Wednesday, December 02, 2015

Off Season Predictions …

A few of the big heavy weights have signed and soon a cascade of free agent signings should happen. For the SF Giants, we all know that starting pitching and outfield help are in desperate need. So here is our “fearless” prediction.

The Yankees need a second baseman, and they need one desperately. One scenario that could be viable is a trade involving Joe Panik and Brandon Belt for Brett Gardner and Andrew Miller. For the Giants, we would obtain a left fielder that could spell Angel Pagan in center when he gets hurt – and he will get hurt at some point, plus we would have a legit closer option with Miller or at the very least a solid replacement for Jeremy Affeldt. In regard to first base, this trade could signal the signing of Chris Davis, who’s been closely linked to SF or we can move Buster Posey to first base full time – because eventually, THAT WILL HAPPEN. 

As far as second base is concerned, the job would be open to Kelby Tomlinson – he demonstrated in 2015 that he can play second base, and hit for consistency. Plus, this trade would save us from trading away Brandon Arroyo, a guy that truly will make it to the Major Leagues and will provide insurance if any of our middle infielders go down with a significant injury.

For the Yankees, they would fill the void of second base, and have a DH for 2016 with the first base job open for Belt after Mark Teixeira’s contract expires after next season.


What are your fearless offseason predictions?

Monday, April 20, 2015

2015 Sons of Johnnie LeMaster Shirt Giveaway

For our 2015 shirt, we're going to do something different. We're going to giveaway the bulk of shirts during Marty Lurie's KNBR pre-game show at the Public House's patio on Saturday, May 2. Unlike previous years, we're not going to ship any shirts - quite frankly, we spend a good chunk of change on the shirts, and the shipping costs and time spent packaging the shirts were becoming a pass in the ass.

Soooo, if you want a 2015 shirt, head over to the patio on Saturday, May 2, and Marty will decide who receives one of our coveted tees for this year. We plan on having 30+ shirts to giveaway, so odds are good if you're there you might receive one.

On Friday, May 1, we'll post what the design of the shirt looks like - from the initial reaction of our focus group, this tee is going to be one of our all time greats.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

UPDATED: Attendance Records at AT&T Park

We were checking the season ending attendance (tickets sold) record for AT&T Park last year, and surprisingly it only ranked fourth-fifth-best in the park's history. While we expect the tickets sold number to easily surpass 3.3 million for this season, the numbers from the turnstiles will reflect differently.


Ranked attendance records

  1. 2011: 3,387,703 (avg: 41,823)
  2. 2012: 3,377,371 (avg: 41,695) WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
  3. 2015: 3,375,882 (avg. 41,678)
  4. 2013: 3,369,106 (avg: 41,593)
  5. 2014: 3,368,697 (avg. 41,589) WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
  6. 2000: 3,318,800 (avg: 40,973)
  7. 2001: 3,311,958 (avg: 40,888)
  8. 2003: 3,264,898 (avg: 40,307) DIVISIONAL SERIES APPEARANCE
  9. 2004: 3,256,854 (avg: 40,208)
  10. 2002: 3,253,203 (avg: 40,163) WORLD SERIES APPEARANCE
  11. 2007: 3,223,215 (avg: 39,793)
  12. 2005: 3,181,023 (avg: 39,272)
  13. 2006: 3,130,023 (avg: 38,646)
  14. 2010: 3,037,443 (avg: 37,499) WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
  15. 2008: 2,863,837 (avg: 35,356)

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Bobby Evans, Who Are You? Who, Who ... Who, Who.

The first two weeks of a season is never a bell weather for what's to come, but it shouldn't be ignored either. A 3-6 record is never going to appease the faithful, especially as the defending champs. We all know that the window for the Giants to win another crown is officially on the clock.

When the season started without Pablo Sandoval and Mike Morse, we knew this could be a trying year. Coupled with Hunter Pence on the DL only magnified how myopic this offense was going to be.

So the question begs to be asked, what will the newly promoted general manager Bobby Evans do if the slide continues? Does Bobby have carte blanche authority or will Sabey Sabes continue to enforce his opinion, will and approval on any roster moves? We think it's the latter. Can't picture Bobby pulling a gutsy trade like Sabes did back in 1996, when home grown favorite Matt Williams was traded to the Indians. The trade did yield future MVP and All Star, Jeff Kent, Julian Tavarez and "Jose Vizcaino" (in our best Harry Kalas voice).

Clearly we need to fortify this roster, but will Bobby have the intestinal fortitude to pull the trigger? Time will tell. Bobby, you're on the clock.


Tuesday, April 14, 2015

We Will Never Bad Mouth Pablo Sandoval

Two weeks into the 2015 season, and we get to see Casey McGehee and Matt Duffy play third base for the Gmen. Across the country in Boston, we see Pablo Sandoval suiting up for the Red Sox in Fenway Park. In recent weeks, a lot has been said about Pablo from San Francisco fans, most of it has been negative. Perhaps some of the ill will is of Pablo's doing based on several media reports indicating he planned on leaving the Giants regardless of the offers and overtures made in the off season. 

Regardless, we cannot and will not ever speak poorly of Pablo. How can we? You must first understand, we endured seasons with Rennie Stennett, Champ Summers, Tracy Jones, Mike Ivie, Enos Cabell, Al Oliver, Manny Trillo, Chris Brown, Mike Bengamin, Edgardo Alfonzo, Jose Castillo, and Brian Bocock in the lineup. 


For the longest time, we never thought we would ever a single world championship in San Francisco ever happen. Then the magical season of the 2010 graced us, followed by an incredible 2012 season, matched only by an improbable 2014 season. Pablo was a key member of the club of all of those three seasons, and for that, he has immunity in our book - that means no booing or bad comments. Some day, he'll return to AT&T Park, and when he does, we'll stand cheering for him loudly because he delivered three world championships that we thought we would ever see.



2010 Upper Deck Portraits

Saturday, February 21, 2015

2015 SF Giants Season Tickets (photos)

Earlier this week, we received our 2015 SF Giants season tickets. This is always a special moment for season ticket holders because it signifies that the new season is near. One of the interesting parts of obtaining the tickets is to see which player photos have been selected to appear on the ticket itself. Unlike past years, the Giants used different photos for the first ten games at AT&T Park (including the two exhibition games against Oakland). Starting with the April 22 game, the team used the photos of the same five players throughout the season.

So this is how the tickets appear in the booklet:

  • April 2 game vs. Oakland: Tim Lincecum's no-hitter
  • April 3 game vs. Oakland: Yusmeiro Petit consecutive batters retired
  • April 13 game Opening Day: Field photo with American flag
  • April 14 game vs Colorado: Madison Bumgarner from the parade
  • April 15 game vs. Colorado: Team photo from the parade
  • April 16 game vs. Arizona: Travis Ishikawa walk-off home run in game 5 of the NLCS
  • April 17 game vs. Arizona: Brandon Crawford grand slam in the Wild Card game
  • April 18 game vs. Arizona: Bruce Bochy from the parade
  • April 19 game vs. Arizona: "Buster Hug" with Bumgarner from game 7 of the World Series
  • April 21 game vs. Dodgers: Brandon Belt home run in game 2 of the NLDS
  • The remaining tickets feature the following players in this sequence:
    • Matt Cain
    • Buster Posey
    • Madison Bumgarner
    • Hunter Pence
    • Santiago Casilla















Monday, November 24, 2014

What To Do With The Jersey When They Leave

What do you do when one of your homegrown guys leaves for another team? Truth be told, we stopped getting attached to any of our guys since February 1985, when Jack Clark was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. We'll never forget it, Jack Clark and his then wife were being interviewed at the old Lyon's restaurant on El Camino Real in Millbrae by KRON-TV after the trade was made. We were crushed to see the only true star of the team going to St. Louis. It was a simpler time back then, we only had his baseball cards, and none of the countless number of apparel and souvenir items that exist today.

Fast forward to 2009, and this up and comer by the name of Pablo Sandoval came on the scene and became our starting third baseman. We liked what we saw in him, the guy could hit and field his position. He was Vladimir Guerrero all over again, his strike zone was from the laces to the bill of the cap, and he could square up his bat out of the zone. We remember watching him at Petco Park in San Diego at the end of the 2009 regular season and seeing him launch his 25th home run in an extra inning game to win a meaningless matchup. This is our guy, that's what we said ... he's gonna be with us for awhile and will be a cornerstone in our lineup. So we invested … we invested in an authentic road jersey with his name and number. The same one they wore in 2009, and even had the "Burns" memorial patch stitched to the sleeve too.

Through the following years, we saw him peak and fall back, but he was still our guy. After a dismal 2010 season, he regained his form and delivered in the subsequent years and was a key figure in the 2012 and 2014 World Championship clubs. And now he's gone.

His jersey sits quietly in our closet, and we won't wear it again in the foreseeable future. In all honestly, we may not wear again until we travel to Boston in 2016 to see the Giants play the Red Sox in inter league. After that, we won't wear it again until he retires and returns to San Francisco as a hero that helped us win three World Championships.

So long Pablo, we hope the baseball gods will grace you with some good luck and fortune in Bean Town.


Our Pablo Jersey