Are the Silver and Black on Crack?

By Fernando Gallo

In the words of Vince Lombardi: What the hell is going on here?

The Raiders have traded for defensive end Richard Seymour, giving up a first-round pick in 2011 in the process. That the Raiders made a move from completely out of left field is not really a story these days. But this trade? Oy vey...

For the Patriots, I completely understand why they made this deal. Seymour is in the last year of his contract and they don’t like to pay anybody. He’s got three rings already, so he’ll likely want to set up the rest of his life with one last fat contract. The Pats certainly weren’t going to give him that, so they trade him for a possible top-ten pick. Makes sense.

As for the Al Davis All-stars - what are you guys thinking? This move makes sense for a team that really is one piece away from Super Bowl contention, but not for the bumbling Raiders. Seymour is a former Pro Bowler, and certainly talented, but is his addition going to shore up a run defense that got gashed by three of four opponents this preseason? Doubtful.

This solidifies the fact that Davis is simply too stubborn to succeed in today’s NFL. He refuses to flat-out rebuild, and this latest reach might be one of the most painful. Based on the fact that Oakland hasn’t won more than six games since 2002, the pick they just gave up is likely to be a good one. And if Seymour leaves for free agency after this year, this is one of the dumbest trades in NFL history.

On a slightly different note, is there some sort of secret, under-the-table deal between Davis and Patriots owner Robert Kraft? These two teams just can’t seem to get enough of each other. The Raiders hired former defensive coordinator Rob Ryan from the Patriots in 2004, gave away Randy Moss to them in 2007 in a deal that still gives me nightmares, and sent disgruntled defensive lineman Derrick Burgess there earlier this year. Oakland seems to be doing New England a lot of favors - how about a little reciprocation one of these days?

Recession Claims Another Job - Anyone Need a Super Bowl Hero?

By Jordan Guinn

Wide receiver David Tyree, who became famous in Super Bowl for his miraculous catch during the winning drive of Super Bowl 42, has been cut from the New York Giants.

The sixth round pick out of Syracuse in 2003, he missed last season because of knee trouble. Health was an issue this year as well. Plus, reports say he was having a hard time holding onto the ball.

Tyree, if healthy, should bounce back with another team. By no means should his career be over. No one is saying Tyree will have a plaque in the football hall of fame, but he deserves a shot as a second or third option somewhere.

He will always be fondly remembered by me and fellow New England-area sports haters. His ball-pressed-to-helmet catch helped wipe the cocky grin off the Patriots' faces.

Seeing Bill Belichick scurry off the field with time on the clock and leave his team to deal with the shame and embarrassment on their own is one of the greatest sports moments of all time.

But professional sports is a business, and feelings and nostalgia have no place in it. It doesn't matter that Eli Manning and Tyree paired to created a phenomenal memory and historic sports moment; he was dragging down the squad's chances for 2009.

The lesson is simple: Business is down; the recession claimed another job. Teams can't afford to keep a memory.

The Present ain’t Pretty, but the Future is Bright in Oakland

By Fernando Gallo

To the casual fan, the Oakland Athletics are pathetic: They trail the AL West-leading Angels by nearly 20 games, and their offense ranks near the bottom of the league in home runs (27th), batting average (24th), slugging (28th), and even Billy Beane’s beloved on-base percentage (22nd). For many A’s fans, this has been a season to forget, and we all know that the Eastern Seaboard Propaganda Network (also known as ESPN) never has a problem ignoring West Coast teams.

But the truth of the matter is that Beane has done it again - he has worked some magic and amassed a wealth of young talent. The writing was on the wall after the A’s last postseason run to the ALCS in 2006. Even though they finally got over the first-round hump that had dogged Beane’s celebrated tenure as general manager, that team was not built for the long hall: Barry Zito was in the last year of his deal, and his numbers were already on a downswing that would continue in San Francisco (ha ha); Esteban Loaiza’s career was winding down (it ended in 2008); despite his MVP-caliber season, at 38, Frank Thomas didn’t have many homers left in him; and Eric Chavez and Rich Harden were showing signs of the injury-plagued years that were to come. All of these pieces were key to Oakland’s rise, and their shelf life was dwindling fast.

So Beane did what Beane does best: He sold high and got some great young prospects in return. Despite the fact that he was becoming a dominant pitcher, Danny Haren was dealt for a cavalcade of minor leaguers. Many other veterans soon followed, and Oakland would rightfully earn the moniker of the Triple A’s as the prospects rolled in.

Now fast forward to 2009: The last three seasons have helped to develop some fantastic arms, including starting pitchers Brett Anderson (21-years-old), Trevor Cahill (21), Gio Gonzalez (23), and closer Andrew Bailey (25). Among those pitchers, both Anderson and Gonzalez appear to have ace-quality talent: After struggling mightily with control issues, Gonzalez has surrendered less than three runs in five of his last eight starts and is averaging better than 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings. Anderson appears to be hitting the proverbial wall, struggling in his last few starts, but he has had some brilliant outings this season, including a 2-hit shutout in his first career start at Fenway Park against the Red Sox. Cahill has also strung a few good starts together, and the flame-throwing Bailey was the A’s lone All-star representative in July - he currently has 21 saves in 25 chances.

Overall, the A’s have four rookie pitchers and 12 players on the everyday roster with three years of big league experience or less. Catcher Kurt Suzuki has proven himself to be a very dependable hitter (.271 career average and .405 career slugging percentage), as well as a strong leader among the pitching staff. And outfielder Rajai Davis has been a classic Beane diamond in the rough: After being cut by the rival San Francisco Giants two years ago, Davis has claimed the starting spot in centerfield with a .298 average and 30 stolen bases.

One of the most interesting developments for the A’s has been the evolution of their enigmatic general manager. Loved by stat geeks and hated by old-schoolers, Beane has been told that his vaunted “Moneyball” methods have failed in the long haul, but that is definitely not the case. Howard Bryant of ESPN wrote an article that was surprisingly even-keel by ESPN standards (but way too long), and he explains what many A’s fans have known for a long time: It’s not that Beane’s methods didn’t work - it’s that they worked too well. The Red Sox figured out that Beane’s ideas were worth copying, and their payroll dwarfs Oakland’s. The result? Two championships in four years.

“Moneyball” was never about on-base percentage; it was about exploiting the inefficiencies in the market. Home runs and .300 batting averages will always be expensive, but Beane tried to find the things that helped win games and were much cheaper than the conventional stats. In 2002, it was on-base percentage. Now that everyone has caught up to the on-base revolution, Beane has been forced to find new inefficiencies and change his methods.

So what is undervalued right now? Speed and defense. Beane was a fervent hater of the stolen base, as reflected by his team’s stats: The A’s haven‘t finished better than 14th in the majors in stolen bases since 2002, and have finished dead last in that category three times in that span. Beane felt that the risk of losing a base runner outweighed the benefit of a possible stolen base, so he never acquired speedsters and the A’s never ran. But this year, the A’s are fifth overall in steals, and Davis has been allowed to run hog wild on the base paths.

Defense has always been a hard quality to measure statistically, so Beane ignored it for the most part. He opted to try to hide bad defenders in the corner outfield spots or at first base, but lately defense has made a comeback. The re-signing of Mark Ellis proves that point: Beane doesn’t find .267 career hitters that appealing, but he gave Ellis a two-year deal in 2008 because of his great defense at second base.

So what does this all mean? It means fear not, A’s fans - your team is still in good hands. The young pitchers have gained valuable on the job training this season, and the team has switched to a six-man rotation for the rest of the year to allow the kids to rest. Beane still has to prove that he can develop a power hitter (he hasn’t had much success in doing so since Eric Chavez), but there are many viable candidates for that role in the minor leagues. All of the trades have always been part of a long-term plan, with the one-year veteran deals just there to ensure the team stays competitive. The A’s will soon be just a veteran or two away from the postseason (like they were in 2006), and a long playoff run is on the horizon. In the meantime… there’s always football!

Ichiro: I'm too sexy for home runs

By Fernando Gallo

Everyone’s favorite slap-hitter, Ichiro Suzuki, was featured in a New York Times article on Saturday, and although I tend to stay away from that elitist snob-fest, this story was too good to pass up. It discusses Ichiro’s many talents, but also has a priceless quote from the king of the first 90 feet.

“Chicks who dig home runs aren’t the ones who appeal to me,” he said. “I think there’s sexiness in infield hits because they require technique. I’d rather impress the chicks with my technique than with my brute strength. Then, every now and then, just to show I can do that, too, I might flirt a little by hitting one out.”

As a fan of true baseball, and not just ‘roid-induced home run derby-style games, I can respect the value of singles and infield hits. But calling infield hits sexy? Wishful thinking there, Ichiro. For proof, look no further than a man Ichiro is so often compared to, Pete Rose. “Charlie Hustle” was many things: A great hitter, gritty competitor, gambling manager - but certainly not sexy. But hey, maybe I’m wrong: You be the judge on that one.

For all of his accomplishments, Ichiro is still just a glorified lead-off man. He has speed, defense and the ability to hit for average, but he doesn’t walk nearly enough (even though his batting average is third-best in the majors, his on-base percentage is 27th) and he’s only reached double-digit home runs twice over his nine-year career. There are always rumors that Ichiro has great power in batting practice, but simply chooses not to utilize it in order to get more hits. But what Mariners fan wouldn’t trade in a 30-point drop in Ichiro’s average in order to get some more home runs? Since 2002, the Mariners haven’t ranked higher than 18th in the majors in team home runs - coincidentally, guess when the last time they made the playoffs was?

You may find some chicks that dig you, Ichiro, but October clearly digs the long ball. By the way, what do you care about chicks, anyway - you're married! Who do you think you are, Andrei Kirilenko?

A Giant exaggeration for a Rocky road trip

By Fernando Gallo


Troy Tulowitzki doing his best Ryan
Spilborghs impression. Photo from Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dirkhansen/
/ CC BY 2.0

So the Giants suffered a devastating loss at the hands of those upstart Colorado Rockies last night, meaning they lost three of four in Denver over the weekend – but to hear Giants fans and the Bay Area media tell it, you’d think the Gigantes had just been eliminated from playoff contention. The moans and groans have been plentiful on the Giants’ mammoth flagship radio station, KNBR 680 AM, and Giants radio announcer David Fleming set the tone last night when he called the loss the worst defeat for San Francisco since 2002. That year, for those of you baseball fans who spend a lot of time living under a rock,

Zito's biggest challenge yet

Barry Zito doing what he does best: looking ridiculous. Find information about this photo from Flickr here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/slgc/ / CC BY 2.0

By Jordan Guinn

Barry Zito must go deep for the San Francisco Giants on Monday in the final game of a four-game set against the Colorado Rockies. By far, this is Zito's biggest start as a member of the orange and black. While all the starts at this point of the season are big, Zito has never faced this sort of pressure in his two and a half seasons with the Giants.

He has always been considered a second-half pitcher, but the Giants have always been well out of contention by late August since he signed his insanely ridiculous seven-year, $126 million contract.

A win tonight would bring the Giants within two games of Colorado, while a loss would put the team four games back in the wild card race. A loss tonight certainly wouldn't spell the end of the season for the Giants, but it would provide them with a winning record on their current 11-game road trip and a series split with a team they are trailing in a tight race.

Few have been more critical of Zito than myself. I have blasted him on Facebook, previous columns and in person at AT&T Park. I understand that he has the worst run support in baseball this season. I also understand this is the best he has pitched since donning a Giants uniform. However, that isn't saying much. Zito has made great steps this year and has the opportunity to endear himself more to faithful Giants fans like myself. The Giants must give him some runs, but Zito cannot have a meltdown against Jason Marquis on Monday, he cannot exit before the sixth inning and he cannot give up more than two runs.

For the love of God Zito, keep the team in the game.

The Round-Up: Some serious jaw-ing going on in Oakland; the Mets just can't catch a break

By Fernando Gallo

I don't know if he's a good coach, but he's got a monster left hook

So Tom Cable was somehow involved in the breaking of assistant coach Randy Hanson’s jaw - are we supposed to be surprised about this? In recent years, there hasn’t been a more dysfunctional franchise in professional sports than the Oakland Raiders. There are pathetic teams (hello Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Pirates), but Oakland is the only team that still makes it entertaining. The real trouble is not Hanson’s broken jaw, or even that the Napa, Calif. police are investigating the matter - the real concern for Raider Nation is that Cable is not the first head coach to have problems with Hanson. Lane Kiffin suspended Hanson last season, which was reportedly one of the things that set Al Davis off and played a part in his firing (although I suppose losing 15 of 20 games didn't help). If cryptkeeper, er, Davis wants Hanson there, he ain’t going anywhere, so Cable better find somewhere quiet to put him and then leave him alone. Otherwise, Cable will be adding to California’s horrendous unemployment rate.

And yet, they still charge full price to go to the games

What do we know so far about the NFL in 2009, based on two weeks of preseason? The Raiders are second in points per game (25.5), the Cardinals are second-to-last (8), Tarvaris Jackson completed 12 of 15 passes to spark a great comeback win for Minnesota, and 49ers rookie running back Glen Coffee has more than three times as many rushing yards (196) as Adrian Peterson (64). Which proves yet again that the preseason is about as meaningless as a Clippers - Bobcats game in April.

Three outs, one player, zero happiness in Queens

Eric Bruntlett of the Phillies completed an unassisted triple play on Sunday, which doesn’t seem that special, but you’d be surprised: There have actually been fewer of them than perfect games. Bruntlett’s feat was the fifteenth such accomplishment in major league history, while Mark Buehrle threw baseball’s eighteenth perfect game this season. The fact that it happened against the Mets to end a game in which they had two runners on with no outs is more noteworthy to me. Since New York’s spectacular collapse to lose the NL East on the last day of the season in 2007, has there been a team with worse luck? In 2008, the Mets were eliminated from the playoffs on the season’s last day yet again (and both times the Marlins did them in), and they’ve celebrated the opening of a new stadium by stumbling to a 57-67 record. If it weren’t for the fact that they play in the same division as the lowly Washington Nationals, the Mets would surely be in last place.