Tagged: Barry Bonds
Random Giants Thoughts
I know Pablo Sandoval is no Barry Bonds, but man is this guy fun to watch or what? He had 2 home runs in last night’s game against the Angels. This guy has a .332 AVG and is near the top in the NL. I know he could have more RBI’s if he wasn’t hitting behind Bengie, but hey he can just control what he does at the plate.
The Giants were getting spanked last night until they decided to make their come back. It was a little to late, but at least they didn’t just throw in the towel and wait to try till the next game. The final score was 9-7 Angels. It was looking like it was going to be a 8-0 score till the Giants started to get some stuff together.
I think the Giants are open to anyone that is available in a trade. I mean if a 1st baseman comes available. The Sandoval can go back to 3rd base. If they find a 3rd baseman then Pablo can go to 1st base. Even Fred Lewis hasn’t played well enough to keep his job, so we can take a corner infielder or an outfielder.
I’m getting people asking me what I think about Dan Uggla and other players. I don’t think Uggla is the big bat that we do need, but I do think we need more than one bat. Which means I wouldn’t mind adding that bat. Burriss is playing 2nd and is like in an 0-24 slump right now. Uggla can’t do much worse than that and has home run pop. I would be fine with adding Uggla and try to add another decent bat. I doubt were going to be able to snag a superstar through trades this year, cause the Giants do not want to part with their top prospects.
~King of Cali
Conserving Power!
I remember when the Giants had power in the lineup. Seeing Bonds at the game last night. Made me think back when we knew we can watch him swing at least 3 times a night. This guy had to conserve as much power so he can let it rip with every swing. lol Watch the clip below. Awwwww the good ole days with Bonds. We miss your bat Barry!!!!!!
~King of Cali
Giants, Dodgers and Bonds… Oh My!
Last night was a very cold and windy. You can see players between pitches blowing into their hands trying to warm them up. It reminded me of Candlestick Park. Watching games there with the wind blowing like crazy. =)
Another great start last night for the Giants starting rotation. Zito had 6 scoreless innings till the Dodgers got to him in the 7th inning. Zito and Sandoval have some kind of connection, cause Zito looks very comfortable with Sandoval behind the plate. Giants did have a 3-0 lead till the Dodgers got 4 in the 7th inning. Merkin Valdez came in with a runner on 1st and the Giants clinging to a 1 run lead. After the inning it was the Dodgers 4 and the Giants 3. The Giants did score 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to take the lead right back. Brian Wilson then came in to strike out the side. He must had felt like he had to make a statement. Wilson also has deleted his Twitter Account. The media was on him for twittering late Saturday night about going out and then he got a blow save the next day. Dumb media! lol Wilson had just added me to follow me on twitter and not I have no chance at trying to interview him. =(
Giants are looking good right now. Once they lost the lead. I figured they were done. It was a very cold night, so it was easy for them to just throw in the towels and wait to try it again another day. These guys are starting to score a few runs. They send Sanchez to the mound tonight. He’s the one who started this impressive run by the starting rotation, so I’m hoping he can keep it going.
Barry Bonds made his way to AT&T Park last night. He was all smiles out there last night. It’s obvious he misses being out there and hearing all the fans chant his name. Bonds did say he was hoping the Giants would have got Manny Ramirez. He was saying how great of a hitter he is. He also was saying that the Giants have something good with Fred Lewis in left field. He has been watching all of the Giants games on TV. Said he’s seen Johnson 6 innings of no hit ball. He thinks this team has a great rotation and they are a good team with some good players. Bonds was like a different person last night and I’m glad people who were watching the game got to see that side of him. He was really nice, fun and joking around. You can tell his passion is still baseball. Just listening to him talk about hitting and breaking down Manny Ramirez’s hitting when he was at the plate. He needs to stay in the game some how, cause he has so much to offer to players. Bonds still said he’s not retired but he’s just a fan right now. He’s a big fan of the organization and he will always be a Giant.
~ King of Cali
Thoughts on A-Rod
Sorry I haven’t been able to post a blog since the middle of last week. I went
to Vegas so I was pretty much out of the sports loop since my last blog. I did wake up Friday morning in Vegas and put on ESPN. I was shocked to hear the new information that came out about A-Rod. Man this guy is digging himself a deeper ditch every time he talks. If I was A-Rod…. I would have just came out and said I did take steroids from this time period to this time period. I wouldn’t have gave up any other information. I would have just said it in a statement and said I’m not taking any questions. Just left it at that. The more he talks about it. The more questions he’s creating for the media. Just like he said his cousin. You knew it would come out who his cousin was. Then to say how he got the steroids. We all knew that was a lie and it would only be a matter of time till we found out he was lying again. A-Rod is very emotional and I’m sure with all this media on him all season. He’s going to hit some big slumps. He’s a great player but I don’t think he can take the pressure like Barry Bonds did. When Barry was playing. You couldn’t tell by watching him play that he had so much media pressure about steroids. Sorry for rambling. Just wanted to blog with my thoughts of A-Rod.
to Vegas so I was pretty much out of the sports loop since my last blog. I did wake up Friday morning in Vegas and put on ESPN. I was shocked to hear the new information that came out about A-Rod. Man this guy is digging himself a deeper ditch every time he talks. If I was A-Rod…. I would have just came out and said I did take steroids from this time period to this time period. I wouldn’t have gave up any other information. I would have just said it in a statement and said I’m not taking any questions. Just left it at that. The more he talks about it. The more questions he’s creating for the media. Just like he said his cousin. You knew it would come out who his cousin was. Then to say how he got the steroids. We all knew that was a lie and it would only be a matter of time till we found out he was lying again. A-Rod is very emotional and I’m sure with all this media on him all season. He’s going to hit some big slumps. He’s a great player but I don’t think he can take the pressure like Barry Bonds did. When Barry was playing. You couldn’t tell by watching him play that he had so much media pressure about steroids. Sorry for rambling. Just wanted to blog with my thoughts of A-Rod.~King of Cali
Giants Fan Fest!
I went to Giants Fan Fest on February 7th. I had a blast and I didn’t even walk all over the stadium to all the different booths and stuff they had set up. I got there about 20 mins before the gates opened at 10am. The lines were crazy long! I couldn’t believe how many people were there before 10am. I
heard the lady in front of us in line say the lines are shorter on the other side of the stadium. My girlfriend and I told our friends to wait in line and we will walk over and check it out. We ended up walking up to the side gate and there was a really short line that no one was in. Everyone got on the two outside lines, so we called our friends over and we got in AT&T park within a min after the park opened.
heard the lady in front of us in line say the lines are shorter on the other side of the stadium. My girlfriend and I told our friends to wait in line and we will walk over and check it out. We ended up walking up to the side gate and there was a really short line that no one was in. Everyone got on the two outside lines, so we called our friends over and we got in AT&T park within a min after the park opened. I had no idea that I would be able to actually go on the field. I mean the field didn’t look like a baseball field cause they had a motor cross event there the weekend before, but the outfield walls were up. I was like a kid running to where the pitchers mound would be. Then ran to center field and even jumped up against the wall like if I was stealing a home run away. From there I walked over to left so I could walk around the area where Bonds played. Bonds is my favorite Giants player of all time.
After that I walked over to the home plate area. The Giants flagship station KNBR had a stage set up. They were going to be interviewing players for the radio right there. When I first walked up Damon Bruce was interviewing Barry Zito and Kevin Frandsen. One cool thing about that was it was still early so most of the fans went to the autograph lines. There wasn’t very many people by the KNBR stage at that time. I wanted to get a picture of Zito looking at the camera. I told my girlfriend to get the camera ready to snap a picture. Then when I seen Zito stop talking. I yelled as loud as I can “Zitooooooooo” and had my hands up in the air so he would see I said it. He looked right at me and smiled. The picture of this is below.
We decided to lean on the fence to listen to KNBR and people watch. The stage was still right in front of us, so we could see the different players walking on stage to be interviewed on the radio. Well the spot I leaned up was right next to a walkway to the stands/clubhouse area. I had no idea that I was so lucky when I decided to lean there. It turns out that all the players that came on the field would come thru there. I had Will Clark walk by and even get pushed into me while he’s trying to sign autographs and walk to the KNBR stage. Other players and Giants staff that went right by me was Bengie Molina, Kevin Frandsen, Brian Wilson, Jeremy Affeldt, Jesse English, Sergio Romo, Keiichi Yabu, John Bowker, Emmanuel Burriss, Fred Lewis, Dave Roberts, Aaron Rowand, Nate Schierholtz, Brian Sabean, Bruce Bochy, Roberto Kelly, Carney Lansford, Larry Baer and Bill Neukom. I’m sure I left a few players out that past by me. Here are a few pictures below.
I got Brian Wilson and Jeremy Affeldt to pose for me.
Bengie Molina was talking to my girlfriend in this picture. Should I be mad? lol
Brian Wilson posing for me.
Me and Jeremy Affeldt snapping a quick pic.
Will the Thrill Clark seconds before he was pushed into me.
Brian Sabean walking by while I was in line for the Giants Clubhouse tour.
I will add more pics from Giants Fan Fest on future blogs, so read my next blogs to see more pics from Fan Fest at the bottom.
~King of Cali
Giants Mailbag 2/17/09
This is a start of a weekly blog that I would like to post. I will answer any questions that you have for me. I look forward to receiving your questions. 🙂
Giants Mailbag 2/17/09
Do you think players should be allowed to use HGH or steroids when recovering from a surgery/injury? It may allow the player to heal quicker. I know this would be a tricky issue, but it’s a thought considering all the talk around AROD right now.
I really don’t see much power again this year. Our only home run pop is Bengie and he only gave us 16 home runs last season. Sandoval will have a few home runs here and there, but I don’t expect him to lead the team. I do see him as a great hitter and to have his bat in the lineup all year will add to the offense. The Giants still need to add another bat with pop. I’m hoping they will get Ramirez or Crede. They just need another guy to produce some runs.
Ron
Wow now that is a tricky issue alright. I would have to say no. There shouldn’t be anything that can be grey. It should be black or white. You either can use it or you can’t, so if baseball doesn’t want players to use HGH or steroids. Then no one should be able to take it even if it’s just to help recover.
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How do fans in SF feel about Bonds and the steroid issue?
Will Zito bounce back in 2009?
Where will the power come from in 2009? Will Sandoval make an impact?
Nathan (Foul Tip)
It seems like half the people care what happens to Bonds and the other half don’t. Now that he’s no longer in a Giants uniform it seems like fans don’t really care. I’m sure the Bonds fans like myself still care. I just think the whole steroid issue needs to end. Okay a lot of players took them. Now lets clean the game up now and move on. We can’t change the past.
Look below to the question from Jane/She-Fan to read my insight on Zito.
I really don’t see much power again this year. Our only home run pop is Bengie and he only gave us 16 home runs last season. Sandoval will have a few home runs here and there, but I don’t expect him to lead the team. I do see him as a great hitter and to have his bat in the lineup all year will add to the offense. The Giants still need to add another bat with pop. I’m hoping they will get Ramirez or Crede. They just need another guy to produce some runs.
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Assuming Manny Ramirez re-signs with the Los Angeles Dodgers do you find it somewhat odd that Brian Sabean and the Giants improved the ball club by adding Jeremy Affeldt, Bob Howry, Edgar Renteria, and Randy Johnson but did not add a big offensive piece, which seemed to be their major need going into the off-season, that would have made them favorites to win the NL West? Unless Aaron Rowand, Randy Winn, and the youngster Pablo Sandoval are going to have all-star caliber seasons I do not see them having enough offense even with the strong pitching staff. I say sign Joe Crede to play 3B and swoop in and steal Manny from the Dodgers and really go for it.
Well I must say it seems like you and I are kind of thinking alike. If Manny signs with the Dodgers. Then I don’t know why the Giants would pay so much for Renteria to come play short. Just have one of the young guys play short that are battling for 2nd base. We have Frandsen, Burriss and Velez trying to win the 2nd base job. One of them can play short if you’re not trying to win and just develop young players.
Why would you sign Randy Johnson if you’re not trying to win this year? We have Lowry and Sanchez fighting for the 5th spot. They wouldn’t have had to fight for it if Johnson wasn’t signed. I can see signing Affeldt and Howry either way. The bullpen needed some help to get the ball to Wilson in the 9th inning. Johnson and Renteria just don’t make sense to me if they are not trying to win this year.
I do think the Giants will have a better offense this year with or without Ramirez. They will have Sandoval for a whole season. This is a guy who can flat out hit. He’s not Ramirez but he will get his hits and get on base for Bengie to drive in. I didn’t think Crede would be a good signing for this club, but now that everyone else is gone. I say go for it. Crede will give some pop in the lineup. Then Sandoval can move to play first base. Rather than using an unproven player at first base.
With the moves that Sabean has made this off-season. They should just go out and sign Manny and got for it this year. With Manny they will be the favorite to win the NL West. Then with the starting rotation they have. It would be scary to face them in the playoffs.
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AT&T Park is breathtaking. Tops on my list to see…maybe as early as this summer. What are some tips for visiting the park? Must eat food? Best places to sit?
Kathy
http://redbirdchatter.mlblogs.com
I love this park! It’s just so beautiful to look at the scoreboard and see the Bay Bridge in the background. Just to see the boats in the bay right behind right field. It’s way better than going to to the A’s stadium across the bay. Every time I go to a game the first thing I have to get is the “Gilroy Garlic Fries”. I love them! Another really good place to eat there is “Orlando’s”. It’s the home of the Baby Bull Tri-Tip Sandwich and the Cha Cha Bowl. The Cha Cha bowl is really good! There is a bunch of other foods, but those are my two top choices. =)
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I’ve read a lot of places that some Giants fans think Aaron Rowand isn’t worth the contract he was given. (5 years/$60 million, I think) Is this the general consensus among Giants fans or do they like Rowand? And do you think Rowand is worth that contract?
Jen
http://ajroxmywhitesox.mlblogs.com
I have heard fans say they are not happy with the amount the Giants paid him to come here. The Giants have had problems getting big name free agents to come here because it’s a pitchers park. The Giants always seem to have to over pay to get someone decent in here. I like Rowand but he’s not the big bat that the Giants fans wanted when we got him. He is a good player to have on your team. I just would have used that money on someone else. Fans expected him to come here and be an elite player.
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Is Tim Lincecum in danger of major injury this year? He pitched so many innings last season and has that violent delivery…What’s the inside word?
Ellen
It’s not earth shattering, but it’s a question
Tim Lincecum has a very strange delivery. His dad showed him how to pitch when he was a kid. He’s a small guy so his dad tweaked his pitching style to get every little bit of strength as he could out of that little body. Lincecum has pitched so good with that style that his dad wouldn’t let anyone tweak with it. Seems to work, so if it’s broke then don’t try to fix it! There has been no injuries reported for Lincecum, so lets keep our fingers crossed!
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I’ve got a question for you, King….
What kind of a season do you expect Barry Zito to have? Has he finally shaken off the pressure from the big contract? Is he healthy? I haven’t been following his career since he joined the Giants, so fill me in please.
Thanks.
Jane/She-Fan
I honestly believe Zito is going to have a good year. I mean don’t expect him to be in the running for the Cy Young Award. He knows Tim Lincecum is the man now and the Ace. Plus they have signed Randy Johnson, so Zito isn’t feeling all the pressure anymore. He’s also moving from the Ace of the staff to the #4 starter this season. I think in that 4th spot is really going to help him. He’s not going to be facing other teams Ace’s night in and night out.
Zito is going into the season in really good shape. He has had Brian Wilson (the Giants closer) stay with him this off-season. Wilson has had Zito doing his workout and eating right. I’m actually really excited to see how good Zito will be this year.
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Hi King,
Here’s my question – the Giants seem to have pinned a lot of hope on Edgar Renteria filling in at SS. There had been issues about his weight & general physical condition last season in Detroit. Do you think he can over come those issues and be effective for the Giants?
Julia
I think Edgar Renteria is a good pick up. I think he’s overpaid for this off-season market. He is a decent bat to put in the #2 spot. Renteria is a big upgrade with the bat compared to Omar. He’s not going to make all the great plays that Omar made on “D” but he will make the plays he should make. His range isn’t as good either, but the Giants need offense so that’s why this move was good. I have heard that Edgar is going into spring training in better shape. I guess we have to wait and see when he reports this spring.
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It’s Brian from Fish Bites I read how the commissioner is debating whether to reinstate Hammerin’ Hank as the home run king. I’m sure as a Giants fan, the organization is upset about this, and I can see why. I guess I’m wondering what your take is as a possible fan of Barry Bonds and since you were lucky enough to watch him for so long.
Hope this idea catches on with the other bloggers.
Brian http://florida.mlblogs.com/
I don’t think there is any way he will reinstate Hammerin Hank. He can’t just take away everyone’s stats from this steroid era. Plus no one even really knows who did take steroids during this era. Hank has already came out and said the record is Bonds.
Even with all of the steroid issues it was awesome to watch the Home Run Chase! No matter where I was at I knew when Bonds was coming up. I was either in front of a TV or listening to every at bat. A lot of people don’t know this but Bonds just didn’t go up there hacking. He only would swing at strikes. He could be 0-2 and still walk cause pitchers wouldn’t want to come back over the plate. Barry was the man and I’m glad he was playing in this era cause I think it was really a treat to everyone who got to really see him play day and day out.
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-Who will win the N.L. West the Dodgers, D-Backs, the Giants, or whoever gets Manny.
-Where will Manny go?
-What you think about pitcher and catchers reporting (is it overrated, underrated, stupid to have pitchers and catcher be there before position, players etc.)
It all depends where Manny (he will end up a Dodger) goes as to how the NL West will go. If Manny signs with the Dodgers this is what I think. Dodgers, Giants, D-Backs, Rockies and Padres.
If Manny signs with the Giants…. Giants, D-Backs, Dodgers, Rockies and Padres.
Now If Manny doesn’t sign with either Giants or Dodgers. It’s really a toss up with the D-Backs and Giants. I think it will probably be Giants, D-Backs, Dodgers, Rockies and Padres.
The Giants already made it known if they are in it they will make a move at the trading deadline. I’m sure this will be enough to win the NL West.
I think it’s cool that Pitchers and Catchers report early. Just gets baseball started a little earlier than waiting longer for position players. It’s also cool to see what position players show up early. Just shows who’s committed to the team. I love the smell of Spring Training in the air!
Thank you for your questions. I would like to do this weekly. Please send me any questions that you would like me to answer for you.
~King of Cali
Q&A with radio host Damon Bruce from KNBR
I would like to introduce all of you to Damon Bruce. You can hear Damon on KNBR, the Giants flagship station. Where he is the nightly host of “Sportsphone 680”, which is heard from 7-10pm Pacific Time. You can also stream his show online at www.knbr.com. You gamers out there might recognize his voice, he does the play-by-play for the video game “The Bigs”. One thing I love about Damon is that he’s very passionate about the Giants and what they should be doing to improve the team. Damon was born in Chicago. You would never know it from hearing him on the radio, but he’s a Chicago Cubs fan! I know that his second favorite team is the Giants! Damon does a “Giants Hot Stove League Show” where he interviews players, coaches and broadcasters.
I recently contacted Damon, told him about my blog and asked him if I could
interview him for it. He agreed to let me interview him via email. I did get a chance to meet Damon when I was at the Giants Fan Fest. I walked up and introduced myself to him. Not only did he know who I was, but he obviously reads his own emails! He told me he would have all the answers to me by early in the week. It was great to finally meet the man behind the voice. (Picture to the right is Zito, Frandsen and Bruce at Giants Fan Fest.)
interview him for it. He agreed to let me interview him via email. I did get a chance to meet Damon when I was at the Giants Fan Fest. I walked up and introduced myself to him. Not only did he know who I was, but he obviously reads his own emails! He told me he would have all the answers to me by early in the week. It was great to finally meet the man behind the voice. (Picture to the right is Zito, Frandsen and Bruce at Giants Fan Fest.)Here is a Q & A with sports host Damon Bruce from KNBR.
King: Since it’s known you’re a Chicago Cubs fan and you cover the Giants. Who would you want to win in the NLCS if they played each other?
Damon B: Cubs vs Giants – Lets hope, and it’s a sfe bet… that’s not going to be a problem for me. Personally, I would love to see the Cubs in the World Series in my lifetime, but not at the expense of me getting to cover a World Series in my lifetime. I would likely have to take the series off, and just start drinking heavily.
King: Who is your favorite player current and all time?
Damon B: Favorite Player All Time – Mark Grace… if we’re talking current Giants: Lincecum or Cain
King: What’s your best Giants memory?
Damon B: Covering Bonds the night he tied Hank Aaron in San Diego. It was surreal to watch him do that in another team’s ball park. Padres fans didn’t want to applaud, but they couldn’t stop themselves. It’s covered in scandal, but it was quite a moment in time.
King: What’s your opinion on Manny Ramirez possibly being a Giant?
Damon B: Sign him before the Dodgers do… are you even serious with this question? This guy is a proven winner, and the best post-season performer in ML history. I can’t belive the Giants are just watching the Dodgers take their time with this guy.
King: I like adding Renteria and Johnson if they add a clean up hitter. If they don’t then I don’t see a point if they aren’t trying to win. What do you think about those signings?
Damon B: Both are stop gaps… Renteria will be an offensive upgrade over Omar, but not 1/2 the defender. It really show’s they don’t have a player in their minor league system ready to go at SS. It’s a C-plus signing, maybe a B-minus… lets see how he plays and adjusts to NL pitching again. Johnson is a sub-plot to the season which will be cool to cover. 300 wins is special, and hopefully it gives the Giants incentive to deal some pitching for a bat.
King: If you were the Giants GM what moves would you have made this off-season?
Damon B: Manny… Manny… Manny… trade some pitching for a real bat if he didn’t sign. I like the Affeldt signing, would have tried to deal for Holliday instead of letting the A’s do it. Would have never inked Zito for that cash… I could go on & on… but I’ll spare you. Oh, I would have made a move on Dan Uggla.
King: Has there been a recent move by a team this off-season that you’re impressed with and didn’t see coming?
Damon B: I think every off-season needs to be spent addressing major issues… there is a major lack of major league bat in the middle of this line-up, and until that’s fixed, they’re just painting a rusty car, not treating the rust.
King: What’s your prediction for the NL West?
Damon B: D-Backs, Giants, Dodgers, Rockies, Padres.
King: What’s your take on the Barry Bonds issue?
Damon B: Should have come clean a-la A-Rod and this would have been over years ago. His ego was his greatest asset and worst enemy at the same time.
King: Is there anything you want to let people know about you that they might not know?
Damon B: I’ve written a book about Bay Area Sports Lists… will be out near the beginning of baseball season. It’s the first time I’ve ever done anything like this, so I’m excited, and hope people dig it.
I hoped you guys really enjoyed getting to know a little about Damon Bruce.
Thanks again Damon for taking the time to answer these questions and it was really nice to meet you at the Giants FanFest. Here is a picture of Damon and I at the Giants Fan Fest.
Thanks again Damon for taking the time to answer these questions and it was really nice to meet you at the Giants FanFest. Here is a picture of Damon and I at the Giants Fan Fest.~King of Cali
