Derrick Williams was named to the AP All-America Second Team, getting beaten out by Jared Sullinger and JaJuan Johnson. 

I don't have any problem with the Sullinger selection. He is a fantastic player and dominated the Big 10. I do take issue with Johnson over Williams though. Williams was far more efficient and a better all around player than Johnson. I usually loath the "EAST COAST BIAS!!!" excuse but come on! All I can attribute this to is AP writers not staying up late enough to do their jobs and evaluate talent all over the country and not just in the East. Garbage.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=6266765

Well, the Cats found out today that Ray McCallum will stay home and play for his father at the University of Detroit. This is a disappointment to say the least as he is probably the best pure point guard coming out of high school this year.

 In addition, Brandon Knight chose UK, signaling a potential domino effect where in Josh Selby ( top three point guard) falls to KU and the Cats are left whiffing on all the major point guard recruits this year. 

I like Momo as much as the next guy but I think the Cats could really benefit from adding another point guard to spell Momo or perhaps push him to up his game. In a perfect world the Cats add Selby and one from the Jack/ Lamb/ Hill/ Polee group. In reality I expect Jack and maybe Lamb.

Who is on your wish list?

Any insider intel?

EDITOR'S NOTE 7:30PM: I just noticed this FanPost and am certainly intrigued.  If Hall were released I'm curious where he signs and for what.  Like whether he gets a deal through the end of the season or tries to get a long term deal.  I wouldn't want to invest much in him, but as a one year deal I'd be intrigued.  Of course, the other problem is working him into the defense over halfway through the season.  If the team thinks they can win the division I see reasons for it, if they're starting to look forward I don't.  Thoughts?  Aside from the fact that Al Davis is clearly going crazy.

______________________________________

I am pretty sure he is overrated but he stands to be an upgrade over Walt. Why the Raiders are releasing him I don’t really know. Has he had a bad year? Are they really that hard up for cash? Is Davis f-ing crazy. Well, yeah he is crazy.

 What do you guys think? He is expensive but he adds talent to a not so great secondary.  Pick him up? Yes or yes? I say yes.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3683124

Espn is reporting that Daunte is thinking about coming out of retirement. Evidentially the Chiefs have contacted him. He has not been very good for a while but he could be an upgrade for the Niners. Is it worth taking a flyer on him if he is relatively cheap?

I am not sure that he would help but I am in the “throw shit against the wall and see what sticks” mode with the Niners now. Let him be a place holder till the Niners can find a QB through the draft or free agency.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3659901

According to the Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune, the Twins may dangle Young after the emergence of Denard Span.

Yes the Giants have tons of outfielders but Young could be a superstar. Would the Giants be willing to deal some of their young talent to land Young? Obviously his stock has dropped. So what would it take to get him? Is it worth it?

I am thinking Sanchez + lesser prospect.

Is that too much?

Oh and Matt Cain for Prince Fielder!!!!!

[ducks]

Here is the link.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/30471924.html?page=3&c=y

It wasn’t long ago that calling the Giants’ farm system barren and devoid of Major League talent was as accepted as… well something that is widely accepted. Everybody in the system was seemingly old for their respective levels and the Giants tendency to punt draft picks for old past-their-prime players was only adding to the ineptitude of the organization. That, seemingly, has changed.

Enter the off season of 2008-2009 and we will see a Giants farm system with a new influx of talent at a number of positions and some once forgotten prospects that have crept their way back into prospect hounds’ collective consciousness.  I give you a smattering of the best the Giants have to offer.

C- Buster Posey (Unsigned)- If he signs he has the chance to be the Giants’ top prospect without even playing an inning of professional ball. He is polished behind the plate and should pick up game calling rather quickly. His bat, which some people are not sure will provide much power, is maybe the best I have seen in college baseball. His swing is short and compact, he doesn’t strike out all that much and it is terribly difficult to argue with his career line at FSU. 398/.493/.626, 33 hr, 127w/101k.

C/ 1b- Pablo Sandoval (AA)- Once he looked like another Giants prospect who couldn’t walk and struck out too much but no things have changed a bit. After tearing up the Cal League, a hitter’s paradise, he moved to the Eastern League and to Dodd stadium, the place where hitting prospects go to die. Well, in his short time there the portly switch hitter has killed AA pitching and resurrected his prospect status. He now figures to have a shot at backing up Molina in 2009 if not this September.

1b- Angel Villalona (A)- I won’t bore you rehashing all the talk of his enormous potential but I will say that a kid who is nearly 3 years below the average age for his league and who is holding his own while flashing crazy power is nothing to sneeze at.

1b- Travis Ishikawa (AAA)- The Giants once had high hopes for the smooth fielding left masher but after a number of injuries and a million strikeouts his chance seemed all but gone. This year, however, he has been healthy and cut down on his strikeout while hitting the cover off of the ball in Connecticut and Fresno. Is he for real? I am not sure but if he is it is like finding a $20 in the pocket of some old jeans.

OF- Nate Shierholtz (AAA)- Much has been made of his inability to lay off bad pitches but he has hit well in Fresno and has been doing well against international competition for Team USA. The Giants don’ exactly have a dearth of outfielders but if Nate can hit for similar average and power in the bigs he may make Winn expendable.

SP- Madison Bumgarner (A)-  Young for his league. Mowing down SAL hitters. May be promoted to San Jose before the season is out. One of the best pitching prospects in the game.

SP- Tm Alderson (A+)- See Bumgarner.

Others of mention: Connor Gillespie (unsigned), Brandon Crawford (unsigned),  Eddie Martinez Esteve(AA), Henry Sosa (A), Raphael Rodriguez(instructional league soon), Wendell Fairley (AZL).

I know many of you non-Giants fans probably feel differently about these players. I would love to hear why I am wrong. So where do these players put the Giants in the grand scheme of farm systems?

A supposed leak has revealed the AL and NL starters for the allstar game and our boy is not the starter. Instead Arizona Diamondbacks' starter Brandon Webb will be the starter.

I have to admit that I am a bit disapointed that Timmy won't be starting the game but I am more upset that apparently wins count more than anything else when determining quality of pitchers. Here are the stats and you tell me if this is a smart decision.

Webb-  12-4  3.34era  118ip  100k 31bb

Lincecum- 10-1 2.49era 115.2ip 122k 44bb

I don't personally see how you can justify that decision. What about you?

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/25546896/

So... umm... Matt Downs. Yeah small sample size in the PCL. Yeah it was the Cal League before that. I know... but he has mashed at every level. He is young (compared to me). What do you guys think? Could he be a real deal starting 2b  with good pop. I can haz wun plz?

Plus- His name is Matt. Two Matts. Two Tims. We should only draft players with those first names.

Your 2015 San Francisco Mattims!!!!1!!!

I don't mean to step on Steve's Minor Lines for the day but I noticed that Noonan, Culberson, and Villalona were not in yesterday's lineup.

Did the Giants hold them out because they are getting promoted or are they just resting them up for the championship game against the AZL Mariners?

It seems strange to me that they would take the three best guys out of the league the day before the championship (assuming that is what they have done).

I have seen his name tossed around a few times here but after yesterday he has undoubtedly raised his trade value (if in fact the Jays are going to be sellers this summer). What do you guys think about him?

He is 26, doesn't walk much and strikes out a fair amount. He is also 6'5 and looks like he will fill out and increase his already good power.

Do you guys like him enough to give up some valuable chips or should the Giants focus on other players?

I guess this probably doesn't warrent a totally seperate diary but Lewis has been (imho) a good player in his breif stint in the majors.

He has been hitting for average, has great speed, decent defense, and a great attitude. He had a couple of rough games but seems to have a short memory when it comes to those things (me like).

Is it still early enough that we can call this a fluke or does he have he tools to make it?

Sub question:

I really like his stroke and it seems as if he could hit for pretty good power if he sticks with it. What do you think?

The following is a collection of emails that Dave and I have exchanged over his comment that the Giants have not won a pennant with Bonds.It is a little long so forgive me.

12/16/2006
Mr. Del Grande
I just wanted to know if you actually do any research before you write your columns. I mean saying something like " over the past 14 seasons, San Francisco's pennant-less ballclub..." would be a great insight if it were true. Unfortunately for you and your case, the Giants actually won the NL Pennant in 2002. You can see how saying something like this might make Giants fans and fans of journalism a bit peeved. I would suggest in the future that you take pride in you job and realize that you are a reflection of the journalistic community. Many journalists came before you and many will come after and it is important to them that you respect your craft.
Sincerely
Cameron Wood

1/3/2007
This is Dave Del Grande. There is no pride in a National League pennant. It has been the inferior league for most of Bonds' 14 years. It would be like me saying Castro Valley High hasn't won a basketball pennant in 14 years and you claiming I was wrong because it won a JV title four years ago. Thank you for "editing" my column. I look forward to reading your stuff someday. What I've read so far isn't so hot.
Dave

1/4/2007
 Wow! Your professionalism astounds me. Regardless of whether you think the NL is inferior or not, it still has a pennant and that pennant is legitimate. I did not write you to get into an argument about the legitimacy of the NL pennant. I merely wrote you to tell you that you are in fact wrong when you contend that the Giants have not won a pennant under Bonds' tenure. I continue to use the word pennant because that is what we baseball fans call that little flag that you get when you are the representative of your league in the World Series. I am not sure how you can defend a statement that is so obviously wrong and equally idiotic. The Giants went to the World Series in 2002 and thus won the 2002 NL pennant. That is not analogous to a JV championship and you know that. Was the Cardinals' NL pennant this year the same as Castro Valley High's JV championship? I hope as a sports columnist you can see the difference. Davey, think about it. In the time it took you to reply to my email you could have been looking all this stuff up and then you wouldn't have looked like such an ass.
Cameron Wood

1/4/2007
My point simply was: With the greatest player of all-time manning left field on a daily basis, the Giants have failed to win a championship the last 14 years. If Giants fans want to take pride in having made it to ONE World Series in that stretch, well, you have to rest your hat on something. You're right. Technically, "pennant" was not the correct word. "Championship" would have been better. But then I'm guessing nit-picking Giants fans would claim they've won several (N.L. West) "championships" in the last 14 years.

Anyway, good luck this season.
Dave

On Jason Stark's hot list he has Brad Wilkerson and Rod Barajas as possible deadline names.

Since we seem to not have a chance at resigning Schmidt next year maybe we could package him with Klein and make this deal. Texas would love to get Schmidt for their playoff push.

It would give us a starting catcher next year and a good lf to take over after Bonds leaves. The both can be had for fairly cheap and both show pretty good power. Wilkerson may be having a down year but he is a better option than Linden.

What would really make this deal nice for the Giants would be if they could snake Ian Kinsler away in the trade. He is a good looking young kid and he could play 2b next year.

In any case this tade makes the Giants younger and fills some holes for them. If they make this trade then they could focus on getting a big power bat.

With the draft nearly upon us, my last few weeks of sleep have been studded with dreams of landing an impact youngster. Sadly though, I have to wake up and face the harsh reality that even if Sabean keeps the pick he will probably end up trading the player in 2007 for Braden Looper or a ham sandwich with the crust cut off. So this is my question to all of you fellow Giants fans: why is Sabean regarded as a good GM?

Sub Question: What future allstar are we going to draft then trade for the ashes of Ken Caminiti and a fun size Snickers?

Bring on that mop top band of Backstreet Boy dropouts. If I have to hear about how hot Crosby, Zito and Chavez are one more time I am going to quit my job, put all three in a burlap sack, throw them in the trunk of my car, drive down to Orlando, hire a dance instructor, find the most dilapidated buliding I can, lock all four in it for three strait weeks, send them on a tour of all the shopping malls in Eastern Europe, sit back and watch the money start rolling in.

I, like many others, have been losing sleep over the possibility of a Bondsless Giants team. Now that the inevitable is upon us. Who are the players the Giants should go after to try to make the next era of Giants baseball an exciting one? I have my ideas, which include Miguel Cabrera and or Delmon Young, but what do you guys think?

Everyday in mailbag questions and chat sessions with baseball's top minds I hear the same fret filled queries about what the Giants are going to do when Bonds retires. Come on. We all know the answer to that little gem. They are going to crash and burn like your drunk buddy trying to hit on that really hot bar tender at the local dive(insert whatever Irish last name you deem fit). Sabean has built this team to win now. There is very little thought given to the post Bonds era because it is going to suck regardless. The great thing about Sabean is that he gets the tallent that he thinks can win with Bonds. Maybe it is old tallent but tallent none the less. You have to respect a guy that goes with his gut feeling. Sabean's plan is a bit like building a house of cards on the freeway. Its going to look great while it lasts but its going to be a fucking bitch to clean up when that Ford Focus hits it at 70+. Now you can watch teams like the Mets and think "man why don't the Giants get agressive like that?" The answer is that they don't have to right now because they are winning. Omar and the Mets have to collect big names because at this point it is a "win or we fucking kill you" senario in New York. Maybe the Mets won't win the regular season but they sure as hell arn't going to lose the off season. If they did someone was going to hang Fred Wilpon with his own shoe laces. The Giants don't really have that problem. When Bonds retires they are going to have some bad years. Trying to plan for life post Bonds is like trying to figure out why people watch hockey. You are never going to figure it out so why bother trying. Maybe in some fantastic stroke of luck Jason Ellison will find a bat that was carved from a tree struck by lightning that wills his ass to 40 homers a year. But untill then sports fans, stop worring about when we lose Barry and start enjoying him while he is still around.
cameron

I was thinking yesterday (a bit out of character but never the less) about how much i hate the RedSox Nation. I came to the realization that they will never stop whining. I am sorry but I haven't seen the Giants win the World Series in my life but do I devote endless hours to reversing the Curse of the Polo Grounds? No. I count my blessings that I love a team that actually devotes itself to winning. The RedSox or Yankees jr. (as I like to call them) have a yearly payroll that reads like the expense list of the second Bush Inaguration or some hedonistic Tyco getaway for 2000 of your closest coworkers featuring twelve year old vietnamese hookers giving hot oil massages while you listen to "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" on tape as read by Kenneth Lay. What I am trying to say is please RedSox Nation be gald that you arn't living in Tampa or Colorado or Kansas City and you have to stomach a team that has a better chance of winnig the Kentucky Derby than their division. Your team won. They beat the Yankees. You saw it. We all saw it. So do us a favor. Shut the fuck up allready.