Bud Norris traded to Baltimore Orioles from Houston Astros - ESPN

Giants lose out on another prime trade target in Bud Norris. The Orioles prospect received by the Astros is roughly the Giants equivalent of surrendering Gary Brown. The other prospect would likely be lower tier and lower level.

Perhaps the Giants are feeling good with the quality / quantity of arms they have in-house and are targeting prospects who swing the bats or they are just packing it in for the season overall and feel content in standing pat as far as the more marquee names available. Nothing splashy, just nibbling around at the fringes trying to find pearls cast into the garbage by other organizations.

from ESPN:
Bud Norris traded to Baltimore Orioles from Houston Astros - ESPN:

The Baltimore Orioles have acquired starting pitcher Bud Norris from the Houston Astros for minor league outfielder L.J. Hoes and another prospect, a team source confirmed to ESPN's Jim Bowden.

Norris, 28, is 6-9 with a 3.93 ERA this season, his fifth with the Astros. The hard-throwing right-hander figures to bolster an Orioles rotation that entered play Wednesday with a 4.64 ERA.

Hoes, 23, is batting .304 in 99 games at Triple-A Norfolk this season.

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I, for one, welcome our new SABR overlords

What choice do we all have? There is apparently no stopping them. Soon we will all wear pocket protectors. And I, for one, welcome our new SABR overlords. I would like to remind them that as a trusted statistician, I can be most helpful in rounding up the more mathematically challenged to toil in their abacus laden cubicles.

One thing I would advise the good people at Topps, however. If you ever decide to add players Twitter accounts to the back of said cards, I will never buy another Topps product again. I promise you that!!!

from Yahoo Sports:
Topps to include WAR on back of future baseball cards | Big League Stew - Yahoo! Sports:

In another sign of the changing times and philosophies when it comes to statistical analysis in baseball, Topps editor Matthew Bleiberg has indicated on Twitter that the baseball card manufacturing company will be including the advanced stat WAR (Wins Above Replacement) on the back of future cards.

'via Blog this'

Brian Wilson signs with Dodgers - McCovey Chronicles

Well, really couldn't see that one coming, could we? The Beard becomes the Dodgers next bitch.

As only Grant Brisbee at the McCovey Chronicles can put it.

from McCovey Chronicles:
Brian Wilson signs with Dodgers - McCovey Chronicles:

Gross.

That's the only possible reaction. Gross. Well, there's also rage and sadness and disbelief. Help yourself to any of those. I'm sticking with gross. This is your mom getting drunk and making out with Tommy Chong, but with more hair.

If you want to take the analogy further, this move during this season is like your mom making out with Chong in the back of the court while you're getting arraigned for larceny. It's awful, unspeakably awful, and then you have to look in the back and see that?

Gross.

'via Blog this'

For me personally, this is Mark Bavaro in a Philadelphia Eagles uniform bad.

It is just so wrong. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!!

How wrong is it?

It is so wrong that, as much as I don't wish harm on anybody -- First pitch, grab the elbow, career ending injury.

Or even better. First pitch, someone lines one right back up the box, goes right through that hideous beard and sticks him right in the neck.  Turns his Adam's Apple into applesauce.

Playing with some seriously bad karma here Beard. Hope you know what you're doing.

Dodgers In Lead For Brian Wilson: MLB Rumors

Wow!! You really think you know a closer. Then this hits your e-mail box like a "Dear John" letter to a GI.

from MLBTradeRumors.com
Dodgers In Lead For Brian Wilson: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com:

The Pirates and Giants are both "serious suitors" for Wilson, who appears close to signing soon, according to Scott Miller of CBS Sports. Miller adds that the Diamondbacks and Dodgers have some level of interest as well, and he notes that Wilson "has an affinity for Los Angeles." The Phillies were also thought to have interest prior to the six-game skid that has pushed them firmly into their stance as sellers.

'via Blog this'

Brian Wilson!!! Do you care to explain this "affinity" for Los Angeles?

After all we've been through? I suppose all those 171 saves meant nothing to you Brian?

Remember 2006 when you first broke in with the Giants? We had nothing then. Hell, Felipe Alou was the manager. You only saved one game and we only won 76 games overall, but hell, we were still a team and it meant something.

Then Bochy came in and things started to turn around. You had success, the team had success and we made it to the mountain top in 2010.

Then you blow out your elbow and the team wins another ring, almost without you and all of a sudden, it's like we're not good enough for you anymore. Nobody can make Brian happy. It became all about Brian. You just shut yourself off and rehabbed your elbow.

With Ms. Los Angeles I'll bet. Did she help you with your rehab Brian? Did she do the  Throwers 10 Exercises with you Brian?

I mean, don't get me wrong Brian, I knew things were bad. I suspected something when Sergio Romo went from serial photo-bomber to real-life closer. But this Brian???  The Dodgers??

So, how long have you had these "affinities" for Los Angeles, Brian?

Did you have these "affinities" while you were closing games with the Giants, Brian?

Well, DID YOU? You filthy pig!!!!

How many other cities did you have an "affinity" for, Brian?

Pittsburgh? Arizona?

How many of our other division rivals have you had an "affinity" for Brian Wilson? How many?

Do you like my sister too, Brian? Does that turn your "affinity" on?

Do you like Philadelphia too, Brian?

Ph-ing Philadelphia for Ph-ing crying out loud?

What do they have that San Francisco doesn't?

Cheese steaks?

Well Phreak you and Phreak your Philly cheese steaks Brian Wilson, You suck!!!

I don't care where you end up, but don't end up here no more, 'cause we're through!!!

I mean, I don't know what kind of a fan you think I am Brian Wilson, but it was all fine when it was just you, me and the Giants.

But now?!? The Dodgers??? And the Diamondbacks?!?  

Uh no, sorry Brian but, Homey don't play that!!!

The Readers Digest version:


and the extended Homey D. Clown version:


Hopefully, this is all a big misunderstanding and Brian Wilson comes crawling back to the Giants.

SFG + BW + CS = < 3 

Giants visit the White House, hope to find change

President Obama Honors the 2012 World Champion San Francisco Giants

If anyone is in need of some hope and change it's the Giants.

Perhaps before they leave they can learn how to manipulate the W-L statistic to make the team appear less like a last place team and more like the champions and playoff contenders they are supposed to be.

Other than that, any day that Willie Mays is honored is a good day for baseball. More recently, any day that the Giants do not fall further away from first place is also a pretty good day for the team. 

from Giants Extra:

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/giants/2013/07/29/white-house-notes-posey-humbled-by-first-trip-eager-for-next-one/

The Giants came to the White House with a decidedly different vibe this time around. They were 59-43 and four games ahead in the National League West when they visited in 2011, but entered the famous gates Monday in last place, 10 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers. The summer slide has the Giants considering trading away marquee pieces before Wednesday’s deadline, but for a few minutes Monday, the recent struggles and the looming uncertainty were put away. All of the attention was on a man who earned a second term nine days after the Giants earned a second title.

“It’s a tremendous honor,” catcher Buster Posey said. “I’m very humbled that the president could take a little bit of time out of his busy schedule to invite us here and spend some time with us. We’re out here in a beautiful place on a beautiful day and getting to celebrate a great accomplishment.”

Giants Make Minor Move, Acquire Moscoso from the Cubs System

This move smacks of Sabean trying to catch lightning in a bottle like they did with Vogelsong. Being waived by three teams in the last year, one of them being the Cubs means you have to be right when all of those around you are wrong.

He's still young but....all those other teams needed starting pitching so you would think if he could do the job, the opportunity to display his wares would have presented itself in those places. Perhaps stockpiling candidate arms for next year after losing a few who are on staff now.

from Bleacher Report:
Giants Make Minor Move, Acquire Moscoso from the Cubs System:

No Giants lineup yet. They’re sorting some things out on the roster, and they just made a minor move. Guillermo Moscoso was acquired from the Cubs for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Moscoso, 29, is 7-5 with a 3.93 ERA in Triple-A for the Cubs this season. Moscoso has a 4.16 ERA in four big league seasons with the Rangers, A’s and Rockies. In the last year he has been waived three times.

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A tale of two teams headed in opposite directions

Interesting quote from Linceum after the sweep by the Cubs. It's rare to find pitchers who can hit, yet the Giants not only keep finding them, but keep finding their bats. Also notable from the game is the Giants (so-called) offense being led by Lincecum, who had two hits.

The freak show that is the Giants season continues.

from Yahoo Sports:
San Francisco Giants - Team Report - MLB - Yahoo! Sports:

Quote To Note:

"It's rare that you find a pitcher who can hit like that. Guys like him and (Cincinnati's Mike Leake, who had three hits against the Giants earlier in the week), you know they can really handle the bat."

—RHP Tim Lincecum on Cubs' LHP Travis Wood, who homered off him in a 2-1 Chicago win on Sunday.

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On June 24th both the Giants and the Rays sported 38-37 records. Since that time the Giants have run off an 8-21 record to face plant into last place in their division, 10 games out of first place. The Rays on the other hand have gone 24-6 to elevate into second place in their division ( the toughest in baseball ) 1/2 game behind the Red Sox.

A tale of two teams headed in distinctively opposite directions. The Giants playoff odds according to coolstandings.com have diminished to a mere 1.0% as of today. The Rays, on the other hand sit at a comfortable 89% chance of making the playoffs.

Feel free to hit the button at any time Giants. It would be the first indication that anyone in the organization gives a R.A. about this season in over a month. Or that anyone has much of a pulse. Or a heart.

Bochy wins #1,500

Congratulations to Bochy on # 1,500 which puts him in some fine managerial company as the table below shows. It is amazing how many on the list are just a smidge above .500 if not below. Some are builders no doubt, and others were good managers who just did not have the good fortune to manage great teams. Bochy might be right in the middle there and his near .500 reflects that. You have to be pretty good to hang around long enough to get 1,500 when you're managing sub-.500 type teams.

A lot of ex-Giants managers on the list including John McGraw, Dusty Baker and Leo Durocher so the Giants historically have been in very good hands.

P.S. - This milestone remarkably coincides with post # 1,500 by The Slav's Baseball Blog.

OK, I did control the order of the posts and Bochy and the Giants have been kind enough to stand pat on victory # 1,500 for a couple of days, so sue us both!!!

from McCovey Chronicles:
Giants defeat Reds, undefeated over last five hours - McCovey Chronicles:

Back to Bochy, though. This is a relevant list:

Rk	Mgr	W ▾	L	W-L%	G>.500	BestFin	Plyof App	WSwon	PennWon
1	Connie Mack HOF	3731	3948	.486	-217	1	8	5	9
2	John McGraw HOF	2763	1948	.586	815	1	9	3	10
3	Tony LaRussa	2728	2365	.536	363	1	14	3	6
4	Bobby Cox	2504	2001	.556	503	1	16	1	5
5	Joe Torre	2326	1997	.538	329	1	15	4	6
6	Sparky Anderson HOF	2194	1834	.545	360	1	7	3	5
7	Bucky Harris HOF	2158	2219	.493	-61	1	3	2	3
8	Joe McCarthy HOF	2125	1333	.615	792	1	9	7	9
9	Walter Alston HOF	2040	1613	.558	427	1	7	4	7
10	Leo Durocher HOF	2008	1709	.540	299	1	3	1	3
11	Casey Stengel HOF	1905	1842	.508	63	1	10	7	10
12	Gene Mauch	1902	2037	.483	-135	1	2	0	0
13	Bill McKechnie HOF	1896	1723	.524	173	1	4	2	4
14	Lou Piniella	1835	1713	.517	122	1	7	1	1
15	Jim Leyland	1730	1703	.504	27	1	7	1	3
16	Dusty Baker	1637	1475	.526	162	1	6	0	1
17	Ralph Houk	1619	1531	.514	88	1	3	2	3
18	Fred Clarke HOF	1602	1181	.576	421	1	2	1	4
19	Tom Lasorda HOF	1599	1439	.526	160	1	7	2	4
20	Dick Williams HOF	1571	1451	.520	120	1	5	2	4
21	Bruce Bochy	1500	1498	.500	2	1	6	2	3

'via Blog this'

Bochy became the 21st manager with 1,500 wins and third active along with Reds skipper Dusty Baker and Detroit's Jim Leyland. Bochy said "it's very humbling" to be mentioned among such managers.

"He's a fine manager. He's a guy that I enjoy managing against," Baker said. "I didn't even know it was 1,500, so congratulations to Bruce."

Keep Your Eye on the Ball - Curveballs, Knuckleballs, and Fallacies of Baseball

To piggy-back on my prior post about the importance of developing visual skills in order to develop better hitters, this book Keep Your Eye on The Ball: Curve Balls, Knuckleballs and Fallacies of Baseball by Robert Watts and Terry Bahill is about the best there is out there on the topic. 

This review touches on just some of the great pearls of wisdom contained on the book. Highly recommended and well worth the price. 

Keep Your Eye on The Ball: Curve Balls, Knuckleballs and Fallacies of Baseball:

http://www.oepf.org/book-review/keep-your-eye-ball-curveballs-knuckleballs-and-fallacies-baseball

Author: 

Robert Watts and Terry Bahill

Publisher: 

W.H. Freeman

Date Published: 

2000

ISBN: 

978-0716737179

A Book Review by: Paul Harris, OD  

This book was recommended to me by an attendee of the Sports Vision course and I found it extremely insightful into not just the visual aspects of baseball but anything that involves a ball of any sort.  The book helped to dissolve many of the misconceptions that have existed relative to curve balls or the possibility of a "rising" fastball.  The physics of curve balls and the paths they travel and the science of how a rotating ball, from baseballs to golf balls to soccer balls, was described in easy to understand concepts.  The flow of air around a baseball is much like the flow of air over and under a wing.  The rotation of the stitches creates differential points of where the flow shifts from laminar flow to turbulent flow.  The asymmetry in this creates lateral forces that act to move the ball away from the simple hyperbolic arcs that would exist secondary to gravity only.  It is these asymmetric forces that are the basis for these shifts and Watts and Bahill do a great job explaining them.

Here are some facts about an 80-mile an hour curve ball.  It moves 2.1 feet laterally during its 60 feet 6 inch path.  Only .52 feet of that occurs in the first half of the path to the plate.  •It moves 0.058 feet in the first 10 feet. •It moves 1.45 feet in the last 10 feet!  They also explain a little about knuckle balls.  Knuckle balls with very low spin rates, for example, 3 rpm, has typical lateral displacement of 2 feet. The distance a knuckle ball moves is independent of velocity.  Thus, it is better to throw a knuckle ball fast as it will still have all that lateral movement occurring in a shorter period of time.

•In discussing some of the earlier studies on eye movements to track baseball they cite work that suggested three increasingly more complex strategies for tracking the baseball:

• Track the ball with only eye movements, and fall behind in the last 10 feet.
• Track the ball with head movements and smooth pursuit eye movements and fall behind in the last 5 feet.
• Track the ball over the first part of its trajectory with smooth pursuit eye movement, make a saccadic eye movement to a predicted point ahead of the ball, continue to follow it with peripheral vision, and finally, at the end of the ball's flight, resume smooth pursuit tracking with the ball's image on the fovea.

Here are a few interesting quotes from the text.

• Batters do not use vergence eye movements.
• Head movement: "The professional made tracking head movements between 10 and 20 degrees, which were probably small enough to go unnoticed by their coach.  What the batter does not want to do is to allow rotations of the body to drag the head along."
• Coaches should say, "Don't let your body move your head, but it's okay to move your head to track the ball."

As Pete Rose used to say, "See the ball, hit the ball."  Well its not quite that easy! "Now, if the batter is to hit the ball, he must predict where it will be when it crosses the plate.  We say that he creates a mental model of the pitch.  The batter uses the mental model to predict the flight of the pitch."

And what about the rising fastball?  "The illusion of the rising fastball is the result of the batter's mistake in formulating his mental model.  It is most likely that the batter's perceived jump is the result of his perspective and his underestimation of the speed of the pitch for his mental model."

Watts and Bahill conceptualize three different phases involved in hitting a baseball.

• •In the first third of the ball's flight the batter forms his mental model of the ball's trajectory.
• •In the middle third, he observes differences between the actual trajectory and his mental model, updates his mental model, and finalizes his swing.
• •In the last third, he observes errors in his mental model so that he can track the next pitch better.

And what are the qualities of a superstar? The success of the good players is due to faster smooth pursuit eye movements, a good ability to suppress the vestibulo-ocular reflex, and the occasional use of an anticipatory saccade.

There is a great deal more in this book that is of value.  I highly recommend it for those of you that are sports enthusiasts or who will work with athletes.

Dunning sent down, but not before getting plenty of praise from his manager | Giants Extra

Along with Juan Perez, Jake Dunning was a prospect the Giants threw into the mix who actually seemed to out-perform expectations. Most of his professional background it seems has been as a set-up reliever and he showed that he can be reliable in that role. At 6-4, 190 the only knock is you might want to see a little more meat on the bones, but the kid can really chuck the baseball. A nice live arm for the future, good poise and a good feel for pitching. He throws a lot of strikes as well and given that, hitters seem to have difficulty squaring the ball up on him. A small sample size, but good job by Jake and I'm sure he has not seen the last of San Francisco.

from Giants Extra:
PREGAME NOTES: Dunning sent down, but not before getting plenty of praise from his manager | Giants Extra:

Dunning has pitched well, posting a 2.84 ERA, but he had pitched the last four games.

“He did, really, a terrific job,” Bochy said. “This young kid came up ahead of schedule and I loved the way he handled himself. But four days in a row, he was going to get at least two or three days off.”

It’s the reality of the schedule. Dunning was the tired arm, like George Kontos earlier this week. Dunning took it in stride, though.

“He said he got nervous,” Bochy said, laughing. “He said, ‘Gosh, I thought you were going to ask me to play second base.”

No, Dunning is not the next Aubrey Huff. He’ll be back as soon as the Giants can get him back up here. Aside from the overall numbers, Dunning impressed with his ability to bounce back from a grand slam that he gave up to the Mets. Five of the 24-year-old’s next six appearances were scoreless.

“Sure, you watch that moment, the next hitter and the next time he pitches,” Bochy said. “This game is easy when everything is going well. When you have to deal with something like that, the good ones put it behind them. He did a great job of it.”

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San Francisco Giants stumble to another galling defeat - Inside Bay Area

San Francisco Giants' Hunter Pence strikes out with two outs and bases loaded against the Chicago Cubs in the eighth inning at AT&T Park in San Francisco on Saturday, July 27, 2013. (Jim Gensheimer/Bay Area News Group) ( Jim Gensheimer )

The ship still be sinking. The sky still the limit. Although bases loaded and no outs, in the bottom of the 8th inning with your 3-4-5 hitters coming up, things had to be looking up. But NOOOOOOOOO!!!

So we continue the search for rock-bottom or the limits of the clear blue sky or whatever it is this team is searching for tomorrow with Timmy on the mound. This has to go down as one of the weakest defenses of a championship in a year not influenced by labor strife that I can remember. It almost seems like the Giants are distracted by something like that internally. BWDIK?

from Inside Bay Area:
San Francisco Giants stumble to another galling defeat - Inside Bay Area:

SAN FRANCISCO -- In their continuing search for rock bottom, the Giants landed with another thud Saturday night. Nate Schierholtz homered against his old team with one out in the ninth inning, propelling the Chicago Cubs to a 1-0 victory at AT&T Park.

The Giants' heartbreak was complete only after they squandered bases-loaded chances in the eighth and ninth innings. Tony Abreu grounded into a double play to finish it, a fittingly frustrating ending for a team that fell a season-worst nine games out of first place.

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Error opens door, Cubs beat Giants - Yahoo! Sports

Maybe not so much because of this one game....although really guys?
The Cubs are going to get healthy against you? At home?!?

from Yahoo Sports:
Error opens door, Cubs beat Giants - Yahoo! Sports:

The Giants, meanwhile, lost for the 20th time in their past 28 games since being two games over .500 on June 22. They fell to 7-17 against National League Central teams this season.

Down to their last out, the Cubs rallied against Giants closer Sergio Romo (3-5), who was seeking his 25th save.

'via Blog this'

But maybe because this seems like a long, long, time ago....and far, far away.

Does this team have any fight left? Any pride? Anything?
Have a garage sale if you have to, but SELL, SELL, SELL!!!

Soriano era to end in Chicago and begin again in New York?

It sure seems that way according to news reports that are saying he's all but packed up and on a plane to the Big Apple. The Cubs brass gives him some impressive parting comments on the way out. He seemed to be under-appreciated by Cubs fans somewhat, but his peers and management seemed to be satisfied with what they were getting out of Fonzie. The Yankees lineup really needs his production, almost as much as the Giants, and Soriano may be in need of a change of scenery. It should be good for him to go back home in a professional sense.

from Yahoo Sports:
Team Report - CHICAGO CUBS - Yahoo! Sports:

QUOTE TO NOTE: "The only person I could compare him to is Robin Yount. His work ethic, he cares to win, prepares every day, prepares to make him a better player. Robin is the only other guy that I have been around that did the same thing every single day." -- Manager Dale Sveum, on LF Alfonso Soriano, who was on the verge of being traded to the Yankees.

The Cubs were said to be getting a mid-level prospect, most likely a pitcher, and perhaps some salary relief from Soriano's contract, which is in season No. 7 of the eight-year, $136 million deal he signed in November 2006.

Soriano is batting .254 with a team-leading 17 homers and 51 RBIs, which were second to Anthony Rizzo on the team. His 181 homers as a Cub rank 11th on the team's all-time list. Soriano also won the admiration of the current management team for his work ethic and professionalism. Former GM Jim Hendry and the previous ownership signed Soriano. Epstein took over baseball operations in the fall of 2011.

"He's 100 percent completely different than I thought," Sveum said of Soriano. "There hasn't been a day of disappointment in his attitude, his work ethic, what he brings to younger players, and his professionalism has been off the charts.

"There's no doubt, he's one of the top five ultimate professionals I've been around in this game."

'via Blog this'

Rays Turn Beautiful Double Play Against Red Sox - Business Insider

At least my AL team is doing some exciting things. It makes having the MLB.tv package worthwhile. This is a playground play made at the big league level. I'll bet they do this in practice all the time. It becomes a reaction during the game.

from Business Insider:
Rays Turn Beautiful Double Play Against Red Sox [VIDEO] - Business Insider:

Shortstop Yunel Escobar fielded the grounder behind second base and seamlessly flipped it behind his back with his glove to Ben Zobrist, who caught it barehanded and gunned out Dustin Pedroia for the double play.

The Rays won 5-1.

Beautiful:

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