Dallas Braden of the Oakland Athletics isn’t an overpowering pitcher, but as I said in my preview a month ago, he’s a gamer, and will give you everything he has when you put the ball in his hand. Whenever he’s on the mound he doesn’t back down. He’s already proved that twice this year. He proved that by telling A-Rod to get off his mound. He followed that up today by throwing a perfect game against one of the best teams in the leagues, Tampa Bay. I caught innings six through nine, and he never really looked nervous, just fired up the way he always is. After Kaplar fouled off what felt like 20 pitches in the 6th, Dallas cruised the rest of the way and only fell behind one hitter 3-1 after that. I was strangely confident that he was going to come through while I watched, maybe a little too confident for comfort. The main reason was because he threw a ton of strikes mixing up speeds and locations. He was hitting the target nearly every pitch. Since he’s not overpowering it was truly a masterful performance. Braden is a guy that didn’t seem like he was ever overwhelmed by it on the mound, he just kept dealing with one pitch at a time. He had a ton of friends and family including grandma on hand, as he bought out a lot of section 209 to watch the game. It was the first perfect game in Oakland since Catfish Hunter decades ago. Dave Stewart threw a no hitter in 1990, but there has been nothing since! I’m not sure if the difference was NOT having their normal catcher Kurt Suzuki behind the plate. Instead he had Landon Powell, his catcher he worked with routinely in AAA, and from what I saw he rarely shook off a pitch, so you have to give Powell a little of the credit. The one bad thing about this perfect game is if/when he does bean A-Rod, it will be more obvious because now everyone knows he has great control!
Dallas ”Get Off My Mound” Braden’s Perfect Mother’s Day
A Jim Breuer Classic
I probably go to a comedy show about every two months, because let’s face it, everyone needs more laughter in their lives. Last time I caught Dave Attell, which was hilarious, and almost inspired me to write a post about the experience, but I never did. At that show I did have a Ron Jeremy sighting. He was sitting four rows in front of me with his bandwagon of pornstars, and Attell pulled out all the porn jokes he could think of. Tonight, I’m going to go see Jim Breuer do some standup at the Irvine Improv. I figured I should throw up one of my personal favorite Jim Breuer routines, about Alcohol. If you haven’t seen it, you are in for a treat. If you have, it’s worth watching again if you haven’t seen it for awhile!
Byrnes Baby Byrnes
One of my favorite former A’s outfielders, Eric Byrnes, always came to the plate with Burn Baby Burn playing on the PA with Roy Steele announcing his name while he strolled to the plate. Looks like he’s decided to hang up the fast pitch spikes after being cut by the Mariners, and is going to join some of his buddies in some good ol’ beer drinking, and softball. Screw taking a step backwards like our good buddy Jack Cust accepting the demotion to AAA, and being pissed he has to commute. At 34 years young, Byrnes has decided to join the Menlo Park softball team sponsored by the Dutch Goose, and will be the biggest ringer in the Bay Area rec leagues, since Vernon Davis joined the curling squad. I wonder if he can convince old buddy Jermaine Dye to join the league too that would be one solid 3-4 combo in the slowpitch league. I’m also wondering if Byrnes would want to double as a security guard at the Oakland Coliseum. Back in 2005, he didn’t need a security guard with a taser to take down a fan that ran wild on the field.
Instead he chased the fan down, and tackled the guy against the left field wall! I can’t find the footage, but here’s a great picture of the incident.
Said Byrnes on returning to the Bay Area to play softball: “This is going to be a blast. Playing with my buddies. I can’t wait for my first hit. I’m going to ask for the ball.” One of my favorite things about Byrnes was that he always hustled. He’d sprint to the outfield every inning, and he’d sprint to first on infield pop ups. I think his major contribution is keeping guys loose, and demonstrating how to give 110%. I do wonder if he will be Mr. Hustle when his belly is full of beer…
Byrnes wasn’t setting the MLB on fire with his .094 average over 15 games this season in Seattle, but he will still make $11M this year, thanks to that awesome deal he got from the D-Backs a few years ago! At the time it was fair market value for his services. My how times have changed, and guys like Dye are rejecting $1.5M to play. I hope he has fun, and isn’t out of my baseball for good. His personality is just too good to keep away from the game. I’m sure we will see him behind the broadcast desk throwing some goofy analysis out there. I see him as the Charles Barkley type, funny, but never loses his true opinion on the subject.
Raiders Cut a 300 Pound Paper Only Costing Them $40M
Well it’s finally been announced that the Raiders will give in and cut JaMarcus Russell. As Cali4Dre said, “they paid him $5 1/2M per win.” He was paid in excess of $39M, and will likely go down as one of the biggest draft busts of all time. It’s awesome that Al decided to do this, it took him a long time, but he is old, so I forgive him for moving slow. I was actually kind of scared that when Jamarcus was told he was being cut, he might have eaten Mr. Davis, and that was why it took so long. Anyways, the writing was on the wall for awhile, and it was surprising that it took Al this long to realize it. I guess that’s what happens when you don’t listen to anyone. Maybe he is starting to listen, because he had a sane draft, and seems to be making some quality moves. I just hope this isn’t a Jack Cust with the A’s, and they end up signing JaMarcus back on for a discount. He’s wasted too much of our time to ever have him wear the silver and black again. Maybe he’d be a good fit as a lineman in the CFL or maybe, just maybe, there is some team stupid enough to sign him. Whatever his future, I wanted to revisit his top moments in the silver and black.
The 2007 Holdout – Russell held out until week 2 of the 2007 regular season to sign his monstrous $68M ($31.5M guaranteed) six year contract. It was well worth the wait, for him that is. I remember wondering why it was taking so long to get a deal done, and Len Pasqurelli at the time said “the long holdout seems to have garnered Russell a very advantageous payout structure. Of course, it also cost him any opportunity to win the starting job in training camp.” What?!? He wanted to start!?! I had no idea! Continue reading
Tebow Slangin Some Jerseys’ Really Grinds My Gears
Tim Tebow hasn’t taken an NFL snap, and might not this whole season. I’m sure he’ll get in on some plays though kind of like his first year at Florida. The numbers on jersey sales came in from NFL’s website for the month of April, and Tebow was on top by a wide margin. I remember back when I saw Brady Quinn’s Right Guard commercial before he took a snap in the NFL, and it made me throw up a little. Mainly because these guys are already pulling in a ton of money from their ridiculous first round contracts and bonuses, then to top it all off they get a few extra million from advertising crap. Prove something to us before you start on the marketing campaigns. One thing I can draw from the sales, is that there are either a lot of religious people out there, or everyone in the state of Colorado and Florida decided to buy his jersey the second it was available.
I’m still as skeptical as the next guy on how Tebow will play in the NFL, and I don’t think it will work. Not just because I’m a huge Raiders fan, and want project Timmay to fall flat on it’s face, but because I wouldn’t have felt comfortable with him if he was on the Raiders. That’s the main way I decide exactly how much I think a player has to succeed. Do I want him on my team? No, not really, unless Jamarcus was still our starter. It feels like he’s got just about everything going against him in the media, and the “experts” analysis, so that makes me think he will want to prove those doubters wrong. If there’s one thing I know he’s good at, that would be proving people wrong with God as his guide. There is some irony to him picking #15 as his number. You replace Brandon Marshall, a perennial headache off the field, and now have #15 representing Jesus part 2.
Marble Madness!
I wasn’t THAT into Marble Madness, but it sure was challenging. I never had the patience for it. This guy, though, puts us all to shame. This has to be one of the greatest video game performances I’ve ever seen. I hate to think how many hours this fellow wasted to perfect his game, but you know what? It paid off for this exhibition of world-class marbling….
P-Willy Baby!
Photo courtesy of "SF Gate"
Being the resident 49er fan on staff, I must be the one to say … “It’s a celebration b**ches!”
If you haven’t heard, the 49ers just inked an extension with their best defensive pla … check that … best player in Patrick Willis! I’m pleased on several levels here … for one, P-Willy deserved a new contract as he’s emerged as an elite player, one that opposing teams have to develop a game plan towards neutralizing every week. Two, it’s good to see the 49ers organization reward a player for his hard work and dedication. Since Willis arrived in SF, he’s led the team in tackles in each of his first three seasons, and has been selected to the Pro-Bowl every year. He is one of the best defensive players in the NFL today, and now, he is paid like one. To the tune of $50 million over five years with $29 million guaranteed. Woot!
So all 49ers fans unite, and let us raise our glasses and toast! Here’s to P-Willy heading a top-five defensive team in SF for the next five years … at the very least!
Who is Trying to Kill the A’s? Selig? Wolff? The Giants? Or the City of Oakland?
A common sight at the Coliseum, empty seats.
It’s no secret; the A’s have needed a new stadium for the past 15 years. What’s crazy is there’s still a few cracks from the 89 earthquake. I’ve wanted to break down the whole A’s moving somewhere situation, but I knew it would be a long winded effort. Since the Raiders moved back into town, the Oakland Coliseum has been less than adequate for a baseball team. Brad Ziegler recently tweeted that he was disappointed in the fans for not coming out, and why wouldn’t he be? The A’s sported the lowest attendance in all of baseball averaging a measly 17,392 per game last year. This year they’ve only played 15 games, but still have only averaged 17,056 per game. Ziggy later tweeted “I understand some come in late, but it’s frustrating to be at this level and know that at Triple-A (Rivercats), there are twice as many fans at the game.” I’ve been to both stadiums, and sadly it’s true, the Rivercats are a bigger draw in Sacramento than the A’s are in Oakland, and the crowd is probably louder in Sac too for AAA games. It’s also a reason Mceezy and I feel they would be a nice fit in Sacramento, but the feeling there seems to be that it’s too small of a market to support an MLB franchise. The Rivercats stadium was built in a way that it can be added on to easily, but I’m sure A’s Owner, Lew Wolff, has looked into that option, and most other possible options over the past seven plus years he’s been looking for a new stadium deal. The former owners pretty much sold Wolff the teams majority stake, because they were tired of getting rejected on their new stadium proposals. The saddest part is, that the few fans that are showing up, are being thrown out if they have negative signs ala Washington Redskins style. I don’t buy that Lew Wolff is a Sam Presti, so we can squash that rumor that he hasn’t tried in the city of Oakland. He wants to keep the team in the area, so I think or I’m sure he would’ve tried to move them. He reportedly released a 227 page book on his efforts to stay in Oakland from 2003-2006 when the Freemont deal sort of went through. Either way, the A’s need a new stadium somewhere, and whether that’s going to be in Oakland or not remains to be seen. Continue reading
Vinny Del Negro: From Underqualified to Underappreciated
Two seasons ago, the Chicago Bulls, to the surprise of many, announced Vinny Del Negro as their new head coach. The media knew it was a questionable hire, the fans knew it was questionable, and I knew. There are certain players in the game today that announcers will say, “he’s going to be a head coach in this league when his playing days are over.” I don’t remember anyone saying that about Vinny D. Somehow though, he managed to convince the Bulls he was the right man for the job. In two seasons, though, he has won over a lot of the basketball community – not necessarily for his success on the court, but in large part due to the animosity he has dealt with during his tenure. The Bulls were in rebuilding mode. They were coming off a 33-49 season, but they had reason for optimism with the arrival of #1 draft pick, Derrick Rose. They also had a solid core of young players in Joakim Noah and Luol Deng, among others. In his first season at the helm, Del Negro took the team to the postseason with a 41-41 record and ultimately took the defending champion Boston Celtics to the full seven games in their opening round series. Despite all that, Del Negro remained on the hot seat in which he was firmly planted very shortly into his career. The team clearly was on the ascent though, as no one expected them to make that much noise in the playoffs. This year, it was no secret that management was waiting for any excuse to can him. Still though, he led the team to another .500 season, but this time only managed one win against the top seed Cleveland Cavaliers.
Now that the team has gone out on a losing note, John Paxson and co. finally had an excuse to relieve Del Negro of his duties. Regardless of his success, or lack thereof, many fans are in agreement that Vinny was a bit shafted in his tenure in Chicago and was never really given the freedom to succeed. Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo Sports begs to differ, but that’s nothing really out of the ordinary. I just don’t know who could do a better job with that squad. Sure, Derrick Rose is a nice centerpiece, but are the Bulls really a contender? John Calipari has already reportedly expressed interest, but we all know what happened in his last NBA endeavor. Do I think Del Negro is the best head coach out there? Certainly not. Do I think he did an admiral job considering what he had to work with? Absolutely. There are two things I know about Vinny D…..
- He once lifted me up so I could dunk a basketball at Arco Arena during his days a player in Sacramento
- He likes to walk around the locker room naked, according to former teammates.
What does this have to do with coaching? Absolutely nothing. I just had to share those two tidbits about Vinny and likely wouldn’t have another chance to do so. While I hope he gets another shot at the helm of an NBA team, I’m also hoping neither of my local franchises are looking for a new coach. The Kings seem pretty content giving Paul Westphal another year to try and improve on an overachieving 2009-2010 campaign, but the Warriors I am worried about. Many feel that Don Nelson checked out a while ago, and now that he has the all-time Wins record, one can only imagine what he will decide this offseason. Here’s hoping Vinny gets another shot, but just somewhere else.
J-Ridiculous!
A big game one victory for the Suns, the whole team must have let out a nice collective exhale. They’ve been dominated by the Spurs for too many years for me to want to remember. The year of the bloody Nash nose, coupled with the Amare suspension gave me flashbacks to Game 6 of 2002 series in Sacramento against the Lakers. We won’t go there, we just can’t, it’s too painful. Jason Richardson seems to be the Suns barometer on whether they will win or not. Continue reading
2010-2011, The Return.
The Doin-Work team loves the “Told you so” moments, or at least the opportunity of it, hence our MLB predictions, followed by our NBA Playoff predictions for 2010. Speaking for just myself right now, I suck at the aforementioned “Told you so” moments, just skim through my past predictions as evidence.
But, my one “Told you so” prediction for the 2010-2011 NBA season is essentially a guarantee. Chris Paul was the guest on The NBA on TNT pre-game and halftime show during Game 2 of the Cleveland/Boston series tonight. Charles Barkley went on to tell Chris Paul to his face, that he no longer considers him the best point guard in the NBA, and that he is now second to Deron Williams of Utah. Now you can argue back and forth about the two, and which one is better, honestly, having the choice of either is a win-win situation, that’s not the point … but – CP3 has a fierce competitive edge to him. So when Barkley was telling him this, he was simply smiling, pretending to not be affected by his comments, but … as I was listening to, and watching this interaction between the two, I couldn’t help but focus on Chris Paul’s facial expressions, and sure enough, there was a bit of a scowl being held back.
So what I can guarantee you is this, Chris Paul is going to be an absolute beast next season. Watch. I can even guarantee this, he will finish second in MVP voting behind one LeBron James. Yes, three-peat is in the works for LBJ, and when this all unfolds, we here at Doin-Work will be the first to remind you … TOLD YOU SO.
Washed Up or Blackballed?
Kevin Mawae held down two jobs in the NFL last season, and it’s looking more and more like he will only be retaining one of those jobs for this upcoming season. At least he has one, that’s better than a lot of people out there right now, but he probably should have two still. The 39 year old center helped pave the way for Chris Johnson to break the 2,000 yard rushing last season for the Titans. He also doubles as the president of the players association, and is expecting the CBA argument to halt the on-field play for a portion of 2011. He stated last week that both sides are about 80 yards apart in negotiations, and won’t be anywhere close on agreeing to terms anytime soon, especially since they haven’t even met to discuss a new CBA in over two months.
It could be that NFL teams don’t want to pick up Mawae since he is pretty old, but given that he was the most highly touted linemen on the free agent market earlier this year it’s puzzling to say the least. He along with many others are speculating why no teams have submitted offers or really even contacted him for his services. What makes it even more peculiar is the fact that teams haven’t even called during this strange uncapped season. There’s obviously a need for him as not every team can be 100% sold on their center, and the Hall of Famer to be, was in the Pro Bowl last year, so he’s obviously productive. Even more strange is that he hasn’t even been invited to a single training camp to actually see what he has left in the tank. Was it his comment that the owners are trying to cut the player salaries by 20%? Not too many front offices took kindly to that statement. Some think that owners are shying away from him because he will be busy with negotiating the new CBA, but I’d call that BS.
I can’t tell you if he has lost a step or isn’t a good center anymore, because I’m not a scout or talent evaluator. The conspiracy theorist in me says teams are blackballing him. Even if some team’s excuses are about the tape from last season saying that he’s a “functional player at the back end of his career”. Didn’t he just help CJ to a record season? Last time I checked the center has something to do with that kind of running success. I’m sure blocking for the mobile Vince Young is no picnic either. If he’s functional, then why wouldn’t someone like him to fill out your roster? Especially for young linemen, they could draw from his amazing experience in the league. I feel for the guy if he’s truly being blackballed. I’m thinking a few injuries will happen, and a team will sign him on to fill in at some point this season, unless owners are trying to send him some kind of message. Here’s what he had to say on the whole matter.
Mawae pointed to one of his friends (and a fellow Bartelstein client), new Jets guard, Alan Fanaca, being released earlier this week and signing a deal with the Arizona Cardinals within two days.
“Not to take anything away from him … but something tells me there is something going on beside me just being 39 years old. I’ve said in the past that I hope our management and the owners look past the fact that I am president of the PA. But right now it’s not looking that way. I’m looking for a job. I’ve made no secrets about wanting to be back in Tennessee and I’ve yet to receive a call from anybody.”
Sunday Slow Jams
Things are a little slow over here at Doin Work this weekend. But when all five of us call California home, it’s a little difficult to sit at home on the computer when it’s 81 degrees and sunny outside. Although that’s just me… Chappy’s down in LA where it’s 69 and Tony, Dre, and By are in a brisk 59 degree San Francisco day. Nonetheless, sometimes there’s just too much going on to blog about the playoff games we all saw. Lebron showed he expects to have little trouble with an aging Celtics team. The Hawks nonchalantly dismissed the Bucks from the postseason. And, the Lakers gained the upper hand in their series against the Utah Jazz. But no matter how busy you are, everyone’s got time for a little music, and no matter where you live, chances are you have that one radio station that plays nothing but old school jams on Sunday nights. Consider Doin Work that radio station for this time and place….
Who Will Your Team Want in July of 2010? Rating the NBA Free Agent Class
We’ve had little to no talk on the free agent class on 2010 here on the blog, and obviously this class is the biggest and best we’ve probably ever seen. July 1, 2010 has been etched into owner’s/GM’s minds for the past few seasons, and multiple teams could land a couple of big time players to make them an instant contender. This upcoming July could shape the NBA’s power balance for the next decade to come. I’m a big fan of making lists, so here’s my top twenty free agents. I’ve included some guys on the list that I think may opt out of their contract making the list a little more exciting. I decided to leave off the restricted free agents such as Dirk and Pierce, because it would be strange to see some of these teams actually cut these guys…
#1 Lebron James – 7th season – 25 years old – Player option to be an unrestricted free agent
He’s the first player I can ever think of that had teams scrapping multiple seasons just to make the cap space for him, and another star. He’s the best player in the league, and WILL one day join Oscar on the list of players to average a triple-double.
I won’t go into what he’s good at since he can pretty much do everything. If any player in the league can make personnel decisions within his own team, Lebron is that guy.
#2 Dwayne Wade – 7th season – 28 years old – Player option to be an unrestricted free agent
Probably the best guard in the league. He scores wherever he wants, and gets to the line nearly everytime he drives to the hoop. He probably had two of the best five dunks of the season dunking over Varejao, and half the Pacers team. He’s made a crappy Heat team relevant. Hopefully someone else on this list ends up on the same team as him, because if anyone deserves some help it’s this guy. If Miami loses him, they will be counting ping pong balls for years to come.
#3 Amar’e Stoudemire – 8th season – 27 years old – Player option to be an unrestricted free agent
Amar’e looks to have fully recovered from his injury, and looks like he’s back at his 2007-08 form. The knock on him has always been defense, but it looks like he’s made some strides since sitting down with Bill Russell, which Amare said was an eye opening experience. I’m not certain that I see him opting out of Phoenix since he seems to like it there, but why stick with a one year contract when you can get one for six? Especially with his laundry list of injuries. Then again, I could also see him staying in Phoenix to help Nash ride off into the sunset. After all the constant trade talks swirling around him, and him never going anywhere, I’m skeptical that he will leave the valley of the sun.
#4 Chris Bosh – 7th season – 25 years old – Player option to be an unrestricted free agent
Most teams that are in the Lebron sweepstakes are also hoping to team him with Bosh. The predator should make a big impact wherever he lands whether it’s in Chicago with Rose and Noah, or with Lebron or Wade somewhere else. I don’t view him as a alpha dog, but he’s as good a great sidekick that demands a lot of attention from opposing teams. I see him as a Gasol type fit on a championship team. A big part of why they win, but in the end not the sole reason they win. Continue reading
The Public is High on the A’s and Giants
Some Nielson Ratings came out telling us the story on the popularity of the first three weeks of baseball. Low and behold the Giants and A’s were found to be the “sentimental” favorites in thier ratings. In scores out of a possible 5 the Giants registered in first place at a 4.5, and the A’s were 2nd place at 4.2. The scoring for this Nielson rating was based on the amount of “positive” and “negative” things that people are saying online about the teams. I’m sure this has to do with the simple fact that both teams were leading their divisions going into that week. The fans and media are fickle, so I don’t see this lasting all year, but it was cool to see that 20% of things said about the Giants were positive, and 18% of things said about the A’s were positive with only 1-2% of negative things being said about either team. The rest was neutral. I’m sure there’s some more “negative” posts on the A’s for this coming week that will be bringing their score back down with multiple injuries and a losing streak, although I’m not sure if they count that as neutral or negative. I was just happy to see a non-doin work article that put the Giants and A’s #1, and #2.
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