Wednesday Wanderings - Straight onto the Baseball Field

Last night was another disappointment because the San Francisco Giants just can't quite climb that last stretch and get into real contention for their division title.

They started the season badly. Hunter Pence, their right fielder, was hit by a pitch near the end of spring training and had his arm broken, so he was out for the first few weeks, but April and much of May were really bad for the entire team. They couldn't seem to win anything.

Then Pence came back and, for whatever reason (I find it hard to believe one man in a nine-man roster can make 100% of the difference), they started to win. They won enough games that they climbed out of the NL West cellar and started beating the teams that had trounced them.

Since then, though, it's been a rough year. Between injuries to several of their key players and stronger teams (damn those Dodgers!), they're not in the cellar, but they're out of contention for the playoffs.

The closest they've come to catching up with LA is 1.5 games back - then they've slid again and can't get the momentum to climb that last slope and catch up.

Of course, with the field of other contenders, I don't think the National League West is going to do well in the playoffs.

The Chicago Cubs are playing really well, as are the Pittsburgh Pirates. Both teams handed the Giants their hats and sent them packing.

Now, to the credit of the Cubs which have had sketchy runs at the playoffs in the past decades - getting close but not quite making it in, or being the bridesmaid who stumbles on her hem - they are playing hot ball this season. The Giants have played them five times this year and all five times the Cubs have walloped them.

Against the Pittsburgh Pirates they've played seven games, six of which they've lost. So the East is going to be hard to beat come playoff time.

It's probably for the best, anyway. As of now, the Giants have so many key players out on the disabled list that they're playing guys who have washed out at other teams, rookies and wet-behind-the-ears kids called up from the minor leagues.

Granted, a couple of their rookies or first year guys have played extremely well.

Matt Duffy, in his second year playing in the Bigs, took over third base from McGehe (who, I'm really sorry to say it, SUCKED). Duffy came up playing shortstop in college and the minors and hadn't played the third base position before this season. Since being tried out there, he has played it masterfully.

Joe Panik is another one. After a couple of rookie mistakes last season, he has really come into his own at second base. He and Brandon Crawford make a great infield duo. While he still has a lot to learn, watching him at the plate or on the field he seems older and more seasoned than he is. Unfortunately, right now, he's out with a sore back and hasn't played for several weeks.

Kelby Tomlinson came up from the minors after Panik's back started acting up earlier this month, and took over second base. He's not doing too badly there, either. He's a rookie and it shows, but he's made some solid plays and when he's at the plate, he's been really good. And, he is one class guy.

In his first at bat, he was in as a pinch hitter and hit a single into left-center field. What makes him class, though (IMO), is that he dedicated that hit to Kaiser Carlile, a nine-year old batboy who was hit in the head by an errant swing on Sunday, August 2nd during a college world series game and died on Monday, August 3rd. Tomlinson had played for the team for which Carlile served as batboy, but it's not clear whether he knew the boy. To me, though, it just shows class to be thinking of a little kid while taking your first major league at bat.

As for the other injuries, they've been rough.

Hunter Pence, their Right Field Man of Steel, has been off and on the roster all year. First, with an arm broken by a pitch in Spring Training, then with tendonitis in that same arm, now with a pulled (torn?) oblique. It's been a rough year for a man who never missed a game.

Nori Aoki who the Giants acquired from Kansas City was having a solid year, up until he was hit just above the ankle by a bad pitch. It broke his leg, so he was out for several weeks. Then, almost as soon as he got back, he was hit in the head, just above the brim of his batting helmet, by a pitch. That was one seriously scary moment:

After that, he tried to play but was concussed so missed several games.

Angel Pagan, their centerfielder, tore up his knee twice this season. First, by sliding to make a great catch but also catching his knee in the turf, and then by ramming it into the centerfield wall making another great play. He's out with tendonitis in his knee and isn't expected to be back for a while, yet.

With these guys not playing, their bats - key in the Giant's offense - have been MIA and the Giants just haven't had good luck trying to replace them.

They've also struggled tremendously with their pitching staff. Their only really good, solid, consistent starter is Madison Bumgarner. The rest? Pffft.

Vogelsong has been all over the place - one quality start, three miserable outings seems to be the pattern. I don't know what his contract is, but he's not worth whatever they're paying him. I feel sorry for the guy because you can see he really is trying his best, but I hope the Giants trade him this off season.

Cain can't find the groove, but their pitching staff has been working with him (heck, the guy had two surgeries on his pitching arm during the off season last year, so what do you expect?). I hope next season he'll be all the way back, and be able to really take over the mound like he used to.

Lincecum started the year looking pretty good but then took a nosedive. The problem? His hips. He's got a degenerative condition that's going to shorten (if it hasn't already ended) his career. That's a shame because, in his day, he was a great pitcher. And that sounds sooo wrong. The guy is only 31 years old! On the other hand, his contract is up this year so the Giants will have a choice - keep him and try to get him working again, or cut him loose on some other team. Personally? I hope he retires. He's got a solid reason and it would be a shame to see him keep trying and break his body down more, creating an old man before it should happen.

Heston - iffy. Hudson, he's had a couple of good starts but, for the most part, hasn't done notably well. Peavy was a mid-season acquisition who's had a couple of rocky outings. It's been rough, and their bullpen hasn't been up to snuff, either.

Jeremy Affeldt was the bright spot, there, but he would face one or two batters, then be replaced. He's not and never was a long reliever. Now he's on the DL with a knee problem.

It's just been a hard, hard year on the pitching side of things. Which is a lot of the reason why they have lost as many games as they have. Doesn't matter how good your offense is if your pitchers are letting the other team score runs. 

Oh well. 2015 wasn't their year, anyway. If recent history is anything to go by, they'll be back with a vengeance next season and will add another even-year ring to their collection.
Now, how about that? Miracles do happen! Hadn't a clue what to write and this post just about took care of itself.

Hope your day goes as easily!

Best~
Philippa

Follow me on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories

Scary Movies and Other Stuff... It's Weird (trust me).

I am not a fan, at all - not even a little tiny bit - of blood and gore movies. I don't like them. As a general rule I won't watch them but, with that said, I have to confess that I'm eerily fascinated by the remake of War of the Worlds with Tom Cruise.

The special effects are truly astonishing and talk about blood and gore!  Jeez-louise. The fine mist... Yeah.

But every time it comes on the television and we don't have anything better to watch, my husband turns it on. Every time I cannot take my eyes away from certain scenes. The one in the basement with the crazy man in particular. It's gripping and terrifying and even though it lasts what seems like forever on the one hand (by the clock) it is so frightening, the tension is so high, that it seems to pass in a minute.

I thought the Exorcist was lame. This is not.

(If you're reading this over your Rice Krispies or bangers and mash, sorry - it's about to get distasteful) I thought that Alien, once the penile projectile burst through the guy's chest (seriously - it looked like a dick with teeth), the movie was laughable.

I was going to upload a picture of it, but then I thought that you might, indeed, be eating and I don't want to put you off. More, I don't want to be responsible for projectile anything hitting your computer. That would be bad and I would feel awful about it, so best not.

The one movie that really got me the most was The Town That Dreaded Sundown. I watched it when I was still living at home when I was nineteen or so and I still remember it. That one scared the crap out of me to the point where I, literally, had nightmares for three nights running - and I turned it off at the scene with the trombone. It's almost (and yes, this is the crazy lady talking again) as if that was me, as if I lived that and that's why it affected me so tremendously.

For creepy and tense I like Silence of the Lambs. An excellent movie with remarkably little blood given that Hannibal the Cannibal likes to chew on people. Like the nurse whose face he ate.

What got me going on this today is that last night, while we waited for the SF Giants pre-game show, we watched War of the Worlds. As always since the first time I glimpsed it, I was fascinated by the basement scene. The nut job, the little girl, Tom being the Hero (with the capital 'H'), the creatures, wondering (even though I know not yet) if. Will the creatures find them? Can Tom and the others hide in the dark room with the filtered light from the spaceships glimmering through the windows.

In the entire movie, that one scene is the very best.

Then, the movie ended (thank goodness) and we watched the Giants baseball game. It was a really good game. The Philadelphia Phillies (the Girl-horses) took a one to nothing lead. The Giants came back and tied it. Vogey did what Vogey does so often - he choked. Gave up four runs before he was relieved.

He was heartsick. You could see it in his reaction. God bless the guy - he tries and he tries so damned hard, but he just doesn't have 'it' anymore. Not since he had his hand broken in 2013. I don't know what Bochy is going to do with him. He's been given all the chances, but he just can't do it.

Anyway, we were down four to one and didn't think the Giants would come back, but they did. They scored four runs so it was five to four. Then they added another three - eight to four. The game ended eight to five after the Girlhorses scored another run in the top of the ninth with two out. A great night.

After the game my hubby wanted to watch Svengoolie. It's camp, pure and simple. The silliest of the silly 'horror' movies - whatever is cheap or free - and it's on every Saturday night at 10:00. Last night it was 'The Invisible Man' - which is actually quite a good movie. Last week it was 'The Creature That Walks Among Us', the third in the 'Creature from the Black Lagoon' nonsense, and that's typical of the quality.

Eventually (10:30) I came up to bed.

Now I am a lady of a certain age and I want to throttle the moron who tittered 'horses sweat, men perspire and women glow'.  God dammit! I am a woman, of a certain age, at a certain stage of my life and I sure as shootin' do not glow. I sweat. I sweat buckets. And I hate it and there is not a bloody thing I can do about it because I am not going to start popping pills that might work on this but will probably screw something else up. As a result of my own recalcitrance, I suffer and grind my teeth.

When I go to bed, or when I get stressed or when I get angry, embarrassed, upset, just about anything, it's like my personal sauna kicks to high. The water hits the already red hot stones and WHAM sweat.

Caffeine is a trigger, but I'm not going to stop drinking coffee. Wine is a trigger, but I don't drink wine all that frequently (rarely), and I'm not going to stop that. Spicy foods, another trigger, another 'hands off' item. Make my choices and live with them, whining as I go.

I've been lucky, really. I am not in my forties or early fifties. I dodged this particular bullet for years after when some women hit this Stage of Life, so I'm fortunate. On the other hand, waking up in a pool of chill fluid in the middle of the night at any time of life sucks. Big time.

When I was little it was different fluid, but it sucked then. Now it's sweat and it sucks now. It simply sucks.

"They" those guys in the basement (I wish I could find that cartoon panel...) say that this Stage of Life lasts two to three years and then either stops or at least diminishes. God I hope it's only that. I started this Stage of Life two years ago so you'd think I'm almost done with it.

I hope so, I really do.

So guys - count your blessings. You don't spend thirty-five or forty or more years dealing with cycles and you don't end up spending however long this situation is going to last dealing with sweating like a horse on a hot day in a Florida swamp.

And, on that happy visual note - have a lovely day! :)

Best~
Philippa

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories

Mental Meanders or Through the Looking Glass

This is a weird day. It's more than peculiar, it’s weird and it’s barely begun. When I started this, I had no clue, no vaguest hint of what I would put down or where it would go so let's see what happens.

I woke up early, about twenty minutes before my alarm was set to go off at 4:45. For whatever reason, when I stopped sleeping and my brain kicked in, I felt a sense of foreboding. Like something momentous and not so good is going to happen. It makes me a bit nervous. It's nothing I can pin down, nothing I can point to. Just a weird feeling that something is not right or something won't be right. It's like the heavy weight that is the prelude to a massive thunder storm.

Since I did get up without injuring myself, turned off the alarm without incident and made it downstairs safely, it’s none of those things. I didn’t electrocute myself when I turned on the coffeemaker. So it’s not that. I turned on my computer and nothing bad happened there. So far, so good.

Well, we’ll see. In life, at times like this, I find it’s best to hunker down in my seat and just be a passenger. What will come will come and que sera sera.

The good news that's going to be widely heralded today is the Warriors win over the Cavaliers last night. Even though I don’t follow, watch or (sorry everyone who does) care at all about basketball, congratulations to the Golden State Warriors! It’s been a long forty years since they won a championship and I’m delighted their drought is over.

What is a very pleasant surprise this morning is that the team’s fans didn’t burn down half the city in celebration last night. Oakland is a blue collar community with a history and reputation as being ‘rough’. Kudos to the residents for not getting stupid and ruining a great party.

Upon checking, it doesn’t look like the Chicago Blackhawk fans did anything silly in Chicago, either, which is also great news. But I guess they're kind of used to it, three Stanley Cup wins in six years. I guess they're a bit blase these days.

The reason I sound cynical is because when sports teams win something important, like a title, it seems that some fans take that as a sign to riot. I think a lot of people expected something bad to happen in Oakland if they won, and it didn’t, and that’s great. Particularly since the Oakland Athletics are doing so poorly. The juxtaposition between one team and the other this year is stark.

Last year, the Warriors got into the playoffs but got knocked out. This year they won the championship

Last year the A’s looked like they might get to the championships, except things started to fall apart with trades and injuries in the last third of the season, so they missed. This year, after trading away some of their better players last season, the A’s, in a word, suck. The poor players can’t catch a break even though most of them are playing their hearts out, but management, through its trade decisions, gutted a very good team.

Now I don’t know why they made the choices they did because I wasn’t in the room when things were decided. Perhaps the players were unhappy. Rumor has it that Josh Donaldson said some pretty inexcusable things to the manager, and that’s why he’s gone. No one with whom I’ve spoken understands why Yoenis Cespedes was traded, though. The guy was a solid outfielder and downright amazing at the All Star Home Run Derby two years straight but pffft off he went. Maybe he asked for the trade? I don’t know. Perhaps the team management just thought someone else might do better in those positions. Perhaps it was a combination. I don’t know. All I know is the result. Last year the A’s had walk-off after walk-off and they looked really strong through most of the year.

Oh! Excuse me for being rude. For non-fans, when a team is trailing or tied in the last half of the last inning and they win, it’s called a walk-off.

The Giants did that to get to the World Series last year – if someone had written a script for that team in the playoffs – start to finish – it would have been laughed at by a potential agent or publisher and pitched in the bin. It really was, in a lot of ways, a fairytale.

Travis Ishikawa, who hit the game winning walk-off in the bottom of the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals to get the Giants to the World Series had talked about quitting baseball altogether before being signed by the team. Then he does this (it's short and it's great because there is such a feeling of tension and then - jubilation):

And the Giants go to the World Series, which they won.

Thanks Warriors and Giants. I feel better now.

 Have a lovely day!

Best~

Philippa

Follow me at Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories