Big Blue Huddle

 I was a moderator on BBWC for some time, but many never really knew a lot of the behind the scenes back stabbing that went on over there, especially from some of the people at the top. There was a definite conflict of interest, especially as some just desired the power and never really knew what to do with it. While some of us petitioned to limit the people there and the quality of what was being put up, others didn't think that way, and just wanted numbers, of posters, of hits, of members. When Rich approached me, Kevin and Brian about starting a new board and breaking away from BBWC, we were all on the same page. We talked and talked about what we wanted in the new board and we were all on the same page. WE approached several other long time BBWC members about helping out and away we went. From then on, there was no looking back. We did struggle at the beginning, trying to get the word out to older members of BBWC about this new place, and we were rebuffed many times. But, with hard work, and word spreading, we were able to make this place a great place to be. And the rest is history. We will never get the numbers most of the other boards get, but who cares. We are among friends here, where we share much more than just being Giants fans. We may not agree on many things, but we do so as we would want others to do with us, with class, with understanding and being always able to listen to the other guys opinions.
The mods have talked many times about expansion, and we are all for it, but in moderation. Every new member has to be approved and cleared, and in all the time, since this place has existed, I think we have only banned 4-5 people. Maybe once guys are surrounded by great people, that sort of rubs off on them.
Thank YOU all for making this place exactly what we envisioned when we started it up.

Brian

Truly very sorry to hear of Mary Ann's passing. She would have been about my age and we could have shared great stories, had I known her. I know I would have liked her very much.

good one Jim

I dare not compete with 'the coach' as his knowledge far exceeds mine when it comes to coaching kids.

I would like to add a couple of things that, while maybe, not in the perfect form, can dramatically increase the players chances of success.

On pitching
As Retro said, and I know nothing of form and delivery. But what I do know are balls and strikes and some other things. Retro gives you technical stuff, I'll give you something else.
Too many kids watch too much TV on pitching. All pitchers should try and get into a rhythm. Playing with the dirt after every pitch, standing on the hill, just looking like you are going thru about 10 different signs does nothing but put everyone to sleep, including your own teammates. As an umpire, looking to call strikes, there is nothing worse than a pitcher who takes all day to deliever a pitch. We love guys that get the ball, take a sign and pitch. And when the umpire likes the way a pitcher is pitching, it may well show in his strike zone.
Second, and this may be hard for younger pitchers, but if the umpire isn't calling that pitch at the knees, try not to keep throwing it there. See where the umpire IS calling those close strikes and try and use that to your benefit.
If a pitcher throws say 4 balls, one up, one down, one inside and one outside, he will not get anything, but if a pitcher uses the zone, and even if he is off the plate, if he continues to use a certain area, inside, outside, up or down, the umpire WILL call some of them strikes.
One other thing. In todays's game, more and more hitters just will not swing at that first pitch. If you are a pitcher, I'm sure you have heard it so many times, PITCH AHEAD of the batter. No need to 'groove' that first strike, but that is the pitch most batters take, so it's easier and easier to get ahead. Try and get that first pitch over. Speed on pitches is great, but if you throw hard and cannot get the ball consistently over the plate, speed means nothing. Learn to take something off that fast ball and strive to get ahead of batters. Believe me, it makes the game very easy when you can throw strikes or at least pitch ahead of batters.
But my biggest thing to all pitchers is to try and get into a rhythm on the mound.

On the other thing I know is catchers. A good catcher can steal around 5-8 strikes a game. In a 7 inning game that amounts to one an inning.
For an umpire , the best thing any catcher can do is get as close to home plate as possible. Just way too many young catchers stay too far back. As soon as that glove turns over, especially on a curve, it's a ball. By getting up close you can 'steal' that pitch that may be low, by catching it before it is really low. If you are back too far, then you are reaching for the pitch, INSTANT BALL.
Second, framing the pitch is the second most important thing. Framing doesn't mean taking every pitch and bringing it to the center of the plate. I have seen so much of that, it makes me sick. Who ever taught catchers to take EVERY pitch and try and fool the umpire by bringing it into the strike zone. Come on now. That hasn't worked in 50 years. By framing a pitch, you just let the umpire see where you are catching it, and give him an especially good look at the close ones. Umpires love those 'good looks' and will reward a catcher for that.
Another thing is NEVER stay in one spot behind home plate. If you want a pitch on the outside corner, shift your body there. Now, if the pitch is a few inches outside, but your glove hardly moves, you have stolen another strike. Umpires have a hard time calling a pitch, where the catcher never even moved his mitt, a ball. Slide inside and outside, it makes the umpire, wop wants to 'enlarge the zone' a bit, makes his job that much easier.
A couple of other small points. I don't know where this new thing has come from, but now, on 0-2 counts, catchers want a high pitch so they basically stand in front of the umpire. Now if the pitcher delivers it right down the middle, the umpire is screened and will never call it a strike. You want a high pitch, signal with your glove, but NEVER stand up before a pitch arrives.
OH, one last thing, and VERY IMPORTANT, protect he umpire at all costs. 
I can only speak for myself, but I tell the catcher, as long as I feel protected, I'll hang in there also and will feel more secure to call some of those close pitches strikes. Catchers who fail to block those balls in the dirt, and makes the umpire jump around, will regret it later in the game.

A drunken man walks into a biker bar, sits down at the bar and orders a drink. Looking around, he sees three men sitting at a corner table. He gets up, staggers to the table, leans over, Looks the biggest, meanest, biker in the face and says:


'I went by your grandma's house today and


I saw her in the hallway buck naked.


Man, she is one fine looking woman!'


The biker looks at him and doesn't say a word.


His buddies are confused, because he is one bad biker and
Would fight at the drop of a hat.
The drunk leans on the table again and says:


'I got it on with your grandma and she is good,


The best I ever had!'


The biker's buddies are starting to get really mad,


But the biker still says nothing.


The drunk leans on the table one more time and says,


'I'll tell you something else, boy,
Your grandma liked it!'

At this point the biker stands up,


Takes the drunk by the shoulders,
Looks him square in the eyes and says....................



'Grandpa;....... Go home!

Once upon a time lived a beautiful Queen with large breasts. Nick the
Dragon Slayer obsessed over the Queen for this reason. He knew that the
penalty for his desire would be death should he try to touch them, but
he had to try. One day Nick revealed his secret desire to his colleague,
Horatio the Physician, the King's chief doctor. Horatio thought about
this and said that he could arrange for Nick to more than satisfy his
desire, but it would cost him 1000 gold coins to arrange it. Without
pause Nick readily agreed to the scheme.






The next day, Horatio made a batch of itching powder and poured a little
bit into the Queen's bra while she bathed. Soon after she dressed, the
itching commenced and grew intense. Upon being summoned to the Royal
Chambers to address this incident, Horatio informed the King and Queen
that only a special saliva, if applied for four hours, would cure this
type of itch, and that tests had shown that only the saliva of Nick
would work as the antidote to cure the itch.






The King, eager to help his Queen, quickly summoned Nick to their
chambers. Horatio then slipped Nick the antidote for the itching powder,
which he put into his mouth, and for the next four hours, Nick worked
passionately on the Queen's large and magnificent breasts. The Queen's
itching was eventually relieved, and Nick left satisfied and hailed as a
hero. Upon returning to his chamber, Nick found Horatio demanding his
payment of 1,000 gold coins. With his obsession now satisfied, Nick
couldn't have cared less and, knowing that Horatio could never report
this matter to the King, and with a laugh told him to get lost.






The next day, Horatio slipped a massive dose of the same itching powder
into the King's underwear. The King immediately summoned Nick.

Just Enough



An old man goes into a drug store to buy some Viagra

'Can I have 6 tablets, cut in quarters?'

'I can cut them for you' said Dan the pharmacist' but a quarter tablet will not give you a full erection.'


'I'M 96 SAID THE OLD MAN.'

'I don't want an erection, I just want it sticking out far enough so I don't pee on my slippers.'

THE IRISHMAN AND THE MORMON
 
A Mormon was seated next to an Irishman on a flight from London.


After the plane was airborne, drink orders were taken.  The Irishman asked for a whiskey, which was promptly brought and placed before him.

The flight attendant then asked the Mormon if he would like a drink.  He replied in disgust, "I'd rather be savagely raped by a dozen whores than let liquor touch my lips.

The Irishman then handed his drink back to the attendant and said, "Me, too. I didn't know we had a choice

Actual dialogue of a former WordPerfect Customer Support employee

SERVICE: "Ridge Hall computer assistance, may I help you?"

CUSTOMER: "Yes, well, I'm having trouble with WordPerfect."

SERVICE: "What sort of trouble?"

CUSTOMER: "Well, I was just typing along, and all of a sudden the words went away."

SERVICE: "Went away?"

CUSTOMER: "They disappeared."

SERVICE: "Hmm. So what does your screen look like now?"

CUSTOMER: "Nothing."

SERVICE: "Nothing?"

CUSTOMER: "It's blank; it won't accept anything when I type."

SERVICE: "Are you still in WordPerfect, or did you get out?"

CUSTOMER: "How do I tell?"

SERVICE: "Can you see the C: prompt on the screen?"

CUSTOMER: "What's a sea prompt?"

SERVICE: "Never mind, can you move your cursor around the screen?"

CUSTOMER: "There isn't any cursor. I told you, it won't accept anything I type."

SERVICE: "Does your monitor have a power indicator?"

CUSTOMER: "What's a monitor?"

SERVICE: "It's the thing with the screen on it that looks like a T.V. Does it have a little light that tells you when it is on?"

CUSTOMER: "I don't know."

SERVICE: "Well, then look on the back of the monitor and find where the power cord goes into it. Can you see that?"

CUSTOMER: "Yes, I think so."

SERVICE: "Great. Follow the cord to the plug, and tell me if it's plugged into the wall."

CUSTOMER: "Yes, it is."

SERVICE: "When you were behind the monitor, did you notice that there were two cables plugged into the back of it, not just one?"

CUSTOMER: "No."

SERVICE: "Well, there are. I need you to look back there again and find the other cable."

CUSTOMER: "Okay, here it is."

SERVICE: "Follow it for me, and tell me if it's plugged securely into the back of your computer."

CUSTOMER: "I can't reach."

SERVICE: "Uh huh. Well, can you see if it is?"

CUSTOMER: "No."

SERVICE: "Even if you maybe put your knee on something and lean way over?"

CUSTOMER: "Oh, it's not because I don't have the right angle - it's because it's dark."

SERVICE: "Dark?"

CUSTOMER: "Yes, the office light is off, and the only light I have is coming in from the window."

SERVICE: "Well, turn on the office light then."

CUSTOMER: "I can't."

SERVICE: "No? Why not?"

CUSTOMER: "Because there's a power failure."

SERVICE: "A power... A power failure? Aha, Okay, we've got it licked now. Do you still have the boxes and manuals and packing stuff your computer came in?"

CUSTOMER: "Well, yes. I keep them in the closet."

SERVICE: "Good. Go get them, and unplug your system and pack it up just like it was when you got it. Then take it back to the store you bought it from."

CUSTOMER: "Really? Is it that bad?"

SERVICE: "Yes, I'm afraid it is."

CUSTOMER: "Well, all right then, I suppose. What do I tell them?"

SERVICE: "Tell them you're too fucking stupid to own a computer."

OH MY

Message:

Due to the climate of political correctness now pervading America ,





HOW TO SPEAK ABOUT WOMEN AND BE POLITICALLY CORRECT:

1. She is not a 'BABE' or a 'CHICK' - She is a
' BREASTED AMERICAN.'

2. She is not ' EASY ' - She is

'HORIZONTALLY ACCESSIBLE.'

3. She is not a 'DUMB BLONDE' - She is a

'LIGHT-HAIRED DETOUR OFF THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY.'

4. She has not 'BEEN AROUND' - She is a

'PREVIOUSLY-ENJOYED COMPANION.'

5. She does not 'NAG' you - She becomes

' VERBALLY REPETITIVE.'

6. She is not a 'TWO- BIT HOOKER' - She is a

' LOW COST PROVIDER.'

HOW TO SPEAK ABOUT MEN AND BE POLITICALLY CORRECT:


1. He does not have a ' BEER GUT' - He has developed a
'LIQUID GRAIN STORAGE FACILITY.'


2. He is not a 'BAD DANCER' - He is

' OVERLY CAUCASIAN.'


3. He does not ' GET LOST ALL THE TIME' - He
' INVESTIGATES ALTERNATIVE DESTINATIONS.'


4. He is not 'BALDING' - He is in
'FOLLICLE REGRESSION.'


5. He does not act like a 'TOTAL ASS' - He develops a case of
RECTAL-CRANIAL INVERSION.'
(Loved this one!)


6. It's not his 'CRACK' you see hanging out of his pants - It's
'REAR CLEAVAGE.

One night this guy and his date were about to go into his apartment, but
before he could open his door she said, "Wait a minute, I can tell how a
man makes love by how he unlocks his door."
The guy says, "Well, give me some examples."
The girlfriend proceeds to tell him, "Well the first way is, if a guy
shoves his key in the lock, and opens the door hard, then that means he
is a rough lover and that isn't for me.
The second way is if a man fumbles around and can't seem to find the
hole then that means he is inexperienced and that isn't for me either."
"Very interesting," said the guy.
Then she asked, "Honey, how do you unlock your door?"
He then proceeded to say, "Well, first before I do anything else, I lick
the lock."

A Doctor was addressing a large audience:


"The material we put into our stomachs is enough to have killed most of us sitting here, years ago. Red meat is awful. Soft drinks corrode your stomach lining. Chinese food is loaded with MSG. High fat diets can be disastrous, and none of us realizes the long- term harm caused by the germs in our drinking water. But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all and we all have, or will, eat it.


Can anyone here tell me what food it is that causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?"


After several seconds of quiet, a 75-year-old man in the front row raised his hand, and softly said, "Wedding Cake."

Funny thing is, I can see it happening. 

good one. I have not heard THAT one.