Blogger's Note: I'm Back!

Like it or not!  Just kidding.  I assume you all are happy to have me back and blogging or you wouldn't come visit the site and comment.

Had a great time with the wife in Sausalito.  Caught the weather at a perfect time.  Stayed at the Inn Above Tide.  Pricey but worth it.  Had a perfect view of much of the bay and The City out our window.  Had dinner at The Spinnaker.  Might be the best view of any restaurant table.  Food is meh.  For better food and a not terrible view, try Angelino's down the street toward SF a bit.  I have never done Poggio's.  Their menu is certainly not ordinary, but I haven't seen anything on it I feel like I have to have.

Thanks to everybody for the best wishes and suggestions.

Bacci,

We've done the Carmel thing a couple of times and loved it.  Wanted something different this time.

ogc,

Didn't make it to Tiburon, but now that I've figured out where it is, would love to visit someday.

I don't have anything close to this kind of jack, but Jerry Garcia's old house in Marin County is for sale for around $3.5 M.  You can also get an adjoining 115 acres for an additional $1.7 M.  That seems like a great deal for somebody who can afford it.  Gotta wonder what the catch is?

We drove up to Petaluma for lunch at Luccesi's Deli and I had an Amer the Gamer.  Good sandwich!  Only downside was the sourdough bread was so crusty it tore up the roof of my mouth.   I think some people think that's a good thing.  I'm not really a crusty bread fan.

Yesterday, Sausalito was inundated with daytrippers.  Loooong lines for anything to eat.  We decided to take off and check out McCovey's 44 in Walnut Creek.  Just a short drive for us SoCal'ers!  It was kind of neat.  Food was, again, meh.  I think I would have liked it better if there was more about Willie Mac himself here.  Maybe some posters on the walls about his life and career.  For instance, his final AB in the 1962 WS is one of the most epic in baseball history, even if the outcome was negative for him and the Giants.

Does anyone know the story of the building in SF that starts glowing just before sunset?  I tried to research it on the internets but couldn't find anything.  What a epic sight that is!

Tough weekend for the Giants.  Glad they could at least salvage a win today.  Chad Gaudin may be this year's Vogelsong, albeit with a slightly less dramatic storyline.  Will post a Game Wrap later.

I see Baggs is saying Angel Villalona may have some questions about his fielding at 1B, but the bat is "special."  Wonder where he got that idea?  Remember, you read it hear first.  Angel Villalona's bat has a chance to be special!!

Walter Guest,

Yeah, Fabio Castillo is a very interesting prospect.  Giants grabbed him in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft.  I really liked the pickup at the time.  Hard throwing with good K rates.  He'll be a minor league FA after this year, so the Giants have until then to decide if they want to add him to the 40 man roster.  With the problems the Giants are having with their pitching and the rate Castillo is going, they might give him his shot a lot sooner than that.  Definitely a kid to keep an eye on.

Check out Shankbone's site, You Gotta Like These Kids, for some epic posts previewing the upcoming MLB draft.  I agree with most, if not all, of his thoughts, so rather than try to do my own draft preview, I will refer you to his.  He's made a draft board of possible Giants picks for each of the first 4 rounds.  I think he may have said he would do 7 rounds before the draft.  I will just add a few "toolsy" HS hitters I would be happy to see the Giants draft somewhere:  In addition to Justin Williams and Riley Unroe, who Shankbone mentioned, I like OF's Josh Hart and Matt McPhearson, and SS Jan Hernandez.  The Giants love their up-the-middle guys in Round 1.  Don't write off JC SS Tim Anderson if he doesn't climb higher on someone else's board.

Still think a HS pitcher is most likely for round 1 because the draft is full of them, but the Giants like to cut against the grain and they just might reach for a hitter in Round 1 thinking they can still get a first round pitching talent in Round 2 or even Round 3.