscle and sinew

Loveable discards from the scrap heaps of baseball

Veterans last chance at the brass ring

Budding stars finding their way

Journeymen pushing to undreamed heights

No superstars

No single egos crying look at me

Every man stepping up to share the load

Helping his brother without the sting of criticism

For a single at bat, an inning or a game

You've accomplished that rarest thing in sports

Becoming a true team

A whole greater than the sum of its parts

You've gone where many dream but few step

You've climbed the highest peak

A feat no one can ever take from you

In difficult times you've given us your fans unfathomable joy

Through 177 games we've found escape from our troubles

Games seasoned with high drama and nail biting suspense

Laughter at your quirks and unpretentiousness

Hackable anger and yes some torture

52 years of anticipation

Now you've written indelibly on the page of history

We the 2010 San Francisco Giants are Champions of the World

We love your for it

Oh you band of Giants

We will never forget the magic inside you

Did anyone besides me notice the change in Lincecum after the Giants staked him the big lead in his last start?

At the begining of the game he was the "new" Lincecum we have been seeing.   Fewer first pitch strikes,  lower velocity more walks,  more tough innings.   Just not the totally dominant guy we got so used to.   Then he got staked to a big lead in this game and something changed.   His velocity went up.   I saw 94 and 95 on the radar gun.  We haven't seen that in a long time.   I saw him challenging hitters.   The change up seemed to have more snap and movement.   Suddenly he was just letting it fly and becomes the Lincecum of old....the loose confident kid that KNOWS he is going to dominant instead of just hoping he can.   Here see if you can hit this chump!

My opinion is that his drop off was not physical but had to do with the expectations of being a two time Cy Young winner, the Freak,  the Franchise etc. getting into his head.    Trying to live up to the expectations made him cautious which led to a decrease in confidence.     It made him hold back just a bit and he lost the swagger.    Just a guess but I think he might have been saying to himself as he is closing out that game,   Yeah this is it!   This is the old me!   Stop holding back and being cautious.  Stop worrying about losing.   Let it f'ing fly!

If you have played competitive sports at any level you know the difference confidence can make.  There is just something about it makes you better even if you are physically the same.  No one can ever convince me that this intangible is not a factor in sporting success.

I for one am thinking this little lesson made a light bulb go on and we will see the Lincecum of old in the second half.      Go Giants!

Ps - The reason for Matt Cain's recent slump.  He is not hitting the catchers target.  I watch this closely every time he pitches especially.   Begining of the season  75% on target.   Now less than 50% and often missing by a lot.

Since we have just about suggested every home run hitting player in the majors,  I  thought I'd throw this one out there because he hadn't been mentioned before to my knowledge.

Sorry I am not sick of  reading "what if" trades yet.   Maybe after a few more years of reading the McC I will be.

Supposedly the White Sox want to trade Jermaine Dye and need a centerfielder. The salaries are about even Rowan $12 mil and Dye something like $11.2 mil.

I know nothing about Dye's defensive prowess which is very important roaming right at Mays Field.   Will Dye be a free agent in one year?  He is originally from Northen California.  Might want to come home.

With a near rookie (TI) and a journeyman (Phelps) projected to platoon at 1B and a virtual rookie (Pablo) slotted in at 3B,  the player the Giants choose as the backup/spot starter at 1B/3B is  likely to be very important.   I'd like to know who the McCoven prefer the Giants use in this role and why.   His ability to pinch hit will also be important. 

The candidates:

McClain

Aurillia

Crede

Wiggington

Others??

Here are my projections for 2009 with some hope the G's improve marginally:

Winn            RF                               9

Renteria     SS                                7

Sandoval   3B                               13

Molina        C                                  15

Lewis          LF                                12

Rowand      CF                               15

Ishi/Phelps   1B                             18

Burriss/Fransen   2B                       4

The G's might break 100 if Matt Cain and Nate Scheirholtz chip in.

Yes I know it's spelled Bochy but I think my way is more appropriate reflecting the intelliigence shown by his pitching change decisions.  His moves drive me crazy and my wife hates him even more.   

Saw  a post that said the Phiilies were close to signing Chan Ho Park.  I am just curious what the everyone thinks about him as a long relief or possible fifth starter for the Giants if Lowry does not make it back from injury.

I know he is tainted by Dodger blue but I saw him pitch a few times last year and he looked pretty good.   They say he added/regained a few miles an hour on his fastball last year.

He's 35 and RJ is 45.     

The general consensus seems to be a MLB team needs a power hitting first baseman and can live with average, even poor defense.    To take nothing away from JT Snow, the last Giant that hit for power with decent defense was Will Clark.  About 100 years ago.  Since the Thrill we have seen an endless series of prospects come and go quickly.

A couple of years ago Sabean annointed Neikro as the 1B of the future. He gets a one season platooning trial and is gone.  Klesko comes and goes.   Last year Sabean proclaimed Dan Ortmeir the starter.  If memory serves he started out poorly, had a minor injury and just absolutely disappeared.   After the 2008 season Sabean proclaims Sandoval is the 1B for 2009 and now he is the 3B for 2009.  I am surprised they did not give Linden a try at 1B.

Is there a trend here?  Yep! Seems the Giants don't have a clue how to fix what I see as the most glaring hole in their lineup.

Are there some minor league 1B power hitting prospects on other teams we could trade for?    A prospect that is blocked by the current guy manning1B at the major level?

Also please fill me in on what happened to Ortmeir?  Did he do well at the minor league level?  Did JT tell the Giants brass this guy has hands of stone at first base?

Will he be invited to spring training to compete with Phelps, Bowker and Ishikawa?

I've been reading the Chronicles for a couple of months and and really have enjoyed it.  Thought I would try a post.  

The Yankees need a centerfielder

The Yankees need starting pitching in the worse way.

The Yankees have more money that any club.

So with that said here goes:

Aaron Rowand, Matt Cain and Barry Zito to the Yankees for:

Robinson Cano and Phil Hughes

Giants need some more pop from a middle infielder and I think Cano will do much better with a change of scenery.   Hughes was a top NYY prospect and could be a fair fifth starter and certainly no worse than Correia or Hennessy.

The Yankees get a centerfielder who will do much better once he is out of SF's ball park.   I think Willie Mays Field got into Aaron's head the second half of the season.  The first time in 2009 he hits a home run into the right field gap which becomes a long fly ball out, he will be right back in the mindset again.  The Yankees also get a front line starter in Matt Cain very cheap for the next few years for basically taking on the cost of Zito's salary.    Maybe Zito improves being back on the AL with the Yankees?   Maybe working out with Wilson during the off season he muscles up and gains 2 - 3 mphs on his fastball?

Lewis in left,  Winn in center and Schierholtz in right.

With the money saved by dumping Zito and Rowand's contracts, the Giants bring in 2 -3  big difference makers....hopefully Sabbthia and Beltre.  

Wish I could figure out a way to get the Yankees to take on Dave Roberts salary also.  Maybe they want two centerfielders?