To Whom It May Concern (especially if the baseball gods are listening):

Old time Giants fan here. Actually, not that old. But old enough to go through some heartbreak. I’m not talking about Willie McCovey lining out to Bobby Richardson to end the World Series in 1962. No, it’s not that bad for me yet. However, I’ve been through some things.

My first memories of the Giants were from 1984, the year dad bought season tickets. I loved it even though the Giants didn’t. Ya, I think they lost over 90 games that year which preceded their 100 loss season in 1985. But at least Jack Clark was still there. Ya, Jack was the man. The way he waved that bat in the air like a toothpick and threw canons from the right field corner of Candlestick Park. Chili Davis and Bob Brenly having All-Star seasons. The All-Star game was at the Stick that year. Got to see Doc Gooden and Fernando Valenzuela strike out everyone. Remember Mario Soto? I think he started for the National League that year. Even though it was a bad year, it stands out in my mind. I remember so many players. Kruk was there and so was Bill Laskey. Greg “Moon Man” Minton and Gary Lavelle were there as were guys like Johnnie Lemaster, Chili Davis and Hac-Man Leonard. Well, let’s not put Lemaster in their category. He was in a category all to his own. In ‘85 when they lost even more games I saw guys like Manny Trillo, Johnny Rabb, Roger Minton and Mark Grant.  I think Joel Youngblood made something like 36 errors at third base that year. Or that could’ve been 1984. Those years kind of lump together. I think Mark Davis lost like 17 games that year. Four years later, he wins the Cy Young with San Diego.

It wasn’t until 1986 when they actually started winning. I didn’t really know what to expect. Roger Craig was the manager. No, not the man of the same name who was high stepping with the 49ers. He was the old Mets and Dodgers pitcher and gets credit for the splitter. Will Clark, Robbie Thompson, and Chris Brown as rookies making a difference. Maybe Chris was actually in his second year, I forget. But Chris made the All-Star team, doubling in a run in his first at bat and then hitting into a double play to end the game. Dad called that one. Clark hit a home run in his first major league at bat against Nolan Ryan. I think Thompson doubled off him too. Krukow won 20 games that year. They were actually in contention for most of the year only to be eliminated when Mike Scott threw a no-no against them. I was with Craig. I thought Scott was scuffing the ball too. While 1986 was fun, 1987 might’ve been my second favorite year ever as a Giants fan. They had it all. The young infield, even though Brown wouldn’t be around all that long. He wore out his welcome fairly quickly. Jose Uribe had a dang good year. Uribe is a great trivia question in itself. In 1985, the Giants broke my heart for the first time and traded Jack Clark to the Cardinals for three wastes of time and a young shortstop by the name of Jose Gonzalez. He turned out to be their starting shortstop for the next few years, but changed his name to Uribe. The rest of the wastes? How about Dave LaPoint, Gary Rasich, and David Greene? Heard of those guys? Ya, didn’t think so. Clark hit 35 HR’s that year, showing off some power. They got Big Daddy Reuschel, Caveman Don Robinson, Dave Dravecky, and Kevin Mitchell all that year to help them win the NL West Division. Faced those pesky St. Louis Cardinals in a best of 7 series. Jeffrey (not Jeff anymore) Leonard went off and hit 4 jacks in 5 games. I even played hookey so I could sit home at watch game 2 because it was a morning game. Not sure if mom really thought I was sick or not. But she still let me stay home. I was 11. They had the St. Louis Cardinals down 3 games to 2 in the series and needed to win only one (yes those same Cards they traded Jack The Ripper to just 2 years earlier). But good old Candy Maldonado loses Tony Pena’s weak fly ball in the lights and plays it into a triple. That would be the only run Dravecky would give up all game. But Tudor out did him and they lose. And in Game 7, Roger gives the ball to Atlee Hamaker rather than Kruk and Hamaker gets bombed and we got jobbed out of our chance to get to the series. I really thought we could’ve beat the Twins that year too. We had humm baby. I thought humm baby couldn’t lose. That was my second heartbreak. I think I even shed a tear when NBC played Whitney Houston’s Didn’t We Almost Have It All.

Humm Baby, Let’s Do It Again

I figured 1988 was a surefire winner, but it wasn’t. Clark had another great year and Kevin Mitchell was starting to show some power. But they decided to wait until 1989 to show their stuff. 1989 just felt right. Everything did. The Pacific Sock Exchange was in session. Will Clark and Kevin Mitchell were the dynamic duo. Kevin Mitchell was Batman and my cousin Keith gets credit for that nickname. He went to a bunch of games that year and made some signs that made it on television and I believe a Monday Night baseball game (yes they used to have those) on ABC picked up the sign, and the nickname was born. I don’t think Keith got any money for that one. Clark was simply, The Thrill. He lost out to Tony Gwynn for the batting title late in the year, but still had one of the more well rounded years of the 80’s. Maybe THE most well rounded year of the 80’s. It had to be right if Scott Garrelts had a good year. Even though he always showed his lack of guts in big games, there was just something surreal about that team. Matt Williams came up late in 1987 as a backup shortstop (yep) but couldn’t latch on. Finally in 1989, he stayed up and hit some big HR’s and helped beat the Cubs in the NLCS. And who can forget Will Clark going mano y mano with Mark Grace. I think they both had more hits than outs in that series. Finally, the Giants win one. But in the World Series, they ran into the juggernaut known as the Oakland A’s. And it wasn’t pretty. I used to try to make the excuse that because of the earthquake affecting game three, the Giants never really had a true home game. But they would’ve lost anyway. The A’s were just better. And the Giants broke my heart again.

1990-1992 was just a blur. I don’t remember anything except that they were supposed to leave to Florida. It was a done deal. I was sad. I couldn’t be an A’s fan. But I couldn’t root for a team in Florida either. I might’ve just given up on baseball, but Peter MacGowen saved the day and the Giants were back at the Stick. But that wasn’t the best news. In December of 1992, we were going to a family Christmas party and on the drive over, we heard that the Giants were close to signing Barry Bonds. Dad and I were astonished. Barry Bonds? Son of Bobby Bonds? Willie Mays’ Godson? It couldn’t be true. But after some time, it was. Remember when I said 1989 had that special feel? So did 1993. Will Clark and Kevin Mitchell were really good players. Robbie Thompson was my favorite player. He had the biggest heart on the team. I remember calling up KNBR and telling Mike Krukow that Thompson was underrated and was my favorite player. He said Thompson was his favorite too. And that was only 5 years before I worked for KNBR. As good as Clark, Mitchell, and Thompson were as my baseball heroes, they weren’t even close to Barry. This guy was amazing. Just incredible. And I loved him from the get go. Darren Lewis, Robbie, Will, Matt Williams, and Barry. Best first five hitters in any lineup that year. If Will doesn’t get hurt, they probably win 110 games. Barry had the greatest year of any San Francisco player since Mays and McCovey. But it wasn’t enough. John Burkett and Billy Swift had career years. Rod Beck had a career year. Royce Clayton and Kirt Manwaring had career years. But it wasn’t enough. Dusty Baker in his first year as the new Giants manager replacing the Humm Baby got us 103 wins, but on the last day of the season needing a win to tie Atlanta at the top of the division, he picked Salomon Torres to face the Dodgers. And the Dodgers spoiled it so badly for us. Torres got ripped. And again, my heart was broken.

Robert Randall Thompson

In ‘94, Matt was on pace to break Roger Maris’ record 4 years before Big Mac. The Giants were underachieving, but picked up Darrell Strawberry and got on a roll. Then the players striked and the season was over. World Series was cancelled. Black eye for baseball. 1995 and 1996 were like rebuilding years. Guys like Deion Sanders and David McCarty were on the team. Just two bad years. Nothing particularly positive until 1997. I didn’t think they had an outstanding year, but GM Brian Sabean made some key trades down the line and the Giants all of a sudden had Danny Darwin, Wilson Alvarez, and Roberto Hernandez. They actually looked like they had the pieces. Clark was long gone. So was Williams who was traded for Jeff Kent and Julian Tavarez. They still had a little magic and won the division, only to lose to the wild card Florida Marlins who went on to win the World Series. That wasn’t the only time the Marlins would break my heart.

1998 and 1999 were good solid years. They helped lay the foundation for the 21st century. 2000 was a good one. The Giants had just moved into Pac Bell Park, which would later become SBC Park (but we can keep that a secret) and you felt a buzz around that park. It was as if the fans were going to will the Giants to great things. They won 97 games that year and it got them another run at the playoffs. Barry Bonds was on his way to doing big things. His stats were accumulating quickly and all of a sudden 500 HR’s seemed like a no brainer. But I had a feeling they were going to break my heart again. There was just something about that team that I didn’t like. But they played well enough against the Mets to force a game 5 in New York. And with the bases loaded early in the game, Dusty left Mark Garder in to hit and that was really the only chance the Giants had in the game. They lost, and yes, the heart was starting to get weak.

2001 was a great year that ended poorly for the team, but not for Barry. Barry broke Mark McGwire’s new record for home runs. He hit 73. It’s still almost unbelievable. 73 home runs. The Giants had a chance in the last week of the season, but faltered and finished a couple games out. But still, Barry hit 3 jacks on the last few days of the season thrilling us all the way until the end. Remember how I talked about 1987, 1989, and 1993 as being magical? Well magic hadn’t seen nothing yet. 2002 was THE year for Giants baseball. They lost out on the division, but won the wildcard and beat St. Louis and Atlanta to make it to the World Series. Russ Ortiz, Kirk Reuter, and Jason Schmidt. Studs. Nenn and Felix Rodriguez. Studs. They had it all. Bonds, Kent, Aurilia, Snow, Santiago, and Lofton. It was there for the taking. Bonds was on fire. They were better than Anaheim. They had a 3 to 2 lead again. Game 6. Halloween party. I was wearing a Darth Vader mask. The Giants were up big. Russ Ortiz in control. Bonds homers off K-Rod. And then it happened. In came Felix. HR. In came Nenn. Double off the wall by Tim Salmon. Game over. Game 7 was just motions. There was no way they were going to win that one. And Livan didn’t. Similar to Hamaker but not as bad. Just fatter. Broken heart number 7. And then last year. 100 wins. Bonds another MVP. Schimdt becomes the ace. Guys like Tim Worrell step up huge. Jose Cruz Jr. might be the best right fielder defensively in the game. And did I mention that they won 100 games? But those damn fish. Those Florida Marlins did us again. This time it didn’t even take 5 games. There was some frustration when they had game 3 wrapped up and Jose Cruz Jr. who was that same guy I just called the best defensive right fielder in the game defensively, drops the ball. Flood gates open. Game 3 to the fish. Jerome Williams the rookie starts game 4. Schimdt can’t go. Felipe Alou who comes home to manage the team has no choice and they lose again. Snow thrown out at home plate to end the game. Season over. Broken heart number 8.

If anyone out there is listening that can help, I just want to see the Giants win it all one time. That’s all I’m asking. They can finish in last place for as long as I live as long as they win a World Series. Just one time. That’s all I ask. Let me see Barry Bonds get that ring. I want to see Felipe Alou show he can coach in the playoffs. I want to see Schimdt throw a one hitter in the deciding game to clinch it. Then I’ll be happy. Just one time. They have three games to play this year. This year’s as good as any. If anyone is listening, I’m begging. No more broken hearts.

Sincerly,

GG #6 (in honor of Robbie Thompson, the man who played the game right)

This is why you should try and have more than one child.

D.J. Frandsen passed away last Thursday from complications of kidney cancer, which he had since he was a young child. D.J.‘s brother Kevin, is the all time hits leader at San Jose State University, and was drafted by the San Francisco Giants earlier this year. Jon Wilner, of the San Jose Mercury News reported that D.J. was in critical condition in May, but fought hard to get well and one of the reasons that drove him was to realize a lifetime dream of watching his baby brother play professional baseball. In late August, he became ill again.

From Jon’s article in the Monday, September 20 edition of the San Jose Mercury News:
“He was bleeding internally,’‘ David Frandsen said. “There were all these tests, and at one point, D.J. had to get an MRI. He was really anxious about it. So Kevin climbed in the tube with D.J. and held him during the test. It was an hour of bonding for the brothers. It was really a special moment.

I read in the same newspaper earlier this year about D.J.‘s goal of watching his brother play pro ball and the two definitely had a very close bond. While D.J. spoke of Kevin like one would of his idol, Kevin did exactly the same thing. Right before D.J. passed, Wilner reported that he told his father to tell Kevin, “He’s the world to me”.

Being the father of two boys, the story really touched me. If you want to read the entire article, you can read it at the Mercury News online. You need to sign up, but if you don’t want to, just go to bugmenot.com, and paste this URL: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/9710993.htm into the box. You will be given a user name and password to read the article.

I think I will follow Kevin’s career a little more closely than I do other minor league ball players. He’s from SJSU, my alma mater, and might be the greatest younger brother of all time.

Continue Reading »

Really incredible. As a youngster, 500 home runs was THE key number of home runs. Not too many people hit that many. I remember when Mike Schmidt did it. It was the biggest thing in sports for a few days. But 700? I really never thought I’d see it happen. After he passes Ruth and Aaron, I hope we can start talking about him as the single greatest baseball player ever.

Congrats, big man.

Continue Reading »

Has anyone seen Jennie Garth (aka Kelly Taylor) lately? The woman has aged nicely. It’s not that she’s old or anything, but a few years away from the small screen did her some good. And not like you can see here or anything, but she’s got more backside now than I recall.

Nice job Miss Kelly Taylor.

I was thinking about my favorite TV shows of my youth and came up with a top 10 list. Then I thought about which ones I have on DVD. I put a line through the ones I have on DVD. Different Strokes Season 1 is now mine.

My Top 10 TV Shows of All Time

1. Cosby Show
2. Beverly Hills 90210
3. Martin
4. Good Times
5. Different Strokes
6. Three’s Company
7. The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air
8. The Facts of Life
9. The Jamie Foxx Show
10. Growing Pains
11. Family Ties

After watching the last episode of Big Brother, blood is not thicker than water. Nakomis tried much too late to sway her brother. That was the one contact she should’ve used from day one. The one person she should’ve had an alliance with. But she was probably way turned off since he was such a leech while she was the strongest player to not win in probably the history of the show.

As it is, Diane and Drew will drop kick poor Cowboy out and then Drew will win. Actually, I’m not sure who won HoH as I want to be surprised tomorrow. Good ol’ Cowboy could’ve won already, but he doesn’t win against Drew. Too many people think he latched onto others rather than being a leader in the game. So he’d have to bring Diane to the dance with him. It will be a fun ending. I’m guessing the jury will be something fierce, but really, all the people who really hate each other are in the jury. I think Diane will be like Danielle from two seasons ago. She probably played the game better than Drew or Cowboy, but she pissed too many people off.

Continue Reading »

I can’t believe it’s been a year already…

I had to go to New York for one of my work Meet and Greets. I work with a large community and we schedule Meet and Greets which are basically parties that we throw for our community members, and this one was in New York. I flew out of San Jose on Friday and helped host the party for the members. I even met my buddy Mike in person for the first time. But much of my mind was not on work. It was on my Uncle Dave. Uncle Dave was sick and while I hated leaving, I had to go, but was only gone for one day. I was back on the plane Saturday night to San Jose, making my stay in NY less than 24 hours. I had planned on doing that already because of baseball, but we missed the playoffs and the season was already over by this time. But there was a very good reason for me to be back that night.

Edson picked me up from the airport and my wife let me know that everyone was over Uncle Dave’s house. It had been like that from the time he got sick and was told by the doctor that his time left on earth was short. We’re talking about a family of 7 brothers and 7 sisters all coming over after work to spend time with their brother. And of those 7 brothers and sisters, add in a ton of nieces and nephews and you’d understand how loved Uncle Dave was. Even my kids who were 4 and 2 at the time got the chance to show their love for their Uncle Dave. Uncle Dave was actually supposed to stay in the hospital, but once the doctors told him his illness was irreversible, he told them he was going home. You know how sometimes you let your milk go past the expiration date, but you smell it, and it doesn’t smell spoiled? That was Uncle Dave. He outlived his expiration date. The doctors basically told him he didn’t have long, and in grand Uncle Dave fashion, he proved them wrong.

Edson and I went to Uncle Dave’s house, and immediately I knew that the time was going to be short. People weren’t as happy. I really think some of his sisters and brothers thought he was going to lick it. He was basically sent home to die, but he was doing so well, they thought somehow, some way, he was going to cure himself. At times, he didn’t even look or act sick. But this time, it wasn’t the case. I went into his room reluctantly and saw him basically sleeping and having a hard time breathing. I think at this time, he probably technically had pneumonia because as he breathed, you could hear that his lungs were filled up. It was getting increasingly harder for him to breathe. His wife, two daughters, and son were on the bed with him, circling him, each trying to get closer to him than the other. I left that room devastated. In just a day and a half, he went from being able to sit up and be fairly coherent to lying in his bed, trying not to die.

Uncle Dave was the kind of guy who would literally give you the shirt off his back. If he had one last dollar to his name and you needed it, he would give it to you, and find a way to do without it. When I was younger, Uncle Dave was over my house a lot with his family. I grew up around his son and daughter, and even his youngest daughter was around alot. His son became my little brother during a few summers. I prided myself in showing him a good time when he was bored and tried to rub off positively on him. To this day, I have great memories of the time I spent with his family and they were a big part of my childhood.

It finally hit me that night. This might be it. I was just off the plane, flew from the West Coast to the East Coast in a day and a half, and my Uncle was dying. I’m not sure why I was there in the room, but I was. My cousin Manny was in the room with Uncle Dave and his family and he was holding Uncle Dave’s hand. My Aunt Yolanda and their three kids looked exhausted. They put a few weeks of their lives on hold to take care of Uncle Dave, making sure everything was perfect for him. Manny got up and decided to leave the room. I went over to Uncle Dave and grabbed his hand. I didn’t say anything. I just sat there and gripped his hand with as much love as I could. They say you can tell alot about a man just by looking at his hands. These were hands that showed hard work. They showed a man who had to work for everything he got and was given nothing. They showed a man who lived a tough life, but still got out what he put in. I clutched his hand, almost as if I could help him in any way.

Uncle Dave told someone that the few weeks in which everyone came over to help him live the last days of his life were actually the best days of his life. When you think about how you want to die, having your entire family over your house every night is not a bad way. Uncle Dave even left the house to shop for small gifts which turned out to be Japanese Dolls that he gave out while we played bingo. It was joyful for him to watch the winners open up the dolls. He was a giver. Giving made him happy.

As I held his hand, I felt him clutch a little bit. His breathing started to get a little heavier. Almost like he was in a panic. I think right at that time, he knew. It was time. My Aunt and his oldest daughter immediately woke up. They were telling him it was ok, trying to calm him down. His body was jerking slightly and you could tell he wasn’t comfortable. My Aunt held strong, stayed strong for him, and his son then woke up and soon, it was over. Uncle Dave had passed. I held his hand the entire time and felt every twitch and pull and jerk, and then felt his peaceful hand lose life. He died with my hand holding his. My Aunt and the kids then broke down and hugged each other with my Aunt telling the kids that he’s in a better place. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a stronger person in my life than she was during that time. There’s a ton of respect I have for her because of the way she stayed strong and how she helped her kids grieve.

Every once in while, the kids ask about him. They still remember as do I and everyone else who was there.

Neil Hayes writes a great article (you’ll have to log into the Mercury News website to read it) in today’s Contra Costa Times about this supposed curse of the Bambino. Not only does the article refute much of what the curse is all about, it also doesn’t paint a great picture of the ever so loved Bambino.

Hates writes: “Ruth already had earned a widespread reputation as a late-night carouser. In 1917 he was suspended for nine games for trying to punch an umpire.” And why does Barry get so much flack?

But the story is much more about the tale of the curse. As it goes, Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth because he was broke. But according to his grandson, that’s not the case. He did it not because he was broke and needed money, but more so because the Babe was a nuisance and was a clubhouse cancer.

I’m looking forward to the day Barry passes the Babe on the home run list.

Continue Reading »

Since the last time I wrote, Nakomis showed some huge sack and put up both Adria and Natalie up for eviction. That was the perfect move. Think about this. Adria and Natalie together had the only true trust in the house. No one else, not even Cowboy and Nakomis had that type of trust. And together, they were too powerful to let stay. It showed great courage simply because she automatically put a bullseye on her chest with the one who stayed. But it was a perfect play. It showed that she has the brains, and the heart to win this game. I said that I thought Will would win because he played the game under the radar just enough and seemed to be well liked. That was the kiss of death for him. With both the twins out of the house, it’s fair game, unless Nakomis and Cowboy have a wicked alliance that she hides very well. But that is probably not happening. Karen is the wild card in my eyes. She’s weird, has weird friendships, and just seems so oddball. She’s not one who voices her opinion alot, and she seems to go very much with the rest of the crew as far as voting is concerned. And then you have Diane and Andrew, the worst couple in the history of reality television. He’s immature, she lies. He’s insecure, she lets Marvin kiss her. He’s an awkward person socially, and she’s the social butterfly. So it must be about the looks. Or she’s just using him. He might not be Cowboy dumb, but he’s dumb. Diane has broken just about everyone’s trust. How is she still in this game? Maybe because she gets this game the best.

Heart Breaker

• I slammed him last time, but I never thought I’d miss Marvin this much.
• If Adria was big bootylicious, does that make Natalie medium bootylicious?
• And speaking of their posteriors, how can there be such a size difference if they are identical twins?
• Does anyone miss Scott or Jase?
• And how is it that I even remember their names?
• I thought the two evictions in one week was kind of unfair to Drew, but since he was possibly the worst HOH ever, I guess it fit him.
• How could he put Diane up, only because he wanted to see where she stood?
• Worst house boyfriend ever?
• And will they get it on?
• Did I mention that I miss Marvin?
  
• Was the Adria/Marvin showdown classic or what?
• And wasn’t Marvin right on?
• I know I was sick of Adria saying how she stayed true to herself in this game.
• Isn’t the object to win?
• Maybe Adria got the memo that said the object was to stay true to yourself to win the money.
• Wasn’t she lying the entire time by trading out of the game with her sister in the first place?
• Cowboy may be dumb, but in the house, he’s likeable dumb.
  
• Why do I feel myself feeling sorry for the Cowboy?
• Marvin won me over big time. He had the personality and the charm and is probably the one guy to extend his fifteen minutes of fame.
• Did Diane just become the head honcho by pulling Andrew off the blocks and forming an alliance with Cowboy? Two always beats one, and Karen is a goner.
• Then it’s Nakomis vs. Cowboy, Diane, and Andrew.
• And at that time, will she finally start the, “hey we’re related” with Cowboy? You know she will.

Continue Reading »

You know, MJ gets so much slack for the way he looks. But has anyone looked at how different LaToya and Janet look? LaToya might be more pale than MJ himself. And what about Jermaine. The dude is glossy. You can read about Toy Jackson and her pursuit to “start over”. Well for one, you can take back everything you said about MJ in 1993 …

Continue Reading »