Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Trade Deadline + more....

At this 1:05 am hour, pretty much all that's on my mind is the fast-approaching trade deadline. ESPN, among other sports coverage folks, have tabbed Prince Fielder as one of the main players who might relocate prior to the July 31st MLB trade deadline.

Of course, my attention is particularly focused on Mr. Fielder because my SF Giants are one of the teams rumored to be called about the Prince. My boys of black and orange are one of the two main suitors I have read about as great fits for Prince, with the other being the Chicago White Sox. The Sox are surprisingly in the lead of the AL Central, and adding Fielder's bat with the opportunity for him to split time at DH is very ideal.

However, in my perfect world, Fielder will somehow finagle his way over to the Bay, without the Giants giving up too much. Jonathan Sanchez, along with minor league Brandon Belt, are the two names I am hearing most. 20 year-old prodigy Madison Bumgarner is also a hot topic, but the Giants might be hesitant to trade away their beloved Golden Boy.

Whatever the case, I just hope that IF the Giants do trade for Fielder, they don't send the house. As of TODAY, things are jamming away just fine for the Giants. The offense is functional, the pitching staff is capable, and the bullpen is holding their own. I'm sure a week from now when the boys score 1 run total during the 4 game series vs. the Marlins, I'll be quite outspoken otherwise.

Here is link to some chatter from ESPN analyst John Kruk about fielder....

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Two more links...

Silly Joey Votto and your first All-Star appearance....

Tonight is another great opportunity to remember the passing of a legendary coach.

Lunch Links

Some things to look over...

Demarcus Cousins had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Kings in a 90-84 victory over the rival LA Lakers.

Buster Posey was rewarded for his hard work prior to the All-Star Break.

The Sacramento Kings lost a critical piece to the puzzle in rebuilding the franchise.

Pac-10 powers UCLA and Cal highlight the 2010-2011 UC Davis men's basketball schedule

ESPN Finally Caught On

My mistake in calling it a terribly irrelevant day in sports. Well, it still is an awful day for watching sports, but ESPN finally got smart and at least planned something today.

The ESPY Awards, broadcasted by ESPN annually to celebrate their existence, take place tonight at 6:00pm PST. The show will air live in the ESPN network, hosted by actor/comedian Seth Meyers.

ESPN salvaged this boring day of non-sports by getting something for prime time TV coverage, so that we don't have to watch Home Run Derby replays from 2003 or see Kenny Mayne do Sportscenter six straight hours, trying to talk to us about something relevant.

The Most Irrelevant Day in Sports

Well, what to discuss on the most irrelevant day in sports?

There are no baseball games, as the MLB has the day off following the All-Star game...there is minimal NBA chatter, as free agency hoopla is dwindling....the Brett Favre saga has yet to stake its claim to 54 minutes of Sportscenter....what is there to discuss?? Granted on the ESPN "all scores" page, there are a handful of tennis matches currently taking place, and on the WNBA scores page I tragically learned that WNBA plays mid-week day games....I still can't find myself to discuss those, at least not too much.

WNBA day games???? Please....I want an honest man's answer to how many people attended today's Chicago Sky vs. San Antonio Silver Stars 11:30am tip-off. Granted the ESPN claims that a shade over 6,000 paid to be there, I really want to know how many people showed up. I'm speechless after going on the Silver Stars' home page and finding out I'd have to pay $50.00 to sit in the lower bowl to watch a game....blasphemy! I mean, I know the NBA Kings are bad in Sacramento, but they don't even hit my wallet that hard to sit in the lower bowl.

By technicality, there is golf today, in that a few dozen guys tee off at this weekend's Open Championship across the pond at about 11:00pm tonight, West Coast time. Additionally, the AAA Minor League All-Star game starts at 4:00 local time, but only those with the MLB Network will be lucky enough to catch that. Moral of the story, sports are quiet today.

The All-Star game was intriguing last night, with pitching overtaking the spotlight, until Brian McCann and his bases clearing double took over. The National League won 3-1, their first win since 1996, giving them home-field advantage in the Fall Classic later this year. It was a joy to watch all today's star pitchers dominate great hitters like Albert Pujols, Ryan Braun, Ichiro, Joe Mauer and Ryan Howard. All were hitless last night, with all but Mauer striking out in some ugly, foolish fashion courtesy of one of the upper 90's fastballs we saw, or some filthy offspeed pitch. Overall, the National League pitchers' stat line was 9 IP, 6 H, 1 unearned run, and 8 K. The American League wasn't quite as stellar, but did post 10 K against some of the league's best.

Until next time, keep on simmering on the concept of a boring sports day....I can't wait to see what tonight's Sportscenter is going to talk about, other than Tiger Woods.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Home Run Derby Predictions

How random are Home Run Derby predictions?? Well, random enough that I'm gonna toss some out there. Tonight's lineup is highlighted by the following 8 powerful studs:

Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Detroit Tigers (American)
Corey Hart, OF, Milwaukee Brewers (National)
Matt Holliday, OF, St. Louis Cardinals (National)
David Ortiz, DH/1B, Boston Red Sox (American)
Hanley Ramirez, SS, Florida Marlins (National)
Nick Swisher, OF, New York Yankees (American)
Vernon Wells, OF, Toronto Blue Jays (American)
Chris Young, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks (National)

Sadly no contestants hail from the host stadium, which is a bummer because it usually can fire up the crowd even more than seeing the other guys hit 80+ home runs. By the way, props to Major League Baseball for forgoing dozens and dozens of baseballs that become awesome souvenirs. Torii Hunter, from the Angels, was the ideal candidate until he turned down the MLB offer to compete. Hunter cited the 2002 Derby when explaining his absence from this years' contest, saying that year the Derby affected him with "uppercut fever" and his swing was never the same in the second half of the season. Hunter also explained he's been feeling some soreness in his shoulder and back, and that entering the Derby would probably make matters worse.

Neither of the 8 competitors from the past two Home Run Derby's is competing this year, so possibly this thought of the Derby affecting the swing is common among today's stars.

Miguel Cabrera is probably the entrant with the most pop in his bat, evidence by his 22 home runs, the most of any Derby Competitor. Hanley Ramirez checks in with just 13 home runs this season, and is the guy who will probably struggle the most tonight. His approach at the plate is very "line drive" and "hit for average" focused that he seems to be the one who would have to make the most adjustments to his swing tonight.

David Ortiz, Corey Hart, Vernon Wells and Chris Young are all great bets to win tonight because they seem to be looking to hit one out every single at bat. If Big Papi has the energy to make it into the Finals, he'd be a great bet to win it all.

My prediction, in conclusion, is that Vernon Wells claims the title tonight. The exhaustion of the night will take Big Papi down and the Blue Jay, Wells, will win it all.