Dunleavy, Murphy, Diogu, and a throw in for Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson, Sarunas Jaskjhjhvis, and a throw in

There is some discussion over at:

http://www.goldenstateofmind.com/

I find it hard to put into words how much I like this trade.

I would have traded Duleavy straight for a swift kick in the groin. But to get two players who will play D? I need a new word for it.

I say Sabean subcontracts the Benitez matter to Mullin.

http://users2.wsj.com/lmda/do/checkLogin?mg=wsj-users2&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle %2FSB116891552371177295.html%3Fmod%3Dpolitics_primary_hs

Anybody subscribe to the WSJ online?

This could be the result of his graceful handling of the BALCO situation, or it could be because nobody likes him.

An espn source says the Jays are near a 126 million dollar deal with Wells [not the fat one].

Personally, I am not entirely sold on Wells yet - I would want to see one more very good half year before signing him to an extension.

BP's Goldstein has his top 10 Phillies Prospects.

http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=5767&PHPSESSID=956acd5a29fab438252da5fe7656b e6c

Non-Giants League News 12/13

My list of non-tenders I want signed:

Jerome Williams, Toby Hall, and Jason Bulger.

Baseball America will resume it's top ten prospects in January.

BP's Kevin Goldstein has the Met's top 10.

http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=5763&PHPSESSID=a280b8c86dfb5cb8ed1ad2cd13b8e 0c8

He also ranks the best Met's players 25 and younger, with Reyes ahead of Wright. Who would you rather have? I am torn, but might go with Wright because he has less injury history.

Reported, Gagme to Rangers 1/8. I hope he enjoys sweating his fat butt off.

BP's Kevin Goldstein has MIL Top 10.

http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=5758&PHPSESSID=3d6311d9d8254e8b53a747b44a6af 98d

Rangers Top 10

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/features/262987.html

I like Hurley a lot, mostly because he is the guy I think the Giants would have drafted with the Michael Tucker pick.

Talks are breaking down between Matsuzaka and Boston.

Inge, MacDougal signed extensions.

As always, post news here please.

A thought: How about having a prospect by prospect [say, one per day] of the top 30-50 Giants prospects? Anybody think this is a good idea, or just overkill? I need something to fill the time until BA comes out with their Top 10 and handbook. Sickels list and discussion didn't do it for me.

Freddy Garcia is traded for Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzalez. Gonzalez was part of the Thome deal.

Gil Meche 4-45 from KC. Mr Moore in KC may not have learned much during his stint in Atlanta. Or the owner made him do it.

Jeff Suppan is weeping tears of joy.

Jim Hendry had angioplasty - lack of blood to the brain may explain the Lily contract.

Ok, this is late enough to be near pointless. But IT Dept at work. is, well, not great.

JD Drew 5/70 to Bos
San Diego 1/10 for Maddux [if all incentives reached]

If there is league news and you aren't going to write a long comment on it, please post it here instead of a separate diary. Think of this as a request/non-binding guideline.

And Xanthan, right now I am listening to "Touch of Grey." I think it is an appropriate song for this offseason.

OT: Anybody know the name of that song in that video game commericial w/ the monster that looks like a bunch of lights?

If there is league news and you aren't going to write a long comment on it, please post it here instead of a separate diary. Think of this as a request/non-binding guideline.

Thanks to those of you who posted this when I lag - large blocks of the internet has been unavailable to me during the day lately. One of the tubes to my office must be broken

BP has Top 10 young bums
http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=5734&PHPSESSID=2186267a63956c02cef80f3458fea 84f

BA has top 10 Twins prospects
http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/features/262913.html

Also, Buster Olney is an idiot. To wit, note his list of "intriguing" free agents.
Quote "Miguel Cairo. As a pure, cheap utilityman, a nice fit if you are looking for defense and a contact hitter. Has always played better than his numbers indicate. If you need your utilityman to do some damage offensively, probably not your guy"

If there is league news and you aren't going to write a long comment on it, please post it here instead of a separate diary. Think of this as a request/non-binding guideline.

If there is league news and you aren't going to write a long comment on it, please post it here instead of a separate diary. Think of this as a request/non-binding guideline from me, and me alone.

If there is league news and you aren't going to write a long comment on it, please post it here instead of a separate diary. Think of this as a request/non-binding guideline from me, and me alone.

Seattle resigned Willie Bloomquist.

If there is league news and you aren't going to write a long comment on it, please post it here instead of a separate diary. Think of this as a request/non-binding guideline from me, and me alone. Also: Anyone should feel free to open a Diary like this if I lag.

If there is league news and you aren't going to write a long comment on it, please post it here instead of a separate diary. Think of this as a request/non-binding guideline from me, and me alone. Also: Anyone should feel free to open a Diary like this if I lag.

If there is league news and you aren't going to write a long comment on it, please post it here instead of a separate diary. Think of this as a request/non-binding guideline from me, and me alone.

Nomar re-up for 2/18

Alex Gonzalez signs for 3/14!! Alex Gonzalez!

Discussion starter: Trade Omar? To who, and for what?

If there is league news and you aren't going to write a long comment on it, please post it here instead of a separate diary. Think of this as a request/non-binding guideline from me, and me alone.

If there is league news and you aren't going to write a long comment on it, please post it here instead of a separate diary. Think of this as a request/non-binding guideline from me, and me alone.

Looks like officially Thomas got 2/18 from Toronto.

The A's chose Bob Geren to manage.

Greg Anderson was ordered back to prison.

If there is league news and you aren't going to write a long comment on it, please post it here instead of a separate diary. Think of this as a request/non-binding guideline from me, and me alone.

I didn't check if this was posted before, but Henry Blaco resigned with the Cusb for 2/5.25. He is a poor man's Mike Matheny. Ugh.

If there is league news and you aren't going to write a long comment on it, please post it here instead of a separate diary. Think of this as a request/non-binding guideline from me, and me alone.

The Mets officiallty signed 56 year old El Ducky to a 2 year, 12 million dollar contract. I cannot see that ending well, but it does give me hope that Morris could return some value.

Apparently there are rumours floating out there that Juan Pierre will get 3/30 from SF. This is not to be believed - this rumour was started by the CIA as part of an effort to have me garrote Brian Sabean and be forced back into my secret life as government hit man.

Minor League news of the Giant variety:
Frandsen is AFL player of the week.

Kevin Goldstein had a prospects chat over at BP, but mentioned little significant to SF. Still a goos read though.

Please add news as it comes out.

Off Topic Discussion starter:
Borat: Funniest movie of the year, or funniest movie ever?

If there is league news and you aren't going to write a long comment on it, please post it here instead of a separate diary.

Example for this diary:

Jaret Wright traded to Baltimore
link

Example for starting new diary:
Jaret Wright traded to Baltimore and here is detailed analysis of his career and why reuniting him with Leo Mazzone means he will win the 2007 Cy Young.

Think of this as a request/non-binding guideline.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/draft/news/262720.html

Salient points for those short of time

1.) No type C free agents, type B signings don't forfeit a pick. Losing teams get a 1-2 sandwich.
2.) Less type A free agents
3.) No draft and follow
4.) August 15 signing deadline
5.) If you fail to sign your 1st round pick, you get the pick next year. For example, if the Giants didn't sign the ninth overall pick in 2007, they get #10 in 2008. [But they have to sign the 2008 pick]. Same is true for 2nd round picks. Third round picks gets a sandwich pick.
6.) Arb offer deadline moved to Dec. 1 - still must offer to get a pick.
7.) An extra year of protection for all players from the rule 5 draft that applied this year, so the rule 5 draft should be sparse indeed.

Overall, I really like the changes. Especially the siging deadline.
8.) Rule 4 draft changes are for 2008.

Baseball America has their positional rankings out.

To nobody's suprise, the Giants did not fare well.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/features/262606.html

Burriss #4, Cowart #20

List with Scouting reports [subscriber]
http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/features/262515.html

Chat
http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/chat/chat.php?id=2006092701

Summa prospectica:
Burriss is a slap hitter with patience, good speed, and may be able to stay at SS. Per the chat, it seems he is more likely to stay at SS than Sanders. [based on arm strengh]

Cowart looks to be Chad Bradford at best. He was mostly put at #20 because of a great season. Noted velocity of 80-85 with lots of sink.

They didn't seem too high on anyone else, except to note that McBryde had a few great tools and that they were suprised he hit as well as he did.

Some Steve guy from Davis asked about Witter and the other starters, but they were deemed to be lacking in the Tools department. It was also noted that Witter wasn't much of a defender and was old for the league at 23.

I submitted a question about Neal, but it was not answered. After that, I looked up his final stats and realized how bad they finished. So, I think he is down a major rung or two on the prospect ladder.

On another note, the print edition of BA noted Horwitz as a player that may have played his way into the top ten among Giants prospects.

There hasn't been a music thread in a while.

I recently bought:

Bruce Springsteen - We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions.

Great, great album. I especially love his version of "Mrs. McGrath" [an old irish song] and "Oh, Mary, Don't You Weep." Basically, the album is Springsteen covering Pete Seeger songs. Caveat: Not your typical Spingsteen album.

Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways

Another posthumous release by Rick Rubin. As I understand it, Cash recorded the lyrics before he died, but Rubin did the rest after Johnny died. Even though I am not at all religious, Track 2, "God's Gonna Cut You Down" is definitely my favorite. While I liked the album, I wouldn't say it is as good as his previous American offerings.

Ranking the America offerings:
III
IV
II
Unearthed [though it contained hits from I-IV]
Tie I & V

A few questions:

I heard a Wolfmother song on the radio. I liked it. I watched them play on Leno, SNL, or something similar and did not. What am I to think? Do they have good albums, or are they one-hittish/

What albums have you all bought recently? Your thoughts on them?

Have you been to any good concerts lately? [who, where]

Hello all,
I would like to make a few small requests of all the McCoven, myself included. [In no particular order]

1.) Think before you post. Maybe even twice.
2.) If you make an assertion, please try to show facts/data to show why you assert it.
3.) Use punctuation and English grammar. It helps. A lot. I'm serious.
4.) Proofread and preview. [Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa] (but not in gameday threads)
5.) Try to add a new opinion, question, theory, fact, or observation to a conversation. Open a dialog is far more interesting than shouting matches.
6.) Be nice to each other - everybody here is a fan who wants to see the Giants in the World Series.
7.) Try not to complain without offering a reasonable, better idea. [I know, it's tough these days]
8.) Remember that being a fan should be fun. If it isn't, find another diversion. But nobody should expect you to act like an east coast fanboy moron.  I've always thought Giants fans had a better base in reality than most others - and I am proud of it. I feel the ability to be a fan of a player while still recognizing his flaw is a mark of a true fan.
9.) Ignore 1-8 for any of my comments.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/08/02/sports/s164952D03.DTL

While I have no love for him as a starting catcher, I sure hope he gets healthy and doesn't risk his future trying to get back.

It's been a while since we did one of these. But, I just got a few new albums and felt like talking about them

1.) Red Hot Chili Pepppers - Stadium Arcadium [2 Discs]

Well, I still like the Red Hots, but this album is very much like their recent stuff and a testament to ProTools. Still, I like it.

Recommendation: Buy, if you are a RHCP fan.

2.) Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam

Their best album in a while, with far less bizarre  tracks that some of their albums have. There is a lot of political rants in the album, so some folks might be turned off by it. But the rants are fewer and easier to ignore than the ones in "Living with War"

Recommendation: Buy.

3.) Neil Young - Living With War

Very, very good. The first track "After the Garden" is my favorite as it reminds me of some of my Neil Young favorites. There is a lot of political rants in the album, so some folks might be turned off by it.

Recommendation: Buy, if you are a Neil Young fan.   I am not sure if it is still live, but you could listen to the whole album on his website.

4.) The Little Willies - The Little Willies

A MCC reader recommended this [and played on it?] and I have to thank him for it. Named for in honor of Willie Nelson, they play a few of his songs [but nothing most folks recognize] as well as Kris Kristofferson's and some originals. Norah Jones provides vocals, as well a some other guy whose name I have really enjoyed it a lot, especially track 5 "Best of all Possible Worlds" and track 8 "Gotta Get Drunk." It is country music, but with a very different feel than modern county music. Detest Toby Keith? So do I, and this album sounds nothing like him. Or Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, or Garth Brooks.

Recommendation: BUY, BUY, BUY. Unless you have an irrational dislike of all country music. Then you suck and are beyond help.

A couple iPod related questions:
1.) Has anybody had a good experience with Radio Adapters?
2.) Is there a way to get AM radio on the iPod like you can FM radio?

Thoughts? New stuff you have bought?