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.
Oracle Park is now open for baseball (no restrictions) but we all hope that everyone is vaccinated and covid free.
It’s almost September and the Giants hopes for the Playoffs are slim (but not non-existent)
The last two weeks have been rough. The G-Men are 4 games under .500 for the season and struggling to get back to having a legitimate shot at the third wild card (if the other teams in the hunt collapse). They are something like 7 games back of the last wild card spot and got swept by the bottom feeding Tigers and then by the Twins. It does not look good. Crawford is out of sorts and is having the worst season of his career, the pitchers are giving up big hits in the worst situations, the relievers look lost, and the defense is tentative (and often sloppy from trying too hard). Other than that, its happy town at Oracle Park.
This next month is a special time in baseball. This is when the studs in the minor leagues are called up to see what they can do, and there are some real baseball players right now in Sacramento and the lower leagues. It’s time to see what they can do; especially Heliot Ramos, David Villar and Isan Diaz. The rosters expand on September 1st and who gets called up is important for the last gasp run at a wild card, and to see what next year looks like. We expect surprises from Farhan in September. It’s time.
What Happened to the Veterans this Year?
That’s the major question to be addressed in the off-season. The Giants depended on Buster to keep the team together and, when he retired, the cohesion between the defense and the pitching was adversely affected (that’s a euphemism for went into the tank). Nothing against Joey Bart, who is starting to look like he’s coming into his own, but his ups and downs this season have been well documented and he is just now coming around with a new swing and new confidence. Stability at catcher is essential and it was a mistake to let Casali go to the Mariners.
The Brandon’s, on the other hand, may be done. Belt has had injury after injury, and I suspect will retire after this season (with two WS rings and a tip of the captain’s hat). Crawford has had his worst season at the plate in his career and may hang it up. He has nothing left to play for except pride. We will see at the end of September and meanwhile will watch the minor league players in the Giants system, especially Marco Luciano – the Giants SS of the future.
Coming up next, the Padres and the Phillies
There is not much to say about these two series except that if the G-Men don’t get their act together we will watch the WS in NY (the Yankees are the team to beat – you didn’t expect me to comment on the team that shall not be named, did you?)
Both the Padres and the Phillies are in a race for the wild card – the Phillies are 72 and 56, 11 games in front of the Giants, and the Padres are 70 and 59, 9 games in front of the Orange and Black. There is motivation aplenty by the G-Men to take the upcoming two series because after that they go to LA for 3 games, travel to Milwaukee for a doubleheader and end up with a three-game series against the Cubs in Chicago before coming home to take on the Dodgers and Atlanta at home.
September promises to be exciting…
On the board ready to be picked up are:
TUES 8/30 – Padres [6:45] - 4
FRI 9/2 – Phillies [7:15] – 3 – I’m going
SAT 9/3 – Phillies [1:05] – 4
SUN 9/4 – Phillies [1:05] – 4
Let the torture continue.
Ciao, and GO GIANTS!
The Czar
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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 19 foul balls myself over 22 years and am looking for more. If we don’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.
Oh, and BTW, The Czar found the original Hinman & Carmichael brick from 2000 (after looking for it every year since 2000) and found H&C’s Gotham Club Founders Bat! If you are on the patio, or in the Club, look for the symbols of baseball!
