A Great Read

I vividly remember being home from college back in the early '70's, and after dinner I picked up Mario Puzo's "The Godfather" and settled in on the living room couch. The next time I moved other than to turn pages it was 6AM.

Now that's how I define a good book.

I usually do my personal reading just before I go to sleep. There is always a book or three next to my bed. Right now I've got "Strokes of Genius," an accounting of the great 2008 Wimbledon final between Nadal and Federer. And I just also picked up "The Corporal Was a Pitcher," the story of Lou Brissie, who was severly wounded in WWII (the big one) but went on to have more than a cup of coffee in the Bigs.

I generally read for a few pages, and then give Sue and Max a break by shutting off the light. I can't remember ever again reading straight through to 6AM, but occasionally something touches me deep enough that I just can't put it down. I remember finishing Posnanski's "The Soul of Baseball" at about 3AM. Same with Michael Lewis' "The Blind Side." And a number of years ago I read Rick Reilly's hilarious "Missing Links" virtually straight through.

It's one of the great pleasures in life to enjoy the combination of great writing and great story that hypnotizes you. And there's always a little sadness when you finish it.

Last week I dragged into work dead tired for a couple of days because I had been up past 1AM on school nights reading S.L. Price's "The Heart of the Game." It is the twin stories of two baseball "lifers", Mike Coolbaugh and Tino Sanchez, men who had spent their professional lives in the minor leagues. Their lives intersected like a train crash when Sanchez, a veteran minor leaguer playing out the string, crushed a foul ball. An instant later the ball hit recently retired and now hitting and 1st base coach Coolbaugh in the head, killing him instantly. The lives of all of the Sanchez and Coolbaugh families changed forever in that instant.

It's more than a little dark. Price's depiction of the laborious rise of both players through the minors shows a system designed to create failure and frustration. So many talented players are never really given the proper opportunity. And yet playing professional team sports does allow these young men the chance to have relationships with teammates and coaches and scouts and others who devote their lives to the game that last a lifetime. Unfortunately for Coolbaugh, his was tragically short.

I've been reading a lot of great sports books over the past few years. Believe me, Price can write. You'll be crying before the end of page 3. If you love baseball, this one's a keeper.

A Little Tricked By Nick

OK, I got it wrong. Nick Johnson did not sign with the Giants, but instead is now one of the designated hitters for the Yankees. One year, $5.5 million.

But did you know that the Giants offered more? Rumor says $6 million to be the starting first baseman, and my insidde authorities were surprised that they didn't get him. The lure of the ring, I suspect. Am i the only one who thinks the next decade could look like the 1950's for the Yankees?

So here is what I think the Giants' move will be: a trade with the marlins for Dan Uggla. The trade will NOT include Jonathan Sanchez, as has been rumored. And Uggla will play second, with Freddie Sanchez moving to third and Pablo moving to first.

Bhy the way, i still don't understand why the Giants don't move Posey to a position and make Pablo their catcher. I'm just not convinced Posey's a catcher. His butt just isn't big enough.

Yesterday on Damon Bruce's Sports Phone show on KNBR, he offered the Tuesday Trifecta of the following questions:

1 - What was your favorite game, any sport, of the past decade?
2 - What do you predict will be different in sports in the next decade?
3 - What do you recommend as a last minute holiday gift for ?

My answers, none of which I heard:

1 - My favorite game was game #160 at Pac Bell Park in 2001. It was Friday night, and the Giants were playing the Dodgers in the final series of the season. They had to sweep the series to have a shot at the wild card. Barry had blasted #70 off a Houston rookie into the upper deck at Enron Field the night before.

The atmosphere before the game was electric. An hour before the game, the field club was packed. The Houston game was on the monitors. Barry broke the record in the 2nd inning, and then broke it again in his 2nd at bat. Chan Ho Park gave up both homers, and is famous for punching out a mirror in the locker room after he was pulled from the game. The Giants sent the Dodgers a bill for the repair.

The Giants went on to lose in a thriller, 10-9, and after the game, which ended after midnight, they had fireworks.

2 - The Bud Selig era will be over.

3 - For Pablo Sandoval - a legitimate power hitter to hit behind him.

Our Cheap Bastards

The Giants insist that they would like to sign Bengie Molina for 1 year while their future catcher, Buster Posey, learns how to catch. Ready for prime time? Not yet, Buster. Overlooking his difficulties hitting in the majors, have you actually seen him catch? He’s going to get some home plate umpire killed some day.

They are trying to get a mediocre old guy to sign for one year. Now it appears mediocre old guys are in vogue – IRod has signed for 2 years for real money. Does anyone see Torrealba hitting more than 4 homers in Telephone Park?

Now I don’t think Bengie Molina is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but he did hit 20 dingers. Hey, I get it that they aren’t going to sign him because Bengie can definitely get a multi-year contract from somebody.

So if that is true, why didn’t the Giants offer him arbitration? Isn’t that the best of all worlds? If somehow he stays, he’s signed for 1 year. OK, it will be expensive, but it’s for 1 year while Posey learns how to catch an outside pitch. But come on, he’s not going to stay. This is his last chance to make some bread. He’s got to sign with somebody else. And if he does, the Giants get not one, but two high draft picks.

Where, exactly, is the downside?

That would be in the Giants’ owners’ wallets. Those high draft picks cost money, sometimes real money. The Giants, with their self-proclaimed best farm system in baseball, don’t want to shell it out.

Do you remember when the Giants signed Michael Tucker as a free agent? Tucker had been playing for the Royals in 2003, having hit .262 and 13 homers. The Giants signed him to be the right fielder du jour in 2004. But they signed him the day BEFORE the arbitration offering deadline, which meant that the Giants had to forfeit their 1^st round draft choice. The Royals were not going to offer him arbitration. The Giants rushed the deal to beat the deadline so they could get rid of their draft pick so they would not have to pay a big signing bonus. This is not speculation – this is what they said publicly when they did the deal.

So this year they decided they didn’t want any more of those nasty, expensive bonus babies, so they didn’t offer Bengie the arbitration he was never, ever going to take.

And that’s your Giants’ Replay.