Forever Giants:1990 San Francisco Giants Year 33 (108)

1989 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season.  The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1990 82-80

C Terry Kennedy 1.4 

1B Will Clark 3.4 

2B Robby Thompson 2.3

SS Jose Uribe .5

3B Matt Williams 4.35 

LF Kevin Mitchell 4.55

CF Brett Butler 5.2 (15.9)

RF Kevin Bass -.15

C Gary Carter 1.45

RF Mike Kingery .85

Uti Greg Litton -.05

RF Rick Leach 1.1

IF Ernie Riles .6

OF Rick Parker .25

SS Dave Anderson 1.1

SP John Burkett  1.9

SP Scott Garrelts  .5

SP Don Robinson .25

SP Trevor Wilson .95

SP Rick Reuschel .9 

RP Jeff Brantley 4.5

-We give back a ton of pythag wins in our worst season since '85. We got no-hit by former Giant Mulholland. Brett Butler moves on.  

Forever Giants:1989 National League Champion San Francisco Giants Year 32 (107)

1988 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season.  The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1989 – 92-70 NL Champs (d. Cubs 4-1, lost to A’s 4-0)

C Terry Kennedy 1.75

1B Will Clark 9.05

2B Robby Thompson 5.15 

SS Jose Uribe  1.5 

3B Ernie Riles 1.75 

LF Kevin Mitchell  7.9

CF Brett Butler  3.75

RF Candy Maldonado 1.2 

3B Matt Williams 1.9 

C Kirt Manwaring .05 

OF Donnell Nixon -.05

OF Pat Sheridan .65

IF Greg Litton .7

3B Ken Oberkfell .95

OF Tracy Jones -.95

SP Rick Reuschel 3.35 

SP Don Robinson 1.9

SP Scott Garrelts 4.3 

SP Mike LaCoss .75

RP Craig Lefferts 1.1

-The Giants win the pennant for the first time since '62; winning the West, beating the Cubs in the NLCS, then swept by the A's in the Earthquake Series.  Clark has the best season for a Giant since '66 and the best season for a first baseman in organization history. Mitchell wins the MVP and has the best LF season in organization history. Thompson has the best second base season in San Francisco history.  Speier and Brenly both finish.

Forever Giants:1988 San Francisco Giants Year 31 (106)

1987 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season.  The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1988 86-76

C Bob Melvin .95 

1B Will Clark 7.4

2B Robby Thompson 3.35 

SS Jose Uribe 1.3

3B Kevin Mitchell 3.25 

LF Mike Aldrete 1.85 

CF Brett Butler 6.95

RF Candy Maldonado .55

C Bob Brenly -.3

2B Chris Speier 1.15

3B Ernie Riles 2

LF Jeffrey Leonard -.2

3B Matt Williams .85

OF Joel Youngblood .1

C Kirt Manwaring .25

SP Rick Reuschel  4.1

SP Mike Krukow 1.2 

SP Kelly Downs 2.2

SP Mike Lacoss .4

SP Don Robinson 2.8

SP Atlee Hammaker 0

RP Craig Lefferts 1.25

-The Dravecky cancer season.  

Forever Giants:1987 NL West Champion San Francisco Giants Year 30 (105)

1986 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season.  The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1987 93-69 NL West Champions (lost to Cards in NLCS in 7 games)

C Bob Brenly 3.9

1B Will Clark 4.6

2B Robby Thompson 1.55

SS Jose Uribe 3.2 

3B Kevin Mitchell 2.75

LF Jeffrey Leonard .9

CF Chili Davis 1.55 (17.05) Last season

RF Candy Maldonado 2.5 

1B Mike Aldrete 3.7

SS Chris Speier 1.9

SS Matt Williams .4

C Bob Melvin 1.05 

CF Eddie Milner .75

3B Chris Brown -.2

1B Harry Spillman -.1

SP Kelly Downs 2.05

SP Mike LaCoss 1.9 

SP Atlee Hammaker  2.25 

SP Mike Krukow  -.25 

SP Dave Dravecky 2.2

RP Scott Garrelts 2.3

RP Jeff Robinson 2.5

-93 pythagorean wins, there hadn't been a better Giants club since '62.  The Giants had a 3-2 NLCS lead but couldn't close out the Cardinals to win their first pennant since that season.  We made the Mitchell deal, Matt Williams came up - they joined Clark and Thompson from the year before and we see the core of this next phase of Giants clubs.  Speier returns after a decade; Minton and Chili are done.  Something interesting is that there were no drags on the entire roster; not a single Giant was worse than -.2 WAR. 

Tendown March 1 2015

Tendown 164 is here. This is Tendown 165

1. They still spank kids in some Florida public schools; which, juxtaposed with a 2015 reality that some parents in this country get police at their doors for letting their kids walk home from the park, is sort of astonishing.  Not astonishing - the race of the kids who get spanked.

2. O'Reilly tells so many lies. Falklands.  Kennedy.  El Salvador.  LA Riots. Also - all of this.

3. Here's the craziest right wing thought I've heard in awhile.

Walker argued that when Reagan fired the PATCO air-traffic controllers over their illegal strike, he was sending a message of toughness to Democrats and unions at home as well as our Soviet enemies abroad. Similarly, Walker believes his stance against unions in Wisconsin would be a signal of toughness to Islamic jihadists and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Lest you think this was a one off...he said it again.

4. What's Taibbi writing about this week? The NFL Combine.

5. What the hell is going on In Chicago?

6. I'll hold out for Bernhard Langer's breakfast burrito.

7. Two guys having good years.

    

8. I also, liked season one of Parks and Rec.

9. 30 Survivors. 30 Real Worlds. 30 Wrestlemanias.

10. I thought it was blue and brown.

And one more...

11. 

Lived long.  Prospered.

                    That's all for this time.  I'll be back next time.  If there is a next time...

Your pal,

                                                                              Jim.