Welcome to Czar’s blog #5 of 2019.
The available games, dates and number of tickets will be shown at the end of the blog before the rules. Remember when you email me back to identify the game, the date and the number of tickets you want. Please whitelist my email so you get the blog posts and ticket offers all season long.
It is Time to Rebuild
The Giants are struggling right now. They are playing .500 ball on the current road trip against the other struggling NL teams (the ones in the NL East – the Marlins, Baltimore and the Mets). The G-Men are 16 games back of the Dodgers and appear fated to be looking up at division leaders at least until the All-Star break (and probably longer), when we will hear about trade plans for the good pieces of the team – Bumgarner, Crawford, Belt, Panik and Longoria. Every single position player is on the block but probably not the pitchers except for Bum and maybe Will Smith, and probably not Posey, who will be the mentor for Joey Bart when he comes up.
I’d review the statistics but they are depressing; I would rather focus on enjoying the game. When our best batter (Belt) is hitting .249 you know we have problems. Rebuilding need not take years but it needs to start now, and it needs to be supported by the fan base. Being a fair weather fan is unseemly – baseball is like life
Is there hope?
Yes there is. We are looking at good players in the farm system (Bart, Ramos) and a good draft. If we pick up good players in trades the season may not yet be completely lost. One ten game winning streak could put the G-Men back in contention for a playoff wild card spot. That happens in baseball, a lot.
Bob Feller on where we are now:
Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday’s success or put its failures behind and start over again. That’s the way life is, with a new game every day, and that’s the way baseball is.
Fan Support
This is tough. Even our tickets (which are the best seats in the park) are not in demand. This is the time to step up and support the team. This is Bochy’s last year. After four world series and three Championships, he and the team deserve our loyalty. I have been a fan since 1958 when the Giants arrived in San Francisco (I was 12). I have a long memory and those that are loyal now and demonstrate it by coming out to see the team, win or lose, will be rewarded when the tide turns.
The Upcoming Series
This is an important series against the Dodgers and Padres in the division, and against the Brewers, tied for the lead in the NL Central with the Cubs. LA, leading the division by 10 games, features the new rock star of baseball (Cody Bellinger) and the usual compliment of obnoxious LA fans dissing the G-Men and acting like the idiots they are. The Padres are a better test because the Giants need to move up in the standings and taking that series would be a good place to start. The Brew Crew features Christian Yelich, batting .320 and looking even more all-world than Bellinger. This is a good team and at least the Brewers fans are humans.
On the board ready to be picked up are:
FRI 6/7 v. LA (7:15 -3). I’m going to this game and need company
SAT 6/8 v. LA (4:15 -4) – Kuiper or Krukow Gnome night
TUES 6/11 v. Padres (6:45 – 4)
WED 6/12 v. Padres (6:45 -2) – LGBT Night, a SF tradition!
FRI 6/14 v. Brewers (7:15 -4)
SAT 6/15 v. Brewers (1:05 -4) -Giants cap
SUN 6/16 v. Brewers (1:05-4) - Father’s Day socks
That’s it!
Ciao, and GO GIANTS!
The Czar
THE PROTOCOL: the firm has four seats in Section 118 (Premium Lower Boxes), Rows 25 and 26. These are awesome seats directly below the press box and 25 rows behind home plate on the left side behind the screen. It is foul ball territory for left-handed batters so bring your glove – I have collected 16 foul balls myself over 19 years, and I am looking for more (although since the screens were raised in 2018 it’s become tougher to get a ball). If we can't use all the tickets ourselves (or clients and friends of the firm don't claim them by calling me and reserving a game), then my next step is to give the tickets TO THE FIRST PERSON WHO GETS BACK TO ME PROVIDED THAT THEY ARE SERIOUS. If you ask for the tickets and don't use them, you will be taken off the list unless there is a seriously good reason. There will be a wait list.
When there are four seats available (we split up a lot of games) we will allocate the tickets two and two if the first people back just want two tickets. You can also go for four and might get them. I'm the Czar, my call.