Baseball Hot Corner Feature -- Giant for Life?? Buster Posey Signs 9-year, $167 Million Contract

In case you missed it, here is my write-up on the Buster Posey contract, as featured on Baseball Hot Corner.


Giant for Life?? Buster Posey signs 9-year, $167 million contract

Baseball Hot Corner Features -- 2013 Major League Baseball season previews - Giants and Entire League

In case you missed them, below are links to my 2013 Major League Baseball season preview and my 2013 San Francisco Giants season preview, as featured on Baseball Hot Corner.  Enjoy!!!

2013 Major League Baseball Season Preview

2013 San Francisco Giants Season Preview

Let the Madness Begin 2013!!!

March is arguably one of the best months on the sport’s calendar.  You have Spring Training and the smell of baseball in the air, NFL free agency is in full effect, the NFL draft prep is starting, if you care about the NBA it’s almost playoff time, and of course, it’s MARCH MADNESS!!! 

One of the finer events in sports, March Madness brings much excitement and enthusiasm to even the casual sports fan.  Hell, even Mrs. Armchair fills out a NCAA Tournament Bracket; all in the hopes of beating and proving me wrong of course.  She hopes to prove me wrong in that she fines it amusing that I spend countless man-hours researching and filling out a bracket when she thinks it isn’t a science and that it’s mostly pure luck.  Just because she picks VCU to make the Final Four one time (golf clap, babe)…. 

I digress.  Every year I do about 5 “draft” brackets and run it through the ESPN Bracket Analyzer before finally settling on my “Sheet of Integrity” (yeah, I know; stolen from Mike and Mike).  Anyway, here is a 2013 NCAA Tournament Bracket, also known in bracket challenges as “Hoosier Bracket Master??!!”  Let the Madness Begin!!!

Midwest Region –

Second Round –

Louisville (1) v. NC A&T (16) – LOUISVILLE.  One seed v. Sixteen seed.  No explanation needed.

Colorado St. (8) v. Missouri (9) – COLORADO ST.  They rebound well and have an experience starting five.

Oklahoma St. (5) v. Oregon (12) – OREGON.  Oregon under seeded coming off winning Pac-12 Tourney.

St. Louis (4) v. New Mex St. (13) – ST. LOUIS.  Beat VCU in A-10 tourney; a much underrated conference.

Memphis (6) v. St. Mary’s (11) – MEMPHIS.  I can’t have all 6^th seeds losing in the first round. 

Mich St. (3) v. Valpo (14) – MSU.  MSU better not take Valpo lightly.  Still going MSU though. 

Creighton (7) v. Cincy (10) – CREIGHTON.  Saw them play live.  Can’t go against Dougie McDermott.

Duke (2) v. Albany (15) – DUKE.  Duke will not lose in the first round two years in a row.

Third Round –

Louisville (1) v. Colorado St. (8) – LOUISVILLE.  Louisville will be too strong defensively for the Rams.

Oregon (12) v. St. Louis (4) – ST. LOUIS.  This will be a good game, but St. Louis is too athletic for Oregon.

Memphis v. Mich St. (3) – MSU.  Not quite ready yet to go against tourney master Coach Izzo.

Creighton (7) v. Duke (2) – DUKE.  No doubt it will be raining three’s, but I think Duke gets them here.

Regional Semifinals –

Louisville (1) v. St. Louis (4) – LOUISVILLE.  Potential upset, but Louisville is peaking at the right time.

Mich St. (3) v. Duke (2) – DUKE.  Can’t get a better coaching matchup.  Gotta roll with Coach K here.

Regional Finals –

Louisville (1) v. Duke (2) – LOUISVILLE.  The analysts talked me into this pick.  Initially, I couldn’t see Louisville emerging from this region.  Of the four #1 seeds, I thought Louisville had the hardest path to the Final Four, which is a shame because supposedly they are the overall #1 seed.  But after looking into it deeper, it just made too much sense.  Mich St. and Duke have been too inconsistent of late.  Louisville seems to be peaking at the right moment and their leader, PG Peyton Siva, is playing outstanding right now.  Everyone knows how important PG play is, so I’m taking Siva over Duke’s PG Quinn Cook.      

West Region –

Second Round –

Gonzaga (1) v. Southern U (16) – ZAGS.  Again, no explanation needed.

Pitt (8) v. Wichita St. (9) – PITT.  Taking the team from the major conference here.

Wisconsin (5) v. Ole Miss (12) – WISCONSIN.  Guards the three well, the only shot Ole Miss ever takes.

Kansas St. (4) v. Boise St. / La Salle (13) – K-STATE.  This has upset special written all over it.  I’m scared. 

Arizona (6) v. Belmont (11) – BELMONT.  Popular upset pick.  Belmont shoots lights out. 

New Mexico (3) v. Harvard (14) – NEW MEX.  New Mexico is legit.  They could go to the Final Four.

Notre Dame (7) v. Iowa St. (10) – IOWA St.  Like Colorado St., I love how experience Iowa St. is.

Ohio St. (2) v. Iona (15) – OHIO ST.  Might be the best 2 v. 15 matchup this year.

Third Round –

Zags (1) v. Pitt (8) – ZAGS.  Gotta give the Zags a little credit here and pick them.

Wisconsin (5) v. K St. (4) – WISCONSIN.  I should have had K St. losing in the first round.    

Belmont (11) v. New Mex (3) – NEW MEX.  Again, too many good players not to move on.

Iowa St. (10) v. Ohio St. (2) – OHIO ST.  PG Aaron Craft will “will” this team to the Sweet 16. 

Regioinal Semifinals –

Zags (1) v. Wisconsin (5) – WISCONSIN.  This is where not playing a tough schedule catches up w/ Zags.

New Mex (3) v. Ohio St. (2) – OSU.  Great game, great athletes!  But I’m going with the Big Ten.

Regional Finals –

Wisconsin (5) v. Ohio St. (2) – OHIO ST.  Talk about two teams that know each other well.  A rematch of the Big Ten Tournament Championship game, I think Ohio St. takes it again.  While this will undoubtedly be another typical, low-scoring Big Ten game, I think Ohio St. has the better tournament team; featuring both an outstanding PG in Aaron Craft and a skilled big man in F DeShaun Thomas.  Craft is the best on-ball defender in the college game, and will reke havoc on the Wisconsin guards.  While Wisconsin’s defense is tough, OSU has too many horses that they can keep running on to the court.    

         

South Region –

Second Round –

Kansas (1) v. Western Kentucky (16) – KANSAS.  Ditto.

UNC (8) v. Villanova (9) – UNC.  UNC has been coming on of late, finally settling on a starting lineup. 

VCU (5) v. Akron (12) – VCU.  Might be a better team this year than the one that went to the Final Four.

Michigan (4) v. S. Dakota St. (13) – MICHIGAN.  Will be a great matchup of PG’s, but Michigan takes it.

UCLA (6) v. Minnesota (11) – MINNESOTA.  UCLA is without Jordan Adams and can’t rebound.  Done. 

Florida (3) v. Northwestern St. (14) – FLORIDA.  Can you even name the State N. Western St. is in?

San Diego St. (7) v. Oklahoma (10) – SD ST.  Gotta go with the local kid, Chase Tapley, and SD St.

Georgetown (2) v. Florida Gulf Coast (15) – G-TOWN.  One name: double O, double T (Otto), Potter.

Third Round –

Kansas (1) v. UNC (8) – KANSAS.  The “Roy Williams” game goes to Kansas yet again.

VCU (5) v. Michigan (4) – VCU.  I really want to pick Michigan here, but just too inconsistent for me.

Minnesota (11) v. Florida (3) – FLORIDA.  Florida has the bigs to matchup with Minny on the glass.

SD St. (7) v. Georgetown (2) – G-TOWN.  Again, double O, double T, POTTER.  Just. Too. Strong. 

Regional Semifinals –

Kansas (1) v. VCU (5) – KU.  I think people are under estimating KU.  Withey & McLemore are studs.

Florida (3) v. G-Town (2) – FLORIDA.  Had them as a preseason final four pick.  Gotta ride with them.

Regional Finals –

Kansas (1) v. Florida (3) – KANSAS.  I’ve went back and forth with this pick, and I finally came to the conclusion that while I may have had Florida as a preseason final four team, I had Kansas as a preseason NCAA Tournament Championship team.  I really like Kansas.  The inside-out game with C Jeff Withey and SG Ben McLemore is awesome when on, and PG Elijah Johnson is starting to finally play like a NCAA Tournament PG.  Also, the way Withey defenses the rim will cause problems for Florida’s big men.  If this game is close in the final minutes, I like Kansas to pull away and win.    

East Region –

Second Round –

Indiana (1) v. LIU Brooklyn (16) / James Madison (16) – INDIANA.  Who cares who Indiana plays?

NC State (8) v. Temple (9) – NC ST.  They had a disappointing season but I still like them to win a game.

UNLV (5) v. CAL (12) – CAL.  Total homer pick here in a virtual home game for Cal playing in San Jose. 

Syracuse (4) v. Montana (13) – CUSE.  While Montana does have a tourney win, can’t pick them here.

Butler (6) v. Bucknell (11) – BUCKNELL.  Butler is way over-seeded.  I think their tourney magic runs out.

Marquette (3) v. Davidson (14) – DAVIDSON.  Other 3 seeds are 10+ point favors.  Quette, 3½.  Upset!   

Illinois (7) v. Colorado (10) – COLORADO.  PG Spencer Dinwiddie will shut down Illinois PG Brandon Paul.

Miami (2) v. Pacific (15) – MIAMI.  Great story w/ UOP coach Bob Thomason retiring, but Miami wins.

Third Round –

IU (1) v. NC St. (8) – INDIANA.  NC St. is not the team to derail IU. 

CAL (12) v. Syracuse (4) – CUSE.  I may be a homer, but I’m not that crazy.  Cuse beat my Bears in SJ.

Bucknell (11) v. Davidson (14) – BUCKNELL.  Upset matchup game.  Bucknell’s big Mike Muscala is legit. 

Colorado (10) v. Miami (2) – MIAMI.  Colorado’s Dinwiddie is good but not lock-up Shane Larkin good.

Regional Semifinals –

Indiana (1) v. Syracuse (4) – IU.  Too much Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo for Syracuse to handle. 

Bucknell (11) v. Miami (2) – MIAMI.  Miami is too hunger and too good to lose this soon.

Regional Finals –

Indiana (1) v. Miami (2) – INDIANA.  If Miami were in any other region not featuring Indiana or Kansas, I would have them going to the Final Four, possibly the National Championship game.  I love Shane Larkin at the PG position and their bigs, Kenny Kadji and Reggie Jackson, are both over 6’ 10”.  But I just can’t bring myself to pick them over Indiana.  Indiana has been strong all season, featuring two of the top 5 player in the nation in C Cody Zeller and G Victor Oladipo.  I think Indiana will get just enough PG play from Jordan Hulls and Kevin Ferrell, and will make it pass Miami and punch their ticket to Atlanta.    

Final Four –

Kansas (1) v. Indiana (1) – INDIANA.  Again, if these two teams were on opposite sides of the bracket, this would be my Championship game, and I wouldn’t have a clue on who to pick.  These were the two teams I favored to win the NCAA Tournament, so the selection committee killed me here.  I think it’s going to be a very close game, featuring a great low-post matchup in Cody Zeller v. Jeff Withey.  At points in the game, they’ll each get the better of each other.  But the x-factor is Victor Oladipo.  He is just too much to handle on the court both offensively and defensively.  Indiana takes it. 

Louisville (1) v. Ohio St. (2) – LOUISVILLE.  This was a difficult pick only in the sense that I don’t like any team coming out of either the Midwest or West region.  I think Kansas, Miami, or even Florida would beat any team coming out of either region.  But since I have to pick a team, I’m sticking with Louisville.  They’ll stay hot and ride their streak through the tourney and onto the National Championship game.  Peyton Siva came back for his senior year for this moment, and he is finally showing us the potential everyone knew he had when they picked Louisville to advance far into the tourney the past three years.

National Champion –

Louisville (1) v. Indiana (1) – INDIANA.  President Obama and I are going against the pundits on this one and picking Indiana to win the NCAA National Championship.  They won arguably the toughest conference in the country in the Big Ten and have been consistently at or near the top of the rankings the entire year.  They were one of my two preseason favorites to win the NCAA Tournament, so I can’t turn my back on them now.  I just love the combination of Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo; both players who will be in the NBA someday.  Louisville at times has difficulties scoring the ball, which they won’t be able to get away with on a team like Indiana.  One shining moment will be played for Indiana.     

Mr. Armchair Speaking –       

NFL’s Free Agency Winners and Losers, So Far….. –

The NFL has evolved into a 24/7, 365 days a year sport.  The offseason, with its scouting combine, free agency signing period, and draft process, has arguably become more entertaining to some fans than the actual games being played. 

Now that we are a little more than 48 hours into the NFL’s Free Agent Friendsy, here are some early winners and losers thus far. 

Winners –

Chicago Bears – I love the signings of TE Martellus Bennett and OT Jermon Bushrod.  The two most glaring issues on the Bears offense last season were the offensive line and the lack a reliable safety-valve in the form of a good pass-catching TE.  Enter Bennett and Bushrod.  Bushrod will play RT, allowing last year’s rookie OT Gabe Carimi to move inside and play OG.  Bennett, who last season with the New York Giants had 55 receptions, 626 receiving yards, and 5 TDs, will instantly improve the Bears TE situation and be that second option Culter was lacking last season.  The Bears TE last season, Kellen Davis, 19 receptions, 229 receiving yards, and 2 TDs.  Problem solved. 

Denver Broncos – If they weren’t already the favorite to win the 2013-2014 Super Bowl, they are now.  The Broncos had little needs coming off last season, finishing with the best record in the AFC, but the ones they did have, they filled in nicely this offseason.  The Broncos were weak on the interior of the OL, so they went out and signed starting OG Louis Vasquez to plug that hole at RG.  On defense, they were light in the defensive backfield, so they just went out a signed starting CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.  This will allow the Broncos to play CB Champ Bailey more as the nickel CB, where his declining speed won’t hurt him as much, or they can slowly start to transition him into playing FS.  Oh yeah, and as if QB Peyton Manning didn’t have enough weapons to throw the ball too, they just went out and signed a little known WR named Wes Welker.  Sickening!!            

Indianapolis Colts – Despite this team having an inspirational and remarkable season, capped off by them making the playoffs, they had a lot of holes that needed to be filled this offseason thru free agency and the draft.  They needed major help along the OL and just about at every position on defense.  The Colts are well on their way to doing that.  They signed OT Gosder Cherilus away from the Detroit Lions, where he was a staple at RT.  It’s unclear if he will move over to LT to protect QB Andrew Luck’s blind side and allow current LT Anthony Castonzo to move to RT, but either way adding Cherilus is a major improvement to the Colt’s OL.  On defense, they added three good starting players in CB Greg Toler, LB Erik Walden, and S LaRon Landry.  With the continued development of Andrew Luck, look out for the Colts to be a strong contender in the next few years.   

Miami Dolphins – Is 5-years, $60 million a little much for a WR of Mike Wallace’s caliber?  Some would argue yes, but some would argue that Wallace is the second most talented WR in the NFL only behind WR Calvin Johnson.  In order to get a talent like Wallace to come to your team, you have to overpay a little bit.  Getting a true #1 WR was a must for the Dolphins this offseason.  With all due respect to WR Brian Hartline and the good year he had last season (74 receptions, 1083 receiving yards, but only 1 TD), he can’t be your team’s #1 WR, especially while you are trying to develop a young QB in Ryan Tannehill.  I think Hartline will actually complement Wallace nicely.  Wallace will be able to stretch the field on deeper routes, which will open up the middle of the field for Hartline on those intermediate routes.  The Dolphins also made good moves in signing LB’s Dannell Ellerbe and Phillip Wheeler to bolster their defense.  With the New York Jets in a free-fall, Buffalo Bills in total rebuild mode, and the New England Patriots not getting any younger (mainly Tom Brady), the Dolphins have a little window here to be a player in the division.    

Losers –

Arizona Cardinals – Their most pressing need is at the QB position, and their only solution thus far is signing QB Drew Stanton.  Again, with their most pressing need being at the QB position, the Arizona Cardinals solution thus far is signing QB Drew Stanton.  Ok??!!  I’m also not impressed with their other free agent signings so far.  They went out and signing a washed up RB in Rashard Mendenhall and a bunch of backups on defense.   Good luck this season, Cardinal Fans.  

Baltimore Ravens – I guess you can’t really call them losers, as they did resign QB Joe Flacco, which was a must for them after he led them to a Super Bowl victory.  But making Flacco the highest paid QB in NFL history is coming at a costly price.  They were forced to trade away WR Anquan Boldin to the San Francisco 49ers, they weren’t able to resign either of their starting LB’s in Dannell Ellerbe and Paul Kruger, and it’s looking more likely they will not be able to resign star FS and franchise staple, Ed Reed.  I have no doubt that the Ravens will rebound through the draft, as they are one of the best front offices in the NFL at doing so, but it’s not a good look for them to be losing all of these key pieces to their Super Bowl winning team.

New England Patriots – I actually like the move of letting WR Wes Welker leave and signing WR Danny Amendola.  I think it makes them a better team and at this point in each of their careers, I would rather take 5-years of Amendola than 2-years of Welker.  However, the Pats aren’t in the business of pleasing me; they’re in the business of pleasing the golden boy, Mr. Uggs himself, Tom Brady.  And when Tom takes a pay-cut so that you can go and resign his favorite WR target (Welker), you better do so.  Tom isn’t happy right now, and that makes the New England Patriots losers. 

New York Jets – Mark Sanchez is still their starting QB.  How anyone can still be a starting QB in the NFL after committing the Butt Fumble is beyond me. 

Oakland Raiders – Need I say more?

Seattle Seahawks – Just because they are the San Francisco 49ers’ new rival and everything they do now from here on out is seen with hated eyes.  Plus, the city is trying to steal my basketball team away, which they will be unsuccessful at.      

Mr. Armchair Speaking!!!

Why 2013 could be the Year of the Brandon’s for the San Francisco Giants –

I’m back from my annual Spring Training trip where I was visiting with the defending World Series Champion San Francisco Giants.  In my time there, I walked away mightily impressed with what I saw from the defending champs, who looked poised to make another run at a World Series title.    

I got to watch 4 games with the Giants (finishing 3-1 in that span) and the two players that stood out to me and are primed for breakout yours were:  Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford.  While their stories were well-chronicled – young players helping their franchise win a World Series Championship – it’s safe to say that there is still a lot left to be desired in regards to their potential as productive ballplayers.  From what I saw in Spring Training out of them, that desired could be fulfilled this season, which is why 2013 could be the Year of the Brandon’s for the San Francisco Giants. 

Let’s first start with Brandon Belt, who was arguably the best player I saw while at Spring Training.  Coming into the 2012 season after a rocky 2011 rookie debut, Belt was still thought of as a highly regarded prospect.  He had a steady year stats wise, finishing the season with a .275 AVG, 47 R’s, 27 2B’s, 7 HR’s, 56 RBI’s, .421 SLG, and a .781 OPS.  These are good numbers say for a middle infielder batting second or near the bottom of the batting order.  But when you play first base and are expected to hit for power in the middle of the order, Belt’s 2012 numbers look quiet ordinary and left many fans wanting more from him.  So far this Spring Training, Belt is delivering.  In the 7 games Belt has participated in (22 AB’s through Mar. 3rd), he has a .500 AVG, 6 R’s, 1 2B’s, 2 HR’s, 5 RBI’s, .909 SLG, and a 1.409 OPS.  Granted, I realize the rule of thumb is to not get too excited about Spring Training numbers and we are dealing with a small sample size, but even during batting practices I observed Belt’s swing looked locked in and his stance was balanced as he was making solid, hard contact with the ball.  He is also playing more than any other Giants projected starter as well; getting his more than fair share of AB’s during Spring Training.  If Belt can carry this momentum he’s built up this Spring Training and continue to improve and have the type of season the Giants think he can have, Belt can really endear himself to an already loyal fan base that has strong affinity for first basemen (Willie Mac, Will Clark, J.T. Snow, just to name a few).   

The second of the two Brandon’s is Brandon Crawford.  Crawford is not expected to bring much offensively, as he is known more for what he brings with his glove.  He finished the 2012 year with a .248 AVG, 44 R’s, 26 2B’s, 4 HR’s, 45 RBI’s, and a .653 OPS.  But what makes 2013 a big year for Crawford is that he has a real possibility of winning the Gold Glove Award at short stop.  It could be argued that Crawford should have won the Gold Glove Award for the short stop position last season.  There were a number of factors that went into Crawford being snubbed, mainly that Crawford isn’t a house-hold name or a repeat winner of the award, but another factor was that his offense numbers weren’t spectacular.  The last five winners of the Gold Glove Award at short stop for the NL were Jimmy Rollins (2008, 2009, and 2012) and Troy Tulowitzki (2010, 2011).  The first time Rollins won the award, it was the same year he won the NL MVP Award.  He would subsequently win the next two Gold Gloves and then again last year.  While Rollins’ offensive numbers where decent, they weren’t anything close to when he won the MVP, but the fact that he was a repeat winner of the award gave him a leg-up amongst the competition.  The same goes for Tulowitzki.  When he won his two Gold Gloves, he was arguably the best offense short stop in the game, making the All-Star team those years and finishing 5^th in the MVP voting in 2010, and 8^th in 2011.  I’m not here to discredit Rollins or Tulowitzki as defensive short stops, but it didn’t hurt that their offensive numbers were above-average the years they won.  Now I’m not saying Brandon Crawford has to win the NL MVP or even make the All-Star team to win the Gold Glove Award, but if he can just raise his AVG up from .248 to somewhere around .260-.265 and still field the way he did last season, it would go a long way as he tries to separate himself from the other short stops in the NL. 

There is no doubt that 2012 was a very special year for the San Francisco Giants; highlighted by their amazing run through the postseason to win the World Series, and Buster Posey winning the NL MVP.  The band is back together again to defend their championship, but it won’t be an easy task and they are going to need some help.  What better way to answer that call for help than with the addition of a power-hitting first baseman and a Gold Glove winner at short stop.  That’s what Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford can offer to the 2013 San Francisco Giants.