Unsportsmanlike Conduct

The Round-up: Sabean and Bochy get extended, the no-name Broncos keep winning, and A-Fraud channels Mr. October October 13, 2009

One of the few decision Brian Sabean got right: drafting Tim Lincecum. Photo from user rocor on Flickr.

Rewarding dumb luck and failure

The San Francisco Giants managing partner Bill Neukom, in his goofy-ass-bow-tie-wearing wisdom, gave general manager Brain Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy two-year extensions today with options for third years. Bochy has been there for three years, and whether or not he’s been successful is up for interpretation – after all, in what sport is the head coach/manager more useless than in baseball?

But Sabean, who is the longest-tenured general manager in baseball with 13 years on the job, should have been handed his walking papers. The Giants haven’t made the playoffs in six seasons, and have been to the postseason only four times during Sabean’s tenure.

A lot of fans might cite the team’s resurgent 2009 campaign as proof of Sabean’s value, but what has he really done? He has horrendously overpaid for free agents the last few years (Barry Zito: seven years, $126 million; Aaron Rowand: five years, $60 million; Edgar Renteria: two years, $18.5 million), who have vastly underperformed, and hasn’t won a damn thing since Barry Bonds left.

The only two players he has drafted who have star power are Tim Lincecum, a can’t-miss type pick at tenth overall in 2006; and the Kung-Fu Panda, Pablo Sandoval, who spent nearly five years languishing in the minors and shocked everyone with a great season this year. Matt Cain has also developed into a solid starting pitcher, but what irreplaceable position players has Sabean drafted or developed?

2009 was likely more of an aberration than a sign of things to come, especially since Sabes said recently that the team doesn’t plan to add a bat in the offseason. That should really improve the team’s RBI total (29th in the majors) or batting average (25th).

Decisions like this one are what will keep the Giants forever trailing the cross-bay Oakland A’s in world championships. In case you forgot, Giants fans, the A’s have the lead in that category 4-0.

Who are these guys?

The fact that the Denver Broncos beat the New England Patriots on Sunday in overtime is amazing, but what’s most impressive is the way they did it. After looking like they’d be another foil for Tom Brady’s passing attack, the Broncos held the Pats scoreless after halftime and rattled off 13 unanswered points in a 20-17 win.

But these Broncos aren’t your daddy’s John Elway-Terrell Davis-Rod Smith Broncs. This squad is led by the much-maligned Kyle Orton, disgruntled receiver Brandon Marshall and rookie running back Knowshon Moreno (on a side note, isn’t Knowshon a freaking awesome name?). Without any serious superstars on either side of the ball, the Broncos are finding ways to win close games virtually every week. After starting the season against a middling group of opponents (9-11 combined record), the Broncos solidified themselves as legitimate contenders by beating the formerly 3-1 Patriots.

The defense is the primary reason, as Denver has surrendered only 8.6 points per game (first in the NFL) and is second overall in total defense. Combine that with the careful play of Orton, who has turned the ball over only once in five games, and you have a recipe for success. As much as it kills me inside to say it, Denver will be definitely be playing football in January.

Well lookie who found their bats

Vladimir Guerrero decided to become clutch for the first time in his career, delivering the two-run death blow against the Boston Red Sox in the top of the ninth Sunday to lead the Angels to a 7-6 victory. Guerrero’s postseason at-bats had been pathetic at best before this year (.240 career average), but he came up huge in Fenway Park to complete the sweep.

Another former choker who suddenly learned how to swing in big spots is a rejuvenated Alex Rodriguez. The Yankee third baseman not only had an RBI single in the sixth inning to tie Game 2 against the Twins, he then went on to hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the game into extras. A-Rod repeated the heroics with a tying home run in the top of the seventh in Game 3. Overall he batted .455 with 6 RBI in the Yankees’ three-game sweep of Minnesota.

A-Rod's bat has finally become something to fear in October. Photo from user Wigstruck on Flickr.

The Angels and Yankees will begin a best-of-seven series Friday night, and the Yanks have to be the clear favorites. If A-Rod continues to perform the way he did against Minnesota, there is no way the Angels can overcome New York’s powerful offense. Then again, the Angels have certainly had the Yankees’ number over the past few seasons: they are 33-21 against the Bronx Bombers since 2005. Maybe having Kate Hudson watching from the stands will continue to power A-Rod’s resurgance.