by Gregg Pearlman
Sunday, October 3, 1999
No bitching today. The last installment -- you'll notice that I rather courteously failed to provide a link -- was hard enough for me to read, let alone write. So now, with the season about to end, let's just have some fun.
The Giants -- this isn't the fun part yet -- will miss the postseason. They'll fall short of 90 wins. But you know something? Bonds, Kent, Burks, Mueller, Rios, Servais, Hayes, Gardner, Johnstone, Nen: all vital last year (except Servais and Rios), but all racked up this year. They've all either logged DL time or been suffering from a nagging injury that eventually put them out of action. Sure, all teams go through this to some extent, but the Giants performed pretty damned admirably under the circumstances.
For me, this is a time -- however brief -- for something approaching optimism for next year. (Yes! Really! I said that!) The Giants do indeed have plenty of holes, but also, I think, a pretty strong core:
Okay, so I'm not brimming with optimism, but I think holes can be filled, and this team can be solid. Plus, it'll be a whole new ballgame at the new park. We'll see.
And in this last installment of the 1999 regular season, we'll hear from Ken K., Seth, Elizabeth, Stefan, JVV, Jack M., Woody, my dad, Deek, Jesse V., Ben F., Carlos, Ian, John B., Anson, Jan, and Charlie.
We knew that Willie McCovey would be presenting the Willie Mac Award to the most inspirational Giant. Neither of us had the slightest idea who might receive it, but Richard felt that the logical choice would be Barry Bonds, who played hurt all year, except for those weeks when he was too hurt to lift a ball. He worked hard to come back well before the 10-week guess, and hit a tremendous number of home runs in a short period.
Neither Richard nor I realized it wouldn't be Bonds until McCovey started detailing the recipient's statistics, at which time we knew it was Marvin Benard. "Hey, I like Marvin Benard too," I thought, but it was kind of disappointing, because how could Bonds not have been considered extremely inspirational? Simple. Popularity contest.
Which is not to say that I resent Benard getting it. He's a fine choice, and I'm pleased for him. He's the kind of guy you'd call "scrappy" and "hard-nosed," and he's the kind of player I like anyway: "blue collar," as my dad would say; "not overburdened with talent, but still working hard and doing well," I'd say. Means the same thing, really, only Dad's got the gift of brevity and failed to pass it on to me.
In any case, it was fun seeing McCovey, though his knees are so bad that he can barely stand or walk. Dwight Chapin of the San Francisco Examiner says, "Marvin Benard said he was so nervous 'I'm shaking a little bit,' and small wonder." Explanation: "Benard revealed that twice in the last two years he had started letters to McCovey, each one telling him he wanted to meet him and get his autograph.
"'But I didn't know what to say,' Benard said, 'and I threw the letters away.'
"The 61-year-old McCovey clearly is a hero to many of the current Giants, and several of them approached him like schoolboys before he was honored in a pregame ceremony Tuesday night at Candlestick."
Very cute, really. It's kind of refreshing to know that these guys understand, to some extent, just what a terrific player McCovey was, and that they have a sense of history.
McCovey seemed to be a bit choked up during his speech, and I daresay a lot of the fans were, too. How can a Giants fan not love McCovey? (Putting aside the fact that we don't know him or anything....)
Chapin says, "Earlier, it was officially announced that McCovey will be a part of the Giants again when they move to Pacific Bell Park.
"Executive vice president Larry Baer said the former first baseman has been named a senior advisor with the team, and will assist in 'a broad range of areas,' including working with players in spring training and during the season, and making occasional speaking appearances.
"It also was confirmed that the area of China Basin Channel beyond the right-field wall at Pac Bell Park will be named McCovey Cove."
I just hope that the announcers have a little rule: Home runs hit there by Giants are indeed hit into McCovey Cove, whereas home runs hit there by opposing players are merely hit "over the right-field wall." It's the same kind of rule Russ Hodges learned to employ for his "Bye-bye baby" home run call.
"Well, I got choked up again last night," says Ken K. "I was planning to skip the Tuesday night game until I heard that Willie McCovey would be on hand."
"Oh, good lord," says Seth. "I ended up having seats right in the front row in the left-field corner. If my arm were two feel longer, I could've given Stretch a high five. But I got to look him in the eye and smile and wave and say 'I love you, Willie Mac!' And that'll have to do."
Amazing, isn't it? This man, this former ballplayer none of us knows personally and never will, can affect many of us -- because Seth could hardly have been alone -- enough to proclaim our affection publicly. I mean, it's easy to spout hatred loudly ("Die, Garvey! Die! Die!"), but this is different. And no doubt everybody in the park that night could understand.
"McCovey is my favorite baseball player," says Ken. "If it weren't for John Montefusco and Willie McCovey, I don't think I would be a Giants fan. Thank God for those two guys."
Interesting. Montefusco? I mean, I think we all liked the guy, but....
"Willie McCovey is the reason I'm a baseball fan, period," says Seth. "I was very young when I saw him play, and he was at the tail end of his career, but at least he was there -- Mays and Marichal were like obscure ghosts to me at the time; McCovey was something real."
Well, Mays will always be my favorite, but McCovey's right up there. I remember that I had to work the day of McCovey's last game, but fortunately, I used to work in Salinas, in a department store ("I worked in the hardware department, I did but I don't anymore..."), and more fortunately, they had a TV department. And even more fortunately, it was a Sunday, and I was the only person in my department that day, which gave me plenty of time to hang out and watch the game.
McCovey's last plate appearance, of course, was a sacrifice fly that led to a victory against the Dodgers. That, by the way, was "Willie McCovey Day" -- at Dodger Stadium. I get the feeling this guy's pretty special.
It was his only plate appearance that day, because the classy Dave Bristol decided that it was much more important for Rich Murray to start the game. Murray -- whom McCovey kept referring to as a "phee-nom" in his retirement speech -- was the final straw, I guess you could say, in the decision to call it quits. I'm guessing that the team had at least as much to do with the decision as McCovey did, and it's only a shame Murray didn't pan out, because he was very likable and might have done just dandy if he hadn't broken a bone in his hand (an injury which, I have no doubt, helped trash his career).
"Anyway, McCovey was speaking last night and you could tell that he was close to tears," Ken says. "That got to me."
"He wasn't alone," Seth offers.
Ken says, "I love to watch Barry Bonds hit and play defense. Will Clark was a great player because of his drive and desire. But Willie McCovey remains my favorite Giant."
"Bonds is the best Giant I've seen -- and probably the best player I've witnessed in my lifetime," says Seth. "But Willie Mac will always be my fave."
One thing I got a big kick out of Tuesday night was watching the Giants and Dodgers players during all this. They were all leaning forward against the dugout railing, listening closely.
Did anybody catch his KNBR interview with Ted Robinson and Joe Morgan a few weeks back? I didn't hear enough of it, but the one story I remember was when he was asked if the trade to San Diego came as a surprise. He said no, that he'd had several conversations with Stoneham (for what it's worth) regarding where he might head, and that Stoneham wouldn't make a deal that McCovey was uncomfortable with. They would've traded him to Detroit (and maybe gotten something for him), except that McCovey didn't want to go to the American League.
From the penthouse to the outhouse, we go from Willie McCovey to Tommy Lasorda, who made an appearance Wednesday night, walking around the field so that the fans could boo the snot out of him one last time.
"Did anyone else notice that Tommy Slimfast's jacket said 'Lasodra' on the back rather than 'Lasorda'?" says Elizabeth. "I thought that was pretty funny. I'd hate to be the guy who made that jacket... what a lazy sod."
"I noticed that, too," says Stefan. "I can't figure out if it was a joke or not. What was his speech before the game? I was sitting in the bleachers and couldn't understand most of it. I'm especially interested in the end: 'You don't really hate me....' My uneducated lip-reading on the video screen looked like: 'You love me and hate yourselves.' That can't be right, can it?"
"He said, 'You hate yourselves for loving me!' says JVV.
That's pretty funny and would be ironic if accurate. I for one do not love Tommy Lasorda. I don't hate him either, and I'll say I was sad to see him depart as the Dodgers' manager and then general manager -- because I always felt that when the team won, it was in spite of Lasorda, not because of him. Until Bill Russell took over, I really thought that the best thing for Giants fans was to have Lasorda run the Dodgers. Even when they were busy winning pennants in the late '70s and early '80s, they had to overcome all sorts of really stupid managerial decisions.
Also returning was the world's best mascot, Crazy Crab, whose appearance was designed to give long-memoried fans one more chance to boo and throw things.
"Crazy Crab had the line of the night," says Jack M.: "'I hope the Dodgers sweep you!'" Now that's a mascot to which fans that have been denied a championship for 40 years can relate: mean, surly, belligerent, sullen... Time to club the Seal!"
This is exactly it. The whole thing about the Crab was that he was, well, crabby. The idea from the beginning was "anti-mascot," someone the fans could -- and would -- boo, what with San Franciscans being too sophisticated for some idiot mascot (or so we thought, till Lou Seal came along). The commercials involving the Crab were hysterical -- in fact, the whole campaign was -- but evidently some fans really took the whole thing seriously and absolutely didn't get what the Giants were doing. On a recent TV special, Pat Gallagher, the Giants' PR guy who came up with the whole thing, was characterized as having made a "mistake" with the Crab, but that's just silly. The Crab concept was brilliant, witty, and one for the ages. It's not Gallagher's fault that so many fans were too humor-impaired to get it.
The Crab made his declaration during, I believe, the third inning of Wednesday night's game, as he took over the PA announcements of the hitters. The camera was on PA announcer Sherry Davis, the Crab, and the former Giants closer, the now-infamous Greg Minton. He and Davis laughed at the Crab's statement. So did I. It was funny. This was the whole point: He's crabby. He hates the fans for booing him so violently. (In fact, the Crab was shelved once the guy in the suit started to fear for his life.)
The actor who does the voice is just plain funny, too. He's in a lot of the Chevy's commercials, and I'm sure we've heard him in dozens of radio commercials over the years. Combining the voice with the idiot Crab-dancing was pure genius. And the little Giants cap stuck to the side of his head -- perfect.
A lot of the Giants, however, didn't appreciate his performance, including Barry Bonds and Dusty Baker, who I guess didn't get the spirit in which the Crab delivered his line.
The best part about that night, though, was the victory over the Dodgers. Barry Bonds hit a two-run homer early on, J.T. Snow drove in a pair with a bases-loaded single, Jeff Kent homered in the eighth, and Dusty Baker brought in Bronswell Patrick, of all people, to nail down the save in the ninth, first getting Gary Sheffield swinging on a 3-2 change (after about 60 foul balls, one of which was pulled at such an angle as to go behind Sheffield), and then inducing Eric Karros to loft a routine fly ball to right. Even better: Know who the Giants beat? Finally? Why, Kevin Brown. Hey, we may be watching the postseason, but we finally beat that S.O.B....
Thursday, of course, was the final game at Candlestick. I wish I'd been there, but only if I'd been airlifted in and out via helicopter -- the method of transportation, incidentally, by which home plate at Candlestick traveled to Pac Bell Park. The Giants brought back a whole bunch of former players, from Mays and Marichal to Krukow and Kuiper to Don Carrithers and Carl Boles -- whose name I remember, but whose major league career spanned 19 games in 1962, when I was two.
It was lots of fun listening to Lon Simmons and Jon Miller introduce these guys, and touching, if not all that well timed, when Simmons broke off from the festivities and dedicated the occasion to Russ Hodges. He and Simmons will always be the voices of my childhood, and I've read quotes from Simmons that kicking Hodges into the front office before the 1972 season just meant that he'd been fired, and he felt that this is what broke Hodges' heart and killed him. (Simmons, however, also told a recent story in which Hodges would stack up two or three packs of cigarettes next to the microphone. I have the feeling that this habit may also have contributed to Hodges' death in some small way.)
Miller riffed on Hodges' "lest we forget... lest we forget" speech at the last Giants game at the Polo Grounds in 1957. The new version was very stately and all, but you know, it'd been done, and it had a kind of hollow ring. Tears flowed throughout the ceremony, I have no doubt, and in all, the atmosphere was as if the Giants were leaving the area, not just this park that so many people have hated for 40 years.
The Associated Press says, "Candlestick, which had its final major league game today as the Giants faced the Los Angeles Dodgers, opened on April 12, 1960 -- two seasons after the Giants moved west from New York. Vice President Richard Nixon and Hall of Famer Ty Cobb presided over the opening ceremony."
"Golly," says Woody, "Nixon and Ty Cobb as the patron saints of Candlestick. No wonder the place turned out as demonic and people-hating as any house in Amityville."
Even so, my dad sent me an e-mail saying, "Did you happen to see the festivities at Candlestick on TV today? If not, I wish you had. All the old guys that you grew up with. From Atlee to Cepeda to Clark to Thompson and back again. Ended up with Mays pitching the final throw to Bonds. The whole thing was a lot of shtick but it was special to me and I know it would have been special to you."
Indeed, I scored a tape of the whole affair, from noon to six. I'd been hoping that my parents were watching, and if not, I'd make sure they saw the tape. These were two of the original 'Stick denizens.
My dad had a couple of other observations: "'Fans' booing Johnnie LeMaster? Class.
"Is there any love lost between Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonds? Didn't look like it to me when Bobby was introduced and I saw the look on Barry's face when the camera pictured him."
I wondered about the LeMaster thing. I wasn't home when he was introduced, so I only heard it on the radio, and it sounded like cheers. I wondered if I might just be hearing a little of the crowd.
As for Bonds pere et fils... I've heard things. I've heard things.
There's all sort of stuff about those two, but (a) it's none of my business, and (b) I take it with lots of salt anyway: Supposedly Barry has said that when he was a kid, his dad wasn't around much, and that they're not very close. However, he's also said they're very close, and that they talk frequently. Also, when Bobby got fired, Barry pretty much went off in the newspapers.
And yet, Hank Greenwald said in his book that Barry seemed obsessed with doing better than Bobby.
I imagine there's some element of truth in rumors about problems between them, but it sounds pretty complicated.
Meanwhile, Deek says, "It would be bad taste to write about Candlestick Park by parodying Elton John's Princess Diana tribute, but the thought did come to mind between innings of today's final game, as various 'goodbye'-themed songs were played on the P.A. system.
"I went by myself, my wife unable to take the day off from her employer. I had an impulse to bring my son, but felt I should save that 'get out of school free' card for the day when the Giants play a divisional or league championship, or a World Series game. Today was a day for old-schoolers, and we were rewarded with goodwill and nostalgia.
"Got there early, brought my glove, but was disappointed the Giants didn't take BP; however, I got my pin, a pennant for my son, and went back out and used my wife's ticket to get a pin for her too. Saw many folks taking pictures of themselves with the field in the background; felt goofy about asking strangers to take a picture of just me, so I took a photo of Estes' first pitch, the big '0' under the center field 'Tell It Goodbye' sign, and of Bonds and the fans behind him in left field."
I can identify. I felt silly, but on Tuesday I brought our video camera and took shots of a variety of things, and recorded the whole Willie Mac Award presentation. I made sure to grab Barry Bonds' first and last at-bats at the 'Stick, just because whether he's anybody's favorite player or not, he sure is the Giants' most important. I'm guessing Richard, at that time, did not want to be seen with me. I'm happy to say, though, that Richard scored amazing box seats, 12 rows behind the Giants' dugout. I'm glad my last visit to the 'Stick wasn't spent in Section 58.
"Happy to see Benard hit that home run," says Deke, "glad to see Estes get a double and score, amazed that Mondesi didn't get hit by more objects from the upper deck, and dammit, I forgot to go check out the Stadium Club (which I have never visited in all the drinking-age years I have gone to the park -- anyone have any comparisons to offer?). Had to envy the vendors selling $10 'last game' pins in the stands; folks were buying souvenirs as if all the Giants Dugout stores would run out of stuff tomorrow. But I missed out on getting a $4 scorecard earlier since I was so far behind in the line at Gate F. Oh well, at least I had programmed the VCR to record the game.
"Didn't choke up at all this afternoon, until the introduction of the players after the game, and not so much about the players themselves; but if my memory is correct, they played much of the music from the final scenes of Field of Dreams, where Costner's character finally sees his father as a young man with dreams of his own, and how he finally understood that baseball was their common language. [I didn't pay much attention, but the music I remember was from The Natural. -- GP] And I thought of my dad, now in his eighties, too frail now to go to the ballpark, and how I wanted to thank him for bringing me there so many times, so many years ago.
"I should get those pictures developed and bring him a set, and maybe talk about the old players I saw today, and the good memories I have. And I will say 'thank you.'"
"Almost every great moment in sports is defined by who won and who lost," writes Henry Schulman in the San Francisco Chronicle. "This one was an exception.
"The record shows that the Giants lost 9-4 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in their final game at Candlestick Park. The boxscore can never be erased, and the 61,389 fans, the largest regular-season baseball crowd in the park's history, surely will remember that Marvin Benard grounded out to Eric Karros at 4:35 p.m. for the final out.
"Yet their most vivid recollection will be the postgame ceremony, when the 1999 Giants mingled with 60 of their predecessors in a final lap around the park, after Willie Mays emerged from behind center field for one last tear-jerking goodbye."
Later Schulman says, "With the loss, the Giants' final regular-season record at Candlestick stands at 1,775- 1,398. Their final advantage over the hated Dodgers in the park: 181-162."
Works for me.
On the Giants newsgroup, the question arose, "Who was that announcer on the radio [in the sixth inning]? There was a new guy that really wasn't good. Or was he famous or a player or something?"
"It was probably an old guy," guesses the very young Jesse V. "I think they got back all the surviving announcers from the first 'Stick game."
"You are probably talking about Bill Thompson," says Ben F., who's old enough to remember. "He sounded quite 'old' yesterday."
Well, there's a valid reason for that. Mostly he sounded horribly rusty. His home run call on Raul Mondesi was possibly the least zesty home run call I'd ever heard -- but then, has the guy sat behind a mike in the last 25 years?
I was nice to hear his voice, but only for nostalgia reasons; I wasn't crazy about him when he was active.
But aside from the game, I sure enjoyed listening to the last day of Giants baseball at the 'Stick.
I've said similar things even after becoming a parent. Probably the main analogy for me is, one loves one's kids, but that doesn't mean one doesn't get really annoyed by them sometimes....
But Carlos is right. I've certainly felt proud of the Giants a few times over the years -- and I ask myself why; I mean, it's not like they are my kids, or have anything to do with me except in their ceaseless attempt to make me miserable. But I think we take a kind of proprietorial view -- they're Our Boys.
What the hell took him so long? He's really been helping the club by pitching through the pain....
"Meanwhile, the team announced that Barry Bonds' season will end early. He will have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Friday, the same knee that underwent a 20-minute scope after last season."
What's he been *doing* with those knees...?
"Bonds played in last night's 6-3 loss to the Dodgers in the opener of the three-game series that will end the Giants' 40-year run at Candlestick Point.
"After winning 22 of 28 games to stay in contention, the Giants have free-fallen. They have lost nine of their last 10 and are 0-4 on their farewell homestand."
Yeek. Well, 1-5, as it turned out. Double yeek.
"Maybe the entire team is plum exhausted from doctor visits."
That's one explanation.
"The Nen and Bonds surgeries were revealed a day after a long line of Giants underwent MRIs and other medical exams for a variety of ailments."
Was there really any doubt that Bonds would need to have something operated on? Plus, can Nen really have just plain lost it so quickly after being dominating last season? One would have to suspect pain.
"Jeff Kent reported that doctors will place his left foot in a cast for a month after the season ends Sunday to heal a sprained toe. Doctors are still deciding whether Ellis Burks needs surgery on his right knee. Burks said he expects he will."
Maybe these guys just like hospitals.
"Meanwhile, J.T. Snow (left knee), Russ Ortiz (hip), Joe Nathan (right humerus bone) and Livan Hernandez (rib cage) were told the discomfort they felt did not indicate serious injuries."
Um... yay.
"Also, catcher Scott Servais had an operation on his left foot Monday to fix a long-standing bone problem. He was already out for the rest of the season with a laceration on the same foot."
This I didn't know.
"The Giants did not formally announce Nen's surgery, because diagnostic tests were not complete, and Nen would not discuss the specific injury. But manager Dusty Baker said he believes Nen has bone spurs, and Nen said the operation will be 'more than a scope.'
"Nen clearly was not the same pitcher this year. After blowing five saves in 45 chances last year, he has blown nine in 46 opportunities this year. He also has eight losses in 11 decisions, and his velocity has dropped several miles an hour.
"But Nen insisted the elbow injury did not cause his problems on the mound."
Gimme a break.
"'I'll get it fixed and go from there,' he said. 'I've been able to pitch with it, and it's never really stopped me from going out there.... What I did this year was just bad pitching. I don't consider (the injury) an excuse. If I go out there and throw 90, I feel I've got enough experience in this game to get people out.'
"Baker said he never hesitated using Nen despite the discomfort his pitcher was feeling."
This, you might think, is part of the problem.
"Whether his velocity goes from 98 to 93, that's still pretty good,' Baker said."
Not if you're getting hammered at 93.
"don't think it's anything serious, but you don't know until you get in there. When you've been throwing that hard for that long, something is bound to happen. It would be inhuman not to.'
"The announcement on Bonds' surgery was expected, as the knee has bothered him much of the year. The operation will be performed by Dr. Art Ting, who repaired Bonds' elbow last April.
"During batting practice, Bonds said he would play last night even though he can't use his legs to turn his body. He went 1-for-3 with a walk as the Giants continued to disappoint their followers late in the season."
This guy is amazing. Has he felt good at any point this year?
"Before 34,786 on a beautiful, still evening, Nathan got bitten again by the long ball [Tuesday night, when Richard and I were there, thanks very much. -- GP], a problem he will have to solve as he gains maturity.
"Gary Sheffield hit his 32nd home run of the year with two out and nobody aboard in the first inning (he homered again off Miguel Del Toro in the ninth), while Devon White hit a two-run homer in the second following Raul Mondesi's single to give Los Angeles a 3-0 lead."
Okay, who among us doesn't hate this guy? White, I mean. Okay, not "hate," per se, but he's been perpetually annoying.
"Then, however, Nathan showed why the Giants are so excited about him when he struck out White and Todd Hundley, both looking, on back-door breaking pitches in the third inning, then nailed Mondesi swinging at a high fastball to end the fifth.
"Nathan left in the seventh after the Dodgers scored on a couple of singles and a ground ball out to take a 4-1 lead. One of the singles, a smash by Eric Young that deflected off Nathan's pitching hand, set up the RBI.
"Counterpart Chan Ho Park pitched six innings of three-hit ball, allowing Snow's 22nd homer in the second inning.
"Armando Rios hit a two-run homer in the Giants' ninth."
He was the only inspired-looking Giant that night.
Oh, plus let's not forget some brutal umpiring, especially at first base. Shee.
At least Marvin Benard dropped a bunt single to start the game -- one of his few successes in that realm. He's got 98 runs scored this season. And now he's stolen second on a pitch dropped by Kirt Manwaring.
Not that this is a surprise, because it's consistent with about the last month, but Charlie Hayes is not in the lineup. I'm pretty sure Dusty's trying to protect his .205 average.
Santangelo struck out, but Snow hit a bomb to dead center, missing a home run by less than a foot. Benard scored run number 99 -- which I can't even believe -- and Snow drove in run number 98.
Rios struck out, but a double down the left-field line by Martinez has plated Snow.
Canizaro just took a called third "strike," the location of which having very little to do with the strike zone. So Bohannon struck out three in the inning -- remember how Hank Greenwald always made that distinction, refusing to say he "struck out the side" unless the team went out one-two-three? -- but the Giants lead 2-0. That should be quite safe in Coors, with Joe Nathan, who never gives up home runs, on the hill. Right? Please?
Evidently Gardner's under contract for next year, so if we dust him, we'll eat that... but, as Richard has asked, who'd take him in a trade? He's old, and he slurped. I'm very, genuinely sorry about all this horrific health stuff with his wife, and if that isn't a terrible distraction, nothing is -- but... he's old, and he slurped. He probably killed us even worse than Robb Nen.
"Before the Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 9-4 at Coors Field last night, behind Russ Ortiz's third complete game and Jay Canizaro's four RBIs, Gardner discussed his decision to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his chronically sore right shoulder Monday. The operation should render Gardner 100 percent healthy by spring training."
Wait a minute. If he's really been in pain since last year, what the hell took so long to undergo arthroscopic surgery? That's, like, at the other end of the scale from "amputation."
"Then, when asked if he wanted to return to the starting rotation next year, Gardner offered an intriguing answer.
"'That's my goal,' he said. 'I'm sure I'll have to win a spot, but if not with this team, I'm sure I can start somewhere.'
"With that, Gardner ended the interview.
"The implication was that should the 1999 Opening Day starter not win a job in the Giants' rotation for 2000, he might welcome a trade to a team that could use his 11 seasons of big-league experience. With a stable full of younger starters, including Shawn Estes, Kirk Rueter, Joe Nathan, Russ Ortiz and Livan Hernandez, Gardner could become expendable."
Y'think?
"But trading him could be difficult because of his 5-11 record and 6.47 ERA [This is just a nit, but I'd like to think that it's because of the ERA, because the won-lost record could happen to anyone. -- GP], the $3 million value of his contract for 2000 and his shoulder troubles. On the other hand, his operation should clear up a problem that Gardner said bothered him even last year, when he went 13-6.
'What happened was, I got into some bad habits trying to pitch around a sore arm, and then when I did feel well I wasn't as sharp as I should have been,' said Gardner, who took three cortisone shots to ease the pain this year after a three-week stint on the disabled list in April and May.
"In Monday's operation, Gardner will have inflamed tissue from his bursa sac removed and some fraying in the labrum repaired. He had a slight tear of the labrum in 1990, 'so once every 10 years is not so bad.'"
Yeah, but if that "once" lasts over a year...that's bad.
"This paragraph made me laugh, and it also perfectly described Estes' 1999 season," says JVV.
I don't agree with Jenkins much, and sometimes his approach is pretty annoying, but that was a good line. He does tear them off occasionally.
"I never expect Estes to perform under pressure, so I'm not surprised he choked," says Carlos. "He doesn't know how to channel his emotions into pitching better."
Ortiz walked quite a few more hitters, didn't he? (Correct me if I'm wrong, because I don't have the numbers in front of me.) But walks seemed to kill Estes. Ortiz managed to cope. Well, much of the time.
This year I've noticed the Giants outfielders pulling up on a lot of fly balls and line drives that you'd think they could catch. What's up with that?
Funny how they do that to people. Well, not "funny," per se.
"If everything was going well I would do something stupid to mess it up. Breaking up with a great girl for no reason, going broke, sleeping late, and screwing up at work. Then I started following the Giants and I had a place to put that stress. Ever since then my professional life has been great, making a lot more money, great girlfriend, live in a good neighborhood, you name it."
This is probably a wise approach. Far wiser than following the Giants, putting that stress there and hosing up the rest of your life.
"My friends say 'Why don't you follow a winning team like the Yankees or the Indians?' Fuck that. Gimme the Giants any day. Who wants a blowout? I love the Giants because every game is close one. Even if the G's have a seven-run lead you know it's not safe. You're never bored, you know something's gonna happen. Ball between J.T.'s legs, triple play, ball ricocheting off of Nen's foot into Kent's glove and being called a ground ball, Dusty letting Hayes hit. You name it, it's gonna happen."
Except, perhaps, for that last part. Did Hayes even play in September?
It's hard to tell. I mean, for me, sometimes it's a single "E." Sometimes it's 90.
"I bet your house has shatterproof windows," says Anson. "Or no windows at all."
That second one. It's modeled on the Flintstone abode.
I'm disappointed to note that although Tuesday night's game was plenty frustrating, I never did utter a single "EEEEEE!" during the game. I really wanted to.
Jan says, "I've been reading EEEEEE! for more than a year now (I guess they call it lurking) and am finally getting around to filling out this ["Tell us about yourself"] form. I love the site and tell everyone I know about it whether they like baseball or not. I've followed the Giants since 1986 when I moved to San Francisco from Oregon and was dating a guy who introduced me to the joys of the game. He created a monster. Anyway, I'll never get over the Matt Williams trade, I've indoctrinated another friend this season, thus creating a monster of my own, and I look forward to each installment of EEEEEE! I've learned an enormous amount from you and the others who regularly post and I thank you for that. I also thank you for allowing me to vent vicariously. Keep up the great work."
This e-mail, as you can imagine, made my day.
Charlie says -- I know. I'm supposed to go "Love my Good 'n' Plenty!" I'll start over.
Charlie says, "Before the season closes, I just wanted to thank you and the newsgroup participants for helping to make this season enjoyable. I'm a 63-year-old Giant fan living in Maryland. I grew up in Jersey rooting for the New York Giants and have followed them ever since. This season was the best in a long time, not only because the Giants stayed in the race, but also because your reporting gave me insights that I haven't had in years. I have to laugh at some of the things I read in your report. The dislike of the Dodgers is the same in California as it was in New York. The ardent Giant fans refuse to listen or watch lest they jinx the club. It all sounds so familiar."
Well, certainly it's important to maintain that deep and bitter disdain for the Dodgers. There's something healthy about it.
"All in all I thought the season went pretty well. It's pretty obvious the Giants lack the depth to compete with the league's best. It would take career bests from several to reach the top. I enjoy this team, however. They seem to hustle and play up to their ability. You can't quarrel with that. Hopefully, they'll make some improvements in the off season. The new stadium should help to draw more fan support and that should help. Again, thanks for all your efforts and I'll look forward to more in April."
"All in all I thought the season went pretty well. It's pretty obvious the Giants lack the depth to compete with the league's best." Charlie's able to say things like that because, as near as I can tell from our limited contact, he's sane. In many ways I wish I could regain that "Oh, well, maybe next year" mindset, which I managed to have up through 1985. Thanks, Roger Craig and Al Rosen. Thanks a heap.
It's tough. I really, really want to know what it's like for my team to win it all. Sure, I pulled for the A's for many years, too, but never with the same intensity as I did for the Giants. It was a thrill when they won big from '72 through '74, but... it's just not the same.
"It would take career bests from several to reach the top," says Charlie. "I enjoy this team, however."
They are a fun bunch. My dad and I have discussed, many times, a lot of the players we like because of a kind of blue-collar demeanor: Kent, Snow, Rios, Aurilia, Mueller, Benard, the departed Stan Javier, guys like that. How can you not like that kind of player? But another thing "blue collar" means, here, is "not quite good enough...."
Oh, that's just mean.
"They seem to hustle and play up to their ability. You can't quarrel with that. Hopefully, they'll make some improvements in the off season. The new stadium should help to draw more fan support and that should help. Again, thanks for all your efforts and I'll look forward to more in April."
Well, I'm looking forward to seeing the new yard (if I can even get in), and I do hope it'll make a difference. I have the feeling that they'll have to rebuild the team to an extent -- it looks like it'll be a real hitter's park (like all the new stadiums, pretty much) And indeed they have some holes, plus a certain need for more star power.
I always appreciate these kind notes about EEEEEE!, and I'm glad people keep reading it. I want to let you know, though, that I plan to cut back somewhat for the rest of the calendar year, and maybe up till spring training. There are too many non-EEEEEE! writing projects that I've ignored lately, and I'd like to at least poke at them a little. Also, I can use a few Saturday nights and/or Sundays that are not filled up with writing.
In October or early November we'll have a group of season postmortem articles involving many if not all of the EEEEEE! staff, just like last year, and I look forward to us putting that together. One piece has arrived already.
But a little less EEEEEE!, for a while, won't be such a bad idea, I think. When the 2000 season starts up, we'll go get 'em at full speed.
The Giants have finished at 86-76 -- better than the "experts" guessed, certainly, but... well, let's hope for big-time improvement next year.
Copyright ©1999 by Gregg Pearlman
Last updated 10/3/99 Gregg Pearlman, gregg@EEEEEEgp.com