All Time San Francisco Giants Starting 9: 1990-99

The 80s are here.

The number is my WAR, made from combining baseball-reference and Davenport.  

C Kurt Manwaring 1993 2.9
-You've got to go all the way to tenth best through '99 to get the best catching season of the 90s.

1B Will Clark 1992 5.9
-Clark's third best as a Giant was the best of the decade.

2B Robby Thompson 1993 6.9
-The two best second basemen yet were both from the 90s, this is the best.

SS Royce Clayton 1993 3.35
-5th best shortstop season yet.

3B Matt Williams 1993 5.75
-The strike killed what would have been the best season, Williams almost reached this same level in '94.

LF Barry Bonds 1996 10.15
-Top 5 left field seasons ever as of '99 - all Bonds.  This is the best season of the decade. Bonds had the top 5 seasons of the decade.  

CF Brett Butler 1990 4.55
-Only the 15th best season for a center fielder, but the best of the decade.

RF Willie McGee 1992 1.8
-Just a black hole; why didn't Bonds win a WS?  His greatness was balanced by the zero production we got for the entire decade in right.

SP Shawn Estes 1997 4.65
-It's just the 33rd best starting pitching performance though '99 - but the best in the decade.  

RP Robb Nen 1998 5
-second best year for a Giants reliever yet

Bizarro Giants:

P Terry Mulholland 1995 -2.3
-worst Giants pitching performance yet; Mulholland and JAlou the only negative 2 WAR SFG in the 20th century

#FarewellCandlestick: The 100 Greatest Moments in Candlestick Park History #88

#89 is here.

#88 September 11, 1999 Barry Hits 2000

Not many of Barry Bonds's milestones occurred at Candlestick, but his 2000th hit did - a 4th inning double off Tom Glavine as part of a Giants win.

Tomorrow  #87

AL Playoff Predictions - A Giant Fan Roots for the A's

I hit both the Wild Card games and the AL knockout game - here I picked the Dodgers to come out of the NL.

Red Sox v. Rays
Tigers v. A's

Boston's got an enormous pythag advantage over the Rays, 13 wins; that isn't determinative; I've got the Dodgers beating both Atlanta and St Louis in the NL despite a similar disparity.  And I see a little bit of the Dodgers in the Rays; if Price/Moore turn out to be the Kershaw/Greinke of the AL playoffs (especially in this series, since they have a platoon split over Ortiz) that wouldn't surprise. Well, Moore would surprise a little, but for symmetry he's included even though it's Price who I'm locking on.

I've flipped on this series a couple of times; Boston (like St Louis) has the kind of depth that gets you to a 100 pythag wins..and Tampa, even with Longoria and a returning Jennings, doesn't necessarily have the same kind of Hanley Ramirez like clear difference between today and the balance of the season.

By the slightest possible lean, I'll take Price to win twice and the Rays to keep it going.

I am an unabashed A's fan; they squeeze every drop out of the talent pool available. I've never had the type of A's hatred that many of their fans have for my club (Rickey Henderson's my all time favorite non-Giant) save for a couple of seasons after they clubbed us to death in '89.  My ideal result would be an Oakland World Series win (which would also, to some extent, serve the "wake up the Giants" function that I'm looking for with a Dodger pennant).

I don't think it comes here; Detroit's my pick to win the pennant; prior to this season, Verlander has been the best pitcher in baseball for a couple of years, and he seemed to return to form late in the year.  Scherzer was second on my Cy Young ballot but will win the actual award - and if you operate on the belief that Cabrera's late season rest was largely to ready him for October, that gives the Tigers both the best arms and bat.

That would give us a Dodgers/Tigers series; I'll revisit in the unlikely event it actually occurs.

NFL Supercontest Week 5

Last week is here.

I'm 8-12 through 4 weeks.

Det +7 GB loss
Indianapolis +3 Seattle win
Philly +2.5 NYG win
Arizona +2 Carolina win
Tenn + 2.5 KC loss

3-2
11-14