Under Pressure

For me, the end of the spring season causes a sense sadness. Maybe it's because I know those of us who dwell in the Central Valley are facing intensely hot summer days. This in between season is a time for graduations, final performances and in the world of baseball, a time when we really get to see what a team is all about. There is a commercial, I believe it promotes the MLB network, that asks which month is the most important in baseball? I want to say April because like spring, it tends to be a time when everything is fresh and new on the ball field. We are almost in June now and for the Giants at least, those good fresh times have slowed down. There are a lot of games remaining in the 2010 season, which for Giants fans is a blessing and torture. I think this is the time many fans give up, I am guilty of this to some extent. We come back when the heat is on in September; the summer is a struggle.

When two-time Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum is pitching, we expect to win. Simple as that. In Lincecum's last two starts, he has given up 11 runs. His current ERA (earned run average-mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. Calculated by dividing the number of runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine) is 2.91. According to the Giants website, he has never ended a season with an ERA above 2.62. Giants fans are up in arms. They are cursing Lincecum across the web. I can't blame them, I was cursing too while following last night's game. Is it fair for us to feel like that? When you prove yourself to be one of the best pitchers in the MLB, you set your self up to be expected to be perfect. But who can really claim perfection in anything, especially baseball? On the other hand, it is very scary when your ace isn't performing. Here is to an excellent start tomorrow against Ubaldo Jimenez.

Because the Giants have been playing great (though they have won the last 5 games I believe), there has been talk about what the problem is. Some are saying the players are too heavy, not fast enough to steal bases. There have been hitting slumps and some bad plays. I've been wondering if players pay attention to what people are saying about them. Does it affect how they play? Should we as fans and commentators be a liberty to judge? Are off days/weeks acceptable? What do you think readers?

I started this entry last week before the Giants started playing like rock-stars again. On the Giants twitter feed people were threatening to quit watching altogether this season. I think it is a little premature for that, but it is true that Giants baseball equals torture a lot of the time. Hang in there fans, it's only May.

PS. I've been absent from this blog for a few weeks now. I plan to get back on track totally when I get back from Washington DC. I've been reading some interesting books and articles lately so I definitely have something to say.

What the Balk?

While watching the Giants/Padres game last night (seriously Giants we need to beat this team), I got to see one example of a pitching infraction known as a balk. Thankfully this particular example was displayed by Padres pitcher Clayton Richard and not our own Matt Cain. I am proud to say that to some extent I knew what the umpire was referring to when he slapped his leg and called balk!

My latest read is Watching Baseball Smarter: A professional fan's guide for beginners, semi-experts and deeply serious geeks by Zack Hample. I had to pick this one up when I saw the title, of I course I need to know how to watch baseball smarter I thought to myself; especially if I plan to teach anyone else something. The book has been a true wealth of knowledge, and I plan a full review entry as soon as I finish it. In the chapter on pitchers, the balk is defined as an illegal movement by the pitcher that deceives a runner. Basically, if the pitcher stops his delivery mid-motion and there are runners on base, a balk will be called and all runners are allowed to advance one base.

My mom and I were just talking about the balk because I mentioned to her that I had just read about all the ways the pitcher can be charged with the infraction. She mentioned that it is very hard to see one when it happens, and that is the truth. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any video of what I saw last night, but here is an example involving Pedro Martinez when he pitched for the Mets.

http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=2872078

A balk would not be called if there were no runners on base. Pay attention to the pitcher next time you are watching a game and see if this happens. They might even get away with it.

Even though we didn't win the game last night, it was fun to watch. I'm digging Andres Torres right now. Here is a link to the video of his amazing catch that took him into the crowd. Notice that when he recovers and shows that he has caught the ball, he looks cool about it. I think he wanted to jump up and down a little bit. Later in the game he made a great diving underhanded catch with the same cool look afterward. Watch that clip here. I like how he tosses the ball from his glove to his hand like what he has just done is no great task. Another reason I dig watching him is that he is small. I know weird right.

So there you have it, what the balk?

Mother's Day in Baseball

Happy Mother's Day to all the awesome wonderful moms out there. And a very special happy Mother's Day to my mom, an amazing and wonderful woman who inspires me everyday. I think I have mentioned in previous posts that my mom is one of if not the biggest Giants fan in the world. Unfortunately we weren't able to go to a Giants game today, so we did the next best thing by spending the afternoon at Chuckchansi Park watching the Grizzlies. 

The afternoon began with the Singing Hands choir performing the National Anthem, which was actually pretty cool. 

We were lucky enough to watch future Giants catcher Buster Posey at the plate today. My brother predicts we will be seeing him at AT&T Park by the All-Star break. 

We also got to see Posey hit a home-run. I hope we'll be seeing the same great work when he gets to the Giants. 

In a strange turn of events, my mom pitched a great inning and many of the Grizzlies players gave her congratulatory hugs. While we were screwing around here we missed 4 runs. 

Toward the seventh inning the sky started to turn dark gray and ominous looking clouds formed over head. My sister Joanna kept us informed on the scary yellow storm shown on the radar. 

Even though it got colder, we still had smiles on our faces. 

The team made it to the top of the 9th inning 12-4, and then it started to pour. A few fans stuck it out in their seats. Most people stood under cover and stayed to watch the end of the game. You could hear people saying two more outs, two more outs. I almost think the Salt Lake Bees (used to be the Salt Lake Buzz, which is a little more edgy. In fact a long conversation was held between Joanna and Andy about edgy and hardcore sounding sports team names.) let themselves be struck out to get out of the storm. The game ended and we won. 

Before they could leave for the day, the grounds crew pulled the tarp over the field. 

It was a perfect and slightly adventurous Mother's Day at the ballpark. I am so lucky to have a mom who appreciates the game even when it is pouring. I am also glad to have spent the day with my whole family. One of the themes I keep finding in my research and thinking about this blog is how baseball brings people together, especially families. That is a wonderful thing. 

MSNBC

A special congratulations goes out to Oakland A's pitcher Dallas Braden, who threw a perfect game today against the Tampa Bay Rays. There have only been 19 perfect games in MLB history, what an amazing accomplishment. While at the Grizzlies game today, my mom and I went into the gift store where they were showing highlights from that game on TV. We met a young diehard A's fan who was so happy, it was fun to share the excitement of a great game with him. 

Also, congrats to the Giants who did well on the last road series and come home 4-2. 

Does Baseball Matter?

The March/April 2010 issue of Legacy had very interesting article on the relationship between baseball and mill/factory work in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The article Baseball: Why it Connects to Our American Story, by Chuck Anring, discusses how baseball was used as a method of bringing a town and team of factory/mill workers together. I had actually read the article before I began my research for the rivalry post, and while I was reading about how people from Brooklyn found the Dodgers to provide a sense of pride, I kept thinking of the similarities to Anring's article. Baseball can provide a way connect people to where they live and perhaps more importantly, to each other. 

The article begins with a description of Big Bill Haywood's trial for the planned assassination of Governor Frank Steunenberg. At that time Haywood was the secretary/treasurer for two miners' rights groups. The trial took place in Boise in 1907 and brought a good deal of attention to the area from media across the west. During this period in Idaho a new Sunday Closing Law meant there would be no forms of entertainment available on Sundays with one exception, baseball. Arning mentions how "every Sunday and on holidays as well, stands throughout the Snake River Valley were packed with spectators watching their town's nine..." Reporters who were covering the Haywood trial noted that on Sundays towns seemed to be "denuded of their male inhabitants." 

Bill Haywood

During the early part of the 20th century baseball fields could be found in mill towns across the country. Anring notes that the baseball field was as important to the landscape as the church, store and homes. He let's us ask why, then provides this answer "baseball was America." Like the fans of Brooklyn and Manhattan, citizens of each of the towns would gather at the field to cheer on their team. The town of the winning team was viewed as having strong character and good community. 

Anring also asks us to consider what working in a mill, factory or mine might be like. The work was dangerous, dirty and meant long hours in a too hot or too cold and dark environment. The worker was judged by their productivity and speed. Good teamwork was a necessity. Owners of the mills and factories looked to baseball as a method of bringing workers together and showing them how to work well together, meaning more efficiency in the mill or factory. Baseball was also thought to be useful to civilize and Americanize new immigrants. 

Later the article addresses the idea of time in the mill and time on the field. Workers were expected to work hard and fast with little time for rest. "Baseball was different. Each inning consisted of six outs, three per side; however long it took to get those outs was the length of an inning. There was no time limit." This is one of my favorite things about a baseball game. While it is nice for the opposing team to go out 1,2,3, sometimes a 20-inning game is a beautiful thing. The fact that there isn't a time limit leaves open lots of possibilities for the outcome. For the team and the fans it was time to relax and enjoy the sights, sounds, smells and feelings of the baseball field. 

Walter Schuster and Hall of Fame baseball team

When I finished the article, I was slightly confused about the relevance of the Haywood trial. Throughout the article Anring tries to really show the contrast between working life and the moments of recreational life. Whether it be the juxtaposition of the ball field and the gray starkness of the mill or the timelessness of the game compared to the pace required for work; baseball was the way to escape if only for a little while on a Sunday afternoon. 

I think it was brilliant for the owners to use the game of baseball in the ways they did at this point in our history. It was a very positive way to bring people together around something truly American. This fan is watching a game on this Sunday afternoon, and I imagine a similar scenario is occurring in homes across the country. Clearly baseball matters. 

Read Baseball: Why it Connects to our American Story here.