Giants Not Kidding When They Said They Were Out On Beltran

Carlos Beltran just signed a 2-year deal with the Cardinals worth $26 million. A contract so extremely reasonable it makes me want to do unreasonable things. Like light myself on fire. Signing Carlos Beltran for two years at market value is EXACTLY what the Giants needed to do this offseason. A Posey-Beltran-Sandoval middle of the order not only would have made other teams envious, but it might have even covered up some mild (read: unacceptable) shortcomings (read: Brandon Crawford) elsewhere in the the lineup.

I don't know how many times or how many different ways I can say this: the window to win the World Series is open NOW. It is open now, and it is being held up on the shoulders of Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum. And they are tired, guys. They need a little help. If they don't get it, who could blame them for going elsewhere? You know what might help? A switch-hitting power bat who had a .385 OBP last year. Wait...didn't they have a guy like that last year? Yes, you may recall they gave up the organization's top prospect for him. Good investment, guys.

Letting Beltran go represents a lot of bad signs for the Giants front office. It shows a lack of creativity, which could also be seen in the Jeremy Affedt signing as well as the Brandon Belt situation, which will be a mess for the second year in a row. It shows a lack of foresight in that the Aubrey Huff contract two offseasons ago effectively maxed out the payroll for this year. Speaking of a lack of foresight, the Giants are relying heavily on a healthy and productive Freddy Sanchez. Let me say that again. The Giants are relying on Freddy Sanchez.

This is all just another way to say the most disturbing thing that the lack of Beltranity represents: complacency. McCovey Chronicles said it best -- the new ownership would rather earn than win. They're going to rape and pillage that World Series title for all its worth, all while using that very team to justify the current roster. They need to be reminded that while it was the pitching that carried them, the trophy would not have come to San Francisco without career years from Huff, Juan Uribe, and Andres Torres. It's not the sign of a healthy team when you need career years from unlikely spots to win a title. But they sit back and try to pacify the fanbase on the grounds that Sanchez will be healthy and Posey will be back. And it's not like there's no merit at all to that stance of standing pat. There are plenty of reasons that the Giants will be better next year. Maybe Sanchez will stay healthy. Huff will be better or they'll put someone out there who is. Just by the law of averages, chances are they'll hit much better with runners in scoring position. And Posey will be back. But to strive to be average-at-best like they are doing is not what the fans want.

Is Kobe this year's Tiger?

Just over two years ago the world of sports was rocked with the Tiger Woods sex scandal and the beating he took from his wife on Thanksgiving night.  This holiday season one of the faces, if not the face of the NBA for the past 15 years has been served with divorce papers.  Kobe's wife accused him of cheating with multiple women and just can't take the cheating and lying anymore.

Hey Kobe, looks like your boys around the league ratted you out!  What'cha ya going to do about that?
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/12/19/kobe-bryants-wife-reportedly-tipped-off-to-his-alleged-cheating-by-basketball/

Does this smell like the beginning of the end in LA for Kobe?

Cheers,

Mr. A

P.s. Shaq, "Kobe's tell me how my ass tastes!"

Warriors add Rush, ship Amundson to the Pacers!

Over the weekend, the Golden State Warriors traded Lou Amundson for Brandon Rush who was with the Indiana Pacers for the past three seasons.  Rush is a 40% 3-point shooter and a good defender.  He is a nice addition to the bench and he is only 26 years old.  Here's the press release from SFgate this morning.

Cheers,

Mr. A

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/19/SP6B1ME4F8.DTL

Giants Rival Mat Latos Traded out of the NL West

The Padres traded starter Mat Latos to the Reds for four players, including 2 prospects. I can't speak to who won this trade, short-term or long-term. But I do find Mat Latos to be a total piece of shit, so I'm writing about it.

I'd be interested to hear Dave Flemming's thoughts on it. Surely he'll be able to rest at ease when the Padres come to town this year, now that he knows Latos wont be there lobbing warm-up tosses towards his sun-roof. Latos pitched well against the Giants in 2011, compiling a 3.15 ERA in 3 starts against them. But ever since September 2010, when the G's beat him in two crucial games (including the deciding Game 162), I just haven't been afraid of him. Plus, who didn't pitch well against the Giants last year?

So on the one hand, a good pitcher is out of the NL West. That's a good thing. But he is a guy that I love to hate. A Zack Morris wannabe who is nowhere near as cool. And "Mat"? Come on. Where'd that second "t" go? Unless he was going for, like, Doormat. Yeah, that's probably it.

All roads lead to... Kwame Brown?

After the Warriors swung and missed trying to sign a big over the past couple of weeks they landed on Kwame Brown.  Brown, is a former #1 overall pick out of high school back in 2001 originally drafted by Wizards before playing for the Lakers, Grizzlies, Pistons, and Bobcats.  This is a bit disappointing for the "we believe" nation but it was the most realistic outcome.  New coach Mark Jackson has stressed that his main focus is going to be on defense and the two-headed center, Brown and Bedrins will hopefully be a good fit.  Like it or not, the Warriors are still a small market team but are on their way up the food chain to competing with the likes of the Bostons, New Yorks, and LAs of the league.

No doubt about it, I am ready to watch Monta and Curry fly up and down the court as well as see the influence that Coach Jackson has on the team.  Here's a LINK to the breaking news on SFGATE.COM.  


Looking forward to Christmas Day could be a huge game if the Clip show make some more moves!

Go Dubs,

Mr.A

4Akers... I mean 49ers now 10-3 on the season

Folks.  The 49ers are sitting in 2nd place in the NFC and if the season ended today we would have a first round bye in the playoffs.  Since the season does not end today the 49ers have some work to do with three games remaining on their schedule.  Let's take a second and be happy for where this team is this late in the season.  That being said, there are some things that need to be fixed if we want to keep this rolling to and through the playoffs.  The 49ers offensive line needs to play a lot better and the offense needs to get away from settling for field goals.  David Akers is a great kicker and we might need lean on him in the playoffs but not in the way we are doing right now.  Akers averages over 10 points per game and just under 3 made field goals per game.  The offense needs to take advantage of the turnover and positive starting field position that the defense sets up for them.  They lead the league in the turnover margin (+21) which you think would help set up some short field opportunities for them.  It has but for whatever reason the TD's just aren't piling up.  Take yesterday for example, Teddy Ginn takes a punt and returns it all the way down to the five yard line.  All of the sudden it was 4th down and here comes Akers!  This is not acceptable!  If you can't finish in the redzone, let alone first and goal inside the 5 yard line you can't expect to win the game.  If the 49ers can fix a few of these things, they should have a good chance to hold on the second spot in the NFC.  It all starts with a big game a week from today.  The Steelers come to town with a veteran defense and have the ability to rack up the sacks on Alex Smith just like Baltimore did on turkey day.  Looking at the schedules of the 49ers and the Saints (currently with the same record as the 49ers but sit in 3rd because of a conference record tie breaker), the 49ers will most likely need to win at least 2 of 3 since the Saints have two of three at home against inferior opponents. 

Let's hope Harbs can get the pieces lined up for Monday night's clash with the Steelers.  

Niiiiiiiiinnnnnneeerrrrrssss!!!!

Cheers,

Mr. A

The Dead-beat Dad that is the Giants' Front Office

The 2011 season was a failure for the Giants. No way around it. But just because that failure was in large part (though not entirely) due to injury does not give the front office the excuse to turn in a failure of an offseason. Baseball's Winter Meetings closed today, and it was the most exciting one I can remember (but that's because I never remember any Winter Meetings once they've been done for a week). Unfortunately, the Giants' contribution to that excitement could be described by any of a number of words-that-aren't-really-words-describing-indifference. I'm gonna go with..."bleh".

Giants fans mailed their offseason wish list to the North Pole the day after the World Series ended. (In this metaphor, the North Pole is actually AT&T Park--did your head just explode?). We were hoping Santa (that's the Giants' Brass) would bring us a shiny new Lincecum contract extension. Or a Carlos Beltran, which we would absolutely love. Or a new Cain contract to play with. But when we excitedly opened up our presents, the reaction was about on par with Tim Whatley opening up his label-maker from Elaine. "Oh...an Angel Pagan...thanks."

The Giants decided "well, we can't afford a real middle-of-the-order hitter. I know! We'll fill the lineup with lesser hitters to justify hitting Melky Cabrerra 3rd. Easy!" It seems as though our fears of this new ownership are coming to fruition. Melky Cabrerra and and Angel Pagan probably do make the Giants a better team. But they came in trades. There was no way the Giants were going to make a splash in free agency because ownership set a payroll ceiling that was easily met with the raises coming to existing team members. (Those raises for the bullpen lefties, which I was initially in favor of, are looking increasingly unjustifiable by the day. I whiffed on that one).

What it comes down to is this: it's actually only now that the Zito and Rowand contracts are coming back to bite them. You could've said the same thing during any recent offseason (I'm certain CC Sabathia would be a Giant right now if Zito wasn't). But they got by because their other pitchers were good, and they were cheap. Now Lincecum, Cain, B-Weezy, and the like are actually making what they deserve, and Zito/Rowand/Huff fill up the rest of the payroll. Still, to not even make a real move for Beltran is incredibly frustrating. I get that the Giants are not the Yankees. I don't even really want them to be the Yankees. But why not increase the payroll this year, and then have it go down in the next couple years as Zito, Rowand, and Huff come off the books? The Giants have incredible pitching NOW. A short-term commitment to Beltran would make the offense average NOW. We've all rejoiced in what that combination yields. The team has a young, cheap core of hitters in Sandoval, Posey, and hopefully Belt. It is poised to make a dynastic run if they can round out the offense and keep the pitching in tact. As I've said before, the window is open, and it could slam shut if Cain walks after this season.

Which brings me to my next point. Why are they not working day and night to lock up LinceCain to long-term deals? As McCovey Chronicles pointed out, that sort of thing would not even increase this year's payroll much, if at all. If they're not going to extend them now, and if they're not going to splurge on Beltran, well then they better effing splurge when those guys actually do reach free agency. Or they will feel the ultimate wrath of my keyboard. Mark my words.

Oh, and also, Brandon Belt is totally getting screwed again. More on that later I guess.

*Update*: Andy Baggarly of the SJ Mercury News wrote this excellent article on the contract discussions with LinceCain. To their credit, it looks as though the Giants' front office is working hard towards extending them. I made it sound like since deals didn't get done at the Winter Meetings, they wouldn't get done at all. But we should keep following the ongoings through Spring Training. Be warned: reading that linked article has a downside -- you'll find out that Cain's camp is probably in the $150 million range (not a big surprise, but just...big), and Lincecum's camp could be looking for 8 years (oof!).

Adios Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez, welcome Angel Pagan?

Giants trade Torres and Ramirez to the Mets for Angel Pagan.  Other than Pagan being five inches taller than Torres not much will be different. Both are about five-year veterans in the league and haven't had a close to all-star breakout year yet.  Yes, Pagan's career stats are somewhat better than Torres', but Torres' defense put him a  leg up on Pagan in that department.  Not sure what Sabean is thinking here.  Not only do you get rid of a guy for just about the same person, but you also include a solid right-handed relief pitcher.  A lot more is lost with Torres not being a Giant.  If you could get him to take his adderall, he would throw it all out on the field every game.  Off the field the guy was a legend in the community.  If Sabean and company want to keep this team together and in the winning column he better start making some better moves or just no moves at all.  That being said, I still believe the Giants can be a better team with just a couple additional pieces.  Let's see what Sabean and company can dial up.  We can afford to put multiple players on the chopping block so let's sit back and watch what happens.  The only thing is that history tells me the Giants will not make a splash of any significance.  Oh well...

Here's a link to the news break from SFGate:

http://blog.sfgate.com/giants/2011/12/06/sf-giants-acquire-angel-pagan-for-andres-torres-ramon-ramirez/


Cheers,

Mr. A

P.s. What the deal with this Poopholes deal?  The guy is 31 years old and they want to offer him a ten year deal?  This sport is getting out of hand.  Players like these and players in general are getting way over paid and the dollar value just sets up them up for disappointment.  Good luck to who ever gets this guy.  His body will start to disintegrate in a few years from the roids and or supplements he has been taking along with every other player in his era.  I really hope the Marlins get him.  St. Louis is too good of a franchise to pay that type of money to someone like Poopholes!

Anyway, GO GIANTS!

Cliff Harris: Smoked up all his chances at the University of Oregon

Well Cliff, can't really say anything now.  The people in charge gave you enough chances.  Now it's time to grow up and try your luck in the big boy league.  All I got to say is good luck and thanks for not making your team better when they needed you most.  You had all the talent in the world with a clear path to do something positive for a great University and you blew it.  Why don't you think about that and roll it up and smoke it because that's about all you can do these days!  Here's a link to the report from the Oregonlive.com home page.

http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2011/12/oregon_ducks_dismiss_cliff_har.html

RIP #13!

Looks like the big brother's big brother needed to teach him a life long lesson!

Ah oh, look who's back! Tyyyyyges!!!

Hey @TigerWoods fans check this one out.  About an hour after Tyges won this weekend he was so pumped he went back to some old school cuts....

https://twitter.com/#!/tigerwoods/status/143502695783870464

"Who's ready for some LL Cool J?"  Ha!  I am Tyges, Fo Shizzle!

Anyway, glad to see he's officially back up in it.  Not sure what's gotten into him lately?  Maybe he's found a a new girl..... or 10!  BOOM!  Can't wait to see if Tyges can keep it rolling through the holidays in preparation of next season's kick off tournaments in Hawaii.

Happy Monday,

Mr. A

Changing of the guard and the status of the PAC-12

Here in the land of the PAC-10, I mean PAC-12, the changing of the guard at the head coaching position has been the news over the past couple weeks.  First it was Arizona hiring Rich Rodriguez who failed at his last two stops with the most recent mess at the Big House in Ann Arbor.  The next coach to fall was just down the road in Tempe, AZ.  ASU has yet to fill the void and doesn't seem to be in a rush to make a move.  Not soon after that Washington State called it quits on some random and hired the controversial loud mouth Mike Leach who left Texas Tech in a storm a couple years back.  Finally, it's UCLA.  They must really hate Rick Neuheisel down there.  I mean you can't even wait a couple days and then let the guy go?  Rick not only knows this is his last game, but he now has to take his 6-6 Bruins up to Eugene to get stomped.  I am not sure what the Bruins are going to do in the future or who they are going to turn to as head coach but they have a steep hill to climb.

Spinning from there is the PAC-12 championship game featuring Oregon and UCLA. This couldn't have turned out worse for the PAC-12.  The Reggie Bush scandal at USC that has forced UCLA to play Oregon on Friday and has not only lost the conference tons of money, but it has also lost the conference a chance to shine.  Can you imagine the hype of an Oregon/USC match up?  The tickets sales would have sky rocked and ESPN and the rest of the nation would actually care about and watch the PAC-12 championship game.  Instead, ticket prices have plummeted  and people are practically giving them away online.  Even the MAC conference championship game is a hotter ticket for tomorrow night.  What a joke!  Thank you USC and the Bush family.  I hope you are enjoying yourselves in your mansion with a handful of Escalades parked out front.

That being said, cheers to the Ducks!  They are on the brink of a 3rd straight PAC-10 conference championship and hopefully a 3rd straight BCS bowl berth with a win tomorrow night.  Look for the Ducks to come out trying to make as big of a statement as possible.

Cheers,

Mr. A

Ranking the 2012 Giants Promotional Giveaways

No Giants are in/have been in the hunt for any major awards this offseason, which feels weird coming off the Lincecum-Lincecum-Posey stretch of 2008-2010. Nor is the front office likely to make a major splash in the free agent market. No matter. We got all the excitement we need to carry us into Spring Training when the Giants announced their 2012 Promotions Schedule last week. It's a lot to take in, so I'm going to do everyone a favor and provide comprehensive analysis from the items that will be forgotten under the seats to the ones you'll need to arrive early for. Obviously, it will be tough to compete with last year's World-Series-related items (I still wear my WS Ring Replica on the regular), but let's see what's in store for 2012 (each category's items are listed in order of least cool to most cool):

For the Kids (available only to the under-14 demographic)

• Giants Rope Necklace (May 6) - This is you classic wear-for-a-couple-hours-and-then-never-again giveaway. Certainly a few kids will wear them for the whole game, but I doubt any survive the car ride home. This has got classic "what-the-hell-is-this" potential for months later, when kids are digging around under the seat looking for their seat belt.
• Giants Snap Watch (July 29) - Again, this will provide some entertainment during and after the game, but I don't see it making it into many kids' regular accessory rotation. I'd warn the kids to watch out for hipsters looking bump up their irony points, but we all know hipsters don't have the ability to bully anyone. 
• Tim Lincecum Wall Sticker (April 29) - Wish I knew more about this one, like the size. But in any case it will likely make a nice addition to bedroom wall. Low-risk, low-ceiling. Also, kids, take note of the date. I know a lot of you are strapped for cash, so I'll let you know that this would make a fine birthday gift.
• Giants Gym Bag (Aug 12) - This one kind of makes me want to write a strongly-worded letter accusing the Giants of ageism. Why should only kids get a gym bag? What under-14-year-olds go to the gym anyway? But I doubt I'll get around to it; instead I'll take comfort in knowing the Giants gospel will be spread via kids taking this bag to all their sleep-overs.
• Giants Super Hero Cape (June 9) - Let me see here (couting on fingers)...December-January-February-March-April-May...DAM! If this promo got pushed back a couple months I'd make it my mission tonight to impregnate some floozy just so I could bring my kid to this game and get this. I can imagine the Facebook profile picture now -- me doing the hands-on-hips-Superman pose, rocking my sweet Giants cape flowing in the wind....I mean, wow.

Could Be Cool But Probably Won't Be

• Orange Friday Knit Hat (April 27) - I'd like to think this will make appearances outside of AT&T Park, but I doubt it will. There's no way it will be actually-wear-to-keep-warm quality, and the inevitable corporate logo on the back will strip it of most of its coolness points.
• Giants Cap (June 10) - On paper this looks like a great one. But again, we go back to the quality and the corporate logo. Real Giants fans should opt to pay for the real thing.
• Giants Messenger bag (April 28) - This could definitely serve a purpose, and if used, will definitely show the city where your loyalties lie. However my guess is that this will turn out to be a glorified reusable grocery bag.

The Practical

• Calendar (April 13 - Opening Day) - You can never have too many calendars. Actually, you can. Two is too many. But maybe your office needs one.
• Magnet Schedule (April 16) - Either you'll find yourself looking at it a lot and loving its convenience, or you wont. But hey, free magnet.
• Giants Player T-shirt (July 14) - I imagine the player is TBD, so this giveaway's place in this blog post still has a lot of mobility. But as opposed to the hats listed above, T-shirts are pretty hard to screw up as long as they don't try to do too much with it. You'll likely wear it again, especially because we know the player won't be Aaron Rowand.
• Gigantes Player T-shirt (September 8) - Same as above, but with bonus points for ethnicity.
• Giants Welcome Mat (April 15) - No better way to announce to your guests that you know what's what with Bay Area sports while at the same time telling the dirty piles of s--- to wipe their f---ing feet.

The Intruiging

• 2002 Player Bobbleheads - Once again, who knows which player(s) will be depicted, so this certainly has potential to move into one of the categories below. If Barry Bonds is involved, I'm in (obvi). Rueter, Nen, Ortiz, Kent, Snow -- there's some stuff to work with here.
• Orange Friday Texting Glove (May 4) - Full disclosure: I had to Google what "texting gloves" are. But it's the perfect giveaway for San Francisco. Because we're hip, tech-savvy, and have chilly nights. Unfortunately, the crowds at AT&T Park do not need any more encouragement to be clicking away at their phones during games. Nevertheless, the Giants promotions department should get points for creativity and staying current.

Get Your Ebay Sellers Account Ready

• Giants Trading Cards (July 28) - You're not going to much (if anything) for them, but what else are you going to do with them? Surprised this isn't a kids-only giveaway.
• Madison Bumgarner Bobblehead (July 15) - Now we're getting to some interesting stuff. Bobbleheads are the  Osama Bin Laden of promotional giveaways (most wanted). Carve out some time to get to the park early for this one, especially if MadBum is having a good year. Now, I'm not going to explicitly endorse flipping a free gift for it's monetary value, but if you don't have a running collection of Bobbleheads, why deprive someone who has a specific need for this one?
• Pablo Sandoval Bobblehead (August 26) - The line outside the park will be around the corner and beyond for this one. The Panda is in the discussion for most popular Giant, and his body, smile, and goofy attitude were made to be depicted on a doll with a bouncy, over-sized head. 

The Keepers

• Sergio Romo Bobblehead (May 5) - Admittedly, this is personal. Romo is my favorite Giant, and I'm thrilled he's being honored with a Bobblehead. 
• Brian Wilson Gnome (May 20) - Wow. File this under great-ideas-that-I-wish-I-had-thought-of. Simply put, just like Sandoval and his Bobblehead, B-Weezy was made to be depicted in gnome-form. I imagine people walking past this guy in a garden, not thinking much of it, doing a double-take to realize who it is, and going nuts over it. The Brian Wilson Gnome is the clear winner for this year's Mike Krukow IwannaGetThatIwannaGetThatIwannaGetThat award. Nailed it. 

Now what?

After sleeping on the Ducks loss, I don't feel so bad.  As much as it hurts to lose to USC, going into last night we needed to win one of our last two games to make it to the PAC-12 championship game.  Even with a win over USC last night, the Ducks would still be on the outside looking in at the BCS National Game because of the love affair the BCS has with the SEC.  Now the Ducks can focus on the task ahead of them; getting to the Rose Bowl!  With a win over the Beavers and another win against the PAC-12 B league (South Division) in the league championship game, the Ducks will be on their way to their third straight BCS bowl game.  That alone would be a great accomplishment for the Ducks.  The Civil War match-up next Saturday will be the perfect time to take out our frustration from last night's loss.

A couple notes on the game last night:

- The Ducks broke a 21-game home winning streak last night.  Winning streaks and records are meant to be broken.  Here's to the start of another 20+ game winning streak with a win over the Beavers!
- It hurts to say it but Lane Kiffin was better than Chip Kelly last night.  When it mattered most, the Trojans were able to get into the end zone and get the stops they needed.
- Chip's game management in the last two minutes was the worst I have ever seen from him and ended up costing the Ducks the game.  He should have used one or two of the three remaining timeouts in order to make more strategic decisions.  In this case, the right play call would have been more important than keeping our fast-paced, tire-the-opponent-out strategy. Instead of going for the knockout punch (the touchdown), they were forced to rely on the kicker in the last seconds...and we all know how that goes.  Of course, if we had played a better first half, it wouldn't have come to this at all.
- Thanks to Reggie Bush and the USC football program's past mistakes, the football world won't get to see a rematch of last nights game in a post-season match-up setting.  Can you imagine the hype for that - USC vs. Oregon at Autzen to go to the Rosebowl?  Oh, well I guess we will have to wait until next year for that one.

I love my Ducks!

Cheers,
Mr. A

Star Bay Area RB Byron Marshall commits to Oregon!

Everyone, meet Byron Marshall from Valley Christian High.  After a visit to Eugene this summer Marshall was pretty much a lock.  He was also interested in going to UW, but when he traveled to Seattle for a visit he saw UW get crushed by none other than the Ducks which just put an even bigger lock on his decision.  Here's a link from the Santa Clara county high school sports blog on the San Jose Mercury newspaper site.

Here's a highlight reel from his 2010 season.  Check out those stats!  4.4 speed?!!?!  Built to be a Duck!

Cheers,

Mr.A

And so the debate begins...

- Huff is back ladies and gents!

- Raptor sighting! Hahaha!!!









Once again the BCS committee and their decision making jump into the spot light.  Over the next couple of weeks it is going to be interesting to see who stays alive and where the BCS decides to rank everyone.

Before we get too far into that never ending topic, I want to first congratulate the Ducks on their performance this weekend.  I am also glad that the leftcoast "game of the century" lived up to the hype unlike the week before (and yes I'm talking about the 9-6 wrestling match between LSU and Bama).  The Ducks and the Cardinal put on a great show!  The atmosphere was electric from the moment I stepped off the party bus, to walking into the stadium, to the pick six by Lokombo to seal the deal for the Ducks.  The Ducks made all the right moves and I give a lot a credit to the coaching staff for having every player on the team ready go and show the nation what the Ducks are capable of doing to a good team like Stanford.

With that game in the rear view mirror, the Ducks need to head home and keep the ball rolling.  The Ducks have a good team in USC coming to Autzen on Saturday night and cannot afford to slip up this far into the season.  With USC still on probation they have the opportunity to play spoiler this week.  I say good luck to that!  USC hasn't won in Eugene since 2005 and that team had the likes of Reggie Bush (who won the Heisman that year), Lendale White, and return Heisman winning QB Matt Leinart.  The Trojans this year have some play makers but it all starts with the play of Barkley.  You shut him down, you shut the Trojans down.  With that said, I see this streak continuing because the Ducks have too many weapons on offense and the defense is getting better by each snap they play.

Look for a more in depth analysis and prediction later in the week!

With the Ducks sitting at #4 in the BCS standings, they need to not only win both remaining games at Autzen against USC and Oregon State but they need as many style points as possible.

until next time, Go Ducks!

Cheer, Mr. A

Here's a great highlight reel of the game on Saturday!

Transaction Attitudes

The more I think about the Jonathan-Sanchez-for-Melky-Cabrera trade the Giants made a few days ago, the less I like it. I don't hate it, but I just like it less. I can't seem to get past the fact that the Royals are selling way high on Cabrera (after a career year), and the Giants are selling way low on Sanchez (after a disappointing and injury-prone year). While it's extremely difficult to compare value between a hitter and a pitcher, and while I think at this present moment, Sanchez and Cabrera are probably about equal commodities, it's their paths to their respective values that makes me nervous. Sanchez certainly has the higher ceiling, and Melky is due for some regression after a season aided by a pretty high BABIP (.332, 42 points higher than his previous career average). Now, it's possible that Sanchez's value is on the decline, whereas Cabrera's is on the up-an-up (again, just look a the season's they had last year). But it's still hard to believe that the best Sabean could get for a left-hander with ace-like stuff is an average-defensive center fielder whose career numbers suggest he'd have to fight hard for a starting job on most teams. What's nice about this trade, is that come next offseason, we'll have a pretty objective measure of who won it. Both players are free agents after the 2012 campaign, so we'll see who gets the better contract. That should be fun. [Note that I've ignored that the Giants also gave up AA pitcher Ryan Verdugo in the trade. This is something that should be considered, but that would require assessing value on a minor league pitcher, which is way out of my pay grade.]

The Giants needed a leadoff hitter/center fielder, and they did have a starting pitcher to spare. So I do think this trade makes them a better team. But that previous sentence was written by me, a guy who tends to skew optimistically whenever the Giants make a transaction. It's just my nature. I think in terms of what new players could do, rather than what they likely will do, and it always paints a prettier picture. Melky Cabrera? Oh yeah, he'll have 200 hits again, while peppering Triples Alley all season, setting the table for healthy versions of Freddy Sanchez, Pablo Sandoval, and Buster Posey. Meanwhile, Vogelsong's remarkable story will continue, and Zito will bounce back, so everything's cool on the starting pitching side.
I don't like thinking about the other side of possibility: Cabrera will amount to be nothing more than a minor upgrade over Andres Torres, while the Giants miss Johnny Sanchez's arm due to Zito being Zito and Vogelsong being a fluke. Meanwhile Sanchez will finally find the plate in Kansas City and put up Cy Young numbers.

This is why I'm not the General Manager of the Giants. It's also why I don't take the Sabean-bashing to the level that most bloggers do. Because, unfortunately, I think myself and the Giants' front office often think alike. Making moves based on what they hope might happen, rather than assessing value based on the most likely future production. I've actually been behind a lot of Sabean's bad moves at the time of their conception: After 2007, they needed to replace Barry Bonds's pop in the lineup. Aaron Rowand? Yeah he hit 27 homers in '06. He'll do. After 2006, they needed to replace Jason Schmidt in the rotation. Barry Zito? Man, coming over to the National League, he'll be sure to dominate! Sure, they overpaid, but it's not my money. Etc Etc.

My point is this: sign Carlos Beltran, because he's definitely going to stay healthy this year and you can get him to agree to play left field, so Schierholtz moves back to right. Simple.

-Mike the Menace

Pacquiao vs. Marquez: Third Mega-War

This weekend Manny Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38KO’s) and Juan Manuel Marquez (53-5-1, 39KO’s) collide for a third meeting at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Their first encounter happened over 7 years ago on April 5^th, 2004 in the same arena at the featherweight limit for Marquez’s two alphabet belts (IBF & WBA) which resulted in a draw in a blood and guts fight that saw Marquez floored 3 times only to get up and put up the fight of his life.  Their second encounter took place March 15^th of 2008 at the junior featherweight limit of which was also a hotly contested affair, with a controversial split decision ending in favor of Pacman. Each man has taken a different journey to get this third encounter. 

Manny Pacquiao has stormed through 5 divisions from 130-154 lbs, winning an alphabet trinket in each of the respected divisions, only losing one fight along the way to Erik Morales which he twice avenged via stoppage.  Marquez on the other hand has had his ups and downs and won the lineal lightweight championship belt and defended it against formidable opposition.  The only time that Marquez has ventured north of the lightweight limit of 135 versus any recognizable opposition was September 19^th 2009 versus Floyd “Money” Mayweather in a lop-sided decision loss.  The odds started at 9-1 in favor of Pacquiao as he not only has defeated greater competition since their first meeting, but has done so in spectacular fashion.  Marquez has had to get off the canvas a few times and battle valiantly to defend his lightweight belt en route Saturday’s fight. 

There are plenty storylines here and there are several unanswered questions that will finally have conclusion.  Will Pacquiao, 32, finally knock Marquez down and out? Or will Marquez, 38, finally get the nod he feels he deserved and conclude his 26 year boxing career? I am putting my money on Marquez to come out with a huge upset.  I can see Marquez landing a left uppercut-hook (the punch seen on HBO’s 24/7 popping the speed bags) and knocking Pacquiao out.  Pacquiao may want this too much and make a costly mistake that causes him to lose in dramatic fashion. We know that Marquez has climbed off the canvas and won fights.   What is a known fact is that when Pacquiao has been legitimately knocked down; he does not been able to beat the count. 

Do tune in to Saturday’s fight on HBO PPV and witness what may be the third mega-war between these two courageous warriors that carry their country’s pride on their shoulders and always come to fight and leave everything in the ring. It’s not every day we get to witness two great fighters in the pinnacle of their careers face each other.

Thank you,

Keymo

Here's highlights from the previous two battles!!

I.

II.   

Bring on the Dirty Dancing, Andrew Luck. Nobody puts Oregon in a corner!

As I was cruising through this horrible website, espn.com, I couldn't help but notice the most current blog post  from one of the only smart people working for this monopoly over in Bristol, CT.  His name is Ted Miller and he is the Pac-12 football blogger over there.  Here's a link to the article.  Ted couldn't have said it better.  That being said, the Ducks need to take care of business on Saturday night at the Farm and then we can start playing this scenario out.


Get ready for the real La Heisman and the real Black Mamba!
















Can't wait for Saturday!  Go Ducks!!!

Cheers,

Mr A

.... and I'll leave with the film clip Miller refers to in the article above:

5-year Rumor Finally Proven True: Giants Trade J. Sanchez

A-ha! So they WERE looking to trade Jonathan Sanchez this whole time. Back when he was an up-and-comer with nasty stuff. Back when he was coming out of the bullpen. Back when he was demoted to the bullpen. Back when he was an integral part of the best pitching staff in baseball.

Actually none of that is true. The Giants, according to Brian Sabean, haven't really been looking to trade "Dirty" Sanchez at all until after this season ended. It seems their patience with his lack of control and mildly questionable attitude ended after 2011 (see the Extra Baggs Blog for some analysis on this). And so the human trade rumor now moves to Kansas City and the American League, where he will no doubt impress a lot of people, not impress a lot of people, and probably get traded at the Deadline.

I'm a little sad he's gone. I had dreams that he would figure it out for real, and Lincecum/Cain/Bumgarner/Sanchez would deliver World Series trophies to San Francisco well into their 40s. Not only that, but now when am I gonna quote The Karate Kid in a big strike out situation? ("Put him in a bodybag, Jonny, yeeeaaaahhhh!!!!").

I'm also a little nervous. Clearly, the Giants front office had no intentions of counting on Sanchez for anything in 2012. But I was sort of hoping he could keep Zito out of the rotation, while at the same time keep holding the fire to Ryan Vogelsong. Don't you think we're all being a bit quick penciling in Vogey for a repeat (or at least close to it) performance?

In any case, the Giants now have a potentially pretty good center fielder/lead-off man. His defense won't be great, but the Giants are hoping he can continue where he left off last year (201 hits including 44 doubles and 18 home runs, plus 20 steals). He'll have the proper motivation: if he puts together another season like last year, he'll fetch a pretty juicy contract when he's a free agent after the 2012 campaign, with the Giants planning on Gary Brown sliding into that spot for the 2013 season. And so, if he does, I think that's about the right value for Sanchez. Which is kind of a shame. The Giants certainly are selling low on him. This is a guy who at various times was considered a possible package centerpiece that would net one of those mighty Brewers in return. It's a risk for both teams, but it also has potential to be one of those rare "everybody wins" trades.

I'll look forward to Sanchez's 2020 return to AT&T Park (or whatever it'll be called by then) for the WS Champ Team Reunion. He'll be remembered by Giants fans for being frustrating, but mostly for 2 games: his 2009 no-hitter, and the 2010 Game 162 to clinch the West over the Padres (P.S. don't forget that triple he laced off Matt Latos to set up the first run in that game, too).

They are who we thought they were...The Niners that is!

It doesn't seem to matter where these guys play.  East coast, west coast Harbs has them playing at their best.  Physical, smash mouth football and they are having fun doing it.  



"I tried to put a hurt on someone," Edwards said. "I saw the safety coming over the top and I didn't think I was going to be able to get into the end zone. At that time, I said, 'OK, I got the first down. Let me try to inflict some punishment on somebody and see what happens after that.' "

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/06/SPMF1LRAQJ.DTL#ixzz1d2ExLyYC

That was a quote from Braylon Edwards talking about his sweet 24-yard catch and run during the game yesterday.  These guys are on a roll and its going to take some guts and hard hitting to stop them from winning.

Niner offensive MVP of the game:  Frank Gore!  Congratulations for being the first Niner ever to rush for 100+ yards in five consecutive games.  Keep rolling Franky!

Niner defensive MVP of the game:  P. Willis.  This guy forced two fumbles and had numerous hard hits that had a lot of the Redskins saying, they are who we thought they were... as the whole team was sitting in an ice bath complaining how beat up they were.

Harbs and company now head back home with a Sunday show down against the flying Giants who have won three in a row and have a share of the third best record in the NFL at 6-2.  

Looking forward to this game.  Hopefully I can make it for the Sunday morning tailgater after watching the Ducks put the Geeks' national title dreams to rest.  This weekend is going to be a classic!  

Cheers!  

-Mr. A

Left Coast Saturday Stone Cold Locks!!!

Stanford @ Oregon State:

Stanford better be careful, they have a huge game next week against Oregon and they better take care of business this afternoon in Corvallis and not look ahead to next week.  I'll take the big underdog at home to stay somewhat close for most of the game.

Oregon State +21.5

Arizona State @ UCLA:

Alright Neuheisel, here's your chance to make your imprint on this season and win back-to-back games for the first time since October of last year.  With the game being played at the Rose Bowl I give the Bruins a chance to win this game.  The Defense has to play well today and try to make someone other that Osweiler beat them.  If they give the QB time to throw the ball that lurch is going to eat them up.  I'll again take the points with the home dog.


UCLA +9.5


Oregon @ Washington:

Huge game at Husky Stadium this evening.  The Dawgs are going to be hyped up with this being the last game at the classic Husky Stadium before a big renovation.  These teams and fans hate each other with a passion and thing aren't changing anytime soon.  I see a lot of points here.  Punch for punch they will go throughout the first three quarters.  Come the fourth quarter, the Ducks will break away from the Dawgs and win by double digits.


Oregon -16.5


BONUS PICK!!!


LSU @ Alabama:

Game of the year, National Championship, game of the century.... Call it what you want, this one is going to be a dandy.  The mad hatter and company are going into T-town to face Nick "the dick" Saban and the Tide.  I see this one close all the way until the last minute.  The difference in the game is going to be the LSU secondary.  Every other area of both teams match up so well except this one.  LSU will stack the box and force the Tide to throw into the one-on-one cover.  Look for Tyrann Mathieu and Morris Claiborne to make plays all night long.  Can't go against LSU getting points here.


LSU +5

Rip Curl pro search event hits San Francisco's Ocean beach.... Surfers greeted by Shark!!!

Reported in this SFGate article, surfer Dusty Payne was greeted by a three foot fin during a morning session out at Ocean beach during the Rip Curl pro search tour event.  These sharks out there don't care who is out there.  When you're hungry you're going to eat just about anything (anyone)!  Just reading this article first reminded me why I'm not a surfer and two spurred the endless one lines that I can rattle off from one of the best movies of all time, Point Break!

Here's a link to a live feed for the competition!
http://live.ripcurl.com/index.php?Search2011LiveControl


Before Rusty paddled in, I believe the conversation between him and the Shark went a little something like this,

Jonny Utah (Dusty): Okay. I get it. This is where you tell me that "locals rule", and that Yuppie insects like me shouldn't be surfing the break, right? 
Bubker Weiss (the Shark): Nope. 
Anthony Kiedis : That would be a waste of time... 
Warchild (the Shark): We're just gonna fuck you up! 


Via con dios brah!

-Mr. A

Sarkisian taking the snaps at practice? Did I just hear that correctly?

Hey everyone, it's huck the fuskies week!  I could go into some of the classic moments between these two teams but I'll leave that at the end with a couple of my favorite videos from past match ups.  I wanted to see what people thought about the news that Steve Sarkisian is, just like last year, taking the snaps again in practice acting as Darron Thomas (see the link here).  Is this a joke?  I mean if you saw what the Ducks did to the Huskies last year in Autzen I think you would change just about everything you did to prepare because it didn't work.  The Ducks even covered the ridiculous point spread of 35.5 in the 53-16 victory.

With the game up in Washington this year, Husky Stadium will be hosting its last game before the big renovation and during the game the Huskies will be honoring their 1991 Nation Championship team.  This will bring even more hype to the game so the Ducks need to be at their very best.  

With that said I think this year is going to be a lot closer than last year, at least for the first half.  I still see the Ducks putting up comparable numbers but I think the Huskies will score a couple more TD's and make it a close game early with the Ducks pulling away and making just enough stops to win by 10+ points.  

Look for the detailed game preview and prediction later this week!  

Looking forward to the weekend (already)!  Go Ducks and hopefully all you Oregonians in P-town are making the trip up north to show your support.

Cheers!!! I'll leave you with two of the greatest highlights over the years between the Ducks and Huskies!

Time to eat some crow

Some of you may remember my rant about the Niners draft picks this season. If you don't here is a quick recap.

"With the 7th selection in the 2011 NFL draft, San Francisco selects Aldon Smith (WHO????) Linebacker from Missouri. I would imagine 97% of Niner fans had no clue who that guy was. I would imagine 90% of us were still confused, pissed off and uncertain after John Clayton came out and said the guy projects as an excellent pick, even if he could have been taken 8-12 picks later in the draft. Quick fact check. Aldon Smith (Niners should never draft a guy with first initial A last name Smith ever again) played in all of 22 career college games and broke his leg at the end of last season) but has huge upside and great potential."

Well, before I eat crow, I understand that 7 weeks doesn't make a career, nor is it really a great sample of what a player will do for the remainder of his career. But, Aldon Smith has been a freakin' beast from the word go. He has provided what this team desperately needed and couldn't get from long armed Manny Lawson. A linebacker that good get to the QB and sack that fool! A guy who would play angry, learn fast, keep up with the pace set by Patrick Willis and Navarro Bowman. I also expressed concern that SF needed help in the secondary and we should have drafted Prince Amukamara. Yes, the same Prince Amukamara who injured himself and has not been a factor in the 2011 season. Not only did SF draft a cornerback, but they got him late in the third round and didn't waste a pick on a guy who wanted big money and the guy has been nothing short of a stud! I have to give a lot of credit to GM Trent Baalke and recognize that there are plenty of reasons why he was hired as GM and I was hired as, well, a freaking blogger!! I want to take this opportunity to remind everyone reading this that I don't know shit! I only think I do and it's times like this that allow me to eat a slice of humble pie. I've been wrong before and I know for a fact this won't be the last time, but that won't stop me from having an opinion and talking loads of junk about my team, even when they are winning.

Lovely Lefties Coming Back to Giants Bullpen

After the surprisingly good 2009 season for the Giants, one prediction I had for 2010 was that there was no way we should expect the pitching staff to be as good as it was, especially the bullpen.
Turns out it was better, especially the bullpen.
After the World-Series-winningly good 2010 season, one prediction I had for 2011 was that there was no way we should expect the pitching staff to be as good as it was, especially the bullpen.
Turns out it was better, especially the bullpen.
After the disappointingly good 2011 season, one shocking prediction I have for 2012 is that there is no way we should expect the pitching staff to be as good as it was, especially the bullpen.

But the Giants made 2 moves over the weekend to help ensure that the bullpen performance stays at least near where it has been, by signing Javy Lopez to a 2-year deal (worth $8.5 mil), and picking up Jeremy Affeldt's 2012 option (worth $5 mil). It's a hefty chuck of change for middle relievers, but I agree with the moves. As Lopez said himself, "the pitching staff from top to bottom is special". I'm of the opinion that keeping this staff for as long as possible should be the top priority of the offseason, and by locking these guys down, it addresses that issue.

We all know how frustrating an average (or worse) bullpen can be. So while it was widely assumed the G's would keep one but not both of their lefty specialists, the news comes as a pleasant surprise. The Giants probably don't win the World Series in 2010 without these guys getting the tough outs against Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Josh Hamilton, and the like. Affeldt's 2 innings in the clinching Game 6 of the NLCS is probably the most underrated performance of that playoff run.

By bringing these two back, it gives Bruce Bochy a luxuriously good left-handed bullpen, and it should make it easy for him to continue to look like a genius when it comes to handling the pitching staff.

They HAD It...

I feel pretty awful for the Rangers. Losing the World Series for the second year in a row. And to lose Game 6 like they did. They were up on the dugout railing TWICE in that game, waiting for 1 more strike, ready to storm the field. Until they win one, Rangers fans will be haunted by that game. Haunted by Nelson Cruz misplaying that David Freese triple (let's be real - he should have caught that ball). Haunted by that Lance Berkman single.

I went through something similar when the Giants blew Game 6 and lost Game 7 in 2002. Let me tell you--no person should go through that. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Unless you count Dodger fans. But they don't really count as people.

-Mike the Menace

Don't look now, but the Sharks have won three straight!

Off to a dismal 1-3 start, with three of those games at home, the Sharks headed out on the road for six straight.  Instead of worrying about the first few games, the Sharks have rattled off three in a row and head to Detroit to start the final three games of this road trip.  Detroit will be hungry for a win after falling to Columbus on Tuesday night for the BJ's first win of the season.  They will also be welcoming back Jimmy Howard (starting goaltender) who was away form the team Tuesday night for the birth of his child.

I see the Sharks playing with a lot more passion these last couple of games and the core veterans are learning to trust the new guys that joined the team this year.  The Sharks need to just stay afloat these next few games because after this road trip they head home for six in a row!

Hey Detroit, you better keep on eye on Pavelski!  He's on fire right now! 4 goals and 2 assists in the last 3 games!  Keep it up American Joe!

Go Sharks!  Amicis!!!

Cheers,

Mr. A

Come on Maaaaannn!!!

As you may have heard, Cliff Harris, standout cornerback for the Ducks has got himself into another pickle yet again.  Good luck getting out alive this time Cliff!  Really Cliff?  You can't just lay low and chill?  First off you were not wearing a seat belt and second, you were driving a car!  You don't have license means you shouldn't be driving a car.  Get one of your other homies to drive you around.  If you were smart about it, you can just pay them with an IOU since you have a good chance at making some big time money in the near future in the NFL and pay them back then.  With back to back slick moves like this in a four month span you are putting that income in serious jeopardy.  You would think this guy knows that every move he makes is looked at under a microscope and he knows that Chip has not treated past recurring offenders well at all.  Here's a link to the article in the online sports section of the Oregonian newspaper.

If you know of Cliff Harris at all, you have seen this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEiK1kyCrQo

Well, you know what Cliff, looks like the you won't be able to lay the smack down on our little brother this year.  You have a steep hill to climb in a very short time.  I wish you good luck while you beg Chip for forgiveness in hopes to get back on the field.  Oh and about that, if you do get back on the field you better be ready to play.  You have been a disappointment this year starting with Jonny Law catching you doing 118mph down I-5!

In the mean time, Go Ducks this weekend.  Preview and prediction coming later in the week!

Cheers,

Mr. A

Palmer to the Raiders? Mark Davis, like father like son!

Carson Palmer to the Raiders for a 1st round draft pick in 2011 and a 2nd rounder in 2012 (which becomes a 1st rounder if the Raiders make the playoffs this year).  My first thought was, is Al Davis really dead because this sounds too much like a move he would make.  Sounds like his son is not missing a beat by keeping up with his father's "all in" mentality.  That being said, the Raiders had to make some sort of move.  They have a pretty good football team and with Boller or Pryor running the show (their only options after Campbell went down on Sunday) , the ship would have sank very quickly.  In the end, it just seems like too much to give up for a guy that hasn't had the best of luck and success in a league that demands excellence from his position.  

On the other side of the story, Cincinnati owner Mike Brown got what he wanted in the end.  He didn't want to give up Palmer for nothing in return and he waited it out until the perfect team needed his fake retired player.

With this deal all but wrapped up, I would have to say the Bengals future just got a whole lot brighter.  They are lined up with a stock of young players and freak athletes for rookie QB Andy "fire" Dalton to spread the ball out to.  Add to that potentially two 1st round picks in each of the next two years.  

In the end, I could care less how good Cincinnati is and I wish the best of luck to the Raiders.  If Palmer has any type of instant success, good luck to Campbell because his career as a starter in this league is going to be in serious jeopardy.    

Cheers,

Mr. A