Still Alive...

Seven years, $126 million.  For one night, it was worth it. 

And, if my beloved Jints make it to the 'Ship, he'll be the starter for game 1.

The debt has been repaid.

Where I promise to blog more than bi-annually...

Six months, eh?

Yep, it's been exactly six freakin' months since my last entry here, and as I have constantly done, I again apologize for the lack of entries; I have no excuse, since my third shift schedule affords me the opportunity to do entries whilst everyone in the house is asleep, and before I get my 5-9 hours of snoozing...

So, you may (or may not) be asking yourself; what's been going on these last six months?

Well, for starters, the fam has done a lot of traveling; there is so much to see out these parts, and iconic landmarks top the list; from Lady Liberty to the Nation Mall and all its museums, we've gone as far north as Concord, New Hampshire, and as far south as Virginia, seeing as much as we can...

love Lady Liberty

Grand Central Station

Turned 46 this year, but, as the blog was started while I was 44, the name stays the same for now.

Our son graduated from pre-school, and we are now a couple of weeks away from the first day of Kindergarten - school is great, teachers and administration are awesome. Meanwhile, Z. continues to thrive, grow, and appreciate the natural beauty of the surrounding areas...

Graduation

Summer play

Enjoying his first s'more

We made it back to the City By The Bay for a week in August, where, surprisingly, we froze our patooties off; of course I should have remembered those cold summer months from living there for almost 45 years, but living in an area where summer is summer, one can almost be excused for assuming it'd be like that all over the country...


Made it to the best ballpark in the majors...


where THIS guy roams center field

We did manage to see as many friends as we could, and we did spend a day with family, which always warms my heart, especially during a cool summer...it makes me miss being that close to everyone, and it further makes me feel more guilty that I don't blog more often. Facebook and Twitter, along with actual emails and phone calls can provide snippets, but I feel like I'm cheating both myself and all of you by not providing more insight through the written word.


Great to see family...

...and friends...


...including friends I haven't seen in two years...

or in this case, almost 30 years!

So, with that in mind, I will try to do more via this little blog. It is suppose to focus on sports, pop culture and food, so I really can take subjects that interest me (and, hopefully, you, dear reader) and put a Robert spin on it.

Let's see where this leads...

Yes, this really happened...

One week later…

It still seems like a dream at times (though, thanks to the MLB Network, and sfgiants.com, I can see the games and highlights as often as I want!)

My childhood baseball team, a team that was really bad during my formative years, playing in a cold, windy ballpark, a team that constantly teased us, be it 1971, when they won the West on the last day of the season, but had to use their ace pitcher, thus making the best-of-five LCS no contest for the eventual champion Pittsburgh Pirates;

Or, 1978, when I was 13, and they stayed in first place for most of the summer, only to fade down the stretch…Mom actually thought I was going to have my first ulcer…

Or, 1982, when I was 17, and, thanks to a Ron Pruitt bloop, they got to within a game of the lead going into the final weekend, only to have Rick Monday ruin things on a Fred Breining fork ball that didn’t dip…Joe Morgan then knocked the Dodgers out on the last day of the season…

Or, 1987, when, in game 6 of the LCS, with the Giants needing one win to advance to the World Series, Candy Maldonado lost a line drive in the lights, leading to the only run of the game, and then Jose Oquendo ruined Atlee Hammaker for all Giants fans…BTW, we would have KILLED the Twins in the Series…ah, well…

Or, 1989, when the earth moved, and the A’s rattled the Giants’ pitching staff in 4 quick games…

Or, 1993…sigh…Salomon Torres was the best (?) option on the final day of the season…

Or, 1997…attended my first playoff game (Thanks, Jim C.!), only to see Devon White ruin the season…until we were walking back to the car, and a group yelled out “AT LEAST WE BEAT THE DODGERS!”, to which we all answered “YEAH! AT LEAST WE BEAT THE DODGERS!”

Or, 2000…first year at Pac Bell, best record in the NL, only to have fellow Filipino Benny Agbayani take Aaron Fultz deep, and then we only get one hit off of Bobby Freakin’ Jones…

Or, 2002…yeah, that happened…

Or, 2003…when we were introduced to Mad Dog Russo on the west coast…

Earlier this year, my family and I moved from the Bay Area to Connecticut; I joked with a friend as the Giants stayed within range of the Padres that it would be my luck that the Giants would win the whole thing the year I’m not there to experience it first hand. Now, the internet, as I’ve told many a relative and friend, does make the move not as traumatic, as I can keep up with family and friends through the many myriads of social networks. The only thing the internet cannot duplicate is feeling, and, as I sat there with my wife, watching Brian Wilson nail it down, I was somewhat at peace with not being in my hometown to watch the Giants win it all. Of course, once Nelson Cruz swung and missed, I yelled my head off (much to the chagrin of my 4-year old), called the family, and Facebooked my feelings of the night.

Every day after winning the Series, I checked in at mlb.com to see highlights, and the MLB Network was awash with Giants replays, so the happy feelings continued. It was only today, 8 days after the fact, that I watched the home run, and watched the strikeout, and listening to Joe Buck rattle off the names of the Giants that never got the chance to win the series in San Francisco, that I began to tear up…then, remembering that my brother went to my grandparent’s, mother’s and aunt’s tombstones to celebrate with them, a profound sense of sadness came over me…

Sports do seem silly to some, and believe me, living right between Boston and New York has heightened my passion for my home town teams. Sports, for my family and I, brings us all together, be it watching Dwight Clark rising to snare “The Catch”, watching my sister go nuts after a double overtime Sharks win, following the “We Believe” Warriors of 06-07. This victory, however, trumps them all. My dad and grandpa taught me about baseball, and the Giants. I still remember grandpa telling me to finish my sandwich before the first pitch, so that I can watch everything on the field at Candlestick. Mike Krukow had it right at the victory parade, when he had us remember those who introduced us to the national pastime. This victory was a tribute to them, and for that, I will be forever grateful for the 2010 San Francisco Giants – World Series Champions.

P.S. – I know there is supposed to be a 5 to 10 year grace period after winning a World Series, but after Buster Posey’s little speech at the victory celebration “Let’s enjoy this today, tomorrow, for a week or even a month, but let’s get back to work and make another run at it.”, I AM PUMPED!!!!

(Now, if they can get a quality bat for Jonathan Sanchez…)

WORLD SERIES...BITCHES!!!

Oh, so many things to love about a tense, tortuous 3-2 nail-biter to win the National League pennant:

*A bullpen that fires 7 shutout innings (Affeldt, Bumgarner, Lopez, Tim-May, and the Beard);
*The ebb and flow of chances on both sides (as yours truly, at the suggestion of Bill Simmons, sat watching in the fetal position);
*So many clutch defensive plays - Utley for the Phils, Huff to Renteria for the Giants;
*Juan OOOO-REEE-BAY hitting the game winner to the opposite field, so that punk Jayson Werth (former Dodger) could have a great look at it;
*The many shots of the Philadelphia crowd looking panicked/scared/etc.;
*And, of course, the Torturer himself, Brian Wilson, making things just a bit too interesting in the bottom of the ninth; however, when you throw a pitch like this:
Well, that would freeze many a batter (right, Mr. Beltran?)

We'll see you Wednesday - game 1

Why.Not.Us.

As I watched the Texas Rangers eliminate the New York Yankees last night, my first thought was that of happiness for long-suffering Ranger fans, who finally get to see what the World Series is all about...and my second thought was that of the countless Yankee fans who called into Mad Dog Unleashed before the game stating that "We have Texas right where we want them", and "We're the Yankees, and we're going to win it all!"

First off, dear caller, you do not wear the pinstripes, so please, spare me with the "We" "We" "We" talk...

Secondly, it's nice to have all the confidence in the world, but, you tend to forget that Phil Hughes was handed the task of saving your season...which is not good...

This brings me to tonight's clash between the upstart (Jonathan Sanchez) and the wily ol' vet (Roy Oswalt)...as I've been hearing for the last two days, the Giants have no chance - Oswalt today, former World Series MVP Cole Hamels tomorrow, so, Texas, pack your bags, your headed to the City of Brotherly Love...

But......Why.....Not......Us?

I have to channel my inner east coast sports fan, I suppose, but the Giants are in the driver's seat, and they're throwing a lefty who can neutralize Utley and Howard, who, by the way, threw the clincher for the Western Division this season, has thrown a no-hitter, and may be just the right guy to push us over the brink.

Now, a lot of superstitious people may be cursing me for jinxing this, but for god sakes, don't you think we Giant fans deserve the right to feel confident, to know that we'll close this out tonight, that things eventually balance out - I mean Oswalt has not lost once in Philly as a Phillie - that changes tonight.

Philadelphia has been king of the National League the past two years - that changes tonight.

Giants fans have suffered for far too long - that changes tonight.

Tonight IS the night!

I don't know how the rest of the post-season will go, but...

Geez - two months since the last post, eh?

It's a little past midnight here in West Hartford, and the house is quiet; spouse-asleep, son-asleep, while I, lifelong San Francisco Giants fan, I am energized; seeing your favorite pitcher on your favorite team set a franchise mark with 14 strikeouts, winning a 1-0 game, well, that'll get your adrenalin pumpling.

I know, I know - there are 10 more victories to attain, but, at least for a night/early morning, I feel really good about our chances.

Thank you, Tim-may, and good night...

A BIG Connection to my old hometown

What - did you think it was food?

For the un-initiated, follow me on a timeline from birth to now:

*1965 - year I was born, Willie Mays is the MVP (.317 BA, 52 HR, 111 RBI), and Juan Marichal clocks the Dodgers John Roseboro on the head with his bat, setting off a near riot at Candlestick;

*1970 - the 49ers win their first Division championship, shock the Minnesota Vikings in Minnesota in the playoffs, then lose to frickin' Dallas at Kezar Stadium for the right to go to Super Bowl V;

*1971 - The last hurrah for Mays, McCovey, and Marichal, as the Giants win the division on the last day of the season; sadly, Pittsburgh and the great Roberto Clemente knock the Giants out in the LCS, 3 games to 1

*1972 - The last hurrah for John Brodie, who comes off the bench in the final game of the regular season for an ineffective Steve Spurrier, and rallies the 49ers in the fourth quarter, hitting Dick
Witcher with the winning TD pass with about 30 seconds left; the Niners would then blow a 28-16 4th quarter lead to frickin' Dallas in the opening round of the playoffs, which hurt, but probably not as much as Raider fans hurt that day...

*1975 - The Golden State Warriors win their lone NBA championship, relying on an ego-maniac, a gravelly voiced coach, and quite possibly the best team play the NBA has ever seen (Russell's Celtics and the 69-70 Knicks are probably the only better examples)

*1978 - The Giants have a renaissance, stay in first much of the year, and cause my first bout of heartache late in the season as they fade from contention

*1981 - This happens...at the time, the happiest day of my life...little did we know that it would be the start of the most dominant stretch of NFL football by one franchise

*1982 - The Giants break my heart again (lefty Al Holland, ready to go in the bullpen, but Frank Robinson leaves righty Fred Breining to face Dodger slugger Rick Monday, a lefty, and Monday crushes a grand slam to really knock the Giants out of the race-fortunately, the Giants answer

*1983 - 49ers are ROBBED by the refs in the NFC championship game, with two questionable calls going against them, and the Redskins go to the Super Bowl, where they get spanked

*1984 - Now, THAT'S more like it!

*1985 - The 49ers trade up in the draft, move one slot ahead of Dallas, and take the player the Cowboys wanted - a wide receiver from Mississippi Valley State, Jerry Rice

*1987 - The Giants win their first division title in 16 years, hold a 3 games to 2 lead in the LCS, then fail to score a run in the final two games; I've never seen my Mom madder then when Atlee Hammaker gave up a 3-run homer in Game 7 to Jose Oquendo

*1988 - The 49ers win their 3rd Super Bowl, thanks to key plays during the season, and the greatest drive to win a Super Bowl

*1989 - Great year for the Bay Area, as the Giants win the pennant, the A's win the pennant, and the 49ers dominate the NFL, culminating in the biggest blowout in Super Bowl history

*1990 - Alas, no three-peat for the 49ers; thank you, Leonard Marshall...

*1992 - I attend what was thought to be the last San Francisco Giant game ever, and I admit, it was very, very dusty that day...

*1993 - Thanks to Peter Magowan, there would be Giants baseball in San Francisco for years and years to come; oh, they also signed a free agent that winter, Barry something...

*1994 - Niners win their 5th Super Bowl, becoming the first team to reach that milestone; this is the funnest team of the five, with so many characters (Ricky Watters, William Floyd, and the one and only Prime Time)

*1997 - Brian Johnson, anyone?

*1998 - The Catch, part II

*1999 - Giants play their last game at Candlestick Park

*2000 - Giants begin play at Pac Bell Park, win the division, but fall to the Mets in the LDS

*2001 - That Barry guy for the Giants? Bigger, stronger, hits 73 HRs*

*2002 - 49ers provide fans with the biggest comeback in playoff history; the Giants? Still can't talk about game 6 of the World Series without getting very angry.

*2003 - Giants knocked out by Florida in the LDS; my feelings? Best expressed here.

*2007 - The Warriors make an appearance! Great post-season run, highlighted by this. And the Barry guy ends his career*

And now? Well, the Giants have pieces in place, but still need a bat; the 49ers seem to be the "sexy" pick out of the NFC West this year; the Warriors?

Yes, I like my teams; not only for what they've done in the past, but what they continue to do, but most importantly, the teams are a link to where I'm from, and continue to identify with; I can only hope my little one continues to exhibit the same enthusiasm I have for these ever-changing groups of athletes as I will always show.