tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30622857908645544972024-03-18T02:17:07.911-07:00Bitker's BlogSteve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-19474629757032567002018-01-24T17:22:00.000-08:002018-01-25T15:57:46.648-08:00BARRY BONDS AND THE HOF
Barry Bonds has four years remaining to convince the Baseball Writers Association of America to give him the necessary 75% vote for induction into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, after he fell woefully short with 56% of the vote in the latest results, announced this afternoon. He's failed to come close in his first six years of eligibility. He's gaining ground, but at this rate (up from Steve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-28654440471415031382015-08-22T13:20:00.001-07:002015-08-22T13:20:46.192-07:00TO PINCH-HIT OR NOT TO PINCH-HITGiants lefty Madison Bumgarner is not only one of the best pitchers in baseball today--and the best post-season pitcher of all-time, according to some statistical categories--but he's also one of the best hitting pitchers in baseball history.
His home run last Friday night in Pittsburgh gave him nine homers in 122 at bats over these last two seasons. That homer per at bat ratio is better Steve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-56341049429248791582015-07-28T22:03:00.000-07:002015-07-29T17:36:57.596-07:00THE A'S QUAGMIREI was asked by the afternoon drive news team at KCBS this week to join them to talk about the state of the Oakland Athletics, and why more and more fans are wondering if the magic of Moneyball has totally lost its direction. I jumped at the opportunity.
First, in obvious defense of Billy Beane, the A's ownership is not small-market, in terms of its ability to spend major dollars, and yet Steve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-8996599311919369182015-04-07T13:09:00.001-07:002018-01-25T15:59:56.244-08:00I LOVE DUKE
I just googled "I hate Duke" just to see how many websites I could find that share an obsession with hating the newly-crowned NCAA Basketball champions. Would you believe I found well over 100? In fact, not only did I find more than 100, but I simply stopped searching after that. There may be well over 1000 sites dedicated to the hatred of Duke. The list I found includes Steve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-65479287370820442162015-03-18T18:27:00.001-07:002015-03-18T18:27:33.702-07:00BORAS THE BLOWHARD
I couldn't help but notice the utter hypocrisy of baseball's premiere agent Scott Boras, who openly questioned the Cubs' "commitment to winning," in a q-and-a with reporters in Arizona Tuesday. Specifically, Boras was referring to talk within Cubs management that their top prospect (and the number one prospect in all of baseball), third-baseman Kris Bryant, may start the season with the Steve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-79535510637943710212015-03-10T09:41:00.000-07:002015-03-10T09:41:08.505-07:0049ERS IN CRISIS MODE<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Major League Baseball today announced that it will implement
four rule changes (or, in at least one case, the sudden reinforcement of a long
existing rule) aimed at speeding up the pace of games. Steve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-4518820946607386512015-01-29T17:56:00.000-08:002015-02-07T12:58:39.071-08:00THE NFL'S THEATER OF THE ABSURDThe silly little childish game being perpetuated on all of us during Super Bowl week in suburban Phoenix has been the daily parading of Seattle's Marshawn Lynch to the microphone to fulfill his media obligations.
To refresh your memory, on Tuesday's Media Day (where over 100 players are required to make themselves available to the press), Lynch answered every question during his five-minute Steve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-49444454584347567542014-10-03T10:09:00.003-07:002014-10-03T10:40:07.000-07:00OLD-SCHOOL MANAGERS AND ELEMENTARY MATHEMATICSAs a longtime baseball fan, much moreso than a partisan fan of one team, I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing the Pirates finally overcome The Curse of Barry Bonds, under manager Clint Hurdle. After losing Bonds to the Giants via free agency following the 1992 season, the Pirates went on to set a North American major team sports record with 20 consecutive losing seasons, before finally breakingSteve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-85926134041032876772013-03-11T19:28:00.001-07:002013-04-16T17:30:09.435-07:00World Baseball ClassicUnlike my esteemed colleague at KCBS, Stan Bunger, I am a big fan of the World Baseball Classic. Perhaps that's in part because I lived in Tokyo for three-and-a-half years, and became quite fond of Japanese baseball. And over the years, since returning to the U.S., I've become a fan of international baseball in general. In other words, baseball is the most popular spectator Steve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-54482841619078678792013-02-07T13:27:00.001-08:002013-02-07T14:03:04.189-08:00The Most Bizarre and Unlikely Super Bowl FinishIt turns out that the thrilling finish of Super Bowl 47 could have been much more thrilling than any of us could have ever imagined. A finish that would have relegated the third quarter power outage to the back pages of the newspaper, if at all.
When the Ravens lined up to punt the ball from their own 20, with four seconds remaining, after taking an intentional safety, quarterback Joe Steve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-66831621061181800602013-01-09T15:51:00.002-08:002013-01-11T11:23:29.044-08:00Baseball Hall of Fame VoteSome are calling this a dark day for the Baseball Hall of Fame, or moreso perhaps for the Baseball Writers Association of America. Some are livid over the overwhelming rejection of Bonds&Clemens for induction this summer, in their first year of eligibility. Others are upset over the rejection of Bigio, Bagwell, Piazza and Schilling, all of whom have HOF credentials, none of whom Steve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-24640017536546988852013-01-07T21:32:00.000-08:002013-01-08T12:07:47.264-08:00RGIII's KneeFirst, I subscribe to the John Madden policy on Monday Morning Quarterbacking: If you didn't question the strategy at the time, then don't bring it up after the fact. With that said, it's interesting to note that the exact moment when John and I both felt that Redskins coach Mike Shanahan should have removed Robert Griffin III from yesterday's playoff loss to the Seahawks happened Steve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-61181931242311855002012-11-26T20:36:00.000-08:002012-11-26T20:36:17.794-08:00The Great Quarterback ControversyFor me, the best litmus test as to whether a sports story has permeated the collective consciousness of the general public is when my wife Alice knows about it. Being the quintessential non-sports fan, if she is aware of the story, and the principals involved, then it's a BIG story. Needless to say, she's aware of this one. She knows who Alex Smith is, and she knows who Colin Steve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-77745341313600110272012-10-29T15:06:00.000-07:002012-10-29T15:06:41.902-07:00Giants' World Series EpilogueI grew up within a stone's throw of Stanford University, which explains my lifetime allegiance to Stanford sports. I also went to my first major league baseball game at the age of five, at Seals Stadium, at 16th&Bryant Streets, where the San Francisco Giants played their first two seasons, before moving to Candlestick Park in 1960.
In 1962, my parents were fortunate enough to score Steve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-26787828018841776372012-10-16T17:06:00.001-07:002012-10-17T08:38:01.588-07:00Tim McCarverIt's no secret that Fox baseball analyst (and former all-star catcher) Tim McCarver is not hugely popular among fans of the San Francisco Giants. Either that, or it's simply that my esteemed colleague Stan Bunger has complained so much about McCarver, for so many years, that I've concluded he speaks for the majority of his fellow Giants' season ticket holders.
I, on the other hand, have noSteve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-63441652207192579242012-07-01T10:56:00.000-07:002012-07-01T11:23:11.327-07:00ABSURDI hope the San Francisco Giants are proud of their collective efforts to stuff the ballot box. Pablo Sandoval has been named the National League's starting third-baseman for the upcoming all-star game, over the Mets' David Wright. This, despite the fact that Wright has nine homers, 50 RBIs and a .355 average, compared with Sandoval's 6-25-.307. Not even close. Yes, ISteve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-87937064902633981272012-01-25T10:54:00.000-08:002012-01-25T11:19:58.981-08:00So CloseIt hit me after the second Kyle Williams turnover that Ted Ginn Junior might have been the MVP of the NFC Championship game loss to the New York Giants. After all, if Ginn hadn't been unavailable because of a knee injury, Williams would not have been returning punts, and who knows what the outcome would have been?It's highly unfortunate for Williams that he has to live with the knowledge that he,Steve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-66161441583065913152012-01-04T07:31:00.000-08:002012-01-05T09:42:52.060-08:00Fiesta Bowl EpilogueWatching the Fiesta Bowl was akin to enjoying a fabulous piece of Kobe beef, only to suddenly regurgitate at the end of the meal because of some unexpected cause of indigestion.Fourth-ranked Stanford never trailed through four quarters against third-ranked Oklahoma State, and yet failed to win the game, eventually losing 41-38 in overtime.The Cardinal led led 14-0, but the Cowboys tied it at 14. Steve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-17107984652244309332011-09-18T20:55:00.000-07:002011-09-18T21:48:59.920-07:00No Faith!First, this reality: I'm not a Monday Morning Quarterback. I subscribe to the John Madden philosophy that you can't second-guess a coach's, manager's or player's decision on the playing field, after the fact. But if you question it, as it's happening, then you deserve to be heard. So hear me out on this one.The 49ers were leading Dallas this afternoon 21-14, when David Akers kicked a 55-yard Steve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-77521903668390906072011-07-27T14:15:00.000-07:002011-07-27T16:11:56.312-07:00Another Umpire Blunder; Another Call for Instant ReplayIf you saw the finish of the Pirates-Braves game last night in Atlanta, you know exactly why there is no rational argument for putting off the expanded use of instant replay in baseball any longer. And yet, if you are a close follower of the National Pastime, you know that this will likely never happen as long as Bud Selig remains the game's commissioner. Fortunately, he promises that he will Steve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-29864758600734569892011-01-19T11:15:00.000-08:002011-01-19T11:38:58.947-08:00Al Davis: Way Over the HillSeems like just the other day that Al Davis was presiding over a standing-room-only news conference to announce the hiring of Tom Cable as his new head coach, although Big Al spent the heavy majority of that news conference blasting the man he had just fired, Lane Kiffin, whom Davis called a liar.And now we have Davis president over another standing-room-only news conference to announce the Steve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-57573904086135263532010-06-28T13:38:00.001-07:002010-06-28T15:46:25.264-07:00World Cup SoccerWe're well into the Knockout Round of 16, so it's high time for some lasting impressions:1. The Vuvuzelas are a Plague: With all due respect to my esteemed colleague Stan Bunger, who thinks the incessant and mindless blowing of these cheap plastic horns represents an infectious musical beat, I think the vuvuzelas are no better, and no worse, than the thundersticks (which Stan hated), most Steve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com119tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-2252145082647110232010-03-23T10:41:00.001-07:002010-03-23T11:31:32.957-07:00Hey, Chris: Shut the Door on Your Way Out!As I write, the Warriors have the third worst record in the NBA, at 19-51. A winning percentage of .271, which is horrible, and yet not much worse than the team's .366 percentage over these last 16 seasons combined. The 16 seasons, of course, is what Chris Cohan has to show for his legacy as the Warriors' owner, including one memorable playoff appearance. One playoff appearance in 16 years. DoSteve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3062285790864554497.post-43864325314386124962010-02-16T09:06:00.000-08:002010-02-16T10:33:40.241-08:00NBC's Abyssmal Olympic CoverageI thought I was fully prepared for NBC's totally embarrassing coverage of the Vancouver Olympic Games. I know Dick Ebersol does not regard the Olympics as anything resembling a sports competition. I know that because I read well before the Games opened last weekend that the president of NBC Sports regards the Olympics as a collection of feel-good stories, and that's why he's completely Steve Bitkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08321365367335276881noreply@blogger.com3