A Brush With Near Perfection Is Close Enough For Me

I love writing about and analyzing baseball. I love the numbers and the history and the predictions and the theories and the intellectual gymnastics writing sometimes makes me do. But the unfortunate side effect of that, at least for me, is a difficulty turning that off, which then leads to a degree of cynicism that I personally don’t find one of my better traits. Cynicism that, unfortunately, sometimes expands to my fellow fans and the inherent camaraderie of seeing a game live, especially a special one like a home opener.

525,600 pitches… okay, sorry. I’ll stop.

On March 14, 2011, we posted this, officially casting our lot with Team Vogey as Ryan Vogelsong fought to earn the last spot in the big club’s bullpen.

On March 14, 2012, the Giants posted this on their website.

Funny what a year can mean.

Can you pay underground scientists in panda hats?

So Larry Baer, in yet another stunning PR move, managed to be quoted twice in a piece by Alex Pavlovic (Baggs’ worthy successor if you’ve missed that bit of news somehow), once referencing the slowness of attempts at re-signing Matt Cain, and once in reference to the gobs of money the Giants are looking to pull in during the 2012 season. This is of course after an off-season in which the returns of the injured Freddy Sanchez and Buster Posey were supposed to be sufficient justifications for not signing any free agent hitters, because the money saved could go to fulfilling the organization’s frequently stated commitment to keep the pitching. So, we don’t get any notable free agent bats but we also don’t get long term deals for Lincecum or Cain, or at least not yet? Where is all this money going?*

Intellectually Rigorous Analysis at the Start of Spring Training. Or Something.

This conversation just happened.

Maiya: Buster.

Britt: Buster!

Maiya: Other People too I suppose. But Buster!

Britt: Yeah yeah, other people, great. BUSTER.

Safe to say we’re glad to see him back geared up and ready.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a Ryan Vogelsong’s Back Prayer Circle to attend.

Happy Pitchers and Catchers!

Not a ton of news to report yet, just hours in to the first official day of Spring Training, but we would be remiss (or even more remiss than is usual for us) if we didn’t take a moment to wish everyone a very, extremely, exceedingly grateful and happy pitchers and catchers report day. This off-season has felt positively endless, I’m sure in no small part to the absence of the Bay Area’s most beloved son, Buster Posey. But have no fear! Buster has been catching bullpens in Arizona for a few weeks now and, despite Bochy’s insistence that he will be eased in to his workload until likely the second week of exhibition games, all seems right with the world for the moment, at least.

It’s a bless

Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez for Angel Pagan. Andres Torres for Angel Pagan. Andres Torres for-

Oh.

It’s not a terrible trade, and it’s not a fantastic one. It’s about as lateral of a lateral, Brian Sabean-esque-lateral-move as there can possibly, laterally be.

Here she goes again…

Very few things in life happen suddenly. The sudden moments we remember are tipping points; obvious things that makes us forget about the more subtle things that were there first.  They’re the candlelit dinner or the fireman who came into your elementary school or Jonathan Sanchez’s no-hitter. Predictable, aren’t I?

A Thousand and Twenty One Words

Here are the stairs I just walked up. Feel free to throw yourself down them. I’ll meet you at the bottom.

Welcome to Matt’s General Store – Independence, Missouri

So, you’re Larry Baer and you’re about to set off on the Oregon Trail. You’re comitted to buying oxen Tim Lincecum and food Matt Cain. It’s hard to argue with that. But now, looking over your shoulder, I see that your next purchase is ammunition a pair of lefty relievers to take up 10 more of that 120 dollars. I’ll be back in a bit ,I’m just going to make a bet on you drowning before you ever get the chance to shoot anything.

Ways to Make Baseball Better

First off, dragons. Everything is better with dragons. Who needs foul poles when you could have dragons guarding the line? And if the umpires breathed fire, no one would ever argue a call.

Someone bake me one of these.