MLB draft hits the air

...And you know? It's not bad t.v. If you're into that kind of thing, of course. (And yes, you can actually watch live online.)

Peter Gammons, Steve Phillips, and Keith Law are sure a lot better than Mel Kiper, Jr. and whatever unfortunate mook gets to sit next to him.

And did you know? This is actually the first time the draft has been held anywhere. (It has customarily been conducted by conference call.)

As for the Giants pick: well, the draftniks love it -- you've got to like a big-bodied, projectable high school lefty nobody thought would go this high -- and Madison Bumgarner (pictured; surf's up!) is hands down the best name in the draft thus far.

As the first round winds down, the analysts have been extremely complimentary of the Giants three first-round picks. Stay tuned to ESPN2 for more.

Meanwhile: four of the A's starting pitchers are in the top 20 in the American League in ERA.

I'll give you a dollar if you can name them.

-Zed

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"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it."
-Groucho Marx

Don't blame the Messenger

Okay, yes I do have to weigh in on the Giants' recent message, bringing in Randy Messenger, and literally sending Armando Benitez back where he came from.

The G-men were victimized by their own lousy timing -- they pulled Ourmando off the trade table in spring training, when he was pitching well, and GM Brian Sabean either felt he wasn't being offered enough, or changed his mind on the big Dominican. Sabean also wasn't able to hold out until anywhere near the July 31 trade deadline, despite a market desperate for relief pitchers.

The Giants got a bargain: a nobody long-reliever, plus they're paying only $4.7 million of his $5 million salary. Which means, additionally, that if Armando ever does anything good in Florida -- seeing as the Marlins are paying him less than the Major League minimum -- the Giants were screwed there, too.

What's interesting is Sabean's mea no culpa. Apparently, he feels that the fans are now running his office.

Said Sabean:

Right now, as we speak, we're heading closer to last place than first place. I don't know that that was Armando Benitez's fault... We are at a crossroads in my mind, and apparently the fans, the press and some people in the clubhouse felt he needed to go.

And just like President Bush, or your high school gym teacher, the Giants' General Manager is obligated to do whatever you want him to do.

So, since Benitez already has more than enough Fish up on his wall (and now, 24 more in his clubhouse) a large, slappy-sounding Red Herring to Mr. Sabean, who bought high, sold low, and blamed the fans. (What you're watching is a formerly brilliant General Manager, slinking out the door.)

If any of this sounds familiar -- painting themselves into a corner, then getting the worst deal available out of desperation -- just think to yourself, $126 million, backloaded.

You know what? We're still better off.

-Zed

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"A hot dog at the ballgame beats roast beef at the Ritz."
-Humphrey Bogart

Bush, Miss USA tougher than Armando

George W. Bush talks tough, and sanctions Sudan for Darfur atrocities. It's not like the man thought of it himself, but still -- good to see.

Incidently, an obscure National Security Directive is passed, saying that in case of emergency, Bush becomes "Super-Mega Lord Decider?"

Dictator?

Oh, kay! In other news...

Why go to Stanford (or the Army) when you don't belong to Stanford (or the Army)?

Presumably because it's more expensive than Cal.

More in the South Bay: the 49ers are creeping closer to the $200 million mark -- in how much they're asking from the City of Santa Clara. If I were a Santa Claran, I'd be giddy, too -- but these things rarely work out well for the municipality.

Meanwhile, hard to stay off local baseball. Today's Red Herring goes to Armando Benitez, who at least seems like a decent guy. An overly sensitve guy, to be sure, with a heart of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. (With apologies to Miss USA, who did a great job recovering after literally falling on her ass in the Miss Universe pageant.)

But last night's game typifies it -- up a run, it's Walk-Balk-Bunt-Balk to score the tying run, Home Run to end it.

End it. Please, Brian Sabean -- end it.

-Zed

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“The heart has reasons that reason does not understand.”
-Jacques Benigne Bossuel

Clemens, other dinos unearthed

MLS Earthquakes to partner with Niners? Stay tuned...

82-foot dinosauruses...

Clemens can be bought (for $28 mil, you could too)...

In local news, part of the downed freeway connector reopened today, roughly nine years faster than it did after the '89 Quake...

The Giants' Tim Lincecum was a college star a year ago; yesterday he struck out the side in his first major league inning. Of course, he was already down 2-0...

And that's a rap. Stay tuned for the 94-foot dinos tomorrow!

-Zed

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"Leadership involves finding a parade and getting in front of it."
-John Naisbitt

Bay Area sports scene on the rise

Let's start narrow and pan out.

For starters, of course, the Warriors had the Mavs completely dead from the opening tip last night, and the nation is finally starting to go, "Uh, what?"

The sea of yellow shirts was a truly gratifying sight.

The 49ers, it is said, will trade for SEA WR Darrell Jackson. A fourth round pick? That's a steal. This guy went for about 1,000 yards with 10 TD's last year. He and Ashlie Lelie, plus perhaps a draft pick, and Vernon Davis healthy? How nice for Mr. Smith.

Meanwhile, this year's draft (as well as next) will remind the older Faithful of the Bill Walsh "Genius" drafts of yore.

The Sharkies, of course are swimming through the playoff chum.

The A's are always in it, and the Giants sure look a sight better than a week ago.

Plus, the Earthquakes are on the way. (Yes, the Spartan Stadium deal appears dead, but Lew Wolff will stoke other embers.)

Of course, the whole sports world is bleeding into Silicon Valley, and away from the Area's known hubs.

But perhaps that's the price for continued success.

And for the rest of you... there's always JaMarcus Russell.

-Zed

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"If you were happy every day of your life you wouldn't be a human being, you'd be a game show host."
-Gabriel Heatter

Today's fishy snippets

Briefly:

Boris Yeltsin died.

Karl Rove is debating Sheryl Crow... um, seriously?

The Warriors triumphed.

Can the Giants really win nightly on shutdown starting pitching and a Bonds home run? As for eyewitness evidence, Bonds looks far more nimble than we've seen him the last two years.

And, just for the heck of it, NewsoftheWeird.

'Til soon,

-Zed

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"The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work."
-Robert Frost

Pandora rights waver; another Giant conspiracy

First of all, those of you who are music buffs but haven't heard of customizable sites like Pandora, should definitely go check it out.

At present, they're being threatened by D.C.'s Copyright Royalty Board, and are looking for your support.

Now, to complaining about the Giants...


As you may recall, I blogged last week on the Giants' under-reported reduction in parking spaces. I haven't driven to a Giants game this year (remember how you used to be able to park for free by the driving range off 16th Street, when there was one?) but I did say I'd look into it further. So:

On March 27, just days before the season started, the Giants sent a disturbingly upbeat email to their season ticket holders. After a little throat-clearing about the area becoming increasingly developed, they reveal:

Starting this season, Parking Lot A will be the only dedicated parking resource for Giants season ticketholders and the number of spaces available for day of game parking has been substantially reduced.

You may be sure, the Port Authority, who operates the land, gave the Giants the opportunity to shell out and keep the spaces. Not only did the Giants decline, but what they did not do -- given the front office's cloak-and-dagger proclivities -- almost seems like a cover-up.

For one, the link I threw up last week still refers drivers to the over 5,000 parking spaces in Parking Lots A, B and C, and the March 27 email actually refers season ticket mooks (or isn't that how the G'ints think of them?) to their directions page, which also contains outdated, but more pleasing, information.

It's another big Red Herring for these guys. This is the same organization that had (along with the Seattle Mariners) the first interactive, almost open source website in baseball. They can't update one paragraph telling people where to park?

But, wait for it. Wait for the time when the Giants are 65-67, fighting for that last, miserable NL playoff spot against the Padres this fall. There's no sense complaining before the offending item reaches its apex.

Incidently, a really interesting article here takes you inside the mind of Salomon Torres -- beloved at 21, then hated; retired at 25; now, at 35, a successful big league closer.

Yep -- he's even better than Tyler Walker.

Baseball notes, world(ly) observations

First, notes from the world of baseball:

* A definite Red Herring to A's fans today. Given their choice of which highlights to watch on DiamondVision, A's fans applauded (least) for the Cardinals against the Pirates, (more) for the Astros against the Cubs -- which was not played, due to snow -- and (quite loudly) for ice fishing.


Ice fishing highlights? And yes, they then heartily cheered the highlight.

* Last night's Giants game: You heard it here first: if Adrian Gonzalez hits 32-35+ home runs this year, he could be a Hall of Famer. Armando Benitez: automatic.

* Both the Dodgers and the Giants are having major parking issues. A's attendees can't get consistent internet, even in the press box. Is this California? Or what? No wonder we can't touch the NFL.

The Giants story is an interesting one. Word is, the Port Authority wanted to bump the rates for the rights to some of their lots -- and the Giants turned them down. The Giants, then, start 2007 with about half the already meager total of parking spots they've had 'til now. Then the Giants chose to keep this development so quiet, I can't even confirm that it happened (which is why my link up there sucks; notice they "forgot" to update the figures.)

Keep an eye on this. I wasn't there, but the story I heard was, a lot of very unhappy Giants fans. If it's true -- and I can't say that it is -- it could serve as an exemplary story of an organization that's slowly eating itself from within.

In other sports news, charges are dropped against the remaining Duke lacrosse players. Rape is so tough to prove. Did they ever have a case?

And, in politics, I heard Rush Limbaugh railing against Nancy Pelosi today. (Did you know? Limbaugh and Braves General Manager John Schuerholz are good friends, dating from when both worked in the Kansas City Royals front office.) Anyway, Rush played Pelosi's audio byte, and while his point is actually well-taken (how can she claim to be relaying the "President's message," as Lantos and others assert a new Democrat foreign policy alternative?) Pelosi has at least assimilated some badly-needed advice from political linguists. Pelosi said "unified," "united," and, importantly for the donkeys, "consistent." The other words she said, surrounding those, don't much matter.

-Zed

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"You get whatever accomplishment you are willing to declare."
-Mal Pancoast

Quickie Giants Blurb...

...with the promise of more diverse topics to come. (Indeed, before long there may not be a need.)

Basically, Bruce Jenkins called it in Spring Training: a fast start is more important to the Giants than any other team in baseball. Through six games: 1-5.

Jenkins resists the urge to say "I told you so," but predicts that the "angry thrill" of at-bats by the aged Mr. Bonds may be the only redeeming feature to many a game. He talks about how the Pirates and Rockies, among others, have outclassed the Giants from within -- fresh hitting, young pitching, and I'd rather not (as Bruce did not) talk about bullpens.

On a personal note, I'm now going to start working A's games. No, seriously.

-Zed

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"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."
-Galileo Galilei

Giants Gamelog: vs. SD, Game 3

{I see people doing it out there, so I'm going to try blogging the game, and see what comes up. Editor's note: Game written backwards, so to read chronologically, skip to the bottom.}

9:51 p.m.: Game. Look how happy Benitez looks, pointing to the sky when Cameron pops it up. It's hard to ride a guy for being emotional -- look at the smile on his face as Durham pockets it -- but it's like Krukow was saying about channeling your emotions. Yipe. Let's just lay off this topic and say Benitez aces the season.

Will this team hold true to its .333 record? Or will it hold to its recent one-game winning streak?

Only tomorrow will tell.

Tomorrow. Giants-Dodgers. Firday night. I'll be there.

What're you doing?

9:48 p.m.: Bard actually makes a key mistake, and gets away with it. For a headcase pitcher who enters with the lead and throws five balls in a row, if you swing, it'd better be exactly the pitch you were sitting on. But, karma being what it is, it drops anyway, and we're one hit from a barnburner.

9:47 p.m.: Ball one to Bard. He hasn't come close yet. I've just traded him to Kansas City for an A-ball left-fielder and future considerations.

9:46 p.m.: Walked on four pitches. Not even close.

Did I say dumb pitcher? A homerun is literally no worse than a walk in that situation. Fuck!

9:43 p.m.: I can't keep it to myself. That Bud Light ad is not only racist, not only a blatant ripoff of Cheech Marin in Born in East L.A. -- it's also exceedingly not funny.

OK. They're back. Let's end this thing. (Great, Gonzalez -- a smart hitter against a dumb pitcher. Luckily we're up four, and Gonzalez only makes three.)

9:36 p.m.: Wrong! Benitez was only trotting toward the bullpen, and won't be used unless Kline falters. And another boneheaded manager falls victim to the save statistic.

When Benitez blows a one run game in his first appearance, don't come crying to me.

9:34 p.m.: There it is. The first shot of Armando Benitez, fully warm, walking toward the dugout. The Giants being up by four right now might be one of the best things that happens to them all year -- seriously. It does a lot for Benitez's confidence, even if he drops a run or two. And, worst case scenario, if we've got a true disaster on our hands, we'll know now, instead of in six weeks.

My guess is, he's only lightly booed. San Francisco fans know their stuff, and must be aware not only of the painful hamstring comeback, but that the Giants really have no other relievers, and he had a great spring.

9:27 p.m.: That explains it -- Krukow says it's an all-new infield-outfield surface this year at the Phone Booth. I was wondering why Roberts, even before he made the diving catch, had dirt all down his jersey. You almost never see a major leaguer wearing the field.

For the rest of us, imagine playing on a field so nice that no matter how much you dive or slide, you don't get dirty.

9:20.m.: My setup man, Vinnie Chulk, throws to your cleanup hitter, Josh Bard. Whoopeedoo. Chulk's been all right since flying in from Toronto last summer. Is "Vinnie Chulk" Canadian for "Jim Brower?"

9:13 p.m.: I'm thinking that with a chance to come back, down in the count to a tough left-handed pitcher, Adrian Gonzalez looks ready to put something up the middle. Instead, he sees a filthy Jonathan Sanchez slider, one of the best pitches of the young season, and all he can do is hope it kills Molina on impact, so he can run to first base.

8:49 p.m.: Durham robs Adrian Gonzalez, snaring his liner and converting the one-hop throw. This is apparently Durham's game.

Two things here. One, if the announcers really want to laud Durham's defense for the young kids: he one-hopped the throw because it was either that or throw wildly, and if you throw wildly, you haven't given your first baseman a chance. The uncalled-for one-hop throw is an underrated, smart play.

And two, I still love Gonzalez's approach. Everthing hard off the bat, orientation always up the middle. A lot of what the Giants aren't, and don't.

8:43 p.m.: Back from the inevitable pitching change. You know, for popping up that meatball, Aurelia gets credited with a base hit and an RBI. Is the concept of a team error really so difficult?

8:38 p.m.: Aurelia pops up a fat one -- resulting in one of the weirdest plays you'll see. Kouzmanoff keeps backpedaling from third; Greene says nothing as he camps under it from short; and you can see it coming, and are just hoping the ball stays up long enough. Sure enough, they drop, and so does the ball. Another run scores, and the inning lives.

Klesko's RBI next is a given, I just didn't have time to write it. And the game has its personality.

This is too bad, in a way, because an opening sweep would mean available Dodgers tickets tomorrow night.

8:37 p.m.: Rayray laces one to right for two runs. There are plenty of knocks on Rayray, but I think everyone around here believes in him as a hitter.

8:34 p.m.: Rayray up with the bases loaded and two out, after a walk to Bonds. At 0-2, this is a good time for a "season in a nutshell" comment.

Incidently, it's fun to see a young pitcher -- and a rookie manager -- get rattled by a few ball-strike calls.

8:31 p.m.: Roberts absolutely eats up Hensley, five steps before Hensley releases the ball. I'm a big fan of the pre-pitch hip turn by a runner in his crouch, waiting to steal. The announcers are attributing it to Maury Wills.

I've heard Juan Pierre say it's one fewer thing you have to do before getting to full speed. Above all, of course, one must read the pitcher like the funnies. The holy grail for basestealers, though, is being able to push off your right (front) leg, instead of your left (trail) leg. Only someone extremely strong, like Rickey Henderson, can do that without leaning.

8:24 p.m.: Krukow says "anger really never helps a pitcher at all." I wonder if this is true. Granted, Krook is talking about channeling your emotions; presumably anger can be productive when channeled.

I think some guys -- say, Pedro -- can pitch better angry. Clemens, maybe; remember when he threw that broken bat at Piazza in the Series? In the moment, though, of a single pitch or two, I'd say it can only help if a pitcher is "trying to overthrow," when your batter's set up for a high-hard one, and the situation calls for a strikeout. Even then, you have to know what you're doing.

8:02 p.m.:I actually delay defrosting my dinner so I can watch Adrian Gonzalez hit. He's quickly becoming a favorite of mine: a hitter's hitter. Roberts looks mighty shaky camping under his fly. Or am I reading too much into all this?

7:48 p.m.: Matt Morris steps to the plate. I forgot to add the "bright side" part of my Sabean rant: Morris shaved the beard.

7:46 p.m.: Nice piece of hitting by Benjie Molina, who gets ahead of a slider. Is it possible the Giants have found a player who's slower than J. T. Snow?

7:32 p.m.: Bonds hits one off the B of A sign right of center. On a fly. That's 420 feet, and the ball simply doesn't carry here in April. What a monster shot -- and of course, as many great wrist hitters do, he looked like he was out on his front foot.

The spring after he broke the record, I saw Mark Kotsay, then of the Padres, catch not one, but two flies in the 421 crevice in the home opener. Most impressive outs you'll ever see. Probably not a lot of out-of-towners realize that Bonds should already be at 755.

7:25 p.m.: Incidently, I've been thinking. Why in the world is this the year Bonds hits third, instead of fourth? Aside, of course, from the obvious explanation that during Felipe's regime the G-men were unable to convince Bonds to do anything, and Felipe is now gone.

This is the one year you actually have two speed guys atop the lineup. So, what? One of them gets a walk or a single -- or they both do. Now you've got Bonds up, and if they run, it's first base open to walk Bonds. Meanwhile, your cleanup hitter is Ray Durham.

On the other hand, look around the National League. The regining Division Champs across the diamond feature Josh Bard batting cleanup; over in Saint Lou, the 0-3 World Champs are batting Yadier Molina fifth, and Molina had one of the worst seasons in baseball last year.

7:16 p.m.: Durham moves two steps to his right, somehow fails to set his feet in time, and since he is perpetually unable to bend over, the ball hits him in the leg. It doesn't bounce far, so he picks it up and throws to first in time.

In the booth, Krukow recommends that Little Leaguers watch Durham, who picked it up with his bare hand to make the throw.

7:07 p.m.: I'm thinking, what a weak lineup this is. They post the Giants defense first. The outfield involves a bad arm in right (Winn;) bad routes in center (Roberts;) and bad range in left (Bonds.) The right side of the infield -- Durham and Klesko tonight -- is brutal.

5:15 p.m.: It takes me a second to figure out that it's GM Brian Sabean being interviewed on talk radio. He's lamenting the lack of patience and poor situational hitting.

Gee, Brian, ya think? Yeah, it's about bat control.

This team is one Barry (whichever) away from being permanently sunk. Sabean, echoing the Chronicle's headline, describes Bonds as "frisky" on the bases.

-Zed

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"You see, you spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time."
-Jim Bouton

Remember the "brain-dead hackers?"

Yes, "Caribbean" ones -- that's the part that got three KNBR personalities fired -- "hacking at slop nightly." (Felipe Alou -- whose mind had turned to "Cream of Wheat," a pretty rough way to talk to a respected elder -- had a hand in the nasty process.)

Anyway, only a hundred and sixty-one more games of this, Giants fans:



I'm just saying... Giants 0-1; Torres and Nathan both record save #2. Welcome to seven more months of "I hope this bloody works."

-Zed

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"I'm afraid of losing my obscurity. Genuineness only thrives in the dark. Like celery."
-Aldous Huxley

Giants trade Jason Ellison

Sadly, Brian Sabean wasn't willing to wait another seven years, when Ellison would have been 36 and thus eligible to start in San Francisco. Ellison is a Nice Guy, a hard worker, and probably not a Major League starter in any town this side of the Capital. Instead, he gets to go back home to Seattle, so everyone's happy on that front.

Ellison had a monster spring, which is perhaps how the Giants landed Travis Blackley in the deal. Blackley is hardly a star; his career Major League era is 10.04. But tracking backward, the guy looks pretty good: 8-11, 4.06 is commendable in the Texas League (2006), especially given that he completely lost 2005 to injury. The year before that, Blackley posted a winning record and an era in the 3's; and at age 20, he took that same Texas League for a ride: 17-3, 2.61.

Plus, Blackley (pictured here) is three things you rarely see enough of: he's young, he's lefthanded, and he's Australian.

Red Herring, let's hope, to those trading Blackley. Maybe he's the next Trevor Wilson, but that's not bad in exchange for a likeable never-wuz.

Incidently, Blakley's status may have been affected somewhat by the Mariners' decision to keep former Cal standout Brandon Morrow on the big club; Morrow has 16 whole innings under his belt since getting his degree in June.

OK, 'til soon.

-Zed

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"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have."
-Thomas Jefferson