A History

[klaiggeb]

In 1956 my father's company transferred him from New Jersey to California.

They left parents, family members, every thing to move to the land of opportunity.

I was not quite 6 years old.

In 1957 I discovered the SF Giants, and Willie Mays... and my love for baseball was born.


My parents divorced shortly after that, and in 1959, for the first time in my life I watched the game of football on TV.

It was the Rams vs somebody, I can't remember who, but for some reason, and not knowing they were going to break my heart for the next 20, fell in love with the horns on the helmets and the Rams.

And so was born my love for football.


Baseball and football were my games, with baseball being far and away my favorite.

I loved the game so much that a girl friend, whom I actually intended to marry once said to me, "You love baseball more than me, don't you."

And I answered, yes.

I loved the game that much.


Baseball and football, football and baseball.

That's all I cared about.

Neither team was very good, very often, so I endured losing season after losing season after losing season.

But heartbreak, after heartbreak, after heartbreak, I stuck with both of them.

I was loyal. The Giants and the Rams were MY teams and nothing was ever going to change that.




Until Georgia Frontiere came along.

I didn't think anyone could kill my love for the Rams and football, but that egotistical, self righteous, greedy, arrogant, stuck up bitch managed to do so.

She put a stake through my heart so strong, and so deep that from the late 1980's, until 1999, I barely cared about them at all.

Almost 20 years worth of apathy.



I didn't think that could ever happen to me with the Giants... but this team has managed to drive another stake right through the center of my heart.

This Giant team has done that to me, and pushed me to the point of apathy... a point which I never, ever believed I could reach.

Not with baseball, anyway, and certainly NOT with my Giants.

But they have managed to do exactly that, and they did it to me in less than 2 months.



I'm at the point now, where, when I watch a game, I no longer get excited, hoping to win... I just sit there, knowing that, one way or another, they'll find a way to queer deal, and lose the game.

They have taken from me the thing I hold second my dearest on this earth, after my wife and family, and I take what they did, as irrational as it sounds, very personally.


I can forgive all the bad breaks... and Lord knows, we got a TON more of those today and last night vs Cubs.

I can forgive the errors, the mistakes, the bad pitches, the ASSINE at bats where they chase pitches that aren't even close to the strike zone.

And even though it's going to take me a long, long... LONG TIME, I will most likely forgive those jackass MAJOR LEAGUE pitchers, Cain, Cueto and Suarez in particular, who are IN COMMAND, and suddenly, IN-FREAKING-EXPLICABLY can't find the god damned strike zone for an entire inning!

But I cannot forgive, nor will I EVER forgive, what those morons did to put themselves in this position;

What they did during the All Star Break to crush the hopes of their fans who love them so dearly.

They took their success for granted.

They went on vacation and just figured they'd pick up where they left off... and THAT, for me, is unforgivable.

Yes, Roger, unforgivable.

That is the word I most definitely mean.

What they did is what I watched Little Leaguers do; what Pony League kids do. What I watched High School kids do.

From a major leaguer, that is flat out unacceptable.


It must be effecting ya'all, too, because after a season long plethora of posts... this board has all but been abandoned.


I'm turning my focus towards my next heartbreak with the Giants, 2017, because it is clear to me that no matter how hard they try, the breaks are simply NOT going to turn their way.

They'll be more and more bloop hits for the other teams, more and more hard hit/line drive outs for our team... and it'll go on and on and on and on....


They brought this upon themselves.


They have made OUR TEAM, the laughing stock of baseball.

We will be remembered with the 1964 Phils, and the 1951 Dodgers...


Thanks, guys.

Thanks for being professional adults and killing each and every one of your fans, one day at a time.


Thanks for the memories.


boly

[Rog]

They have made OUR TEAM, the laughing stock of baseball.

We will be remembered with the 1964 Phils, and the 1951 Dodgers...


Rog -- There are a few things that might augur against this interpretation:

. The Giants are far from the laughing stocks of baseball. That's in part because ...

. It's not exactly over yet.

. The Phils and Dodgers had late-season collapses, losing really big leads for the time remaining. The Giants never had a huge lead.

We share your disappointment, Boly, but we don't share the finality of it. If you want to take "comfort" in how wrong you can be, let's not forget that this is the team you crowned the best in SF Giants history. In other words, you misjudged them to one extreme then, and you're likely misjudging them to the other extreme now.

One last point: How can the Giants be the laughing stocks of baseball when if the season ended now, they would be comfortably in the playoffs? We're not happy either, Boly. But we've been around long enough to see how quickly things can change. And we've seen some remarkable things from the Giants over the past seven years.

Relax. Seriously. Relax. It's now time for worry, but it's not anywhere near time for saying the Giants are the laughingstocks of baseball or compare to the 1951 Dodgers or 1964 Phillies.

Do you agree you were overreacting earlier this year when on several occasions you felt this was the best Giants team in SF history? Then relax and realize there is considerable possibility you're overreacting in the other direction this time.




Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/thread/3470/history#ixzz4JAYnq4To

[sfgdood]

Anyone who spends as much time as it took to compose this thread is NOT apathetic. You care, Boly, or you wouldnt still be posting.

[Rog]

I think anyone who has a pulse -- and likely some who don't -- know Boly cares as much as anyone here.

[Rog]

Let's take a look at August:

. The Giants went 11-16, certainly not good enough, but much better than the 4-11 they had been since the break.

. The Giants are two games out of the NL West lead.

. The Giants are in the Wild Card by 3 1/2 games.

. In August, the Giants had their second- or third-best month in batting average, OBP, SLG and OPS. Their ERA was about the same as in June and July, and far better than in April.

. The Giants limited their opponents to a .706 OPS in August compared do their own .753. If they keep that up this month, the odds are very good that they'll have a winning month, and likely a strong one.

. The Giants haven't started off September worth a darn, but they're also playing the best team in baseball -- on the road.


In short, while things certainly aren't rosy, they're likely better than we think. If the Giants go just 12-16 the rest of the way (basically August's pace), the Mets will need to go 16-11 to catch them. If the Giants play .500 ball, the Mets will need to go 18-9. The Giants certainly aren't in the driver's seat in the NL West, but they are with regard to the Wild Card.

This isn't optimism; this is putting things into perspective.