Viva Batista

Epic. Fearless. Totally F*cking Nuts.

Bay Area speed freaks, represent!

This defines crazy.  I have an adrenaline rush just from watching it.  If you're not feeling it when one of them screams "WHOOOOOO!  DIG IT!!  DIG IT!!!" at 6:59, you need a heart transplant.

Thanks to SFist.  Check out the topo map of the route.

So Long, J.T.

The Giants said goodbye to J.T. Snow, and he'll be missed.  Even though I'm a fan who appreciates a) athletes who act like grown-ups and b) long-time contributors who provide continuity with a team's history, I understand that Snow's time in San Francisco is up.  His maturity and defense will make him an asset wherever he winds up, but the Giants need better production at the plate from their first baseman.

I'll never forget Snow's unbelievably heads-up running grab of batboy Darren Baker in Game 5 of the 2002 World Series.  (The kid, who was really a little too young to be out there, was retrieving Kenny Lofton's bat and didn't realize that he was about to be flattened by David Bell, who was barrelling into home right behind Snow.  It took your breath away, and it's still a great memory...even if it brings unhappy thoughts in its wake.)

Jon at SFist has a nice write-up, and like Jon I hope J.T. gets a chance to carve out a meaningful role on a contending team rather than playing Crash Davis to the young pups on some bottom-feeding team.  OK, Sabes, let's see what Lance Niekro or Mike Sweeney can do.

McCovey Chronicles

Grant of Waiting for Boof, my old favorite S.F. Giants blog, has moved over to swanky new space at the McCovey Chronicles, my new favorite Giants blog.  From his first post a few days ago:

Welcome to McCovey Chronicles, all.  Perhaps you are the type who picks up the San Francisco Chronicle each morning, hoping to find bathroom humor and a Journey reference mixed in the Giants article.  Every single day you do this.  Every single day you are disappointed.

This is your site.

I should also mention Athletics Nation, which covers, yes, that's right, the Oakland A's, but seems to take itself a little more seriously than the McC.  For example, here's a recent AN interview with Billy Beane.

(It'll be readily apparent to visitors that both McC and AN are using nearly identical templates on the same platform, but I can't find any info on what they're using.  Anyone have any ideas?)