July 10th, 2009
I haven’t said much about Pablo Sandoval not be selected for the All-Star game because this “last man vote” was great publicity for him (not that he wants it). Most of the baseball world was finally taking notice of what Giants fans have been watching all season: A portly but athletic, versatile, fun-loving, smart, high-effort guy who is a breath of fresh air because he plays the game the right way.
Despite the newfound publicity, it won’t be a big deal nationally if Sandoval doesn’t make the All-Star game as an injury replacement. While his numbers dwarf many other players on the team, it’s an East Coast media-driven country. Down the road, however, when Sandoval is getting the same type of respect as Albert Pujols (and he will, as we’ve made clear before), this slight will look moronic. Sandoval is going to consistently be one of the top five players in baseball in the next five years, while playing in a pitcher’s park. Historians will look back at his first full season and wonder why he wasn’t playing with baseball’s best in mid-July.
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Categories: San Francisco Giants |
Tags: 49ers, A's, Bill Neukom, Buster Posey, Charlie Manuel, Freddy Sanchez, Giants, Ian Kinsler, JaMarcus Russell, Jason Giambi, Jesse English, John Bowker, Kent Huskins, Madison Bumgarner, Pablo Sandoval, Raiders, Rickey Henderson, Rob Blake, Scott Hairston, Sharks, Stephen Curry, Steve McNair, Tim Alderson, Tim Lincecum, Warren Sapp | No Comments
April 29th, 2009
“Whose fault is it?”
“Who do we get rid of so this doesn’t happen again?”
A natural knee-jerk reaction from fans and media, after a painful postseason flameout, is to find players and/or coaches to blame for our distress. The thinking is that something needs to change or we’re doomed to repeat past failures. The problem with knee-jerk reactions is they mostly lack reasonable analysis. I don’t claim to be a hockey expert, but I do know that Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau are fantastic players, even if they haven’t produced the playoff results that we expect. I also know that the Sharks aren’t the first team to experience repeated playoff failures. In fact, there have been other teams who have overcome postseason disappointments to eventually become Stanley Cup champions.
Before the Sharks, there have been seven top seeds who have been ousted in the opening round, and four of them eventually won Stanley Cups within three years after their ouster. Okay, that’s not a really high percentage, but the 1994 Red Wings, the 1997 Devils, the 1998 Devils, and the 2006 Red Wings, also had a solid group of good players in the prime of their careers, and instead of trading away key players, they kept most of their group intact.
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Categories: San Francisco Giants, San Jose Sharks |
Tags: A's, Barry Bonds, Bill Neukom, Bruce Bochy, Devils, Devin Setoguchi, Doug Wilson, Ducks, Edgar Renteria, Emmanuel Burriss, Evgeni Nabokov, Fred Lewis, Giants, Glen Coffee, Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Jonas Hiller, Jonathan Cheechoo, Jonathan Sanchez, Juan Uribe, Mark Ellis, Michael Crabtree, Michael Silver, Milan Michalek, Patrick Marleau, Red Wings, Ryane Clowe, Scot McCloughan, Sharks, Steve Perry, Travis Ishikawa, Trevor Cahill | No Comments
