Welcome to Czar’s blog #11 of 2019.
The available games, dates and number of tickets will be shown at the end of the blog before the rules. Remember when you email me back to identify the game, the date and the number of tickets you want. Please whitelist my email so you get the blog posts and ticket offers all season long.
Turn Out the Lights – the Party is Over
For those of you that read Czar’s blog #10, the message was we had to basically win out to go any further. Well, after going 1 and 9 in the last 10 games, the G-Men are going no further even if they aren’t mathematically eliminated yet. Even the ever optimistic front office is waving the white flag and offering season ticket holders deals for next year. The Giants may yet have an impact on the year but if they do it will be when they play teams with a shot at the play-off’s who have to win (like the Red Sox and the Braves).
The Giants have six games left against the Dodgers (starting tomorrow night in LA) and those will be for pride because the Dodgers are so far ahead that they can’t be stopped (at least until the playoff’s – when they once again will choke). The only thing that I’m not looking forward to in the Giants-Dodgers series is the absolutely insufferable LA fans who populate Oracle like barnacles on a sailboat. Can we please have a no beachball and no LA fans being allowed to talk rule at the end of September?
Watching the Young Guys and Call-Up’s
This is what is fun about this time of year. Chris Shaw is up here after hitting the snot out of the ball with the River Cats, Mike Yastrzemski is awesome (new rookie HR record matching Orlando the great?) and looks to be a fixture in the outfield for years to come, and he will be battling with Austin Slater and Kevin Pillar for starting spots in next year’s outfield. That’s going to be great fun to watch.
In the infield Mauricio Dubon (from Honduras) has come up as a second baseman, back up shortstop and second coming of Marco Scutero (whose number he wears). I love watching the sheer exuberance of this young man.
The infield is an interesting work in progress. Crawford has lost a half-step (perhaps just late season fatigue) but he, Belt and Posey are all that remains of the position players from the WS teams. Longoria is playing well but could also look at being cut back for the young guys. We are watching transition before our eyes. The next chapter won’t play out until Spring training but mark up your program with names to watch.
Posey is an interesting story. He’s a for sure HOF catcher, and Vogt is a very capable back-up. Is there a catcher in the minors (other than Joey Bart, who is being brought along slowly and is playing in the AZ fall league) in the organization ready to step up and take some of the load from Buster?
The young pitchers (especially Rodriquez and Webb – who got hammered today by the Card’s) are the future and will be pitching a lot more in September. We may see Cueto back but I doubt it. We don’t need him now and he has to get healthy. Bum and the Shark will pitch because they love the game and want to finish the season strong. Re-signing Bum will be an off-season priority but it may not happen so the young guys need to step up.
I expect more surprises as the minor league season winds down. The only reason they are not up yet is most of the Giants farm clubs are in the minor league playoffs. That‘s a good thing.
Speculation about the Next Manager
No lie. The front office is like the CIA on this issue. There is no talk or speculation. Nada. All we know is that Bochy is retiring. Whoever comes in, from inside or outside the organization, will have a major voice in evaluating what the 2020 Giants will look like. Stay tuned for news on this front.
Spoilers?
I guarantee you the series against the Reds at Fenway, and the Brave at Atlanta, will be major motivators for the Giants. This is a proud team that just couldn’t do it consistently this year. More about those series as we get closer to the final blog of the year.
The Series
What you can say about the Pirates versus the Giants is that the Giants should be marginally better because the Pirates are in last place, going nowhere fast. This is exhibition baseball but the weather should be good, the crab sandwiches tasty and Irish coffees to die for. The series will feature the worst set of starting pitchers in baseball (the Pirates) against a lot of young hitters trying to prove that they should stick in the show. Expect these to be entertaining and high-scoring affairs.
On the board ready to be picked up are:
MON 9/9/19 – v. Pirates (6:45 – 4)
TUE 9/10/19 - v. Pirates (6:45 – 4)
WED 9/11/19 – v. Pirates (6:45- 3) – I’m going
THUR 9/12/19 – v. Pirates (12:45 – 4)
That’s it!
Ciao, and GO GIANTS!
The Czar
THE PROTOCOL: the firm has four seats in Section 118 (Premium Lower Boxes), Rows 25 and 26. These are awesome seats directly below the press box and 25 rows behind home plate on the left side behind the screen. It is foul ball territory for left-handed batters so bring your glove – I have collected 16 foul balls myself over 19 years, and I am looking for more (although since the screens were raised in 2018 it’s become tougher to get a ball). If we can't use all the tickets ourselves (or clients and friends of the firm don't claim them by calling me and reserving a game), then my next step is to give the tickets TO THE FIRST PERSON WHO GETS BACK TO ME PROVIDED THAT THEY ARE SERIOUS. If you ask for the tickets and don't use them, you will be taken off the list unless there is a seriously good reason. There will be a wait list.
When there are four seats available (we split up a lot of games) we will allocate the tickets two and two if the first people back just want two tickets. You can also go for four and might get them. I'm the Czar, my call.