A columnist for the local San Francisco paper said the Giants are entertaining and "must-see television."
The columnist is old and fat and probably has nothing else to do than watch this sorry team lose day after day. There is nothing "must-see" about this team.
Nothing thrilled me more than going to the ballpark to watch the great Barry Bonds take an at-bat. Bathrooms and concession-stand lines were empty when Bonds was coming to the plate. It just isn't the same when Fred Lewis and Dan Ortmeier is up at the plate taking their hacks.
The 2008 Giants are not a fun team to watch and are very boring. Sure, I am tuned in to every Barry Zito start, but it is for all the wrong reasons.
I pay attention to Zito's starts because I enjoy watching him have no command of his pitches and lose game after game. Zito makes it interesting and even when he pitches a decent game statistically like he did tonight, he still loses. He actually lowered his ERA tonight to 6.25.
If Bruce Bochy continues to send him out there every fifth day, there is a good chance he could lose 20 games this year. I never thought Zito was a likable guy, even though the local media portrays him as a cool dude who works hard.
Zito's attitude and the way he talks after losing makes me think he doesn't care as much as he should. Win or lose, he will collect his hefty paycheck every two weeks from the Giants.
The Giants don't have a good manager or a good team. Their GM, Brian Sabean, is one of the worst GMs in all of baseball. The only people who compliment Sabean are other GMs. They don't want Giants management to fire him so they can make more deals with Sabean and steal more quality players from the Giants organization.
Omar Vizquel is fun to watch when he is playing shortstop, and Tim Lincecum is one of the most exciting pitchers in baseball. Besides these two players, I don't really care about the rest of the team.
I miss Bonds a lot, but I also miss Pedro Feliz. After watching Bochy manage for over a year, I even miss Felipe Alou.
Aaron Rowand may be a gamer, but I don't find him likable at all. He is an average player at best. I used to be a fan of Rich Aurilia when he hit 37 homers in 2001, but that was seven years ago.
Bengie Molina tries his best and has my respect, but he is not a cleanup hitter on any other team. Matt Cain is a solid pitcher, but he never gets any run support and clearly is frustrated by the lack of offense every time he is on the mound.
This team can't hit with runners in scoring position and are never able to get the key hit they need in order to win games. Bochy always seems to make the wrong decisions and doesn't know when to take out his pitcher or keep him in.
Mike Krukow, the Giants' announcer, is the ultimate homer and can be quite annoying. After an out by Vizquel, Krukow chimed in with "that was a great at bat" before they headed to commercials. Tonight, he insisted that the home plate umpire was squeezing Zito and not calling strikes. Krukow has excuses for everything and always remains positive.
The Giants have a good chance to be contenders this season. They are contending for last place and have an excellent chance to lose 100 or more games. There is nothing "must-see" about this team.
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4 months ago
Zito is very entertaining. It's fun to see an over-payed pitcher struggle. Very funny.
4 months ago
I love how people completely ignore the run support that Zito has gotten when he pitches. You try winning games when your offense has scored a whopping 13 runs in 9 starts. Even if he pitched a quality start every game, he still would not win. That's the offense's problem, not his. Put Zito on the Red Sox or Yankess and he's easily 6-2 this season instead of 0-8.
As for whether the Giants are exciting or not, yeah they don't draw you out of your seat but baseball in general is a boring game (even though I love it). Still, I would much rather see the young kids trying there hardest rather then old vets like Bonds play. The Giants with Bonds would win 75 games at the most this season. So would it really have been worth it to pay him that money?
The Giants are second in the majors in stolen bases, something that is not too familiar to a Giants team. Whether they are amazing or they suck, it shows that they're agressive and atleats trying.
4 months ago
Yes Greg, it would be worth the money to see Bonds as a Giant. I would go to the ballpark to watch his at-bats for sure. Any chance I would get to see the greatest of all time play, I will watch. Zito on the Red Sox, he would not be 6-2. How bad would it be for him to face teams with a DH lol? The problem with Zito is he kills the bullpen every time he has a start since he only goes 5 to 6 innings a game.
The most he has gone this year is 6 innings! I can't wait for him to face the Marlins next!! He might be 0-8 but he is not the worst pitcher in the NL since matt MOrris gets the nod for that award. Too bad he retired.
Zito isn't as bad as his 0-8 record makes him out to be but if he was 4-4, he would still be criticized by fans since he is making so much money.
4 months ago
The one thing i have objection to the most is that you hated on Mike Krukow. Homer he may be, and owner of the "Krukow Kurse" (wikipedia), he's still part of the best announcing team in baseball. He's more intuitive to the game, and takes steps to explain the nuances to the fans, something no one else, except for Duane Kuiper, does. In the game in question, Greg Papa asked Krukow what to expect with the plate umpire, and Kruk KNEW. He knew that Sederstrom doesn't give high strikes, and doesn't like giving corner pitches, but the fact is that he had a scouting report ON THE UMPIRE. That's the kind of stuff that I listen to. And, as a former player, you do know what a good at-bat is, even if you get out. The things that he talks about, "loud outs", things of that nature, they're not just mindless yammering. He knows what he's talking about and is actually optimistic enough to see the positives for what they are. In a season where everyone is just focusing on the negatives of the team, there has to be somewhere fans can look for improvement. He's doing just that. Great ball-player, and a great announcer.
4 months ago
I agree with evan. Kruk and Keip are the best, most entertaining and amazing announcing team in baseball. You cant hate on them. They make watching the giants fun even when they are 10 games under .500. I do feel though that while the giants are losing, they are making some decent strides especially with their young players.
4 months ago
I agree with you in that Krukow is very smart and knows a lot about the game. I like Krukow. He was a good pitcher with the Giants and won 20 games one season. His daughter is cute too lol. Krukow always knows about the umpires' strike zones and all because he was a former pitcher. Yes, he is really good at teaching the fans the lil quirks of the game and other knowledge. Knip is ok.... I don't like him or hate him. But I rather listen to the great Jon Miller over Knip anyday of the week!!!!!!!
Krukow is an eternal optomist. I find it more funny than annoying.
4 months ago
You know what I hate? People with nothing better to do than piss and moan. "The 2008 Giants are not a fun team to watch and are very boring" What a profound statement. I happen to think this team is very fun to watch, even if they will finish in last place. They have a lot of young talent. Besides, anybody who calls Mike Krukow a homer is not a true baseball fan. He compliments players from both the Giants and their opponents. If you hate the Giants so much, then find another team. If not, then quit bitching, moron. One more thing: there was also nothing "must see" about your article.
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