Small Ball

GIANTS IN CHICAGO

2007-07-18T17:41:00.001-05:00

Just got back from a wonderful trip to Chicago to watch game 1 of the 4-game series between the Giants and Cubs. The weather was perfect: warm, clear, not humid, never smothering.

I lived two blocks north of the park for nearly 7 years, but never once visited it. How strange, then, to sit in terrace seats behind home plate 11 years after leaving Chicago to watch a game between my two favorite teams.

The only thing that would have made that exciting game even more memorable was a Giants team that was more of a match for the white-hot Cubbies. Tim Lincecum and Rich Hill duelled beautifully for 6 innings, each giving up 1 run. The game heated up considerably in the 8th, with the Giants taking a 2-1 lead before the Cubs -- with the awesome support of the most vibrant, well-behaved fans I've ever seen -- fought back with 2 hair-raising runs in the bottom of the same inning. Cubs won 3-2.

When we flooded, sated, out of the park, the whole neighborhood seemed to buzz with happy tidings. There's no type of fan more fun to hang with than a happy Cubs fan. Usually free drinks are involved!

Highlights of the game included that moment in the 5th when Pedro Feliz hit a homer to center left and the fans threw the ball back onto the field. "Tie game?" they seemed to say. "Oh, no you didn't!"

I had the pleasure of meeting the gentleman -- Richard Streetman -- who sang the national anthem. Admit it, we're all bored to tears with mediocre renditions by "Who the fuck is that?" (Today's game, anyone?) Richard's crystal clear voice was made for anthems -- or anything requiring that white-guy soulfulness that usually only comes out of boys from the South. Beyond his pipes, Richard is also an incredibly charming man. We hung out together at a few local bars and had good fun getting to know each other. Richard Streetman -- remember that name. He may now work for the Cook County Sheriff's Office, and may be able to count Hillary Clinton among his peeps, but he's salt of the earth and killer company. Go Richard!

...

The guts of the Friendly Confines.

How can one resist snapping the most identifiable scoreboard in baseball?

The jarring specter of Harry Caray hovering over Giants broadcasters (bottom middle) Mike Krukow and Jon Miller.

Ryan Theriot and Daryle Ward, players in their prime.

MY ALL-STAR EXPERIENCE

2007-07-18T16:18:00.000-05:00

As you all know, San Francisco hosted the MLB All-Star game this year. I had no desire to take part in the spectacle, although I wouldn't have tossed a ticket or two if they'd fallen into my hand.

Instead, I spent a lazy Sunday afternoon (July 8) at beautiful Marchbank Park in Daly City, where the San Francisco National Adult Baseball Association (SFNABA) was holding its own decidedly more intimate All-Star game. The "Ocean" team beat the "Bay" team 7-5.

Because my father played semi-pro ball back in the 60s, I have a special attachment to non-MLB baseball. Here in the Bay area, we're lucky to have a fully formed league in SFNABA, with a variety of parks to choose from. The great thing about these games is that you can sit on the grass at the edge of the field with your dogs and a picnic basket and bask in the sun while good players play baseball mere feet away. It's even more intimate than Spring Training.

...

ALL STAR GAME, GIANTS SUCK, AND CHICAGO HERE I COME

2007-07-13T23:47:00.000-05:00

Three different posts, actually, but I want to summarize them before I get on my plane to Chicago to watch the Giants get their sorry asses beaten by the succulently superior Cubs.

I attended the Bay Area Association of Adult Semi-Pro Something or Other Ball Players All-Star Games. It was awesome and I plan to post pictures when I get back from Chicago.

The Giants are so embarrassingly bad I can't even post about it. They just extended the General Manager's contract 2 years. The asshole mostly responsible for the terrible position we are in. Huh?

Chicago! Save me! I'm in Chicago over the next few days for the Giants/Cubbies series. I've got tickets to the Monday game and plan to take many pictures and score games in my nifty playbook.

I'll update with more information when I get back. Cheers.

STEEEEERRRRIIIKE!

2007-06-29T21:10:00.000-05:00

The last several weeks -- those not consumed by travel and work and the general vicissitudes of ordinary life -- have been interesting for a baseball fan of my ilk.

WHY THE OLD WORLD IS BETTER

Craig Biggio, now in his 19th year with the Astros, attained hits 2,998, 2,999, 3,000, 3,001, and 3,002 in last night's dramatic and incredibly emotional game against Colorado. The game came to a complete standstill when he hit 3,000, and I'll admit that I wept openly.

Biggio seems like a nice guy: eloquent, sincere, the type of man who looks into the camera when he's addressing the fans. I'm happy to see him hit this ultra-rare milestone.

I sometimes wonder whether baseball players like Biggio -- the older guys who have maturity and grace in their column -- will become oddities as baseball moves, however slowly, into the corporate age and into an age where fluent English and camera-friendliness are no longer important, or even essential, to the allure of baseball heroes.

ON PITCHING AND HITTING AND THEIR UNHAPPY CONFLUENCE

One thing I've noticed in all the games I watch (and I watch many) is the lack of run support for otherwise stupendous pitchers. Matt Cain of the Giants -- their young phenom -- is unquestionably one of the best pitchers in the game. But his record of 2-9 -- an embarrassment by any standard -- points its gnarled finger only at the pathetic performance of Giants offense. Cain has pitched games in which he gave up no more than 3 runs and still lost because of shameful support from his teammates.

I've watched more Cubs, Nationals, Braves, and Giants games where literally nothing happens offensively -- as if the batters are bewitched by some fetid torpor -- while terrific pitchers hack away at each other's teams, hoping apparently against hope that somebody will rack up hits and runs. It appears to be a National League problem, but more on that later.

HERE COMES THE NEW WORLD

I'm fascinated by the resurgence of Milwaukee as a contender of note. Rookies. Farm systems. Multi-year development strategies. That seems to be what the Brewers have behind them. Which makes the pathetic performance of the Washington Nationals so cerebrally intriguing. Both teams are internally cultivating talent. The brewers are about three years ahead of the Nationals in this regard. The Nationals may have Ryan Zimmerman, but the Brewers have Prince Fielder.

Homer Bailey in Cincinnati, Cole Hamels in Philadelphia, Tim Lincecum in San Francisco, Hunter Pence in Houston -- these are the dewy newbies we pay attention to. And still Jeff Francoeur in Atlanta, Zimmerman in D.C., and the Cubbie club of exciting new talents (DeRosa, Fontenot, Pie, and Cedeno down in the minors) all shine when they can.

LOVE THE OLD WORLD -- HATE IT ALL IN ONE ROOM

The Giants simply suck. In many regards, they are the embarrassment of a management team that has been trying to fill seats based on celebrity appeal rather than contention appeal. After this year, when Barry Bonds' involvement will be a non-issue, the Giants will be left with nothing -- veterans with no offensive steam and annoyingly average players like Ryan Klesko (boo!), Todd Sweeney, Kevin Frandsen, Pedro Feliz, and Randy Winn. No line-up power, no notable clutch hitting. Ah, there's always Dave Roberts, bless his energetic soul. He may have been the darling of Boston just a few short years ago, but he can't save San Francisco from its own terrible front office.

I'm skeptical that a team in an expensive market like this will ever take the Marlins/Brewers/Nationals pill and start from scratch, but God almighty, that's what this Ben Gay club needs.

By the way? I'm not impressed with Felipe Alou's replacement, Bruce Bochy. Yawn.

REAL NAMES RULE

There's this deplorable habit running rampant through the commentator booths of major league baseball. Its epicenter is Atlanta, but the problem has leaked into other markets like Arizona and even San Francisco.

The problem? Giving baseball players grammar-school nicknames. In Atlanta, the commentators call John Smoltz, Chipper Jones, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Jeff Franceour -- respectively -- "Smoltzie," "Jonesie," "Salty," and "Frenchie." Arizona commentators call Eric Byrnes "Byrnsie." Worst is Giants commentator Duane Kuiper, who calls Pedro Feliz, a native of the Dominican Republic, "Pete."

Huh?

HOW ABOUT THOSE CUBBIES?

I'm having a grand old time following the Cubs. Before their recent 7-game win streak, I was starting to see the team gel under Lou Piniella's leadership. Lou does a nice mix of old and new talent, and is riding high on the late June productivity of Derek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Mark DeRosa, Alex Pie, solid pitching, and, most importantly, Alfonso Soriano, whom the Nationals still miss.

In good Cubs tradition, I refuse to get excited about anything related to their #2 spot behind Milwaukee. In good Cubs tradition, I should actually look at this winning streak as a harbinger of the end of the team's success this season.

But I'm a patient man. We're only half way through the season. There's plenty of time to fail.

SMALL BALL ON THE ROAD: Giants vs. Cubs

2007-04-16T20:33:00.000-05:00

I was trying to think of how I'd like to spend my birthday this summer. I decided to fly to Chicago in mid-July to watch a couple of Cubbie home games. One of them will be against the Giants.

Although I lived a few city blocks from Wrigley Field for several years in the early/mid-90s, I've never been to Wrigley Field. I wasn't into baseball until long after I left Chicago for San Francisco. I kick myself for missing the opportunity to go and watch games in those years.

There's a little B&B, can't remember it's name, about two blocks from Wrigley Field. I think that's where I'm going to stay while I'm in town. It will be ass hot and humid, but I won't mind, not in the bleachers of one of the coolest ball parks in the world.

YOU'RE SO GAY...I BET YOU THINK THIS POST IS ABOUT YOU, DON'T YOU, DON'T YOU

2007-04-10T21:08:00.000-05:00

Just tuned into tonight's Giants@Padres game, which is in the top of the 1st. The TV broadcasters are Mark Grant, who used to play for San Diego, and Andy Masur, who did a great job for a lot of years for Cubbies radio in Chicago before moving to southern California this season.

After the odious underarm deoderant ad that precedes every launch of an MLB TV stream, Grant and Masur were the first image I saw.

Forgive me, but I laughed my ass off. Grant is holding a baseball -- just in case we doubt his baseball superpowers. "Look at me! I used to play baseball! Can't you tell? That's right, I'm holding a BASEBALL." Masur, with his strangely manicured eyebrows, looks like Grant's gay sidekick.

I don't mean "gay" in the sexual application of the word. I mean "gay" the way high-school kids mean it. As in, "You're gay," where "gay" = "retard."

TV enhances the superhero gayness of it all by binding these guys in matching jackets that look like discarded design concepts from an X-Men movie.

Grant and Masur are so cute and earnest, I expect them to don capes and fly in circles above the field during the 7th-inning stretch.

HOLY DISAPPOINTMENT, BATBOY!

2007-04-09T23:39:00.000-05:00

Well, the Giants, after a week of games, are 1 for 6, right down there with the worst team in baseball so far -- yep, the Nationals. Veteran luminaries of various stripes and effectiveness share the gutter with a reconstruction team packed with nobodies. How embarrasing.

Tonight, I watched every agonizing moment of the Giants@Padres game, where only 7 hits in the entire game resulted in 1 run for San Diego. They won with that puny little integer.

I guess you could generously say that Chris Young and Matt Cain duelled, but they didn't impress me as much as the offense infuriated me. Wasted opportunities abounded. You study the faces of Bonds, Aurilia, Durham, Feliz, Winn, and you see men thinking about something other than the game of baseball. Men who lack the spark you see in the faces of Twins hitters, Braves hitters, Cubbie hitters. I wonder if there's any hunger there, or if these guys are collecting massive paychecks while playing a week's worth of dotty exhibition games. Nobody in San Francisco seems to be playing baseball. Just making plate appearances. Is that the new standard for selling seats?

I pity all of the holders of those incredibly expensive Mays Field seats, the overpaid, overeducated baseball dilletantes conducting business through their Treos and Blackberries. They just paid for a weeks' worth of incredibly uninteresting baseball. Ha!

Color me cranky.

BARRY BONDS. WATCH OUT.

2007-04-04T21:27:00.000-05:00

Holy cow, Barry Bonds' first at bat against San Diego's Chris Young (who?) on an 0-2 count resulted in his 735th home run. I'm speechless.

UPDATE: Top of the third. Barry just hustled toward the infield from LF like a bat out of hell, trying to catch a high flyball. I pressed my fingertips against my teeth (we, in San Francisco, are intimate with Bonds' long, slow recovery from double-knee surgery), waiting for something horrible to happen. Damned if he didn't catch the ball like the Golden Glover of old. Very impressive.

He seemed to cramp up as he came to a stop (somebody give this man Ben-Gay, stat!), but he returned to the plate in the bottom of the third, with Omar on base (Omar used Bonds' at bat to steal 2nd -- tee hee).

WHO'S YOUR DADDY?

2007-04-04T20:49:00.000-05:00

I just watched the game between the Cubs and Reds. I like Ted Lilly, the Cubs new SP weapon. He's accused of throwing a lot of pitches, but he's also a strikeout monster. He dueled Bronson Arroyo, one of my favorite pitchers from last year. Both men went deep and were relieved competently. Didn't see much batter performance, but that's OK cuz the Cubbies won, fairly decisively, 4-1.

The real story with this game was Lou Piniella, who is clearly sending a message: we will try to steal bases often, we will aggressively run the bases, and I have no patience for closers who squander comfortable leads in the 9th.

Lou came running out in the 9th to school Ryan Dempster. He ran (ran!) to the mound and said fewer than ten words, wheeled around, and stormed back to the dugout. Dempster started pitching again before Lou even made it back.

I think it's safe to say that Dusty Baker's warm-and-fuzzy days are over.

Ted Lilly was brilliant. He even got a single (his first career RBI) and a terrific infield play, hustling to get a man out at first by a hair. I love it when pitchers also have some offense and defense in them.

NICE COMEBACK IN WASHINGTON

2007-04-04T14:52:00.000-05:00

I was surfing around a bunch of team sites and noticed that all the teams I pay attention to had lost every one of their games so far this season. That’s not so bad when it comes to teams like the Cardinals (2 losses) and Houston (2)—in fact, hot diggity!—but it also applies for the Cubs (1), San Francisco (1), Rangers (2), and Washington (2).

A couple games were in progress and it looked like the trend was going to continue. The Rangers have already given up 4 runs in the first, and the Nationals, when I first checked, were down 2 runs going into the bottom of the ninth. I’d gotten to a point last year where I couldn’t pay attention to baseball because the team I’d follow was always on the losing end. Spotting a similar trend so early this season is making me nervous, I must admit.

But then the scoreboard refreshed, and the Nationals were winners! They posted 3 runs to come from behind and win! Maybe my season isn’t doomed after all…

CHICKS IN BASEBALL

2007-04-03T21:02:00.000-05:00

I noticed it for the first time two years ago, and then again in greater frequency last year. This year, between spring training and the first handful of regular-season games, it's epidemic.

That's right. Chicks in baseball.

I'm referring, of course, to the chick broadcasters who talk really quickly and lob grenades like, "What's your favorite football team?" or "How about those new trans-fat-free garlic fries?"

Oh, I know that male broadcasters are equally guilty of pointless banter. And I've seen guys with helmet hairdos stand in the aisles with the fans, looking like Lysol cans, ready to disinfect any drunk who touches them.

But the chicks are the worst. With their terrible plastic hairdos, completely fake proclamations ("I've been a fan of yours for twenty seasons!"), and natty little voices -- cognitive dissonance in a sea of old-school testosterone -- these tomorrow ladies prove only that somebody with a persuasive Powerpoint presentation won the argument and got a budget to try something "different."

The continued feminization of EVERYTHING is getting old. When you see it thrown at an incontrovertibly male sport, it just looks like ornamental ass.

OPENING DAY: CUBS @ REDS

2007-04-02T15:07:00.000-05:00

Although Carlos Zambrano's opening-day start has been a bust and Aaron Harang has foiled Cubs batters -- allowing only 6 hits and 1 run in 7 innings -- it's been a blast to watch. MLB.com's got this new 700K streaming option, which means a much clearer watching experience than the old 450K.

What about Zambrano? The Angry Baby Giant™ was clearly overwhlemed by the emotion of starting on opening day. We got to see a lot of his anger -- in the dugout, on the mound, making that long mournful walk off the field after a third out. The cameras did a great job of capturing Z as he lectured himself on the mound, pounding his fist into his chest while (no doubt) cursing his very own name.

I wanted to transport myself out there and tell him to chill out and enjoy the day. This game doesn't really matter. There are 161 to go. But the Angry Baby Giant™ wouldn't deserve that trademark if he didn't live up to it, eh?

SPRING TRAINING'S OVER, YO

2007-04-02T14:57:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, I went to one of the last of the exhibition games at Mays Field here in San Francisco. Giants lost to Oakland and Barry didn't play, but who cares? It was gorgeous from our club seats over far right field, where we could gaze longingly at the little sail boats in McCovey Cove while the game progressed.

You could tell that none of the players were really into it, but they played well enough to excite us geeks in the seats.

I trotted out my super-duper Barksdale's scorebook so I could brush away the dust (I hadn't tracked a game in the scorebook since last June), but there were so many late-game replacements, I gave up and just drank more beer.

I'm thinking of hanging out in front of Mays Field tomorrow and seeing if I can get a decent seat without spending a fortune. The opening-day game is sold out, but I'm sure I can wrangle a lonely little seat in the sun. I'll let you know how it goes.

GUESS WHO'S ON THE DL?

2007-03-27T00:01:00.000-05:00

No, really, guess.

Could it be Kerry Wood? He felt a twinge in his shoulder after his unimpressive outing as a reliever yesterday. Lou Piniella made no hesitation putting his pitcher-made-of-glass on the DL.

This is a seasonal event, throwing darts at the board that illustrates when and where Kerry Wood will be unavailable, will get no practice, will continue to rust and offer no championship value to the team that seems to think he's worth all that money.

It's not nice to say, but relegating Kerry to the DL and dropping Mark Prior in the minors is a GOOD thing for the Cubs. Why? Because their starting lineup is solid and -- even without Wood and Prior -- their bullpen is deep. It's like divesting oneself of vestigial limbs. They may be nice to look at, and provide some physical balance, but they don't do anything.

SPRING TRAINING REPORT: CUBS vs. RANGERS

2007-03-21T17:41:00.000-05:00

I've never been a Rangers fan -- in fact, I know practically nothing about them. But because Sammy Sosa has joined their lineup and two of their starters, Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla, are starters for my fantasy team, I'm paying attention.

Right now, in the bottom of the 7th, it's 7-6 Cubs just moments after Daryle Ward (LF) hit a ball into right, allowing speed-demon Ronny Cedeno (SS/2B) to slide into home plate from 2nd with nary a nanosecond to spare. Like the Cubs game I reported on below, this one has been exhilarating.

I know its early, but the chemistry and distribution of power and talent for the Cubbies this year feels like winner magic. It's a magic the Giants and especially the Nationals still don't have.

More about Cedeno. He barehanded a ball on a one-hop earlier in the game, throwing without blinking to Derek Lee at first to get out Sammy Sosa. Ah, that felt good. And Jacque Jones, who used to be with Minnesota, has found his muse, either in manager Lou Piniella or in someone who can't be seen with mortal eyes. A few innings ago, he tied the game with a 2-run homer -- his 2nd this spring -- after the Cubs trailed 6-4. He's one of 3 Cubbies on my fantasy team, so I'm thrilled to watch him find his groove.

Soriano, Ramirez, Jones, Lee, Cedeno, Izturis, Barrett, Cliff Floyd, Zambrano, Lilly, Rich Hill, Scott Eyre -- all these guys are clicking like teeth in well-oiled gears. Newcomers like Felix Pie, reliever Les Walrond (who today schooled Mark Texeira even in the face of a double steal), and Ryan Theriot bring fresh new things.

Lou Piniella stood in front of the press many weeks ago and said the Cubs were going to contend, that they were going to the championships. He managed to say that without sounding like an arrogant dick. You got this sense that he perfectly understands what's wrong with the 21st C. Cubbies and has plans for fixing them. He's got a team with few weak links, a whole lot of power, depth in the bullpen, and an ace in Carlos Zambrano, our beloved Angry Baby Giant™.

Erik and I chatted last year about why Z gets no respect (from a celebrity standpoint) although he's clearly the Cubs strongest pitcher. He's lived in the shadow of Mark Prior, Greg Maddux, and Kerry Wood -- even though he's a better, stronger, and more consistent performer than any of them. Well, his patience has paid off. He's the star among starters. From a business point of view, he has a whole lot to gain by bringing his very best this year -- he has a one-year contract and an opportunity to help carry his team to playoffs. That will make him wildly valuable as he nears free-agent status. I say expect a fantastic year from the Angry Baby Giant™.

And a year of performance from the Cubbies that may rival hot sex in the gratification department.

Uh, oh, Michael Wuertz is shutting things down in the top of the 9th. Here it comes. Full count, 2 outs. Man on 1st. Cubs up 7-6. Fans are on their feet, chanting and clapping. Catcher just came out to the mound, giving Wuertz a moment to collect himself. Oh, shit, he walked the batter. Men on 1st and 2nd. Next batter blasted the ball just foul in left field (nail-biter!). 2 strikes. All we need is one more, Michael, just one more. Fuck, the batter blew it into right field, allowing the man at 2nd to get home. See my pouty face. All kinds of run-down mayhem ensued, but the Cubbies finally got the out they needed to close the inning. Now, the game is tied.

I'll leave it at that. You'll have to check the scoreboard for the final word. Ciao.

UPDATE: Couldn't resist, since it just got exciting. Bottom of the 9th, the bases are loaded with Cubbies, 1 out. Ronny Cedeno yet again contributed to that situation, proving that the Cubs are behaving like men hungry for wins. Daryle Ward is up, the count is 2-2, still only 1 out. Foul, foul, foul (more nailbiting!).

Holy mother, a game ending GRAND SLAM from Daryle Ward! Cubs win! Cubs win! Cubs win! Gotta go dance around the apartment!

SPRING TRAINING REPORT: CUBS vs. GIANTS

2007-03-12T18:02:00.000-05:00

Today, while slaving away at my computer, I watched the Cubs/Giants contest at Scottsdale stadium. Matt Morris started for San Francisco, Carlos Zambrano for Chicago. Matt Morris seemed asleep at the wheel, allowing 6 runs on three Giants errors in the top of the first. Zambrano, in the 9-spot, smacked a ball to center-right in the first, which might have been an in-the-park home run if he hadn't stumbled and fallen on his way to third. His triple was successful, but it was such a beautiful Zambrano moment, this gigantic Cubbies ace hauling ass around the bases and then just falling all over his oversized self. He seemed embarrassed at first, but was soon laughing as fans in the stand cheered his dramatic effort.

Barry Bonds made a couple of left-field errors due to the sun. More suprisingly, Omar Vizquel, who rarely makes mistakes, bobbled a ball like some AA hopeful. Glad I got to see it, because I probably won't see that more than a couple of times during the regular season.

Zambrano pitched a fantastic 4 or 5 innings and the Cubs backed him up like a well-oiled machine, as if it were May instead of March.

One thing is really clear after watching a handful of Cubs games. They are not Dusty Baker's team anymore (thank God!). Lou Piniella, their new head coach, is working some kind of three-ring mojo, drawing Aramis Ramirez out of his usual early-season slump. Alfonso Soriano is a not-so-secret super weapon. Derek Lee is healthy. Best of all, Chicago has a strong bullpen and many starters to choose from. Wisely, they sent Mark Prior down to the minors (thank God!) and plan to use perennial wounded-guy Kerry Wood as a reliever, where he will probably bring some much needed shock and awe over the three or so innings he'll be asked to pitch during certain games. What a great idea!

Great game with lots of scoring action. I recommend streaming it.

BRAVE NEW WORLDS

2007-03-04T14:42:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Small Ball 2007. We've got a new masthead featuring the Mad Dogs (a $3 bill for anyone who knows who they are) and a renewed sense of excitement. It's a year of real, quantifiable change.

For fans of the Nationals, Cubs, and Giants, there are many, many reasons to be excited in 2007. All three teams have new managing coaches: Manny Acta, formerly of the Mets, replaced Frank Robinson in Washington; veteran AL coach Lou Piniella came out of retirement to replace Dusty Baker in Chicago; and Bruce Bochy, who made San Diego competitive in the NL West, replaces Felipe Alou in San Francisco.

As people and baseball legends, Alou, Robinson, and Baker can't be reproached. They certainly contributed special things to their teams, but I'm not shy about my relief that all three of them have been replaced. They were not able to make or keep their teams competitive. They did not seem capable of making hard, painful decisions to get the wins, and were more interested in loyalty and rapport than in convincing organization leadership that dead wood (pun intended) needed to be thrown overboard.

At 38, Many Acta is over thirty years younger than Frank Robinson. He may lack Robinson's epic knowledge of the game, but his enthusiasm and reputed canniness for nurturing and milking the farm system may be his secret weapon as a leader. He and the Nationals have a couple of things in common: they are young and untried, with oodles of opportunity before them. Will they be in 2007 like the reconstituted Marlins were last season -- surprising everyone with their potential? Or do they need a season or two to simmer on the back burner while they develop new talent?

I don't know much about Piniella except that he is one of the most ejected coaches in major league history. The north side of Chicago is going to love that. He apparently had great tenures with the Mariners and Reds, the latter of whom he took to victory in the '90 world series. On one hand, I think he's just the kick in the pants Chicago needs. But because I've watched the quality of Alou and Robinson's coaching decline with age, I wonder if Piniella is simply past his prime. He's got real pitching depth this year, and a cornucopia of marquee names to excite Cubbie fans all season.

Like my oft-disappointed co-blogger Erik, I'm reserving judgment on Chicago until I've had a chance to see the new chemistry in action for 20 or 30 games.

Which brings us to the Giants. Yep, Barry's back, and I'm down with that. I've thought a lot about what gets me off my ass and out to games at Mays Field during the regular season. It's Barry.

What's going to get me out this year is Bruce Bochy and important new blood among the players. Bochy turned the Padres into a perennial division leader, regularly vexing the Giants and Dodgers as they diminished in the west for a variety of reasons. He is precisely the injection of fresh coaching blood San Francisco needs. At 51, he's still got the physical and cerebral vitality I think a winning coach needs. Add to that the arrival of super-pitcher Barry Zito from the Oakland As, catcher Bengie Molina, and base-running genius Dave Roberts, plus the return of San Francisco favorite Rich Aurilia to the infield. 22-year-old prodigy Matt Cain is back on the mound. Omar Vizquel is back, with 2006 OBP, SLG, and AVG figures that beat any single personal instance of these stats in the previous three seasons. The man is motivated. Jason Schmidt, who was dragging ass for us as a pitcher, has moved on to LA, where I wish him luck.

What doesn't excite me is Pedro Feliz, Randy Winn, Noah Lowry, Brad Hennessey, Kevin Correia, Jason Ellison -- the usual suspects of middle-of-the-road (i.e., not world-class) talent. If Bruce Bochy can pump them up in ways that Felipe Alou could not, then we might be in business. I'm highly skeptical.

So, lots to watch, lots at stake, with many chances to see extreme highs and not so many chances to see extreme lows (for a change).

Got to get back to today's spring training game between the Cubbies and the Sith Lords otherwise known as the White Sox. The games have begun.

DESPITE MY BETTER JUDGEMENT...

2007-02-22T11:13:00.000-06:00

...I'm getting excited.

THE MAGNITUDE OF THE SUCKAGE

2006-07-27T20:11:00.000-05:00

Normally, a six game string in which all three of my teams have a chance to knock each other around would be like Christmas. Win some, lose some, see some of my cherished players going mano a mano. Bonds vs. Soriano vs. Ramirez. It's like a dream. And in a decidedly dreamy fashion, the Nationals sweeping the Cubs and then the Giants, it was almost Christmas. Almost.

You see, I got three toys for Christmas. One big robot that barely works and two smaller robots with broken parts and squeaky joints. The little robots -- Chicago and San Francisco -- got clobbered, in some instances humiliated, by the big robot. That's a shame since all the little robots had to do was kick the big robot in it's plastic shins and watch it tumble to the ground in a heap of springs.

Aye, somebody's been tinkering under the hood of the big robot, tightening screws and oiling where oil goes, replacing worn triple-A Eveready's with surprisingly efficient NiCads. But is the big robot really working better? Or did it just dismiss the little guys like you and I dismiss illiterate people or people who chew with their mouths open?

Oh, it's too bad that the Cubs and Giants stink so bad. I mean, they reek. The Nationals, even after winning 6 games in a row, are comfortably below .500 and still more than 14 games out of first place. In other words, they're still dead last. Sigh.

So, Christmas for me these last few days is, perhaps, better than a stocking full of coals, but at least coals I can burn. They, unlike my teams, can make me feel warm and toasty.

BASEBALL BY THE NUMBERS

2006-06-23T19:11:00.000-05:00

Poor little Small Ball. Such a neglected wee blog. I think Erik has absconded to wireless Nepal, so deep is his misery over the sorry state of the Cubs. Or maybe he's become a zombie and has eaten his wife, the pooch, and little kitty. I hear that, in Texas, they don't worry about wimpy little viruses like avian flu. No, they've got zombies to consider.

Me? I've been working hard and trying to promote my recently published novel.

Regardless of our hiatus, baseball is on and I'm going to the interleague day game tomorrow betwixt Oakland and San Francisco. I've got killer Club Box seats at Mays Field in the foul homer territory above and behind left field.

But wait, it gets better.

Today, in the mail, I received my gorgeously bound edition of Barksdale's Baseball by the Numbers scorebook, brought to you by Don W. Barksdale, who sells his brilliant book here.

My Dad taught me how to keep a scoresheet when we went to Giants spring training in '05. Tomorrow's game will be my first chance to geek out over every little detail of play.

FAN DRAFT WEEKEND

2006-06-05T21:57:00.000-05:00

I've invented a new event for baseball. I think you'll like it.

Imagine a weekend in June. Two day games. Your team accepts a single replacement player from the active roster of another team to play in those two games. It works like this...

Fans cast ballots for the position they would like to see subbed by a visiting player. They then select their top 5 prospects for that position. You might select 1st base as the position. Then, in order, let's say you choose Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman, Jason Giambi, Jim Thome, and Travis Hafner.

MLB receives all the ballots and then makes simple calculations.

a) The position to be subbed is determined by the simple plurality for that position. If 1st base gets more votes than any other position, it is the winning position.

b) The player to fill the elected position wins through a simple plurality. If -- out of the universe of voters who selected players for the winning position -- Albert Pujols gets more votes than anyone else, he is the winning 1st baseman.

c) Let's say five cities vote for 1st baseman, and their 1st baseman selection is Albert Pujols. The city with the highest number of individual votes for Albert Pujols, based on a) and b) above, gets Pujols for the weekend.

RULES AND EXCEPTIONS

a) Pitchers are not eligible because of the disruption to their rotation schedules.

b) You may vote for someone on the DL because you believe he will come off the list by game time. If this player is selected by a city and is still on the DL at game time, a member of the host team's bench will replace him.

c) Let's say that Jim Thome is not selected, based on votes, by any team. He becomes a bench member for the White Sox while the visiting 1st baseman plays his position for the weekend. He is eligible to DH in the American League.

a) The winning visitor cannot -- in the 2-game weekend series -- play against his own origin team. A system of alternates must be available based on criteria somebody smarter than me could figure out.

Does this hold up under scrutiny? How would you further refine the rules?

FORGET STEROIDS. LET'S TALK ABOUT GAY.

2006-05-31T02:11:00.000-05:00

I watch these baseball games and I sometimes think to myself, "Wow, some of these men are beautiful. How is it statistically possible that none of them are gay?"

So, I poked around like the good little snoop that I am, and found this:

Is Baseball Ready for a Gay Jackie Robinson?

Although the article is three years old, it's balanced and very well written, packed with all kinds of things I didn't know about queers in sports and queers, more specifically, in baseball.

WIKIBALL

2006-05-30T22:35:00.000-05:00

If you haven't combed Wikipedia for baseball terminology, you're missing a treat. I've been trying to understand better how and why pitchers pitch the way they do. I've now heard broadcasters use terms like 'cutter' and 'two-seam fastball' thousands of times, but I've not known what they're really describing.

Thanks to Wikipedia, I at least now understand some of the basic differences between sliders, sinkers, two- and four-seamers, screwballs (which sound eponymously unpleasant), the outlawed spitball, the knuckleball, and others. My favorite is the shuuto, a Japanese pitch that some say Greg Maddux uses (a variation).

While you're surfing, simulate pitches here. And here, view cool diagrams about the physics and illusions involved in breaking balls.

DEAR BARRY

2006-05-29T18:33:00.000-05:00

Dear Mr. Bonds,

You don't know who I am and there's no chance in hell that you've ever read this blog, so I'm going to pretend that I'm writing a letter to you. Just for fun.

First, congratulations on breaking Babe Ruth's home-run record and becoming the all-time #2. I was out walking with my dogs, listening to the game on my handy little radio, when you struck 714 in Oakland. I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and smiled a big smile. To be honest, I can't remember if it was sunny that day. It sure felt that way as I listened to the KNBR guys make the call.

It's great that you were able, with 715, to break Ruth's record in your own ballpark. Yeah, the ballpark that Barry built.

I'm writing this letter that isn't really a letter because I want to thank you for some things.

First, thanks for being such a superstar in 2002 that your appeal burst from the confinement of baseball fandom and tugged so many of the rest of us into the game. 2002 was a lousy year for me -- internet bust and all that. Watching you and the Giants at the top of your game gave me something to think about other than feeling sorry for myself. Suddenly, my lifetime dismissal of the game became a raging appreciation for the strategy and cerebral excitement of a contest between talented, focused athletes.

Second, thanks for being so famous that your home team's town had to build a better ball park, one so elegant and tricked out that, to fans, it felt like a gift. For 7 years, I lived within 8 city blocks of Wrigley Field, but not once in all that time did I attend a game. How I regret that. Here, in San Francisco, I've attended many home games. I was even at RFK when you hit your first home run of the season late last year.

Third, thanks for not letting the 2005 season get you down. Yeah, we were worried. In 2005, I lurked behind the chain-link fence while you took batting practice in Phoenix. Then, your injuries robbed us of a season of Bonds-style entertainment. Ironic that the second time I was able to see you was at the aforementioned RFK game 6 months later.

Fourth, thanks for giving me a reason to get much closer to my dad. He's always been a huge sports fan and was once a semi-pro baseball player. I never cared and for years we'd had nothing to talk about. Baseball creates all sorts of amazing opportunities for dads and their sons to talk because baseball is often about beautiful, interesting things -- a perfect metaphor for the neverending challenges of life.

I'd thank you for Albert Pujols because he's coming up through the ranks right behind you, but that would be as silly as writing a letter to you and expecting you to read it.

Thanks, Barry, now get back to your game, k?

ARE THEY ALLOWED TO HAVE THAT MUCH FUN?

2006-05-25T16:59:00.000-05:00

Whether you love them or hate them, you have to give the Braves one thing: they clearly have a lot of fun playing baseball and working with each other. The I'm-having-a-lot-of-fun award must be shared between three players: Marcus Giles, Andruw Jones, and Jeff Francoeur, with honorable mentions for John Smoltz and Chipper Jones.

Andruw looks like he's about fifteen years old. His baby-fat smile is a favorite of broadcast camera men. He's an easy target: he smiles when he makes a smoov play in the outfield, he smiles when he's at bat, he smiles when he's on base. It's not an I-don't-have-any-brain-cells smile. The guy's clearly having a ball.

Marcus Giles and Jeff Francoeur -- equally photogenic -- are little adrenaline junkies, bopping around the dugout like kids on a sunny day who've been told to go out and play. I'm not sure I've seen so much laughter and glee, even when the team's chips are down.

I wonder if the team's collective joy has anything to do with the fact that they are the Braves. Nobody in the Cubs or Nationals dugouts ever seems to be having any fun.