2011 SF Giants All-Stars

So, we here at the Sons of Johnnie LeMaster were looking at the schedule and noticed that this year's All-Star Game is in Phoenix. At the same moment, we remembered that as the National League representative in the World Series, that Bruce Bochy will get to field his NL roster, once the starting position players are voted in.

It's probably safe to say that several Giants will be on the roster based on their contributions last year, and performance this season. So here's our guess on which Giants will be on the 2011 NL All-Star team.

Buster Posey - voted in
Tim Lincecum
Matt Cain
Jonathan Sanchez
Brian Wilson
Pablo Sandoval
Freddy Sanchez

Sons of Johnnie LeMaster tee

I think it's time to give away another Sons of Johnnie LeMaster tee ... this time we'll give away one of our ladies tees. So here we go ...

How much did it cost to build Candlestick Park, and how long did it take to build it?

2012 San Francisco Giants

So while we were watching the Braves sweep the Giants yesterday, we here at the Sons of Johnnie LeMaster couldn't help but think how many players currently on the roster will not be on the team next year.

Based on Cots Baseball Contracts spreadsheet on the Giants, and assuming the direction the Giants are headed, we're going to say the following players will not be wearing the black & orange in 2012.

Miguel Tejada ($6.5 M) 2011 salary in parenthesis
Cody Ross ($6.3 M)
Mark DeRosa ($6 M)
Ramon Ramirez ($1.65 M)
Santiago Casilla ($1.3 M)
Mike Fontenot ($1.05 M)
Pat Burrell ($1 M)
Guillermo Mota ($945 K)

San Francisco jerseys, not named the Giants

If you're like us, you probably appreciate the history of the Giants franchise, but also of the baseball history in the city of San Francisco. Most fans are aware of the San Francisco Seals, the Pacific Coast League (PCL) team, that ruled the city for decades and boasted one of the greatest players in the history of the game as one of their alumni, Joe DiMaggio.

But most are probably unaware of a second club that was in the city called, San Francisco Missions. The history of the Missions is some what short-winded, and they eventually moved to Southern California to become the Hollywood Stars of the PCL.

In any event, both of these clubs had colorful jerseys that would be worthy even in today's standards. In fact, a boutique company up in Seattle called Ebbets Field Flannels has included the San Francisco teams to their line of throwback jerseys and caps. We here at the Sons of Johnnie LeMaster even own a few of Ebbets' products, and they're top notch in our book. So while you're out looking to add another Posey, Lincecum jersey to your collection, why not take a nod and acknowledge the rich history of San Francisco baseball and wear a DiMaggio #10 throwback? Trust us, you'll receive more positive comments and compliments than any other jersey.

SF Seals - 1933 home jersey

SF Missions - 1930 home jersey

Tim Lincecum sportin' Mizuno cleats for 2011

In a previous blog post, we mentioned that Tim Lincecum had changed his cleat supplier from Reebok to Nike for the 2011 season. It appears it was only a test run. During spring training, Timmy was actually wearing cleats from numerous manufacturer's to see how they felt and performed. In one televised game, Timmy was wearing cleats made by Nike, but when opening day rolled around he was wearing cleats from Mizuno. So go figure! The pictures below show him wearing Mizuno, Nike, and in one picture he's wearing a New Balance cleat on the left, and a Nike cleat on the right.

It should be noted that Matt Cain and Barry Zito also wear Mizuno cleats so maybe they had an influence on him. We also checked the mizunousa.com baseball site, and Timmy wasn't listed as of one their players on the Mizuno roster. In addition, based on the April 18 photo, Timmy is wearing a Nike undershirt underneath his jersey. In seasons past, Timmy has typically "cut out" the Nike swoosh logo since he was under contract with Reebok. So our guess is that he hasn't signed a full endorsement deal with Mizuno - not yet anyways.

Timmy from April 18, 2011 - Mizuno cleats, Nike undershirt

Timmy with Mizuno

Timmy with Nike

Timmy with New Balance and Nike

Sons of Johnnie LeMaster is on Twitter too!

For those of you that don't know, we're also on Twitter @sonsofjohnniele, so follow us! For those of you asking for an official Sons of Johnnie LeMaster tee, we'll post a contest on our Twitter account shortly. Stay tuned!

Business news involving the SF Giants

Not earth-shattering news here, but something to note nevertheless. The Giants have reached an agreement with United Airlines for UA to serve as the official charter airlines for the club. The team previously used Delta Airlines. The arrangement will also give United Airlines some additional signage within AT&T Park, and on the schedule page of the sfgiants.com website. Financial terms were not disclosed, but when you're the World Champs, I guess everyone wants a piece of you.

United Airlines - the official airline of the SF Giants

Did the Giants win the World Series because of Bochy's strategic dipping habits?

Could "Giants Baseball ... Torture!" be tied hand-in-hand with Bruce Bochy's dipping habits? There's a great article on ABC News/ESPN that was written last year about Bochy's dipping habit, and he even details some of superstitions he had with dipping. Last I checked, Bochy was still dipping, as was some of the other players that I listed in a previous blog post.

Bruce Bochy with two tins of Young's Chew

Celebrity pics with the Johnnie LeMaster shirts

Thanks to Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle for posting pictures of his new Sons of Johnnie LeMaster shirt. We're stoked that he likes it!

Follow him on Twitter @peterhartlaub and read his articles on sfgate.com.

Photos courtesy of Peter Hartlaub

Pics and videos from Opening Day weekend

National Anthem and Fly Over

Championship Flag Ceremony

Banner at the Willie Mays gates

Opening Day from the LF Bleachers

Opening Day National Anthem

Championship Flag from the Portwalk

From the Field for the Flag Ceremony Practice

On the Field During the Ring Ceremony

Standing next to 365

World Champs!

Opening Day

Former SF Giants coaching & managing in the Bigs

So, I was watching today's game and noticed that Dave Roberts was the first base coach for the Padres, and then it donned on me, that I've seen a lot of former Giants on the coaching staff for various Major League clubs. After some quick research, I was able to create a list of current coaches and managers that PLAYED for the Giants during their respective careers.

Managers:
Dusty Baker, Cincinnati Reds
Bud Black, San Diego Padres

Coaches:
Joe Pettini, bench coach, St. Louis Cardinals
Dave Righetti, pitching coach, San Francisco Giants
Mark Gardner, bullpen coach, San Francisco Giants
Dave Roberts, first base coach, San Diego Padres
Ken Oberkfell, bench coach, New York Mets
Glenallen Hill, first base coach, Colorado Rockies
Chris Speier, bench coach, Cincinnati Reds
Matt Williams, third base coach, Arizona Diamondbacks
Eric Young, first base coach, Arizona Diamondbacks
Dave Anderson, third base coach, Texas Rangers
Dave Martinez, bench coach, Tampa Bay Rays
Robby Thompson, bench coach, Seattle Mariners
Rick Rodriguez, bullpen coach, Oakland A's

AT&T Park concessions - 10th cleanest in the Big Leagues

Based on a recent Business Insider article, the concessions at AT&T Park ranked as having the 10th cleanest operation in the Bigs. AT&T was listed as having 8 critical violations, and 117 minor violations.

Violations included the following:

• Hot dogs kept below the required legal holding temperatures.
• Food contact surfaces were not cleaned. 
• Evidence of either roaches, rodents, or flies (unclear as to which). 
• Hands of at least one employee not washed or gloved when handling food. 

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/mlb-stadium-food-safety-violations-2011-3#att-park-8-critical-violations-11#ixzz1Ia06NbuR




Business Insider article