Letters

Glenn,
It's easy to see that Giants pitching has gone south like migrating geese. (August 27 Examiner column.) The question Giants fans are asking is why. My money is on pitching coach Dave Righetti, who should have taught his pitchers to adjust but hasn't.//Posted August 28.
-- Tom Ryugo, San Francisco

GD: I've wondered about Righetti for some time - wondered how he's kept his job, that is. Nice guy but not very effective at a key job.

Glenn,
If character were an issue in Baseball Hall of Fame voting (August 25 website column) guys like Cap Anson, a racist of the worst kind, should have been kicked off.//Posted August 28.
-- Ricky Yoneda, San Jose

GD: Anson is infamous for his "Get that n----- off the field rant.

Glenn,
why do writers have the serious duty of voting for Hall of Fame members instead of, say, living HOFers?//Posted August 28
-- Larry Stewart, Alameda

GD: For some time I've advocated taking the vote away from baseball writers, too many of whom are sanctimonious. Your solution may be he best idea.

Glenn,
I think taxpayers should put our representatives on notice for ignoring the real issues that face this county while they go after Roger Clemens.//Posted August 28
-- Andy Bewley, Capitola

GD: Clemsn, like Barry Bonds, is not at all likeable but he shouldn't be the target of Congressmen.

Glenn,
I'd hesitate to compare Alex Smith with Steve Young. Steve Young was an unique talent, uncommonly bright, cornerback fast, linebacker strong. He had a cannon for an arm and he was one of the most accurate passers in NFL history.//Posted August 28.
-- Phil Litchenstein, Lafayette

GD: I'd hesitate to make that comparison, too, which is why I didn't. The point I was making was that the anti-Young mail I got in the '80s and the anti-Smith e-mails I'm getting now, at a comparable stage in their careers, is very similar.

Glenn,
One of the worst aspects of the Lew Wolff/John Fisher ownership of the A's is that they're wasting the talents of one of baseball's best personnel men. As a Giants fan, I dream of a situation where Beane replaces Brian Sabean as GM.//Posted August 28.
-- Scott MacMichael, Fresno

GD: Beane has a 10 per cent ownership share in the A's, so he's not leaving. I'd like to see Wolff and Fisher sell, though.

Glenn,
Don't you see the irony of discussing how good backups can look in exhibition games, only to collapse in regular season games (August 24 Examiner column) and then praise Alex Smith for his performance IN AN EXHIBITION GAME!!!//Posted August 28
-- Andre Hill

GD: Did you even read my column? I was talking of how reserve QBs can look good in the fourth quarter against defenders who won't even be on the roster in the regular season. My praise of Smith was based on what he did in the first quarter, against the Vikings first string defense.//Posted August 28

Glenn,
A statue of Bud Selig in Milwaukee? How about a statue of Bernie Madoff on the steps of the New York stock exchange on Wall Street?//Posted August 28
-- Robert Kelly, Corte Madera

GD: I think Lew Wolff paid for the Selig statue, hoping he'll get the right to move the A's o San Jose.

Glenn,
There may be reasons to reconsider the additions of Colorado and Utah,(August 20 Examiner column) but the idea that costs would increase because football and basketball would "hire more coaches" is a red herring. The NcAA has a limit on the number of coaches a team can have in any sport.//Posted August 21
-- Gary Moore

GD: True, but there's nothing to stop them paying more for coaches - or adding jobs that are not listed as coaching but really are. Of one thing I'm certain: Any added revenue will be spent by football and basketball programs, especially football.

Glenn,
Did you consider these possible points if the Pac-10 tries to pull out of this agreement? 1) Lawsuits. They have lawyers in the Rockies, you know. 2) The Pac-10 would face a public relations disaster as the "conference that welches." 3) Larry Scott. You do understand that he'd resign, right? Posted August 21.
-- David Child

GD: 1) I''m sure there are contingencies in the deal that would allow the Pac-10 to pull out. 2) The Pac-10 is already a national laughingstock after Scott announced the possibility of a Pac-16 with Texas bolting the Big 12 and bringing other schools along. Oops, didn't happen, but look, we got Colorado and Utah! Quit that yawning. 3) I would certainly hope so! Can't come a minute too soon.

Glenn,
I was starting to come around to the idea that the Pac-10 expansion was a bad idea, and if Chuck Young is against it, I am, too! He presided over the greatest period of collegiate athletic success in history. Go, Bruins!//Posted August 21
-- Andrew Fedeli

GD: Young also presided over a great academic improvement at UCLA. He has a balance that is not always true of academics.

Glenn,
Don't stop the train. I say add Utah and drop Wazu. (Keep them because they're in the state of Washington? What other reason is there?)//Posted August 21.
-- Andy Naud

GD: Geography is important and, though washington State has fallen on bad times athletically, the Cougars were in the Rose Bowl in 2003 and also in 1998, which is two more times than my alma mater has been in the last 50 years.

Glenn,
As an alumnus of Utah. I think you and the former chancellor of UCLA are being snobs. When I went to school 30 years ago, Utah was a top research center. My understanding is that it still is.//Posted August 21
-- Tom Porter

GD: The latest U.S. News and World Report on public universities lists Cal No. 1, UCLA No. 2 and six of the eight public universities in the Pac-10 ahead of Utah at 63. Such academic powerhouses as Oklahoma and Florida State are also higher than Utah. When Forbes included private universities in its report, Utah didn't make the top 200.

Glenn,
I never could understand the adding of Utah and Colorado. As TV ratings go, neither of these schools have drawing power.//Posted Auust 21.
-- Scott Macmichael, Fresno

GD: Exactly. I think Larry Scott was desperate to do something after his dream of a Pac-16 superconference blew up in his face. But this only makes a bad situation worse.

Glenn,
I agree with your comments about Russ Hodges. (August 18 website column). His announcing style was useful in one respect, though. If you had just tuned into a game, you could tell immediately who was winning. If the Giants were ahead, he'd give the score between every pitch. If they were trailing, you'd get the score only after the inning was over.//Posted August 21.
-- Al Streit, Albany

GD: Hodges was out of the East Coast/Midwest tradition where announcers are revered for being homers. That style doesn't work well in California. Even Mike Krukow sounds impartial if you've been listening to announcers from other areas.

Glenn,
I was at the game against USC when John Elway scrambled all over creation before throwing a bomb to Ken Margerum in the end zone. Elway was truly amazing.//Posted August 21
-- Scott Caifoni, Huntington Beach

GD: Ronnie Lott was defending Margerum but he let him go because he was confident he could catch up to any pass that was thrown downfield. With any other quarterback, yes.

Glenn,
Bobby Thomson was adamant that he wasn't stealing signs when he hit that dramatic home run in 1951. What do you think?//Posted August 21.
-- John Waterbury, Lafayette

GD: I believe Thomson. It's just too easy to thwart sign stealers by changing the signs or order in which they're given. Joe DiMaggio never wanted to be tipped off because if the sign stealer was wrong, he might be looking for a curve when a fastball was thrown under his chin. This story started with a backup Giants catcher who was trying to sell a book. He should have labled it fiction.

Glenn,
I agree with you on Tim Lincecum. (August 17 Examiner column.) Does he remind you of Ron Guidry, another pitcher with a slight build but a big fast ball?//Posted August 21
-- Howard Walton, Jacksonville, Fla.

GD: Actually, he reminds me more of Tim Hudson, who has had injury problems but is having a big year for the Braves at 35.

Glenn,
What do you make of Lincecum? We're crazy Giants fans and even my oldest son, Lucky, who's just 6, commented on his unorthodox pitching motion. Who's his pitching coach - his dad?//Posted August 21
-- Kristofer Mickelson

GD: Lincecum's dad taught him his motion but I don't know if he's working with him at all now.

Glenn,
Fat Panda reminds me of Jackie Gleason. (August 13 Examiner column.) When he dives for a ball in the dirt, he looks like King Kong wrestling.//Posted August 13
-- Armando Quiroz, Torrance, California

GD: Gleason was light on his feet, despite his girth. I interviewed him once, when he was appearing at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco. He was very proud of the boxing he'd done in his youth.

Glenn,
How could you not include Jim Plunkett among your top three Stanford quarterbacks? (August 10 website column). I'd put him second to Elway in a very close race. Many people would put him first.//Posted August 13.
-- Phil Lichtenstein, Lafayette

GD: My brain went to sleep on that one. I'd rate Plunkett a close second to Elway. I'm going to write more about that next Wednesday.

Glenn,
Where does Frankie Albert fit with the Stanford QBs? I only knew him with the 49ers and that was over the radio.//Posted August 13
-- Ron Rollston, Boise, Idaho

GD: That's how I know Albert, too. I never saw him play, so I was only rating ones I'd seen. Albert has a special place in football history because he was the first of the modern T quarterbacks.

Glenn,
Thank you very much for your Stan Musial reminisce. He was really something. My late father thought that Musial must have carefully studied opposing pitchers and could accurately guess what the opposing pitcher would throw, depending upon the count. He said that Musial came out of his stance much more quickly for fastballs than for breaking balls.//Posted August 13
-- Porter Baymon, Pittsburg

GD: I also remember reading a story in which Musial said he could tell by the rotation of the ball when it came out of the pitcher's hand whether it was a fast ball or a breaking pitch.

Glenn,
Michael Crabtree another Jerry Rice? (August 10 Examiner column.) You can't be serious. The real question is: Will the 49ers win more than six or seven games this season?//Posted August 13
-- Nick Duka, Lafayette

GD: I was mostly pointing out some similarities btween Rice and Crabtree, but I do expect him to be an outstanding receiver. And, I think the Niners will make the playoffs.

Glenn,
Hmmmm. Since the Giants are doing so much better with castoffs like Pat Burrell than with high-priced free agents, maybe they should call up Eric Byrnes and see if he's keeping in shape.//Posted August 13
-- Janice Hough, Palo Alto

GD: It is amusing that they've done so well with Burrell, Andres Torres and Juan Uribe while Aaron Rowand and Edgar Renteria do them a favor by going on the DL.

What do YOU think? Let me know.
Thanks,
Glenn

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