Giants Notes: Huff, Scutaro, Pagan, Affeldt: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

You would think they could wait to announce some of these roster moves until AFTER the parade, but I guess there is some procedural requirement that they announce the contract options immediately in order to benefit the player.

The fans seem to be enjoying themselves and generally staying busy anyway. Perhaps SF should schedule the parade ASAP before some of these guys kills themselves or tear down the city. Stay classy, SF.

from MLBTradeRumors.com
Giants Notes: Huff, Scutaro, Pagan, Affeldt: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com:

Giants general manager Brian Sabean has the makings of a dynasty centered around strong pitching and affordable young position players such as Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Brandon Belt, writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. Here are some links surrounding the team that captured its second World Series title in three years last night...

• The Giants will decline their $10MM club option on Aubrey Huff, tweets Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area. The news isn't much of a surprise given Huff's injuries and struggles at the plate since 2010. Huff's contract contains a $2MM buyout.

• MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez spoke to several members of the Giants organization about the impact that Marco Scutaro had on the team following his acquisition from the Rockies.

• Gonzalez's colleague, Chris Haft, writes that the Giants and Scutaro will "likely forge a deal" this offseason, as the 37-year-old is too valuable both on and off the field to let go.

• Haft also writes that Angel Pagan is expected to receive a multi-year contract with an average annual value perhaps in the $10MM range in a thin free agent market. Sabean will need to determine if Pagan is worth that to his team.

• Haft goes on to say that Jeremy Affeldt could be in line for a multi-year deal on the free agent market. That, along with the presence of Jose Mijares could mean that Affeldt will find himself wearing a new uniform come 2013.

'via Blog this'

Zito tosses 4-hitter as Giants avoid 0-4 start | Yahoo! Sports

OK, OK Aubrey, you're right. Of course we who sit outside the lines and merely observe just don't get it and never will. I'll leave aside the issue that we also pay your collective salaries for a moment.

But OK. - You're right Aubrey!!!! You are so right there cowboy!!!!

THIS........

Zito tosses 4-hitter as Giants avoid 0-4 start - Yahoo! Sports:

''I couldn't be happier for Barry,'' said Giants cleanup hitter Aubrey Huff. ''It's no secret he gets buried by the fans, the media and all. To see him go out there and put up a complete-game shutout in Colorado, all the haters out there - that's for them.''

MORE THAN MAKES UP FOR THIS......

2007 11-13 4.53 $10M salary 196 IP
2008 10-17 5.15 $14.5M salary 180 IP
2009 10-13 4.03 $18.5M salary 192 IP
2010 9-14 4.15 ERA $18.5M salary 199 IP
2011 3-4 5.87 ERA $18.5M salary 53 IP

Still, almost twice as many millions in salary ( $80M ) than wins.

Silly haters, expecting a player to live up to his contract and junk.

What the heck were we thinking?

I guess the Giants theory is "throw enough $100M contracts on the bump" and eventually some victories will stick.

Sounds like a viable plan.

Of course, we are crowing about a 1-3 record, the three losses coming against our chief competitor for the division. I guess I'm missing something there as well.

But OK, have your moment Aubrey!!

While all us haters are eating humble pie, just know that we have a serving of "just shut up and hit" for you.

Thanks Aubrey. Thanks Barry.

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

Yeah, Aubrey Huff wins the prize for under-statement of the year. This is the Giants way of doing things, I guess.

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

"If he hits that ball out, that probably would've killed us." —- Aubrey Huff on Braves C Brian McCann's at-bat in the ninth. With a runner aboard, a home run would have tied the game after the Giants took a 7-1 lead into the ninth.

The good, bad, ugly and humorous from the week in sports

What an amazing and inspiring story. If you're a coach, this should be why you are in the business. This has to be worth more than any amount of trophies and ribbons and accolades. Making this kind of a difference. AWESOME STORY!!! This story highlights all that is good in the youth sports arena.

From Tampabay.com
http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/article1172792.ece

DeWalt is proud that Ladarious came within 13 positions of being in the top half of the 310 graduates at Gulf High. "It just speaks to his determination,'' the coach said, "but also to the power of athletics. Without wrestling, he wouldn't be here. Sports is the greatest dropout prevention program we have in school.''

---

Then there's the bad news.

This puts winning and losing a baseball game in perspective and is a story that we never want to see minimized just because it happens relatively infrequently.

From Hardballtalk.com
13-year-old dies after getting hit by pitch
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/06/03/13-year-old-dies-after-getting-hit-by-pitch/

13-year-old Little Leaguer Hayden Walton, from Winslow, AZ, was killed Tuesday when a baseball hit him in the chest as he was attempting to bunt.

“He took an inside pitch right in the chest,” Winslow Little League official Jamey Jones said. “After that he took two steps to first base and collapsed.”

He died Wednesday morning at a local hospital. Paramedics said the cause was commotio cordis. His heart stopped after he was hit by the pitch.

Coaches would do well to spend some practice time teaching kids how to protect themselves in the batters box when squaring to bunt or when faced with the occasional inside pitch. Many young kids turn into the pitch instead of away. In most cases, the kid is better off getting hit in the backside rather than the front. When they expose the face and chest to the pitch, invariably they "freeze" and cannot protect themselves.

A side benefit is that, once kids are more comfortable in knowing they can better protect themselves from errant missiles, they become better hitters. The "fear" factor is lessened and they can hit relaxed rather than tensed.

More on commotio cordis from Wikipedia.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commotio_cordis

Commotio cordis (Latin, "agitation of the heart") is a disruption of heart rhythm that occurs as a result of a blow to the area directly over the heart (the precordial region), at a critical time during the cycle of a heart beat. It is a form of ventricular fibrillation, not mechanical damage to the heart muscle or surrounding organs, and not the result of heart disease. The fatality rate is about 65%. It can sometimes, but not always, be reversed by defibrillation.[1]

Commotio cordis occurs mostly in boys and young men (average age 15), usually during sports, most often baseball, often despite a chest protector. It is most often caused by a projectile, but can also be caused by the blow of an elbow or other body part. Being less developed, the thorax of an adolescent is likely more prone to this injury given the circumstances.

And more from medscape.com

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/730549_3

Commotio Cordis

Commotio cordis is defined as sudden death or aborted sudden death secondary to a chest wall impact. This phenomenon is reported in 10–20 individuals a year. Nearly all are male and the mean age is 14 years.[32,33] Individuals in competitive sports account for nearly 60% of cases and impact always occurs over the left chest. Nearly one-third of those in competitive sports were wearing a chest protector. Resuscitation is possible with rapid cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation.

An animal model has shown that the timing of the impact relative to the cardiac cycle is perhaps the most important variable of commotio cordis[34] followed by location of impact,[35] hardness of the impact object,[36] and energy of the impact object (Fig. 2).[37] Commercially available chest wall protection does not appear to be prevent commotio cordis.[38]

Figure 2.
Variables and proposed mechanism of commotio cordis. In the animal model several variables of commotio cordis have been described and include characteristics of the impact object such as shape, hardness, diameter, velocity of the impact. Timing and location of the impact are perhaps the two most important variables accounting for the rarity of commotio cordis. In addition, cellular determinants of commotio cordis are just beginning to be understood; cell membrane stretch likely leads to ion channel activation which increases the dispersion of repolarization and providing the substrate for ventricular fibrillation to occur An appropriately timed ventricular contraction caused by the impact leads to ventricular fibrillation.




Commotio cordis is thought to occur when a chest strike causes both altered dispersion of repolarization and a ventricular depolarization trigger.[32,39–41] The altered dispersion of repolarization is likely secondary to alterations in current flow. Thus far, the KATP channel, normally closed but opened by myocardial ischemia with resultant increased K flow during repolarization, has been shown to be involved in commotio cordis.[42]

----

And of course, the ugly side is on display as well.

From Foxsports.com
Report: Violence erupts at hoops tourney

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/Players-attack-parents-as-San-Fernando-Valley-teams-brawl-at-San-Diego-youth-basketball-tourney-053111

Players attacked parents and each other when a Memorial Day youth basketball tournament erupted in violence that left one player hospitalized and another arrested on assault charges.

Police were called to San Diego's Mira Mesa High on Monday when teams from Southern California's San Fernando Valley began brawling at the end of their game, according to NBC San Diego. The tournament featured varsity, JV and traveling teams.


FANS GONE WILD
Some people just can't enjoy a game without getting involved. Here are a few unruly spectators.

The semifinal game between the Rising Stars of San Fernando Valley and the Granada Hills Eagles had been so rough that referees ended it a minute early. Parents and spectators exchanged words and taunted players on the court, according to officers, then things got violent when a coach confronted parents who allegedly used a racial slur. A fight broke out involving at least 15 people.

"Within about 20 seconds, almost the entire Eagles team ran over to the stands and started attacking one of the Rising Stars parents," witness Stuart Schneider told NBC San Diego.

----

And finally, the humorous side of baseball.

Apparently, Aubrey Huff's wife is quite the budding young hitting coach. Or maybe it's just a matter of Aubrey knowing well the theory of "when momma is happy, every body's happy" (Happy wife, happy life). Atta boy, Aubrey.

From the San Jose Mercury News:
Aubrey Huff hits three home runs as San Francisco Giants win 12-7
By Andrew Baggarly

http://www.mercurynews.com/giants/ci_18195781?nclick_check=1

The timing couldn't have been better -- for the team, for Huff and for his better half, too.

"My wife, Baubi, it's her birthday today," Huff said. "She wanted me to hit her a home run. I hit three. That's Brownie points."

It was Mrs. Huff who first convinced him to purchase the Rally Thong last year, and everyone knows how that played out. But it took more than magic underwear for Huff to break out of a two-month slump that dragged down the lowest scoring lineup in the National League.

It took hitting the mental reset button.

Aubrey Huff's crime scene humor aside, Giants housekeeping is in order

It's easy to be flip when you're wearing the crown, so the Giants made some light of Aubrey Huff's defensive "gaffes" in the early going. Whether they were actually tough plays or relatively routine plays made difficult by having to force a guy into playing out of position, heck IDK, but the Giants do need to decide how to get Belt's bat in the lineup without sacrificing too much on the defensive side of the ledger.

Resolving the DeRosa / Sandoval, "whose on third?" question might be a secondary issue for now.

Ishakawa clearing waivers and remaining with the Giants for now was a bit of a surprise, but the Giants do appear to have some spare parts they can package together should the need for a trade arise.

Huff on Huff:

"Guys, those plays aren't easy," he told reporters afterward. "Let's be honest. You guys are going to act like those are routine plays, but they're not. I tried my best. I didn't catch them."

Bochy on Huff:

"He's such a good team player," manager Bruce Bochy said. "He's unselfish. It's not easy to make a move late like that. It's not that easy a position to play if you haven't been out there a lot. He'll get back into a groove out there with more time."

Giants Ink Huff, eye Rays Bartlett and trim roster

THE THONG RETURNS!!!

http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101123&content_id=16183296&vkey=news_sf&c_id=sf

The Giants re-signed Aubrey Huff to a two-year contract with a club option for 2013 on Tuesday, keeping one of their most valuable players from this year's World Series championship team.

The team did not disclose terms of the deal. (CS - mlbtraderumors.com reports it at 2 yrs. $22M)

"We're extremely excited to be able to re-sign Aubrey," general manager Brian Sabean said in a statement announcing the deal. "He was an integral part in the team's success last season, not only with his outstanding play in the field, but also providing a great clubhouse presence."

This would be a decent move. Not too pricey, excellent defender and a decent bat if he moves back closer to his career numbers after slumping a bit last year. It may cost them a solid bullpen arm like Runzler or Casilla, but....


http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/11/cardinals-padres-interested-in-bartlett.html

The Cardinals and Padres are among the teams showing some interest in Jason Bartlett, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Nationals, Giants and Orioles also reportedly have interest in the Rays shortstop.

The 31-year-old earned $4MM in 2010 and will likely earn over $5MM through arbitration in 2011, his final season before hitting free agency. After a 2009 season in which he hit .320/.389/.490, Bartlett slumped to .254/.324/.350 in 2010. His career line (.281/.345/.385) suggests he's capable of bouncing back in 2011.

Dropping Waldis Joaquin may be the only surprised except that he seemed to be perpetually hurt which caused some other guys the chance to slip past him. Giants are likely to lose an arm or two in the Rule 5 Draft, Tanner is a decent prospect to protect. You can never have too much left-handed pitching.

Thomas Neal and Ehire Adrianza are highly regarded if not a year or two away. The Bartlett signing could keep the SS chair warm for either Adrianza or Crawford to develop into. Neal apparently only need to cut down his strikeout rate to crack one of the corner OF spots.


http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101119&content_id=16164820&vkey=news_sf&c_id=sf

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants continued adjusting their 40-man roster on Friday, adding three Minor League pitchers while dropping two players.

San Francisco purchased the contracts of right-handed relievers Jose Casilla and Steve Edlefsen and left-handed pitcher Clayton Tanner. The Giants also outrighted first baseman Brett Pill to Triple-A Fresno and placed Waldis Joaquin on release waivers.

Earlier this week, San Francisco placed outfielder Thomas Neal and shortstop Ehire Adrianza on the 40-man roster.

Sorry to see Uggla go to the Braves, at not much cost to them. He would have been a good fit for the Giants as well. If DeRosa can come back, no big deal. But Derrek Lee struggled for quite some time with a bad wrist as well. He didn't seem to be totally back 100% until mid to last 2010. Hopefully, DeRosa's rehab is swifter.

Next stop the Hot Stove League. So Soon?

It is a bad sign of the time when we are even discussing such matters before the Giants even have a chance to nurse their World Series hangover and before the San Francisco city parade. Can fans at least take a breath from the end of one season to savor, enjoy and take stock of the season past before turning to the business side of the next season? Shouldn't we allow to fans to riot, burn stuff in their neighborhood and tip over a car or two before we move on? Is that too much to ask?

And seriously Frisco fans are you people congenitally stupid or what? The best day in the history of sports for your city and you act like this when you have lived under the fecal stain that is Nancy Pelosi FOR YEARS with nary a whimper? You people ought to be ashamed of yourselves. I'm ashamed to be associated with you as a fellow Giants fan. Both for pillaging your own neighborhood and for harboring Pelosi. Act like you have the brains you were born with people.

All sports seem to go here with this sort of problem. So it's not exclusive to baseball.

In hockey, it seemed like even before the Chicago Blackhawks Dustin Byfueglin had time to capitalize or bask in the glory of being a Stanley Cup icon, the team had to literally dismantle said champion to get under the onerous salary cap rules.

There almost needs to be a "to the victor, goes the spoils" exception, similar to the Larry Bird or franchise exceptions of the past, whereby you can sign your franchise icons -- even if you go over the cap -- if your team wins it all. What could be more "fan-friendly" than that?

And we all know these guys are all about being fan friendly, right?

Yeah, Riiiiiiiight!!!

It is all about the Benjamin's. Franklin's that is, not Bernanke's.

Hey Edgar Renteria, you just won the World Series, what's next?

I'm going to Disney Wor....I mean, I'm going to free-agency?

This is the business end of the sport. At $10.5M with a body that was breaking down last year, the Giants will take a step back with Edgar and a step forward with Team Sabean & Bochy. And that makes sense.

As for the others:

Jose Guillen - GONE!! And take those DHL...er HGH packages with you. DANG FOOL!!!
Pat Burrell - Probably gone. Maybe back to the couch until May.
Jose Uribe - BACK
Aubrey Huff - BACK, BACK, BACK, BACK
Guillermo Mota - BACK, if you can afford him. Someone may overpay and promote him.

The arbs other than Fontenot and Chris Ray were significant pieces, keep 'em happy and see if they continue to develop.

But Sabean and Bochy know that. The rings are proof.

From mlbtraderumors.com

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/11/giants-notes-.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+MlbTradeRumors+(MLB+Trade+Rumors)

Giants Notes: Sabean, Bochy, Renteria

By Tim Dierkes [November 2, 2010 at 7:48am CST]

You just won the World Series. What are you doing next? A few notes from the Giants' celebration...

Giants president Larry Baer and owner Bill Neukom are expected to have discussions about extending the contracts of manager Bruce Bochy and GM Brian Sabean, writes Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. Both are under contract through 2011 with club options for '12.

World Series MVP Edgar Renteria remains undecided about playing next year, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Given the free agent market for shortstops, the 34-year-old would be able to find work. He's already filed for free agency; the team buying out his $10.5MM club option for $500K is a formality.

The Giants' other free agents, all of whom already filed: Jose Guillen, Pat Burrell, Juan Uribe, Aubrey Huff, and Guillermo Mota. They've got eight players eligible for arbitration: Andres Torres, Jonathan Sanchez, Ramon Ramirez, Mike Fontenot, Santiago Casilla, Cody Ross, Chris Ray, and Javier Lopez.

From the list of potential free agents out there, I like Jayson Werth of the Phillies as a good fit for a lot of reasons. He would bring the kind of pop that Pat Burrell gave the Giants, only more consistently. A side bonus, addition to the Giants while at the same time subtraction from the rival Phillies.

Bring on the Hot Stove League.

Wait a minute, what just happened here? I'm not sure how that picture got there. A virus perhaps? This is not the type of behavior we condone here at this blog even if it appears to be remotely linked to the subject at hand.

Clearly not appropriate or safe attire for the preparation of scalding hot food and food by-products. Is this what passes for culinary arts education in the public schools nowadays? What a scathing indictment of the system.

People, please if your cooking at home, or even if you're all by yourself....remember to wear a smock or an apron.

San Francisco Giants - 2010 World Series Champions!!!!

Brian Wilson ends World Series with 'most special' signal to dad

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Brian-Wilson-ends-World-Series-with-most-specia?urn=mlb-281783

Over the past few seasons, Brian Wilson has ended dozens of games the same way that he did on Monday night at Game 5 of the World Series.

It's a routine well-known to baseball fans. After recording the final out of a ballgame, the San Francisco Giants closer turns away from the plate, crosses his foreams in front of his chest and quickly looks toward the sky. It's a MMA signal that he says he adopted and adapted to honor both his late father — who passed away from cancer when Brian was only 17 — and his Christian faith.

After the celebration had calmed down somewhat, I asked the closer with the dyed beard he won't admit to if this signal meant more than the others he's made in the past.

His answer was not surprising.

"This one was the most special, sure" he said. "It showed that hard work really does pay off. That's what my dad always taught me."

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS - 2010 WORLD CHAMPIONS

Remember, you heard it here first.

http://slavieboy.blogspot.com/2010/04/pre-season-mlb-predictions-2010.html

NL Championship:

Giants stomp the daylights out of the Phillies, setting up, YES, my ultimate World Series for 2010. The Giants and the Rays.

In that match-up - the Giants sweep the Rays, four straight.

I didn't get the dream match up I wanted in the pre-season, I guess I will just have to settle for The Dream coming true.

The St. Pete Times columnist John Romano summed it up well, and I'm sure others will too. It was about the wait. The long excruciating wait. And getting off the futility list. As we watched the Red Sox, the White Sox and now, at last, the Giants.

San Francisco's crown has finally arrived
By John Romano, Times Sports Columnist

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/ml/san-francisco-giants-are-unlikely-world-series-champions/1131716

The past decade has been about reparations in Major League Baseball. It has been payback for millions of fans who endured losses, heartbreaks, curses, mismanagement and far too much bad luck for anyone to recall.

Red Sox fans? Their 86-year wait ended in 2004.

White Sox fans? Salvation came after 88 years in 2005.

And now Giants fans?

In their 53rd season in San Francisco, the Giants have finally won a World Series.

Giants President Larry Baer summed up the feeling of the franchise from the top down.

"It's for everybody who's ever worn a Giants uniform, for every fan that's ever frozen at Candlestick Park, for every person that's ever voted for a new ballpark, for every person who's listened to our games on the radio over the years. That's what this is for. The 2010 Giants delivered on behalf of those people.

"It's on behalf of 53 years of waiting."

This is true as well. Nobody believed in this team even up until the very end.

They are one of the most unlikely World Series champions in history. A team that seemed forever to be chasing someone else. They were behind the Padres in May, behind the Padres and Dodgers in June and behind the Padres, Dodgers and Rockies in July.

The knuckleheads on the local ESPN station were giddy announcing the Rangers plans to pitch Cliff Lee last night and bring him back on short rest to pitch Game 7, because as they put it, "There's no way the Giants can beat Cliff Lee two times". WRONG!!! On so many levels.

- The Giants had already defeated CLiff Lee once. Now twice, counting last night.
- They ignored the crucial question: How were the Rangers going to beat Tim Lincecum? JUST ONCE MAYBE.
- They ignored the question of how the Rangers were going to beat Matt Cain, in a potential Game Six.

And now they are left to cancel their flight plans for San Francisco, virtually guaranteed by new Rangers hot shot CEO Chuck Greenberg.

"This series: It is going back to San Francisco," Greenberg told the Ben & Skin Show on ESPN 103.3 FM in Dallas. "There's gonna be a Game 6. There's going to be a Game 7. Let's all hang in there and keep believing.

Maybe he can get a free bag of nuts from the charter service for his troubles. No Game 6. No Game 7.

In the end, this may have been the difference between these two teams. The Giants franchise by virtue of their past, know full well the experience best described philosophically by FSU football coach Bobby Bowden, "Not Enough Wide Rights": "They haven't had enough 'wide rights' yet. You have to get kicked around enough in the big ones to learn how to win them."

The Giants franchise finally learned how to win the big one, instead of the kick sailing wide right. They've sure been kicked around enough in the past.

In the end, Romano sums it up pretty well. I don't want to compare and contrast heartache with anyone and I'm glad that, in this area, I no longer have to. But I feel the Cubs fans pain. And the Indians, and now the Rangers, who move up the list. And the Astros, who enter the back end of the list.

Their heartache was not as celebrated as Boston's, and their wait was not as long as Chicago's.

But that does not mean the path was any less painful for those who lived it.

For those who saw Game 7 of the 1962 World Series end when McCovey lined out to Bobby Richardson with two on and two out in the ninth inning of a 1-0 loss to the Yankees.

For those who lived through the earthquake and World Series sweep by Oakland in 1989, and those who saw the Giants come within five outs of winning the 2002 World Series in Game 6 before manager Dusty Baker prematurely pulled Russ Ortiz.

Peter Magowan, who was the leader of the ownership group that purchased the Giants in 1992 and kept Vince Naimoli from buying the franchise and moving it to Tropicana Field, walked through the clubhouse Monday night hugging player after player.

"For a lot of people in San Francisco, this is the happiest day of their lives," said Magowan, who is now Giants president emeritus.

Maybe the happiest day in their sports lives. But yes.

So who would have thought that this team -- of all Giants teams -- would be the one to win it? It's why we watch, and why we play the games, because you just never know.

After all of the close calls and all the losing seasons, the deed was finally done by a group of players who refer to themselves as the Dirty Dozen. They have an ace with long hair, and a closer with a dyed beard. They have a third baseman who looks like Kung Fu Panda, and a first baseman with lucky undergarments from Victoria's Secret.

They are misfits, runts and castoffs. Their highest-paid player did not even make the Series roster, and their cleanup hitter was acquired on waivers a couple of months ago.

"Those Giants teams with Willie Mays and McCovey had four Hall of Famers on those teams," outfielder Aaron Rowand said. "But it takes a lot of luck too."

So, in the end, devotion pays.

Sooner or later, faith is rewarded.

Eventually, hope is not in vain.

What a wonderful take away message. How wonderful a day it must be for Edgar Renteria who endured the criticisms from many corners, including this one, about the worthiness of the contract? Well, I won't question it any more. It was well worth it and I'm so happy for him. Redemption is a wonderful thing.

And for Brian Sabean, who endured the criticism from many corners, including this one, about some of the moves he made to get the team here. Unfortunately for Brian, I can't guarantee that they will not continue. It kind of goes with the territory. But for now, actually forever really, he only needs to point to whatever finger this World Series ring ends up on and he will forever hold the ultimate mute key. Dang it, Life is so not fair.

BTW, How cool a day is it for Giants equipment manager Mike Murphy? World Champions and he'll just be chatting about it with Willie Mays. How cool is that?

Mike Murphy was a batboy in old Seals Stadium when the Giants played their first game in San Francisco in 1958. That happened to be the day he met a future Hall of Famer named Willie Mays. Murphy would go on to work for the Giants for the next 52 years, and continues to run the clubhouse as the equipment manager.

"There's a whole potful of people who have never been through this," Murphy said. "I wish they all could see it. It's a great feeling. You feel like you're sitting on top of the world.

"As a matter of fact, I'm going to call Willie right now."

It is a great feeling.

You do feel like you are sitting on top of the world.

You do feel like anything is possible today because of what happened yesterday. It's silly really, but true.

As Giants fans, we knew coming down the stretch that this season was going to end in tears.

We just didn't know which type.
We know too well, from many prior years of disappointment, the bitter, stinging tears of defeat.
We know not well, the sweet, liberating tears of joy.
Well now we know....

HOW SWEET IT IS.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS - 2010 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS

Giants are on the brink

A cursory look at the SF morning papers reveals how awe-struck some veteran baseball people, both friend and foe, were last night after the gem for the ages pitched by Madison Bumgarner that has this franchise on the brink of a victory that will remove 'long suffering' as a prefix used to describe Giants fans.

From Brian Sabean, Bruce Bochy, Giants teammates and Rangers manager Ron Washington. All weighed in on the magnitude and the magnificence of the performance.

From Bruce Jenkins, The Giants past, present and future.

SF Giants' rookie turns in a gem for the ages

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/11/01/SP581G4NRA.DTL#ixzz141pYSUws

It's hard to believe the Giants' story can get any better, for it reached an otherworldly state in Game 4 of the World Series on Sunday night. It left manager Bruce Bochy chuckling to himself in amazement. It had players shaking their heads in admiration. General manager Brian Sabean was so stunned, he barely could speak.

Such was the residue of Madison Bumgarner's eight shutout innings in the Giants' 4-0 win, viewed by World Series history as the most efficient by a rookie pitcher in 62 years.

Manager Ron Washington marveled that Bumgarner never threw two consecutive pitches at the same speed, and that was the key. He was humming the fastball around 92-93 mph. A couple of proud hitters, Vladimir Guerrero and Michael Young, flailed so badly on changeups that they resembled men groping for a light switch in the dark.

"That kid, I can't say enough about what he did tonight," Bochy said. "I mean, a 21-year-old kid on that stage, pitching like that. He's a man. A very special talent, and we're grateful we have him."

"He's fearless, man," said Huff, who aided Bumgarner's case immeasurably with a massive two-run homer down the right-field line in the third inning. "He came to the yard today and you could see he was just chilling. Nothing really bothers him. Put on some David Allen Coe on the playlist and let him go to town.

"I'll tell you, with the young pitching this team has and Buster Posey behind the plate, this team has a chance to do something special for quite some time."

That's what had Sabean in a near-trance after the game, a state of blissful amazement as he pondered the impact of Bumgarner and Posey on the 2010 Giants. "Certain guys you draft, you can tell they're cut-above people," Sabean said. "But I've been around scouting and player development for a long time, and this is just very unusual. The strength, the inner courage ...I'm shocked. They've shocked all of us."

With one more victory, the Giants will have shocked the world. They have come too far to turn back now.

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From Henry Schulman, Bumgarner is money in the bank.

Madison Bumgarner pitches SF Giants to brink

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/11/01/SPS61G4NQ3.DTL

Cody Ross said everyone in the clubhouse "can feel it, taste it and smell it - all the senses." As pumped as they are, though, the Giants are forcing themselves to remember it takes four wins, not three, to get a parade.

The faithful back in San Francisco must be struggling with emotions that could not be more mixed. On one hand, the Giants are a win away. On the other hand, 55 seasons without a championship and the fresh memories of the 2002 Series can harden a person's skepticism.

Shortly after the game, special assistant Felipe Alou stood by the front door of the clubhouse and recalled the first time he saw Bumgarner in spring training. Alou did not have to stretch his mind to see him pitching eight shutout innings in Game 4 of the World Series.

"When I saw the mound presence and the poise, I said, 'Wow. How long has this guy been pitching?' " Alou recalled. "It's really something to own a lefty of that stature with that kind of stuff. That's a lot of money in the bank."

--------------------

From Scott Ostler, Huff still rocking The Rally Thong

SF Giants 1 win away from city's 1st championship

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/11/01/MNS61G4NQ4.DTL#ixzz141opLaKi


Huff's Rally Thong, by the way, is more than just media candy or a passing fad. When I asked Huff after the game, in the interests of journalism, if he was still rocking the lucky garment, he jumped on the question like a belt-high fastball.

"Yeah, it hasn't left my body since we started playing (good ball), since 30 games (before the end of) the regular season," he said. "It's something you get quite used to after a while. I always wondered how women do it, but it's really not a big deal anymore."

You-Ree-Bay does it again!!!.....Torture never felt so sweet!!!

Juan Uribe comes through for the Giagntes again. And in doing so he gives the network and the nation what could be billed as the 'Futility World Series'. Both franchises have long recent histories of NOT finalizing the dream. Of NOT getting this far. There are no Yankees or Red Sox here. Just a battle of the two League Championship underdogs. The Giants and the Rangers. HOW SWEET IT IS...

These are opportunities that do not come around very often in the life of a franchise. I understand the time-worn cliche that gets tossed around after a team's season has ended "Wait 'til next year". It's what you're supposed to say in that situation. The reality is, on this level, the wait tends to be measured in decades. We may just as well be saying "Wait 'til next decade".

Don't believe me? Since 1969 when the divisional format was put in place -- a total of 42 seasons -- The Giants have appeared in the Championship Series with an opportunity to play in the World Series a total of six times. A rate of once every seven years.

In 1971, they lost to the Pirates 3-1. As a twelve-year old fan, I listened to many of the games on the radio in school and then ran home to see the end of the game still in progress.

In 1987, the next appearance, sixteen years later, losing to the Cardinals 4-3.

In 1989, we beat the Cubs 4-1 to advance to the World Series.

In the 1990's, no appearances at all. Maybe to make up for the two appearance in the 1980's.

In 2002, the Giants beat the Cardinals 4-2 to advance to the World Series.

And now, 2010 they subdue the Phillies 4-2, to advance to the World Series once again. Perhaps the third time will be the charm.

But once every seven years, just to play for the opportunity to get to the World Series. Six chances in 42 seasons. Three World Series appearances now in the last 42 seasons. Oh-for-two so far. Again, perhaps the third time will be the charm.

GIANTS WORLD SERIES APPEARANCES

1962 vs. New York Yankees
1989 vs. Oakland A's
2002 vs. Anaheim Angels
2010 vs. Texas Rangers

I was just a little Bambino Giants fan in 1962 ( three years old ), so I have no real recollection of that series. However, it was within my lifetime. And my dad related how close the Giants came to winning that series, only to fall short. So just as I feel the spine tingling joy and elation whenever I see the immortal "Shot Heard 'Round the World", I feel the pain of that series in my heart.

So close. "Next year, we'll do it". Each year that our team is finally eliminated from contention, those words are the salve we rub on the wound to our heart. The wound just gets greater each year. And becomes harder to heal. The cumulative build up of pain and trauma from each passing year or decade of failure.

Yahoo Sports Steve Henson reviews the Giants painful World Series futility as follows:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=sh-nlcsgamesix102310

Uribe draws strength from late cousin

The Giants have yet to win a World Series since moving to San Francisco from New York in 1958. They lost in seven games to the Yankees in 1962 when Willie McCovey’s line drive with two outs in the ninth inning of the finale found a glove instead of a gap. They lost in seven games in 2002 to the Angels, memorable for the Giants’ Game 6 collapse and manager Dusty Baker’s 3-year-old son getting whisked away from home plate by J.T. Snow(notes).

And they were swept by the Oakland Athletics in 1989, a World Series remembered mostly for the 7.1 magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake that shook Candlestick Park moments before Game 3 was to begin. Jose Uribe was there, a singles hitter and slick fielder, a fan favorite and a lively presence in the clubhouse. A 10-year-old Juan Uribe watched on television.

What he also touched upon here and elaborated on further earlier in the story was the link between Juan Uribe and former Giants SS Jose Uribe, who died in 2006. I was not aware of the link between the two, although I wondered about it many times.

The great thing about the World Series is some of these rich, beautiful stories are allowed to come forward and flourish. On the national stage.

Uribe described his emotions throughout the game and the Series and it may in part answer the question as to how he is able to be such a clutch performer for these Giants.

(Jose) Uribe was the shortstop on the Giants’ 1989 World Series team and a cousin of current Giants infielder Juan Uribe before he died in a car crash in the family’s Dominican Republic hometown of Juan Baron in 2006. He taught Juan how to play baseball, taught Juan to love the Giants, and when Juan circled the bases Saturday night after hitting the eighth-inning home run that sent the Giants to another World Series, Jose was in his heart.

“God helped me a lot, and my (cousin) helped me a lot,” Juan Uribe said softly in a quiet corner of a raucous visiting locker room at Citizens Bank Park, his eyes red from emotion, his body soaked with bubbly. “I love him. He taught me everything. He’s with me today.

So there you go, Uribe flies into Giants lore on the wings of his cousin. I always knew he was clutch, now I know the rest of the story. (apologies to the late Paul Harvey)

Uribe produced the winning run twice in the National League Championship Series, and his opposite-field blast on a changeup by Ryan Madson(notes) took out the two-time defending NL champion Philadelphia Phillies once and for all, by a 3-2 score in Game 6. It was as close to a legendary “The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!” moment this star-crossed franchise has had since Bobby Thomson’s Shot Heard Around the World in 1951.

So baseball fans nationally will not get the Yankees. They will not get the Phillies. And if perhaps they turn the channel away from this series en masse -- in anger over this being a seemingly less than marquee match-up -- they may miss one of the more competitive, evenly matched World Series in recent history. And one that will have some rather compelling story lines.

"We had such a diversity of contributions from everybody," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Not bad for a bunch of castoffs and misfits."

The Rangers clearly seem to have a more potent offense. The Giants will counter with their strengths, starting pitching and bullpen depth. Both teams fight hard and compete extremely well. The Rangers did not walk past the Rays and Yankees in succession without good reason. The fact is, they seemingly buzz-sawed right through both teams. Teams that I thought were pretty much 1-2 going into the playoffs.

So the Giants may be underdogs in this match-up as well. That's OK.

"We fought, we scratched and clawed," said Giants left fielder Pat Burrell, who won a championship ring with the Phillies in 2008. "I don't know how we did it but we did it."

Clearly, I think that's the situation they are most comfortable being in.

“Right now it’s heaven, but it was torture for that final strike,” Giants first baseman Aubrey Huff said.

From torture to heaven in one pitch. HOW ABOUT THAT?? That's baseball.

The San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers - 2010 World Series.
Now that's sweet.
PLAY BALL!!!

Giants DFA Valdez to make room for Huff

Which means they will probably lose Valdez to another organization. Not such a big deal. What bothers me is the other news that Adam LaRoche may sign with the D-Backs to a one-year, $4-5 million dollar deal. This is screwy on two levels, 1) The G-men reportedly offered 2 years, ~$17 million earlier and 2) after being rebuffed by LaRoche, the G-men sign Huff to a one-year $3 million dollar deal. Why couldn't we have offered a one-year deal?

What is Adam LaRoche and his agent thinking? This is a bit of a gamble on their part. LaRoche has to really put up top of the line numbers. If not, he's going to wish he took the Giants offer.

What are the Giants thinking? You mean we could have signed LaRoche to a one-year for an extra $1-1.5 million? I know it's not my money, but dang!@%#$ are you kidding me? They better hope that LaRoche or his agent says that he didn't want to do a one year deal in the Giants park so he could pad his stats for another free agent go-round. Or they look like cheapskates, idiots or both.

Valdez can throw it threw a brick wall but has had problems stying healthy. His innings should not be hard to replace.

from mlbtraderumors.com

Reliever Merkin Valdez was designated for assignment today to make room for Aubrey Huff, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Valdez, 28, posted a 5.66 ERA, 6.9 K/9, and 5.1 BB/9 in 49.3 innings for the Giants last year.

With a 95.5 mph average fastball, someone will give Valdez a look. Heading into the 2004 season Baseball America ranked him as the #40 prospect in baseball. Heading into '05 he was at #58. Valdez had Tommy John surgery in October of '06.

Giants sign Aubrey Huff...Yippee!!!

Not Adam LaRoche, who would have made an impact.

Not Nick Johnson, who would have made an impact.

But Aubrey Huff. Does this fit the Giants pattern of trades and free agent signings lately? All I can say is whoever the Giants had scouting the Orioles organization, they must have made quite an impression, what with their last place finish and all.