Our Holiday Wish to SF Giants Nation

This holiday we want the lonely to find company; sick to gain health; sad to find levity, unemployed to find work; broken-hearted to endure; and another San Francisco Giants World Championship parade down Market Street in 2013.

Happy Holidays to you and yours. Go Giants!

The Sons of Johnnie LeMaster

Our Wish List of 2013 SF Giants Promo Items

Each season the SF Giants compiles a promotional calendar to entice the masses to attend a game and walk away with a nifty souvenir (aka the stadium giveaway) to take home compliments of (fill in the name of any sponsor). In recent years, the bobbleheads have been all the rage, and this past season the gnome giveaways leapt over the bobbleheads as the must-have giveaway items.

Now with the club fresh off a 2012 World Championship, it's safe to say we'll have a 2013 promo calendar themed around the World Championship. Sure, we'll get the good old standard giveaways: calendar, schedule magnet, cap, baseball cards, and few bobbleheads tossed in. But how about something different?

Here's our list of giveaway items that we would schedule if we were in charge of the promo schedule ...

• Inflatable replica of the Commissioner's Trophy ... fans could bring this to every home and ROAD games - especially down in LA. We could remind all opponents who the defending champs are!
• Replica National League MVP trophy - let's celebrate with Buster by having a replica trophy can we can hang on to.
• Continuing on the trophy theme ... have a replica World Series MVP trophy day in honor of Pablo.
• Again, with the trophy theme ... have a replica National League Championship Series MVP trophy day in honor of MARCOOOOOOOO ... SCUTARO!
• World Championship themed FatHead stickers that we can take to Kinko's and put on cardboard stock to bring them to the games.
• Juan Marichal replica statue ... you know this is gonna happen.
• Cow bells with the World Championship logo ... can you imagine the bleachers ringing the cow bells when Matt Holliday is playing LF!? "Holllllliday!" 
• Plastic batting helmet with the World Champs logo ... what happened to those plastic helmets?! They use to give them out a the 'Stick! Maybe some fans actually used them as a batting helmet in a game :-/
• Wrist bands with the caricature of Buster Posey, Mr. MVP! Remember when ball players had wrist bands with their likeness on them?!
• SF Giants World Champs Twitter themed shirt with #RallyZito #RallyVogey #RallyBum #RallyCain #RallyEnchiladas
• Another SF Giants shirt that says, "It's the San Francisco Giants show so far!" @therealmattkemp
• Hat clips with World Champs logo
• And finallllly ... World Champs logo thongs for the ladies (and for Aubrey Huff)!!!!

Whatcha all think? Awesome, right!? We should work for the promo department.

Our Fearless Offseason Predictions for the SF Giants

Well, it appears we have Jeremy Affeldt back into the fold after hearing that he had agreed to terms (3yrs for $18M) with the club. That's the market for middle relievers folks ... nice work if you can get it.

But we digress ... so how will the rest of the roster look heading into spring training of next year.

So here's the list of SF Giants that are either free agents or arbitration eligible:

FREE AGENTS:

• Melky Cabrera: He earned $6M this past season, but the club wants no part of this act or circus for 2013 ... he'll sign with another club for 2-yr deal worth around $8-10.
• Freddy Sanchez: He earned $6M this past season to essentially work out in Phoenix and then fly up to SF for some postseason games to watch from the dugout. Freddy, thanks for 2010, but adios!
• Angel Pagan: we think he's looking for "Aaron Rowand money" <gasp> ... we got chills just typing that. But coming off a World Championship he's looking to cash in ... we think he'll sign elsewhere for a three-year deal.
• Ryan Theriot: the man that Marco Scutaro replaced. I'm sure he's looking for a starting job somewhere, and SF doesn't appear to be a fit. If he's willing to return as a backup, the Giants will sign him, but that seems unlikely.
• Guillermo Mota: he earned $1M this past season ... even though he was suspended, he still has value as low cost alternative. Our guess the Giants will sign to another one-year deal just under $1.5M.
• Marco Scutaro: we expect the club to resign him to a two-year $17M deal, with a club option for a third year.

ARBITRATION ELIGIBLE:

• Brian Wilson, last year of arbitration: our guess is that BWeezy will be wearing a new uniform next season. He earned $8.5M in 2012, and take only a slight pay cut for 2013. The risk is too great for the Giants to resign him ... they'll let him walk.
• We expect the following guys to have some raises next season ... Santiago Casilla, Sergio Romo, Buster Posey, and Gregor Blanco.

FEARLESS AND BOLD HOT STOVE MOVES

• We expect the Giants to get a CF via trade, so this is our forecast ... drum roll please ... the Giants will trade Tim Lincecum to Boston for Jacoby Ellsbury.
• LF will be platooned by Blanco and Gary Brown.
• The club will look for an inexpensive fifth starter, think Jason Marquis or a return of Kevin Correia.
• The team will look for another middle reliever, think Joe Rauch on a two-year deal worth around $6-7M.
• A trade of one of the two Brandons will take place to bolster either the 1B or SS position.

So that's it! This is what we guess will pan out in the weeks and months to come. How close will we be, who knows, but you'll know changes are a coming. What are your guesses on what might happen in the offseason?

SF Giants Championship Parade Tips

Anyone else still in disbelief that we won our second World Championship in three years?! It's as if the baseball gods have parted the clouds, and said San Francisco it's now your turn to shine on the big stage. We are still speechless and in awe on what has happened in the past month. No one will ever forget this postseason run. Now, we get to all enjoy this great season by celebrating with World Championship parade ... this never gets old. So having said that, here are some parade tips for those of you that plan on attending the parade.

1. Time, time, time ... build in extra travel time to your schedule. We cannot stress this enough. In 2010, approximately 1 million fans lined the parade route, so get up early and arrive to the city as soon as possible.
2. Weather ... this time around it's going to be a bit chilly, so dress accordingly.
3. Shoes ... this sounds like a no-brainer, but please wear comfortable WALKING shoes, you will be on your feet all day. If you have a pair of running/walking shoes, wear those!
4. Pack a bag ... it's going to be difficult to navigate getting from one place to another once the parade starts. So bring a backpack that includes some drinks and snacks. Every Walgreens is going to be packed ... so don't rely on getting in and out of there in a few minutes.
5. If you live really far away ... we would even suggest getting a hotel room in the city for tonight. Sounds crazy, but it's totally worth it ... it will save you a lot of time and headaches.
6. Festive ... it's a time to celebrate, so bring a good attitude and a lot of patience, the city is going to be packed for everyone.
7. Have fun ... we hope there are more championships parades in our future, but enjoy this one!

Last add, for those of you that attended the parade in 2010, the parade route for this year has changed. They are NOT going down Montgomery Street like they did in 2010. Instead they will start at the foot of Market and Steuart streets (see map below).

Courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle

World Series Game 4 - A Day of Reflection

Today has the chance of being a magical day for all SF Giants around the world, and while we wait for Game 4 to start. We can't help but reflect on those great SF Giants that are no longer around to enjoy what can be a tremendous day. So we ask that you take a moment and think about those Giants that tried valiantly to help us win a World Championship, but came up just a bit short. We can only hope they have a front row seats with the rest of the baseball gods.

Rod Beck
Jose Uribe
Miguel Del Toro
Chris Brown
Matty Alou
Alex Busch
Sue and Harmon Burns

NLCS Game Dates and Times

GAME DATE LOCATION TIME
NLCS Game 1 Sunday, October 14th AT&T Park 5:15 p.m. PT
NLCS Game 2 Monday, October 15th AT&T Park 5:07 p.m. PT
NLCS Game 3 Wednesday, October 17th @ STL 1:07 p.m. PT
NLCS Game 4 Thursday, October 18th @ STL 5:07 p.m. PT
NLCS Game 5* Friday, October 19th @ STL 5:07 p.m. PT
NLCS Game 6* Sunday, October 21st AT&T Park 1:45 p.m. PT
NLCS Game 7* Monday, October 22nd AT&T Park 5:07 p.m. PT 

61 Years Ago Today, The World Saw the Original Walk-Off Home Run

Perfect Storm: Planning Your Postseason Trip to AT&T Park

**UPDATED**

San Francisco will be the nexus of the "perfect storm" of sporting events, concerts, and other annual events this weekend as the Giants march towards the 2012 postseason.

As the number 3 seed, the San Francisco Giants will host the Cincinnati Reds for games 1 and 2 of the non-wild card National League Divisional Series, this weekiend on October 6-7. On the surface of things, that sounds great, two games over a weekend ... there is one problem, err, several other problems. It's also the same weekend of the following other events and activities scheduled in or around the city:

• AC World Series Regatta (Oct. 2-7) SF Bay
• Fleet Week (Oct. 4-8) SF Bay
• Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (Oct. 5-7) at Golden Gate Park
• Arizona v. Stanford football (Oct. 6 at noon) at Stanford Stadium
• UCLA v. Cal football (Oct. 6 at 7 p.m.) at Memorial Stadium
• Justin Bieber concert (Oct. 6 at 7 p.m.) at Oracle Arena
• Madonna concert (Oct. 6 at 8 p.m.) at HP Pavilion
• Bills v. 49ers  (Oct. 7 at 1:15 p.m.) at Candlestick Park
• Castro Street Fair (Oct. 7) at Castro District
• Italian Heritage Parade (Oct. 7) Fisherman's Wharf to North Beach
• Madonna concert (Oct. 7 at 8 p.m.) at HP Pavilion

Sooo, if you have tickets to the Divisional Series ... plan ahead, allow for extra time for travel. We encourage everyone to use BART, SF Muni, and other means of public transportation. It's gonna be a crazy weekend, so save yourself a headache and leave early! GO GIANTS!

Predict Which Game the SF Giants Clinch the NL West

Okay, we're gonna have a little contest here. The first individual to correctly guess which game the Giants clinch the NL West title will receive one of our coveted limited-edition shirts in 2013.

So, go ahead and guess ... when are the Giants gonna clinch the NL West?

2012 World Series Logo

We always find it interesting to see how the World Series logo changes year-to-year, and this year's logo still maintains the fall leaves that were included in last year's logo, but the abundant use of green hues are gone. Nevertheless, we think it still would look kinda cool on a SF Giants lid (crossing our fingers!).

Duane Kuiper's Home Run Anniversary

On August 29, 1977, Duane Kuiper belted his only career home run against the Chicago White Sox at the old Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. In fact, years later, Duane obtained the seat in which his home run ball hit when it went into the stands.


* A hat tip to one of our Twitter followers, @txbtxb, for reminding us of Duane's anniversary. Thanks!

Duane Kuiper

Matt Cain's Major League Debut Anniversary

On Aug. 29, 2005, Matt Cain made his first Major League start versus Colorado. Cainer gave up 3 hits and 2 runs in 5 innings of work and ended up being the losing pitcher of record.

2002 Bowman

2012 Postseason Ticket Pricing

In addition to the postseason schedule being released today by the Giants, they also released postseason ticket pricing for the entire postseason - should the Giants advance.

SF Giants Release Tentative Postseason Schedule

This afternoon, the Giants distributed an e-mail to all season ticketholders announcing the 2012 tentative postseason schedule and the pricing for the postseason ticket strips. All season ticketholders have until September 12 to make their full payment. At first glance, it's interesting to note that if the Giants make it to the postseason, there might be some games in which they would conflict as some of 49ers home games at the 'Stick.

 

 

Giants 2012 Postseason Tentative Schedule

(Dates are subject to change)

 

Wild Card

Friday October 5th NL Wild Card Game  

    

Divisional Series  

 NLDS A (Non-Wild Card Series)   

  Saturday October 6th NLDS Game 1    

  Sunday October 7th NLDS Game 2   

  Tuesday October 9th NLDS Game 3    

  Wednesday October 10th NLDS Game 4    

 Thursday October 11th NLDS Game 5     

NLDS B (Involves Wild Card)  

Sunday October 7th NLDS Game 1 

Monday October 8th NLDS Game 2  

Wednesday October 10th NLDS Game 3 

Thursday October 11th NLDS Game 4  

Friday October 12th NLDS Game 5 

Championship Series   

  Sunday October 14th NLCS Game 1  

  Monday October 15th NLCS Game 2  

  Wednesday October 17th NLCS Game 3  

  Thursday October 18th NLCS Game 4  

  Friday October 19th NLCS Game 5  

  Sunday October 21st NLCS Game 6  

  Monday October 22nd NLCS Game 7  

World Series  

  Wednesday October 24th AL at NL WS Game 1  

  Thursday October 25th AL at NL WS Game 2  

  Saturday October 27th NL at AL WS Game 3  

  Sunday October 28th NL at AL WS Game 4  

  Monday October 29th NL at AL WS Game 5  

  Wednesday October 31st AL at NL WS Game 6  

  Thursday November 1st AL at NL WS Game 7  

 

*Game and times will be announced once all Postseason standing has been determined

Melk's Expiration Date was Today

Where does one begin? We were disappointed when news broke of Melky's suspension from testing positive to testosterone. We like so many of the Giants faithful felt disbelief, heartache, and sadness. Having Melky admit and apologize for his use of PEDs probably brings to full circle why he even used PEDs in the first place. After his dismal 2010 season with the Atlanta Braves, he probably felt it was worth the risk to use PEDs and put up numbers that would revive his career and garner his first big-time contract.  We're not gonna lie, if we were in his shoes, we might consider the same thing - it's basic human nature, do what you can to survive. Was his decision right, no, of course not. However, desperate times call for desperate actions .... and that's what we have here.

Melky isn't the first player to be caught, and he certainly will not be the last ... others will follow form in due time - human behavior and instinct does not change. The question then becomes what will happen to the team now? The players, just like the fans are in shock, but they now control their own destiny. The season can easily fold this weekend in San Diego or they can rally amongst themselves and take the "us versus the world" mentality and go out fighting every single day. We guess, we'll find out on Friday which route they've chosen. If the team decides to continue the good fight, others must rise and take on greater responsibility and produce at a high level - this is the only way they can achieve their goals.

As for the future of Melky and the Giants - it's over. We do not envision the club trying to sign Melky once the season ends. The bridge has been destroyed and will not be rebuilt ... this hit the front office and coaches hard, and as the saying goes, "fool me once, shame on you ... fool me twice, shame on me." The Giants have too much to risk for them to resign Melky, you can bet he will be with another team next season.

For those of you that purchased Melky shirts, jerseys, caps, and every other merchandise item that had Melky on it ... we feel your pain. We even printed t-shirts to have him resigned ... lesson learned for us.

For now, we will continue supporting the club and the players that remain, they need the fans support more than ever, and that's what we plan to do when we attend the games this weekend in San Diego.

Go Giants!

Tips for Visiting Petco Park

It has come to our attention that a HUGE contingent of SF Giants fans are making the trek down to San Diego to attend the Giants series on August 17-19. Since a few of us here at the Sons of Johnnie LeMaster have attended games in San Diego, we thought we share some tips.

Travel: First and foremost, get a hotel room in the Gaslamp Quarter, preferably near the ballpark ... there are a ton of hotel properties to choose from. So avoid staying in Mission Valley, Mission Bay, La Jolla or anywhere else not in the Gaslamp. Trust us, it will be much easier for you to just walk to the ballpark from your hotel in the Gaslamp. If money is no object, we highly recommend the Hard Rock Hotel, which is exactly one block from Petco Park ... the rooms at HRH do not disappoint, plus the onsite bars are the place to be on the weekends - don't be surprised to see a few of the players there too. The other place we recommend is the Omni Hotel, which actually has an adjoining bridge to Petco Park. It's also the hotel the Giants have been staying on recent trips. Other name brand hotels are nearby and should be considered as well.

The Gaslamp Quarter is also very close to the airport, so just cab it to your hotel. There is no need to rent a car, plus parking costs are usually $30+ per night at  the hotels.

Restaurants & Bars: Another reason to have a hotel room in the Gaslamp is the abundant food and drink establishments all within walking distance. Some of our favorite restaurants include Acqua Al 2 Ristorante, Osteria Panevino, Lou & Mickeys, and Nobu (inside the Hard Rock Hotel). However, the Gaslamp is really known for some great drinking establishments and some of the best are right near the ballpark. Places to try are The Field, Nicky Rotten's Bar & Burger Joint, Dick's Last Resort,  The Tipsy Crow, and "207" in the Hard Rock Hotel.

For breakfast, there are only four place you need to know ... Cafe 222 (get there early), The Broken Yolk, Richard's Pancakes, and Mary Jane's. All are excellent, you will not be disappointed.

Tickets: Even if you're planning a last minute trip, you shouldn't have a problem getting tickets either from the Padres or secondary market. Plus, where ever you sit, you will be surrounded by Giants fans. Our favorite location is behind the Giants dugout in section 106 or 108, but in all honestly, there isn't a bad seat in the house. We are not joking when we say that Petco Park becomes AT&T Park South when the Giants are in town.

Meeting the Team: One of the great things about traveling to a Giants road game is that you will see members of the team walking around town. San Diego is perhaps the best example of that. If you want to get an autograph or photo, just hangout by the players entrance by the west side of the stadium (facing the Omni Hotel) and you will definitely see them and the broadcasters as they enter and leave the stadium.

Gaslamp Quarter

Hard Rock Hotel (Petco Park to the right) - our favorite SD hotel

Could It Be the Shoes and Hat?

We were wondering what was causing Lincecum's pitching woes for the last two seasons ... could it be confidence, mechanics, stamina, strength, conditioning, focus, or his comfort level with Posey? Perhaps it could be one or all of those things, but alas we might have identified the sources of his struggles. It's his shoes and baseball cap. Ever since he got called up to the Bigs, Lincecum wore Reebok cleats, than after the 2010 World Championship season Timmy switched over to Nike. The same applied to his cap, he wore the same cap from the day he got called up through the end of the 2010 season - Hank Schulman even wrote a short story regarding his cap too.

So our recommendation to Timmy ... go back to wearing Reebok cleats and find your old SF cap and wear that baby too!

Lincecum in 2010 with old cap.

Lincecum sporting his Reebok kicks.

Goodbye Nate, and Then There Were 11

So today the SF Giants upgraded their OF by acquiring Hunter Pence from the Phillies ... no question, it was a move that had to be made. However, one side story is the number of players that are currently on the 25-man roster that were on the 2010 World Championship team ... that number is now 11. Perhaps, it will drop to the 10 based on how Aubrey Huff left the field yesterday, he might have played his last game as a Giant too.

Say what you will about Nate, but he helped bring a World Championship to San Francisco, and for that we here at the Sons of Johnnie LeMaster will forever be grateful. Perhaps greener pastures await him in Philly and he'll flourish there.

The one thing that will always stick in our minds is the incredible defense Nate played at AT&T Park, and with that we present two videos for you to see (that we picked out on YouTube). So please raise your glasses, and toast Nate for helping us win a World Series, and hopefully he'll find success in Philly. Cheers to you Nate, 2010 World Champion.

Nate's incredible defense

Nate's diving catch in LA

Congrats to Melky Cabrera, All-Star Game MVP #SignMelky

So much for all of the criticism regarding all of the SF Giants starting for the National League at the All-Star Game. Fact is, the Giants flat out owned the All-Star Game, and Melky's two hits, one of which was a 2-run HR, was the difference maker.

So we here at the Sons of Johnnie LeMaster are raising our drinks in honor of Melky. Well done sir!

Oh, one more thing ... SIGN MELKY NOW!!!

Melky Cabrera - 2013 All-Star Game MVP

R.I.P Craig Appel aka The Rally Pumpkin

Sad news to report this morning. One of the most iconic SF Giants fans passed away earlier this week. His name was Craig Appel, but he was also known as The Rally Pumpkin. He was the larger than life figure that would dress up in all orange and attend games at AT&T Park or on the road rooting, cheering, and dancing for his beloved Giants.

His connection with the team went a bit further since he was also the team bus driver whenever they played games in Los Angeles and San Diego. Unfortunately, his stint as the team driver ended in 2010, but that didn't stop him from cheering for his Giants as they marched towards their first World Championship in San Francisco.

We here at the Sons of Johnnie LeMaster met Craig a number of times, and he was a die-hard SF Giants fan.

R.I.P Rally Pumpkin

The Rally Pumpkin