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| Jul-11-09 | | A.G. Argent: JB, well, well well, talk about momentum going into the break. First no-no for SF since the Count did it in '76!? It was great that Sanchez' old man was in the stands to see it. Quien sabe, if LA stumbles a bit in the 2nd half? Why not get a bit enthused.( I'm on the west coast too, up in Portland, so I'm a bit of Gints fan meself). Speaking of the Blue crew, any chance you see that catch Kemp made last night, over the head basket catch, a la Say Hey. Pretty nice. |
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Jul-11-09
 | | Phony Benoni: AG, just watched the Kemp catch here, among other highlights: http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/m... He did pretty well with the Willie Mays imitation, but still hasn't got the Bo Jackson wall climb down yet. |
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| Jul-11-09 | | playground player: I remembered John Montefusco's 1976 no-hitter for the Giants, but forgot Ed Halicki's 1975 no-hitter. Both these guys went to Monmouth College here in New Jersey. I remember that because I was a newspaperman in Monmouth County then and you can believe people were mighty interested in those two pitchers. Monmouth County during my journalistic tenure also generated Denny "The Farmingdale Flash" Walling (Astros) and Mark Lemongello (Astros and Blue Jays). Lemongello was the only one who ever showed up at my office. Rip Torn dropped in once, but he wasn't a ballplayer so he hardly counts. |
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Jul-11-09
| | Phony Benoni: <<Game of the Day>: July 11, 1950 http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/... Looks like the fans selected the National League batting order. Kiner second, and Jackie Robinson fourth? Slaughter fifth, ahead of Sauer and Campanella? |
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| Jul-11-09 | | Jim Bartle: Yes, Giants pitching looking better last night. Though looking at a video, the Pads hit the ball hard a few times--right at Giants fielders. Plus of course nice catch at the wall in center in the ninth. Pitching looks very good, maybe just enough offense to slip into the postseason as wild card. Here's the box score from an exciting game I saw in 1983, the last game I saw for many years. The Giants got Dawsoned but good, by the all-around speedy Dawson of Montreal, not the one-dimensional slugger of the Cubs: http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/... For the Giants, Jack Clark and Chili Davis hit back-to-back homers TWICE, and just as my friend was yelling how pathetic the Giants were to have Youngblood hitting sixth, we watched him hit a 3-run shot to get the Giants back in it. But Dawson kept on hitting, putting a ball waaaaay over the centerfield fence. |
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Jul-11-09
| | Phony Benoni: Oh, Dawson was great in his prime. But he blew his knees out on the frozen astroturf of Montreal. The Expos had some solid hitting that year: Raines leading off, Dawson, Oliver, Carter and Wallach in the middle of the lineup, Cromartie coming off the bench. Plus three solid starters (Rogers, Gullickson, Charlie Lea) and Jeff Reardon closing. Yet, they only went 82-80. |
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| Jul-11-09 | | dakgootje: <Though looking at a video, the Pads hit the ball hard a few times--right at Giants fielders.> No wonder really. No one had probably expected him to pitch the first Giant no-hitter since 1976 instead of Lincecum for, after all, Sanchez still is overall an average pitcher at best. A couple of fly balls to the fielders were to be expected. <Pitching looks very good, maybe just enough offense to slip into the postseason as wild card.> Would be great to see that happen. Don't think the NL East-teams have any chance to hope for the wild card. For Central and West currently only the Brewers and Rockies are real competitors who both had their good runs previous month. Interestingly, looking at the odds the bookies give for this years NL-winner, both the Cubs and Brewers are fairly high -- about equal to the Cardinals. This while I don't see either standing much of a chance currently taking the NL central, especially if Pujols keeps on hitting like this. |
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| Jul-11-09 | | Jim Bartle: You never know, Pujols is prone to falling into terrible slumps. Remember, one year he hit only .314, with a paltry 34 homers and barely 127 RBIs. |
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Jul-11-09
| | Phony Benoni: I think the Phillies might run away with the East; they have a 3 game lead despite haivng a sub-.500 record at home. You have to figure that will straighten out. If past history means anyting Pujols will continue hitting, so you have to like the Cards in the Central. As for the West, well, don't the Giants always catch the Dodgers? Even if that doesn't work out, they've got a four game lead in the wild card and the oppoosition doesn't look too inspiring. |
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| Jul-11-09 | | Jim Bartle: "As for the West, well, don't the Giants always catch the Dodgers?" I wish. It's a little more even the past few years, but from the time the teams came west in 1958 until the O'Malleys sold the Dodgers, they had a hammerlock on the Giants. It was tradition. I really don't like the three-division setup with the wild card. Only four teams should make the postseason. That will mean real pennant races once again, and yes, good teams will be left out sometimes. |
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Jul-11-09
| | Phony Benoni: I have to vote in favor of the wild card, simply because the two best teams in the league are often in the same division. It looks like the Red Sox and Yankees will do it again in the AL this year, and I can't see why one of them should have to make way for the winner of the AL Central. I know it all comes down to extra revenue, yet there is also true excitement for more fans as well. When you can have the best of both worlds, why not? Speaking of the AL Central, the Tigers might be one of those teams that has trouble winning the division but could pull surprises in the post-season. Any time you have two or three consistent starting pitchers, you can be a threat in a short series. Their problem is staying consistent over the long haul. And Fernando Rodney, who is 19 for 19 in save situations so far, has Mitch Williams written all over him. As for the West, I have no idea. I suppose I'd favor the Angels over Texas on the experience factor. |
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| Jul-11-09 | | Jim Bartle: That's one way to look at it. But at the same time you're eliminating the possibility of a tense pennant race between strong Yankee and Red Sox teams. Both teams will make the playoffs anyway, so why does it matter? Look at a couple of races: Yankees-Orioles 80, Braves-Giants 93 (Giants lost it on last day by getting clobbered by Dodgers, but still a great year), Detroit-Toronto-plus-everybody-else 87. All of those would have lost their drama with the wild card. The Phillies would still have made the postseason in 64, meaning no drama the last week. Plus the divisions now are just too small for it to mean that much being division champs. And if you win in the first round and lose the second, what are you? You're more than division champs (or wild cards), but not league champions. It's nothing you can name, really. But just a matter of taste, really. |
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Jul-11-09
| | Phony Benoni: <Game of the Day>: July 12, 1957 http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/... Nothing special about the game--but it's the day my younger sister was born and she's a big Tigers fan. |
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| Jul-12-09 | | Jim Bartle: Looks like Kaline hit a homer and Williams two in her honor. Says Williams hit a shot off the facing of the third deck. I assume that is a very, very long home run. |
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Jul-12-09
| | Phony Benoni: Hitting one off the facing of the third deck was just short of clearing the roof. The third deck was not public seating, but a relatively short area used for housing stuff like equipment and sports writers. |
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| Jul-12-09 | | suenteus po 147: <Let's see: the last one I game you was 1950. I've found the available games for 1954, 1955, 1956, and 1961a. Plus, I'm started building 1964/5 myself. In addition, I was going to work on 1975, 1977, 1980/1, 1984, 1986, 1987, and 1990. Maybe I should just go ahead and build those too. After all, I got tenure in 1991 and never have to do anything academically important again. Plus, I finally got off dial-up access and can actually work quickly online. Now if only my typing can speed up.> I'm glad that you went ahead and started building the remaining Soviet championships. Back last year when I was thoroughly immersed, I probably would have been a little hurt that I wouldn't be collecting them all, but this last year has changed my perception about what I can and can't do. I'm planning to finish the championships I already have in progress that you helped me with, but if you want to assemble all the remaining championships I haven't touched yet, be my guest. I used to burn through them, but now I'm lucky if I have time to watch a live game here. I'm even debating whether I should renew my premium membership, I'm on here so little. I guess I will for one more year at least. I have those USSR championships to finish, and I have a couple of personal projects I'd like to finish before I hang up my tournament collecting hat. I thought I'd have more time to burn when I was dissertating, but it's rather the opposite of what I thought. With that and job search on the way, I'm guessing I won't be on here like I used to be for a solid three to four years to come. Of course my PhD and a job will come from that time away :) Anyway, I wanted to say thanks for putting so much work into the championship collections (they look terrific, the ones you've completed so far) and I'll be popping in now and again. |
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Jul-13-09
| | Phony Benoni: MGame of the Day>: July 13, 1991
http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/... No-no-no-no. |
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| Jul-13-09 | | Jim Bartle: 1961 All-Star Game: http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/... The AL took the lead in the top of the 10th, but look who the NL had to bat in the bottom of the 10th: Aaron, Mays, Robinson, Clemente. |
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Jul-13-09
| | Phony Benoni: And look who they were batting against--Hoyt Wilhelm, on a windy day in Candlestick! How did they hit the ball? And, in those conditions, it seems unfair to charge Elston Howard with a passed ball. |
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| Jul-13-09 | | A.G. Argent: <David Benoni> <...windy day...Candlestick...> My only visit ever to Candlestick was in July '97, Giants v Padres, forget the inning, forget the score, Giants got the bases loaded, two outs, don't remember who hit an extremely routine pop fly to shallow left field, one Ricky Henderson playing left, and of course two down, everybody's going at the crack of the bat, the infamous swirling winds of the Stick, Ricky standing where his countless years of experience/instincts sumblinably tell him where the ball will come down but the insanely unpredictable gusts make him look like an old Disney cartoon character, Goofy perhaps, running back and forth, to and fro only to have the ball drop directly in front of him and by the time he laid a hand on the ball, the guy who was on first pretty much already had rounded third and scored standing up. It was literally incredible. Of course, you Jim B. have similar tales about those winds, Niners and/or Giants, but that's my story and I'm Stickin' to it. |
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| Jul-13-09 | | Jim Bartle: I saw Willie McCovey hit a popup that the first baseman drifted back on to catch. It went over the fence. Then I also saw shots to left by Mays, Hart, Maddox, etc. that seemed to hit a wall and shot straight up. |
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| Jul-13-09 | | A.G. Argent: Jim, you mean it was shallow enough to be considered catchable by an infielder and still left the park for a home run????!! |
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| Jul-13-09 | | Jim Bartle: That's right. First and second basemen went running back, Aaron was coming in from right, and then it went over the fence. This was before the permanent stands were put up in right, cutting down the wind. I think the Giants eked out a 15-7 win. On the other hand, first time I saw McCovey play, at Seals Stadium in 59, he hit a line drive that the pitcher ducked away from, throwing up his glove in self-defense, and the ball hit the centerfield fence on one bounce. It was smoked. |
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| Jul-13-09 | | Jim Bartle: I think this was the game: http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/... I remember the homer, but had forgotten it was as a pinch hitter, and the bases were loaded. Another Giants game from 1960 a month later, major league debut of a pitcher for SF: http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/... Curse you, Clay Dalrymple! I was listening on our car radio, telling my mom McCormick was pitching great, and she kept telling me it's not McCormick, it's someone up from Phoenix, probably won't last. |
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| Jul-14-09 | | Jim Bartle: Lincecum to start tonight. I can't believe it, tempting the Curse of Atlee Hammaker to return. Seems Giants pitchers get lit up during All-Star games, then their careers head south. |
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