So quite a few things have taken place these last couple of weeks for the San Francisco Giants. First of all they renewed Madison Bumgarner's contract so he will be with the team I believe until 2017. It is not that I don't think he deserves the money or contract but I think that the SF Giants are becoming a brand rather than a baseball team. Since they won the 2011 World Series which Bumgarner had a huge role in the Giants are known for there pitching staff. One of the strongest in the league which draws a lot of attention to the team. Tim Lincecum and his long hair, as well as Brian Wilson's "Fear the Beard" all of these things have become more iconic for the Giants than their actual performance on the field. Today when you go to a game no one is involved anymore instead the are spending hundreds of dollars on merchandise and taking pictures to post on Facebook. The Giants rough start this season has reflected the point I am making. With more losses than wins I want to know will the Giants craze come to an end if their performance on the field continues to be poor. They need to get back to the basics and play ball. Brian needs to shave that ridiculous beard and they need to be giving attention to players who are good players not players who will simply fill the park with fans. Of course it is the goal to make money so the team can continue to play but I would like to see more investment in talent and see fans who want to understand and appreciate the sport. I found this article about a young man 24 years old who plays for their minor league team, the San Jose Giants. The kids name is Snodgrass and he pitched six straight shut out inning against the Bakersfield team. In the interview at the end of the game he says his goal for the season are to "win as many games as possible". This to me should be everyones mindset. Since the Giants won the world series our whole team spirit has gone down greatly. Unlike the St. Louis Cardinals who are first in their division in the standings right now and just won the 2012 World Series. I think the key to a good baseball team is to keep things simple and as Snodgrass says win as many games as possible.
Here is a link to the article if anyone is curious about Snodgrass!
http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120421&content_id=29271790&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb
The lack of enthusiasm and the focus on monetizing every thing imaginable is why I tend to pay more attention to collegiate sports where its not as bad and there is still a measure of passion for the sport.
ReplyDeleteI don't know any rules of baseball. But I will find out about Snodgrass who knows he might gonna be the next big star hehe
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