Month: October 2009 (Page 2 of 79)

      Giants re-sign Freddy Sanchez

      October 31, 2009 /

      According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants have re-signed second baseman Freddy Sanchez to a two-year, $12 million deal.

      This is a good deal for the Giants. Considering he’s turning 32 this winter, it’s safe to say that Sanchez’s best days are behind him. But he hits for average, is a decent defender and he’s one of the few San Francisco batters that understands the importance of taking pitches.

      The Giants gave up their No. 2 pitching prospect in Tim Alderson to get Sanchez last year at the trade deadline, but the second baseman struggled with injuries and San Francisco missed the playoffs. If Sanchez can stay healthy and produce then the trade won’t be for naught, although Alderson could eventually develop into a solid starter for the Pirates.

      It’ll be interesting to watch what Brian Sabean and the Giants do this winter, because they have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball but their offense is putrid outside of Pablo Sandoval. If they can add another bat, the Giants could definitely challenge for the NL Wild Card spot next season.

      MLB

      Saturday MMA Review: 10/31/09

      October 31, 2009 /

      Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

      – Lyoto Machida retained his light-heavyweight title in a very controversial decision over Mauricio Rua at UFC 104. Luckily, there will be an immediate rematch between the two Brazilian standouts.

      – DREAM’s first “White Cage” event featured another lopsided win for Alistair Overeem, another head kick knockout by Marius Zaromskis, and another back-from-the-dead victory for Kazushi Sakuraba.

      – A month-long flu has forced Brock Lesnar to pull out of his title defense against Shane Carwin at UFC 106. Coincidentally, Carwin himself had been battling swine flu, but that wasn’t going to make him puss out of the fight.

      – Rashad Evans became the first coach in Ultimate Fighter history to win seven fights in the round-of-16, as the imbalanced Matt “Meathead” Mitrione scored an upset over well-traveled veteran Scott Junk on Wednesday’s episode of TUF 10. Rampage responded by savagely assaulting a door.

      – We took a look at some of the nastiest leg-kicks in MMA history.

      – Fedor Emelianenko looked disturbingly passionate in the first leaked image from EA’s new MMA video game, and mighty dapper in his Glorious Sweater of Absolute Victory.

      – Sexy UFC ring girl Natasha Wicks (aka “the blonde one”) modeled some Halloween costumes for all her drooling fans. Speaking of which, if you happen to be going out as an MMA fighter this Halloween, e-mail a picture of yourself to feedback@cagepotato.com by tomorrow night, and you can win a $100 gift card from MMA Warehouse.

      Mixed Martial Arts

      Blanton to start Game 4 for Phillies – not Lee

      October 30, 2009 /

      Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has decided to start Joe Blanton in Game 4 of the World Series instead of ace Cliff Lee on short rest.

      What this means is that Lee won’t be available for a possible Game 7 because he’ll pitch Game 5 now. Considering Lee has never started on short rest in his career, Manuel may have had little choice but to pitch Blanton in Game 4.

      Blanton started Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Rays in last year’s World Series and combined with four relievers on a five-hitter in a 10-2 Philadelphia win. So he has World Series experience and shouldn’t be fazed by the pressure, although he did allow four runs in six innings against the Dodgers in his only postseason start this season.

      It’ll be interesting to see how New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi counters the move. There was talk that CC Sabathia would start Game 4, but Girardi may decide to save his ace to face Lee again in Game 5. Considering several Yankees (including Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez) have had success off Blanton in the past, Girardi might want to save Sabathia in order to go toe to toe with Lee.

      The chess game begins…

      MLB

      2009 NFL Week 8 Picks & Predictions

      October 30, 2009 /

      Here are my quick-hit picks for Week 8 in the NFL:

      Worth being in trouble with your significant other for:

      Vikings (6-1) at Packers (4-2), 4:15PM ET
      I think the Packers will have a little something for Brett Favre this time around. I realize he was a legend in Green Bay, but the Packer faithful need to boo this man just as they would Steve Young or Troy Aikman. As long as the Packers somehow figure out a way to get a body in front of Jared Allen, I think they beat a Minnesota team coming off an emotional loss in Pittsburgh last week. Call me crazy, but I don’t think this one will be as close as many expect.
      Odds: Packers –3.
      Prediction: Packers 30, Vikings 17.

      Giants (5-2) at Eagles (4-2), 1:00PM ET
      The Giants are hoping to get a few defensive starters back this week (most notably Michael Boley and Chris Canty), but their concern right now should be moving the ball against a Philadelphia defense that played inspired last week in Washington. (Of course, it was Washington.) Both of these offenses struggled last week trying to move the chains consistently and I can see turnovers playing a huge role in this key NFC East battle. Considering the Eagles lead the league in turnover margin, I think they get a win at home. It’s hard to fathom the G-Men losing three straight, but outside of their Week 2 win against the Cowboys, they haven’t been good against teams with winning records this season.
      Odds: Giants –1.
      Prediction: Eagles 20, Giants 17.

      Broncos (6-0) at Ravens (3-3), 1:00PM ET
      The Broncos haven’t given anyone a reason not to trust them. They’ve played great defensively, have remained balanced offensively and continue to prove doubters wrong. That said, I think this is the week they suffer their first loss. The Ravens are desperate and Denver doesn’t really have the explosive passing attack to take advantage of Baltimore’s issues in the secondary. I’m willing to bet the Ravens’ coaching staff figured a few things out in their off week and Baltimore will come out ready to play on Sunday.
      Odds: Ravens –3.
      Prediction: Ravens 23, Broncos 17.

      Falcons (4-2) at Saints (6-0), 8:30PM ET Monday
      The Falcons are in trouble. Their secondary is starting to show the same problems it had in preseason and Drew Brees should take advantage of that and torch Chris Houston and company. The only chance Atlanta has is to force turnovers on defense and get Michael Turner going in order to leave Brees on the sidelines. I don’t see it happening.
      Odds: Saints –10.
      Prediction: Saints 38, Falcons 24.

      Continue reading »

      NFL

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