High winds and rain early this morning. According to PG&E we lost power around 2:30. But when I woke up for a call at 6 I had some power and wifi. Went out about 7:20. I did notice that the heater wouldn't go on so maybe a brownout not a full-on blackout until 7:20. PG&E truck was at the end of the street about to do some work on my way to the coffee shop.
It's pretty nuts. I'm on the Westside at the bottom of a hill that leads up to a neighborhood called the Mesa, and there was a major mudslide that closed city streets around the corner from my house. Some friends east of State St. got evacuated. Scary. Sunny now finally, though more hard rain this a.m.
Off and on downpours since early this AM, is supposed to hold this pattern until mid-afternoon. Our neighbors up the street had a significant landslide go through their garage sometime this morning, a good portion of the undeveloped hillside above them collapsed. Lots of Glendale Fire and Water & Power activity on our street and the one above us. We are theoretically on good bedrock, as are our up the hill neighbors, so fingers crossed the big trees' roots hold on and we'll be ok.
I've heard portions of the LA River have topped their fortified banks and I've spent all morning reading about the 1938 and 69 floods.
Break from the showers in the PNW. Yesterday was a mostly dry day, but 10 hours of work kept me from ever getting outside. Hoping to get a little work done outside this afternoon before the showers come back for the next week+.
Very windy (gusty), intermittent torrents of rain, although not very cold (mid-50s).
Getting ready to go this morning about 6:25 a.m. Heard, then saw a cloudburst. Heard it first because I could hear the rain pelting the exhaust housing for our stove. The saw it as I looked outside: torrents of water coming down the street gutters, heavy rain clearly visible at the street light. Wind was also lashing rain against the windows.
About 40 minutes later as I walked from BART to the building I work in, the rain had subsided but the wind gusted through the canyon formed by the buildings on either side.
My walk between the shuttle stop and my office was during a dry period, thank goodness. I heard loud swooshes of wind outside, my coworker reported hail (north Berkeley), and then a couple minutes later, the hail arrived at my location as well.
I hope all are coping OK. The weather channels don't usually give California much time but it's all California, all the time for now. I've seen more of Sacramento, Capitola, and LA on the weather in the last few days than I can ever remember.
Capitola and the SC mountains are getting absolutely rocked. The 20 year swell that arrived at the peak of a king tide seems to have done most of the coastal damage, but now all the beaches are littered with hundreds of massive trees that have flowed out of the rivers and creeks. I was happy to hear that my two friends that have homes in the mountains above Capitola and Aptos have faired well so fr.
This series of storms brings back many memories from January 1982. I was a freshman at UCSC, then. Just about everyone in the dorms had come back to campus the day before Winter Quarter classes were to begin. A steady rain was falling. That night, the lights went out.
What we didn't know then but found out the next day was sobering - towers carrying high voltage lines and feeding Santa Cruz had been taken out by landslides. The aqueduct carrying water from Loch Lomond in the Santa Cruz mountains to Santa Cruz itself was severed by a landslide. Classes were cancelled before they started. We were told that if you had somewhere else you could go, leave town and come back in 5 days. The reasons was simple enough - little or no electricity until electricity was re-established and water would be rationed because of the break in the aqueduct.
The landslides were caused by a steady rainstorm that dumped 14 inches of rain in the Santa Cruz mountains over 28 hours. Because of the lack of electricity, gas pumps did not work. Generators were employed to allow a few gas stations to pump gas. I got out with a few friends. We traveled in a small car over Highway 17. The devastation from landslides was apparent and frequent.
Later, I saw photos in the SF Chron that showed the devastation from flooding on the San Lorenzo River. One photo was an aerial photo of what looked like matchsticks. It was a photo of trees that had flowed down the San Lorenzo and gathered along the beaches in Santa Cruz.
Here is a pretty frightening image from Santa Cruz County. Focus on the base of the tree, I don't know I've ever seen a tree skating atop a mudslide like this.
One other thought on Porter's announcement. It could force the hands of other people in re: Feinstein. It might force Newsom to have a sitdown with Feinstein now, rather than later.
Consider - what if Newsom favors Adam Schiff to succeed Feinstein. Rather than have a bruising Democratic primary, Newsom could clear the Democratic field by persuading Feinstein to resign, appointing Schiff to the seat in the wake of said resignation, thereby imbuing Schiff with the advantage of incumbency.
If, for example, Feinstein were to resign and Schiff were appointed to the resulting vacancy this coming March or April, Schiff's US Rep seat would be filled by special election sometime this summer. Also, Porter might be persuaded NOT to run for US Senate and instead run for re-election to her US Rep seat.
Porter is doing what she has to do - not waiting on Feinstein to do the right thing, Porter is metaphorically telling Feinstein that she's now retired.
There's a story about LBJ (not sure if it's true or not) that illustrates this idea. LBJ was interested in running for a seat in Congress but it was occupied by a long-time Congressman. The Congressman died. His widow was appointed to serve the remainder of the term. Everyone awaited the widow's decision about whether she'd run for "re-election" except Johnson. Johnson simply announced he was running for the seat without waiting for the widow to announce, effectively pushing her out of the race.
Feinstein is moribund. She needs to retire, but California Dems are being very deferential on the assumption that she won't run for re-election. Porter is basically saying, "I'm in. Who's running against me?"
Diamond from the MAGA-media personalities of Diamond and Silk has died. It is believed that she died of pneumonia complications from Covid, which is ironic.
Biden's lawyers discover classified materials from his vice presidency terms and immediately contact the appropriate agencies to inform them of the situation to get things returned as quickly and forthright as possible. Cue Fox News outrage.
Trump asks, "When is the FBI going to raid the many homes of Joe Biden, perhaps even the White House? These documents were definitely not declassified."
I'd say that answer is: When Biden's team stops cooperating/starts being obstructionist.
Pac-12 in the final poll has 6 teams in the top 25, as many as the SEC, and more than any other conference, and also more than the conference has had in many years. The conference feels closer than it has been since Washington was in to getting a team in next year, never mind once the field expands to 12 teams. And at the same time also feels as far away from actually winning a National Championship as it was at any time since Oregon made it to the title game.
I see that James Madison and UTSA are in ESPN's top 25 for next season. I seriously doubt that between now and September anyone will project the University of California to earn more than seven wins. This is where we are and everyone once in awhile I find it damn depressing, especially as I see no cause for optimism about the future. Blgh!
UTSA is a good team, and they have building their program per a plan for a number of years. At this point, any projection that doesn't have them in the top 30 if not 25 has demonstrated that its under-researched at best. The key point is their multi-year plan to build a program, in part using a successful program (they make no bones about having studied Boise St closely), but also developing a recruiting strategy and addressing obstacles.
What is Cal's plan to modify enrollment barriers and modernize admissions? What is Cal's multi-year plan to address challenges on and off campus to attracting and retaining players or staff? What is Cal's plan to develop a supporting NIL program with year over year contribution to player acquisition and retention. What is Cal's plan to foster a more committed customer/investor base that is differential week in and week out? What is Cal's plan to develop a more substantial presence region-wide? What programs has or is Cal adding to the curriculum that aligns with professional athlete development, or the emerging media landscape?
I haven't heard or read what steps either the Cal campus or the Cal alumni/community are taking targeted at making a tangible and enduring difference in these areas 5 years from now. I don't imagine many people making projections have detected foundational improvements or plans to produce them either.
No joke (and at the the risk of pulling a GB49-like suggestion) your questions in paragraph 2 should be emailed to Knowlton on behalf of the WFC Gang. Share his response here. Who knows, maybe you'll be the one to start the Knowlton coup.
Love that Cam is still into Cal, and that he has gripes like the rest of us. Hope he can be one of the guys to jump into becoming part of the solution for Cal (more alumni involvement, with player visits and NIL assistance, pushing the administration, etc.).
Was regression to the mean for Sonny's defense or did someone do some pre-game incantations summoning the spirits of the Andy Buh defense to curse TCU?
Just an incredibly overrated player. Still, by all accounts, the Giants handled the situation poorly, which is par for the course with Farhan and Larry Baer.
Has never hit 30 dongs or driven in 100 runs, even tho he has been on good teams his entire career and played all but one year in that band box in Houston. He’s good, but not great. I mean, Houston seemed fine with letting him go…
No arguments there…he’s rather overrated IMO, and that contract was horrid.
I’m fine with them not signing Correa, but they needed to sign someone. Haniger, Joc and Conforto are ALL platoon guys. Oracle’s gonna be empty this year.
I would’ve focused on Xander Bogaerts instead of Correa, who even without the mysterious “lower leg” injury that’s got everyone freaked has been on the DL 7 x in 8 seasons. Hard pass, and 13-$350M was absolutely ludicrous for him. I would’ve also passed on Manaea and/or Stripling, as you already have them in the rotation only their names are Alex Wood and Alex Cobb. That Haniger deal is brutal - dude is always hurt, and they’ll be lucky to get 120 games out of him in ‘23, though Farhan signing him was the most predictable play of the Giants’ offseason, so there’s that. Conforto was a part time guy before missing ‘22 with the shoulder, yet has a typical Farhan risk-averse contract so if he does rebound (as they expect because they signed him) then he’s gone like Rodon. Lastly, giving Joc Pederson $19.5M to be a part time/platoon DH v RHP is simply retaining a popular local player for image’s sake. Which honestly, may not be a bad thing - better than bringing Belt or Longoria back.
Problem is, there is little evidence that Farhan’s blueprint for building a roster is successful…he’s there to make Charles Johnson and the shareholders money. That outlier 2021 season came on the backs of career resurgences by Posey, Crawford and Belt, and by Webb becoming an SP1…none of them were Zaidi guys.
Next year, you’ve got Ohtani and Machado on the market with the opt-out…but this team doesn’t swim in the deep end of the pool, so those guys aren’t options. Guess you keep your fingers crossed that Luciano’s back injury isn’t serious, wait for him, Harrison, Schmitt to maybe be impact Major League players…and keep signing aging, platoon candidates to low risk deals in hopes you can stay competitive.
I'm hoping the Dodgers trying to get under the cap means they're throwing money at Ohtani next year.
I was surprised they gave the QO to Joc. No way he gets close to that on the open market. They were hoping for the draft pick and it bit them in the ass.
I honestly don’t think the new shift rules are going to impact averages as much as is being said. Not all LHB are equal - Corey Seager puts the ball in play a lot more than Joc…he’ll see an increase, but guys with high K totals won’t see a huge bump. One reason I really liked Adam Frazier this year.
I think the idea that the Giants handled it poorly is driven by Giants haters and Giants fans who don't like Zaidi and Baer.
The Correa negotiations were a no-win situation for the Giants, particularly Farhan Zaidi. Boras makes these situations impossible because of his negotiating style. He looks to maneuver teams into a no-win situation and use that as leverage. I'm sure Boras makes his clients many millions, but he's a horse's ass.
Well, no arguing Boras is a dick, and I do think Farhan, Kapler and their silly saber -metrics, nonsense is generally useless and creates a roster short on talent. Larry Baer is just a tool - don’t know how he still has a job. And I’m as big a Giants fan as anyone.
But even the staunchest of Giants fans can agree that it was handled poorly by all parties. The Giants should have postponed the news conference well before the morning of, and looked silly by not doing so, even if Boras played hardball.
As a Giants fan I'm not being facetious when I say that I agree with both of you. Boras always comes off as a dick (because he is one) and Zaidi and Baer need a PR person to work with them, both have their skillset -- through Baer's is limited -- but they struggle with their images . The Giants should have done better with the Correa situation but I think they've been beaten to death over something that wasn't totally in their control.
I conclude by wishing you and everyone a Happy Willie McCovey's birthday. (Still not a federal holiday, frankly I expected more from Joe Biden.)
I will never forget the old, old Candlestick that had a stand-alone bleacher behind the right field fence. McC hit one and I jumped down to get it. The ball tore a hole and went through the webbing of my glove. No souvenir for me. That was only 50+ years ago but it had no effect on me.
WEATHER
got a flash flood warning here in SF around 1230 (extending til 1530).
at 1255 it was hailing and lightning. at 1258, I got a notification on my watch that "rain in your area will be stopping in two minutes". yeah, right!
at exactly 1300, it stopped raining, and it's been cloudy-sunny since.
High winds and rain early this morning. According to PG&E we lost power around 2:30. But when I woke up for a call at 6 I had some power and wifi. Went out about 7:20. I did notice that the heater wouldn't go on so maybe a brownout not a full-on blackout until 7:20. PG&E truck was at the end of the street about to do some work on my way to the coffee shop.
Santa Barbara is a disaster zone.
The videos out of Santa Barbara are shocking. It appears that SB is about to float into the Pacific Ocean.
It's pretty nuts. I'm on the Westside at the bottom of a hill that leads up to a neighborhood called the Mesa, and there was a major mudslide that closed city streets around the corner from my house. Some friends east of State St. got evacuated. Scary. Sunny now finally, though more hard rain this a.m.
Serious Day After Tomorrow vibes...
Off and on downpours since early this AM, is supposed to hold this pattern until mid-afternoon. Our neighbors up the street had a significant landslide go through their garage sometime this morning, a good portion of the undeveloped hillside above them collapsed. Lots of Glendale Fire and Water & Power activity on our street and the one above us. We are theoretically on good bedrock, as are our up the hill neighbors, so fingers crossed the big trees' roots hold on and we'll be ok.
I've heard portions of the LA River have topped their fortified banks and I've spent all morning reading about the 1938 and 69 floods.
Break from the showers in the PNW. Yesterday was a mostly dry day, but 10 hours of work kept me from ever getting outside. Hoping to get a little work done outside this afternoon before the showers come back for the next week+.
Light rain here in San Diego, not nearly as much rain down here as LA.
Very windy (gusty), intermittent torrents of rain, although not very cold (mid-50s).
Getting ready to go this morning about 6:25 a.m. Heard, then saw a cloudburst. Heard it first because I could hear the rain pelting the exhaust housing for our stove. The saw it as I looked outside: torrents of water coming down the street gutters, heavy rain clearly visible at the street light. Wind was also lashing rain against the windows.
About 40 minutes later as I walked from BART to the building I work in, the rain had subsided but the wind gusted through the canyon formed by the buildings on either side.
My walk between the shuttle stop and my office was during a dry period, thank goodness. I heard loud swooshes of wind outside, my coworker reported hail (north Berkeley), and then a couple minutes later, the hail arrived at my location as well.
We're getting lashed with wind and rain here in Oakland (on the edge of Chinatown).
Mrs Slug texted me about 15 minutes ago and also reported hail.
I hope all are coping OK. The weather channels don't usually give California much time but it's all California, all the time for now. I've seen more of Sacramento, Capitola, and LA on the weather in the last few days than I can ever remember.
Capitola and the SC mountains are getting absolutely rocked. The 20 year swell that arrived at the peak of a king tide seems to have done most of the coastal damage, but now all the beaches are littered with hundreds of massive trees that have flowed out of the rivers and creeks. I was happy to hear that my two friends that have homes in the mountains above Capitola and Aptos have faired well so fr.
This series of storms brings back many memories from January 1982. I was a freshman at UCSC, then. Just about everyone in the dorms had come back to campus the day before Winter Quarter classes were to begin. A steady rain was falling. That night, the lights went out.
What we didn't know then but found out the next day was sobering - towers carrying high voltage lines and feeding Santa Cruz had been taken out by landslides. The aqueduct carrying water from Loch Lomond in the Santa Cruz mountains to Santa Cruz itself was severed by a landslide. Classes were cancelled before they started. We were told that if you had somewhere else you could go, leave town and come back in 5 days. The reasons was simple enough - little or no electricity until electricity was re-established and water would be rationed because of the break in the aqueduct.
The landslides were caused by a steady rainstorm that dumped 14 inches of rain in the Santa Cruz mountains over 28 hours. Because of the lack of electricity, gas pumps did not work. Generators were employed to allow a few gas stations to pump gas. I got out with a few friends. We traveled in a small car over Highway 17. The devastation from landslides was apparent and frequent.
Later, I saw photos in the SF Chron that showed the devastation from flooding on the San Lorenzo River. One photo was an aerial photo of what looked like matchsticks. It was a photo of trees that had flowed down the San Lorenzo and gathered along the beaches in Santa Cruz.
Good times.
Here is another fun one.
https://twitter.com/ChpFresno/status/1612557401219301378?cxt=HHwWhIDU-bSa-uAsAAAA
They just showed that clip on The Weather Channel.
Not sure I would want to be standing there filming.
Here is a pretty frightening image from Santa Cruz County. Focus on the base of the tree, I don't know I've ever seen a tree skating atop a mudslide like this.
https://twitter.com/sccounty/status/1612600858415616002?cxt=HHwWhMDSpfr7jeEsAAAA
Rather shallow root system.
The santacruzwaves Instagram account is compiling and posting all the videos, truly heartbreaking damage across the whole county.
This is another one that made The Weather Channel.
Squirrel
https://yourdogsfriend.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/squirrel.jpg
Rocket J.
and Bullwinkle!
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
Katie Porter announces her candidacy for US Senate (CA). Presumably, she's angling to unseat Feinstein.
Thereby handing her House seat to a Republican. I hope Adam Schiff runs.
One other thought on Porter's announcement. It could force the hands of other people in re: Feinstein. It might force Newsom to have a sitdown with Feinstein now, rather than later.
Consider - what if Newsom favors Adam Schiff to succeed Feinstein. Rather than have a bruising Democratic primary, Newsom could clear the Democratic field by persuading Feinstein to resign, appointing Schiff to the seat in the wake of said resignation, thereby imbuing Schiff with the advantage of incumbency.
If, for example, Feinstein were to resign and Schiff were appointed to the resulting vacancy this coming March or April, Schiff's US Rep seat would be filled by special election sometime this summer. Also, Porter might be persuaded NOT to run for US Senate and instead run for re-election to her US Rep seat.
Just spitballing, here.
I wouldn't file this under Crumbling
Porter is doing what she has to do - not waiting on Feinstein to do the right thing, Porter is metaphorically telling Feinstein that she's now retired.
There's a story about LBJ (not sure if it's true or not) that illustrates this idea. LBJ was interested in running for a seat in Congress but it was occupied by a long-time Congressman. The Congressman died. His widow was appointed to serve the remainder of the term. Everyone awaited the widow's decision about whether she'd run for "re-election" except Johnson. Johnson simply announced he was running for the seat without waiting for the widow to announce, effectively pushing her out of the race.
Feinstein is moribund. She needs to retire, but California Dems are being very deferential on the assumption that she won't run for re-election. Porter is basically saying, "I'm in. Who's running against me?"
She's got my vote.
Feinstein's been clinically dead for 6 months, no?
Sadly, no one has informed her.
OMG, she ain't coming back.
House passes bill to rescind IRS auditor funding. It is unlikely to pass the Senate.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3806234-house-gop-passes-repeal-of-irs-funding-boost-as-its-first-bill-in-the-majority/
Diamond from the MAGA-media personalities of Diamond and Silk has died. It is believed that she died of pneumonia complications from Covid, which is ironic.
https://twitter.com/DiamondandSilk/status/1612636233196355586
If by "ironic" you mean "as expected", then yes...it's ironic
Rest in Piss
Biden's lawyers discover classified materials from his vice presidency terms and immediately contact the appropriate agencies to inform them of the situation to get things returned as quickly and forthright as possible. Cue Fox News outrage.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-center-classified-documents/
Yeah, False Equivalency Theater time
Trump asks, "When is the FBI going to raid the many homes of Joe Biden, perhaps even the White House? These documents were definitely not declassified."
I'd say that answer is: When Biden's team stops cooperating/starts being obstructionist.
Yeah, who would think there would be classified documents in the White House?
ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE
Pac-12 in the final poll has 6 teams in the top 25, as many as the SEC, and more than any other conference, and also more than the conference has had in many years. The conference feels closer than it has been since Washington was in to getting a team in next year, never mind once the field expands to 12 teams. And at the same time also feels as far away from actually winning a National Championship as it was at any time since Oregon made it to the title game.
I see that James Madison and UTSA are in ESPN's top 25 for next season. I seriously doubt that between now and September anyone will project the University of California to earn more than seven wins. This is where we are and everyone once in awhile I find it damn depressing, especially as I see no cause for optimism about the future. Blgh!
Cal will be fortunate to win 5 next year, I fear. The schedule is simply brutal.
Wilcox’s team should be better, but it probably won’t result in W’s.
Right now, we’re a 3 or 4 win team. Let’s see what happens with the portal though.
UTSA is a good team, and they have building their program per a plan for a number of years. At this point, any projection that doesn't have them in the top 30 if not 25 has demonstrated that its under-researched at best. The key point is their multi-year plan to build a program, in part using a successful program (they make no bones about having studied Boise St closely), but also developing a recruiting strategy and addressing obstacles.
What is Cal's plan to modify enrollment barriers and modernize admissions? What is Cal's multi-year plan to address challenges on and off campus to attracting and retaining players or staff? What is Cal's plan to develop a supporting NIL program with year over year contribution to player acquisition and retention. What is Cal's plan to foster a more committed customer/investor base that is differential week in and week out? What is Cal's plan to develop a more substantial presence region-wide? What programs has or is Cal adding to the curriculum that aligns with professional athlete development, or the emerging media landscape?
I haven't heard or read what steps either the Cal campus or the Cal alumni/community are taking targeted at making a tangible and enduring difference in these areas 5 years from now. I don't imagine many people making projections have detected foundational improvements or plans to produce them either.
I'm afraid they don't exist...
No joke (and at the the risk of pulling a GB49-like suggestion) your questions in paragraph 2 should be emailed to Knowlton on behalf of the WFC Gang. Share his response here. Who knows, maybe you'll be the one to start the Knowlton coup.
Can Jordan has some words about Sonny
https://twitter.com/camjordan94/status/1612640485583224836?s=46&t=ffCCUMETEls-28hvfWnG9A
Love that Cam is still into Cal, and that he has gripes like the rest of us. Hope he can be one of the guys to jump into becoming part of the solution for Cal (more alumni involvement, with player visits and NIL assistance, pushing the administration, etc.).
Found that interesting.
Georgia smashes Sonny Dykes 65-7 in the National Championship game.
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/35415924/georgia-bulldogs-cruise-second-straight-cfp-championship
Well, the semis were amazing at least!
Fantastic - great football games.
Yet, I would have been perfectly happy if that was Cal getting smashed by Georgia in the NCG rather than TCU.
Was regression to the mean for Sonny's defense or did someone do some pre-game incantations summoning the spirits of the Andy Buh defense to curse TCU?
Georgia is just that good on offense and defense. That roster is stacked with NFL talent.
Yeah, but was it closer than the score indicated?
Not as close.
So as the British would say: "the scoreline flattered TCU."
Now THAT'S the Sonny I remember.
That was such a fucking BORING championship game - the worst ever?
Sure.
How about a few years ago when our own Cal Bears beat Alabama 77-2 (damn safety)?
That is just a different breed of dawgs that Sonny (and everyone else) has run into.
I hope Shaq's hungry
https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1611420664447250438
Savage
https://twitter.com/PhilipMichaels/status/1612626208575066112
PRO
Carlos Correa back to Twins "pending physical"
https://www.si.com/fannation/mlb/fastball/news/carlos-correa-returns-to-twins-on-six-year-contract-pending-physical
Correa is a punch line. Giants were right to pass on him.
Just an incredibly overrated player. Still, by all accounts, the Giants handled the situation poorly, which is par for the course with Farhan and Larry Baer.
Heard this on the radio today. Who has the 2nd most splash HRs behind Bonds?
JT Snow? Panda?
nope
It was Brandon Belt.
Has never hit 30 dongs or driven in 100 runs, even tho he has been on good teams his entire career and played all but one year in that band box in Houston. He’s good, but not great. I mean, Houston seemed fine with letting him go…
No arguments there…he’s rather overrated IMO, and that contract was horrid.
I’m fine with them not signing Correa, but they needed to sign someone. Haniger, Joc and Conforto are ALL platoon guys. Oracle’s gonna be empty this year.
They have a lot of needs, seems like a multiple year rebuild tbh. Who would you sign?
I would’ve focused on Xander Bogaerts instead of Correa, who even without the mysterious “lower leg” injury that’s got everyone freaked has been on the DL 7 x in 8 seasons. Hard pass, and 13-$350M was absolutely ludicrous for him. I would’ve also passed on Manaea and/or Stripling, as you already have them in the rotation only their names are Alex Wood and Alex Cobb. That Haniger deal is brutal - dude is always hurt, and they’ll be lucky to get 120 games out of him in ‘23, though Farhan signing him was the most predictable play of the Giants’ offseason, so there’s that. Conforto was a part time guy before missing ‘22 with the shoulder, yet has a typical Farhan risk-averse contract so if he does rebound (as they expect because they signed him) then he’s gone like Rodon. Lastly, giving Joc Pederson $19.5M to be a part time/platoon DH v RHP is simply retaining a popular local player for image’s sake. Which honestly, may not be a bad thing - better than bringing Belt or Longoria back.
Problem is, there is little evidence that Farhan’s blueprint for building a roster is successful…he’s there to make Charles Johnson and the shareholders money. That outlier 2021 season came on the backs of career resurgences by Posey, Crawford and Belt, and by Webb becoming an SP1…none of them were Zaidi guys.
Next year, you’ve got Ohtani and Machado on the market with the opt-out…but this team doesn’t swim in the deep end of the pool, so those guys aren’t options. Guess you keep your fingers crossed that Luciano’s back injury isn’t serious, wait for him, Harrison, Schmitt to maybe be impact Major League players…and keep signing aging, platoon candidates to low risk deals in hopes you can stay competitive.
I'm hoping the Dodgers trying to get under the cap means they're throwing money at Ohtani next year.
I was surprised they gave the QO to Joc. No way he gets close to that on the open market. They were hoping for the draft pick and it bit them in the ass.
I honestly don’t think the new shift rules are going to impact averages as much as is being said. Not all LHB are equal - Corey Seager puts the ball in play a lot more than Joc…he’ll see an increase, but guys with high K totals won’t see a huge bump. One reason I really liked Adam Frazier this year.
The ones that get the bump will be those that pull the ball over the regular 2B head. Like Muncy, Seager, etc. You're right that high K people won't.
Joc would've probably gotten close to what he got last couple of seasons. 1/6 to 1/8. And he probably won't get a chance to shine in JOCtober.
I think the idea that the Giants handled it poorly is driven by Giants haters and Giants fans who don't like Zaidi and Baer.
The Correa negotiations were a no-win situation for the Giants, particularly Farhan Zaidi. Boras makes these situations impossible because of his negotiating style. He looks to maneuver teams into a no-win situation and use that as leverage. I'm sure Boras makes his clients many millions, but he's a horse's ass.
Well, no arguing Boras is a dick, and I do think Farhan, Kapler and their silly saber -metrics, nonsense is generally useless and creates a roster short on talent. Larry Baer is just a tool - don’t know how he still has a job. And I’m as big a Giants fan as anyone.
But even the staunchest of Giants fans can agree that it was handled poorly by all parties. The Giants should have postponed the news conference well before the morning of, and looked silly by not doing so, even if Boras played hardball.
With great respect, venerable FiatSlug!!
one of my law partners went to law school with Boras-- apparently he was just as much of a love himself jerk back then as he is now.
As a Giants fan I'm not being facetious when I say that I agree with both of you. Boras always comes off as a dick (because he is one) and Zaidi and Baer need a PR person to work with them, both have their skillset -- through Baer's is limited -- but they struggle with their images . The Giants should have done better with the Correa situation but I think they've been beaten to death over something that wasn't totally in their control.
I conclude by wishing you and everyone a Happy Willie McCovey's birthday. (Still not a federal holiday, frankly I expected more from Joe Biden.)
I will never forget the old, old Candlestick that had a stand-alone bleacher behind the right field fence. McC hit one and I jumped down to get it. The ball tore a hole and went through the webbing of my glove. No souvenir for me. That was only 50+ years ago but it had no effect on me.
Happy Willie Mac day! Fearsome slugger.
QB who is short of accuracy is not short on confidence.
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/jets-qb-situation-if-team-signs-veteran-this-offseason-zach-wilson-vows-to-make-that-dudes-life-hell/
By sleeping with that players mom.
Exactly.
CAL
Go Bears!!!
From the Front Page: Kai Millner commits to [checks notes]... NAU
https://writeforcalifornia.com/p/kai-millner-cal-football-transfer-portal-qbs
This was all parent driven. They overplayed their hands, but at least he’s close to home now.