The Hot List

1. Vonzell Solomon – After four weeks in a row of great performances, she’s at the top for me
   
2. Boseph Bice- No matter what Constantine does, he’s the better rocker
   
3. Carrie Underwood – She showed her lack of soul last week
   
4. Constantine Maroulis – When he’s good, the perv face doesn’t annoy me, but when he’s bad, I can’t stand it
   
5. Scott Savol – He’s better than most think
   
6. Anthony Fedorov – He stays here until he’s gone

The Defeated

1. Lindsey Cardinale
   
2. Mikalah Gordon
   
3. Jessica Sierra
   
4. Nikko Smith
   
5. Nadia Turner
   
6. Anwar Robinson

Did Anwar deserve to leave so early? No. Was he going to win the competition? No. So it’s fine that he left. Just like it was fine that Nadia left. The fact that Anthony and possibly Scott are still sitting there may rankle some feathers, but they won’t win either, so don’t worry. Now that I got that out of the way …

The biggest American Idol news has to do with one Paula Abdul and one Corey Clark. If you remember Corey, he was the Allen Iverson look-a-like in season 2 with the high falsetto. Apparently, according to an MSNBC.com article, Clark threw a hump into Paula Abdul. The article says he’s throwing around a book proposal that would spill the dirt on a sexual relationship with the former Forever Your Girl. Here’s a quote from the MSNBC.com article.

“[Abdul] told [Clark] she wanted to look out for him and be his ‘special friend,’” according to the Globe article. “But he claims she warned him that he couldn’t tell anyone or she’d make things very hard for him, cautioning, ‘Don’t screw me or you’ll be sorry.’” The proposal apparently also describes how Abdul once came up behind Clark, rubbed his neck, and then they began “kissing passionately and feeling each other up” as they moved to the guest bedroom.

Being that Paula isn’t one to throw around negative comments, you can’t say that her alleged relationship would’ve helped Clark stay on the show longer than he should’ve. And the fact that he was kicked off for having an arrest record, also shows that she didn’t let her supposed crush on him help him along in the competition. Supposedly ABC has a “Primetime Live” special that they are supposed to be running that they are saying will be explosive about American Idol.

Cold Hearted Snake?

Enough about the Idol gossip, and on to the show. We’re down to the top six, four boys and two girls. The theme for the show is to sing songs from 2000 to present day. Carrie is up first with a song that I’m not really sure of. All I know is that it’s very country. And I think there’s a fiddle involved. Her hair is very straight and parted right in the middle. She brings some good energy to her performance and looks like she’s in her comfort zone. Randy says he’s glad she was back into her country roots, but she was under every note. Paula says the song didn’t show her great vocals. Simon says he doesn’t understand country music, but her fans will love her. The song was a Martina McBride song. Thanks for telling me this after her performance was over.

Boseph is next and it is really irritating me that they’re not telling us what song the Idol folks are performing. What I can tell you is that Bo is wearing the type of shirt that resembles the type of dress Mrs. Roper wore on Three’s Company. I can also tell you that this performance is pretty good, but by week 7 we should be getting the stellar kick ass performances, and so far we’re ofer two. And these are two of the front runners. Hot pink Randall says Bo is honest and true and he’s a true rock star. Paula says everything Randall says. Simon says he was strong but he shouldn’t wear the Lenny Kravitz sunglasses. So I guess he did a Lenny song. I really should know these things since all these songs are from the current millineum.

Vonzell is next and they’ve done a great job jazzing up her look. When I first saw her, I thought she was in her mid 20’s only to hear that she wasn’t even 21 when she started. Now, she looks like she’s 21. Now I actually recognize this song. It’s I Turn To You by Christina Aguilera. She’s doing a fine job, though not as well as she’s done in the last four weeks, but I hope it’s good enough to stay on the show. America is starting to kick off some good singers. Thankfully it was a Christina Aguilera song so the teenagers might keep her around just for that. I mean that’s the only reason Anthony sticks around is that damn teenage vote. Randall says it was the hardest song again and she pulled it off. Paula says Vonzell turns on magic that is bone churning. Simon says he doesn’t think it was as good as Paula and Randall thought. I’m sort of in the middle.

So far, Clay Aiken and Heather Locklear sightings. Clay made Blake shake. And Heather did the same for me. Anthony is tackling a Celine Dion song. But it’s not My Heart Will Go On. This is the double whammy for me. I already don’t like this kid who is staying on about 20 weeks too long (and the show’s only in the 7th week), and then he performs a song from one of the most annoying artists ever. His singing performance jumps around everywhere. First he sings in a whispery vocal. Then he screaches through the second verse, only to start shouting the chorus. Bleh. His time has come. Time to go. Randall says he hit the high notes, but he needs help with the low notes. Paula says his vocals grew throughout. Simon says he’s brave and he personally hated the performance. But he said he picked the right song for his audience.

The master of the perv face, Constantine is singing You Remind Me by Nickelback and it’s not the type of song that is his strength. It does give him the chance to be a little grittier, but I’m not sure this is the guy his fans want him to be. I think they love the Bohemian Rhapsody guy. Randall says it was a good performance, but the singing wasn’t good. Paula says it wasn’t her favorite song because it didn’t showcase his vocals, but he still performed it well. Simon says it was a bad imitation of the original and says he’s better crooning.

Bubba Sparxxx, aka, Fat Joe, aka Blake Highsmith, aka Scott Savol is next with Luther Vandross’ Dance With My Father, which is interesting because the song is about Luther’s wish that his father, who has passed away, come back to life for one more dance with he and his mother. We just saw Scott’s father in the video package before the show. The song is a good choice if you can pull it off. But this is Luther. I think he does a fair job of it, with his only downfall being a few notes that he really messed up. He can’t hit Luther’s high notes, but who really can? Randall says it was his weakest performance and it was pitchy. Paula says it wasn’t the right song. Simon says he needs to pack his suitcase. It’s really funny how Anthony can be just as bad in certain spots as Scott, but because Anthony is this kid who smiles and Scott is this reserved guy who seems uncomfortable with the spotlight, the judges can be down on the guy who doesn’t force his smile. It’s unfortunate, but they definitely see a certain marketability in one that they don’t see in the other.

It definitely looks like it’s Scott’s time to leave and I’d be so surprised if it wasn’t him.

Three strikes and Seacreast out!


Past Show Reports

Show 1
Show 2
Show 3
Show 4
Show 5
Show 6

4/10 – Astros at Giants (9-2 Astros)
4/10 – Reds at Giants (21-4 Reds)
4/17 – Mets at Giants (10-9 Giants)
4/24 – Giants at A’s (8-2 Giants)
5/1 – Giants at Mets (6-3 Giants)
5/15 – Giants at Colt 45’s (12-3 Giants)
5/22 – Reds at Giants (8-2 Reds)
6/5 – Dodgers at Giants (17-2 Dodgers)
6/12 – Colt 45’s at Giants (12-12 tie)
6/12 – Pirates at Giants (16-4 Giants)
6/19 – Giants at Dodgers (8-4 Dodgers)
6/19 – Giants at Dodgers (10-8 Dodgers)
6/26 – A’s at Giants (10-7 Giants)
6/26 – Astros at Giants (5-4 Giants)
7/10 – Giants at A’s (6-3 Giants)
7/17 – Mets at Giants (13-1 Giants)
7/24 – Orioles at Giants (10-8 Orioles)
7/24 – Pirates at Giants (13-10 Giants)
7/31 – Giants at Colt 45’s (9-8 Colt 45’s)
8/7 – Giants at Reds (9-1 Giants)
8/14 – Giants at Orioles (11-1 Giants)
8/14 – Giants at Orioles (9-7 Giants)
8/21 – Giants at Astros (5-2 Giants)
8/28 – Giants at Pirates (new time) 9:00 AM at Silver Creek

Current record: 13-8-1 currently in 5th place

There hasn’t been a draft that has been seen as so important in Bay Area history since the NBA Draft in 1995 when the Warriors had the first pick. And they hosed that one huh? Joe Smith over Kevin Garnett? But this is the Bay Area. 49er country. The 49ers, once the design franchise in the NFL, weren’t supposed to fall this hard. But when you think about all their years on top, eventually they had to come down. But the worst team in the league? Yep, that they were. But that’s why the good franchises aren’t bad for long. They use this time to make good decisions, fix bad ones, and get that franchise player they need to be the core of their team.

With that said, tomorrows NFL Draft is so interesting to me. I can’t change anything. Whoever I feel is the best player doesn’t matter. Mike Nolan and Scott McCloughan have studied this thing longer than I’ve studied anything in my life. They are going to make the decision that they feel is best for the franchise. And there’s nothing I can do about that. Do they keep the pick and draft a quarterback? Do they keep the pick and draft Braylon Edwards? Do they try to trade down? Let’s take a look at their options with the pick.

Option A

Keep the number 1 pick and draft a quarterback. It’s what they need right? But which quarterback? You have Aaron Rodgers, a California native who played his football in the Bay Area at Cal and someone who wears a freakin’ Joe Montana t-shirt underneath his jersey. He wants to play here, is saying he won’t make the contract process hell, and will immediately be a ticket seller. But does that make him the best pick? He isn’t THAT tall (but neither were Joe, Steve, or Jeff) and seems to be saddled as a product of Jeff Tedford rather than a product of his own talent. But he has a quick release, good arm strength and has great accuracy. What about Alex Smith? The Utah quarterback is Bernie Kosar like booksmart (both graduated from college in two years) and was a Heisman finalist. He took the Utes to just about as far as they could go in college football. His mobility is exceptional and he’s a threat running the football as well as throwing. Though, he did come from a run and shoot like offense and not the conventional west coast style that the 49ers will run, and Rodgers ran at Cal. He’s also said that he’s willing to sit on the sidelines and learn while Rodgers wants to play immediately. The big question though is learn from who? Tim Rattay?

Option B

If you don’t believe either Rodgers or Smith are franchise quarterbacks, take the best player available, who could be Braylon Edwards. Edwards is a play making receiver who would fit in perfect with their offense, only because they don’t have a play making receiver. He’s the closest thing to a can’t miss prospect according to all the draft gurus, but there are two problems with doing this. The first problem is that by drafting a wide receiver as the number one pick, you have to pay him like a quarterback. The second problem is that he can be the greatest receiver in history, but when you don’t have a legitimate QB to throw to him, he’s just going to smile and look handsome at the line of scrimmage.

Option C

Trade the pick. Suck it up. Tell your fans that there’s no one good enough to pick there and trade it. I think this option, though it might be the smartest choice of all three, could deflate the fanbase. After reading about Alex Smith, Aaron Rodgers, Braylon Edwards and Antrell Rolle, I’m not sure trading down and taking another player would make the fans excited about the upcoming season. Also, I’m not sure there are teams ready to bowl the 49ers over with an offer to trade that pick. They probably wouldn’t get the same worth that the number 1 pick would usually be worth. That’s why I don’t think this is going to happen.

Who Do You Love?

If I were the 49ers, I’d take Rodgers. The problem is, they could probably get him at the 4th or 5th pick. But hell, take him number 1. He wants to be there. And I think he has better intangibles than Smith. He has a Brett Favre like demeanor about him. He thinks he’s going to be great. To me, Alex Smith just seems too much like the snobby kid who knows he’s good and won’t work as hard as the guy who has to prove himself. I can be totally wrong about that, but it’s my gut feeling. Rodgers could be from Miami and I still think he’d be the better pick. They need a quarterback to lead this team and I think he’s the pick.

Do I think the 49ers will take him? No, I think they’ll take Smith. Smith seems to be the safer pick, the sexier pick, and since he’s a good 3 inches taller than Rodgers, the type of quarterback that is usually drafted. Give me Rodgers, but I have a feeling we’ll see Smith at the podium in his 49er jersey tomorrow.

The Hot List

1. Carrie Underwood – Either she or Bo is number one
   
2. Boseph Bice- He’s not perfect, but he’s still good enough to win
   
3. Constantine Maroulis – Master of the perv face
   
4. Vonzell Solomon – Just a joy to watch
   
5. Anwar Robinson- Used to love him, now he slightly annoys me
   
6. Scott Savol – He’s not helping his cause as the most hated Idol contestant ever
   
7. Anthony Fedorov – He stays here until he’s gone

The Defeated

1. Lindsey Cardinale
   
2. Mikalah Gordon
   
3. Jessica Sierra
   
4. Nikko Smith
   
5. Nadia Turner

Nadia leaving was a surprise, but she was too against the grain for Simon. She didn’t pick “smart” songs or ones that would get a rise out of the audience. She went for diva like dramatic songs and wanted to be known for her broad musical taste. That doesn’t work in pop music. Maybe she was kicked off by America simply for the rumors linking her to Scott, the most hated Idol contestant ever.

Paula said that Constantine is going to win. I’m not sure about that. But he did pull off a great rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. However, I’m not sure if it was simply a song that was perfect for him, or that he’s finally turning the corner. Whatever it is, he’s still the master of the pervert face.

The Perv Face

On to the show. By the way, the wife is back after a hiatus from the show. Actually maybe not, she just closed her eyes and is under a blanket. That can’t be good. The theme for this week is 1970’s dance music. I wonder how the rockers will do. Constantine is first with the Bee Gees Night’s On Broadway. I bet we’ll see tons of the perv face tonight. He doesn’t disappoint with the perv face, but I’m not so sure this is a dance song. He sings it and performs it well, but should he get as much props for doing such a mid tempo song? The wife doesn’t seem to be moved. She’s in the same sleepy state she was at before he came on stage. Randall says it was a good choice, but he doesn’t see too much originality. Paula says he’s all about “oh my God”. Simon says the performance was boring and too staged, but not in those words. I actually couldn’t figure out his analogy this week.

Carrie is singing MacArthur Park by Donna Summer. This could be scary. Country girl singing Donna. She’s going to lose points because she’s just walking around the stage and not doing any dancing whatsoever. However, I think that’s a good thing. Nothing like making a fool out of yourself in front of millions. To me, this is a throwaway performance both vocally and entertainment wise. The wife’s left nostril might’ve moved once, but that’s about it. Randall says it was unbelievable from a vocal standpoint. Paula says the last note was the longest ever on the show and “wow”. Simon thought she sung it well, but compared her look to Barbie meets the Stepford Wives. Scott is singing Everlasting Love. But he’s doing it Nate Dogg style. I wonder if Scott knows there’s something he can put in his eyes called contacts. The glasses aren’t doing it every week. I’ll give him props for actually singing a song that I would classify as perfect for this week. His vocals are often shaky, but beneath the shakiness, you know there’s a good voice, but it’s not Rube Studdard good. I would say his performance was above average tonight. But the wife might be dead over there. I can’t tell if she’s breathing or not. Randall says Scott picks just the right song and it was hot. Paula says he had fun out there, was in pitch, and thought even Simon might’ve been snapping his fingers. Simon says he is ordinary guy who is doing quite well and thinks it was karaoke to him. Scott has actually learned something as Ryno gives him a chance to respond to Simon and simply says, “God bless and thanks for the comments.” Usually he’d respond in a Kimberly Locke sort of way.

Anthony Federov is singing Don’t Take Away The Music. Anthony really looks like Nick Carter tonight. I’m not sure how the original was performed, but to me he’s always like a key off. It’s just flat to me. And I hate him. Wait, I’m supposed to be objective. Wait, I’m not, this is my blogger. Ok, I hate him. Randall says he didn’t fall this week and gives him his props. Paula says the vocals sounded great and called it his best week. Simon says it was pleasant and safe.

Ok, now it gets fun. It’s Vonzell time. This has to be hot. She’s singing I’m Every Woman by Chaka Khan. So she’s tackled Whitney, Babs, and now Chaka Khan. That’s some cajones. This actually sounds like a real live performance because of the back up singers. Is that Kelly Price back there? No, I forgot, Kelly lost weight. Vonzell is also wearing some tight jeans to show off her badonka donk. Man, she’s my favorite. Just full of positive energy, and when you can sing Whitney and Chaka Khan and do them justice, you just rock. Randall says it was a high degree of difficulty, but she worked it out tonight. Paula says she loves her and it was the performance of the night so far. Simon says her personality can carry a hard song and she did it. Ok, the wife is alive. The blanket just moved. Either she twitched, or she cut one.

Anwar is next with September by EW&F. Ok, this might be my comeback week for Anwar. He’s not annoying me this week. But it could be great song choice. Good overall performance, though kind of light in the pants, if you know what I mean. Randy says it was good. Paula says it was awesome and he was in the moment. Simon says it had a good ending, but it wasn’t a winning performance.

Boseph is last with Vehicle by The Ides Of March. I can’t say I know this one off the top of my head. Boseph’s performance is better than Constantine’s because he actually took a chance on a faster paced song and I think his vocals are better as well. In my mind, he won the battle of the rockers tonight. Randall says he’s back and since he’s a producer, he can hear it being recorded. (Randall is working on tracks for Paula’s comeback album by the way.) Paula says he’s back. Simon says it was the only truly authentically good performance tonight.

Now if I’m going to pick someone to leave, it’s always going to be Anthony. But if it’s not Anthony, I wasn’t impressed with either Carrie or Constantine, because I don’t think they tried hard enough for the theme. I liked Scott, Vonzell, Anwar, and Boseph. But you know Scott and Anwar are going up. That’s my guess.

Seacrest twist and shout!

Past Show Reports

Show 1
Show 2
Show 3
Show 4
Show 5

Here is a running post of Giant things.

SJNABA Tidbits

Well, now that the regular season is over, I think I need to give a few high fives to my ball club. We finished the season 14-9-1, good for fifth place and a playoff spot, and if we were allowed to finish up ties, we could’ve been in fourth after taking the season series from the ‘Stros, but really it doesn’t make a difference. We’ll be playing them in two weeks anyway. We finished the season 8-7 against playoff teams, beating the Reds once, the Pirates and Astros twice, and the Mets all three times. Overall, a very successful season that can get better if we can play that underdog role like we did so well in the regular season.

I have a few tidbits on the SJ NABA season overall.

• The Reds and Pirates combined hit over 130 HR’s this year prompting Eric “Bud Selig” McGhee to say he’d never heard of performance enhancers until 1998.
• Roy Mena finished the season at an over .600 clip which means that he basically went 3 for 5 every game. And Frank let us all know just about everytime Roy stepped to the plate.
• Hector Esparza hit a home run one out of every 5.6 at bats. Our own Frank Hernandez hit the ball out of the infield 1 out of every 9.2 at bats.
• Kris Hessenflow threw in 40% of all Astros innings. And this is in a league with double headers.
• The Giants and Pirates were the only teams to document fielding statistics and if I knew this, the Pirates would’ve been the only team documenting fielding statistics.
• #24 GM for the Reds claimed that he misquoted himself on his own team website.
• He also used every font and color in the HTML language.
• One of the umpires was overheard saying that Ben Raya was a very large catcher, possibly the largest man he’d ever have to stand before to call balls and strikes.
• The Mets finished the season on a tear willing themselves into the playoffs prompting Eric McGhee to say, “See, I told you the pride was back.”

See you in two weeks.

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The Team To Take Home To Momma

We’ve won 8 of our last 10, we’ve won 4 in a row, and we’ve beat the Pirates, Reds, and Astros in 3 of our last 6 games. You could say that we’re on a little bit of a roll. Maybe we’re even a hot team. Could even call us a team of destiny. Ok, maybe I went too far with that last one. That is impressive and all, but the most impressive thing about this team to me, is the character of the players. It’s the most fun I’ve had in my many year NABA career, and it’s with the youngest team in the league. Half of these guys weren’t even born when I first laced them up for farm ball. When I set out to build this team, I set out to find the highest quality guys I could find. We tried to put together a superstar team several years ago and it worked. We won a lot of games and came 2 runs away from winning it all. But the next year was the worst year I’ve ever had in baseball with all the mixed personalities. I didn’t want to go through that ever again. It took us two years, but we’re back and it’s because we have guys who like each other, playing for each other, wanting to see each other do well, and simply having fun with each other. Team chemistry is underrated, even in semi-pro ball.

Vincente “Long Ball” Cortinas

We knew we were better than our record said we were and we just needed a spark. In my opinion, that spark was Mark Steeves. Mark doesn’t have gaudy statistical numbers, but he’s helped solidify the pitching staff, working behind the plate on some of the best pitched games of the season. As good as the pitching has been, the catching has been stellar as well, and Mark has been a big part of that.

Speaking of the pitching, Brent Nichols threw another huge game this weekend, beating the Astros pitching a complete game with 13 strikeouts, only giving up one earned run. “Big Game” Brent has beat the Reds, Pirates, and Astros (twice) this season. Those are three of our top four opponents this year. We’ll see if “Big Game” can pitch us to another victory this weekend and get a few “Big Game” playoff victories.

It’s tough enough to beat an average team three times in a row, so it’ll be doubly tough to beat at team like the Pirates this weekend. We’ve beat them twice in two tries and we’re going for the sweep. We’ll have to bring our best to do it. It’s a “Big Game”.

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Deja Vu All Over Again

It seems like it was just yesterday when we said goodbye to our friend Greg Reed. We thought he played his last game for the SJNABA Giants. But he showed up this past weekend to finish out his stint. He even played defense which was a treat for everyone involved, including the other team’s catcher who seemed to have a problem with him. Don’t worry, we all have a problem with him. Except Javier. And maybe Vinnie.

Gregory “Ogre” Reed – Thanks For The Memories

It seems that Robert and Brent have a little competitiveness going. A game of one ups manship if you will. After Brent’s great game against the red guys, Robert followed it up with a 7 inning complete game with 12 strikeouts in the first game of our double header against the Orioles. Scotty “Too Hotty” Jaffa threw the second game instead of Brent because Brent had a sore ankle, but it didn’t stop him from going yard.

We have two big games left and they will really show where we are as a team. 2 games left. Astros. Pirates. Two teams that stand ahead of us in line.

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Sexy

If you watched us play on Sunday, there was a specialness at that field that was unmistakable. Just being there, smelling the not so freshly cut grass of Silver Creek High, watching player after player nearly turn their ankle running down the first baseline, and seeing a huge crevice of a gopher hole dominate the third base area, you knew you were there to see something special. What might that be you might ask? That specialness was Troy Kussmaul’s gold glove performance in right field. Rugged Troy told me before the game that he could play right field with no problem, but then told someone else on the team that he’d never played there before in his life. And he played out there fantastically, chasing down ball after ball after ball like he was a gazelle running in the wild. Oh yah, we also beat the 2004 MSBL Champions, the Reds 9-1.

It was a weird game because I wasn’t even sure if I was going to have 9 players and we had 4 guys playing out of position. Nak and I were able to go down memory lane and we actually played infield together for the first time since before Robert Ramos had hair on his face. We hit three HR’s as Javier and I went back to back and then Mark Steeves who is world reknown for his warning track power, willed one over the fence for a Grand Slam. Just a good game overall for us as a team.

And no, I didn’t forget one Brent Nichols. Brent pitched so well that Javier, who is very heterosexual I might add, and who also has one child and one on the way, and also is married, was so turned on by Brent’s performance that he simply described it as sexy. Sexy Brent Nichols threw maybe the best pitched game in the entire SJNABA this season limiting the Reds to 7 hits and one run in 9 innings. Just brilliant. And if Javier had written this instead of me, he would’ve described it as just brilliantly sexy.

Let’s see if we can use our newly gained momentum in our double header versus the orange and black birds this weekend. We owe them. Big time.

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Playoffs Are A Comin’


Thanks to Big Dave from the Pirates for the new Giants logos.

Giants All Stars Play Big

Your Giants All-Stars all had good games at the SJNABA All-Star Game at Municipal Stadium on July 27th. Playing on the National Team, they were a part of a 19-5 drubbing of the American Team. Javier Espinosa had two doubles, Brent Nichols had three hits and also pitched, while Mike Atilano and Vinnie also were positive in the box score. There was also an interesting discussion I had with National All Stars Head Coach Jose Medina Jr. It went a little something like this.

Jose: That third baseman of yours, Atilano, he’s smooth. Just the way he plays ball is smooth man. He’s just a tight ball player all around.
Me: As long as you don’t say that he’s handsome too.

Unfortunately we dropped another game, this time to the Colt 45’s. I think in the heat of the battle, teams will say things like, “we should’ve beat them”, or “they got lucky”, or “it was a fluke”. I’ve heard it so much from opposing teams when they are surprised when we beat them. But I can’t make any excuses for this past Sunday. Ryan’s team just outplayed us when it counted and that’s why they got the win.

This weekend, we get the Big Red Machine. They’re going to be a tough team to beat, and I just hope that we can play competitively and come late in the game, go for the victory. As long as Jose doesn’t call Mike handsome.

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Baseball Is A Funny Game

If I told pretty much anyone who knew anything about our league that we split our double header this past weekend, they would’ve guessed that we beat the Orioles and lost to the Pirates. And they would’ve been wrong. The Orioles scrapped harder than we did and beat us at our own ballgame. They really remind me a lot of our team. And we beat the Pirates in the second game in a game that was very familiar to the first time we played them. They came back with 5 in the 9th to put a scare into us, but we pulled it out in the end. And I really have nothing more to say, so I’ll give you a treat, which is an interview I did with our own Young Randall from last year.

Interview With Young Randall

Garrett Gonzales: I’m talking to Randy Bartholomew, starting left fielder of the San Jose NABA Giants.
Randy Bartholomew: Please call me Young Randall.
GG: Young Randall?

YR: You better believe it.

GG: Ok, Young Randall. The reason we’re here today is talk about you. Since we’ve known each other, we’ve been playing baseball together. What do you love about the game?
YR: I love the admiration of all my fans. The groupies. How when I hit the ball, it’s like time stops.

GG: The groupies? I’ve never seen you with another woman other than your girlfriend.
YR: Well, I must do a good job of keeping the groupies on the DL then.
GG: I guess so. Ok, moving right along. Not only are you a player, but you’re also a coach. What do you enjoy about coaching?
YR: The groupies. I love it when kids ask me how to do things like I’m a freaking genius. I pity those kids.
GG: The groupies? High school JV coaches get groupies too?
YR: Again, it’s on the DL….

You can read more by clicking here.

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Giants All Stars And Big Double Dip

Here are your 2005 NABA Giants All-Stars.


Mike Atilano: “Big” Mike is having an exceptional season and is our MVP thus far. He’s a scary hitter and an exceptional defensive player.


Javier Espinosa: Javier took a few years off from his NABA career and has come back better than ever. He’s an all around hitter who has nestled himself into the 3 hole in our lineup and leads the team in overall batting average.


Vince Cortinas: Vince has been around the NABA for many years and finally finds his way into the All-Star game as a player for the Giants. It’s well deserved as he’s having one of his best offensive seasons and has adjusted well in his move to first base.


Brent Nichols: Brent is one of our two aces and has pitched for us in most of our big games. He’s also a stellar shortstop and when he finds his stroke, will be huge for us in the last part of this season.

Congrats to those guys.

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We have two big games this weekend in our goal to make the playoffs. We’re 1/2 game behind the Astros for the 4th slot in the playoffs. Our first game is against the Orioles who we haven’t played yet all season long. They are currently in the last playoff spot and are fighting off the A’s, Mets, and Colt 45’s. The second game is against those loving Pirates. In our last four games against each other, we’ve split them. They’re a talented team and for some reason, they bring out our best. Hopefully we can bring them our best again this weekend, as long as we don’t pass out in the heat. And if Joe Pelayo is up at the plate in a tie game in the last inning, we’re walking him.

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All Stars
We took the third game of the series against the A’s this past weekend. It’s the first time we’ve swept them, let alone win more than one game against them in I’m not sure how long. Even though I’ve had my share of dust ups with some of the players no longer on that team, I get a kick out of playing against Jim, Max, Wojo, and both Bobby’s. I will miss playing against those guys.

The All Star Game is right around the corner and I wanted to shout out several of my ball players who have really good chances of getting our slots in the game.

Mike Atilano is third in the league in HR’s and plays an excellent third base. He’s probably the best draft pick of the entire first round (thanks Greg), and we were able to snag him with the 4th selection.
Javier Espinosa is back after a long absense from the San Jose NABA. But he’s come back as a man possessed. He leads our team in batting average and on base average and is second in home runs and RBI’s.
Vinnie Cortinas is having a nice and consistent all around year and is trying to get back to the All Star game. Earlier this year, he hit his first home run and this was after one of the opposing managers had just said seconds before, “He can’t hit, put it in there”. Seconds later, over the fence, giggling with glee as he rounded the bases. But that’s all he’ll hit for the rest of the year. He has a one HR minimum and maximum.
Brent Nichols and Robert Ramos have been our horses this year and we go as far as they take us.
Joey Nuno leads our team in innings pitched and has seemingly done everything for us. He’s started, relieved, and has even saved two games for us. Mike Nuno’s baby brother has been a great addition.

Those aren’t the only deserving players on this team, but those are the ones that stand out in my eyes. We have other players like Scotty Jaffa and Young Randall who are having really good seasons too. And if Danny Guevara and Mike Nuno have some big games this weekend, they could jump right into it. Of course, we do a team vote, and this is only my opinion, so the results might actually be different from what I think. But the morale of this story is that while numbers are great to have, we win and lose as a team and our team chemistry is more important than any statistics that you can calculate.

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Take Two
We’ve had three double headers back to back. And luckily, the results weren’t disasterous. In those 6 games, we went 3-2-1, and are back over .500.

Last weekend, we beat the A’s in the opener in a game where we took control early, but they continued to fight back. It was like we were the dumb blonde getting chased by Jason from Friday the 13th. I thought we were going to keep falling, but we didn’t and pulled it out in a game that was stopped in the 8th because of the time limit.

Game two was exactly the opposite. The Astros took control early and looked to be well on their way, but we were able to stay with them and tied it, and then scored the winning run on an errant throw that Mike Atilano took advantage of. We won 5-4.

We have three Mike’s on our team. Two of them are under 5’8 (Mike Nakamoto and Mike Nuno). So when I call out the lineup, Mike Atilano is Big Mike. Brent Nichols said that he’d one day love to have that nickname, because it just meant you were good. Well, after last week’s game against the Astros, Brent can now be Big Brent. He threw 9 innings without his best stuff and finished the game with the bases loaded and only one out, ending it with a strikeout and flyout. Here’s to Big Brent.

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Douple Dip Loss
It was our second double header in a row, but this time, we took a field trip. We played at Hartnell College in Salinas, the home field of Dem Bums. Actually, I’m joking. I like the Dodgers squad very much. The drive up was worth it as long as we don’t have to do it more than once or twice a season as the field was in good shape and since it was a Junior College field, the dimensions were solid and there weren’t any cheap home runs.

I think we played good baseball, but when you play any of the top four teams in our league (Reds, Dodgers, Pirates, Astros), good is probably not good enough. We had chances to win both games, and I know we put some fear into them, but in the end, they just had too much offense for us. It can be something to build on as just a few weeks ago, they beat us wicked bad, and this time, we were in both games until the last inning.

When Daniel showed up late for the first game, I turned to Scotty Too Hotty to pitch game one. Scotty’s first ever SJNABA game was a start three years ago against the old Knights (Astros) and he held them in check for 7 innings. We ended up losing the game on a grand slam off another pitcher who shall remain nameless, but only because Scotty had to go to work. He was in control against one of the better teams in the league and from then on, I figured his pitching career in the SJNABA could be hall of fame material. As it was, he didn’t have as great success last year, and his only start this year was a rough one. I’d been hearing rumors of his interest in throwing again from other team members and decided that this was his chance to throw again. And he was just short of magnificent in his 6 innings of work. Maybe that pitching career just might be there for young Scottard.

Javier Espinosa is making an argument for his inclusion on the All Star team. He hit one on Sunday that still hasn’t landed.

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Bats Out Of Slumber

It took 10 games, but finally our bats woke up. In our double header on Sunday, we scored 28 runs. In the previous 8 games, we’d only tallied 46 runs. Not sure why this is, but I’ll take it.

We went 1-0-1 in our games this weekend, beating the Pirates (or was it the that they beat themselves?) 16-4 and ending up with a tie against the Colt 45’s.

The Colt 45’s showed a ton of heart as they only had 8 players and they went on to plate 9 runs in the first two innings. We came back, but couldn’t finish the job and it’s a game we may have to finish at the end of the season. Because they only had 8 players, we incorporated a strategy I’m not proud of, but my job is to help our team win. And my job isn’t to make sure their number 8 hitter has a fun day.


Against your neighborhood friendly Pirates we were for some reason just on fire. You can never count those guys out and I was aprehensive to even get excited until it was over. But they’ll be back. They always come back.

A few highlights from the weekend that was.

• We hit 4 HR’s this weekend, almost doubling our total the entire year
• Joey Nuno came in relief to throw 7 gutsy innings to keep us in game 1
• Scotty 2 Hotty used the 2 player outfield to his advantage and doubled twice and tripled in game 1
• Danny Guevara threw for the first time in a couple years to keep the game tied
• Mike Atilano added another HR to bring his totals to 5 HR’s and 14 RBI this season
• Mike Nuno resembled Mike Nuno for the first time this year
• Randy and Vinnie hit their 1 HR for the year
• Brent Nichols struck out 12 in 7 innings to get his first victory of the season in game 2
• Robert Ramos scored Wells Fargo 14 new Hispanic members

Next week, Salinas.

Big Mike Atilano

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Forgetful Jones

You know, I know we played this weekend, but I can’t remember exactly what happened. I think we lost. Moving right along.


As the manager, I’m always the last guy (except my dad) to leave the field. That only means that I get to pick up after everyone who leaves their gear. How can you leave your gear? Isn’t it the only thing you are responsible for?


Here are some of the things I’ve picked up this year:


1. Cleats (Javier, Joey)

2. Glove (Travis)

3. Batting tee (Vinnie)

4. Jock strap (Greg)

5. Pants (Frank – he must’ve gone home bare a**ed naked or something)

Random Vinnie Glute Shot

This weekend is going to be interesting. We play the resurging Broncos in the first game of a double header. And in the second game, we play your neighborhood friendly Pirates in a game that is probably going to be the least hostile game of the year for the San Jose NABA. With two teams that simply get along well, you can expect nothing but kindness and sportsmanship all around. Unless someone can find my old posts from last year. Those aren’t live anymore right? If they are, then all hell might break loose.


One last thing. I’m putting up 20 bucks for anyone who can hit a ball by Rocha.


Until next time …

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Thanks Ron

Last week, I said we had to do a few things to beat the Real Deal Reds.


1. We had to reverse the home run fortunes and we did that. They hit 2 (rather than 12), and we hit 1. Check!

2. The Reds had to bring their F game. Considering they only scored 8 runs (rather than 37), I’d say we came pretty close. Check!


But two things that I said we needed to have happen didn’t.


3. Our “ace”, Vinnie “Pazienza” Cortinas wasn’t ready to throw his 65 MPH heat. Thus we had to go with Brent, who only threw just about the best game against the Reds this year.

4. That damn Ron Gonzales didn’t give the Reds the bad karma that I expected him too.

Since we have a week off because of Memorial Day, I don’t have much else here. Next week we face off against the Dodgers, and after their loss this past weekend, I know they’re going to come in fired up and pretend that we’re wearing Pirate yellow. Well, Troy did pitch for us a few years ago.


See you next week.

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Fourth Straight


Most of the time when we win, it’s a close game to the end. But for once, we didn’t really have to worry much about the outcome. The bats were there, and thanks to one Joseph Nuno, the pitching was there as well.

Joseph “Sleepy” Nuno

We play our second game against the Real Deal Reds and I think it will be a decent litmus test for us. They’re still hitting the ball out of the park while scoring an average of something like 17 runs a game. And while they may have the umpire and the rulebook on their side (wink), it’s usually not enough to stop them. However, if we play our “A” game, I think we can compete with them.


Here’s a few reasons why we can win this game:

• Even though Mayor Ron Gonzalez likes them better than us, that guy cheated on his wife and karma is a you know what.
  
• They have 23 homeruns while we have 5. There’s something called the law of averages that should even that out right?
  
• We have our ace Vinnie pitching this weekend. He’s untouchable and has the best 65 MPH fastball you’ll ever see.
  
• I’m expecting the Reds to bring their “F” game.

One more reason for us to play our best this weekend is because the leader of the kangaroo court is leaving us. Greg Reed keeps us all loose and makes sure no one thinks they are better than they really are, except maybe Mike Atilano. He’s a true “clubhouse” or “dugout” in our instance kind of guy and we’ll miss him. After this week, he’s done except for a few games he’ll make sure that he doesn’t miss (cough – Pirates – cough).

Probably Making Fun Of Travis

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Three In A Row


After starting the season by being swept in a double header against the Astros and Reds we now find ourselves at 3-2 after yesterday’s victory over the San Jose Mets. Another strong performance by Robert Ramos who in his last two starts has gone 7 and 8 innings. He pitched into the 9th, but Joseph Nuno came on for the save and got the three final outs.

Robert “Don’t Call Me Bob, Bobby, or Robby” Ramos

I’ve known Robert since he was two years old, and I would’ve never figured I was going to have the chance to play with him, considering when he was two, I was eleven. But, because of the never ending age limits in adult league baseball, it has happened. Now only if Carlos would get in shape and come out here. Then it would be the Cerrito crew.


Here’s a quick story about Javier Espinosa. He was going to have to miss yesterday’s game because his future wife was sick and he needed to take care of his child. Low and behold his roomate saves the day and he shows up in the second inning and I immediately put him into the batting order in the third. I think he saw two pitches before he deposited the ball over the fence for a two run homer. He now is prohibited from showing up for a game before game time.

And we saw an old friend yesterday.

Brent Nichols is on his way …

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It’s Been A Long Time …:

Since I took over the Giants from the infamous and heinous George Kleidon, (the man who coined the phrase it’s a battle of nutrition) the one team that you could call our “rival” was the A’s (Reds). And it wasn’t because of the quality of our games. It was simply because no matter what, we couldn’t beat them. And then in 2002, we played them in the NABA Championship, and again, they beat us. It was a pretty one sided rivalry to say the least. That brings us to yesterday.

I overheard, and had other players tell me that they heard some of the A’s players use the fact that they never lose to us as motivation to come back and beat us. At first, I reacted a little negatively internally, but then thought, well hell, they are right and that’s exactly how I’d try to pump up my team if the shoe was on the other foot. And though it’s only week 4, we finally have beat them, but we will see them again a couple more times.

Kudos to Robert Ramos for getting his first win in the SJNABA going 7 innings against a lineup of heavy hitters. Non-kudos for him missing last weekend’s game meeting an Aunt who he’ll probably never see again. Actually, we were ok with it. But next time, just bring her to the game.

Actually, George is doing quite well as he’s now married with two kids and is coaching Varsity baseball at Andrew Hill.

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Sweeeeet!:

Having a 9-0 lead and nearly losing it all isn’t my idea of fun. But for one member of the Giants, it was. That team member’s name is Travis McDonald. See, young Travis is a former San Jose Met and more than anything else, couldn’t wait to play them in the regular season. In my post game interview with Travis, I learned that he had a sugary satisfaction in beating his former team.

Me: So, how was getting your first NABA save?
Trav: It was sweeeeet!!
Me: So was there extra satisfaction based on beating the Mets, your former team?
Trav: Definitely, that was some sweeeeet satisfaction.
Me: Anything else you wanted to say about this game?
Travis: Nothing, other than it was sweeeeet victory.

Sweeeeet

I never actually interviewed Travis, so I’m not sure if he really said or was thinking those things, but the smile on his face told me that I wasn’t that far off.

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Opening Week Update:



Ok, so that wasn’t much fun. Actually, it was, if you are into watching balls fly over the fence. I knew the San Jose Reds were good, but who knew they were the second coming of the ‘27 Yankees?

Homered Twice Yesterday

Overall, it was a rough Sunday, but my team is young, and plus we have Serious Young Randall back this weekend.

On a personal note, it was nice seeing Jeremy Bruce on the field again. He played one year ahead of me at Mt. Pleasant and as a junior was one of the key players in the 1992 CCS Championship for MP. While I learned from him afar, he was not only a damn good player on the field, but a good person off as well.

Next week, we get the SJ Mets. Time for revenge.

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Opening Day Weekend:

Anyone who might’ve read this page before today saw that we were originally scheduled to play the Mets on opening day. That has changed. We don’t play them until the second week. However, rather than one game, we have two games to play this weekend. Yep, we open with the vaunted double dip. One would think that a double dip on opening day is tough, but when you have Young Randall on your team, it’s a different story. The man doesn’t cringe at the thought of a double dip. He tells double headers to “bring it on”.

Bring It On

Click on Young Randall to see the bigger, and even more serious Randall.

Other things going on this weekend. Robert Ramos will get his first start as a Giant in his first season in the SJNABA this weekend. Though I’m not sure if it will be for the first game against the newly named Astros, or the new SJNABA team, the Reds. Also, it will be the first games for Vinnie Cortinas and Mike Nakamoto as assistant coaches. We’ll see who has a runner thrown out at home first.

Things To Look For This Weekend:

- Greg Reed will try to add to his hit by pitched total and set a new NABA record.
- “Longball” Cortinas will try to not wait until the end of the season to hit a longball this year.
- “Scotty Too Hotty” will try to keep his fingers callused and strong, without urinating on them like his hero, Moises Alou.
- By stepping on the field “Nak” inherits the title as oldest active SJNABA player, at least I think.
- Randall Bartholomew simply hopes the weather won’t be nippy on Sunday.