tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109924602008-05-21T16:39:00.424-07:00PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comBlogger381125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-59585115685841296432008-05-21T16:33:00.000-07:002008-05-21T16:39:00.454-07:00

Writing a blog is a habit. Not writing a blog can get to be a habit mighty fast. The poker boys have been complaining: "You're in first place, where is Sour Grapes?"The toughest part of going for a run are the first 3 steps. For the 89th time (give or take) here are my first 3 steps. I’ll write about the Giants and all of the BABI teams soon enough, but I just want to dip my toe in the water

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-66382128961012987092008-04-07T11:28:00.000-07:002008-04-07T11:31:57.962-07:00

Today is the Giants’ home opener, and just as it is supposed to happen, I flipped on the TV this morning with my morning coffee and found the old Ray Milland classic playing on HBO. We all love that movie, but we should remember that at its heart, it is about cheating – applying a chemical substance to the ball. On the other hand, what is funnier than watching King Kelly’s “hop” pitch. I started

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-1861003133084193042008-03-31T16:39:00.000-07:002008-04-03T12:15:10.165-07:00

It’s opening day, and despite the Giants performing about as well as we all expected (take the under 72.5 games, the UNDER), and despite Kerry Wood getting crushed today, it’s a wonderful day of baseball. Today I finally finished David Halberstam’s “October, 1964” a history of the 1964 baseball season which finished with the Cardinals defeating the Yankees in 7 games. I remember that world

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-20394427599385863412008-03-29T11:31:00.000-07:002008-03-29T11:38:54.086-07:00

I really don’t have time to do this, but I know you all are counting on me to explain what happened yesterday. We here at Sour Grapes aim to please. Before I begin, I need to make a statement. When I write these recaps of keeper lists and the auction itself, it is obviously from the perspective of our vision of value. As a result, our team always looks better to us because we follow OUR

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-10844121845182323552008-03-27T12:27:00.000-07:002008-03-27T12:31:42.437-07:00

No baseball here. Hillary Clinton’s gaffe this week about her claims that she came under hostile sniper fire in Bosnia while first lady has me bugged. She claimed multiple times, both in a speech and in interviews, that she and little Chelsea had to run for cover as soon as they landed for a visit in 1996. "I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of greeting

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-17523987674305390632008-03-19T10:21:00.000-07:002008-03-19T10:24:35.755-07:00

From the Chicago Tribune: “Piniella also announced Tuesday he would announce his closer by the end of this week. Kerry Wood, the probable closer, will pitch back-to-back outings for the first time this spring Wednesday and Thursday.” We should know by tomorrow night if our $3 Mr. Wood will be the closer for the Cubbies to start the season. He’s been excellent since his second outing this

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-11092603701424974732008-03-10T14:52:00.000-07:002008-03-10T14:54:42.743-07:00

OK, I was wrong, but I was close. There was a wake for McNulty. I was right about that. He just wasn’t dead. Now how could I guess that alternative? I loved the final episode. We got to see There were some incredible lines: Norman – “The Commissioner is about to have a Come to Damascus moment.” Rawls – “You’re a cunt hair away from being indicted.” Vinson - "That sentimental

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-9852109340793569262008-03-09T13:25:00.000-07:002008-03-09T13:37:05.999-07:00

No, not of the blog. In just 5 hours, after 2 weeks of impatiently waiting, I’ll be watching the final episode of television’s greatest series, The Wire. If you haven’t been watching, and apparently that is a lot of you, well – you just don’t know. The best writing, the best acting, the best conception – it’s perfect. Perfect except it will soon be gone. BEWARE – POTENTIAL SPOILER COMING If

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-6750361474768076082008-03-04T09:53:00.001-08:002008-03-04T09:53:59.749-08:00

This is a stat line that speaks for itself: ………….. IP..H…R…ER..BB..SO..HR N Lowry 1….0…4…..4..…9….0…..0 Technically, it was a no hitter. I’d say if the Bums were thinking about keeping him, they probably changed their mind yesterday. Speaking of the Bums, they have hiding on their potential keeper list Mike Hampton at a buck. He’s looking like the #4 starter in Atlanta this season. The

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-49858684770207645722008-03-03T16:05:00.000-08:002008-03-03T16:17:45.487-08:00

I’ve been a bit busy these days, working 7 day weeks, so the blog is getting a little spotty. Here is a classic blog entry, a quick one based on an observation yesterday. I was “on the road” yesterday, meeting with some big clients on the Peninsula. After a meeting in Los Gatos, I had a craving for some ice cream, and stopped at a Baskins nearby. Of course, I was looking for my classic coffee

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-16705340727736166792008-02-27T19:20:00.000-08:002008-02-27T19:23:31.010-08:00

There will be a number of high priced closers available this season in the BABI draft. We assume that the following will be kept: Capps - 5 (Cartel) Corpas - 2 (Cartel) Gregg – 5 (Hobo) C. Cordero – 24 (Hobo, on a contract) F. Cordero - 27 (Bats, probably) Isringhausen – 24 (Pounders) R. Soriano – 12 (Cappers) Wilson – 11 (Falkuhns, nice FAAB pickup) All of those team situations are settled

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-20522394446725162052008-02-26T18:18:00.000-08:002008-02-26T18:23:46.521-08:00

Sorry, boys, I’ve been sick this week, and just don’t have the gumption to keep up with both the mountains of work and the mountains of phlegm in addition to the molehill that is this blog. But I did read something this week, that I’ll write about, and get back to it in a couple of days. I’ve been reading historical sports books by great writers, and am currently working on some of the late,

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-7659456356023054282008-02-21T18:02:00.000-08:002008-02-21T18:11:21.420-08:00

Grant over at McCovey Chronicles wrote something very funny yesterday. He linked to a San Jose Mercury article in which Aaron Rowand recommended the Giants trade for his former White Sox teammate, third baseman Joe Crede. Here is the quote that got to Grant: The Giants might be able to get Crede without parting with a pitcher like Jonathan Sanchez. Outfielder Fred Lewis is out of options and

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-69498097382260382712008-02-21T14:08:00.000-08:002008-02-21T14:14:47.905-08:00

Unless you are playing in a keeper league and you have an incredible keeper list, when the auction is over you are going to be short stats in some categories. Maybe you’ve got lots of power but not enough steals, or you’ve got plenty of saves but not enough starting pitching, or the starting pitching you’ve got isn’t very good. Something is going to be lacking. Of course, you will have gotten

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-16730888276599340722008-02-20T13:14:00.000-08:002008-02-20T13:19:22.818-08:00

Several years ago the Pickled Pecklers proposed that all the teams in BABI throw in all their cards and start over. There is so much inflation that has built up over time, we thought it would be fun to have a complete auction where everyone starts exactly even. The owners debated this mightily, and then we were mightily hooted down. I specifically remember a conversation with Mr. Leaguer in

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-40174280843459883142008-02-19T10:40:00.000-08:002008-02-19T10:46:02.966-08:00

Bonana Fanna Fo Fanna. Can we all agree that despite all the protestations of “good chemistry” and “aggressiveness” and “speed” that the Giants’ offense is going to stink this season? Here is the projected lineup according to Lefty, give or take one crappy player for another: LF- Roberts/Davis 3B - Frandsen RF - Winn C - Molina CF - Rowand 2B - Durham 1B - Ortmeier SS - Vizquel Pitcher The

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-20788646447668084172008-02-15T13:23:00.000-08:002008-02-15T13:31:05.724-08:00

I want to follow up about Johan Santana’s value this year and the value and consistency of super starting pitchers. There will be a lot of historical pitching lines in this piece, but I’d like to start with a challenge: Here are the pitching lines of a Hall of Famer in consecutive years. Can you name him? Answer at the end, but try this, and don’t peek! Year 1 – 323 IP, 23 Wins, 1.75 ERA,

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-84339215646284970342008-02-13T18:00:00.000-08:002008-02-15T14:55:31.755-08:00

The one monster player that went from the AL to the NL this off season is new Met, Johan Santana. So what is he worth in BABI? Shandler projects the following numbers: 232 IP 20-6 W-L record 2.87 ERA 1.03 WHIP Let’s compare that to our last two Cy Young winners: 2007 Jake Peavy 223 IP 19-6 W-L record 2.54 ERA 1.06 WHIP 2006 Brandon Webb 235 IP 16-8 W-L record 3.10 ERA 1.13 WHIP I was

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-44296208869076841622008-02-12T12:58:00.000-08:002008-02-12T13:03:22.759-08:00

In today’s paper we saw the following item involving a Pickled Peckler: Padres agreed to terms with first baseman Tony Clark on a one-year, $900,000 contract. Not exactly the two-year, $3 million deal the Diamondbacks reportedly offered him. Clark will primarily provide a power threat off the bench, but also could spell Adrian Gonzalez at first from time to time. He's a switch hitter, but is

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-17703977355232303432008-02-10T13:24:00.000-08:002008-02-10T13:28:11.938-08:00

I finally got Rotolab installed this week. The Doc set up the projected rosters, and I refined it. Based on Baseball HQ’s preliminary projections and our guess at the keeper and contract decisions, BABI breaks into 4 three team tiers. Top Tier – Bums, Cartel and Old Rips The Champs have a great, deep keeper list, but the key profits are in two farm players entering their second year at $5:

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-33686718739396057412008-02-09T11:09:00.000-08:002008-02-09T11:12:02.175-08:00

A really great friend of the Pickled Pecklers, Jeff Tiret, passed away yesterday. He was one of our tennis buddies, and among them, he was truly special. Many of the widespread Tiret family are tennis-playing members of the O Club, and the tennis fortunes of the Tiret and Peckler families became intertwined in a way that we really just became one big tennis-playing extended family. I remember

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-66516381248485021472008-02-08T17:05:00.000-08:002008-02-08T17:22:44.514-08:00

Grant over at the McCovey Chronicles wrote a piece about describing the SF Giants in just 6 words. He wrote a few himself, and then turned it over to his readers. You’ve got to read the comments. They are hilarious.My favorite of Grant's is: Meal ticket indicted. Team even worse.Here are a few of the better ones from the peanut gallery:Nvsfg wrote about Aaron Rowand: Size twenty heart. Size ten

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-24811905787641672482008-02-07T14:20:00.001-08:002008-02-07T14:23:55.127-08:00

George Carlin doesn't understand that phrase. Why would anyone want to Take a Dump? He thinks it makes more sense to Leave a Dump. We went ahead and bought a 3 month subscription to Shandler’s Baseball HQ. No one on their staff has any sense of humor. It’s like eating Grape Nuts dry. But we did it because we have to own something to allow me to take a break from tax returns periodically

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-42805390141368109762008-02-04T09:37:00.000-08:002008-02-04T09:38:54.301-08:00

Well, I guess I got that wrong. This is why I don't bet on football. Good game. Here's to the '72 Dolphins. Again. Finally. It's baseball season. Play Ball!!!

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10992460.post-21973336418041605792008-02-03T15:35:00.000-08:002008-02-03T15:37:01.801-08:00

The game just started and I want to put my predictions in writing: I'll take the Patriots and give 12. I'll take the OVER 54. Tomorrow we can start talking baseball seriously.

PEFACommishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02655825814861100652noreply@blogger.com