"Around the Candlestick": New Blog Additions, LALA Land, Dave Roberts, Lewis and Jays Update

It's been a while since I have done one of these, so I figure it's time. Two quick points before I start this edition of "Around the Candlestick":

1.) Interested to see how this road trip will go (I am always nervous when we play the Marlins).

2.) Disappointing that the Cleveland Cavs might actually lose in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. Celtics could have pulled out game one and they annihilated in game two, and that was in Cleveland. LeBron (who is my favorite NBA player) may just be one of those players who might be jinxed in terms of winning a title (e.g. John Stockton, Karl Malone, Baron Davis...okay not Baron).


New Additions to the Giants Blogroll

There are some new faces to the Blogroll here at Remember '51. Crazy Crabbers, Grizzlies-Baseball, 22 Gigantes, Keith's Sports Journal, Bay Area Sports Guy and Golden Gate Giants are all new arrivals to the blogroll since the last edition of Around the Candlestick. Must say, they are all impressive blogs. Definitely check them out if you're looking for more Giants news and commentary.


Dodgerhater in Los Angeles and at Dodger Stadium


The Dodgerhater (run by Dan Pera) recently was in LA and visited Chavez Ravine. It's safe to say that he didn't enjoy his trip very much. He provides a good little diary of a Dodger game he went to and how the Dodgers and their fans (whom I don't like even more after this...I mean, c'mon! How many times do you catch a game ball?) tested his patience every step of the way. If you aren't familiar with the Dodgerhater blog and his feelings about the Bums, well...let's just say there's about as much love between them as Tito Ortiz and Jenna Jameson.

Good stuff, as always, from the Dodgerhater blog.


Dave Roberts Diagnosed With Lymphoma

I know on this blog I can be hard on guys. I criticize management (Brian Sabean and Bruce Bochy) and players (Eugenio Velez and Aaron Rowand) all the time. That being said, despite my avid biases of players and people within the Giants organization, I am human.

Roberts may not have turned out well as a Giant. He unfortunately was given too big of a contract and he was simply near the end of the road in his career to produce much. It simply proved to be an unfortunate match of Roberts and the Giants, and one in a long line of Sabean's "not so great moves" as general manager.

However, Roberts definitely deserves some thoughts and support as he goes through treatment of Hodgkin's lymphoma. Despite never really panning out on the field, Roberts was a class act off of it and he deserves nothing but positive hope right now from Giants nation.


Fred Lewis and Blue Jays Update

If you haven't checked out the Blue Jays blogroll on the Remember '51 page, definitely do so. It may not be the Giants, but the Jays blogs really are pretty cool to check out. My personal favorite is 1 Blue Jays Way, which was one of the first Blue Jays blogs I started to follow, pre-Fred Lewis trade/giveaway.

Speaking of Fred, how's he doing so far as a Jay? Well, not awesome, but he's starting to turn it around and he's getting consistent playing time, which is something you can't say he'd be getting this season in San Francisco.

Lewis' statline after 15 games: .232 batting average, .290 OBP, nine runs scored, five RBI, and three stolen bases. Lewis has struck out a lot (17 K's) and he hasn't backed it up with a lot of walks either (0.24 BB/K ratio), but the last few games, it seems as if he has really gotten comfortable at the plate. Already in today's game against the Indians, he has a hit, a walk and scored the Jays' first run in two at-bats.

It makes you, as a Giants fan, really wonder. The Jays are 14-13, and need every little bit to compete in the AL East. And yet, they hit Lewis leadoff (something Giants fans said he couldn't do) and manager Cito Gaston seems to be patient in terms of giving Lewis (and others like Travis Snider and Jose Bautista) a chance.

I know Jays fans may hate me saying this, but I would rather have Gaston managing ball games than Bochy. If Bochy was managing the Jays, Lewis and Snider would have been buried already for free agent Eric Byrnes. (Because...as we know...Byrnes is a "gamer" and a "veteran.")

Update for those who follow Remember '51 blog

Because of certain work responsibilities, the blog here is going to take a hit. I will try to make time to write articles from time to time (especially with the stretch run in full bloom and the Giants still in the thick of things), but a lot of things are going to take a hit.

Here are two things that won't be going anymore on the blog at the time being:

The PG Beat and Potent Preview.

I'm sorry, but I simply don't have the time to write those pieces anymore, and instead of doing them swiftly, I'd rather just not do them at all. However, I will try to post a lot of my Bleacher Report articles on here as well as other pieces that will solely be written on this blog (and later transferred to Bleacher Report).

Also, if you haven't noticed, a lot of the articles have follow a Sabermetrics slant. For those who hate that stuff, don't worry, the articles won't permanently take that slant, but I want to try out some articles with the Sabermetrics angles after finally getting a better understanding of Sabermetrics this summer.

That is all for now. Let's Go Giants and let's hope Tim Lincecum mows the Phils down again. Giants pitchers have been looking awesome lately. In the words of Dorothy Macha (Ray Liotta from "Revolver") Fear us Dodgers and Rockies fans.