A new article regarding the Tim Donaghy situation and NBA refereeing as a whole has been posted. A link is below:
http://www.osfan.com/articles/personnel_foul.html
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Matt Morris - bringing back the suck
A month ago Matt Morris' ERA was 2.56. He was looking like the odds on favorite for being the obligatory Giant in the All Star game and would be fantastic trade bait for a franchise that badly needs a successful fire sale to get some quality prospects into the system. Morris, a big money free agent signing a year ago who has mostly disappointed, naturally went into the tank as soon as being traded to a decent team was a possibility.
Since mid-June, Morris has given up fewer than 4 earned runs in one start, and even then he gave up 3 runs (1 earned) while "scattering" 10 hits and 2 walks over 7 innings. He's given up at 6 runs or more in 4 of his 6 starts in that span, including 8 runs at Wrigley today, wasting Barry Bonds' 2 HR 6RBI slump-buster performance. Morris' ERA is now at 4.08 and climbing, and his record has fallen from 7-3 to 7-6 (not that pitcher record means anything, but a gaudy record helps sell a trade to a fanbase which doesn't know any better). Had Morris continued to do well or only drop off to having an ERA of 3, he could've fetched the Giants a tidy ransom as a potential #2 starter for a contender. Now he's a #4 with a big contract past this season. You can't have a fire sale if there are no buyers. Sabean's task will be roughly equivalent to peddling used diapers to expectant parents in Beverly Hills.
Oh, and where was this 8 runs of support for Matt Cain yesterday? He got 1 run, well after he left the game. Sure he got lit up, but it must be hard pitching when you know that after giving up 1 run you have no chance at the win and 2 runs given up are a guaranteed loss. I've seen NBA teams freeze out a player before (and more often, one player freeze out another) but I don't recall ever seeing a baseball team's entire offense basically freeze out their own starter for an entire season. Actually, Roger Clemens had it happen in Houston a few years ago, but he deserves it. Maybe Cain slept with one of the position players' granddaughters?
Since mid-June, Morris has given up fewer than 4 earned runs in one start, and even then he gave up 3 runs (1 earned) while "scattering" 10 hits and 2 walks over 7 innings. He's given up at 6 runs or more in 4 of his 6 starts in that span, including 8 runs at Wrigley today, wasting Barry Bonds' 2 HR 6RBI slump-buster performance. Morris' ERA is now at 4.08 and climbing, and his record has fallen from 7-3 to 7-6 (not that pitcher record means anything, but a gaudy record helps sell a trade to a fanbase which doesn't know any better). Had Morris continued to do well or only drop off to having an ERA of 3, he could've fetched the Giants a tidy ransom as a potential #2 starter for a contender. Now he's a #4 with a big contract past this season. You can't have a fire sale if there are no buyers. Sabean's task will be roughly equivalent to peddling used diapers to expectant parents in Beverly Hills.
Oh, and where was this 8 runs of support for Matt Cain yesterday? He got 1 run, well after he left the game. Sure he got lit up, but it must be hard pitching when you know that after giving up 1 run you have no chance at the win and 2 runs given up are a guaranteed loss. I've seen NBA teams freeze out a player before (and more often, one player freeze out another) but I don't recall ever seeing a baseball team's entire offense basically freeze out their own starter for an entire season. Actually, Roger Clemens had it happen in Houston a few years ago, but he deserves it. Maybe Cain slept with one of the position players' granddaughters?
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Why are All Star games a big deal?
The Giants just hosted the MLB All Star game. Some observations about the extravaganza:
- The "fanfest" was at the Moscone Center. Fans waited in long lines to pay money to wait in long lines to stand in a batting cage for a couple minutes. Good times.
- Justin Herman Plaza hosted a mini version of fanfest, with a fungo batting experience, a pitching activity, and a bunch of corporate giveaways in exchange for personal info so you can be harassed by annoying salespeople.
- People paid hundreds of dollars for tickets to a glorified batting practice. To top it off, some of the biggest names (Bonds, David Ortiz, Alex Rodriquez, etc) didn't participate. But hey, who wouldn't want to pay $600 to watch Alex Rios take three rounds of bp? I wonder how many Giants fans saw "A. Rios" in the Derby lineup and wondered what Armando Rios was doing at the All Star game.
- I heard there was a "futures" game featuring top prospects. I'm not sure if this was just a rumor, as no one under age 35 is allowed in the home dugout in San Francisco.
- The main event itself, the All Star game. People forked over huge sums of money to attend an exhibition game where the main objective is to not injure any players' bodies and egos. Everyone plays. No one tries. Most have some fun with it and few care about the outcome. It's like the MLB equivalent of a 6 year old's Little League game, minus the effort and the orange slices. Oh, except for the whole home field advantage in the World Series being decided by an exhibition game featuring a bunch of players who have no shot at making the World Series.
- The "fanfest" was at the Moscone Center. Fans waited in long lines to pay money to wait in long lines to stand in a batting cage for a couple minutes. Good times.
- Justin Herman Plaza hosted a mini version of fanfest, with a fungo batting experience, a pitching activity, and a bunch of corporate giveaways in exchange for personal info so you can be harassed by annoying salespeople.
- People paid hundreds of dollars for tickets to a glorified batting practice. To top it off, some of the biggest names (Bonds, David Ortiz, Alex Rodriquez, etc) didn't participate. But hey, who wouldn't want to pay $600 to watch Alex Rios take three rounds of bp? I wonder how many Giants fans saw "A. Rios" in the Derby lineup and wondered what Armando Rios was doing at the All Star game.
- I heard there was a "futures" game featuring top prospects. I'm not sure if this was just a rumor, as no one under age 35 is allowed in the home dugout in San Francisco.
- The main event itself, the All Star game. People forked over huge sums of money to attend an exhibition game where the main objective is to not injure any players' bodies and egos. Everyone plays. No one tries. Most have some fun with it and few care about the outcome. It's like the MLB equivalent of a 6 year old's Little League game, minus the effort and the orange slices. Oh, except for the whole home field advantage in the World Series being decided by an exhibition game featuring a bunch of players who have no shot at making the World Series.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Goodbye, J-Rich
Last week's NBA draft saw the Warriors draft an Italian shooting guard at #18, prompting questions about why a team heavy on wings and missing size would go after another guard. The answer came within an hour as news of a trade leaked - the Warriors had traded longtime (by today's sports standards) starting shooting guard Jason Richardson and the rights to the 36th pick (which was acquired from Minnesota in the Marc Jackson trade sometime during the Mesozoic period) for the rights to the 8th pick in the draft, Brandan Wright.
Many Warriors fans have mixed thoughts on the trade. Jason had become Mr. Warrior to a chunk of the fan base, especially the newer fans. However, for myself it was an odd case where I had little emotional attachment to a significant and longstanding member of my favorite team. Maybe it was because Richardson was immature early on, be it the sickout (skipping practice with that turd Gilbert Arenas without notice, later claiming they were just sick but in reality they wanted more crunch time minutes) or putting his ex-girlfriend's (and mother of his child who was present) head through a wall. He had a knack for exciting dunks, but it was telling that he could never perform them in a meaningful situation nor in a half court setting. He never had the ball handling skills to drive and dunk on anyone, and for years had to pause to gather himself and jump off 2 feet before attacking the rim (which allowed the defense to get set and await).
Richardson worked on his body and his game and became a very good scorer. But he never became a guy who could carry a team, who could singlehandedly bring victory. Contributing to this was his inability to use his scoring ability to set up teammates. He was greatly admired, and rightfully so, for having a great will to win and the ability and desire to play through high levels of pain, but that couldn't overcome the fact that he was a role player paid like a star, and one who happened to play a position of psuedo-depth on the Warriors (I threw in the qualifier because Barnes and Pietrus are both free agents). To top things off, Richardson is a player who relies on athleticism and had persistent knee issues for the past year, robbing him (at least temporarily) of some of the athleticism which made him a superior player and greatly hindering his performance.
The trade gives the Warriors several things. First of all, it shows fans that the team is trying to improve and is not content sitting on hits 8 seed laurels. This is a great relief to me personally. Secondly, it frees up the $50 million due Richardson over the next 4 years and creates a $10 million trade exception the Warriors can use anytime in the next calendar year. Third, it brings in Brandan Wright, who arguably has the highest ceiling of anyone in this year's draft outside of the two surefire stars (Oden and Durant). Wright is a power forward, a position the Warriors have a gaping hole at (though Wright is only 19 and needs to put on at least 20 pounds of muscle before playing heavy minutes, but long term he and Biedrins could form the best front line in the league, or at least the best one not involving Greg Oden). Wright is also a guy the Timberwolves would likely prefer (due to youth, ceiling, health, and contract) to Jason in the event that they finally do deal Kevin Garnett.
Bottom line: I'm not thrilled to see Jason go and I appreciate his contributions to the franchise, but I have no problems with the deal and am excited to see that the franchise is actively trying to improve. Welcome Brandan Wright. For now anyway...
Many Warriors fans have mixed thoughts on the trade. Jason had become Mr. Warrior to a chunk of the fan base, especially the newer fans. However, for myself it was an odd case where I had little emotional attachment to a significant and longstanding member of my favorite team. Maybe it was because Richardson was immature early on, be it the sickout (skipping practice with that turd Gilbert Arenas without notice, later claiming they were just sick but in reality they wanted more crunch time minutes) or putting his ex-girlfriend's (and mother of his child who was present) head through a wall. He had a knack for exciting dunks, but it was telling that he could never perform them in a meaningful situation nor in a half court setting. He never had the ball handling skills to drive and dunk on anyone, and for years had to pause to gather himself and jump off 2 feet before attacking the rim (which allowed the defense to get set and await).
Richardson worked on his body and his game and became a very good scorer. But he never became a guy who could carry a team, who could singlehandedly bring victory. Contributing to this was his inability to use his scoring ability to set up teammates. He was greatly admired, and rightfully so, for having a great will to win and the ability and desire to play through high levels of pain, but that couldn't overcome the fact that he was a role player paid like a star, and one who happened to play a position of psuedo-depth on the Warriors (I threw in the qualifier because Barnes and Pietrus are both free agents). To top things off, Richardson is a player who relies on athleticism and had persistent knee issues for the past year, robbing him (at least temporarily) of some of the athleticism which made him a superior player and greatly hindering his performance.
The trade gives the Warriors several things. First of all, it shows fans that the team is trying to improve and is not content sitting on hits 8 seed laurels. This is a great relief to me personally. Secondly, it frees up the $50 million due Richardson over the next 4 years and creates a $10 million trade exception the Warriors can use anytime in the next calendar year. Third, it brings in Brandan Wright, who arguably has the highest ceiling of anyone in this year's draft outside of the two surefire stars (Oden and Durant). Wright is a power forward, a position the Warriors have a gaping hole at (though Wright is only 19 and needs to put on at least 20 pounds of muscle before playing heavy minutes, but long term he and Biedrins could form the best front line in the league, or at least the best one not involving Greg Oden). Wright is also a guy the Timberwolves would likely prefer (due to youth, ceiling, health, and contract) to Jason in the event that they finally do deal Kevin Garnett.
Bottom line: I'm not thrilled to see Jason go and I appreciate his contributions to the franchise, but I have no problems with the deal and am excited to see that the franchise is actively trying to improve. Welcome Brandan Wright. For now anyway...
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