DLD 1/29/08 re: Giants; re: Other Stuff
by mikeA on Jan 29, 2008 10:17 AM PST
Email
Printre: Warriors
Webber to return
But this brief proclamation to confirm that he's returning to the team and city where he began his NBA career in 1993 -- and where he lasted only one season because of a fast-crumbling relationship with Nelson -- will be sufficiently stunning to longtime Warriors fans who believe that the breakdown of the initial Webber-Nelson partnership doomed Golden State to more than a decade of despair.
Ratto wrote an article about it, but I didn't read it.
What is my reaction you wonder?
I have two comments:
- The gigantic sign they used to have on Arco that said "C-Web's House" was really irritating.
- The Warriors could use some rebounding.
Good news for the Giants: according to a letter from Sabean they are going to be the next braves:
In recent years, you have become accustomed to us building our teams with an influx of veteran players, in many cases on a one-year basis. Moving forward, we are looking to build our teams with solid all-around players from within our system and supplementing them with high-integrity[haha], impact players who will play major roles on our club for years to come. We have seen this formula work for clubs such as the Atlanta Braves of the early-1990s -- whose strength much like the Giants was strong starting pitching -- and we all know that they went on to win an unprecedented 14 consecutive division titles.
One of those players who will make a huge impact not only on the 2008 team, but over the next five years is our new Gold Glove center fielder Aaron Rowand. As we stress pitching, speed and defense in the new era of Giants baseball, the 30-year-old All-Star embodies those three attributes while also coming off the finest offensive season of his career in 2007. Perhaps his most marketable trait to us as we look to change the culture around our team is his "all-or-nothing" attitude once he takes the field.
When Rowand takes the field, he will be roaming center field at AT&T Park behind one of the top starting rotations in the National League. This winter our assumptions that Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum are two of the top arms in the game today were confirmed by all of the teams which wanted to acquire them. While off-season acquisitions often make headlines, I think our best moves have been the ones we did not make. In holding onto Cain and Lincecum, they combine with Barry Zito and Noah Lowry to be the foundation for a very strong rotation for years to come.
re: A's
The official site has some sort of audio dealie with Greg Smith. Watch it if you like. The invitation I keep getting to download the "New MLB Media Player" is one of the more frightening proposals to have come my way recently.
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Webber
Dunno how much an aging guy with gimpy knees can help but I'm optomistic. God knows they could use a guy that can consistently pull down the boards. Now it's time to go trade for Villanueva.
It's a mystery.
Webber is an excellent passer and has good hands and makes good decisions, but he's not going to rebound better than anyone they've already got - or least no better than anyone they've already got should*.
*Al Harrington.
Who knows, maybe he makes nice with Nelson and this is like getting rid of a curse a little more directly than just beating other teams in the playoffs. Good luck GS.
i don't believe in un-clutch
but i do believe in chris webber.
didn't webber come in first in a poll of NBA players a few years ago, asking which opponent they would want to have the ball with the game on the line...
"When Rowand takes the field,
he will be roaming center field at AT&T Park..."
Referring to what outfielders do as "roaming" alternately bugs me and cracks me up.
You can have the Big Phone, where the OFers roam,
Where Winn/Roberts pretend they can play.
Rowand will be slowed, lugging cash that he's owed,
It will be quite a sorry display.
by The Dogfather on Jan 29, 2008 11:13 AM PST up reply actions
Home of the de-ranged,
Ample seating can now be arranged.
Where for years it was fine,
To toe Mr. Bonds' line,
But apparently that's now all changed.
by The Dogfather on Jan 29, 2008 11:41 AM PST up reply actions
Second verse!
How often at night, when the heavens are bright
By the light of the glittering stars
Have I stood there amazed, and thought as I gazed,
"I'm so glad that Sabean is not ours."
by Englishmajor on Jan 29, 2008 3:28 PM PST up reply actions
Yessss!
Good'un. Maybe we can get an AN section in the SF bleachers during Interleague and pass out words.
by The Dogfather on Jan 29, 2008 4:56 PM PST up reply actions
Here’s to you, Giants fans,
With your bright diamond sands
Sitting prettily down by the quay,
You can sip an ’03, pond’ring your legacy
Of no titles that side of the Bay.
by The Dogfather on Jan 30, 2008 7:29 AM PST up reply actions
I love Monta
And I think Webber is a good addition. He's skilled, and he's tall. That's always needed
Sabean...He's hilarious
"He's skilled, and he's tall."
And people wonder why I don't play professional basketball.
That extra baggage you're carting around
can't help much either.
I don't understand NBA contracts
I can't see how this could possibly end well for the Warriors.
they're not paying him much
and he has upside. He played well for Detroit last year. Good ending: Webber contributes positively to the team.
I don't think there are more than 2-3 people
in the world who understand the NBA contract rules.
Well, there's John Hollinger
and whoever programmed the ESPN Trade Machine. Possibly those are the same guy.
And Bill Simmons has probably spent enough weeks noodling around with it that he does, too...
sounds about right
Never forget the day Webber was drafted
It was my birthday in 1993, I was at the Coliseum for a day ballgame, A's versus Angels. The media had been buzzing for a couple days that Nelson had something cooking for the draft. I was excited enough to turn on the TV that morning, and saw Nelson reply to a question on what his draft plans were, and sporting a big evil smile he replied "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."
The Warriors had opened the Arena for fans to watch the draft, so there was a lot of parking lot A's and W's fan traffic. During the ballgame (which the A's won 5-4 on a big day by Brent Gates) the scoreboard flashed the news that the Warriors had swung a deal to get Webber, and the place went nuts. Everyone thought the Warriors had just made themselves a championship contender for years to come. Sigh...
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 29, 2008 11:03 AM PST reply actions
as a Duke fan, I've always loved Webber
So has FSU
Sniff!
by The Dogfather on Jan 29, 2008 11:58 AM PST up reply actions
Let the record reflect
- Webber should have been called for an obvious travel about 8 seconds earlier.
- The Heels led by 2 points at the time.
- The Heels had three fouls to give, and would have forced Michigan to re-inbound the ball multiple times, squandering the remaining time on the clock.
- Every "win" tallied by Michigan in that tournament was subsequently vacated due to the egregious recruiting offenses involving Mr. Webber.
- Dean Smith rocks!
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 29, 2008 12:26 PM PST up reply actions
Hell they coulda let 'em shoot FTs.
( 
)
by The Dogfather on Jan 29, 2008 12:34 PM PST up reply actions
Billy loves us back!
hunh?
the tipping point for Beane came in December, when some of the injury progress reports came back less than positive. He turned to top assistant David Forst and said: Who are we fooling?
Weren't all the papers, the Merc included, saying at the time (per "team sources") that the injury progress reports were positive?
Not that I blame Beane for misleading the reporters -- rather, the reporters for not acknowledging that they'd been gamed.
link?
in december? didn't the a's trade haren in december, and like the next day we found out gaudin needed multiple surgeries?
I could be wrong, but ...
... I seem to recall a spate of stories leading up to and immediately after the big Phoenix powwow propagating the Beane "everybody's fine!" line -- and then only after the Haren trade did the reporters reveal that half the team died walking from PHX to the cab stand.
i remember one story
with quotes from like chavez/street/kotsay types, but that's it. and kotsay still says this is the best he's been in years.
Even if that's true....
it doesn't contradict the thing you quoted at all.
uh, how not?
If a story appeared after the summit, with Beane saying after the summit that everyone was fine, how would that not be contradicted by the above?
I'm not saying 100% that such was the case -- as I said, I'm relying on my non-lab-tested, non-photographic simian recall -- but if it was, how would that not be contradictory?
Well 2 days before the trade was the "health
summit", and this is the quote from the A's site
Sayles did mention a few players by name, noting that Chavez is "on schedule" with his recoveries, Harden was "feeling very good," outfielder Mark Kotsay (back) had "added some muscle and did very well in the fitness tests," and that righty reliever Justin Duchscherer (hip surgery) hadn't yet started throwing but was "doing really well."
, so that might seem positive. this was on Dec, 12th, then the trade on the 14th, and then Gaudin surgery on the 15th, so I don't see anything that is misleading.
by theblackpearl on Jan 29, 2008 3:21 PM PST up reply actions
Beane in Mercury News
AN mention:
And after the (babies') births, the clever folks at the blog Athletics Nation sent Beane outfits for the babies."One says, 'I came over in the Haren deal,' and the other says, 'I came over in the Swisher deal,' " Beane said. "Now that was funny."
frick
I've been getting the old comment dialog
a lot in the past few days. I assume it's part of getting ready for the harmonic blogvergence.
Some of the blah blah blah:
The only reason he hasn't been greeted by angry mobs with pitchforks and burning torches is because, well, he's Billy Beane. His innovative ability to consistently make the payroll-strapped A's one of baseball's most competitive teams is legendary... If you're angry, take a number and stand in line. It's forming behind the A's marketing department that has to sell tickets for this year's team.
"I'm their worst nightmare," Beane said.
"Am I the only one who is enjoying this?" Beane asked. "We're getting to redefine ourteam. I know some people fear that. But I love this. It's the most fun part of the job"...."Sometimes, when we've had a good ballclub the last few years, I was bored out of my skull in spring training," Beane said. "This year, I can't wait to watch every round of batting practice. I'm looking forward to the pitching staff at (Class A) Stockton, because that's going to be one of the best minor league rotations in baseball."
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 29, 2008 11:25 AM PST up reply actions
We are gonna pwn the minor leagues.
by methodrampage on Jan 29, 2008 11:31 AM PST up reply actions
AAAs = teh ossum
I'm glad Billy's having so much fun for himself.
tampa or kc?
Beane's wheeling and dealing has transformed the A's into something more like the Tampa Bay Rays West.
after the hudson and mulder trades it was "Kansas City-ization"...
Damn, that's some impressive recall
And well worth the link-click, if only for the view of the Ratto of yesteryear. I think he went straight from this photoshoot to his role in The Great Gatsby.
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 29, 2008 2:54 PM PST up reply actions
Yesterday it was 65 degrees.
Today... it's snowing and we have a -3 degree windchill.
Haha
sucks for you
by methodrampage on Jan 29, 2008 11:35 AM PST up reply actions
here in Chicago
today's weather calls for a high of 47 and a low of 5. I just need to leave work before the low because I am not dressed that warmly.
So I woke up this morning...
...and, on a whim, decided to check my notesfromthenat.com email. I don't usually bother - maybe once every six months - because I only use it for admin stuff on my blog, and there's never any admin stuff on my blog.
Lo and behold, it's full. So I clear it, and the moment it clears an email comes in from my hosting company, notifying me that 'per my request', my domain has been canceled.
Seems it wasn't set to auto-renew, and at 11.26pm last night, it became available.
At 11:27pm last night, a guy in Armenia bought it.
Thankfully, my hosting account and domain didn't expire on the same day, or three years of game reports, interviews, and rants would be lost forever.
Alas, Notes From The Nat, the Vancouver Canadians blog to end all Vancouver Canadians blogs, will now be living at NatNotes.com.
And the douchebag that stole my URL, will get googlebombed relentlessly for time eternal.
The Kigers are Armenian?
They're Ar-MEANIE-ans.
Sounds like a promising start to a blues song.
Woke up dis moanin', had dem stole-domain blues...
by The Dogfather on Jan 29, 2008 11:50 AM PST up reply actions
den I accidentally shot that mother down...
BTW on the domain name registration
I like the peace of mind of putting privacy protection on your registration. It doesn't cost much, and as things stand now all your personal info for NatNotes.com is out there for anyone to look at.
IMO NatNotes.com is better anyway
by pickinmachine on Jan 29, 2008 12:52 PM PST up reply actions
It's certainly shorter.
And NFTN.com is occupied by squatters.
All in all, it could have been much worse.
The career of Roger Clemen - by the numbers
http://www.rogerclemensreport.com/reports/ClemensReport.pdf
(HT CafeHayek)
But wait, there's more. From Sabernomics:
What Do the Statistics Say about Roger Clemens’s Steroid Use?
The future is here
The crew will remain clothed throughout the flight for safety reasons.
The safety nazis strike again.
But were they in upright and locked position?
by The Dogfather on Jan 29, 2008 12:02 PM PST up reply actions
"It's an unusual gap in the market."
I love the backpedaling quotes by the company spokesman.
The passengers streaked across the sky,
leaving only
behind.
by The Dogfather on Jan 29, 2008 12:21 PM PST up reply actions
this is bad
http://www.justsayhi.com/bb/blog_add...
Uh oh. 45% addicted, or just a little pregnant.
by The Dogfather on Jan 29, 2008 12:39 PM PST up reply actions
Santana--->Mets
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseb...
The Mets paid a high price in prospects to land Santana, agreeing to send the Twins outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Phil Humber, Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey.
Seems like Minnesota could have done better. Good deal for the Mets.
I can't believe that after all that
he went to the Mets for four guys give me a big "meh".
Yankees/Red Sox are probably both happy, since he didn't end up with the other one and it didn't cost them anything.
If I were the Yankees
I'd be unhappy for not having Santana.
Agreed
Guerra has considerable upside. The other three are basically mediocrities that do nothing to fill the substantial holes (particularly in the area of power hitting) on the Twins roster. Humber and Mulvey are middle relief compared to what they've already got in the rotation.
Really? What do they have right now?
Baker, Bonser and Slowey....Not deep in MLB-ready SP's
by OaktownPower on Jan 29, 2008 1:59 PM PST up reply actions
Also Glen Perkins
That's already five guys with under 3 years of service time.
< snerk >
"Baker, Bonser and Slowey"
Good advice to always keep in mind, gents.
Wow
agree, great deal for the Mets.
by pickinmachine on Jan 29, 2008 1:31 PM PST up reply actions
If this is true
combined with the overpays for Morneau and Cuddyer, Bill Smith is looking a pretty short tenure as GM.
Gomez is fast, Mulvey is #4 starter, Humber a #3. Guerra has high upside and could be very good, but is only in A+.
Shocked they didn't get more from the Yankees
I thought they had the best package by a long shot, but oh well. I would have taken some of the BoSox players first, too.
it seems to me
that Boston gets stuck with Crisp for the year, now the Twins must trade Nathan for bats, they already have good pitching depth in their system, even with the Garza trade, but no impact bats.
Crap.
I've just received word that BobbleFrank and BobbleRich were casualties of the hyperactive cat we're temporarily housing for a friend. Apparently that little f%#!er can jump really high.
Nah - BF and BR were taunting the little farker.
by The Dogfather on Jan 29, 2008 1:50 PM PST up reply actions
Ceiling cat was watching you bobble your heads?
part-Siamese?
Our newest MonkeyCat is part-Siamese. Devious, athletic little fiend.
Hmm, possible.
He does have kind of a Siamese shape.
Advance warning
On Thursday (probably) I'm going to post a Super Bowl picks contest thread for AN'ers. The basic idea will be that contestants get 1,000 imaginary dollars Beanes, and I'll post the specs on around 40+ various wagers, from the classic point spreads and money lines to exotic props like how the first points are scored and the length of the national anthem. Folks can basically apportion their bets however they like, so long as they bet all 1,000 Beanes and make at least 3 wagers. I'll even include a short primer on what various spreads and money line bets mean, so that one need not be well-versed in betting terminology to play.
Math geeks, hunch players, numerologists, butt lovers...I look forward to seeing the diversity of approaches AN puts forward.
No money will change hands, no prizes will be awarded, and the post will be riddled with disclaimers to make it clear it's just for fun, not profit.
So consider your hypothetical bets. I hear that Jordin Sparks is fast...
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 29, 2008 1:46 PM PST reply actions
AAAAAAAAAH!!!
What are you, Thunderbutt's minion?
He doesn't want to get his own hands dirty by posting on AN anymore?
Has he...gone to be with Sharon?
by Englishmajor on Jan 29, 2008 3:32 PM PST up reply actions
hmmm....
by The Dogfather on Jan 30, 2008 9:09 AM PST up reply actions
Did you miss the part about no money?
I clearly will need to beef up my disclaimer section. And I can't imagine that anyone posts anything on the internet from their workplaces. That would be wrong!
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 30, 2008 9:54 AM PST up reply actions
We're not exactly a "workplace," either, huh.
I just thought it was interesting that this issue is now big enough to be on the radar screens of the HR mavens, and figured interested folk might be reading this heading.
**So, be forewarned, interested folk -- if your HR staff is as anal and humorless as the linked article suggests they might be, don't post your pool at the water cooler.**
That is all.
by The Dogfather on Jan 30, 2008 11:35 AM PST up reply actions
geren and bochy
San Francisco's Bruce Bochy knows the future takes priority. Bochy has enough confidence in his standing to use kids and take some beatings rather than try to squeeze a few extra wins out of veterans. He will stay with players such as infielders Dan Ortmeier and Kevin Frandsen and outfielder Nate Schierholtz through the inevitable highs and lows.
Geren told reporters that he goes into the season expecting to win.
The danger for the Athletics is Geren will play the season to win, and in doing so, could retard the progress of young players.
yeah just look at a few recent quotes and ignore the last decade.
also
those Giants guys aren't that good anyway.
just last year
geren didn't hesitate to play buck, cust, suzuki, barton, hannahan, murphy, snelling, putnam, gaudin, casilla, marshall, brown...
and how many old players are even left on the team to potentially retard the progress of young players?
besides Emil Brown, what veteran do the A's have
that they are going to "squeeze a few wins" out of? The whole damn team is young.
by theblackpearl on Jan 29, 2008 3:42 PM PST up reply actions
exactly
unless brown gets 500ab and embree 200ip.
if Brown gets 500 PAs ...
... then I think that would fit in the category of "squeezing a few losses" out of the veterans.
This is possibly the funniest sports quote
that I've read in the past year.
It's literally the precise opposite of the truth.
Didn't Geren manage in the minors?
florida predictions?
m,r,h,9/11
c,o,mill worker
non-A's spring training
I'm rubbing up my lucky mitt for Florida.
Also, it's hard for a team that doesn't compete in the Grapefruit League to win a game there.
well even with no delegates on the line
people are still casting votes, and even more importantly there will still be media coverage.
I don't disagree
I was being predictive, not moralizing.
"There will be media coverage" -- PTA's next?
will the Yankees lose to the Astros?
h third
i just figure christian conservatives from the panhandle are more likely to vote on the R side than retired new yorkers.
old people love to vote
it's all they've got left.
m,r
other race will be ignored by me.
you think
e's dad is going to beat e?
a child is being beaten
< / Freud >
not describing e, quoting him
like 9/11 and g (i couldn't think of one word for h, maybe god?). otherwise i would have said monitor of worker productivity, supervisor, or plant manager.
it looks like both e and g are dropping out soon, it's a sad day for 9/11 and mill-workers...
New A's alternate gear
Anyone know where a fan buy an authentic MLB alternate hat for the A's in the new alternate style? I only see the old one on the A's site/MLB.com . I see a new style alternate hat but with the New Era logo on the side for a few stores but I want the real deal. Any leads? I guess I'm just impatient to update my hat collection.
Player sighting
As none of you know, I attend Cal State Fullerton. When leaving campass around 10, I saw Kurt Suzuki strolling through the parking lot heading towards the baseball field. He had his A's bag with his gear and some wooden bats hanging out of it.
Unfortunately, I was driving and couldnt stop to chat or at least yell out Let's go Oakland. I am assuming he is in town training and working out with the team before the Alumni game.
Any other A's gan attend CSUF? or are going to the alumni game?
I sometimes go to games
I'm not an student or an alum, but I live nearby and plan to make it out to a fair share of games.
I cannot get that freaking MacBook Air
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