I’m not sure what’s more amusing about the once proud but now dismal match up between the A’s and Giants last night; the sprinklers that lit up the field during the 9th inning or Barry Zito winning the retard race to double digit losses.  The rain bird’s came pouring on in the middle of Huston Street’s windup during the 9th inning, interrupting his pitch to Fred Lewis.  Maybe the sprinklers weren’t such a bad thing; I can’t imagine a better way to lighten up the mood of an otherwise poor performance by the highest paid player in the ball park.  I’m talking, of course, about Barry Zito.  He sucks.

This is an official request to Zito: give me 1% of your total contract (a little over 1.2 million dollars) and then donate the rest of it to Brian Sabean’s retirement fund.  Even Mike Hampton thinks Zito’s $126 million contract is laughable.  Give me a lid and a glove and I’ll gladly throw batting practice fastballs and errant curveballs for a professional baseball team.  Hell I’ll even try and do it left handed like Barry bong ripper does.

Tip your hat to the Giants for riding this one out.  Giving someone that much money and getting literally nothing in return is a tough bullet to bite.  But what other option do you have?  You can’t put him in the bullpen and you certainly cant bench him.  I guess the only option for Bruce Bochy is to keep running batting practice Zito out there every 5th day and maybe, just maybe, he’ll either win a game or provide me with enough comedy in the box score to last until his next fiasco on the mound.

Hosts: Sonny, Ryan and Rich: This episode focused entirely on the National League West. With the hiring of former Yankees skipper Joe Torre, are the Dodgers ready for their youth movement to finally make a playoff run? Or will Brandon Webb’s Arizona Diamondbacks repeat? Can the Colorado Rockies continue their magical run of 2007? And can Jake Peavy and Chris Young carry the Padres back into the postseason? All of this and more on the Sportable Spot.

Note: We’ve recorded our podcasts for the AL Central and AL East. They will be posted in a few days after we complete the NL West team previews.

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San Francisco Hopes to Avoid Giant Catastrophe in 2008. Before I really dive into this breakdown of the 2008 San Francisco Giants, it should be stated that I have absolutely no clue what the overall plan is for this team nor do I have any idea how the folks who created this disaster still retain jobs. That being said, Bruce Bochy has scrapped together another 25 man roster that has little hope of contending in an increasingly competitive NL West yet will somehow coax 70 wins out of this band of misfits because players “love to play for him.” Barry Bonds is gone in San Francisco, as are any memories of his bloated head and tainted records. Certainly going to Giants games will be less satisfying for me as a fan because of my inability to wear my asterisk shirt or throw plastic syringes on the field but in the general scheme of things Bonds dismissal will be a great burden lifted off an already weighed down team.

Bats. The Giants major acquisition of the off season was centerfielder Aaron Rowand, a guy who has quietly put together great seasons for both the Phillies and the White Sox. The Giants stroked it too much to Rowand’s all-out style of play and rewarded him with a $60 million deal over 5 years, a price no other team was willing to pay. Don’t worry Brian Sabean, I have your back on this one. He’s going to jump out and surprise everyone and prove the haters wrong just like that guy you signed last year. Right? He was worth all that money, right? He’s not just gonna put your team in financial hell in a few years with declining play and increasing salary? Sigh. Read the rest of this entry »

Imagine somewhere around the famed Yankee Stadium locker room an unwritten rule about contract talks is posted. It reads, “Contracts will be discussed at the end of the season.” What if the season is already over in New York? What if Alex Rodriguez was already looking forward to opt out of a deal that is currently earning him $25 million?

If the Yankees decide to keep their word about contract negotiations and Alex Rodriguez continues to hit home runs at a record pace, the New York club could see their All-Star walk. Alex has one friend who he can relate his statistics to when it’s all said and done, but just imagine if he could repeat what one Giant will do this year. What if Alex Rodriguez became a San Francisco Giant?

Every year, I anticipate the unveiling of All Star batting practice jerseys. The one unique thing that motivates me to always make a purchase are the themes that set each jersey aside. The theme for this year’s jersey is based off the San Francisco landmark that has contributed to the famous history of the city.

The theme, of course, is that of the Golden Gate Bridge and the colors of the San Francisco Giants. On both the N.L. and A.L. jerseys, one of the the towers is represented on the uni in the script as the letter “I”. The main color on the National League jersey is black with the script in orange. That color scheme is then flipped around on the American League jersey.

The tower on the jersey also has cables extending from it resembling the Golden Gate Bridge. The cables run from the tower towards both the first and final letters in the name of the league. The 2007 All-Star Game patch is sewn on the the left hand sleeve to give the jersey its finishing touch.

The 2007 All-Star batting practice jerseys will be worn during batting practice sessions, as well as the Home Run Derby on Monday evening. You can grab these jerseys with no player names for $99.99. However, if you wish to have a player name on the back, it will cost you $119.00. The jerseys can be purchased at Major League Baseball’s fan shop.

Barry Bonds’ son Nikolai has been in the headlines over the past few years for various reasons. Remember when he was almost derailed during that play at the plate and JT Snow had to snag him at the last second? Remember when he was rolling with Bonds during press conferences like he was an entourage or something? Well it turns out Nikolai won’t be able to be on bat boy duty when his father hits the record breaking home run.

During a pick up game of basketball, Nikolai came down hard and tore ligaments in his leg. He must not have learned from the advice of other players in the league about playing pick up games of basketball. Now he’s in a walking cast and can’t fulfill his duties as bat boy. Does anyone really care? Nah, not really. The only reason I have vested interest is because I think the spelling of his name is kind of odd. This isn’t Soviet Russia, you could have gone with Nickolas and been perfectly fine.

Bonds finds himself in the headlines enough for his prick attitude to the media and that whole steroids thing. Nobody really cares that much about his son not being able to bat boy during his record breaker. Maybe this is a sign from the heavens above that Bonds isn’t meant to break the record. We know Hank Aaron won’t be there, and now even Bonds’ son can’t be there in full force.

When Bonds hits the record breaker, I hope I’m not within 2,000 miles of it. Can you imagine the chaos that will ensue for that ball? That’s a million dollars in the form of a baseball getting throw into a crowd. Someone is going to get trampled or die. It’s not gonna be me, that’s for sure. And it probably won’t be Nikolai’s hobbling ass anymore either.