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My worlds collide

From the best damn baseball blog ever, MLB Trade Rumors:

MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports that Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane has entered into negotiations to sell the team. McLane says he's in no hurry to sell the team, but has entered into an exclusive 30-day negiotiating window with an unnamed New York investment banking company.

The only thing that would make this better is if the unnamed bank is using TARP funds to purchase them.

How to pitch a no hitter on LSD

I've been meaning to post this all week after seeing it on Very Short List, it's a must watch for baseball fans and drug aficionados alike (I'm in the middle of that Venn diagram myself). Dock Ellis was a 1970's era Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher who threw a no-no (no hitter, no walks) while high on LSD. He gave an interview describing the game before he died and artist James Blagden created a hilarious video to go along with Ellis's voice.

Unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to embed it directly into this site, but it's well worth clicking through. A great Friday afternoon treat!

Lincecum wins the Cy Young again

Big congrats to Tim Lincecum for winning his second Cy Young award in a very close vote!

On Thursday, Lincecum became the only pitcher to capture the Cy Young Award in each of his first two full Major League seasons. The Giants right-hander was named the National League's repeat winner Thursday in balloting conducted by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

via SF Giants.com

Thank you, Randy

It's time for the third installment of my thank yous to the 2009 Giants. Unfortunately, this post is based around a story that isn't someone getting an award, but rather the news that Randy Winn has been asked to look elsewhere for work in 2010. While he didn't have a particularly good offensive year (especially batting right handed), he continued to be a defensive stalwart in right field and a great personality. Most importantly, he gave the Giants a good four years from a running start.

The Giants acquired Winn from the Seattle Mariners in July, 2005, for Yorvit Torrealba and Jesse Foppert. In September, 2005, Winn had one of the greatest months by a Giant in franchise history. (He hit .447 with 51 hits. He hit 11 homers in 30 games after Sept. 1.) He parlayed that month into a three-year, $23.25 million extension.

While his production tailed off, nobody could dispute that Winn was a good Giant. He played hurt without complaint and got himself ready to be on the field every day. He gave a consistent effort. He’s a smart defensive player and baserunner. Those are the kinds of things managers appreciate most in players. From a beat writer’s perspective, he was accessible and his dry sense of humor made him an asset in the clubhouse. He was our Good Guy award this past season after finishing high in the balloting in previous years.

As Landis said to me today, “If anyone tells me they don’t like Randy Winn, that makes me wonder about who I’m talking to.”

Thanks Randy! We're going to miss you.

The real impact of Tim Lincecum’s marijuana bust

For those who missed the story, Tim Lincecum got busted for marijuana possession in Oregon on October 30th. It got pleaded down to a misdemeanor and shouldn't make a difference on anything. But Andrew Baggarly, the Merc's Giants beat reporter has fun with the story:

The embarrassment might be the worst thing to come out of this. I’d be surprised if Lincecum loses any endorsements. And besides, it’s not like this comes as a shock. Lincecum dresses like he’s a cross between Jimbo Jones from “The Simpsons” and Jay from “Clerks.” Maybe he’ll drop all pretenses and start wearing dreads.

via blogs.mercurynews.com

The long drought begins

Only 101 days until pitchers and catchers report.

Thank you, Timmy

Moving on with my thank yous to the Giants for a much better than expected 2009, big time shout out to Astrid's favorite, Tim Lincecum. Cy Youngs aren't announced until November but he's a strong candidate. He did just get named National League pitcher of the year by Sporting News for the second consecutive season.

We ended up seeing more of his games on TV than live this year, but in many ways that's a much better place to see just how good he is. Thanks Timmy!

"In a lot of ways, he was actually better," Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti said.

Lincecum trimmed his ERA from 2.62 to 2.48. Opponents hit .206 off him this season, compared to .221 in '08. After walking 84 in 227 innings a year ago, he improved to 68 walks in 225 1/3 frames this season.

The NL's starter in this year's All-Star Game, Lincecum validated that status by leading the league in strikeouts (261) and quality starts (26) while ranking second in ERA and opponents' batting average and third in innings. He also tied teammate Matt Cain for the league lead with four complete games and joined four other pitchers atop the NL list with two shutouts.

via SFGiants.com

Farewell, and thanks, from Petco Park

"I make no presumptions. The game won’t always be there for me, either. The newspaper business is in crisis, still trying to figure out a model to monetize content on the Internet, and so, so many talented people have lost their livelihoods amid these choppy seas."

Andrew Baggarly, Giants beat writer, in a story well worth reading on blogs.mercurynews.com

Thank you, Panda

Starting our thank yous for the 2009 baseball season, we begin with Pablo Sandoval. At some point soon, we'll be reading the stats about how many of the Giants 88 wins wouldn't have happened without him. And we saw how fun he made watching the games. Thank you Pablo for a fun 2009!

Befitting his role, today he hit the game winning home run in the last game of the season:

So it was proper that the game's central figure was perhaps the most grateful Giant of all -- third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who broke a 3-3 tie by homering off Ryan Webb to open the 10th. Sandoval reinforced his emergence as an impact hitter with his 444-foot clout to center field, which was the seventh-longest home run in PETCO Park history.

Sandoval's glittering statistical line features a .330 batting average (second in the NL), 25 home runs and 90 RBIs. It was a remarkable performance for a player in his first full Major League season who just turned 23. Sandoval himself understood just how singular he was.

"I can't believe it," he said. "Every time I went to the ballpark or went home, I said, 'Thank you, God, for letting me play baseball today.'"

via SFGiants.com

Cubs 6, Giants 2

Fitting end to a not quite season.